false 6 105 103 true 5667455 read 1 true 3881660 currently-reading 1 true 3881659 to-read 0 false 6697720 autobiography-of-a-spy http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/10168.Readers_and_Reading madrano joined the Readers and Reading group. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75313959 The History of Love (Paperback) by Nicole Krauss
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71072595 to: The Prince (Project Gutenberg) by Nicolo Machiavelli
I'm not reading this edition, however. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53951717 to: Nana (Les Rougon-Macquart, #9) by Émile Zola
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53951674 to: Dinner at Mr. Jefferson's: Three Men, Five Great Wines, and the Evening that Changed America (Hardcover) by Charles Cerami
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/124796-march-2009 madrano made a comment in the Readers and Reading group:

These are my March books. If they look familiar it may be because i posted them as "deborah" on the Book Nook Board. I hope this isn't confusing.

A ROOM OF HER OWN: Women's Personal Spaces by Chris Casson Madden. This was a mediocre book about special parts of their homes which some women consider "mine." One thing i noted was that each of the women were either in the arts or in the business of arts. Does this mean teachers or cabinet secretaries don't have these spaces or that Madden was lazy in her research? Regardless, i wasn't impressed by what i saw, only by the interesting places the women chose.

RULES FOR OLD MEN WAITING by Peter Pouncey. I read this with the BNC group. Generally speaking, it didn't call to me, but i still like the title. For me it seemed more about combating depression. Otoh, it had me questioning some of the people he mentioned & whether they were real or not. This may be one of those books i grow fond of later.

TEAM OF RIVALS by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I've never read a biography of Lincoln in my adulthood, so the material was fresh for me. I appreciated that Goodwin basically saw this as a biography of other cabinet members as well. I liked the book & would read another book by her...but not any time soon, as it was mighty long.

THE SHADOW CATCHER by Marianne Wiggins. There are two parts to this novel, one about photographer Edward Curtis & his wife Clara; the other about an author who wrote a book about them. Wiggins uses her own name but has doctored up the story, if i understand her closing notes correctly. I read the book to learn more about Curtis & that material was limited. However, i really liked the parts about the author Wiggins & her insights into travel in the US and such.

NOT EXACTLY A SPOILER BUT NOT EXACTLY NOT ONE, EITHER:

I hope i'm not out of line asking this question in this thread but here goes. The novel holds too many coincidences for my pleasure, however i'm wondering if this is a particular genre & i'm just unaware of it? Is this magic realism? It certainly didn't end up all lovliness but just right, imo. I wouldn't call Dickens's work, crammed with remarkable coincidences, magic realism but i was reminded of his work when the character Wiggins found one thing after another leader her back to Curtis. Can anyone here help me out with this?


deborah ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/124768-what-you-read-march-july-2009 madrano made a comment in the Book Nook Cafe group:

Connie, i agree with your assessment of PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. My son foisted it upon me. Since he's a non-reader, i rushed to read it. It's wasn't bad, imo, but it was not as good as i'd hoped. Still, maybe each generation (or so) needs its own reworked CATCHER?

Meanwhile, here is my list of Books Read for March.

A ROOM OF HER OWN: Women's Personal Spaces by Chris Casson Madden. This was a mediocre book about special parts of their homes which some women consider "mine." One thing i noted was that each of the women were either in the arts or in the business of arts. Does this mean teachers or cabinet secretaries don't have these spaces or that Madden was lazy in her research? Regardless, i wasn't impressed by what i saw, only by the interesting places the women chose.

RULES FOR OLD MEN WAITING by Peter Pouncey. I read this with the BNC group. Generally speaking, it didn't call to me, but i still like the title. For me it seemed more about combating depression. Otoh, it had me questioning some of the people he mentioned & whether they were real or not. This may be one of those books i grow fond of later.

TEAM OF RIVALS by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I've never read a biography of Lincoln in my adulthood, so the material was fresh for me. I appreciated that Goodwin basically saw this as a biography of other cabinet members as well. I liked the book & would read another book by her...but not any time soon, as it was mighty long.

THE SHADOW CATCHER by Marianne Wiggins. There are two parts to this novel, one about photographer Edward Curtis & his wife Clara; the other about an author who wrote a book about them. Wiggins uses her own name but has doctored up the story, if i understand her closing notes correctly. I read the book to learn more about Curtis & that material was limited. However, i really liked the parts about the author Wiggins & her insights into travel in the US and such.

NOT EXACTLY A SPOILER BUT NOT EXACTLY NOT ONE, EITHER:

I hope i'm not out of line asking this question in this thread but here goes. The novel holds too many coincidences for my pleasure, however i'm wondering if this is a particular genre & i'm just unaware of it? Is this magic realism? It certainly didn't end up all lovliness but just right, imo. I wouldn't call Dickens's work, crammed with remarkable coincidences, magic realism but i was reminded of his work when the character Wiggins found one thing after another leader her back to Curtis. Can anyone here help me out with this? ]]>