14. Ghost World - Daniel Clowes (I would've loved this as a teenager. Now, not so much.)
15. Men of Salt: Crossing the Sahara on the Caravan of White Gold - Michael Benanav ♥ (Loved it! Interesting read about the culture and lifestyle of people living in the Sahara desert, and interesting facts about the salt mines deep in the middle of the desert.)
16. Desert Flower - Waris Dirie (+) (A memoir of a girl growing up in Africa, who was taken as a young child to be a slave, eventually escaping captivity. Great read.)
17. Cool Water - Diane Warren (+) (Short stories, fairly enjoyable.)
18. Waiting for Joe - Sandra Birdsell (+) (Hmm... the kind of book that makes you think about what would happen if you faced your biggest fears- a couple facing bankruptcy, living in a motor home.. somehow they rise up from their difficulties and carry on.)
19. Room - Emma Donoghue (+) (Interesting plot- the experience of a woman who was kidnapped and held captive for 7 years, as told from the perspective of her young son- manages to be innocent and hopeful, and not at all creepy.)
20. Ender's Shadow (audiobook) - Orson Scott Card (+) (Loved this book as a follow up to Ender's Game, too bad his other 2 books in the trilogy completely ruined his writing for me.)
21. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro (+) (I guess I liked it? Understated story that I suppose ultimately struck me as moving, though I really don't care for his writing style.)
22. The Best Laid Plans - Terry Fallis (+) (One of the best reads this year- if you can believe that of a political novel set on Capitol Hill in Ottawa! The authour has a dry wit that saves it from drudgery, and the premise is equally tongue in cheek- a politician with integrity.)
23. The Matter with Morris - David Bergen (Man going through mid-life crisis. Once I looked at the picture of the authour on the back flap, the rest of the book creeped me out, with his protagonist lusting over a much-younger woman.)
24. The Bone Cage - Angie Abdou (Interesting look into life as an Olympic athlete, though to me read a bit like a lurid romance novel.)
25. Annabel - Kathleen Winter (+) (Great read! A modern day east coast folk tale.)
26. Light Lifting - Alexander MacLeod (-) (abandoned)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
2011 Book Reading Project: The first quarter
So... I haven't officially decided if I'm going to repeat my 52 books project from last year. However, that hasn't stopped me from doing an awful lot of reading again this year- with one notable change, that I've reintroduced some non-fiction to my reading. And I realized the other day, that I'd already reached my quarter-of-the-way-through goalpost of 13 books. So without further ado, here they are.
1. The Ghost Brush - Katherine Govier (+)
I heard an interview with the authour on CBC, and was intrigued. It's the story of the daughter of the famous painter Hokusai. As it turns out, his daughter worked with him and in fact many of her own paintings have been wrongly credited to Hokusai. This is the telling of her story, and it's a very good read.
2. Ender's Game (audiobook) - Orson Scott Card ♥
Call me a sci fi late bloomer, but I only just discovered this classic book. And loved it. I think the audiobook was a particularly awesome way to read this book. Read! this! book!
3. Someone Knows My Name - Lawrence Hill (+)
AKA "The Book of Negroes". Historical fiction about the life of a woman from Africa who gets captured and taken into slavery as a girl. An award winner and for good reason- it's a great story and a great read.
4. Motorcycles & Sweetgrass: A Novel - Drew Hayden Taylor (+)
I read this because it's on the GG's short list this year. It's a great read, a modern day tale about the trickster Nanabush. And the authour nails it, it reminded me so much of the Nanabush stories we read as kids.
5. Speaker for the Dead (audiobook) - Orson Scott Card
Follow-up to Ender's game and, along with the book "Xenocide", makes up a trilogy. Don't bother- there's no similarities between books 2 & 3 to "Ender's Game" and I found the plot too complicated and tangled up to really be interesting.
6. The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less - Barry Schwartz ♥
Loooved this book. It spoke to me about all the things that make me a poor decision maker and a paralyzed, unhappy person when faced with decisions. It's a combination of the over-abundance of choice in our society and my 'maximizer' personality- always wanting to make the 'best' choice. Some great info on how to avoid suffering from the "tyranny of choice".
