You may be a bookaholic ... (#10)

... if while visiting new friends you stand with tilted head because you are reading the titles on their shelves.



To see all my bookaholic posts, click here:  You may be a bookaholic

Library Loot ~ plus a few reviews

Two or Three Things I Know for Sure ~ by Dorothy Allison, memoir, 1995

Dorothy Allison will speak at the Conference on Southern Literature here in Chattanooga in April, and I'd like to attend.  I've read her novel Bastard Out of Carolina, which was nominated for the 1992 National Book Award for fiction.  When my librarian mentioned Dorothy Allison's memoir Two or Three Things I Know for Sure today, I checked it out.

Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books ~ by Paul Collins, 2003, nonfiction (Wales)

Paul Collins and his family moved from San Francisco to Hay-on-Wye, a Welsh village with fifteen hundred inhabitants and forty bookstores.  Sixpence House is a beautiful and neglected old tumbledown pub for sale in the town's center, and he tries to buy it.  This book is "a meditation on what books means to us and how their meaning can still resonate long after they have been abandoned by their public."

The Septembers of Shiraz ~ by Dalia Sofer, 2007, fiction (Iran), 8/10

"In the aftermath of the Iranian revolution, rare-gem dealer Isaac Amin is arrested, wrongly accused of being a spy. Terrified by his disappearance, his family must reconcile a new world of cruelty and chaos with the collapse of everything they have known. As Isaac navigates the terrors of prison, and his wife feverishly searches for him, his children struggle with the realization that their family may soon be forced to embark on a journey of incalculable danger."

In the Country of Men ~ by Hisham Matar, 2006, fiction (Libya)

I read about this novel, about a child confronted with the private fallout of a public nightmare, on the blog of Amy @ In Consideration of Books.  I cannot now find the route that I followed to arrive at her blog, though I presume I read about it on somebody's book blog and "found" both Amy and this book, which I am currently reading.

Disobedience ~ by Jane Hamilton, 2000, fiction (Chicago, Illinois), 7/10

A young man reads his mother's e-mail and learns about her infidelity.  Helen mentioned that her book club is reading Disobedience for their next meeting, so I checked it out.  Though the writing was good, I guess I wasn't in the right mood to read about a boy spying on his mother.  Rated 7/10, a good book.

The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire ~ by Jack Weatherford, 2010, history (Mongolia), 8/10

I checked this book out in 2010 (read my teaser), but had only seven days because it was a new book.  I checked it out again in January, but I never got around to finishing it.  I completed it last night (hurray!) and the last part was especially worth reading.  This story of the female heirs of the Mongol Empire was lost to history, having been literally cut out of the Secret History of the Mongols.  I rate it 8/10, a very good book.

Library Loot is a weekly meme co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.  Claire has the Mister Linky this week, if you'd like to share a list of the loot you brought home.

The Cat Library

Monday ~ time for more reading

Books read last week

• The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts ~ by Richard Peck, 2004, children's fiction (Indiana), 8/10
• Disobedience ~ by Jane Hamilton, 2000, fiction (Illinois), 7/10
• House of Sand and Fog, by Andre Dubus III, 1999, fiction (California), 8/10

Book currently reading

• The Septembers of Shiraz ~ by Dalia Sofer, 2007, fiction (Iran)

Books waiting in the wings

• In the Country of Men ~ by Hisham Matar, 2006, fiction (Libya)
• The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire ~ by Jack Weatherford, 2010, history (Mongolia)

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  It's "where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list."

Write It Right ~ I believe in commas!

Whoever designed this cover needs to study grammar.  The "EAT, RAY, LOVE" part is a cutesy attempt to play on the title of Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (I think the book's title has no commas, which is incorrect).  Thanks to Chrisbookarama, I learned:  "A missing comma makes Rachael Ray a cannibal."

Cannibal version:
"Rachael Ray finds inspiration in cooking her family and her dog."
With commas added:
"Rachael Ray finds inspiration in cooking, her family, and her dog."

Words or phrases in a series of three or more need commas between each item, as I've done in the second line.  In the first line, she is "cooking her family" and "cooking her dog."  In the corrected version, she "finds inspiration in cooking" and "finds inspiration in her family" and "finds inspiration in her dog."

To be fair, I went to the Tails, Inc. web site and found a post saying the cover shown above was photoshopped.  Here's their original October 2010 cover, according to this site:

Book Beginnings ~ in August

This is the beginning of The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts ~ by Richard Peck, 2004, YA fiction (Indiana).

"If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of year for it."

This catches my attention, but the book wasn't one of his best.  I'm not apt to remember it very long, if at all.  This isn't much of a review, but  it was somewhat entertaining, so I rate it 8/10.

He autographed this book when I saw him in 2005.

This meme is hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages. Share the first sentence or two of the book you are reading. Then, share your impressions of that beginning. Click this link to see what others say about the books they are reading this week.

