12 posts tagged “reading”
It's been over a month since I last posted, thus totally destroying my streak of posting the previous month's reading in something resembling a timely matter. I thought about waiting until this month breathed its last and doing a double post with July and August, but the add-a-book-from-Amazon dealie is broken, so it hasn't been convenient for me to keep track of my books lately. August's post will likely be a boring list with no shiny book cover thumbnails, so enjoy July's fanciness while you can.
These are in no particular order; I usually try to list them in the order I read them, but it's been too long and I can't remember. All rereads this go 'round: lots of Pratchett (including the mysteriously generic thumbnail for Men at Arms), a little Neil Gaiman, and a delightfully thought-provoking examination of midrash surrounding key biblical figures from Elie Wiesel. Summer's good for reading when there isn't too much going on.
I was just browsing through the several [_____ is good] pages, and I was mightily surprised to see my name under the [life is good] heading. Aww, shucks--I'm honored. Thank you very much to whomever thought my June reading wrap-up was interesting enough to feature. Seeing that made my day, which up until this point included nothing more exciting than a trip to the commissary.
I suppose one could call my whim to post each month's reading list a New Year's Resolution for 2009, in which case I've been better about keeping up with this one than any other resolution I've made. It just struck me that I've already got half a year's worth of reading recorded here. Counting the couple I've finished so far this month, that's thirty-four books, mostly novels, most of those science fiction or fantasy, most of those rereads from my not inconsiderable collection of paperbacks.
The preponderance of rereads could owe something to the fact that, for the first time since getting married and starting the string of military moves, most of my books are on shelves rather than squirreled away in disintegrating cardboard boxes. Drawing from on my own sagging bookshelves, I have curled up old favorites worn from countless readings and rererereadings, and I have rediscovered books read once and then relegated to the backwaters of my library. It has been such a pleasant experience that I feel fully justified in adding who knows how many pounds of tightly packed books to our household goods allowance.
I doubt that even the most loyal reader is as fascinated with my own reading choices as I am, but I do think I will keep up with my monthly bookish blatherings. I'm looking forward to looking back, come January 2010, on a year of geeky, quirky, not-at-all-literarily-impressive, yet thoroughly enjoyable pleasure reading.
Aside from the fifth book in Naomi Novik's "Napoleonic Wars, plus Dragons!" series, my reading in June had a distinct theological bent. Karen Armstrong's A History of God is as good as I remembered it for following the development of concepts of deity in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The two Lois McMaster Bujold novels on my list deal with a thoroughly fictional world with a richly developed religious life in which five gods are worshipped by the orthodox Quintarians: the Mother of Summer, the Father of Winter, the Daughter of Spring, the Son of Autumn, and the Bastard, god of all things out of season. Finally, Many Waters finds twins Sandy and Dennys (minor characters at best in the previous books of the series begun with A Wrinkle in Time) thrown into the middle of the pre-Flood society from whence Noah sprang. It was a much stranger read than I remember it being when I was a kid, probably because I now have the religious studies background to scratch my head at some of the veiled allusions.
May was a woefully light month when it came to reading. I blame the fact that my husband and I went on trips and actually got out and about to do things in the real world; such activities cut severely into my reading time. I guess having our own experiences instead of reading about them is worth it.
The first two books I've had on my shelf (or, uh, in a moving box) for years and years. I think I read Jaran for the first time over the course of a few high school bus rides--at forty-five minutes to an hour, I had plenty of time to read--but I must have been halfway asleep because I retained hardly anything of it. This time I got more out of it and actually made it through its sequel, An Earthly Crown, so now I need to find the rest of the books in the series.
The third book of the month is rather more practical: a beautifully photographed kosher cookbook called Kosher by Design. I'd had my eye on it for a while now, so I jumped at the chance to add it to my collection when my Uncle E very sweetly gave me a Barnes & Noble gift card for my birthday--thank you again! There are some fantastic ideas for parve (neither meat nor dairy, since Jews aren't supposed to eat meat and dairy together) desserts, which is particularly exciting to me since I'm allergic to cow's milk. Another feature I like is the collection of photos, menu suggestions, and short essays about each major Jewish holiday. I sincerely doubt I will ever go as over-the-top with my centerpieces and table settings as the book's creators, but there are some good ideas in there.
The first two books I've had on my shelf (or, uh, in a moving box) for years and years. I think I read Jaran for the first time over the course of a few high school bus rides--at forty-five minutes to an hour, I had plenty of time to read--but I must have been halfway asleep because I retained hardly anything of it. This time I got more out of it and actually made it through its sequel, An Earthly Crown, so now I need to find the rest of the books in the series.
