Posted on May 11, 2008 in Books
This morning, I finally finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I read most of it, about 800 pages, yesterday. I read the last 35 this morning. I liked the ending for all characters save a couple, but I was really pleased overall with the experienced and enjoyed reading it. It’s been awhile since I read anything so epic and long, not to mention spent most of the day reading. Review to be written later and up tomorrow.
Now, that I am finished that book, I can move onto others. Gilead is still beside me, but I am not sure if I want to read it today nor Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Right now, I am in the mood for something light and amusing such as The Zombie Survivial Guide or some comics The Best American Comics. Maybe even poetry by T. S. Eliot or a book on books such as Bibliotherapy.
So many options! I have too many books to choose from. It has been very overwhelming of late as others have loaned me more books, and the library never stops pursing me via email about requests to pick up. It’s daunting, but I love books so I acquire them and surround my life with them almost excessively. Do you ever feel that way? I don’t even know which book to turn to sometime. Also, I am getting moodier with my reading choices as I get older so it seems to cloud my decisions and book choices.
As a result of so many books and moody choices, I am less monogamist than ever so I am probably going to dip into a few books today. Start them, and then pick up on whichever for the rest of the week. Plenty of material, and it’s a nice enough day to read.
Happy Mother’s Day to those celebrating it.
Literary Links:
Posted on May 8, 2008 in Books
Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . . . do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library? – BTT
I don’t “read” them per se. I do have a couple, and I like a good reference book as the next bibliophile. I have two English dictionaries, a couple of English other language dictionaries, and one purely French dictionary. I use the computer and online dictionaries more. I also have one grammar book, and I would really like to get a copy of the Elements of Style. I like owning grammar books rather than using them though. I listen to the Grammar Girl podcast which says a lot about me, but I am horrible at grammar and syntax. When I learn languages, writing and proper oral communication is the hardest for me to learn while I learn quickly through comprehension.
Bit late today since I’m busy on thursdays now. I haven’t had time to read this week. The weekend can’t come fast enough.
Posted on May 4, 2008 in Books
This week, I finished three books: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Othello, and Cranford. I joined yet another reading challenges. I wish there were support groups for reading challenge addicts like me. We would probably end up making more challenges and finding more ways to cross post our selections.
Today, I am reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Yes, it has been months now, but it’ll be finished soon (hopefully). I still have Gilead on hold. This week, two friends lent me books. I received Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose which I think I will start in the next couple of weeks. The second book is a collection of Tolstoy’s short stories in French. I am unsure when I will get around to that one, but it should be one of my French reads this year. I should start The God of Small Things soon as well. I also want to start The Tempest and Shakespeare’s sonnets soon because the Shakespeare challenge is almost over. How time flies.
I have been cleaning this weekend, and I won’t be finished for awhile. I am trying to clear away things I’ve had for years. I am at a loss for what to do with all the textbooks that I was unable to sell during the school years. I should probably sell my philosophy books too. Hmm.
Salon has an article on “Personal profiles, faves, lists, snobbery, books.” It purports the idea that we are not what we read, and that culture has become where some books (such as self-help books) are scoffed by those who consider themselves truly literary. As a result, favourite lists on profiles have become definers that say “I like this = I’m like this”. This is why I never provide those details online; we are creatures of judgment to be sure. I can say that I know the books that I like, but others may not. My literary tastes do not necessarily define me. I do admit that I have read a self-help book or two. Do you feel that your preferences in books defines you in some way? Do you admit to reading self-help books; are they so shameful? Thoughts?
Literary Links:
Petrona has a discussion on the Sunday Salon.
“Baby Got Book” – To the tune of Sir Mix-a-lot’s “Baby got back”
20 Science Books Every Sci-Fi Fan and Writer Should Read – While I don’t read a lot of scifi, this is actually a pretty interesting list.
