tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261361632024-02-01T23:13:02.276-06:00Lissa Reads...Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.comBlogger291125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-30842937510378765232011-09-12T08:40:00.003-05:002011-09-12T08:43:06.147-05:00monthly catch up, as alwaysListening -- Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer 6 hours<br />Artemis Fowl" The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer 6 hours<br />Reading for book group -- A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute 1080 "pages" on my iphone in Ibooks -- or 279 pages in a print edition.Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-32466132861423988972011-08-08T08:45:00.004-05:002011-08-08T08:48:25.919-05:00reading in fits and startsDitched - galley on nook
<br />
<br />Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner 569 pages
<br />How Green was my valley by Richard Llewllen 497 pages
<br />Best Staged Plans by Claire Book - 7 hours
<br />Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich - 6.5 hours
<br />First 6 hours of More Information Than You Require by John Hodgeman, lost interest in the mole men junk. Who does that appeal to?
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<br />Skimming various books on decluttering and organization.
<br />Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-28380326041631778392011-06-27T08:51:00.002-05:002011-06-27T08:55:35.155-05:00june readingAccidental Tourist by Anne Tyler - 355 pages<br />This Girl is Different by J J Johnson - read a galley on the nook, 316 pages<br />Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter - 6.5 hoursLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-24585637993366428722011-05-25T12:00:00.002-05:002011-05-25T12:11:30.261-05:00may readingWinesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson 231 pages<br />Bellwether by Connie Willis 6.5 hours<br />Plugged by Eoin Colfer 277 pages<br /><br />maybe some other stuff. but maybe not.Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-9396166176361433602011-04-11T15:36:00.001-05:002011-04-11T15:46:55.947-05:00Birthday round upI am assuming I won't magically get to read much more before Thursday... best to do the math while I can... In the past year, (that I managed to keep track of) I read 6618 pages and listened to 60 hours of audiobooks. Grand book total was 29 books. I notice that magazines and also online news articles are getting more attention these days, both for their convenience, short attention span, and availabilty on my phone. I'm hoping to get netgalley set up on my iphone to access more content. I tried a nook but every time I have had a chance to pick it up, it has needed recharging. Here's hoping that I find some more fictional escapes in the coming year! Happy 33rd birthday to me :)Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-6116124269630354202011-04-11T15:28:00.002-05:002011-04-11T15:42:58.022-05:00Catching up those i missedI recently read <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1H815X44706J1.5077&menu=search&aspect=subtab24&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=m&ri=&term=walden&index=ALLTITL&aspect=subtab24&term=&index=AUTHOR&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=SUBJECT&term=&index=.LGP&term=&index=.AUD&term=&index=.VKW&x=0&y=0#focus">Walden</a> by Henry David Thoreau, which was first published in 1854. My first reaction was that it was all well and good for this Harvard educated single man to go live in a cabin by a lake for two years, but how could what he learned in the 1850's be relevant to my life in 21st century modern family suburbia? And, as you might have guessed, Walden is still being read and reread over 150 years after it was published because it remains wonderfully and shockingly relevant in modern times. This is not to say that Thoreau isn’t a bit controversial in his thinking. Here are some memorable quotes from Walden: Anti knick-knacks and collectibles "I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find that they required to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind was all undusted still, and threw them out the window in disgust." Anti comforts of society "I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion." Anti accumulation of stuff "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone." Anti pointless yet impressive buildings “Nations are possessed with an insane ambition to perpetuate the memory of themselves by the amount of hammered stone they leave ... One piece of good sense is more memorable than a monument as high as the moon.” Advocate of living deliberately “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. “ Advocate of simplifying life “In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.” As if to prove Walden’s relevance today, I then spotted an article called “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/business/08consume.html">But Will It Make You Happy</a>?” in this week’s New York Times. While no one in the New York Times article mentions moving to a cabin of solitude in the woods or even mentions Walden directly, one couple gets rid of most of their possessions and moves to a studio apartment, and a filmmaker moves to a trailer park near the beach. Almost everyone in the article has found greater happiness by simplifying their life, shopping and buying less, and focusing on natural experiences instead of possessions. Numerous research studies and psychologists are quoted with similar advice on simplifying and focusing on experiences, all ideas that Thoreau expounded on in Walden all those years ago. Check out <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1H815X44706J1.5077&menu=search&aspect=subtab24&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=m&ri=&term=walden&index=ALLTITL&aspect=subtab24&term=&index=AUTHOR&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=SUBJECT&term=&index=.LGP&term=&index=.AUD&term=&index=.VKW&x=0&y=0#focus">Walden</a> by Henry David Thoreau—still relevant after all these years! And for another modern look at Walden, a friend has recommended <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1H815X44706J1.5077&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!876574~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=2&source=~!horizontest&term=At+least+in+the+city+someone+would+hear+me+scream+%3A+%5Bmisadventures+in+search+of+the+simple+life%5D+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus">At least in the city someone would hear me scream: misadventures in search of the simple life</a> by Wade Rouse, who is compared favorably to comedic essayist David Sedaris as he documents his move to with his partner to a rustic part of Michigan. Have you read Walden? Do you think it is still relevant today?Why do you agree or disagree with Thoreau's ideas 303 pages I am so disorganized that I am scanning the list of books I paid late fees on to see what else I read and might have missed. Wow. Runaway by Meg Cabot, last October, 7 hours Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips 387 pages, in March 2011 And a note: kids books I have read over and over this past year: Harry the Dirty Dog The Easter Egg Artists Officer Buckle and Gloria Good night, Gorilla 10 Minutes til Bedtime In the SnowLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-25429279722722980512011-04-11T15:14:00.004-05:002011-04-11T15:23:32.088-05:00Pioneer Women and moreFor book group, of course. (because when else do i prioritize reading?) Pioneer women by Joanna Stratton. Lovely lovely book. Made me miss by pandora's rag folks, simply because the feminist history of Kansas inspired me. Grateful for all of the hard work that early Kansas feminist put into this state, even if it doesn't feel so progressive right now. Highly recommend this readable collective biography written from 800 original remembrances from Kansas pioneers.267 pages. Oops - and last month for book group -- Hard TImes by Charles Dickens, which I reviewed on the library's site but forgot to post here: Charles Dickens published <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=130020YF074B9.3425&menu=search&aspect=subtab24&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=m&ri=2&source=%7E%21horizontest&index=ALLTITL&term=hard+times&aspect=subtab24#focus">Hard Times </a>in 1854 by serializing it in his magazine Household Words from April to August of that year. He doubled the circulation to his magazine, but the novel is sometimes criticized for the choppy chapters that resulted from writing it in installments. The novel is also only about half the length of Dickens’ other novels, a benefit that some readers find more manageable. The story concerns Mr. Gradgrind, who is the founder of the fact-based educational system in Coketown. His two children have been raised only on facts, never indulging imagination or emotion. His business associate Mr. Bounderby owns a mill and a bank and employs many of the working class characters in the novel. As Mr. Gradgrind’s children become adults, their education proves a disadvantage in dealing with the challenges of the real world. Dickens found great acclaim during his lifetime as a historian of the middle class and was praised for his descriptions and characterizations. In <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=130020YF074B9.3425&menu=search&aspect=subtab24&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=m&ri=2&source=%7E%21horizontest&index=ALLTITL&term=hard+times&aspect=subtab24#focus">Hard Times</a>, Dickens uses his story to advance his social criticism of utilitarianism. Dickens satirizes the educational system that concentrates only on facts to the exclusion of sentiment, as well as exaggerates the character of the successful self-made man. As we would expect in any Dickens novel, he portray evils against the working classes and dark depictions of those living in poverty. But there are likeable characters as well, people who give hope, who we can cheer when things go well and mourn when things go poorly. If you have never read Charles Dickens before, this would be a good book to start with simply because it is shorter than most. His dark satire may make you chuckle in parts, especially in the exaggerated chapters about the fact-based schooling at the beginning. Whenever possible, I also highly recommend reading <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=130020YF074B9.3425&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!190877~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizontest&term=Hard+times+%3A+an+authoritative+text+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus">an authoritative or annotated text</a>, which provides a few explanatory footnotes and sometimes an excellent introductory essay. This book was the March 2011 selection of the library’s popular Literature with Lunch book discussion group. Check the <a href="http://calendar.tscpl.org/">library’s calendar </a>for upcoming programs and book selections. Literature with Lunch meets on the 2nd Monday of each month from 1-2:30 pm. 299 pages <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/tscpl/books-movies-music"></a>Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-86586580149166369092011-03-01T10:00:00.002-06:002011-04-11T15:22:05.752-05:00BlackoutAfter buying the book and the ebook, I listened to the audiobook Blackout by Connie Willis 19 hours (and then bought the mp3 audiobook). Most money I've ever invested in book format redundancy. And then I listened to All Clear - 24 hours.Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-83946154161184232102011-03-01T09:59:00.000-06:002011-03-01T10:00:55.871-06:00Save as Draft<a href="http://www.tscpl.org/books-movies-music/save-as-draft-is-a-love-triangle-unfolding-in-the-digital-age/attachment/saveasdraft" rel="attachment wp-att-2774" _mce_href="http://www.tscpl.org/books-movies-music/save-as-draft-is-a-love-triangle-unfolding-in-the-digital-age/attachment/saveasdraft"></a><a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=129899U6L55A0.5335&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!956828~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizontest&term=Save+as+draft+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus" _mce_href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=129899U6L55A0.5335&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!956828~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizontest&term=Save+as+draft+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus">Save As Draft</a> by Cavanaugh Lee<br />Girl meets boy online. Girl makes out with best guy friend. Girl has amazing first date with boy. Girl must choose. Girl doesn’t want to choose. Girl emails her friends for advice.