Category Archives: books

13. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.
14. Torches Together by Emmy Arnold.
15. Dad by Choice by Marie Fernarella
16. Hearts Divided (short stories) by Debbie Macomber, Katherine Store, Lois Faye Dyer
17. An Independent Woman by Candace Camp
18. A Plain Life: Walking my Belief by Scott Savage
19. A Walden Two Experiment: the First Five Years of the Twin Oaks Experiment by Kathleen Kincade

A few more free romance novels, and then a few books about simpler and often religious life styles – amish, the bruderhoff, and twin oaks.

9. Leaving Normal by Stef Ann Holm
10. You’ve got Male by Elizabeth Bevarly
11. The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott (her first novel, written when she was 17 and probably the basis of Jo’s novel in Little Women)
12. The Capitve by Victoria Holt

A couple of free and traditional romance novels, classic.
I also read a lot of back issues of smithsonian magazine (like, at least 5 issues), but I don’t usually include that stuff on my book list. I ought to, smithsonian magazine is a hearty volume full of information.

The 100 best novels as determined by The Modern Library. I can’t believe I’ve read so few of them. Guess this will be one of my never-ending lists of books to read – I wish I had my notebook with me last night, becasue I really could have used those book lists at the library.

1. ULYSSES by James Joyce
2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov
5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley
6. THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner
7. CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller
8. DARKNESS AT NOON by Arthur Koestler
9. SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence
10. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck
11. UNDER THE VOLCANO by Malcolm Lowry
12. THE WAY OF ALL FLESH by Samuel Butler
13. 1984 by George Orwell
14. I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves
15. TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf
16. AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY by Theodore Dreiser
17. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers
18. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut
19. INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison
20. NATIVE SON by Richard Wright
21. HENDERSON THE RAIN KING by Saul Bellow
22. APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA by John O’Hara
23. U.S.A. (trilogy) by John Dos Passos
24. WINESBURG, OHIO by Sherwood Anderson
25. A PASSAGE TO INDIA by E.M. Forster
26. THE WINGS OF THE DOVE by Henry James
27. THE AMBASSADORS by Henry James
28. TENDER IS THE NIGHT by F. Scott Fitzgerald
29. THE STUDS LONIGAN TRILOGY by James T. Farrell
30. THE GOOD SOLDIER by Ford Madox Ford
31. ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell
32. THE GOLDEN BOWL by Henry James
33. SISTER CARRIE by Theodore Dreiser
34. A HANDFUL OF DUST by Evelyn Waugh
35. AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner
36. ALL THE KING’S MEN by Robert Penn Warren
37. THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY by Thornton Wilder
38. HOWARDS END by E.M. Forster
39. GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN by James Baldwin
40. THE HEART OF THE MATTER by Graham Greene
41. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding (high school)
42. DELIVERANCE by James Dickey
43. A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME (series) by Anthony Powell
44. POINT COUNTER POINT by Aldous Huxley
45. THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway
46. THE SECRET AGENT by Joseph Conrad
47. NOSTROMO by Joseph Conrad
48. THE RAINBOW by D.H. Lawrence
49. WOMEN IN LOVE by D.H. Lawrence
50. TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller
51. THE NAKED AND THE DEAD by Norman Mailer
52. PORTNOY’S COMPLAINT by Philip Roth
53. PALE FIRE by Vladimir Nabokov
54. LIGHT IN AUGUST by William Faulkner
55. ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac
56. THE MALTESE FALCON by Dashiell Hammett
57. PARADE’S END by Ford Madox Ford
58. THE AGE OF INNOCENCE by Edith Wharton
59. ZULEIKA DOBSON by Max Beerbohm
60. THE MOVIEGOER by Walker Percy
61. DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOP by Willa Cather
62. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY by James Jones
63. THE WAPSHOT CHRONICLES by John Cheever
64. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger
65. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess
66. OF HUMAN BONDAGE by W. Somerset Maugham
67. HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad
68. MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis
69. THE HOUSE OF MIRTH by Edith Wharton
70. THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTET by Lawrence Durell
71. A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA by Richard Hughes
72. A HOUSE FOR MR BISWAS by V.S. Naipaul
73. THE DAY OF THE LOCUST by Nathanael West
74. A FAREWELL TO ARMS by Ernest Hemingway
75. SCOOP by Evelyn Waugh
76. THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by Muriel Spark
77. FINNEGANS WAKE by James Joyce
78. KIM by Rudyard Kipling
79. A ROOM WITH A VIEW by E.M. Forster
80. BRIDESHEAD REVISITED by Evelyn Waugh
81. THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH by Saul Bellow
82. ANGLE OF REPOSE by Wallace Stegner
83. A BEND IN THE RIVER by V.S. Naipaul
84. THE DEATH OF THE HEART by Elizabeth Bowen
85. LORD JIM by Joseph Conrad
86. RAGTIME by E.L. Doctorow
87. THE OLD WIVES’ TALE by Arnold Bennett
88. THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London
89. LOVING by Henry Green
90. MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie
91. TOBACCO ROAD by Erskine Caldwell
92. IRONWEED by William Kennedy
93. THE MAGUS by John Fowles
94. WIDE SARGASSO SEA by Jean Rhys
95. UNDER THE NET by Iris Murdoch
96. SOPHIE’S CHOICE by William Styron
97. THE SHELTERING SKY by Paul Bowles
98. THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by James M. Cain
99. THE GINGER MAN by J.P. Donleavy
100. THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS by Booth Tarkington

