My February Purchases

Oooh, did I spend in February!

Fiction

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

Life on the Refridgerator Door: Notes between a Mother and a Daughter by Alice Kuipers (HC)

Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

Big Bones by Meg Cabot

Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella

Telling Tales edited by Nadine Gordimer

The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny Brewer

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (HC)

The Deportee and other stories by Roddy Doyle (HC)

Non-fiction

Bait and Switch: The (Futiles) Pursuit of the American Dream by Barbara Ehrenreich

Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary: Reflections by Women Writers edited by Susan Morrison (HC)

Bling Bling by Minya Oh (a $30 coffee table book) :-)

I think there was probably even more, but that's all I can rememebr.

Secret Pleasures, Secret Disappointments

I have to admit. I was at the bookstore again today. This time I was with the whole family, so we spent our time in the children's section, getting books for the girls. But, as we were on our way to the front to pay, I couldn't resist doing another scan of the "Buy One, Get One Half Off" table . . . that I had just looked at a mere 30 hours before.

I can often find my "secret pleasures" on this table. And I'm here to confess. I know the rest of you could confess too - so let's hear it! :^)

Authors I read that might make you groan, in order of worst offender (i.e. I will pretty much buy anything they write) to newest offender - Sophie Kinsella (I happily picked up Shopaholic & Baby yesterday), Marian Keyes, Helen Fielding, Emma McLaughlin, Jennifer Weiner, Meg Cabot (I picked up a book called Big-boned; I haven't read anything by her).

I call these my "clear my brain" authors. They are mindless reads that entertain me. I think some of you might put Maeve Binchy in that category - another author, whom I actually love dearly and have had a reading relationship with since I discovered her in a Dublin bookshop in 1993. So, she's extra special and counts as real to me. :^)

That brings me to Jodi Picoult. I can read her books very quickly; they have a bit of the "clear my brain" effect, but it's different. It might be just the sense of accomplishment of quickly finishing a book, which is a real pick-me-up, for me.

Of her 14 published books, I have read: Songs of the Humpback Whale; Picture Perfect; Mercy; The Pact; Keeping Faith; Plain Truth; Salem Falls; Perfect Match; Second Glance; My Sister's Keeper (the first Picoult book I read in 2006); Vanishing Acts; The Tenth Circle; Nineteen Minutes. O.k., so the only Jodi Picoult book that I haven't read then is Harvesting the Heart - "the story of a young woman overcome by the demands of having a family" (hmmm . . .what a surprise that I haven't read THAT one).

In my most recent Bookmarks magazine, I found the perfect description of Picoult, and it captures why, for me, she is different from my other "clear my brain" authors. It was written as a tag for her forthcoming (March 2008) book Change of Heart - "Picoult is the current master of the current-events-moral-dilemma strain of fiction." Yep, that about says it. It's why I will probably read every book Picoult writes.

And, finally, my (not-so) secret disappointments - books in my pile, started, but probably never, ever to be finished. Here are mine. I know you have some too! What are yours?

The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
The Mercury Visions of Loius Daguerre by Dominic Smith
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart
The Mother Tongue: English and how it got that way by Bill Bryson (one of my favorite authors!)
The Good German by Jospeh Kanon

My January Purchases

Bbbrrrrrrr! I felt very cold in January, so I didn't get out to do as much book buying as usual. ;^) But, here is what I can recall purchasing:

Lord Foul's Bane: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (Book One) by Stephen R. Donaldson (Amazon.com)
I bought this book because it is part of a series. I came across this author in my most recent Bookmarks Magazine (I think) that mentioned the second book in The Last Chronicles. So, of course, I had to go back to the beginning.