Posted on May 3, 2008 in Books
Read 10 books in 10 months from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. I think I will be able to finish this. The challenge began May 1 and runs through the end of February 2009. I am already keeping track of my books read for this list, and I just finished one today, Cranford, which I will count towards the challenge total, so nine more to go. As of right now, I have read 83 books which sets me at 8.29%. Here is a long list of possible reads. This list which will undoubtedly change as I cross post and read on a whim:
Posted on May 3, 2008 in Books
My first Elizabeth Gaskell novel. I have wanted to read Wives and Daughters and North and South for awhile, but somehow Cranford ended up being my first Gaskell. This novel is about the lives of the predominantly female, older population of the eponymous small town. There is little way in plot, and the tone is quiet and subdued like the setting of the book itself. It does have moments of amusement, satire, and cleverness that displays Gaskell’s ability as a writer. The vignettes are subtle and you can get so much from the characters from them. It is actually a good social portrait of England in the early mid-19th century. Many of the stories are based on actual events from Gaskell’s childhood. I would not recommend it to everyone as it quite slow, but I found many of the moments in the book touching. While the characters can be rather silly and gossipy, they are not vindictive for the most part, and stood by those they loved in the end. This novel worked on my sentimentality and sensitivity as you can tell. I liked it, but I understand that few people could get really into it.
The recent adaptation and mini series have already aired in the U. K., and PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre will begin its three week run of it tomorrow night. I have heard good things about it, and I wonder how they will shape the stories told in the novel. I do think that that with a cast led by Dame Judi Dench that the emotional aspect of the novel can be conveyed easily with the right script. I look forward to it, and will report back on it in a future blog post.
Posted on May 1, 2008 in Books
Quick! It’s an emergency! You just got an urgent call about a family emergency and had to rush to the airport with barely time to grab your wallet and your passport. But now, you’re stuck at the airport with nothing to read. What do you do??
And, no, you did NOT have time to grab your bookbag, or the book next to your bed. You were . . . grocery shopping when you got the call and have nothing with you but your wallet and your passport (which you fortuitously brought with you in case they asked for ID in the ethnic food aisle). This is hypothetical, remember…. – BTT
First: Ha! Second, I usually do have a book on hand in my bag. In these situations, I think I would buy a magazine or two. If not, I would buy an overpriced book from the book store. Preferably a classic, prize winner, or something from a favourite author I have yet to read. I’m more inclined to think I’ll buy the New Yorker or something though.
I do wonder, why would they check for ID in the ethnic food aisle?
Posted on April 29, 2008 in Books
It has been a few years since I read a Shakespeare play. While I have reread one since high school, I have not taken time to read one on my own. I actually miss being taught Shakespeare especially the tragedies where there is so much going on. Othello has high drama, and at first, I liked the Othello character because he seemed innocent, honest, and devoted, but since this is a Shakespearean tragedy, he also has to be in some way foolish and/or mad. He believes too easily that Desdemona is cheating on him; he has some self-hatred and doubt about his love for her as well. The play is rather chaotic with its deceptive machinations by Iago and uncontrolled end, not to mention the narrative’s time issues. Once Othello stops loving Desdemona and thinking the worse of her, it really is the climax and all order seems to go out the door in the scenes that follow:
Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul,
But I do love thee! and when I love thee not,
Chaos is come again.
–Othello, III.iii
Everyone seems to be contradictory or double-sided. Iago is obviously not honest. Othello has integrity and strength in public life or batle, but can not control his jealous and violent rage. Emilia is oblivious to Iago’s nature, but seems to be aware of gender relations and disparities. Desdemona is both faithful and submissive, but at times, independent and lively. Iago is annoying. He’s manipulative, calculating, and is a bit of a loon really. He does all this because he is jealous of Othello; jealousy drives many of the characters in this play. I feel sorry for all those caught in Iago’s web of lies: Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, and even poor stupid Roderigo. Why does he even listen to Iago in the first place? The end left me dissatisfied. Even more than other Shakespeare tragedies I’ve read. Maybe it’s because we do not even see Iago die, but he does not repent or even any suffer weakness. I doubt I will reread this play as much as Hamlet or even King Lear, but I think it would be fantastic to see as a play form. The play is wonderfully dramatic with its jealous and violent characters.
Posted on April 28, 2008 in Books, Food
A memoir of Barbara Kingsolver and her family’s attempt of eat food produced by themselves or in their own Virgina neighborhood for a year. This is my first book of Kingsolver’s, and she is intelligible, funny, and educational in this book. I learned quite a lot about gardening, industrial and rural farming, and turkey sex among other things. Self-sufficiency in food has always interested me, so the idea of raising animals for one’s own consumption, making cheese, or having a fertile garden greatly appeals to me. I would highly recommend the book for people interested in changing their lifestyle and food choices to one that is more local and organic. The book has recipes, but it is not a diet book, nor is it preachy. They do provide information about the food industry and the world markets as result which can make you a better consumer in regards to food. This is a food memoir of a family, and there details of family dynamics, travels, and experiences in their new farm life. I particularly enjoyed Kingsolver’s attempts at turkey raising and her daughter’s Lily’s entrepreneurial venture into the egg business. Another enjoyable nonfiction book on food.
