I have been doing a certain amount of Amazon work of late. I have a double excuse, Xmas is approaching and so purchases MUST be made, also I have this course I am working on and the students will have to be reading books, plus I am teaching some writing skills. (EEEKKKK I am ENTIRELY unqualified!) SO, some purchasing has happened.
I have also gotten tired of not having books around that I am dying to read.
Darling Books Beth kicked it all off with a fantastic gift of a BAG of books that I took without even reviewing them. I SO needed to read!
Then I've been doing some shopping, in BCN I have found a couple of books, on the trip to Wales...I went back on the plane with books stuffed into my back pockets, down my sleeves, tucked into my belt and down my pant legs. I kid you not. They said we could only bring one bag on as carry on! I had a knapsack with a meager change or two of clothing. Even I cannot fit approximately 40 paperbacks into one knapsack with all that, but I'd be D*MNED if I left even one behind. It was a relief to get past the luggage police and put some of it back into a plastic bag, let me tell you!
I am such a weirdo.
Anyway, I have been contentedly reading up a storm of late. You see I am a fast and voracious reader, so if I only have a few books on hand I self-strangle on the reading, but now!! The only good thing about sitting up all night was that I finished a novel each way.
Let me just tell you what I've been up to because I am SO excited!
I am currently reading:
Mort by Terry Pratchett, and to my fantastic fabulous and brilliant Aunt...thank you endlessly for introducing me to these!
Writing for Story by Jon Franklin, a good read, as it should be. This one is for the course, but I am enjoying it whatever the reason.
Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye. I have chosen this for the course and I am kind of fearful of reading it. I know it's good, but I also know it's going to be hard.
Housekeeping by Marilyn Robinson, ditto for the course, I have to read it fast as it has gotten mixed reviews and if it is terrible I have to know soon so I can axe it from the course and substitute something else. I have two contenders,
Black Boy by Richard Wright
and
The Warrior Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston
I am also looking forward to:
The Art of the Personal Essay: an anthology from the Classical Era to the Present
Roald Dahl, Tales of the Unexpected
Charlie Connely, Attention All Shipping: A journey round the Shipping Forecast
Salman Rushdie: Midnght's Children and Enchantress Florence
Paul Thereaux, Dark Star Safari: overland from Cairo to Cape Town
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus
Olver Sacks, Musicophilia - I am seriously excited about this one. One of those books you gasp when you see and snatch from the bookstore shelves in case someone else grabs it!
Anthony Woodward and Robert Penn, The Wrong Kind of Snow
Camilla Gibbs, The Petty Details of So and So's Life
Haley Shogren and White, Environmental Economics in Theory and Practice, as heavy and dull as it sounds, but I am fascinated.
Carolyn Jourdan, Heart in the Right Place
Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything. Seems like it would make a great audio book for my summer commutes.
Driving Sideways by Fess Riley
Running with Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, I did see the movie first, now I'd like to read the book
Red Plaid Shirt by Diane Schoemperlen
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
All that is Solid Melts into Air, but Marshall Berman
Haruki Murikami in Catalan
Kevin Crossley-Holland, Short! A book of VERY short stories. (for teaching story writing to students)
that'll do for now.
There are a few more, but I am not quite as excited about them...and there are so many more!
Ooooohhh it is so nice to have good books, I even took one with me to walk the dog.....he led me today, that's for sure, till we got to the mountains and the views were their usual beautiful selves and a certain fuzzy someone needed to have pine cones pitched for him.
I am developing quite the arm I have to say, and I haven't murdered or fired the architect, yet, so all is well I suppose! Could they move any slower?????
11 comments:
A list of books to read! One of the most satisfying things in life. My life, anyway. ;) Thanks be to libraries, used book stores, gifts, Amazon & Chapters. All this and Christmas coming too! More books!
Ready to go (almost) on The Bluest Eye.
If you do end up needing an alternate, Black Boy by Richard Wright is a great book – read it in high school.
I love anything by Kevin Crossley Holland SO much. And Roald Dahl, of course. And Water for Elephants. Still one of my favourite books. A few others on this list that I liked too--a very lovely list. Enjoy!!
William Bell is a Canadian author with some great short stories in "just some stuff I wrote," for young adults.
Yikes! another list. Not sure I will get through those over xmas, last xmas I 'shotgunned' the twilight books... dreadful I know, but once I started I couldn't stop and it helped avoiding talking to musty relatives that kept arriving.
Word Verification: Godwarq. Use this in a sentence: "Your new haircut looks Godwarq!"
I read Housekeeping this week and liked it. Review to follow, if I can get it together.
Maybe you could pelt the architect with pine cones to hurry him up. Just a thought.
How can you possibly read all those books at once???
Wow. That is some reading list. I'm so busy right now I'm having a tough time reading anything. It pains me.
Can I come sit on your boat while you read my book? I'll even read it to you! : )
Pleeeease???
Carolyn
"Heart in the Right Place"
Oh - NEVER fear Toni Morrison - she takes you on such a sweet sweet journey - even if sometimes painful...
and Salman Rushdie - oh the JOY!
enjoy enjoy enjoy!!
tell me your top 3 from that list and i will go get them..
(not quite enough time to digest a list of 20 or 40 unfortunately!)
PS - Michael Ondaatje?
Beth, the list is indeed making my life a happier place to be...though making me rather anxious to get on with reading! To much work to do sometimes, it gets in the way. Thought the vacations are coming up! Planning some trips.
Mmichele! thank you so much...always good to find another Canadian author to promote!
Lynda, but it is so nice to have the lists, no? I have to admit that I am delighted that Eldest isn't interested in the whole twilight thing. They seem, well, dumb. That said, I haven't read them.
JG, good to know that you liked it, I was worried about that one. I am only reading sort of five at the moment, not the whole list, though I will admit that I prefer to read one book and then the next, I just got kind of overexcited and started several at once.
Hula, I am genuinely sad about that. I am also sure it will pass....
Carolyn! WOW! Thank you so much for dropping by! I would be delighted to meet up with you some time and talk about books....sure! Made my day hearing from you.
Ashka, There is a list on the sidebar, that is NOT in order, and includes a link to a comment list that some of the folks to stumble by here sent me too.....Teaching as a Subversive Activity is one I have long wished to read and never found...though I've never looked all that hard either......Pretty much anything there would be great....Glad that the Morrison won't be too brutal. I hope. You're tougher than me on these things though.
Aska! According to Carla at another blog (Feathered Fibres) Kingsoliver has a new book out! OOOOooooohhhhh, pleeeeease!!! Lacuna or something like that....
hint hint hint
Loved the Oliver Sacks and the Bryson (read it twice) but haven't read most of the others. Am currently torn between Wolf Hall, the new Colin Cotterill, Sebastian Faulks and Orlando Figes very heavy (weight not reading) Russian revolution book. Too many books, not enough time!!!!
Weirdly, I know a family member of the person the Bryson book is dedicated to. odd odd odd....It is so true about too many books and not enough time. Goodness. I may have to look into some of those authors, trust your judgement I do.
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