This is what Wikipedia has to say:

Donaldson's most celebrated series is The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, which centers on a cynical leper, shunned by society, who is destined to become the heroic savior of an alternate Earth. Covenant struggles against the tyrannical Lord Foul, who intends to break the physical universe in order to escape his bondage and wreak revenge upon his arch-enemy, "The Creator".
The Chronicles were originally published as two trilogies of novels between 1977 and 1983. According to his current publisher, Putnams, those two series sold more than 10 million copies. A third series, "The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" began publication in 2004 with the novel "The Runes of The Earth." With the second book of that series, "Fatal Revenant," Donaldson again attained bestseller status when the book reached number 12 on the New York Times Bestseller List in October of 2007.

I have no idea if I will actually enjoy this book, but I just love trying new reads.

And then what better to balance Lord Foul's Bane than:

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C.S. Lewis (Borders 1/2 price table)
From the back cover: "An unfailingly honest and acutely perceptive observer of humanity, C.S. Lewis recounts his search for joy, a spiritual journey that led him from a traditional Christian childhood in Belfast to a youthful atheism and, finally, back to a confident Christianity."

I've been quite surprised to find all of this religious writing by Lewis. I've always thought of him exclusively as Chronicles of Narnia, which I read as a child, completely missing any religious symbolism I am sure, and which I plan to re-read this year.

World of Boo by Duane K. Maddy (Amazon.com)

This book is so odd - in a good way. It will take less than 30 minutes to read. The back cover says - "Discover The World of Boo. A fictional organization created by one man combining a childhood collection of stuffed animals with personalities he has encountered through a lifetime of triumphs and tribulations." I was drawn to it because it is also kind of a series, and we call Naomi - "The Boo" :^D

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (B&N)

Queen Elizabeth starts to borrow boks from a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace. Helen Fielding is quoted on the back cover as saying - "Alan Bennett is one of the greatest comic writers alive, and The Uncommon Reader is Bennett at his best - touching, thoughtful, hilarious, and exquisite in its observations."

Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott (Borders 1/2 price table)

I've read several of her other books, so I'm surprised I haven't read this yet - or didn't read it first since I usually enjoy reading chronologically.

The Daily Show and Philosophy edited by Jason Holt (Borders 1/2 price table)

"This book brings together nineteen essays on the many moments of Zen to be found in the artful humor of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report."

Hmmm . . . we'll see.

Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile (Borders 1/2 price table)

Jonathan and I saw the movie over Christmas andI found the story line interesting enough that I want to go back and read the book. I could do without Hanks, Hoffman, and Roberts on the cover, but it was on the buy 1, get 1 half price table.

Getting Started

I look forward to meeting each of you and participating in the group. To give you some insight on my reading preferences, here are the books I’m reading in January and February:

Fiction
Literary Mystery
The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

Crime (Texas and Mexico)
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

Crime (Tornados, Oklahoma)
The Breathtaker by Alice Blanchard

Historical (post Civil War and the West)
Redemption Falls by Joseph O’Connor

Historical (Alaskan gold strike)
The Fugitive Wife by Peter C. Brown

Historical (Boudica, Celtic)
Warrior Queen by Alan Gold

Nonfiction
The Innocent Man by John Grisham

With Still Small Voices They Speak by Ann Foskey, photography by Marc Del Santro

What to read in 2008?

A new year on the calendar, a new year for reading. :^) I'm really looking forward to 2008. I am not pregnant. I am not giving birth. And I am not in those early infant months when readings seems impossible (Sorry Jen!). So, I am fully prepared for my challenge to read 100 books this year. A goal I set for myself annually. Last year, I read around 65 books I think.

What to read? I've decided I have to read all of the books that were given to me for Christmas. And I've already read several of them. But when I'm out with that buying urge - what should I spend my money on?