7. The Saxon Shore - Jack Whyte (+)
I am in the middle of this book series of historical fiction on the forming of Camelot and the King Arthur legend. Local author from Kelowna, it's a great series, even if he does tend to overwhelm with detail at times.
8. Switch: How to Change Things when Change is Hard - Chip and Dan Heath ♥
A great follow-up to "Paradox of Choice", I also looooved this book. It's about how to make successful changes in your personal life or at work, using an effective strategy using 3 components: appealing to your analytical mind, your emotional mind, and tweaking your environment to make the change easier. Also, the authours had a killer editor and this book has air-tight grammar, with nary a misplaced punctuation mark to be found.
9. Xenocide (audiobook) - Orson Scott Card (-)
Bleh, I suffered this book to the very end, enduring a drawn out plot, monotonous philosophical and religious theorizing, and characters that I just couldn't give a carp about. Don't bother. If you loved "Ender's Game" and desperately want more, go straight to "Ender's Shadow", which is equally awesome.
10. Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project - Jack Mayer (+)
Though the authour is rather a poor writer, this is a great book about a non-Jewish Polish woman who helped to save many Jewish children during the holocaust, yet was an unsung hero throughout history until recently, when some Kansas students found out about her and did a school project about her life. Lots of insight into Poland during the holocaust.
11. Winter Garden - Kristin Hannah
Unremarkable and not worth commenting.
12. The Sorcerer: The Fort at River's Bend - Jack Whyte (+)
More Jack Whyte, see above.
13. Half Broke Horses - Jeannette Walls (+)
If you read Jeannette Walls' memoir, "Glass Castle" and wondered how she ended up with such a bizarre set of parents, you will probably also like this memoir about her maternal grandmother's life. Amazing woman and an amazing life!
1. The Ghost Brush - Katherine Govier (+)
I heard an interview with the authour on CBC, and was intrigued. It's the story of the daughter of the famous painter Hokusai. As it turns out, his daughter worked with him and in fact many of her own paintings have been wrongly credited to Hokusai. This is the telling of her story, and it's a very good read.
2. Ender's Game (audiobook) - Orson Scott Card ♥
Call me a sci fi late bloomer, but I only just discovered this classic book. And loved it. I think the audiobook was a particularly awesome way to read this book. Read! this! book!
3. Someone Knows My Name - Lawrence Hill (+)
AKA "The Book of Negroes". Historical fiction about the life of a woman from Africa who gets captured and taken into slavery as a girl. An award winner and for good reason- it's a great story and a great read.
4. Motorcycles & Sweetgrass: A Novel - Drew Hayden Taylor (+)
I read this because it's on the GG's short list this year. It's a great read, a modern day tale about the trickster Nanabush. And the authour nails it, it reminded me so much of the Nanabush stories we read as kids.
5. Speaker for the Dead (audiobook) - Orson Scott Card
Follow-up to Ender's game and, along with the book "Xenocide", makes up a trilogy. Don't bother- there's no similarities between books 2 & 3 to "Ender's Game" and I found the plot too complicated and tangled up to really be interesting.
6. The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less - Barry Schwartz ♥
Loooved this book. It spoke to me about all the things that make me a poor decision maker and a paralyzed, unhappy person when faced with decisions. It's a combination of the over-abundance of choice in our society and my 'maximizer' personality- always wanting to make the 'best' choice. Some great info on how to avoid suffering from the "tyranny of choice".
7. The Saxon Shore - Jack Whyte (+)
I am in the middle of this book series of historical fiction on the forming of Camelot and the King Arthur legend. Local author from Kelowna, it's a great series, even if he does tend to overwhelm with detail at times.
8. Switch: How to Change Things when Change is Hard - Chip and Dan Heath ♥
A great follow-up to "Paradox of Choice", I also looooved this book. It's about how to make successful changes in your personal life or at work, using an effective strategy using 3 components: appealing to your analytical mind, your emotional mind, and tweaking your environment to make the change easier. Also, the authours had a killer editor and this book has air-tight grammar, with nary a misplaced punctuation mark to be found.
