El's comments (member since Nov 17, 2008)

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

I've had a pretty good run of it this year - as far as reading goes, at least. Personally... not so much (challenging new responsibilities at my job which has been changing every couple of months or so, had to put down two dogs - one in July and one just this past Thursday, etc. etc.).

I did set a goal of reading 130 books this year, and I accomplished that by the end of September. Not sure if I'll set a higher goal next year, or if my goal will be different - by geography, or time period, alphabetically.

I found a couple new-to-me authors (Gabrielle Roy, Daphne du Maurier, etc.) and some I return to constantly (Margaret Atwood, Stewart O'Nan).

I wasn't as excited by I Capture the Castle or The Shadow of the Wind - don't kick me out of this thread, Fiona. :)

Last year I read a total of 109 books, so I increased my reading this year. A lot of that has to do with TNBBC and Cynthia's Seasonal Challenges. However, I probably will not be participating in the Winter Challenge, so I'll see if my reading decreases again. I don't think so as I still tend to read at the same frantic pace whether there is a challenge involved or not.

I joined GR in May 2007 and joined TNBBC last fall/winter, I think. I've joined a couple other groups since, and some of them give me new ideas of books to read but I think I still find the majority of my books just by cruising in the library on my own.

I live in Pittsburgh which claims to have one of the best library systems in the country. There are several branches in the city, but unfortunately a few of them are being shut down now... though apparently Philadelphia is having a harder time of things. (I believe all of their libraries have been closed?) I visit the main branch which is just down the street from where I work. It was built in 1895 and is pretty spectacular to look at. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...)

They have a website (http://www.clpgh.org/) which I feel could be much easier to use, but I've also seen worse. I have no complaints about the interlibrary loan system. Holy cow, they're good.

I'm not a librarian, though I worked in Circulation in college as a work study program. And that was in Missouri, not in Pittsburgh. The library systems between the two are... very different. The best thing I found with working in a library every day was just having the immediate access to any book I needed. When I graduated from college I kept a job at a used bookstore, and took another bookstore job when I moved to Pittsburgh, so the "instant gratification" was similar. I do miss working in a library, and have considered volunteering at the one near where I work. Unfortunately my work schedule doesn't give me much chance to volunteer since the library keeps similar hours to the ones I work.

I go to the library at least once a week, usually on Saturdays. If I have a book that I requested that has come in, I might walk down on my lunch break to pick it up. It's one of the best libraries I've been to, and wouldn't really want to be closer to any other except maybe the Library of Congress - which I just visited for the first time a few weeks ago and totally geeked out over. :)

But one of the things my boyfriend and I like to do is visit the local libraries on our trips. The older ones are definitely the best.

Claire and Sanela - be sure to edit your posts so you also list the author of the books you've nominated. That is part of the requirement if you want them to make it to the next poll! :)

Currently reading The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy and am really enjoying it.

My copy of Stephen King's Under the Dome A Novel finally came in to the library yesterday, so I'll be picking that up on my lunch today. Everything will probably go to the back burner while I'm reading King, but we also have a very sick dog in the house at the moment also, so maybe I won't be able to get too distracted by this behemoth of a book. :(

Cat 1: The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery.

Bhumi (and others if interested), I would also recommend Let Us Now Praise Famous Men as, I guess, a companion. The photographs are by Walker Evans whose black/white photos from the Great Depression are common on a lot of those Penguin classics. I only gave the book two stars, but that doesn't mean much. Other people really enjoyed it and I thought about Grapes of Wrath a lot while reading it.

I will say that silverfish really screw books up if they get into them. But that's a different story...

Likes:
Violet
Cornucopia
Surreptitious
Milieu
Baroque

Dislikes:
Ornery
Irregardless (not a real word, world, stop using it as such.)

Bhumi wrote: "The Jungle, I thought, was really depressing. I wouldn't recommend it if you don't like books that make you feel miserable."

It was depressing, but it wasn't gratuitous. Sinclair wanted it to be depressing so he could prove his point. It's still an important book, depressing or not.

One of the best anti-war books I've read is Johnny Got His Gun.

Vickie wrote: "Re-read some of your list more slowly and savor them perhaps?"

I savored them all the first time around, but thanks for the suggestion.

Michael Connelly
John Dunning

A Japanese woman author I've more recently stumbled upon by accident is Sawako Ariyoshi. I especially liked The River Ki, but The Doctor's Wife was also very good. It seems most of her novels take place in Japan, but I still wouldn't discount her if you're interested in reading Japanese authors.

October:
1. The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood.
2. Jacob's Hands A Fable, Aldous Huxley and Christopher Isherwood.
3. To Myself Notes on Life, Art and Artists, Odilon Redon.
4. The Children's Hospital, Chris Adrian.
5. The Diamond Age Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, Neal Stephenson.
6. Sea Of Grass, Conrad Richter.
7. Derby Girl, Shauna Cross.
8. Xenophon's March Into the Lair of the Persian Lion, John Prevas.
9. So Long, See You Tomorrow, William Maxwell.
10. Zuleika Dobson, Max Beerbohm.
11. Two Novels Jealousy and In, the Labyrinth, Alain Robbe-Grillet.
12. Dark Horse The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield, Kenneth D. Ackerman.
13. The Well of Loneliness, Radclyffe Hall.
14. The Cat's Pajamas Stories, Ray Bradbury.
15. Confessions of an English Opium Eater, Thomas De Quincey.
16. Stover at Yale, Owen Johnson.

TOTAL BOOKS TO DATE: 146.

Have you read Upton Sinclair? I recommend The Jungle. It's not particularly "uplifting", but there's a purpose behind that.

You might also check out somethings by Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers or Katherine Anne Porter. They're more "modern classics", but for good American lit they're pretty decent.

I read this a few years ago and I'm not sure I'm ready for a re-read. Joyce and I don't really see eye-to-eye. :) But I might peek in on the discussion - I'd love to hear what some of you have to say about it.

The Glass House - (movie with Leelee Sobieski)

The Endless Steppe Growing Up in Siberia by Esther Hautzig.

A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - movie