I subscribe to Bookbrowse, so I thought I would check there. Here are some recent (last year or two) releases that the critics are giving two thumbs up that I thought looked interesting:

Fiction/South America & The Caribbean

The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson
"Inspired by a few facts from Errol Flynn's life, and rooting her story firmly in Jamaican history, Cezair-Thompson vividly imagines the life of Ida, who is little more than a child herself when she gives birth to her daughter May, the illegitimate child of 1930/40s movie star Errol Flynn - known as a swashbuckling adventurer on screen, and for his glittering parties and affairs off screen. " from Bookbrowse.com

The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander
"From its unforgettable opening scene in the darkness of a forgotten cemetery in Buenos Aires, The Ministry of Special Cases casts a powerful spell. In the heart of Argentina’s Dirty War, Kaddish Poznan struggles with a son who won’t accept him; strives for a wife who forever saves him; and spends his nights protecting the good name of a community that denies his existence--and denies a checkered history that only Kaddish holds dear. When the nightmare of the disappeared children brings the Poznan family to its knees, they are thrust into the unyielding corridors of the Ministry of Special Cases, the refuge of last resort." - from the jacket

Fiction/Strong Female Leads

Away by Amy Bloom
Panoramic in scope, Away is the epic and intimate story of young Lillian Leyb, a dangerous innocent, an accidental heroine. When her family is destroyed in a Russian pogrom, Lillian comes to America alone, determined to make her way in a new land. When word comes that her daughter, Sophie, might still be alive, Lillian embarks on an odyssey that takes her from the world of the Yiddish theater on New York’s Lower East Side, to Seattle’s Jazz District, and up to Alaska, along the fabled Telegraph Trail toward Siberia.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
The author of the Tony Award winner The History Boys, Alan Bennett is one of Britain’s best-loved literary voices. With The Uncommon Reader, he brings us a playful homage to the written word, imagining a world in which literature becomes a subversive bridge between powerbrokers and commoners. By turns cheeky and charming, the novella features the Queen herself as its protagonist. When her yapping corgis lead her to a mobile library, Her Majesty develops a new obsession with reading. She finds herself devouring works by a tantalizing range of authors, from the Brontë sisters to Jean Genet. With a young member of the palace kitchen staff guiding her choices, it’s not long before the Queen begins to develop a new perspective on the world - one that alarms her closest advisers and tempts her to make bold new decisions.

Non-fiction

Unbowed: A Memoir by Wangari Maathai
Hugely charismatic, humble, and possessed of preternatural luminosity of spirit, Wangari Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and a single mother of three, recounts her extraordinary life as a political activist, feminist, and environmentalist in Kenya.

Heart in the Right Place: A Memoir by Carolyn Jourdan
Carolyn Jourdan had it all: the Mercedes Benz, the fancy soirees, the best clothes. She moved in the most exclusive circles in Washington, D.C., rubbed elbows with big politicians, and worked on Capitol Hill. As far as she was concerned, she was changing the world. And then her mother had a heart attack. Carolyn came home to help her father with his rural medical practice in the Tennessee mountains. She'd fill in for a few days as the receptionist until her mother could return to work. Or so she thought. But days turned into weeks.

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman
When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw—and the city’s zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen “guests” hid inside the Zabinskis’ villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts.

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
In The World Without Us, Alan Weisman offers an utterly original approach to questions of humanity’s impact on the planet: he asks us to envision our Earth, without us.In this far-reaching narrative, Weisman explains how our massive infrastructure would collapse and finally vanish without human presence; which everyday items may become immortalized as fossils; how copper pipes and wiring would be crushed into mere seams of reddish rock; why some of our earliest buildings might be the last architecture left; and how plastic, bronze sculpture, radio waves, and some man-made molecules may be our most lasting gifts to the universe.

Recent Purchases and Gifts

Hi all,
I am not sure that I will remember everything I purchased and received, but here goes:

Purchases
The Daring Book for Girls (gift for my niece)

The Dangerous Book for Boys (gift for my nephew and for the boys in my house)

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson (gift for my father-in-law)

That Book of Perfectly Useless Information by Michell Symons (gift for my husband Craig)

I am America (and So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert (gift for Craig)

Sun Tzu was a Sissy & What Would Machiavelli Do (each by Stanley Bing) gifts for Craig

The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation by Drew Westen (gift for Craig)

