Frankenstein

I started reading Frankenstein first. I'll get to the La Guin. Its kind of fitting that I read Mary Shelley right now. I'm getting sick and 19th century Gothic literature is just what I need right now. The Left Hand of Darkness will be good for while I'm recovering. I'm also gradually reading Cure for the Common Life. Not so much because I feel like I need a cure or because I feel like I'm worthless but I really like it. Its not just for "losers", its also a good way to remind yourself that your talents are not your own and you should be using them to further God's kingdom.

My October Books

So I've kind of given up on my old list. Some of them I started and just couldn't get into, others I just am choosing not to read right now. Oh well. There is a new list though. October is here and that means scary movies, too much candy, and dark books. I'm gradually making my way into the "scary" books. Here is my list in order of how I will read them:

• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

I'm looking forward to this month. I like darker literature.

srsly straying! hard core straying!

I couldn't do Courtesan. I'm sure it's great but with this wonderful weather we've been having (its srsly feels like Fall) I had to read Time Traveler's Wife. The reason this is such serious straying is because I've already read this book. But honestly, I had to. And that's final. lol. It just works so well with the weather. I needed a little bit of a love story anyway.

Straying From the List

I just finished Emily Griffin's Something Borrowed and Something Blue. I had a hard time getting through the first half of Something Blue because it was so hard to like the main character. As she changes the book gets easier to read. Now I'm on to Courtesan by Diane Haeger. Its Historical Fiction so it should be pretty amazing. We'll see.

Henry David Thoreau

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business.

Henry David Thoreau

That is all.

Its Been A While

I know I haven't written in a while. I actually forgot the password to this blog. lol. I'm back now. I have strayed. I've been reading things that are not on my list. Oh well, I guess. At least I'm reading. Of the things I've read, Eat, Pray, Love is my favorite. Please read it. Its amazing! It will change your life. Seriously.

Persuasion- more side tracks

I talked to Anika and she encouraged me to read more things that pertain to my life and less novels. I checked out a few books at Borders and came home and found them on Amazon. I just finished Persuasion and it got me in a Jane Austen mood so I'm reading Sense and Sensibility while I wait to get Eat, Pray, Love and Cure for the Common Life. Brianne recommended The Irresistable Revolution so I'm going to read that one, too. I'll keep you posted.

The Public Library

The other day I picked up a new library card, since I haven't had one in almost a decade!


That is all.

I've been away and I went way off course

So I actually went on to read The Saffron Kitchen instead. I loved it. Its not in my top ten but its worth picking up a copy, especially if you love Southwest Asia as much as I do (I've decided to stop calling it The Middle East- that's not really what it is...). It took me longer than expected to read it because I've been too busy. (As a result I know have a ridiculous infection.) Natali let me borrow her copy of The Kite Runner. When I'm done with it I promise to get back on track. I also picked up a couple more books today: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LaGuin so that I can have a better knowledge base of Science-Fiction and The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis which is the first book of the Chronicles of Narnia series. I want to read them again but the only copy I have contains all of them bound together and its huge and not easy to carry around. I also helped Rachel pick out a couple books for her fishing trip this next week. She bought Memoirs of a Geisha and Salem's Lot. That's all for now. I'll try to keep you better updated.

Amazon? Amazon.

People ask me all the time where I find my books and how it is that I get my text books at such great prices. Amazon. "Amazon?" Yes. Amazon. I love finding old editions of text books (usually the only things that change are the chapter organization and the number of editors) at ridiculous prices. You know what else I love? Wish List. I'm not sure who thought of this wonderous thing first but God bless them! I have talked before of my Border's Syndrome and this eleviates a lot of the pain I feel in my wallet. I always feel a fear that if I don't buy a book the moment I see it I will forget about it and that is a great loss. But- there is the wish list. I don't always buy my books on amazon (I want to save the books stores! I love the book stores!) but I can look through my wish list before heading to Border's or Barnes and Noble for a better idea of what to buy. I love that I can edit the wich list at any time and tell them what I already own. I love recommendations, as well. Books that otherwise would never have heard of or seen are now available to me. I love Amazon. Partly for the huge savings on text books (I once got a $70 history text for $5!) and partly for the wish list/recommendations.

DONE!

I finally finished the Pink Carnation. I'm glad that's over! ONWARD! Tonight or tomorrow I intend to begin reading Persuasion. Next week is Spring Break so maybe I can get a little more reading done then, too.

Book Sales

Does anyone know a good place in Riverside County, Ca, to sell used books?

Another Example

Yet another example of books bringing people together. (Okay- so I admit, that sounds cheesy.) I went to Borders today to read the missing pages of the stupid book I'm reading and ran into Matt Cash. It was interesting running into a fellow Sandals attendee while out and about. Yeah- I'm a little passionate about reading. (I blame Reading Rainbow.)

The Supreme Annoyance

Today I encountered every reader's nightmare. I'm reading a book that I think is a bit dumb (despite being written by a Harvard Grad School student) but I still want to know what happens. I set page goals for myself to get through this book quickly. At one point I realized that about 120 pages gets repeated in the middle of this particular edition. Whatever. I can skip over it. It bothers me but, oh well. Then I get to page 262. I get to the end of the page... and... then... what? That doesn't work with what she just said! You can't randomly interject people into a seen if they weren't there before! Entrance is needed! Dear God! Then I look up to the top of the page. 327? No. No! NO!!! Yes.... 65 pages of my story are GONE!!!!!! Poof! Not included. Why do you need to know what happens? Ugh! I was so wanting to get through this book and onto the next one. Now I have to go to the library and hope they have this book. And I can't take it back to Borders because I don't have the receipt and I took the sticker off of the back. GRRR! Onto another book for the weekend. The Pirate book is short so maybe I'll with that one since I can most likely finish it before going to the library on Monday.

