Book a Week in 2012 - week 45

[-M-]

From Ideal Bookshelf:

 

The books that we choose to keep and display—let alone read—can say a lot about who we are and how we see ourselves. In My Ideal Bookshelf, one hundred leading cultural figures, including writers Chuck Klosterman, Jennifer Egan, and Michael Chabon, musicians Patti Smith and Thurston Moore, chefs and food writers Alice Waters and Mark Bittman, and fashion designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, reveal the books that matter to them most—books that reflect their obsessions and ambitions and in many cases helped them find their way in the world.

 

Original paintings by artist Jane Mount showcase the selections, with colorful, hand-lettered book spines and occasional objets d’art from the contributors’ personal bookshelves. The paintings are accompanied by first-person commentary drawn from interviews with editor Thessaly La Force, which touch on everything from the choice of books to becoming a writer to surprising sources of inspiration. This exquisite collection provides rare insight into the creative process and artistic development of today’s most intriguing writers, innovators, and visionaries.

If you're a reader, you will love this book -- your wish list will grow, as will your TBR pile. You will engage in a conversation with each contributor -- even if just to exclaim inwardly, Oh! I have that, too! or to furrow your brow, Really? And you will labor over your own "ideal bookshelf."

 

For that last bit, I began a separate thread.

[dangermom]

I remember E tickets, so don't feel lonely.

 

 

Me too! I grew up in Southern CA, and I had a great-aunt in Anaheim. We went to Disneyland every year. There were always half-used books of tickets in my mom's desk--the E ones would be all gone and there would be all these A and B tickets left.

 

The best time we ever had was when it started raining. The park emptied out like magic, but there were free ponchos! So we stayed and went on everything.

[Stacia]

.

[Storm Bay]

Having given up on Three Strong Women (evidently, my recommendation didn't pique anyone's interest, even though I'm sure that at least some of you Russian novel readers would enjoy it as it is superbly written), I'm now reading The Coward's Tale, but I'm only a few chapters in. So far, so good. It takes place in a fictional Welsh town & has a lot of colourful characters.

 

 

I also started A Room With a View and the déjà vu is convincing me that I've read it before. But since I don't recall how it goes, I'll continue. Senility begins to set in, I see.

 

This is senility;)? Then I've been living in the land of delusion--I thought when that happened to me it was because it had been so many years since I read a novel that I'd just forgotten, just like all the trig did so well in back in high school.

[Violet Crown]

Well, but while I've forgotten what was in a book, I've never before forgotten that I'd read a certain book at all. Just like while I don't remember a blessed thing from high school math, I do remember that I passed Calculus.

[Jane in NC]

 

This is senility;)? Then I've been living in the land of delusion--I thought when that happened to me it was because it had been so many years since I read a novel that I'd just forgotten, just like all the trig did so well in back in high school.

 

Well, but while I've forgotten what was in a book, I've never before forgotten that I'd read a certain book at all. Just like while I don't remember a blessed thing from high school math, I do remember that I passed Calculus.

 

I blame it all on pregnancy. I had a fabulous memory until I became a mother...

[Stacia]

I finished Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology, ed. by Amy Sonnie. I read it in honor of Banned/Challenged book week this year.

 

Overall, I think the topic is important & I enjoyed reading about the various contributors as much (or perhaps more than) the various writings/art that were included. Much of the writing is straightforward, raw, real -- about prejudice, love, hate, understanding, misunderstanding, uncertainty, & certainty... the road of life. A few pieces stood out above the others; much more was the style of what you would read in a high school or perhaps college-level literary magazines. I think the feelings & topics encompassed are the impact of this work (vs. the actual writing/art itself). As far as it having been a "banned" work -- really, it's not explicit. Yes, there is cursing, there is reference to queers (and many other terms, much of which is included in a glossary), there is talk of loving others. But, explicit? No. Filled with love, rage, anger, triumph, the good & bad? Yes.

 

Personally, I would love to hear a follow-up on the writers & artists in this book to see how life is going for each one of them a dozen years after the publication of this anthology.

 

Also, I have now started In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson. I'm reading this one for my book club.

 

As far as forgetting books, I usually remember ones I've read. Well... except for Love in the Time of Cholera, which I had started, stopped, promptly forgot (I think because I hated it so), then read years later & kept having a weird feeling of deja vu for the entire first half of the book (until I figured out why). :tongue_smilie::lol:

 

And, hey, I've now reached 62 books, which is how many I managed to read last year! Kind of fun to reach last year's number....

--------------------------

My Goodreads Page

Completed the Europa Challenge Cappuccino Level (at least 6 Europa books: #s 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, & 21 on my list).