Authors I've met

I'm adding Richard Peck to the list of authors I remember meeting:

Richard Peck
Masha Hamilton
Fannie Flagg
Laurie Halse Anderson
Madeleine L'Engle
E. L. Konigsburg
Robert Hicks
Christopher Paul Curtis
Avi
Susan Gregg Gilmore
Janisse Ray
Marcus J. Borg
John Dominic Crossan
Theda Perdue
Paul Von Ward

You may be a bookaholic ... (#9)

... if you call in sick because you simply must stay home from work to read your new book.

To see all my bookaholic posts, click here:  You may be a bookaholic

Monday ~ what I'm reading these days

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  It's "where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list."



Books read last week

• Queen of the Underworld ~ by Gail Godwin, 2006, fiction, 7/10
• The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears ~ by Dinaw Mengestu, 2007, fiction (Washington, DC, and Ethiopia), 6/10
• Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States ~ by Bill Bryson, 1994, history (USA), 8/10
• A Doll's House ~ by Hendrik Ibsen, 1879 (translated by R. Farquharson Sharp and Eleanor Marx-Aveling, 1993), women's studies (Norway), 8/10
• Every Visible Thing ~ by Lisa Carey, 2006, fiction (Massachusetts), 7/10
• Missing May ~ by Cynthia Rylant, 1992, YA fiction (West Virginia), 7/10

Books currently reading

• Disobedience ~ by Jane Hamilton, 2000, fiction
• The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah ~ by Ellen Frankel, 1996, religion
• Genesis: A New Translation of the Classic Bible Stories ~ by Stephen Mitchell, 1996, religion
• In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis ~ by Karen Armstrong, 1996, religion
• Genesis: Soap Opera with a Twist ~ by Bonnie Setliffe Jacobs, 1992, religion 

Books waiting in the wings

• The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts ~ by Richard Peck, 2004, children's fiction (Indiana)
• Steal Away Home ~ by Lois Ruby, 1994, YA historical fiction (Kansas)
• California Blue ~ by David Klass, 1994, YA fiction (California)
• The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America ~ by Jim Wallis, 2008
• and other books on this list

Spring Reading Thing 2011

Spring Reading Thing 2011 is a fun, low-pressure reading challenge open to anyone and everyone.

It will take place March 20th-June 20th (which is, not-so-coincidentally, the spring of 2011).

If you’d like to participate, here’s what you need to do:

• Create a list of some books you’d like to read or finish this spring.
• Write a blog post including the list of books you want to read and any additional goals you’ve set, and get ready to post it on your blog on March 20th.
• Sign up using the Mister Linky on Katrina's Callapidder Days blog.
• Work on your goals by reading throughout Spring 2011.
• Report your results by writing another blog post in June to let everyone know how you did.
• Have fun! Visit other participants to see what they’re reading. Write reviews if you’re so inclined. But most of all, enjoy your spring reading.

I'll be reading from this list:

1. Disobedience ~ by Jane Hamilton, 2000, fiction
2. Winter's Bone ~ by Daniel Woodrell, 2010, fiction
3. Cutting for Stone ~ by Abraham Verghese, 2009, fiction
4. The Book of Night Women ~ by Marlon James, 2009, fiction
5. River Horse: The Logbook of a Boat Across America ~ by William Least Heat-Moon, 1995, travel
6. Out of Time ~ by Caroline B. Cooney, 1996, YA fiction
7. The Closed Circle: An Interpretation of the Arabs ~ by David Pryce-Jones, 1989, history
8. Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream ~ by Barbara Ehrenreich, 2005, sociology
9. The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America ~ by Jim Wallis, 2008
10. The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire  ~ by Jack Weatherford, 2010, history
11. Septembers of Shiraz ~ by Dalia Sofer, 2007, fiction
12. The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah ~ by Ellen Frankel, 1996, religion
13. Genesis: A New Translation of the Classic Bible Stories ~ by Stephen Mitchell, 1996, religion
14. In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis ~ by Karen Armstrong, 1996, religion
15. Genesis: Soap Opera with a Twist ~ by Bonnie Setliffe Jacobs, 1992, religion
16. From Jesus to Christianity: How Four Generations of Visionaries and Storytellers Created the New Testament and Christian Faith ~ by L. Michael White, 2004, religion
17. House of Sand and Fog ~ by Andre Dubus III, 1999, fiction
18. The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts ~ by Richard Peck, 2004, YA fiction (Indiana)
19. Steal Away Home ~ by Lois Ruby, 1994, YA historical fiction (Kansas)
20. California Blue ~ by David Klass, 1994, YA fiction (California)
21. Out of Time ~ by Caroline B. Cooney, 1996, YA fiction
22. Prisoner of Time ~ by Caroline B. Cooney, 1998, YA fiction
23. Whatever Happened to Janie? ~ by Caroline B. Cooney, 1993, YA fiction
24. Face to Face ~ by Marion Dane Bauer, 1991, YA fiction
25. South of Resurrection ~ by Jonis Agee, 1997, short stories
26. Big Stone Gap ~ by Adriana Trigiani, 2000, fiction
27. The Lady and the Unicorn ~ by Tracy Chevalier, 2004, fiction
28. The Post-American World ~ by Fareed Zakaria, 2008, history
29. Rabbi Paul ~ by Bruce Chilton, 2004, religion
30. Destiny Disrupted ~ by Tamim Ansary, 2009, history
31. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman ~ by Mary Wollstonecraft, 1792, women's studies
32. Herland ~ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, women's studies

Super moon

I'm posting this while looking at the full moon, dubbed a super moon in today's online articles.  It's yellow, like this photo I found online, but it doesn't seem all that big to me.  I'm about to leave, to go around the mountain to a spot here the moon should appear over an edge of the mountain much like this.  If I get a good photo, I'll add it to this post, later.