Posted on April 27, 2008 in Books
I am back to reading again, though the recovery from such a busy two months has not been easy to transition. I’ve been watching more movies lately than reading as a result. I am a bit restless, but I have gotten back to it. I have four books going right now. I’m not usually a book polygamist, but circumstances have let it happened.
I haven’t really read Othello in weeks, and I’m taking a break from Count of Monte Cristo because I had to return the library book. I started Gilead by Marilynne Robinson last Sunday when I was on the road home, but I’m actively reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year in Food Life this weekend.
Food books and memoirs are not foreign to my literary diet, but this is actually my first Kingsolver book. I bought The Poisonwood Bible last November during a book sale, but like many books I own, I have yet to read it. I like her style, though her fiction may be slightly different than her nonfiction. I do enjoy the idea of gardening and having the abilities to produce one’s own food. I share a secret dream of owning chickens for eggs and meat, and of course, a large, varied garden.
I will probably finish the book tomorrow if all goes according to plan, and I want to finish Gilead and Othello before next Sunday as well. When I started Gilead, I was in a vulnerable state, and it very well written. I was easily affected by the prose; it’s interesting how our emotional and literary lives converge. I am not in that same state now, and the words are less impactive as they were when I started. I’ll see how it is when I return to it in a couple of days.
Tina tagged me for this meme:
The rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to Ganns’s blog (he’s the one who tagged me) once you’ve posted your three sentences.
I am using Gilead:
And he looks me right in the face, as though he wants me to know he knows it is a performance and he’s amused by it. I suppose an attempt is a performance, in some sense. But what else can I do?
Feel free to be tagged.
Off I go to read more Kingsolver and maybe take a late afternoon walked. It rained yesterday evening, and while people seek the sun, too many dry April days worried me. Until next week, fellow Salonists.
Literary Links:
The Telegraph’s 50 Best Cult Books
Life changing books from 17 scientists
Posted on April 24, 2008 in Books
Do your reading habits change in the Spring? Do you read gardening books? Even if you don’t have a garden? More light fiction than during the Winter? Less? Travel books? Light paperbacks you can stick in a knapsack?
Or do you pretty much read the same kinds of things in the Spring as you do the rest of the year? – BTT
Generally my reading habits are the same in the sense that the books that are read are usually the same the rest of the year. I do read more once the warm weather starts showing up. Maybe sub-consciously I read more travel books or light paperbacks. Though most of my TBR books are planned months in advance these days. I always read more in the spring and summer than I do in the winter/fall though.
Posted on April 21, 2008 in Books
From May to November 2008. Make a list of 10 books you love/like and then pick three to read from the lists of other participants. In making a recommended book list, I avoided books that others have not already suggested. I also tried to go for variety. These are just 10 books I really like, and by no means are definitive.
- The Leopard by Giuseppe de Lampedussa
- The Complete Maus by Art Spielgman
- Howards End by E. M. Forster
- Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
- The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
- The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book by Bill Watterson
- Blindness by Jose Saramago
- The Griffin & Sabine Trilogy: Griffin & Sabine/ Sabine’s Notebook/ The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock
- Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik
- The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Here are some of the books I may read (this list will change as participants come onto the challenge). I listed more than three because y’know how my reading habits are. A few of these have been cross posted from my other challenges too.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (kinda cheating as I’m reading this now)
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Death In Venice by Thomas Mann
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder
March by Geraldine Brooks
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
Random Harvest by James Hilton
Mort by Terry Pratchett
Posted on April 17, 2008 in Books
I’ve always wondered what other people do when they come across a word/phrase that they’ve never heard before. I mean, do they jot it down on paper so they can look it up later, or do they stop reading to look it up on the dictionary/google it or do they just continue reading and forget about the word? – BTT
Nowadays, I either look it up or I forget about it. It depends on my mood, how engrossed I am, and how near a computer/dictionary I am. I read at my desk a lot so I end up just looking it up on my Mac’s dictionary program. I like learning new words, but I usually forget to look them up. Sometimes, I can glean their meaning in the text so I don’t really need to look it up.Â