The third book of the month is rather more practical: a beautifully photographed kosher cookbook called Kosher by Design. I'd had my eye on it for a while now, so I jumped at the chance to add it to my collection when my Uncle E very sweetly gave me a Barnes & Noble gift card for my birthday--thank you again! There are some fantastic ideas for parve (neither meat nor dairy, since Jews aren't supposed to eat meat and dairy together) desserts, which is particularly exciting to me since I'm allergic to cow's milk. Another feature I like is the collection of photos, menu suggestions, and short essays about each major Jewish holiday. I sincerely doubt I will ever go as over-the-top with my centerpieces and table settings as the book's creators, but there are some good ideas in there.
I started out the month with the conclusion of Robin Hobb's Soldier Son Trilogy. Boy, that woman loves to torture her characters! Then it was off to revisit Compact space through the eyes of C.J. Cherryh's Chanur clan; depending on one's viewpoint, that counts for either three books or five due to the omnibus edition containing the first three novels in the series. A Gaimanish mood took me then back to Earth, or at least an Earth that might exist just beyond our perception. Actually, one might say the same thing about Madeleine L'Engle's stories of the Murry family. There is a reason A Wrinkle in Time and the following tales have remained young adult favorites, and that is because they aren't just good YA fiction--they are good fiction, period.
I didn't include the volumes from which I read smattering of short stories here and there, but those are great for when I'm feeling attention span-challenged.
I can't believe April's already wrapped up and it's May already. That means it's time for the Kentucky Derby, dinner outside, and my birthday. I'll hit the quarter-century mark in the middle of the month, and it is my considered opinion that this would be an excellent opportunity for anyone who was waiting for an excuse to buy me lots of Guinness and chocolate to do so.
I didn't include the volumes from which I read smattering of short stories here and there, but those are great for when I'm feeling attention span-challenged.
I can't believe April's already wrapped up and it's May already. That means it's time for the Kentucky Derby, dinner outside, and my birthday. I'll hit the quarter-century mark in the middle of the month, and it is my considered opinion that this would be an excellent opportunity for anyone who was waiting for an excuse to buy me lots of Guinness and chocolate to do so.
The theme for the first part of March was religion, with the majority
of my reading time going towards a thoughtful rereading of Karen
Armstrong's lucid and fascinating study of Axial Age insights across
several different cultures. After a Discworld interlude (always worthwhile), I followed up with a look at Abraham from
Jewish, Christian, and Muslim perspectives. Then I ditched the serious
reading entirely for the nostalgic popcorn of Xanth. I loved those
books when I was a kid, but got turned off by the author's attitude
when I read his autobiography in high school. Rereading the first three
books in the series as an adult, I am struck by a certain misogyny in
the way the author portrays his female characters, though I am sure he
would argue he was simply spoofing the way women have been portrayed in
fantasy fiction in general.
Edited 6 APR 09, when I remembered that I had also reread Interesting Times in March. That's what I get for not recording books as I finished them.
Edited 6 APR 09, when I remembered that I had also reread Interesting Times in March. That's what I get for not recording books as I finished them.
I only completed four books in February, three of which were rereads (and, coincidentally, happened to have the word "dragons" in the title). The fourth was Regenesis, which was a fantastic read that lived up to all the anticipation I'd built ever since I'd heard there was going to be a sequel to Cyteen.
Those four books did not encompass all of the reading I did in February, but the rest consisted of snatches here and there of books that aren't necessarily meant to be read straight through (mostly religion texts). Still, I'm hoping March will find me in a stronger reading mood.
Those four books did not encompass all of the reading I did in February, but the rest consisted of snatches here and there of books that aren't necessarily meant to be read straight through (mostly religion texts). Still, I'm hoping March will find me in a stronger reading mood.
Show us what book is on your night stand.
Edit, 8 February 2009: I finished it yesterday afternoon, shortly after making this post. I'm already eagerly anticipating the next one, as it seems that Ari Emory's life is destined never to be boring. C'mon, Ms. Cherryh, we need more Unionside novels!
As something new for 2009, I am using Vox to keep track of the books I read throughout the year (or at least until I get bored with the idea or distracted by something shiny). January's total is all fiction, mostly rereads, and mostly within one C.J. Cherryh series.
Only five, alas. I must be slipping.
This is one of those perfect moments: I am sitting in the sunroom with my husband on a Thursday afternoon. The startlingly bright January sunlight is filtering in through the shades, and the giant bush outside two of the windows is casting leafy shadows. We saw a chickadee in its branches not half an hour ago; our cats were equally interested in the little bird, but for much more sinister reasons. M is absorbed in a book devoted to his favorite car, and I'm whiling away my time on the Internet. All is peaceful.
Well, at least until Vera and Val decide it's time to tear around the house like demons again. Maybe another chickadee will come by and distract them for just a while longer.
