83. The Worst Thing I've Done by Ursula Hegi
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN, and stayed up too late last night to finish it. On the other hand, it was kind of an obvious story. It was very obvious how Annie felt about Mitch and Jake, and kind of weird how delusional she was about it. The characters were fully realized and interesting, but I just wanted to shake them sometimes.
And, here I am at my goal, with a whole month left for the year. Go me!
Now, if I can just get some more books off my TBR list before I buy even more books. I am not so delusional as to think that I am going to not buy anything until I read all the books I already own, but it would be nice to make a dent in the pile.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Books by ex-presidents
Well, only one.
I wondered as I read this book: how much of this was ghost written? On the one hand, why would a politician be a good writer? That's what speechwriters are for, right? On the other hand, this wasn't great writing. It was fine, it was easy to read, but it was pretty straightforward. Surely a reasonably intelligent person (which I believe describes Bill Clinton) could put a book like this together, maybe with some editorial help. But still, he's a busy guy, does he have time to write this book? Either way, it doesn't really change my feelings about this book (it's not like James' Frey's fictional memoir), but I do wonder.
82. Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World by Bill Clinton
This was a quick and easy read, basically a survey of several different effective charity efforts, both global and local. It was very inspiring, and I got several different ideas of things I could do to help others. There was a fair amount of self-promotion, but I imagine that is a hard habit to break after a lifetime in politics, and it clearly wasn't the main intent of the book.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Only 1 book away from my goal! I haven't really been that focused on the goal per se, but it does feel good to read as much as I did last year in 11 months. That means I can get in that many more books that I have waiting to be read. AND, I only bought 3 books this month, 2 of which were bibles that I will not read straight through, so my TBR list actually went down for a change! Woohoo!
I wondered as I read this book: how much of this was ghost written? On the one hand, why would a politician be a good writer? That's what speechwriters are for, right? On the other hand, this wasn't great writing. It was fine, it was easy to read, but it was pretty straightforward. Surely a reasonably intelligent person (which I believe describes Bill Clinton) could put a book like this together, maybe with some editorial help. But still, he's a busy guy, does he have time to write this book? Either way, it doesn't really change my feelings about this book (it's not like James' Frey's fictional memoir), but I do wonder.
82. Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World by Bill Clinton
This was a quick and easy read, basically a survey of several different effective charity efforts, both global and local. It was very inspiring, and I got several different ideas of things I could do to help others. There was a fair amount of self-promotion, but I imagine that is a hard habit to break after a lifetime in politics, and it clearly wasn't the main intent of the book.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Only 1 book away from my goal! I haven't really been that focused on the goal per se, but it does feel good to read as much as I did last year in 11 months. That means I can get in that many more books that I have waiting to be read. AND, I only bought 3 books this month, 2 of which were bibles that I will not read straight through, so my TBR list actually went down for a change! Woohoo!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
80, 81
80. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Very interesting. I am guessing this was early in Scalzi's career, since the writing was a bit juvenile at times, but the story was well-thought out and I enjoyed the characters. I am looking forward to reading the next books in the series.
81. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
I don't know where I got the idea that I wouldn't like Hemingway. I do see why we didn't read this in high school, though--the drinking! It never stops! This was an excellent book, though, and I am glad I read it.
I am currently reading Giving, by Bill Clinton, and I am most of the way through The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan. I brought TFM along to my parents' house for Thanksgiving, and ended up leaving it in my mother's minivan after a marathon day of shopping on Black Friday. I miss it, but not enough to make a special trip over to pick it up yet. It is a very interesting book, but it is really shocking to me how relevant it is to today's world. I mean, I thought we got over that, but we are seeing this whole return to homemaking now, too. I have even participated in it at times in my adult life. This is one of those books I have always heard about but never seemed to get around to reading; I am glad to be reading it now.