<br />A love triangle evolving over e-mails, text, and Facebook messages that makes you wonder if the things we leave unsaid- or rather unsent- could change the story of our lives.<br />We don’t see every single email between every person in the book, the author chooses to reveal just enough to move the story along. And when people actually meet in person or talk on the phone, we only hear about it later if they happen to mention it in their email. The story is a bit asynchronous – the closest we get to a real time conversation is when characters text back and forth. The title of the novel indicates the very best part—the reader is privy to the emails that characters write to each other but do NOT send – the Save as Draft option in email that lets people vent their frustrations or blurt out their true feelings but then file it away without letting the other person read it. Of course, the things they almost say to each other as the relationships and the love triangle progresses are more revealing than the things they end up actually sending once their emotions are under control.<br />I’ve always been a fan of the quirky epistolary novel (From <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=129899U6L55A0.5335&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!348716~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizontest&term=Pamela%2C+or%2C+Virtue+rewarded+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus" _mce_href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=129899U6L55A0.5335&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!348716~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizontest&term=Pamela%2C+or%2C+Virtue+rewarded+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus">Pamela</a> by Samuel Richardson to <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=129899U6L55A0.5335&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!932470~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=3&source=~!horizontest&term=Ella+Minnow+Pea+%3A+a+progressively+lipogrammatic+epistolary+fable+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus" _mce_href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=129899U6L55A0.5335&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!932470~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=3&source=~!horizontest&term=Ella+Minnow+Pea+%3A+a+progressively+lipogrammatic+epistolary+fable+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus">Ella Minnow Pea </a>by Mark Dunn) and I am drawn to this non-traditional way of story telling using the communication of modern times and modern romances. I would recommended <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=129899U6L55A0.5335&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!956828~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizontest&term=Save+as+draft+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus" _mce_href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=129899U6L55A0.5335&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!956828~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizontest&term=Save+as+draft+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus">Save as Draft </a>to anyone who thinks the premise sounds interesting.<br />I read the ARC, 324 pagesLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-86703622388272876412011-01-18T15:17:00.002-06:002011-01-18T15:42:38.439-06:00Maternity Leave and Overdue BooksI paid a lot of late fees this maternity leave. In fact, I've been back at work a month, and I've paid more late fees since then. And yet, for all of those $5 maximum late fees, I got very little reading actually done. I was willing to pay just to have the books nearby, even if I didn't actually get a chance to pick them up. I *didn't* read the new Gordon Korman (Pop), the new David Levithan/Rachel Cohn, or the new Connie Willis (yet!). I finally read:<br /><br />Heist Society by Ally Carter 287 pages and loved it, although I thought it was going to be about a boarding school because for the longest time I had only read the first chapter, and it turned out to be about a family of theives. Very Oceans 11, in the way that I adore.<br /><br />The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark<br />187 pages<br />For book group -- no really likeable characters, and I had to hold book group twice because we got 10 inches of snow on the first scheduled date, but I didn't end up minding the chance to discuss the book or research the author multiple times. I wouldn't have pegged it for a book that left me thinking deeply about human relationships and how they related to facism and the Holocaust...but that's literature for you.<br /><br />I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith<br />343 pages<br />Sort of a bizarre story, but delightful. Not the happy ending I would have wished for. The movie follows the book very closely.<br /><br />The Reivers by William Faulkner 376 pages - a lovely adventurous romp through <a class="l" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','','1','','0CBoQFjAA')" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoknapatawpha_County">Yoknapatawpha </a>county and a coming of age story as well.<br /><br />The Big Read -- why I thought it was a good idea to read THREE books instead of one for book group the month after I had a baby---well.....it turned out to be wonderful to have something (like noir mysteries) to divert my attention from those overwhelming first weeks of new baby nursing.