Lady Tinx Approved!
I am so thrilled to have received this blog award! Thank you so much to Lady Tink for thinking of me!
I think it is wonderful that she actually took the time to design this lovely award, and will display it proudly!
Monthly Archive: January 2009
What’s On Your Nightstand?
Well, it’s the 4th Tuesday of the month, and it’s time to talk about what’s on our nightstand. This event is hosted by 5 Minutes for Books – make sure to visit them and see what other fun posters share today!
This month seems a little daunting. The pile is actually higher than last month, and you can no longer see the kiddies in the background!
At the bottom, is Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, which was there last month too. Hasn’t been moved away, but seems to be moving further down the list. The Guernsey Literary … book was a gift for Christmas! Recently, I’ve heard it’s a great beach read, so I’m taking that with me to Florida in two weeks.
My mother loved Love in the Time of Cholera so much that she’s sent it to me. Definitely has always been on my ‘to be read’ list, so it’s now on my nightstand. Bought myself The Post Birthday World by Lionel Shriver for SIX dollars at a recent B&N visit (it’s hardback even!) and I thought her We Need to Talk About Kevin was a wonderful (if disturbing) book. Also, couldn’t resist Pat Barker’s Life Class, usually enjoy her books immensely.
The Hour I First Believed I found at Costco the other day. I’m in the middle of Rise to Rebellion, and am totally into People of the Book at the moment!
Weekly Geeks – The Classics
I have decided to start participating in Weekly Geeks. This week has to do with Classic literature … the topic explanation is rather long, so if you’re interested in reading it, let me point you there.
I think I have always loved the ‘classics’. The first I remember really LOVING was Wuthering Heights. The tale of passion between Heathcliff and Catherine is heart-wrenching. The depth of feeling that Emily Bronte portrays between the two is amazing. I think it determined for me what real love should feel like. A lot of people don’t get past the first few chapters of the novel. They are a little difficult to get past, but believe me, as soon as you get past them to the real story of Catherine and Heathcliff, it is definitely worth it!
A little later, I read A Tale of Two Cities, which in my opinion is Charles Dickens’s best work. It has all the right ingredients: it is set in a turbulent time in history (the French Revolution), it is a wonderful love story, and, like most of my all-time favorite novels, it makes me cry every time. Anyone with a romantic soul should read it. I love it so much that I actually own a first edition, first issue copy. The first edition, first issue has misprinted page numbers. Page 213 is misnumbered 113.
I’m always on the lookout for a first edition of Wuthering Heights as well. They’re always extremely expensive, but one day I’ll find one I just cannot resist.
I by no means read ONLY classics. I think the last one I read must have been a reread of Macbeth at some point last year. These days, I read mostly ‘literary fiction’, which I suppose is what the ‘classics’ were once upon a time. After all, what defines a classic? Is it simply something that is old? Or is it literature that has timeless value? If someone told me they only read the classics, that’s the argument I would make. And then I would hand them Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks and dare them to tell me that that is not a classic! It may have been written in the last few decades, but it is nothing short of marvelous!
I also want to thank Marg for reminding me that I REALLY have to read Mr. Pip!! It’s been on my list for far too long now!
These books were made for walking … new meme
So, I thought I’d try something new.
We review books, and stuff in WoW all the time, and I KNOW you all travel at least a LITTLE bit sometimes. So, every third Wednesday of the month (a random day I didn’t find associations with another meme) I thought we could blog about a book and travel in some way. This first week’s theme is:
what book do you most associate with the beach and why?
Mine is Scruples by Judith Kranz. Oh dear, it will probably completely ruin my reputation, but it’s SUCH a beachy book!! Mine has granules of 3 beaches in it, I’m sure. I actually bring it along when I think everything else on my shelf might be too ‘high brow’ for the beach. It’s decadent, it’s predictable, it’s relaxing … and most of all, it’s a copy I don’t mind getting sunscreen and salt water on!!
So, I don’t know how to tag properly in a post, but I’m tagging all of you! If you receive a comment on your blog as a tag: please forgive me! I don’t know how else to do it!
Please join me in the new books’ travel meme every third wednesday of the month:
These books were meant for walking!
Historical Teaser for a Historical Day
Today is Tuesday, so it’s time for a teaser! It is not just any Tuesday though. It’s the Tuesday when Barack Obama is inaugurated as President of the United States. Even as someone who did NOT vote for him, I am moved and awed by the moment that will come in a couple of hours. I am filled with a little bit of hope for the future, and I wish him all the best.
I have chosen “Rise to Rebellion” from my nightstand for today’s teaser. It is a novel of the American Revolution, and I thought it might be an appropriate choice.
Each Tuesday, the teaser meme asks you to:
Each week TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
- Grab your current read
- Let the book fall open to a random page
- Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
- You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!My teaser comes from page 208:”He pushed himself to his feet, moved again to the window. He did not look toward the soldiers, instead staring out at nothing, his eyes clouded by tears, anger mixed with the sadness. Stupidity! Blind, incredible stupidity! You don’t slap an entire people across the face …”
Lately, I’ve been playing my very cute, and very deadly gnome mage, Snazzie. Last night was particulary exciting as I finally got to make my Magnificent Flying Carpet — as Snazzie herself would say: hooray!!!
And here she is, surfing her very very speedy flying carpet through the troll infested areas of Zul’Drak:
I am particulary excited, because questing in many of the areas that follow Zul’Drak becomes an extremely tedious chore if you don’t have a decent flying mount of some description… preferably a fast one.
Anyway, had to share! You may now all return to your regular programming.
Teaser Tuesday and Third Culture Kids
It’s Tuesday, and here are the rules:
Grab your current read Let the book fall open to a random page Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
There is only one VERY IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER:
*** Do NOT post anything that could spoil the plot of the book!!! ***
And here is my teaser, coming from page 217:
“Under the stress of raising kids in settings markedly different from their own upbringings, parents often go to extremes.”
The book is “Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds” by David C. Pollock & Ruth E. Van Reken.
I have to thank my high school friend Eric for bringing the book to my attention. I would not normally read ‘psychology’ texts, or child rearing texts, but this one is a ‘must’ for me. I am probably what can be classified as a third culture kid. It can most simply be defined as someone who grows up in a culture that is not the culture their parents identify with. Expat kids that become attached to the community they grow up in rather than the community their parents call ‘home’.
I’m only a little ways into the book, but I already think it will be very interesting. And anyone who is a parent to a third culture kid should probably consider reading it!
Thank you so much Secret Santa!
I wanted to start the New Year off by thanking my Secret Santa profusely. I have been meaning to read this book for sooo long!!! And my tiger bookmark is fabulous.
I am going to have to abandon my current read for a moment to read this. According to my husband, it is the number one book in Mumbai … of all places.
I’d also like to encourage you all to take a look at Paulo Coelho’s website. His collection of wallpapers that you can download of the author is nothing short of amazing.
Happy 2009 everyone!