Reading List Revised and Update

I'm already ahead of the game. I am really happy about this. The pusher in me, though, is forcing me to add to the list. Here is the list of books I wanted to finish this year along with the add-ons and new additions.

1. Atonement by Ian McEwan
2. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
3. That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton
4. 1984 by George Orwell
5. About a Boy by Nick Hornby
6. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Wellig
7. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
8. Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists & Pirates! In an Adventure With Ahab (2 novels, 1 volume) by Gideon Defoe
9. The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther
10. The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery
11. Persuasion by Jane Austin
12. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
13. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants By Ann Brashares (re-read)
14. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 3 (I can't remember the secondary title now) by Ann Brashares
16. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares
17. The Mask of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig
18. The Deception of the Emerald Ring By Lauren Willig
19. Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder
20. Mansfeild Park by Jane Austin
21. Emma by Jane Austin
22. Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Floral Books

I started reading The Secret History of the Pink Carnation last night. I definitely feel that pull to read more of it and find out how things will play out. I love, love, love that it goes back and forth between the modern era with the story of Eloise Kelly and the past time of spies from the English government evading the French authorities and all the adventures that go along with it. One thing: I can already tell that I will completely annoyed with the way that the author has the 18th century characters speaking. They use modern language and sentence structure. I know its nit-picky but I do like this book. That one thing is annoying me though. After this I plan to continue with the series that this book is in. I might need a break from the weird speech, though. We'll see.

That Was Then, This Is Now

I was addicted to it and finished in two days. Did I like it? Nope. I was annoyed by it. It resolved nothing! I like a book that ends. I know that may sound odd but its true. By the end Bryon is still unsure of everything. It feels like the middle of the book, not the end. I hate that. Ugh. Well, at least I'm on track now. 12 books, 12 months. 3 months into the year and 3 books into the list.

Finally Finished

So I finally finished Atonement today. It took way too long. I kept losing it. (The actual book, not the story line.) I chose not to read the last section so that I can live out my blissful "ignorance." I've already seen the movie so I know how it ends really but I like it better this way. I'll be reading That Was Then, This Is Now next. Its short so hopefully I can finish this weekend. We'll see...

Philosophy-11

I love picking apart sentences but that class is just too slow for me. So I read in my philosophy class. I love it. I'm finally to the third section of Atonement. Hopefully, I'll finish it this week and can get going on my reading list. I love this book but I need to get a move on.

Books Can Bring Us Together

I have a two hour gap between classes this semester and have made a habit of getting coffee and a chicken wrap for lunch then going up to the quad to sit outside my philosophy class. I sit out there in the arcade reading and drinking tea. Its very nice. Today a guy approached me and asked me how I liked Atonement. I'm not a fan of strangers but he seemed nice so at first I humored him. Then we got to talking about books. We talked for about an hour. It was great! I love getting to talk about things I love and its a rare experience that someone will listen to my opinions. He even wrote down a few suggestions I had made. Sometimes strangers can make you feel better about your day.

Border's Syndrome

Every time I go to the plaza, I have to stop at Border's. Or really, anytime I see a book store, I have a very strong desire to go inside. Even worse is the compulsion to buy every book I see that has a remotely interesting cover or blurb. Sometimes, I want to buy everything I see. I call this Border's Syndrome.

Last night I was at Border's with James and I saw all these amazing books. I really need to save money so I can't afford to buy every book I see. Its funny but I can see thousands of beautiful clothes or just about anything really but books and music are so hard for me to pass up.

Atonement is coming along nicely. I'm hoping to have it finished in the next few days. Its nice to savor a book but I've been reading this book for over a month now. I saw the movie so I know what's coming which I think is kind of slowing me down.

Joy Luck

So I started and finished Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club last weekend. I loved it! My favorite thing about it is that even though the circumstances are different, I totally understand the "my mother is crazy and you have to watch what you say around her" syndrome. I also enjoyed the look at Chinese culture. (I love foreign countries; I want to live in one someday.) It helps that it was written by a Chinese woman. I think she knows a little more about living in the culture than most people.
I also found my copy of Atonement. Natali is reading it right now as well. Its like a momentary book club! :o)
Speaking of a book club... Anyone interested? I've always wanted to be in one but never knew anyone else who wanted to do it. Barnes and Noble offers them online but somehow that seems fake.

Reading List 2008

Here is a list of the books I want to finish this year:

1. Atonement by Ian McEwan
2. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
3. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
4. That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton
5. 1984 by George Orwell
6. About a Boy by Nick Hornby
7. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Wellig
8. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
9. Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists & Pirates! In an Adventure With Ahab (2 novels, 1 volume) by Gideon Defoe
10. The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther
11. The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery
12. Persuasion by Jane Austin

I also want to reread the second Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants because the movie comes out this summer. More about my progress later.

Great Idea!

So I have decided that I need a blogspot blog because otherwise I cannot comment on blogs. But what to blog about since I already have a personal blog and an art blog. BOOKS!!! So that's what I am going to do here.