9. Xenocide (audiobook) - Orson Scott Card (-)
Bleh, I suffered this book to the very end, enduring a drawn out plot, monotonous philosophical and religious theorizing, and characters that I just couldn't give a carp about. Don't bother. If you loved "Ender's Game" and desperately want more, go straight to "Ender's Shadow", which is equally awesome.
10. Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project - Jack Mayer (+)
Though the authour is rather a poor writer, this is a great book about a non-Jewish Polish woman who helped to save many Jewish children during the holocaust, yet was an unsung hero throughout history until recently, when some Kansas students found out about her and did a school project about her life. Lots of insight into Poland during the holocaust.
11. Winter Garden - Kristin Hannah
Unremarkable and not worth commenting.
12. The Sorcerer: The Fort at River's Bend - Jack Whyte (+)
More Jack Whyte, see above.
13. Half Broke Horses - Jeannette Walls (+)
If you read Jeannette Walls' memoir, "Glass Castle" and wondered how she ended up with such a bizarre set of parents, you will probably also like this memoir about her maternal grandmother's life. Amazing woman and an amazing life!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
52 Books in 52 Weeks: A recap
A lot of people have asked me how my 52 books project went, so here goes. In a nutshell, it was most definitely a rewarding and satisfying endeavour that I hope to continue into 2011, for the following reasons:
- It was a good lesson in the power of goal setting and gave a rewarding sense of accomplishment. To tackle a goal that seemed so difficult yet at the same time realistic and doable on the day-to-day scale was pretty eye-opening, and to see myself accomplish that goal over the year was pretty empowering. In fact it's motivated me to do some goal-setting in other areas of my life for the upcoming year.
- Tracking my reading and seeing that list grow was also rewarding- who knows how many books we read over the years but to see it on a list was awesome to see just how those numbers add up! Again, I'm going to continue with the numbers thing, because it's so satisfying to quantify accomplishments, so a lot of my personal goals are going to be similar- 30 hikes, 10 snowshoes hikes, stuff like that.
- I finally got around to reading some of those books that I've always wanted to or felt I should read but never made the time for.
- It gave me the chance to really work through my never-ending reading list. It's nice to be crossing books off that list, not just adding new books to it.
- A book a week was a comfortable pace and worked out well- some books were short and took less than a week, others were bigger and took a couple of weeks. I briefly considered upping the ante after reading about the 10-10-10 challenge (10 books x 10 genres by Oct 2010) but then I realized that if I read that fast I wouldn't remember any of the reads by the end of the year. As it stands, I did start to lose track a bit after hitting the two-thirds mark but I still have a basic idea of the plots of all the books I read this year. It was a calm enough pace to still enjoy all of the books I read.
- I talked to a lot of people about my 52 books project, and inspired a few to try something like it. I think it will be a lot more fun to be reading alongside other people this year!
- Lastly, I read a few articles about how the world needs more readers- people are reading less although plenty of books are getting written and published every year. For that reason I think I'm going to continue at the pace of a book a week for 2011.
52 Books in 52 Weeks (52/52)
40. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank (+) I expected this to be a more emotionally difficult read but it was more of a coming of age story.
41. Slave: My True Story - Mende Nazer A very good read about one woman's experience with slavery in Africa- some difficult to read descriptions but really an eye-opening read.
42. Incontinent on the Continent - Jane Christmas (-) Travelogue of the athour and her senior mother taking a trip around Italy. I looked forward to an off-the-beaten track look at Italy but what I got was a lot of griping and moaning about having to 'drag' her elderly and disabled mother around Italy, thereby 'missing out on all the fun'. bleah.
43. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson (+) Crime/mystery novels are not typically my genre, but this one was done with creativity, adrenaline, and a lot of twists!
44. The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson (+) Continues on in the style and story of TGWTDT.
45. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson A little too much Stieg Larsson at this point, partly because the books become formulaic and partly because I read them so darn fast!
46. Day After Night - Anita Diamant I loved The Red Tent, however this novel of hers didn't win me over.
47. Born With a Tooth - Joseph Borden (abandoned) Loved his novels, but his short stories failed to draw me in. I tried, really!