In other news, once I finish these two books, I will have hit my "goal" for the year. Since I have over a month left, I know I will pass it, and my semi-kidding stretch goal of 90 books seems totally possible. I am making a real effort to read some of the books on my TBR pile, without buying too many new books. That isn't too hard this time of year anyway, when I should be spending my money on gifts for other people, not on books that I don't even have enough shelves to store. I have my eye on some really cool shelves from Ikea, though--too bad I will have to drive to Chicago to get them! But, if I get the white ones, I can put them in my bedroom and paint a purple pattern on them to match my bedspread, and store lots more books. Maybe I can even get some of my boxes out of storage (if I hurry before I buy more).
Very interesting. I am guessing this was early in Scalzi's career, since the writing was a bit juvenile at times, but the story was well-thought out and I enjoyed the characters. I am looking forward to reading the next books in the series.
81. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
I don't know where I got the idea that I wouldn't like Hemingway. I do see why we didn't read this in high school, though--the drinking! It never stops! This was an excellent book, though, and I am glad I read it.
I am currently reading Giving, by Bill Clinton, and I am most of the way through The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan. I brought TFM along to my parents' house for Thanksgiving, and ended up leaving it in my mother's minivan after a marathon day of shopping on Black Friday. I miss it, but not enough to make a special trip over to pick it up yet. It is a very interesting book, but it is really shocking to me how relevant it is to today's world. I mean, I thought we got over that, but we are seeing this whole return to homemaking now, too. I have even participated in it at times in my adult life. This is one of those books I have always heard about but never seemed to get around to reading; I am glad to be reading it now.
In other news, once I finish these two books, I will have hit my "goal" for the year. Since I have over a month left, I know I will pass it, and my semi-kidding stretch goal of 90 books seems totally possible. I am making a real effort to read some of the books on my TBR pile, without buying too many new books. That isn't too hard this time of year anyway, when I should be spending my money on gifts for other people, not on books that I don't even have enough shelves to store. I have my eye on some really cool shelves from Ikea, though--too bad I will have to drive to Chicago to get them! But, if I get the white ones, I can put them in my bedroom and paint a purple pattern on them to match my bedspread, and store lots more books. Maybe I can even get some of my boxes out of storage (if I hurry before I buy more).
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
78, 79
78. And Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
Brilliant. The workers at this failing advertising agency become increasingly paranoid as layoffs get closer and closer to them personally. The ridiculous things that they do seem reasonable when they are in the thick of them, but when you pull back a bit, you wonder how intelligent people can find themselves in those situations. But, I can tell you that it happens all the time in big corporations. This was more insightful than I expected, and also hilarious.
79. The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs
I love A. J. Jacobs. He is clever and funny and interesting. This project, following the rules of the Bible as literally as possible, could have been done very poorly. I am not religious, but I don't want to read a book about someone making fun of religious people. But Jacobs was able to do this well and even learn a lot, despite not changing many of his beliefs about God or religion.
Brilliant. The workers at this failing advertising agency become increasingly paranoid as layoffs get closer and closer to them personally. The ridiculous things that they do seem reasonable when they are in the thick of them, but when you pull back a bit, you wonder how intelligent people can find themselves in those situations. But, I can tell you that it happens all the time in big corporations. This was more insightful than I expected, and also hilarious.
79. The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs
I love A. J. Jacobs. He is clever and funny and interesting. This project, following the rules of the Bible as literally as possible, could have been done very poorly. I am not religious, but I don't want to read a book about someone making fun of religious people. But Jacobs was able to do this well and even learn a lot, despite not changing many of his beliefs about God or religion.
Monday, November 19, 2007
An odd trip to the bookstore
My trip to Border's today was odd for two reasons. First, I had a mission, and I did not deviate from it. I mean, sure, I looked longingly at several extraneous books, but I did not purchase any of them. The second odd thing? My mission was to purchase a Bible (actually, I ended up with two, but that still counts in my estimation, since they were different versions, but both were bibles).