<br />The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett 217 pages<br />Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky 244 pages<br />The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler 139 pagesLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-41571376587227386792010-09-22T10:54:00.002-05:002010-09-22T10:56:57.925-05:00only the good spy youngcranford by elizabeth gaskell -- the running joke at book group (which julie led - thank you!) was that I only read chapter one, but I read it so many times that I was a freaking expert at it!<br /><br /><strong><em>Only the good spy young</em></strong> by ally carter - audiobook, fourth in the Gallagher Girl series - which just keeps getting more in depth and more exciting as the characters and the series develop!<br />I listened to 6.5 hours!Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-12229150618369035552010-08-26T15:22:00.000-05:002010-08-26T15:23:10.285-05:00tweet heartWelcome to Twitter! Let the boy-stalking (ahem, following!) begin."<br />So begins this novel told entirely in e-mails, blogs and tweets between four high school friends at a prep school in the Carolinas as they navigate through spring semester of their junior year.<br />Claire (ClaireRBear) has been crushing on her school's most popular jock JD forever, although he doesn't know she exists. When JD(TopofGame17) starts following Claire on Twitter, she's really happy, but also confused, since in person he acts totally different.<br />Claire's best friend Lottie likes…well…everyone. Her username isn't "Lots0love" for nothing. Claire's guy friends, Bennett and Will, are both the geeky science fiction movie buff and video game type, although Bennett (KingofSlack) is several factors more annoying about it than quiet and sensitive Will (WiseOneWP).<br />When Claire starts to get suspicious about the difference between JD's entertaining and flirtatious tweets and his boring conversations in real life, something that started out innocent is suddenly looking like a matchmaking disaster…<br />At first, reading a bunch of tweeted conversations between characters was confusing to me, but as I got to know the characters and their intertwining stories, the format didn't matter as much anymore. The author included a few formatting features that make the conversations easier to follow, including having the characters' profile icons appear next to each tweet, setting private conversations apart in a blue outline, reprinting the date/time information and telling the story in chronological order, and making sure to include blog and email headers to give everything extra context. That said, this novelty format was still harder to just relax and read than a regular novel.<br />For a very modern take on high school relationships, check out <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1282MC2409067.8406&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!921861~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizontest&term=Tweet+heart+%3A+a+novel+in+e-mails%2C+blogs%2C+and+tweets+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus">Tweet Heart (a novel in e-mails, blogs and tweets) </a>by Elizabeth Rudnick!<br />264 pagesLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-72338892839088023812010-08-17T16:15:00.000-05:002010-08-17T16:16:19.704-05:00serious, 16 of these?I read sizzling sixteen by Janet Evanovich<br />I'm not proud. I don't have anything else to say about it.<br />307 pages.Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-50442629468818221312010-08-04T11:53:00.004-05:002010-08-04T12:00:47.368-05:00main streetI read Main Street by Sinclair Lewis for book group in July. I was surprisingly irritated by the main character, a librarian who marries a doctor and moves to a small town and can't figure out how to fit in, but many people in the group defended her. I mostly liked this quote from the end about her baby daughter:<br />"Her baby, born in August, was a girl. Carol could not decide whether she was to become a feminist leader or marry a scientist or both, but did settle on Vassar and a tricolette suit with a small black hat for her Freshman year. "<br /><br />And this whole passage about her young son:<br /><br /> Hugh was loquacious at breakfast. He desired to give his impressions of owls and F Street.<br /> "Don't make so much noise. You talk too much," growled Kennicott.<br /> Carol flared. "Don't speak to him that way! Why don't you listen to him? He has some very interesting things to tell."<br /> "What's the idea? Mean to say you expect me to spend all my time listening to his chatter?"<br /> "Why not?"<br /> "For one thing, he's got to learn a little discipline. Time for him to start getting educated."<br /> "I've learned much more discipline, I've had much more education, from him than he has from me."<br /> "What's this? Some new-fangled idea of raising kids you got in Washington?"<br /> "Perhaps. Did you ever realize that children are people?"<br /> "That's all right. I'm not going to have him monopolizing the conversation."<br /> "No, of course. We have our rights, too. But I'm going to bring him up as a human being. He has just as many thoughts as we have, and I want him to develop them, not take Gopher Prairie's version of them. That's my biggest work now -- keeping myself, keeping you, from `educating' him."<br /><br />And this was the line that made me cry (because pretty much everything these days involving kiddos makes me cry a bit!):<br /><br />Don't you ever get tired of fretting and stewing and experimenting?"<br /> "I haven't even started. Look!" She led him to the nursery door, pointed at the fuzzy brown head of her daughter. "Do you see that object on the pillow? Do you know what it is? It's a bomb to blow up smugness. If you Tories were wise, you wouldn't arrest anarchists; you'd arrest all these children while they're asleep in their cribs. Think what that baby will see and meddle with before she dies in the year 2000! She may see an industrial union of the whole world, she may see aeroplanes going to Mars."<br /> "Yump, probably be changes all right," yawned Kennicott.<br /><br />I read 486 pages.Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-72829737860872686642010-08-04T11:51:00.001-05:002010-08-04T11:53:11.268-05:00Fly on the wallI listened to "Fly on the Wall" by e. lockhart read by Caitlin Greer while doing busywork at my desk the last two weeks at work.<br /><br />First part sets up the story – Gretchen loves spiderman, doesn’t fit in at her art school in NYC, her parents just announced they are getting a divorce, her only friend Katya is busy al the time now, she is reading the Metamorphesis in literature class, she really likes Titus, a dark, scrawny, quiet a guy in her class, and really hates Shane, the new guy in school who dated her in the fall when he first arrived and then without warning dropped her for a sexier more popular girlfriend<br /><br /><br />When her parents go out of town for a week, she wakes up as a fly in the boys locker room of her school, where she is trapped.<br />At first she is just freaked out, and then she’s mad at how much better the boys locker room is than the girls. When boys start coming in to change for gym class, and then shower afterwards, she can’t help herself She watches. She rates them. She lusts and objectifies. But she also learns a lot about the guys in her school from watching them when they are together and alone in the locker room.<br /><br />“And the moral is: you never know what’s going on underneath someone’s pants until you see it for yourself.”<br /><br />Since Gretchen doesn’t know why she turned into a fly, she doesn’t know if or when she will change back “Nothing like this ever happens in Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.” Complaining about her situation (turned into a fly) and trying to understand who or what might have caused her to turn into a fly and why…<br /><br />I listened to it: 4 hoursLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-82835403291216248232010-07-07T09:21:00.001-05:002010-07-07T09:24:46.045-05:00The God of the Hive: the new Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes storyWhen the latest book in a beloved series is released, I rush to read it, to find out the latest news and adventures from familiar characters.<br />I reviewed <a href="http://www.tscpl.org/books/comments/learn_the_language_of_bees_with_sherlock_holmes/">The Language of Bees</a> last year, in which Sherlock Holmes is approached by his estranged son for help in locating the son's missing wife and young daughter. When the wife turns up dead, Sherlock's son is the prime suspect and they must elude Scotland Yard while working to clear the son's name. At the climax of the story, a faceoff with a religious madman, when a suspense novel would traditionally tie up the loose ends, this one ended "To be continued" instead!<br />In the continuation, <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1V7851SI66341.6357&menu=search&aspect=subtab24&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=m&ri=&term=god+of+the+hive&index=ALLTITL&aspect=subtab24&term=&index=AUTHOR&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=SUBJECT&term=&index=.LGP&term=&index=.AUD&term=&index=.VKW&x=0&y=0#focus">The God of the Hive</a>, Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell are separated during their attempts to protect Sherlock's son and granddaughter. Perilous travels by airplane and boat through remote parts of Scotland endanger various lives, and although both Sherlock and Mary are trying to make it safely back to London, neither is sure whether London will be safe for them at all. When Sherlock's brother Mycroft Holmes, a secretive leader of government intelligence operations, is reported to have been questioned by Scotland Yard and then gone missing, the group realizes that something much bigger and much more dangerous than just a religious madman is at work in the country. With each member of the team working in isolation for their own safety, when the obituary of a key character appears in The Times, the remaining members panic, mourn, and craft a plan to draw out the invisible adversary.<br />Author <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1V7851SI66341.6357&profile=m&uri=link=3100006~!33811~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=3&source=~!horizontest&term=King%2C+Laurie+R.&index=AUTHOR#focus">Laurie R. King </a>is a natural storyteller. This book is every bit as adventurous, suspenseful, well narrated, and masterfully constructed as the previous novels in this series. With new characters introduced, richer and more complex backgrounds for familiar characters, and a fast moving story, this latest installment in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series will not disappoint!<br />Read my original review of the first book in this series <a href="http://www.tscpl.org/books/comments/the_beekeepers_apprentice_or_on_the_segregation_of_the_queen/">The Beekeeper's Apprentice</a> or check out <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12543W30G5248.67979&profile=m&uri=link=3100009~!583852~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab25&menu=search&ri=3&source=~!horizontest&term=Mary+Russell+and+Sherlock+Holmes+mystery&index=SERIES#focus">any of the books in this series </a>from the library.<br />Bonus for listeners: All of the books in this series have been recorded as audiobooks by the excellent and talented narrator <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1V7851SI66341.6357&profile=m&uri=link=3100006~!37056~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizontest&term=Sterlin%2C+Jenny.&index=AUTHOR#focus">Jenny Sterlin</a>.<br /><br />354 pages.Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-44442790447489127232010-06-21T14:16:00.000-05:002010-06-21T14:17:57.937-05:00Catch-22A classic you may have missed: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - I re-read for book group this month. 436 pages<br /><a href="http://www.tscpl.org/books/comments/a_classic_you_may_have_missed_catch-22/"></a><br />"The only freedom we really have is the freedom to say no."—Joseph Heller<br /><a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=127663A1T2E33.4122&menu=search&aspect=subtab24&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=m&ri=2&source=%7E%21horizontest&index=ALLTITL&term=catch+22&aspect=subtab24#focus">Catch-22</a> by Joseph Heller, first published in 1961<br />I've never read it. What am I missing?