48. My Journey to Lhasa - Alexandra David-Neel (+) Awesome woman, awesome story. In 1923, dressed as a Tibetan pilgrim, the authour walked from the Chinese-Tibetan border all the way to Lhasa, sleeping mostly outdoors on the ground, and carrying all of her belongings.
49. The Skystone - Jack Whyte (+) The first in an enjoyable series about the Arthurian legend, this books begins with the Roman occupation of Britain, and sets the backdrop for the creation of Camelot.
50. What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim - Jane Christmas Ugh. Once again sucked in by Ms. Christmas, once again wholly disappointed. An intriguing plot in which the authour sets out to walk the entire Camino de Santiago de Compostela- sounds enticing- instead be prepared to read, once again, a lot of the author's b!tching and complaining.
51. The Singing Sword - Jack Whyte (+) Continuation of the Arthurian legend series.
52. Stroke of Insight - Jill Bolte Taylor (+) ? I may actually have read this in 2009 but I can't remember. It's been a long year! This is a fascinating read about a neuroscientist who suffers a major stroke in her 30s and goes on to write about the experience in great detail in this book. Very insightful indeed.
41. Slave: My True Story - Mende Nazer A very good read about one woman's experience with slavery in Africa- some difficult to read descriptions but really an eye-opening read.
42. Incontinent on the Continent - Jane Christmas (-) Travelogue of the athour and her senior mother taking a trip around Italy. I looked forward to an off-the-beaten track look at Italy but what I got was a lot of griping and moaning about having to 'drag' her elderly and disabled mother around Italy, thereby 'missing out on all the fun'. bleah.
43. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson (+) Crime/mystery novels are not typically my genre, but this one was done with creativity, adrenaline, and a lot of twists!
44. The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson (+) Continues on in the style and story of TGWTDT.
45. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson A little too much Stieg Larsson at this point, partly because the books become formulaic and partly because I read them so darn fast!
46. Day After Night - Anita Diamant I loved The Red Tent, however this novel of hers didn't win me over.
47. Born With a Tooth - Joseph Borden (abandoned) Loved his novels, but his short stories failed to draw me in. I tried, really!
48. My Journey to Lhasa - Alexandra David-Neel (+) Awesome woman, awesome story. In 1923, dressed as a Tibetan pilgrim, the authour walked from the Chinese-Tibetan border all the way to Lhasa, sleeping mostly outdoors on the ground, and carrying all of her belongings.
49. The Skystone - Jack Whyte (+) The first in an enjoyable series about the Arthurian legend, this books begins with the Roman occupation of Britain, and sets the backdrop for the creation of Camelot.
50. What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim - Jane Christmas Ugh. Once again sucked in by Ms. Christmas, once again wholly disappointed. An intriguing plot in which the authour sets out to walk the entire Camino de Santiago de Compostela- sounds enticing- instead be prepared to read, once again, a lot of the author's b!tching and complaining.
51. The Singing Sword - Jack Whyte (+) Continuation of the Arthurian legend series.
52. Stroke of Insight - Jill Bolte Taylor (+) ? I may actually have read this in 2009 but I can't remember. It's been a long year! This is a fascinating read about a neuroscientist who suffers a major stroke in her 30s and goes on to write about the experience in great detail in this book. Very insightful indeed.
Friday, September 24, 2010
This is too funny. I completely forgot about this blog. I am going to use Jen's method of making a list. I have not advanced as fast as Jen has. I better get reading!
Here is the list so far:
1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. Fast read. I certainly can see why this was so popular with kids. The library had huge waiting lists for this one. I enjoyed it so much I read the entire series.
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kids: Rodrick Rules. This book was very reminicent of Malcom in the Middle.
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid : The Last Straw. Perfect for my crurrent job: I now can have deep bookish discussions with my clients. I have no problem rrecommending this series & it is fun to discuss it with other fans.
4. Lawn Boy by Gary Paulson. A tad too young for me. A kid starts a buisness and gets rich. Appropriate for the intended audience.