I have been reading The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible lately. A. J. Jacobs was raised as a secular Jew who doesn't really practice any religion, but he decides to spend a year testing the Bible out, living by the rules in the Bible and investigating both Judaism and Christianity, although he doesn't go so far as to actually believe in Christ's divinity. The book is very funny, which I expected, but also deep. It also reminded me that, despite 13 years at my local Catholic schools, I am somewhat lacking in religious knowledge. This, even though I was a fairly devout Catholic for some time. Now, I find myself viewing all religion rather skeptically, and I am reading TYLB almost like a tourist, who doesn't recognize what Jacobs is describing at all from a first person perspective. Being deeply secular now, I seem to have repressed much of the religious knowledge that I used to possess.
I don't have any plans to start following the Bible's teachings, but I decided that reading the Bible might be a good idea. It's one thing to decide not to believe in God, and another to completely disavow any knowledge of what is arguably the most important and widely read book in our country. Much of our culture and English and American literature draw heavily on Biblical symbolism, to say the least about the Bible's impact. So, I went to get a Bible. I got a Catholic bible, because it has more books than the Protestant bibles, or the Hebrew bible (the portion that Judaism and Christianity share, that is)--the Apocrypha, as Protestants call them, or the Deuterocanonical books, as Catholics refer to them. I am scraping the bottom of that particular branch of my biblical knowledge there, but suffice to say, I wanted to read those books, too. I also got a King James version that was on the bargain book rack, because that is the most common version.
As a non-believer, I felt weird going to the cash register with two bibles. I can tell already that I will do my bible-reading at home. It's not that I am embarrassed to be seen reading it exactly, but rather that I don't want people seeing me reading it and making false assumptions about me. I wouldn't be insulted to be called a Christian, but it feels like lying to me to put out that image when it isn't true. And people do assume you are a Christian when they see you reading the bible. Today in the bookstore, I seriously considered buying God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, to even out my purchase, but I stopped myself.
So, I didn't go crazy at the bookstore (have I mentioned the over 100 books I already own that I have not read? Yes, I have? well, just a reminder here...), and I bought not one, but two bibles. A very odd trip for me, indeed.
I have been reading The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible lately. A. J. Jacobs was raised as a secular Jew who doesn't really practice any religion, but he decides to spend a year testing the Bible out, living by the rules in the Bible and investigating both Judaism and Christianity, although he doesn't go so far as to actually believe in Christ's divinity. The book is very funny, which I expected, but also deep. It also reminded me that, despite 13 years at my local Catholic schools, I am somewhat lacking in religious knowledge. This, even though I was a fairly devout Catholic for some time. Now, I find myself viewing all religion rather skeptically, and I am reading TYLB almost like a tourist, who doesn't recognize what Jacobs is describing at all from a first person perspective. Being deeply secular now, I seem to have repressed much of the religious knowledge that I used to possess.
I don't have any plans to start following the Bible's teachings, but I decided that reading the Bible might be a good idea. It's one thing to decide not to believe in God, and another to completely disavow any knowledge of what is arguably the most important and widely read book in our country. Much of our culture and English and American literature draw heavily on Biblical symbolism, to say the least about the Bible's impact. So, I went to get a Bible. I got a Catholic bible, because it has more books than the Protestant bibles, or the Hebrew bible (the portion that Judaism and Christianity share, that is)--the Apocrypha, as Protestants call them, or the Deuterocanonical books, as Catholics refer to them. I am scraping the bottom of that particular branch of my biblical knowledge there, but suffice to say, I wanted to read those books, too. I also got a King James version that was on the bargain book rack, because that is the most common version.
As a non-believer, I felt weird going to the cash register with two bibles. I can tell already that I will do my bible-reading at home. It's not that I am embarrassed to be seen reading it exactly, but rather that I don't want people seeing me reading it and making false assumptions about me. I wouldn't be insulted to be called a Christian, but it feels like lying to me to put out that image when it isn't true. And people do assume you are a Christian when they see you reading the bible. Today in the bookstore, I seriously considered buying God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, to even out my purchase, but I stopped myself.
So, I didn't go crazy at the bookstore (have I mentioned the over 100 books I already own that I have not read? Yes, I have? well, just a reminder here...), and I bought not one, but two bibles. A very odd trip for me, indeed.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
75-77, TBR List, and Pace
75. I Am American (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert
Absolutely hilarious. I am so impressed with people who can write to ostensibly portray one message while clearly portraying another. This book also included the transcript of Colbert's speech at the White House Correspondents' dinner last year, which was absolutely brilliant.