1. Damia by Anne McCaffery
2. Damia’s Children by Anne McCaffery
3. Madam, will you talk? by Mary Stewart
4. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
5. Good Catholic Girls: How Women are Leading the Fight to Change the Church by Angela Bonavoglia
6. Sister Light, Sister Dark by Jane Yolen
7. White Jenna by Jane Yolen
8. The Captive by Victoria Holt

The Westing Game is, turns out, one of my all time favorite books when I was a kid. I just hadn’t remembered. it’s brilliant.

Most of these books were books to read before tossing them in the donate bag.

The grand finale of all the books I read this year. 96!*** I almost made it to 100! Bet I would have, if I hadn’t started watching DVDs in December.

88. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie
89. Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
90. The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
91. Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie
92. There is a Tide by Agatha Christie
93. The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
94. To Ride Pegasus by Anne McCaffery
95. Pegasus in Flight by Anne McCaffery
96. The Rowan by Anne McCaffery

All of these books were books given to me by my mom or dad and that I wanted to read before donating.

You can access the full set of book lists here I updated with my full 2005 reading list b/c someone said the tag line of my journal (crafts, books, fish sandwiches, and other shiny things) and I realized that heck. I haven’t updated books very frequently. or crafts. but I’ll get to that…

*** edited – this should be a grand total of 97, because I just realized I hadn’t listed a book I read in March 2005. Affluenza: an all consuming epidemic by John de Graaf et. al. [[12/26/06]]

9 books, more comfort reading. Actually, mom ditched a bunch of McCaffery’s on me and I reread most of them before donating.

79. The Ship Who Searched by Anne McCaffery
80. The Ship Who Won by Anne McCaffery
81. The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
82. Mistress Pat by LM Montgomery
83. The Strength of the Hills by Elswyth Thane
84. Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
85. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
86. Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie
87. Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield

The GEMS this month are definately Captain Blood and Diary of a Provincial Lady. Tellingly, they were written in 1922 and 1931, respectively. Classic!

Check out what I did instead of studying for the PE exam. 14 books! Classic comfort reading here, that’s for sure.

65. French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mirelle Guiliano
66. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell
67. As A Lady Would Say by Sheryl Shade
68. An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
69. Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
70. Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart
71. The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart
72. This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart
73. My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart
74. Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey
75. Arrows Flight by Mercedes Lackey
76. Arrows Fall by Mercedes Lackey
77. The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffery
78. Partnership by Anne McCaffery

a decent 5 this month too:

60. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
61. Getting Things Done by David Allen
62. The Adulteress by Philllippa Carr (aka Victoria Holt)
63. Miss Bubbles Steals the Show by Melanie Murray
64. The Roots of Desire [heh, book about redheads]

5 for this month:

55. The Blank Wall by Elizabeth Sankay Holding
56. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
57. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
58. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
59. The Time Travelers Wife by Audry Niffenegger

went to the beach. doesn’t seem like a lot of light reading, I think I didn’t make wise choices this month.

I had a bit of a binge this month!

49. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
50. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
51. Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
52. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
53. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
54. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling

And no, I didn’t have to mug any children. I borrowed the whole bunch from Gabulo and gave the first few a good re-read.

More books this month than last!

43. Cordelia Underwood by Van Reid
44. The Spring of the Tiger by Victoria Holt
45. Mollie Peer by Van Reid
46. Daniel Plainway by Van Reid
47. Mrs. Roberto by Van Reid
48. Fiddlers Green by Van Reid

The Van Reid books were a grab off the shelf thing from my local library.

41. Fer de Lance by Rex Stout [audiobook]
42. Swift as Desire by Laura Esquivel [audiobook]

Only two books, both audio. I listened as I painted my apartment, if I recall correctly.

Books I read in April 2005. Pre-dated post (there’s no good way to say that!).

37. Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx. by Adrian Leblanc
38. An Equal Music by Vikram Seth
39. Grace: The Secret Lives of a Princess by James Spada
40. The Gangster of Love by Jessica Hagedon

Only 4! New job, lots of travel, a dense non-fiction, and painting an apartment.

“post” posted post of books read in March 2005:

29. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
30. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
31. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs [audiobook]
32. Hotel World by Ali Smith [audiobook]
33. The best of Kathleen Norris by Kathleen Norris, included the novel
34. The American Flaggs
35. Steel Magic by Andre Norton
36. Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas

I slowed down dramatically when I got a job and had to move! heh. Only 8 books, and 2 I was able to listen to in the car on my trips to/from NJ.

I started packing my books today, I took about an hour and packed 9 boxes. I estimate there’s about 3 more to go, maybe more, and there are a few boxes in the basement that I never unpacked (should bring them up, probably). I have a box in my room that is labeled “THIS IS BOX 15” so I shouldn’t really expect to get away with any less than that!

yikes.

Because I am a book nerd (who knew?) I had to check out the library system. Luckily, there are a bunch of libraries in Bergen Co. and they have all banded together like merry men. There is one in Lyndhurst and another one in Rutherford so no matter what I think I’ll be set.

I like this information: “Our collection of 63,000 consists of books, videos, periodicals, and audio books for both adults and children.” and think that this is hilariously specific: “There is a limit of fifty (50) books you can borrow, however you may only borrow three books on any one subject.”

I found out the bus btwn the towns costs 1.10. Which seems like a lot to me. Even if it is just for bad weather. and even if I do make a zillion dollars a year.

Well.
We’ll see what happens.

I have a bunch of books that I *haven’t* written anything about, but last night I finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It was wild. It’s written from the point of view of an autistic boy and once I started reading it I didn’t want to stop. Mostly because I wanted to know what he would do next — I don’t really have any experience with autistim and it was amazing to read and see how an autistic child may react to very emotional experiences around him and involving him. I also really enjoyed the asides the narrator gives about how people’s minds work, and how emotions work.

“post” posted post [posty mc posty post!] of books read in February 2005:

15. Secret Marriage by Kathleen Norris
16. The Boarding School Girls by Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya
17. Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey
18. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
19. The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket
20. One True Love by Stephanie Doyle [Romance Novel]
21. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
22. Brick Lane by Monica Ali
23. Circling the Drain by Amanda Davis [short stories, CMU book club]
24. Wonder When You’ll Miss Me by Amanda Davis
25. For Matrimonial Purposes by Kavita Daswani [audiobook]
26. Liars and Saints by Maile Meloy
27. The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket
28. The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket

I read 14 in January, 14 in February. Wow. Of course, there was a bunch of light reading (Lemony Snicket, Mercedes Lackey, Romance Novel) and also a plane trip at the beginning of February where I took 6 or 8 books on the plane, you know, just in case, and I read almost all of them.

I really loved the Katherine Norris books – they were pretty cutting edge, socially, I imagine, considering that they (I’m including the one I read in January were written in the early ’30s. I tried to find more of them at the PGH library and came up with a few more to read.

I have had a CRAZY month for reading books. In January I read 14! Of course, a large part of that is b/c I have been “looking for a job” and staying up late reading, and also, I flew to TN to visit Gramma and brought 7 books with me. (The last plane trip I took I ended up running out of books, and I did NOT want that to happen again!)

I do keep a paper book journal, and here is a list of what I’ve read:

1. The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey
2. The Serpent’s Shadow by Mercedes Lackey
3. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
4. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
5. The Gates of Sleep by Mercedes Lackey
6. The Reptile Room by Lemoney Snicket
7. Speechless by Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout
8. Joust by Mercedes Lackey
9. Alta by Mercedes Lackey
10. The Cartier Project by Mina Mazzini
11. Full Speed by Janet Evanovich and charlotte Huges
12. 10 Pound Penalty by Dick Francis
13. An Honest Life by Dana Corbit
14. Wife for Sale by Kathleen Norris

Of course, I am still VERY CRAZY with the reading. I only have 7 books checked out currently, but I was flirting with 20 last week. It’s gotten to the point that when I go to the library I am NOT allowed to take out books (which is very hard!) because I have so many on reserve and at home — I have 8 more books requested (and quite a few CDs, I have really fallen in love with requesting CDs).

I have so many books at home because when I flew to TN I wandered through the library and managed to check out 6 or 8 books. I wanted books that were paperbacks and not too heavy for the plane, so I just grabbed a bunch of things that looked interesting and sorted out what to carry with me that evening. And now I have a few books left over from that to read, plus a couple of non-fictions that I had requested.

February looks like it may shape up to be another crazy month for reading, already I’ve read 8 books. Goodness gracious.