Misunderestimated and Overunderappreciated: The George W. Bush Administration as Seen Through the Eyes of the Tribunes' Syndicated Editorial Cartoonists (this was also a gift for Craig, and for my brother-in-law and my father-in-law -- needless to say this is not a family of bush supporters)

Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Sublte Knife and The Amber Spyglass) for me

Cruddy by Linda Barry

1001 Books You Must Read Before you Die (a gift for me)

• NOTE: sad to say, I went through the entire list and have only read 67 of them -- maybe I need to be more selective in my reading!!!! Although I have to say that the list is a little suspect in my mind because the greatest book of all time in my estimation (Atlas Shrugged) did not make the list. In fact nothing written by Ayn Rand made the list....neither did Pillars of the Earth....

Received as Gifts

Rachael Ray Anytime Cookbook

Deceptively Delicious cookbook (by Jessican Seinfeld)

Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund

The Whisper of the River by Ferrol Sams

When All the World Was Young by Ferrol Sams

• NOTE to Babs: these two Ferrol Sams books are the second and third in a trilogy that starts with Run with the Horsemen (which was the Atlanta Reads book club selection a few years back) -- I know how you like serial books!!!!

Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

The Garden Angel by Mindy Friddle

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig

World Without End by Ken Follett

My December Purchases

In the holiday spirit, I am also including the books that people purchased for me. Because my love of reading caused these purchases, so I feel some good book karma should accumulate to me. :^)

Books I purchased

FICTION

Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs (Coffee Buy the Book)

White Noise by Don DeLillo (Coffee Buy the Book)

Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland (Coffee by the Book)

The Wrinkle in Time Quintet: A Wrinkle in Time; A Wind in the Door; A Swiftly Tilting Planet; Many Waters; An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'Engle

• I loved these books growing up. Because I recently finished His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman (which I thoroughly enjoyed), I'm going back and seeking out similar things. I have three of these books in my collection from childhood, and I'm actually not sure if I ever read the last two. I remember reading some of L'Engle's non-fiction, within the last five years, and learning how many rejections she suffered before finally publishing A Wrinkle in Time - her first published novel, and it made me appreciate it all the more.

The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A.A Milne (Amazon.com; gift)

The Neon Bible by John Kennedy Toole (Amazon.com; gift)

The Maytrees by Annie Dillard (Amazon.com; gift)

NON-FICTION

Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld (Borders)

• It is highly likely that I will never actually use this cookbook, but I am still holding out hope that I can make one of my children a good eater!

Cancer Vixen: A True Story by Marisa Acocella Marchetto (Amazon.com; gift)

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy in Action (Borders; two copies; gifts)

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs (Amazon.com; gift)

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner (Amazon.com; gift)

Courting Justice: From New York Yankees v. Major League Baseball to Bush v. Gore by David Boies (Amazon.com; gift)

The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross (Amazon.com;gift)

Finally, a collection of Montessori books/pamphlets: Parenting from Your Heart by Inbal Kashtan; Montessori Insights for Parents of Young Children by Aline D. Wolf; A Parent's Guide to the Montessori Classroom by Aline D. Wolf; Raising Children Compassionately: Parenting the nonviolent Communication Way by Marshall B. Rosenberg; How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin

Books purchased for me

Bella Abzug: An oral history by Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom (B&N)

Run by Ann Patchett (B&N)

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (Amazon.com)

Hypocrite in a Poufy White Dress: Tales of Growing Up Groovy and Clueless by Susan Jane Gilman (Amazon.com)

• This book was purchased for me by my sister-in-law. It WAS off of my Amazon wishlist, but I can guarantee you that she chose this one as a little personal message regarding her feelings toward me; that is the type of person she is.

The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set: The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader'; The Silver Chair; The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (Amazon.com)

• I have three of these books from when I was a child - not in great condition. I think I read all of them, but I am not sure. I am going to re-read them all. This is another set that is part of my Philip Pullman inspired reading.

Home To Holly Springs by Jan Karon (Borders)