Completed Robin's Read a Russian Author in April Challenge (#24 & #26 on my list).

Completed Rosie's Local Reading Challenge (#56 on my list).

Completed Banned/Challenged Books Week Challenge (#62 on my list).

 

My rating system: 5 = Love; 4 = Pretty awesome; 3 = Decently good; 2 = Ok; 1 = Don't bother (I shouldn't have any 1s on my list as I would ditch them before finishing)...

 

2012 Books Read:

Books I read January-June 2012

37. Clutter Busting Your Life by Brooks Palmer (3 stars)

38. The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje (5 stars)

39. The Colors of Infamy by Albert Cossery (3 stars)

40. Osa and Martin: For the Love of Adventure by Kelly Enright (3 stars)

 

41. Hexed by Kevin Hearne (4 stars)

42. Soulless by Gail Carriger (3 stars)

43. The Hoarder in You by Dr. Robin Zasio (3 stars)

44. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (2 stars)

45. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (4 stars)

46. The Nazi Séance by Arthur J. Magida (2 stars)

47. Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballentine & Tee Morris (3 stars)

48. Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi (5 stars)

49. Thud! by Terry Pratchett (3 stars)

50. Wide Open by Nicola Barker (3 stars)

 

51. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (4 stars)

52. The Merciful Women by Federico Andahazi (3 stars)

53. The Vampyre by John William Polidori (3 stars)

54. Living in a Nutshell by Janet Lee (3 stars)

55. Dracula by Bram Stoker (4 stars)

56. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (3 stars)

57. Visit Sunny Chernobyl by Andrew Blackwell (4 stars)

58. John Dies at the End by David Wong (4 stars)

59. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (4 stars)

60. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (3 stars)

 

61. To Hellholes and Back: Bribes, Lies, & the Art of Extreme Tourism by Chuck Thompson (3 stars)

62. Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology, ed. by Amy Sonnie (3 stars)

Edited September 11, 2014 by Stacia

[Lady Florida.]

I really need to pay closer attention to how I place holds at the library. Two books I had on hold became available within a day of each other. I decided to go ahead and read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The other book, a mystery, can wait.

 

I never heard of Henrietta Lacks. I don't know when they started teaching about her in schools, but since I graduated from college in 1977, I'm pretty sure it was after that. I'm finding it fascinating.

 

 

As Sawyer says, ""Helluva book. It's about bunnies."

 

 

 

 

Sigh. I miss Sawyer.

[Robin M]

From Ideal Bookshelf:

The books that we choose to keep and display—let alone read—can say a lot about who we are and how we see ourselves. In My Ideal Bookshelf, one hundred leading cultural figures, including writers Chuck Klosterman, Jennifer Egan, and Michael Chabon, musicians Patti Smith and Thurston Moore, chefs and food writers Alice Waters and Mark Bittman, and fashion designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, reveal the books that matter to them most—books that reflect their obsessions and ambitions and in many cases helped them find their way in the world.

Original paintings by artist Jane Mount showcase the selections, with colorful, hand-lettered book spines and occasional objets d’art from the contributors’ personal bookshelves. The paintings are accompanied by first-person commentary drawn from interviews with editor Thessaly La Force, which touch on everything from the choice of books to becoming a writer to surprising sources of inspiration. This exquisite collection provides rare insight into the creative process and artistic development of today’s most intriguing writers, innovators, and visionaries.

If you're a reader, you will love this book -- your wish list will grow, as will your TBR pile. You will engage in a conversation with each contributor -- even if just to exclaim inwardly, Oh! I have that, too! or to furrow your brow, Really? And you will labor over your own "ideal bookshelf."

 

For that last bit, I began a separate thread.

 

5 minutes. Thought I'd take 5 minutes, drop in and then off to do lessons. *sigh* Now you've got my brain going in a totally different direction. Thank you. This is really neat and I have to give it some thought. So many books to choose from. I'm adding the book to my Christmas wish list.

[Robin M]

And, hey, I've now reached 62 books, which is how many I managed to read last year! Kind of fun to reach last year's number....

:party:

 

Woohoo! congrats on reaching the goal and now you are going to surpass it.

[Stacia]

Woohoo! congrats on reaching the goal and now you are going to surpass it.

Thanks. But, I'll have to read a few more anyway if I want to surpass my page count for last year. :tongue_smilie::lol: (All these neat little things that goodreads figures out for you!)

 

I've started another book (that I think I originally -- but I don't totally remember :001_huh: -- requested for part of my October 'spooky' reading, but it just came in at the library): The Extra Large Medium by Helen Slavin.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

. 