<br />The novel is one of the great literary works of the 20th century. The main character, Yossarian, is a counter-culture Everyman for the late 20th century. And by that, I mean he is totally hilarious, supposedly insane, and probably the only intelligent, moral, rational person in the entire novel and possibly the entire war.<br />For me, the most amusing and realistic scenes are the ones showing the hopelessly convoluted bureaucracy within the military. Individuals are marginalized and absurdity is rampant (yet fully justified and explained, by invoking Catch-22 of course.) Fair warning: Don't read this book when you are looking for inspiration or a morale boost—I have been feeling a bit subversive and paranoid since I've been reading Catch-22!<br />What does the title Catch-22 mean?<br />"1: a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule" from <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catch-22">m-w.com</a><br />"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane, he had to fly them. If he flew them, he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to, he was sane and had to." from Chapter 5, Catch-22<br />Is this a historical war novel? Or a black comedy?<br />The novel is set in World War II, but written after Korea, and published during Vietnam. Heller doesn't just parody the military—he also skewers business, medicine, religion, government, and politics with his ironic humor. You don't have to know anything about war or military settings to fidn something to laugh about in this book. Critic Philip Toynbee said the humor in the novel resembles a Marx brothers film as Kafka might have conceived it.<br />This is a classic anti-war novel. Did Joseph Heller have any war experience?<br />Yes, although he was not a career military man, since after the war he went to university to be a writer, taught at the college level and worked in magazine advertising as well as writing short stories and novels. "In 1942 Heller joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and from May 1944 to mid 1945 was stationed on Corsica with the 488th squadron of the 340th Bombardment Group. He flew about sixty combat missions as a bombardier, earning the Air Medal and rising to the rank of lieutenant." -from Literature Resource Center<br />Can't I just watch the movie version instead?<br />Check out <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=127663A1T2E33.4122&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!406532~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizontest&term=Catch-22&index=ALLTITL#focus">Catch-22 (1970 film)</a> from the library! Bringing an anti-war satire to the big screen was a daunting task. While the movie was a commercial failure, the sarcastic humor of the book is brought to life by notable actors including cast included Alan Arkin, Art Garfunkel, Charles Grodin, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight and Orson Welles. Many characters and story arcs from the book are changed, and the film is told mainly in flashbacks and dream sequencesLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-7981598288842877642010-06-11T14:04:00.002-05:002010-06-11T14:06:53.354-05:00Secrets of my suburban LifeSecrets of my suburban Life by Lauren Baratz-Logsted 225 pages<br />Ren lived her whole life in New York City with her two famous author parents, until her mom is killed by a giant stack of books and her dad relocates them to the suburbs of Connecticut. At her new school, Ren is basically an outcast, although when she accidentally discovers that the most popular girl in school is chatting online with an older man whom she plans to meet, Ren has to act.<br />Ren schemes up a plan to stop the online pervert from getting his hands on the popular girl…but when she finds out who he is, the whole situation gets a lot more personal for Ren!<br />I had read some of this author's chick lit, including <a href="http://www.tscpl.org/?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fcatalog.tscpl.org%2Fipac20%2Fipac.jsp%3Fsession%3D12762824Y75KQ.4571%26amp%3Bprofile%3Dm%26amp%3Buri%3Dlink%3D3100008%7E398175%7E3100001%7E3100002%26amp%3Baspect%3Dsubtab24%26amp%3Bmenu%3Dsearch%26amp%3Bri%3D1%26amp%3Bsource%3D%7Ehorizontest%26amp%3Bterm%3DThe%2Bthin%2Bpink%2Bline%2B%252F%26amp%3Bindex%3DALLTITL%23focus">Thin Pink Line</a> a few years ago, so I recognized the name and was drawn to try this book. I think that Lauren's writing style and characters are more suited to a teen novel, as her slightly-immature characters are much more believable at 16 than they were as twenty-somethings. This book was funny, well-paced, and had great supporting characters, particularly the three quirky taxi drivers in small town Connecticut that Ren relies on to get her around town!<br /><br />I also read and LOVED the first 40 pages of You are Not a Gadget, until it was hideously overdue from the library. I am just going to buy it. If I would buy the books up front instead of paying late fees on them first, that would probably be....smarter. and cheaper.Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-63603883878398127902010-05-20T12:19:00.001-05:002010-05-20T12:20:24.643-05:00Geek readingGeek High and the sequel Geek Abroad (243 pages) by Piper Banks<br />Totally cute teen romances, should be read in order for max effect!Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-80310460880712550752010-05-19T08:52:00.001-05:002010-05-19T08:53:43.420-05:00not much reading latelyDeath comes for the archbishop by Willa Cather 345 pages (although I read a Barnes and Noble ebook version on my phone).<br /><br />Geek High by Piper Banks "You say nerd like it's a bad thing." 