http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:20:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I have read quite a lot of books lately, and I intend to read many more. And in books I have discovered that there are sometimes lonely patches And scary times Disasters Catastrophes And long paragraphs of no use at all except possibly (says Saffron) to build up your stamina. But there are also jokes Friends Adventures And ... http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2010/03/16/teaser-tuesday-6/ 'The time has come,' the Walrus said, 'To talk of many things: Of shoes - and ships - and sealing-wax - Of cabbages - and kings - And why the sea is boiling hot - And whether pigs have wings.' Alice. The smiling Cheshire cat. The White Rabbit. The Queen of Hearts. The Jabberwocky. It seems ... http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2010/03/14/alice-in-wonderland-through-the-looking-glass-by-lewis-carroll/ I've said it before and I will no doubt repeat myself in the future: I love Food Writing. Good authors writing about food is some of the best vicarious living through reading that you can experience. When that author also makes you laugh out loud quite frequently, that's some good ... http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2010/03/13/american-fried-by-calvin-trillin/ Books Purchased: More Six-Word Memoirs edited by Smith Magazine The Road to McCarthy by Pete McCarthy Ireland: True Stories of Life on the Emerald Isle edited by James O’Reilly Little Bee by Chris Cleave The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone Books Read: Inklings by Jeffrey Koterba (library) Stitches by David Small (library) Permanent Rose by Hilary McKay ... http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2010/03/13/polysyllabic-spree-february-2010/ There are some types of food that do lend themselves to sophisticated techniques of interrogation. When an Italian restaurant is suggested, for instance, I always say, "Who controls the city around here?" I suppose a good Italian restaurant could exist in a city that doesn't have enough Italians to constitute ... http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2010/03/09/teaser-tuesday-5/ Title: The Sixty-Eight Rooms Author: Marianne Malone Published: 2010 My edition: Random House Hardcover 2010 Purchased From: Barnes and Noble Greenwich Village Pages: 269 Synopsis (from Strand): Every Chicagoan knows about the Thorne Rooms in the Art Institute of Chicago. Sixty-eight miniature rooms, depicting rooms from European homes throughout the centuries, in immaculate detail, precise right ... http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2010/03/06/the-sixty-eight-rooms-by-marianne-malone/ I've been enjoying the Casson family series by Hilary McKay. This month I finished the third, Permanent Rose. I don't feel the need to post a full review of it, but here are a few of my favorite lines from the book: "I always say a little prayer when I put ... http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2010/02/28/permanent-rose-by-hilary-mckay/ In the canteen there was a television that was always on. I began to learn more about life in your country. I watched programs called Love Island and Hell's Kitchen and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and I worked out how I would kill myself on all of those ... http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2010/02/23/teaser-tuesday-4/ Title: The Help Author: Kathryn Stockett Published: 2009 My edition: Putnam Hardcover 2009 Purchased From: Book Depository Pages: 451 Synopsis (from Strand): Set deep in the heart of Mississippi, circa 1962, "The Help" offers readers an enchanting and original journey into the trying lives and times of three very different women who chose to come together ... http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2010/02/22/the-help-by-kathryn-stockett/ Daddy flipped the switch. In the seconds it took to really get going, cake flour blew up from the mixing bowl and swirled around the room, recipes flapped off the counter and caught fire on the stovetop. Constantine snatched the burning roll of parchment paper, quickly dipped it in the ... http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2010/02/16/teaser-tuesday-3/