J.D. Salinger has died. Franny and Zooey is not so much a favorite book as a part of who I am. R.I.P., Mr. Salinger.

I am working furiously to meet my NaNoWriMo goal. I still have quite a way to go, and I'll be devoting as much time to it over the holiday as I can. Even if I don't hit 50,000 words, I've found a real story to tell, and I have some momentum again when it comes … Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving!

“Life is too short to read bad books.” I’d always heard that, but I still read books through until the end no matter how bad they were because I had this sense of obligation. That is, until this week when I tried (really tried) to read a book that is utterly boring and unrealistic. I … Continue reading BTT: Abandoning Bad Books

Thanks to everyone who helped me pick my next book! I will be reading The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood. After that, it's on to One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Luckily, these books both count toward the 1% Well-Read challenge, and the Marquez also counts toward Orbis Terrarum. I'll also be … Continue reading Next Read: The Blind Assassin

You can watch Part 1 here.

A couple of weeks ago, Times Online printed a list of Nick Hornby's Top 40 recommended books. In discussing his choices on his blog, he wrote: "It can happen anywhere: a dinner table, a pub, a bus queue, a classroom, a bookshop. You have struck up a conversation with someone you don’t know, and you’re … Continue reading Sunday Salon: Recommending Books