I would normally do a happy dance for a triple cannonball (which was my goal for the whole year, so I’m pretty amazed that I hit it in August!), but my 156th book, Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, hardly lends itself for happy dancing. While the book contained some pretty depressing material, Krakauer also filled it with beautiful scenery, touching interviews and his own little glimpse into the life of a difficult, passionate young man. “I’d like to repeat the advice that I gave you before, in that I […]
Resolution for Lusitania
The final book of the Ender quintet finally provides some resolution for the planet of Lusitania (which has had an armed fleet aimed at it for the last 2 novels). It also wraps up some other storylines nicely, and gives us a good taste of one of my favorite power couples — Si Wang-Mu and the reincarnation of Peter Wiggin. “Changing the world is good for those who want their names in books. But being happy, that is for those who write their names in the […]
I’ll Drink to That
When I picked this up, my sister warned me that Celia Rivenbark is the most annoying woman alive. While I may not want to make her my BFF, I nonetheless thought that You Can’t Drink All Day If You Don’t Start in the Morning, which is basically a collection of diatribes against the world written by a slightly drunk Southern woman, was pretty fucking funny. “I have several close friends who have run marathons, a word that is actually derived from two Swahili words: mara, which means […]
Silenced
I have heard of Speak before — it’s been out since 2001 — but I never really knew what it was about. I happened to buy the 10 year anniversary edition at a used book sale. There’s a note from the author at the beginning, talking about what a huge response she’s received over the years from her readers about this book. She puts together a collection of lines from readers’ letters, and I swear, the damn thing had me in tears. That’s a powerful book, to move me […]
New vocab word: cruciverbalist
My city has a big book sale every year that benefits the library. I look forward to it eagerly — trade paperbacks for $1, mass market for a quarter? Sign me up! I think my favorite part thing about it is that there’s almost no risk — you can pick up some random book because it looks vaguely interesting and if it sucks, who cares? It was a dollar or less. This was my reasoning behind 1) purchasing 55 books this weekend and 2) picking up a […]
This book made me HUNGRY
I read this whole book in the bathtub and made myself very hungry reading the recipes. I seriously need some Mexican food right now! “Tita knew through her own flesh how fire transforms the elements, how a lump of corn flour is changed into a tortilla, how a soul that hasn’t been warmed by the fire of love is lifeless, like a useless ball of corn flour.” Like Water for Chocolate tells the story of Tita and Pedro. They fell instantly in love when their […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 100
- 101
- 102
- 103
- 104
- …
- 149
- Next Page »