false 166775
Fiction: experimental or independent works by contemporary authors; just plain too fun or gripping to put down; "classic" novels one might find on Modern Library's Top 100 list or any high school English literature to-read list. I also have a great affinity for any works that have been challenged or banned in school and public libraries in the United States.

Non-fiction: books in the literary journalism vein on current social topics; commentaries on media and social impact.

If you are a friend that I trust, I will read anything you recommend to me, in any genre, if it's beloved to you.

If I can't get into the style, story, or characters within 50 pages of a contemporary fiction novel, I'm putting it down (and probably picking up something I equally despise, like Faulkner, and sticking with that instead).

]]> 31 female Chicago, IL 07/2007 12/2009 35 264 70 true 5708630 read 6 true 345698 currently-reading 188 true 345697 to-read A Short History of Nearly Everything (Paperback) by Bill Bryson]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81183844 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255682270s/21.jpg 166775 Kristy Mangel http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1218233585p2/166775.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/166775-kristy-mangel Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:39:05 -0800 Up in the Old Hotel (Paperback) by Joseph Mitchell]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80678486 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172724365s/210783.jpg 166775 Kristy Mangel http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1218233585p2/166775.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/166775-kristy-mangel Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:16:51 -0800 People of the Book (Hardcover) by Geraldine Brooks]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79756386 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239820658s/1379961.jpg 166775 Kristy Mangel http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1218233585p2/166775.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/166775-kristy-mangel Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:16:43 -0800 And She Was: A Novel (Paperback) by Cindy Dyson]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79648679 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177722933s/728872.jpg 166775 Kristy Mangel http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1218233585p2/166775.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/166775-kristy-mangel Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:01:51 -0800 Double Duce (Paperback) by Aaron Cometbus]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79516816 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172283150s/160145.jpg 166775 Kristy Mangel http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1218233585p2/166775.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/166775-kristy-mangel Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:34:35 -0800 The Awakener: A Memoir of Jack Kerouac and the Fifties (Paperback) by Helen Weaver]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79398305 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255975404s/6676468.jpg 166775 Kristy Mangel http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1218233585p2/166775.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/166775-kristy-mangel Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:45:35 -0800 My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up (Paperback) by Stephen Elliott]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78056430 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173368666s/277762.jpg 166775 Kristy Mangel http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1218233585p2/166775.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/166775-kristy-mangel Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:45:48 -0800 If You Liked School, You'll Love Work (Paperback) by Irvine Welsh]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78056444 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178239469s/774964.jpg 166775 Kristy Mangel http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1218233585p2/166775.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/166775-kristy-mangel Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:44:55 -0800 The Coast of Chicago (Paperback) by Stuart Dybek]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59726537 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172248813s/153198.jpg 166775 Kristy Mangel http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1218233585p2/166775.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/166775-kristy-mangel Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:43:32 -0800 Vox (Paperback) by Nicholson Baker]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67222641 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167937046s/28229.jpg 166775 Kristy Mangel http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1218233585p2/166775.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/166775-kristy-mangel Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:42:50 -0800