76. A Taste for Death by P.D. James
Excellent book. The end was shocking, I actually found myself responding to it out loud, without meaning to--good thing I was alone in my car. The mystery was clever, and even when you found out who did it, it was suspenseful. I liked the new character of Inspector Kate Miskin, and I thought he development of both her and Chief Inspector Massingham was very well done. There were several places when I thought James was headed for something trite and stereotypical, but she did not.
77. Devices and Desires by P.D. James
James gets better with every book. I would have liked this a little better if Rickards had been able to keep up with Dalgleish a little bit more, but the story overall was very satisfying. I really like the way that James doesn't feel the need to explain every little thing in total detail, and the way none of her characters has the full picture of what happened. I do like the traditional mysteries where the whole group gathers in the drawing room and the whole thing is explained for a fun read, but this is much more realistic, nuanced and interesting.
I can't wait to read more James' books, although I am thinking I should read some of the 100+ books I already own first. I think I am going to update my TBR list soon so I can see exactly how many books I already have. Maybe that will actually deter me from going to the bookstore and spending all that money. Probably not for more than a month or so, but maybe longer. Hope springs eternal and all that.
In order to match my pace from last year, I only need to read 6 books between now and the end of the year. I was only at 73 books this time last year, and I hardly read anything in December, so I am feeling pretty sanguine about passing up my goal. Especially since hardly reading anything in December means I finished 4 books last December. I am starting to get more interested in finishing unpacking my apartment (a seemingly never-ending task, but the piles of boxes do seem to be diminishing, as long as you don't look in too many closets), and maybe doing some crafts for Christmas and general decorating, but I still have been keeping up a good pace lately, so I am thinking 83 is an easily reachable goal. I think that my stretch goal will be 90, but I have no real pressure on myself to reach that goal. I am just having fun with it.
Absolutely hilarious. I am so impressed with people who can write to ostensibly portray one message while clearly portraying another. This book also included the transcript of Colbert's speech at the White House Correspondents' dinner last year, which was absolutely brilliant.
76. A Taste for Death by P.D. James
Excellent book. The end was shocking, I actually found myself responding to it out loud, without meaning to--good thing I was alone in my car. The mystery was clever, and even when you found out who did it, it was suspenseful. I liked the new character of Inspector Kate Miskin, and I thought he development of both her and Chief Inspector Massingham was very well done. There were several places when I thought James was headed for something trite and stereotypical, but she did not.
77. Devices and Desires by P.D. James
James gets better with every book. I would have liked this a little better if Rickards had been able to keep up with Dalgleish a little bit more, but the story overall was very satisfying. I really like the way that James doesn't feel the need to explain every little thing in total detail, and the way none of her characters has the full picture of what happened. I do like the traditional mysteries where the whole group gathers in the drawing room and the whole thing is explained for a fun read, but this is much more realistic, nuanced and interesting.
I can't wait to read more James' books, although I am thinking I should read some of the 100+ books I already own first. I think I am going to update my TBR list soon so I can see exactly how many books I already have. Maybe that will actually deter me from going to the bookstore and spending all that money. Probably not for more than a month or so, but maybe longer. Hope springs eternal and all that.
In order to match my pace from last year, I only need to read 6 books between now and the end of the year. I was only at 73 books this time last year, and I hardly read anything in December, so I am feeling pretty sanguine about passing up my goal. Especially since hardly reading anything in December means I finished 4 books last December. I am starting to get more interested in finishing unpacking my apartment (a seemingly never-ending task, but the piles of boxes do seem to be diminishing, as long as you don't look in too many closets), and maybe doing some crafts for Christmas and general decorating, but I still have been keeping up a good pace lately, so I am thinking 83 is an easily reachable goal. I think that my stretch goal will be 90, but I have no real pressure on myself to reach that goal. I am just having fun with it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)