I'm trying to be better about writing at least a little blurb about each book I read. Trying being the operative word here. The blurb, if and when I do get around to writing it, will of course happen after the book has been finished. So, in the beginning, what may show up here is just the book's basic information, title, author, date I began reading it. But feel free to comment on the book even if I haven't yet written anything about it. I always like talking about books!
For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, and all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain, crying aloud for mercy, and let there be no surcease to this agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails…and when at last he goeth to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him forever. --Curse for book thieves by Edmund Lester Pearson (1880-1937)
The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
• E •
2 c
God’s Debris, Scott Adams
•
0 c
I finally set up an RSS feed just in case anyone is interested in keeping up with what I'm reading through a news reader. RSS 2.0
Loved the book. Will probably find ways to bring it up in conversations and insist that people read it.
Liked it well enough. Would probably say that it's a good read, except for [fill in the blank].
Liked it well enough to finish the book but I wouldn't recommend that someone else read it.
So bad I couldn't finish the book. If someone mentioned the book title to me I'd probably shake my head and tell him not to waste his time or money.
Reading is Fundamental
So many books, so little time
Book: Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes
Start Date: 10/06/05
End Date: 11/28/05
Rating:
Comments: 0
Permalink: link
Print: 
I’ve had this book for close to three years I believe. I tried getting through it back then but halfway through I lost interest. I didn’t think too much about it since so much of my reading is directly tied to my moods. When the movie came out, and I saw how much the story was changed, I tried picking it up again, but still it was a no go. At that point I wondered if maybe I wasn’t meant to finish it. If I weren’t so stubborn about books, I might have given the book away at that point but instead I put it back on the shelf, certain that I’d get back to it.
A few weeks ago, after I’d once again enforced a book buying ban, I pulled this book off the shelf. Third times a charm as the saying goes. I finally managed to get through it. I’m not sure what was different this time around because I still had trouble with sections of the book. At first I thought it was because I couldn’t get a good mental picture of the Italy Mayes describes. But that’s never been a problem before. Then I hit one of her recipe sections. That’s when I realized what the trouble is. It’s not the geography that I have a trouble identifying with, it’s all the cooking. The book details the adventure of buying and renovating a house in a foreign country without speaking the language, but food plays a big part in the story as well. And that’s what I can’t relate to. When Mayes goes on and on about ingredients, and shopping trips and food preparation, she loses me. So much so that I completely skipped the recipe section, even though a few of them had snippets of storytelling. I felt bad about skimming or skipping sections for a little while but then I let that go. I enjoyed her story much better without those sections. I’m sure the recipes she includes are tasty, but considering that I rarely spend time in the kitchen, there was no point in taking the time to read them.
Book: QB VII, Leon Uris
Start Date: 05/01/06
End Date: 06/26/06
Rating:
Comments: 0
Permalink: link
Print:
Book: Better Off, Eric Brende
Start Date: 11/05/05
End Date: 11/14/05
Rating:
Comments: 3
Permalink: link
Print:
A couple leave behind all modern trappings and move to a community that, as the backcover blurb reads, “even the Amish consider antiquated.” The front cover contains a brief blurb from Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air, that makes me wonder if we read the same book. Krakauer says that Brende doesn’t come off as sanctimonious. I have to disagree. Maybe it’s my self-conscious love for, I don’t know, electricity, but I definitely detect a little sanctimonious tone. A technology bad, living off the land all good tone. Still, despite that, I enjoyed the book. It did make me wonder if I could get by with less technology, but there’s no way I’m turning the switch, so it’s just idle thought.
Book: Drowning Ruth, Christina Schwarz
Start Date: 06/17/07
End Date: 06/19/07
Rating:
Comments: 0
Permalink: link
Print:
Book: In Her Shoes, Jennifer Weiner
Start Date: 10/09/05
End Date: 10/16/05
Rating:
Comments: 0
Permalink: link
Print:
Book: Shopaholic & Sister, Sophie Kinsella
Start Date: 10/01/05
End Date: 10/05/05
Rating:
Comments: 0
Permalink: link
Print:
Right about the time I was realizing I had a problem with budgeting money, I read the first Shopaholic book, “Confessions of a Shopaholic”. The book actually helped me a lot, it was as if it was illuminating all of my bad habits. In reading about Rebecca Bloomwood’s silly and desperate antics, I finally realized just how silly and desperate my own were. It was eye opening.
“Shopaholic & Sister”, however, was nothing like that. I made it through the book only because I have a hard time letting books go unfinished. Moments that were supposed to be funny and silly just frustrated me. It’s silly to expect a lot of change from this character since without the shopping addiction there wouldn’t be much of a reason to continue the series. The silver lining to it all, I suppose, is that in reading about Rebecca’s spending troubles, I no longer see myself. So even if the character hasn’t grown, I have. Though I will admit that I still spend way too much on books. Oh the irony.
Book: Good In Bed, Jennifer Weiner
Start Date: 09/25/05
End Date: 09/28/05
Rating:
Comments: 0
Permalink: link
Print:
The last two sections got to me. The first two sections mostly dealt with her relationship or lack thereof with Bruce and quite frankly those were exasperating. Though there were a few examples of him being kind, overall he just didn’t seem worth the trouble and thought Cannie was putting into him. He certainly didn’t strike me as anyone I would pine over. But then, well, the little stick showed pink and the story took a bit of a turn. Anyone that knows me well knows I’m not one of those women who go all goofy over pregnancies, but as I get older and I start to think more and more about what I want to do about kids, I find that storylines like these peak my interest.
There were sections of this book that made me laugh out loud. Because of that I’m willing to overlook a couple of annoying details. The friendship with Maxi, the Hollywood actress, for example. From beginning to end, the bond the women forged was a bit farfetched. I would have liked to know a bit more about why her father was so detached as well. I realize going into his backstory would have taken the book in a different direction, but the potrayal of him was just so heavyhanded that it made you wonder why he’s such an ass. Weiner got bonus points for making me giggle so it all evened out in the end however. All in all, it was a good quick read which I sorely needed as I haven’t been able to get very excited about any of the other books on my reading list.
Book: The Bookseller of Kabul, Asne Seierstad
Start Date: 09/10/05
End Date: 09/17/05
Rating:
Comments: 1
Permalink: link
Print:
Book: Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman, Alice Steinbach
Start Date: 07/29/05
End Date: 09/10/05
Rating:
Comments: 0
Permalink: link
Print:
I really enjoyed this book, especially the chapters on her visit to Cuba and her participation in the Jane Austen luncheon. Throughout the book though I wondered how it was that she managed to afford so much travel. The timeline was vague or maybe I just didn’t pay enough attention, but I would have liked a little more detail on the logistics. But I imagine that would be mind-numbingly boring for most people. I can certainly understand why it wasn’t included in the book. After all, it’s not meant to be a guide. Once I was finished, I idly contemplated the places I would go if I had the time and money but I never got very far because, while I think I could find the time, I don’t have the money. Ah, it’s a sad thing when such mundane details get in the way of a good daydream. Still, the writing was good and I would certainly recommend the book. It would especially make a good reading club book I think. As the “Where would you go and what would you study” question could lead to some interesting discussions.
Book: Can You Keep a Secret?, Sophie Kinsella
Start Date: 08/27/05
End Date: 08/28/05
Rating:
Comments: 0
Permalink: link
Print: