you might not know of my deep, long-standing committment to my favorite band of all time -- sleater-kinney. but even if you don't, trust me, it was deep. and long-standing. so, there's something especially bitter about this happening on my birthday:
statement from sleater-kinney
I GAVE YOU PEOPLE ELEVEN YEARS OF MY LIFE!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
book 40
the nameless day, sara douglass
this is me, branching out! that's right, i read a 'fantasy' novel and really liked it. i'll have to say, though, that this was more in the realm of historical fiction than high fantasy. 14th century europe -- lots of intrigue, wars between england and france, corruption in the church, hotspur, etc. the fantasy comes in when the main character, friar thomas neville, is charged by this archangel to be the keeper of the cleft of hell. this one friar died of the plague, and when he did, he accidentally left the cleft open, so there are totally demons running around everywhere! and no one can tell because they are also shape-shifters! anyway, this book was really engrossing (and not as religious as it might sound, so don't worry). it's the first in a trilogy, and i'll definitely be looking for the next one to see what happens. this one ends with a cliffhanger.
in other news: today is my birthday! yay! and it's a sequential number birthday, which won't happen again for 11 more years! sadly, my plans to be totally pampered have been hampered (you like that, don't you?), but i still get to open awesome presents and have a special birthday meal! and there's always cake!
this is me, branching out! that's right, i read a 'fantasy' novel and really liked it. i'll have to say, though, that this was more in the realm of historical fiction than high fantasy. 14th century europe -- lots of intrigue, wars between england and france, corruption in the church, hotspur, etc. the fantasy comes in when the main character, friar thomas neville, is charged by this archangel to be the keeper of the cleft of hell. this one friar died of the plague, and when he did, he accidentally left the cleft open, so there are totally demons running around everywhere! and no one can tell because they are also shape-shifters! anyway, this book was really engrossing (and not as religious as it might sound, so don't worry). it's the first in a trilogy, and i'll definitely be looking for the next one to see what happens. this one ends with a cliffhanger.
in other news: today is my birthday! yay! and it's a sequential number birthday, which won't happen again for 11 more years! sadly, my plans to be totally pampered have been hampered (you like that, don't you?), but i still get to open awesome presents and have a special birthday meal! and there's always cake!
Monday, June 19, 2006
Saturday, June 17, 2006
books 37 and 38
new experiment: book reviews in two words or less!
grosse pointe girl, sarah grace mccandless, illustrated by christine norrie
pretty boring. (but nice illustrations. oops. the experiment isn't working)
the man of my dreams, curtis sittenfeld
total vomit.
grosse pointe girl, sarah grace mccandless, illustrated by christine norrie
pretty boring. (but nice illustrations. oops. the experiment isn't working)
the man of my dreams, curtis sittenfeld
total vomit.
Monday, June 12, 2006
books 35 and 36
the true story of hansel and gretel, louise murphy
it seemed sort of inappropriate to possibly put a glib, decapitated robot near the description of this book, which is rather heavy, so i'm skipping the rating for now. this is another book for my jewish fiction list. i would recommend reading it, but i would not recommend doing so if a) you are in a really good mood or b) you are eating. this is a holocaust book, a reworking of the hansel and gretel fairy tale in a forest in poland, where a stepmother convinces her husband to abandon his two children as the family flees the SS. a very intense book, and one that i thought was really vivid and well-wrought. it doesn't really shy away from much, so there all manner of terrible and sometimes perverse things that happen in this book, and there are a few parts you might want to skip if you have a weak stomach (like somewhere in the middle, where a young pole decides that he must maim the young children of the village so that the nazis will not take them away). this book might have been popular when it came out -- there was a book club discussion guide in the back.
charmed thirds, megan mccafferty
rating:
i love megan mccafferty. i mean, i LOVE her. i think she is a very funny and sharp writer, and she somehow managed to shrug off any "YA" chains that might have been placed on her. i loved her first two books that feature this character (sloppy firsts and second helpings. so my expectations were very high. and i think i was a little disappointed. i think the time span was too long -- jessica's whole college career. and, i'm no prude, but there was too much sex talk in this. it just seemed out of character. it was still funny and witty, but just not quite what i was looking for.
it seemed sort of inappropriate to possibly put a glib, decapitated robot near the description of this book, which is rather heavy, so i'm skipping the rating for now. this is another book for my jewish fiction list. i would recommend reading it, but i would not recommend doing so if a) you are in a really good mood or b) you are eating. this is a holocaust book, a reworking of the hansel and gretel fairy tale in a forest in poland, where a stepmother convinces her husband to abandon his two children as the family flees the SS. a very intense book, and one that i thought was really vivid and well-wrought. it doesn't really shy away from much, so there all manner of terrible and sometimes perverse things that happen in this book, and there are a few parts you might want to skip if you have a weak stomach (like somewhere in the middle, where a young pole decides that he must maim the young children of the village so that the nazis will not take them away). this book might have been popular when it came out -- there was a book club discussion guide in the back.
charmed thirds, megan mccafferty
rating:
i love megan mccafferty. i mean, i LOVE her. i think she is a very funny and sharp writer, and she somehow managed to shrug off any "YA" chains that might have been placed on her. i loved her first two books that feature this character (sloppy firsts and second helpings. so my expectations were very high. and i think i was a little disappointed. i think the time span was too long -- jessica's whole college career. and, i'm no prude, but there was too much sex talk in this. it just seemed out of character. it was still funny and witty, but just not quite what i was looking for.
Monday, June 05, 2006
books 33 and 34
somewhere in the midst of having my mom up for a visit, moving our roommate out, getting "new" furniture, arranging new furniture, and watching matt organize all of our books, comics, movies, and music, i managed to read two more books.
your mouth is lovely, nancy richler
rating:
lookee there, a perfect score. this is a book about miriam, who is writing her life story as she serves a life sentence for murder in siberia in 1911. she's writing to the daughter she was forced to give up at birth. lots of very vivid description of growing up in a small village on the verge of the russian revolution. i loved this book. i loved the title. i loved the cover art. i loved that i knew which historical revolutionary figures richter based her characters on because i took that awesome literature of russian terrorism class in undergrad. vera figner! dora brilliant! the frenchman!
by the way, i'm doing a "jewish fiction" bibliography as my big field experience project, so please comment with good books that you think should be included. i have not yet ascertained whether jewish fiction means: fiction by jewish authors, fiction with jewish characters, or fiction with "jewish themes," so feel free to recommend titles that fit into any or all of those categories.
girls in pants: the third summer of the sisterhood, ann brashares
rating:
what can i say, sometimes i like books that don't require me to think or backread to understand what's happening. i snagged this off the reshelving cart at the public library the other day, as i've been meaning to read it since it came out and alicia's post from a few days ago put it in my head again. i was somewhat confused because it's been a few years since i read the second one. but things wrapped up fine and of course it worked out for the best. i vaguely remember the other two books being a little heavier. plus i forgot about kostos being such a dog! anyway, sometimes it's nice to read about teen angst. it makes you remember how much you LOVED josh satterfield when you were fourteen and how you were going to DIE if he didn't LOVE you back. especially if you're like me, and your current worries are much more boring and practical, like figuring out why your kitchen light fixture mysteriously shattered all over the house and finally teaching yourself how to effectively iron pants.
your mouth is lovely, nancy richler
rating:
lookee there, a perfect score. this is a book about miriam, who is writing her life story as she serves a life sentence for murder in siberia in 1911. she's writing to the daughter she was forced to give up at birth. lots of very vivid description of growing up in a small village on the verge of the russian revolution. i loved this book. i loved the title. i loved the cover art. i loved that i knew which historical revolutionary figures richter based her characters on because i took that awesome literature of russian terrorism class in undergrad. vera figner! dora brilliant! the frenchman!
by the way, i'm doing a "jewish fiction" bibliography as my big field experience project, so please comment with good books that you think should be included. i have not yet ascertained whether jewish fiction means: fiction by jewish authors, fiction with jewish characters, or fiction with "jewish themes," so feel free to recommend titles that fit into any or all of those categories.
girls in pants: the third summer of the sisterhood, ann brashares
rating:
what can i say, sometimes i like books that don't require me to think or backread to understand what's happening. i snagged this off the reshelving cart at the public library the other day, as i've been meaning to read it since it came out and alicia's post from a few days ago put it in my head again. i was somewhat confused because it's been a few years since i read the second one. but things wrapped up fine and of course it worked out for the best. i vaguely remember the other two books being a little heavier. plus i forgot about kostos being such a dog! anyway, sometimes it's nice to read about teen angst. it makes you remember how much you LOVED josh satterfield when you were fourteen and how you were going to DIE if he didn't LOVE you back. especially if you're like me, and your current worries are much more boring and practical, like figuring out why your kitchen light fixture mysteriously shattered all over the house and finally teaching yourself how to effectively iron pants.
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