I'm late to the party, and really only joining for half. Today's Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) asks us about the top books on our summer TBR list, and that coincides quite nicely with Cathy's #20BooksofSummer challenge (although I am only doing 10 because I have become the world's slowest … Continue reading Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books of Summer
Category: Nonfiction
What I’ve Been Reading
Time to take a breath! For the last month I've been thinking of all the reviews I want to write, because I've been reading some terrific books. Tomorrow! is always the day I'm finally going to write a post on this or that book. Today I realized I am so hopelessly behind that it's never … Continue reading What I’ve Been Reading
New Year, New Books (Part 2)
Please pardon my really super fabulous photography skills. Thank goodness I don't have a food blog. I actually have thought about sharing some recipes here from time to time, but every picture I take of food...well, something happens, and let's just say the photo never looks like anything anyone would want to eat. Ever. As … Continue reading New Year, New Books (Part 2)
The Story Behind the Story
I recently read Carol Sklenicka's biography Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life. The book is long and contains exhaustive detail about Carver's life. I suppose it's well researched, and it did well with the book critics, but having read it, I cannot help but wonder: How useful is it really to know so much about a … Continue reading The Story Behind the Story
The Album Project
As I may have mentioned 9,457 times on Twitter, I have been reading Nick Hornby's Songbook (31 Songs to those of you outside of the U.S.). These essays are as much about each of the 31 songs he chooses to talk about as they are about everything else. Hornby is a die-hard fan of pop … Continue reading The Album Project
Favorite Books of 2009
I was trying to put off listing my favorite books of 2009 until next week, but I just couldn't stand it anymore. I am going to take the risk that the last few books wouldn't have made it into this list anyway, and if they do turn out to be remarkable, then I'll give them … Continue reading Favorite Books of 2009
TSS: What I’ve Been Reading
I thought I might try to pick this up again. Hopefully one or two people are still dropping by, but no matter. I missed writing here, so I might as well give it a go. I can't believe it's been six months. The main thing that kept me away: I got a job! Very good … Continue reading TSS: What I’ve Been Reading
Sunday Salon: Author Biographies
This past week, writer Maud Newton reviewed Brad Gooch's new Flannery O'Connor biography on NPR. In her review, she questions whether knowing too much about an author's life can affect how we feel about the work: "Reading about a favorite writer is risky. No matter how diligently the reader tries to compartmentalize, disappointing revelations threaten … Continue reading Sunday Salon: Author Biographies
Liar, liar, pants on fire!
I found this fun Times Online post about the World Book Day's survey on the top ten books people have lied about reading. They are: 1. 1984 - George Orwell (Read it!) 2. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (Read but never finished.) 3. Ulysses - James Joyce (Read the first page. That was enough. Decided … Continue reading Liar, liar, pants on fire!
World Citizen Challenge: Falling Leaves
For my first book in the World Citizen challenge, I selected the memoir Falling Leaves: The True Story of An Unwanted Chinese Daughter, by Adeline Yen Mah. Someone gave this book to me eight or nine years ago, quite oddly in response to the fact that I was then reading (and enjoying) Memoirs of … Continue reading World Citizen Challenge: Falling Leaves
The Evening Reader 