235 pagesLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-68620744381856335092010-04-19T14:05:00.002-05:002010-04-19T14:07:23.234-05:00unwritten rule<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6Adnozbr5HwJ2eKm2sNd0UmcS85qCp58CrZ1aOPIEbfcFSG_UvYWOr0gBnOxsDQcucD90cnVmfAy1J6Y82iC0hl5bvPcDhhAlvcU5pBM7tUj7MawMOF9T6U2lW1wq-HKbWnQ/s1600/PILGRIM3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461927231394768626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6Adnozbr5HwJ2eKm2sNd0UmcS85qCp58CrZ1aOPIEbfcFSG_UvYWOr0gBnOxsDQcucD90cnVmfAy1J6Y82iC0hl5bvPcDhhAlvcU5pBM7tUj7MawMOF9T6U2lW1wq-HKbWnQ/s320/PILGRIM3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The unwritten rule by Elizabeth Scott</div><br /><div>of course, if you don't just read a paperback teen romance, something everything that happens in the book isn't happy, but i took the risk on this one and it was worth it.</div><br /><div>210 pages</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley</div><br /><div>1 volume unpaged (probably about 100 pages)</div><br /><div></div>Lissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-5634094130302385902010-04-13T11:58:00.003-05:002010-04-13T12:09:38.598-05:00Birthday roundupIt's that time again (hence the many fill-in posts today trying to get caught up) when I celebrate another year of reading (measured from the first birthday when I started this blog.)<br /><br />In skimming through my past year of entries, I notice that I am more likely to abandon a book, especially an audiobook, if it isn't absolutely captivating me. Also, our library introduced late fees for the first time last October, which has been motivating to either finish or return unfinished my library books by the due date.<br /><br />Many of the things I made time to read this year were favorite authors or quicky teen romances. I didn't branch out or do much risktaking with new authors or genres. I also watched almost no television this year, and I have to admit that I haven't missed that at all, although the craft/photo editing time that comes along with tv/movie watching is missed. Audiobooks while cleaning the kitchen are a safer bet for getting things done.<br /><br />Earlier this week I realized that I am needing a reading technology that isn't quite integrated yet -- a perfectly/magically synced device that would let me read a paperback book and also a digital version on my backlit phone for night time and also an audiobook version for driving and chores time. I'm much too tired to handle three stories at once, but it is pretty much impossible and expensive to coordinate the same book in three formats like that (at least at this time).<br /><br />So -- the totals for my 31st year as I turn 32 tomorrow...<br /><br />Best I can tell from my apparently sketchy record keeping this past year,<br /><br />69 books read/listened to<br />110.5 hours listened for audiobooks<br />16625 pages readLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-44792339491792450652010-04-13T11:38:00.003-05:002010-04-13T11:56:46.654-05:00stupid marketing departmentsThe new Jennifer Crusie Bob Mayer book WILD RIDE -- I was so looking forward to it -- they have written two action adventure romances together and I enjoyed both of them a lot. Books often give away too much on the inside cover description, so without reading about the story, I got the book from the library's 14 day shelf, saw a roller coaster on the front (I love amusement parks as a fictional setting!) and dived right in.<br /><br />The characters -- Mab, who is painting and restoring an old amusement park, and Ethan, who is a returning veteran with a bullet next to his heart and all of his military skills at the ready -- grabbed me right away and I was starting to really get into the amusement park setting<br /><br />until page 21<br /><br />when FREAKIN' DEMONS started talking to minor characters.<br /><br />Here's the deal. If you are going to genre-hop, that is just fine and perfectly within your rights as a creative author of imaginative fiction. But don't pretend you are writing the same old stuff and trick your adventure-romance fans into buying your new demon filled crap-- just SAY SO ON THE FRONT OF THE DAMN BOOK.<br /><br />The back cover copy is all quotes about cutesy action adventure witty dialogue romance attributed to the past two books these authors wrote together.<br />The front cover, there is a small black bird sitting on the roller coaster, otherwise has NO indication that this is a paranormal book. If I liked paranormal books (which, it might now be apparent that I do not, especially without fair warning) this book wouldn't appeal to me because the cover art doesn't look anything like all of the other paranormal books that are marketed to me these days.<br />I didn't read to page 22.<br />And I spent several days ranting to other librarians, my family, and pretty much everyone else, along with the innocent Jiffy Lube guy who was present when I got to the infamous page 21, about the horrors of tricky marketing cover art and the ill will that this bad choice of cover art is going to create for a lot of readers who are either upset they wasted money on a book they wouldn't have chosen otherwise, or will never know about this new paranormal book from hot popular authors.<br />Geez people.<br /><br />I read only 21 pagesLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-68942943897637340472010-04-13T11:37:00.001-05:002010-04-13T11:38:44.007-05:00Food RulesAnother older one I forgot to post here.<br /><br />As a child of the suburbs in the 1980's, I was raised on canned soup and canned vegetables, boxes of au gratin potatoes to be reconstituted in the oven, colorful cereals, bright orange macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles, frozen dinners, soda and chips and almost anything that could be "cooked" in the microwave. And it was all delicious.<br />As a adult, I've accumulated over 30 years of information from food industry advertising, but very little food common sense. The news media seems to constantly be announcing some new miracle food or diet that can solve all the worlds health problems, and the health claims made on food packaging, coupons, commercials and advertised by the food industry's marketing departments are overwhelming but not very helpful.<br />Sometimes, what I really need to hear is a message more like this one:<br />"Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself."<br />or<br />"Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does."