 

[Violet Crown]

duplicate

[Violet Crown]

:hurray: That's great! I wouldn't have a clue how many books I've read if not for 52 in 52 (which is the reason I started keeping track and blogging) :D

 

I hit last year's number about a month ago and now feel like I need to slow down already! or I am going to make the number too high to surpass next year. :lol:

 

That's the real reason I'm only up to 15. Sandbagging. Yeah, that's it. :D

 

Congrats on 62!

[ladydusk]

We listened to two audiobooks on our recent trip to Hilton Head. Books 45 and 46 ... I'm glad to be caught up again. And ahead of the two last years' total of 41.

 

The Hobbit was a big hit with everyone. Rob Inglis as a reader was wonderful.

 

Black Beauty was liked by kids better than adults. But we all learned some.

 

2012 Books Reviews

1. Lit! by Tony Reinke

2. Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic

3. Words to Eat By by Ina Lipkowitz

4. How to Tutor Your Own Child by Marina Koestler Ruben

5. Evening in the Palace of Reason by James R Gaines (spectacular)

6. The Cat of Bubastes by GA Henty (Audio from Librivox)

7. The Last Battle by C S Lewis (Audiobook)

8. A Praying Life by Paul E Miller

9. Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students by Christine Fonesca

10. Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody (fantastic read aloud)

11. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

12. The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis

13. How to Write a Sentence by Stanley Fish

14. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

15. The Rich Are Different by Susan Howatch

16. The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

17. Sylvester by Georgette Heyer

18. Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (great read aloud)

19. Sins of the Fathers by Susan Howatch (wow!)

20. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (very good)

21. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (favorite)

22. The Toll Gate by Georgette Heyer

23. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (audio book)

24. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (audio book)

25. Penmarric by Susan Howatch

26. Cashelmara by Susan Howatch

27. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

28. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

29. Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings

30. Magician's Gambit by David Eddings

31. Castle of Wizadry by David Eddings

32. Enchanter's End Game by David Eddings

33. Persuasion by Jane Austen

34. Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber (phenomenal)

35. A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle

36. My Man, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse

37. Right Ho, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse

38. The Summer of the Great-Grandmother by Madeleine L'Engle

39. Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

40. Never Gone by Laurel Garver

41. The Secret of Contentment by William B Barcley

42. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken

43. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

44. Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers

45. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (Audio Book read by Rob Inglis)

46. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (Librivox Recording)

[Stacia]

Dh & I saw the movie Cloud Atlas tonight. I recently read the book because I wanted to read it before seeing the movie.

 

The movie was well-worth seeing, esp. on a big screen -- such a huge, roving story w/ lovely sets & some great acting/costuming/makeup. The music is lovely. And, yet, in spite of the vastness & scope of the story, it really is a focus on individuals & individual actions.

 

I'd say it helps to have read the book first, but dh hadn't & was able to follow the movie pretty well. (Of course, I talked to him a lot about the book as I was reading it too.)

 

Really quite a lovely book & quite a lovely film.

[Robin M]

 

Link to week 46 - please continue conversation in new thread

[Storm Bay]

At first I didn't read this one closely, and then when I clicked on it I thought I'd see a list of what you'd have on your ideal bookshelf, but this is a book :blushing: . It looks intriguing.

 

From Ideal Bookshelf:

The books that we choose to keep and display—let alone read—can say a lot about who we are and how we see ourselves. In My Ideal Bookshelf, one hundred leading cultural figures, including writers Chuck Klosterman, Jennifer Egan, and Michael Chabon, musicians Patti Smith and Thurston Moore, chefs and food writers Alice Waters and Mark Bittman, and fashion designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, reveal the books that matter to them most—books that reflect their obsessions and ambitions and in many cases helped them find their way in the world.

Original paintings by artist Jane Mount showcase the selections, with colorful, hand-lettered book spines and occasional objets d’art from the contributors’ personal bookshelves. The paintings are accompanied by first-person commentary drawn from interviews with editor Thessaly La Force, which touch on everything from the choice of books to becoming a writer to surprising sources of inspiration. This exquisite collection provides rare insight into the creative process and artistic development of today’s most intriguing writers, innovators, and visionaries.

If you're a reader, you will love this book -- your wish list will grow, as will your TBR pile. You will engage in a conversation with each contributor -- even if just to exclaim inwardly, Oh! I have that, too! or to furrow your brow, Really? And you will labor over your own "ideal bookshelf."

 

For that last bit, I began a separate thread.