These last two photos are not very good, but from halfway up the side of Lookout Mountain I could see the lights of Chattanooga below and a bit of the mountain on the right.

Book Beginnings ~ for a queen

Today's quote is from the beginning of Queen of the Underworld, a 2006 novel by Gail Godwin.

"Now I had graduated on this bright June Saturday in 1959 and few were the obstacles left between me and my getaway train to Miami -- obstacles that nevertheless must be cunningly surmounted."

This isn't particularly exciting, but the reason I got the book from the library still held:  Gail Godwin is an excellent writer, and the book would probably draw me in.

This meme is hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages. Share the first sentence or two of the book you are reading. Then, share your impressions of that beginning. Click this link to see what others say about the books they are reading this week.

Monday ~ reading report

Books read last week

• Sing You Home ~ by Jodi Picoult, 2011, fiction (Rhode Island), 9.5/10
• I Am the Cheese ~ by Robert Cormier, 1977, YA fiction (Vermont), 7/10

Books currently reading

• The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears ~ by Dinaw Mengestu, 2007, fiction
• Made in America : An Informal History of the English Language in the United States ~ by Bill Bryson, 1994, essays 
• USA ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 1999, history
• The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah ~ by Ellen Frankel, 1996, religion
  

Books waiting in the wings

• Every Visible Thing ~ by Lisa Carey, 2006, fiction
• Queen of the Underworld ~ by Gail Godwin, 2006, fiction
• A Doll's House ~ by Hendrik Ibsen, 1879 (1993 edition), women's studies
• From Jesus to Christianity: How Four Generations of Visionaries and Storytellers Created the New Testament and Christian Faith ~ by L. Michael White, 2004, religion
• House of Sand and Fog ~ by Andre Dubus III, 1999, fiction

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  It's "where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list."

Weight a minute!

I lost two pounds in one month!  My vet was surprised.  That's a tenth of my total weight, in one month!  Remember when I told you I was suffering?  My diet started the day before.  I hate dieting.

Kiki, a hungry cat, signing off

Book Beginnings ~ Sing You Home

Today's book beginnings is from Jodi Picoult's latest novel, Sing You Home (2011).

"One sunny, crisp Saturday in September when I was seven years old, I watched my father drop dead.  I was playing with my favorite doll on the stone wall that bordered our driveway while he mowed the lawn.  One minute he was mowing, and the next, he was facefirst in the grass as the mower propelled itself in slow motion down the hill of our backyard."

Wow!  A visually gripping and powerful image!  I wanted to keep reading, of course.  Zoe, the main character, is a music therapist.  I'm really enjoying what I've read so far.

"Every life has a soundtrack. ... If you ask me, music is the language of memory" (p. 5).

This meme is hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages. Share the first sentence or two of the book you are reading. Then, share your impressions of that beginning. Click this link to see what others say about the books they are reading this week.

You may be a bookaholic ... (#8)

... if bookstore owners smile when they see you come in the door.

To see all my bookaholic posts, click here:  You may be a bookaholic

Books have a domino effect

Watching this (compliments of Marg, the Intrepid Reader) made me think of the domino effect of books I read.  I read a book, like it, and promptly find something...

1. like it
2. by the same author
3. from the bibliography in the back of the book

And the same with the next book, and the next, and the next.  Like falling dominoes, right?

Monday ~ read, reading, and about to read

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  It's "where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list."

Books read last week

• What on Earth Have I Done? ~ by Robert Fulghum, 2007, essays, 8/10
• Original Sinners: Why Genesis Still Matters ~ by John R. Coats, 2009, religion, 9/10
• The Strange Case of Origami Yoda ~ by Tom Angleberger, 2010, children's, 9/10
• Joy School ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 1997, fiction, 7/10

Books currently reading

• Made in America : An Informal History of the English Language in the United States ~ by Bill Bryson, 1994, essays
  
• Genesis: A New Translation of the Classic Bible Stories ~ by Stephen Mitchell, 1996, religion 
• The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah ~ by Ellen Frankel, 1996, religion
• Genesis: Soap Opera with a Twist ~ by Bonnie Setliffe Jacobs, 1992, religion 
• USA ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 1999, history

Books waiting in the wings

• Sing You Home ~ by Jodi Picoult, 2011, fiction