5. When Heaven Fell by Carolyn Marsden. Set in Vietman.
The story is told from the point of view of a young girl who is living in Vietnam with her family. Life takes an unexpected turn when an aunt who has been living in America comes ot visit. The aunt had been the child of an American solidier and her Grandmother. None of the family knew of the aunt's existance. This book was very though-provoking both about the complexity of giving up children for adoption and the complexity of growing up as a visible minority.
6. The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin.
Clearly writtten for the 8 - 10 year range. Book provides good insight into how existing mental models impede the acceptance of visible minorities.
7. How do you Spell Geek by Julie Ann Peters
Not that memorable because I don't remember reading it. Good thing I made notes: "Spelling bees must be very trendy." Likely very exciting for the intended audience, especially if they like spelling bees.
8. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. This book won a Calecott Medal. It is one of those treasured books about non-traditional family groupings. I recommend you read the wikipedia synopsis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Higher_Power_of_Lucky
9. The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin. Very similar to the first book I read. Good recommendation for Grades 2-4.
10. Airhead by Meg Cabot. "Cringe".What more can I say other than it is a YRCA 2011 nominee...the kids must like it.
11. City of Bones byu Cassandra Clare
12. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
13. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare.
Perfect for my taste. Teen Fantasy. Loved them. The fourth one come out December 2010, conveniently in time to still make my 2010 list.
14. The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan.
Hugely popular with kids. Would highly recommend to the 12 - 14 age. This is the only one of the series I have read.
15. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen.
16. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Galdwell.
This is not YA you say! Yes, I know I am cheating but I want it known that I finally broke down and read the book. Five years behind you say...well... I try not to be a fad follower. haha
17. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
The best read on this list so far. I was very sorry when I was finished when it was over.
18. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.
19. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.
This series was the best I read this year... maybe even last year. I found these books to be usual in plot but also thoughful in the message it conveyed about power. What a wonderful way to teach humanity...through storytelling. This series shows the power of fiction. Fiction can help us clarify our thoughts, it can help us think about different points of view and it can even challenge our beliefs or perhaps validate themselves all though the power of entertainment.
20. Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
21. Gregor the Overlander and the Prophesy of the Bane by Suzanne Collins
22. Gregor the Overlander and the Prophesy of the Secret by Suzanne Collins
23. Gregor the Overlander and the Code of the Claw by Suzanne Collins
This series is for a slightly younger audience . Once again, great writing and moral pronciples about power, beliefs and human foibles that I could relate to and embrace.
24. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull.
First in the series (5 so far). Kids love this book and ask for it all the time. I enjoyed it but obviously not enough to read the rest of the books. I might try the second if I start running short of titles for my list.
25. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
I choose this book as a result of a patron request. When I read the back blurb, I realized I had seen the movie. This book is the first of a series of three (so far). It is an post- apocalyptic novel. Since I have already seen the movie, I am basically reading through the book as a refresher for the rest of the series.
Here is the list so far:
1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. Fast read. I certainly can see why this was so popular with kids. The library had huge waiting lists for this one. I enjoyed it so much I read the entire series.
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kids: Rodrick Rules. This book was very reminicent of Malcom in the Middle.
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid : The Last Straw. Perfect for my crurrent job: I now can have deep bookish discussions with my clients. I have no problem rrecommending this series & it is fun to discuss it with other fans.
4. Lawn Boy by Gary Paulson. A tad too young for me. A kid starts a buisness and gets rich. Appropriate for the intended audience.
5. When Heaven Fell by Carolyn Marsden. Set in Vietman.
The story is told from the point of view of a young girl who is living in Vietnam with her family. Life takes an unexpected turn when an aunt who has been living in America comes ot visit. The aunt had been the child of an American solidier and her Grandmother. None of the family knew of the aunt's existance. This book was very though-provoking both about the complexity of giving up children for adoption and the complexity of growing up as a visible minority.
6. The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin.
Clearly writtten for the 8 - 10 year range. Book provides good insight into how existing mental models impede the acceptance of visible minorities.
7. How do you Spell Geek by Julie Ann Peters
Not that memorable because I don't remember reading it. Good thing I made notes: "Spelling bees must be very trendy." Likely very exciting for the intended audience, especially if they like spelling bees.
8. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. This book won a Calecott Medal. It is one of those treasured books about non-traditional family groupings. I recommend you read the wikipedia synopsis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Higher_Power_of_Lucky
9. The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin. Very similar to the first book I read. Good recommendation for Grades 2-4.
10. Airhead by Meg Cabot. "Cringe".What more can I say other than it is a YRCA 2011 nominee...the kids must like it.
11. City of Bones byu Cassandra Clare
12. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
13. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare.
Perfect for my taste. Teen Fantasy. Loved them. The fourth one come out December 2010, conveniently in time to still make my 2010 list.
14. The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan.
Hugely popular with kids. Would highly recommend to the 12 - 14 age. This is the only one of the series I have read.
15. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen.
16. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Galdwell.
This is not YA you say! Yes, I know I am cheating but I want it known that I finally broke down and read the book. Five years behind you say...well... I try not to be a fad follower. haha
17. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
The best read on this list so far. I was very sorry when I was finished when it was over.
18. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.
19. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.
This series was the best I read this year... maybe even last year. I found these books to be usual in plot but also thoughful in the message it conveyed about power. What a wonderful way to teach humanity...through storytelling. This series shows the power of fiction. Fiction can help us clarify our thoughts, it can help us think about different points of view and it can even challenge our beliefs or perhaps validate themselves all though the power of entertainment.
20. Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
21. Gregor the Overlander and the Prophesy of the Bane by Suzanne Collins
22. Gregor the Overlander and the Prophesy of the Secret by Suzanne Collins
23. Gregor the Overlander and the Code of the Claw by Suzanne Collins
This series is for a slightly younger audience . Once again, great writing and moral pronciples about power, beliefs and human foibles that I could relate to and embrace.
24. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull.
First in the series (5 so far). Kids love this book and ask for it all the time. I enjoyed it but obviously not enough to read the rest of the books. I might try the second if I start running short of titles for my list.
25. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
I choose this book as a result of a patron request. When I read the back blurb, I realized I had seen the movie. This book is the first of a series of three (so far). It is an post- apocalyptic novel. Since I have already seen the movie, I am basically reading through the book as a refresher for the rest of the series.
Monday, September 20, 2010
52 Books in 52 Weeks: Part 3 (39/52)
disliked (-), neutral/ok ( ), liked (+), loved (♥)
27. Persuasion - Jane Austen (+)
28. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (+)
29. Prisoner of Tehran - Marina Nemat ♥
30. Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet - Xinran (+)
31. Elephant Winter: A Novel - Kim Echlin (-)
32. Dagmar's Daughter - Kim Echlin
33. Emma - Jane Austin
34. Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur - Halima Bashir ♥
35. The Winter Vault - Anne Michaels (-)
36. The Mistress of Nothing - Kate Pullinger
37. The Bishop's Man - Linden MacIntyre (+)
38. The Year of the Flood - Margaret Atwood (+)
39. Hiroshima - John Hersey (+)
At this point I am starting to lose track of the books I've read, and remember what they were each about!
27. Persuasion - Jane Austen (+)
28. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (+)
29. Prisoner of Tehran - Marina Nemat ♥
30. Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet - Xinran (+)
31. Elephant Winter: A Novel - Kim Echlin (-)
32. Dagmar's Daughter - Kim Echlin
33. Emma - Jane Austin
34. Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur - Halima Bashir ♥
35. The Winter Vault - Anne Michaels (-)
36. The Mistress of Nothing - Kate Pullinger
37. The Bishop's Man - Linden MacIntyre (+)
38. The Year of the Flood - Margaret Atwood (+)
39. Hiroshima - John Hersey (+)
At this point I am starting to lose track of the books I've read, and remember what they were each about!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Prisoner of Tehran - Marina Nemat
What an amazing story. She writes about her experience as a political prisoner in Iran, where she was tortured and nearly executed, and held prisoner for over 2 years. Her writing is beautiful and easy to read, and her compassion and goodness is what is truly humbling. I really recommend reading this!
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