<br />or<br />"Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry."<br />Last year I read (and recommended <a href="http://www.tscpl.org/guides/comments/in_defense_of_food_an_eaters_manifesto/" _cke_saved_href="http://www.tscpl.org/guides/comments/in_defense_of_food_an_eaters_manifesto/">here</a>) Michael Pollan's book <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12Y937732A1O7.1115&menu=search&aspect=subtab24&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=m&ri=&term=in+defense+of+food&index=ALLTITL&aspect=subtab24&term=&index=AUTHOR&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=SUBJECT&term=&index=.LGP&term=&index=.AUD&term=&index=.VKW&x=0&y=0#focus" _cke_saved_href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12Y937732A1O7.1115&menu=search&aspect=subtab24&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=m&ri=&term=in+defense+of+food&index=ALLTITL&aspect=subtab24&term=&index=AUTHOR&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=SUBJECT&term=&index=.LGP&term=&index=.AUD&term=&index=.VKW&x=0&y=0#focus">In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto</a> in which he recommended that we "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." His new book, <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12Y937732A1O7.1115&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!902479~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=4&source=~!horizontest&term=Food+rules+%3A+an+eater%27s+manual+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus" _cke_saved_href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12Y937732A1O7.1115&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!902479~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=4&source=~!horizontest&term=Food+rules+%3A+an+eater%27s+manual+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus">Food Rules: An Eater's Manual</a>, is like a more useful and more memorable version of the scribbled notes I took while reading the last book. With 64 memorable food rules and a brief explanation of each, this small paperback book is a quick read with an important message.<br />The fresh broccoli, beets or bananas in the produce section may not flaunt their nutritional value with charts and shiny packaging, but as Michael Pollan would say (and he does in Rule #25) "Eat your colors" and those bright green, red and yellow fruits and vegetables suddenly look a lot more appealing!<br />112 pagesLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26136163.post-18122264293984785032010-04-13T11:37:00.000-05:002010-04-13T11:38:43.721-05:00Food RulesAnother older one I forgot to post here.<br /><br />As a child of the suburbs in the 1980's, I was raised on canned soup and canned vegetables, boxes of au gratin potatoes to be reconstituted in the oven, colorful cereals, bright orange macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles, frozen dinners, soda and chips and almost anything that could be "cooked" in the microwave. And it was all delicious.<br />As a adult, I've accumulated over 30 years of information from food industry advertising, but very little food common sense. The news media seems to constantly be announcing some new miracle food or diet that can solve all the worlds health problems, and the health claims made on food packaging, coupons, commercials and advertised by the food industry's marketing departments are overwhelming but not very helpful.<br />Sometimes, what I really need to hear is a message more like this one:<br />"Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself."<br />or<br />"Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does."<br />or<br />"Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry."<br />Last year I read (and recommended <a href="http://www.tscpl.org/guides/comments/in_defense_of_food_an_eaters_manifesto/" _cke_saved_href="http://www.tscpl.org/guides/comments/in_defense_of_food_an_eaters_manifesto/">here</a>) Michael Pollan's book <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12Y937732A1O7.1115&menu=search&aspect=subtab24&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=m&ri=&term=in+defense+of+food&index=ALLTITL&aspect=subtab24&term=&index=AUTHOR&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=SUBJECT&term=&index=.LGP&term=&index=.AUD&term=&index=.VKW&x=0&y=0#focus" _cke_saved_href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12Y937732A1O7.1115&menu=search&aspect=subtab24&npp=10&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=m&ri=&term=in+defense+of+food&index=ALLTITL&aspect=subtab24&term=&index=AUTHOR&term=&index=.TW&term=&index=.SW&term=&index=SUBJECT&term=&index=.LGP&term=&index=.AUD&term=&index=.VKW&x=0&y=0#focus">In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto</a> in which he recommended that we "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." His new book, <a href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12Y937732A1O7.1115&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!902479~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=4&source=~!horizontest&term=Food+rules+%3A+an+eater%27s+manual+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus" _cke_saved_href="http://catalog.tscpl.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12Y937732A1O7.1115&profile=m&uri=link=3100008~!902479~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab24&menu=search&ri=4&source=~!horizontest&term=Food+rules+%3A+an+eater%27s+manual+%2F&index=ALLTITL#focus">Food Rules: An Eater's Manual</a>, is like a more useful and more memorable version of the scribbled notes I took while reading the last book. With 64 memorable food rules and a brief explanation of each, this small paperback book is a quick read with an important message.<br />The fresh broccoli, beets or bananas in the produce section may not flaunt their nutritional value with charts and shiny packaging, but as Michael Pollan would say (and he does in Rule #25) "Eat your colors" and those bright green, red and yellow fruits and vegetables suddenly look a lot more appealing!<br />112 pagesLissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08366419397656641564noreply@blogger.com0