Cait's comments (member since Feb 11, 2009)

Cait's comments from the The Next Best Book Club group.

Words I like:

absolution
iridescent
exsanguination
illuminate
ephemeral
incorporeal
paramore
surreal
autumn
malevolence
debauchery
cacophony
apocalypse / apocalyptic
insidious





Words I do not like:

flatulence
undulate
puberty/pubescent
corpulent
corpuscle
faux
blase
superb
kudos
ooze
coupon
chuckle
chagrin
hirsute
gelatinous
putrefaction
turgid
flaccid
splurge (although I'm getting used to it thanks to the splurge thread)


I used to work with a woman who always said "supposably" instead of supposedly. Unfortunately, she used the word multiple time per day.

I had to break my poor husband of saying "orientated". He wasn't technically wrong since it's used in GB, but "oriented" is the common US word. It always sounded so weird when he said it the other way.

I also can't stand when people use "ex" instead of "es". It is "especially", not "expecially". It is "espresso", not "expresso" (even if they do make it really fast). :o)

Wow Donna, so many great books in that splurge!

I just finished Last Night in Twisted River A Novel by John Irving, who continues to amaze me. I gave this book 5 stars and off it went onto my favorites list. And is it wrong that I think Irving is... um, sexy??? I've decided that 2010 will be my "Year of Irving and Dickens".

Right now I'm reading The End of the Affair by Graham Greene, and will start The Cider House Rules by Irving tonight.

8. North America, Canada: Last Night in Twisted River - John Irving

Lori wrote: "Cait, I see so much of me in your splurges!
Jessica and I are about to start The Secret History, sometimes this week, if you want in..."

I have already read The Secret History (is it sad that I bought a copy just to own/loan?), but I would love to join in on the discussion when you do read it.

Lori wrote: "Jessica... Ooohhh The Sheep Look Up! Such an interesting look at the way we can fuck up the world!! I really liked that one!

I was really pleased with my finds this last time. I had never even h..."

I'll have to add The Sheep Look Up to my TBR.

And speaking of read-alongs, Infinite Jest would be another good one.

Jessica wrote: "Lori, I am so jealous you found Infinite Jest. I've been looking for a copy of that for awhile. And of course that Verne looks amazing. It makes me want to go out and get it right now.

I stop..."

I finally had to buy Infinite Jest from Amazon because I couldn't find a decently priced used copy to save my life.

I also found Black Swan Green at a used book store last week! But my copy was $2. :oP

Katie wrote: "Yay! Bag day at the book sale! Got a tofu cookbook, a stack of picture books and juvenile lit for the kids I watch (anyone remember The Great Brain or [book:Misty of Chincoteague|1746..."

Nice!

Tracy wrote: "I've been down with the flu bug of some sort and a sinus infection, so I'm not reading as much right now, but I am reading Zeitoun. So far, so good. "

Oh, that's on my short list! I can't wait to hear what you think of it. And I hope you feel better soon!

I need to get off my lazy butt and post my shelves...

Last night I finished reading Julia and Julia - and I really liked it! This is a book that I had absolutely no interest in reading. I ended up having to use it for the Group Read task in the Seasonal Challenge because I had already read the other two books. After dreading it and putting it off for so long, I finally decided to bite the bullet. What a pleasant surprise!

So does this mean I might actually like Eat, Pray, Love? That is another book that I have no desire to read because people talk about how narcissistic and unlikeable the author is.

I'm about half way through The Jane Austen Book Club, which is not as terrible as I was expecting but still pales in comparison to the movie.
This morning I also started Last Night in Twisted River A Novel by John Irving. I'm so excited and can't wait for Irving to knock my socks off.

Jessica wrote: "Started Jonathan Safran Foer's new book, Eating Animals last night."

How is it so far? I can't wait to read it!

My recent splurges include (all for $2 each):

For me:
What Is the What - Dave Eggers
The Master and Margarita - Bulgakov
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
Invisible Monsters - Chuck Palahniuk
Amnesia Moon - Jonathan Lethem
Come Closer - Sara Gran
Broken for You - Stephanie Kallos
The Book of Bright Ideas - Sandra Kring
Fluke Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings - Christopher Moore
Far from the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
All the Names - Jose Saramago
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
The Town That Forgot How to Breathe A Novel - Kenneth J. Harvey
The Secret of Lost Things A Novel - Sheridan Hay
The Beach - Alex Garland
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian A Novel - Marina Lewycka
Oxygen A Novel - Carol Cassella


And to send to my hubby:
Bloodsucking Fiends - Christopher Moore
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell - Tucker Max
Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
Angels & Demons - Dan Brown
7 Steps to Midnight - Richard Matheson

I need an intervention! But seriously, how can you pass up buying them at such great prices?

7. Asia, India: Life of Pi - Yann Martel

I just finished Life of Pi by Yann Martel. For the first 2/3 the book was sitting at a solid 3 star rating. By the time I finished it, however, it was definitely 4 stars.

Now I'm reading The Violent Bear It Away A Novel by Flannery O'Connor.

Aw man, what the rut? Oh well, at least I entertained myself for 10 minutes last night. :o)

Hell yeah, loser schmooser. It was all Mac's fault. But I used my ninja like google skills and figured it out.

♡♥❤☺☻☠☢☂☁✔✕✍∞➹✠☆❅✰✿❀✪

And look, I even found Oceanic Flight 815! ✈
And the numbers! ➍➇➊➎➀➅➋➌➃➁

Ok, so maybe I'm not a loser anymore, but I'm officially a DORK™

Jessica and Suzanne: "I learned it by watching you!" ( my apologies for the 80's anti-drug television commercial reference... remember that one?) :o)

You girls give me the warm fuzzies, along with entirely too much credit. Either way, my cool level just took a nose dive because no matter how hard I try, I can't get the fricken heart symbol thingy to work. Is it because I'm on a Mac? Or is it the loser - I mean user? :o(

Suzanne wrote: "Which copy do you all recommend? I want to get this in with my next Amazon haul!

Yay!!! Dan, Lyn, Cait,and Petra for joining all of us ...
I'm not sure my brain can handle it, seriously :("

I think I'm going to go with this edition, unless someone tells us that another edition is better:

Ulysses

I have to agree with Shutter Island. My husband is not much of a reader, but when I showed him the trailer for the movie coming out in February he made me get the book from the library because he didn't want to wait. He loved it and made me read it right away so that we could discuss it.

I would also recommend any books by Christopher Moore, Chuck Palahniuk, Jon Krakauer, and Douglas Adams.

If you think he might be interested in true crime type books, John E. Douglas is awesome. He is the one who started the whole Criminal Profiling program for the FBI. Thomas Harris based the character Jack Crawford on Douglas in Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon, etc. I highly recommend his book The Cases That Haunt Us, in which he gives his insights and professional opinion on many infamous unsolved cases, including Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, the Zodiac Killer, JonBenet Ramsey, etc.