Archive for December, 2008

Off to Michigan!

In a little while I’ll be heading home to Michigan! We’re driving, so hopefully we can make it home between snowstorms. Ryan and I usually drive home for Christmas, and this year will be nice because we’ll have more people to split the driving up with – my friend Jenn is here visiting along with her boyfriend and her 10 year old sister.

So Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year everyone! I might update from Michigan, but I’m not sure yet. I’m hoping to stay fairly internet free and focus on time with family, friends, and reading.

I’ll be back after the new year with updates on books accumulated and read over the holidays, photos from Michigan, and more. I’ll also post my 2008 Books and Reading Recap, and hopefully have time to do a 2008 version of my “Which of Emily’s Favorite Books Read in 2007 Should You Read?” flow chart. Also on the horizon: reading goals for 2009.

Enjoy the season everyone! See you in 2009! :)

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)

Tags:
posted by chowmeyow in uncategorized and has Comments Off

Reborn: Journals and Notebooks, 1947-1963

Today on the way home from work I bought Reborn: Journals and Notebooks, 1947 – 1963 by Susan Sontag.

I’ve had my eye on this since last month, after reading about it in a magazine.

I’ve never read any of her other work, so it probably seems odd that I’m so interested in her journals. I love collections of letters journals, or notebooks of authors though. Just flipping through this book I’ve seen many wonderful short snips of writing.

I’m looking forward to reading more.

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)

posted by chowmeyow in books purchased and has Comments Off

NY Times 10 Best Books of the Year

The New York Times announced their list of the 10 best books of the year, and I’m thrilled that one of my favorite books this year, Nothing to be Frightened of by Julian Barnes, made the Non-Fiction list. (Here’s my post about it.)

Here’s the list:

Fiction:

Nonfiction:

If you click through to the NY Times site, you can read short descriptions of each book, as well as an excerpt or first chapter from most of the books.

I also loved Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. I haven’t read anything else on the list.

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)

posted by chowmeyow in bookish things and has Comments Off

Polysyllabic Spree – November 2008


Books Purchased:
Writing Home by Alan Bennett
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
The World of Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
Ukridge by P. G. Wodehouse
Uncle Fred in the Springtime by P. G. Wodehouse
Thank You, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
The Mating Season by P. G. Wodehouse
Untold Stories by Alan Bennett
The Gold Bat and Other School Stories by P. G. Wodehouse

I was doing relatively well with not buying many books in November. And then I went to Strand and they had a lot of P. G. Wodehouse books for $5 to $7.50. Oh well – so far I’m of the opinion that one can never own too much Wodehouse.

Also, as I look back over this list, I realized I got a lot of great bargains this month. Most of these were purchased at Strand for 50-75% off the list price, and the few that weren’t were about 50% off from other places.


Books Read:
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson (re-read)
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
How Right You Are, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid was a hangover from last month’s re-reading challenge. I love this book – it’s a lot of fun growing up vicariously in the 50s and 60s through Bill Bryson.

Ellen Foster was given to me for my birthday by my friend Jenn. It’s an excellent book – it’s a quick fun read and Ellen Foster is a charming and spunky narrator. There’s a sequel which she also got for me, The World All Around Me by Ellen Foster, which I’m looking forward to reading.

Anne of the Island – I’m continuing to read the Anne series by L. M. Montgomery and I’ve enjoyed every one. This one has major Gilbert Blythe payoff. I love reading the Anne books on a cold winter night – they are very cozy. It seems as time goes on I crave cozy more and more. Especially around the holidays.

How Right You Are, Jeeves – I’ve read several Jeeves and Wooster books by P. G. Wodehouse now. There’s not much to say anymore – just that I love being transported into their world. They always make me laugh and just reading about Jeeves making a restorative breakfast seems to restore me too. The next Jeeves and Wooster book I want to read is one I purchased this month – Thank You, Jeeves. Apparently it’s the first full length Jeeves/Wooster novel, so that should be cool. After that I’m going to venture out and read some of Wodehouse’s other characters.

I’m glad I read Dreams From My Father. It’s a great memoir, and it was fascinating to discover Barack Obama’s story. There’s a lot more I want to say about this book, but I keep typing sentences and deleting them, thinking they sound funny. I’ll leave it at this for now: I recommend this book.

I also started a few books in November that I couldn’t get into, and put aside for now. I’ve also now read half of David Copperfield, and hope to have it finished by the end of the year.

My complete Polysyllabic Spree lists can be found here.

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)

posted by chowmeyow in polysyllabic spree and has Comments Off

Links for 12.01.08

Video of a very sweet, and very funny, Mario Kart love song.

How to make homemade marshmallows.

The best book covers of the year, according to The Book Design Review Blog.

Extremely awesome Infinity Book Case.

Fine Taco Photography. (Thanks Ryan!)

Absolutely gorgeous new  penguin classics. They are totally worth drooling over online – unfortunately they are only available in the UK. So unless you want to pay the exhange rates and overseas shipping, we’ll have to just be jealous and hope they release them here.

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)

posted by chowmeyow in links and has Comments Off