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Eight American Poets by Joel Conarroe (ed.)

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CollectionsYour library (2,317), Currently reading (3), Read 2009 (83), Hope to read soon (157), Books to investigate (unowned) (18), Ex P (14), Read 2008 (70), Read 2007 (incomplete list) (55), Read 2006 (incomplete list) (33), Give Away (1), All collections (2,336)

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Tagsfiction (867), [needs cover] (695), 20th century fiction (387), [photographs] (307), US literature (246), [illustrations] (242), contemporary fiction (204), mystery (172), history (168), travel (147) — see all tags

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Groups75 Books Challenge for 2008, 75 Books Challenge for 2010, Biographies, Memoirs and Autobiographies, Board for Extreme Thing Advances, Club Read 2009, Club Read 2010, Combiners!, Early Reviewers, Editors, Researchers, Whatever, Fans of Russian authors — show all groups

Favorite authorsChimamanda Ngozi Adichie, W. H. Auden, John Le Carré, Sarah Caudwell, Anton Chekhov, Anne Fadiman, J.G. Farrell, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Paula Fox, Mavis Gallant, Vasili Grossman, Shirley Hazzard, A. E. Housman, Shirley Jackson, Thomas Mann, Hilary Mantel, Flannery O'Connor, Philip Roth, James Salter, Victor Serge, Vikram Seth, Jane Smiley, Rebecca Solnit, Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʾo, Leo Tolstoy, Honor Tracy, W. B. Yeats (Shared favorites)

Favorite bookstoresBook Culture, Crawford Doyle Booksellers, Crawford-Doyle Booksellers, St. Mark's Bookshop

About meI am still developing my ideas for collections. "Books to Investigate" is for books I do not own but want to think about more. It is not a wishlist, because I haven't decided whether I want to buy these books.

You can read my comments on my 2009 reading on my Club Read 2009 thread and my 75 Book Challenge thread.

About my libraryBooks I've Read in 2009

For both 2009 and 2008, my most recent reads are at the top, and starred books are favorites.

*83 The Giant, O'Brien by Hilary Mantel
82. Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis
*81. Giving up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel
*80. Fludd by Hilary Mantel
79. Eight Months on Ghazzah Street by Hilary Mantel
*78 Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
77. The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
76. Madame de Staël by Francine du Plessix Gray
75. The Book of Fathers by Miklós Vámos
74. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
*73. The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa
*72. A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
71. The Last Jet-Engine Laugh by Ruchir Joshi
70. A Fiery Peace in a Cold War by Neil Sheehan
69. Translation Is a Love Affair by Jacques Poulin
*68. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
*67. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
*66 Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann
65. Lucinella by Lore Segal
*64. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
63. The Gates of Hell: Sir John Franklin's Tragic Quest for the Northwest Passage by Andrew Lambert
*62 Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
61. The Skating Rink by Roberto Bolano
60. Harare North by Brian Chikwava
*59. The Cost of Living by Mavis Gallant
*58 Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow
57. In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic by David Wessel
56. The Cave and the Cathedral by Amir D. Aczel
*55. The Glass Room by Simon Mawer
54. Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
53. Carpentaria by Alexis Wright
*52. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
51. Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History by Margaret MacMillan
50. Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford
49. My Life in France by Julia Child
48. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
47. The Russia House by John le Carré
46. Revolution in Mind: The Creation of Psychoanalysis by George Makari
45. The Thing around Your Neck by Chamamanda Ngozi Adichie
44. Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien
43. An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by César Aira
*42. A Perfect Spy by John le Carré
41. A Dream in Polar Fog by Yuri Rytkheu
*40 The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expeditions by Susan Soloman
39. The Old Man and Me by Elaine Dundy
*38 Smiley's People by John le Carré
37. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré
*36 The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré
*35 Bosnian Chronicle by Ivo Andrić
*34. In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien
33. Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy and Why It Matters by George A. Akerlof and Robert Shiller
*32. Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
31. The Mighty Angel by Jerzy Pilch
30. Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey
29. Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass by Bruno Schulz
28. *Nobody Move by Denis Johnson
27. Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
26. In the United States of Africa by Abdourahman A. Waberi
25. The Drinker by Hans Fallada
24. *Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s by Frederick Lewis Allen
23. A Meaningful Life by L.J. Davis
22. The Winners by Julio Cortázar
21. *The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World before the War, 1890-1914 by Barbara Tuchman
20. *Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada
19. *The Emperor's Tomb by Joseph Roth
18. The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer
17. *Agent Zigzag by Ben McIntyre
16. Novel 11, Book 18 by Dag Solstad
15. *Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 by David M. Kennedy
14. The Numbers Game: The Commonsense Guide to Understanding Numbers in the News, in Politics, and in Life by Michael Blastland and Arthur Dilnot
13. A Disorder Peculiar to the Country by Ken Kalfus
12. *The Snows of Yesteryear by Gregor von Rezzori
11. The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa
10. Sleepwalking Land by Mia Couto
9. With Your Crooked Heart by Helen Dunmore
8. The Secret Pilgrim by John Le Carre
7. *2666 by Roberto Bolano
6. The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lily Koppel
5. Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
4. How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas by David Bornstein
3. *The Great Crash 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith
2. The River Between by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
1. Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean by Edward Kritzler

Books I Read in 2008

69. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
68. *Dr. Faustus by Thomas Mann
67. *The Clothes on My Back by Linda Grant
66. Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier
65. Speak Softly, She Can Hear by Pam Lewis
64. The Paris Review Interviews III
63. Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu by Lawrence Bergreen
*62. Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
61. Counting my Chickens by the Duchess of Devonshire (Deborah Mitford)
60. *Count d'Orgel's Ball by Raymond Radiguet
59. The White Tiger by Aravind Avida
58. Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh
57. Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh
56. Indignation by Philip Roth
55. *A Most Wanted Man by John le Carre
54. Chicago by Alaa al Aswany
53. The Ancient Shore: Dispatches from Naples by Shirley Hazzard
52. To Siberia by Per Pettersen
51. *Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
50. *By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah
49. Goldengrove by Francine Prose
48 *The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists by Gregory Curtis
47. The Breezes by Joseph O'Neill
46. *Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
45. The Girl from Foreign: A Search for Shipwrecked Ancestors, Forgotten Histories, and a Sense of Home by Sadia Shepard
44. Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says about Us) by Tom Vanderbilt
43. *Blood-Dark Track by Joseph O'Neill
42. *In Hazard by Richard Hughes
41. The Terminal Spy: A True Story of Espionage, Betrayal, and Murder by Alan S. Cowell
40. Libraries in the Ancient World by Lionel Casson
39. *The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on America's Ideals by Jane Mayer
38. *A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
37. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
36. *A Way of Life, Like Any Other by Darcy O'Brien
25. *The Condition by Jennifer Haigh
34. Before by Ireni Spanidou
33. The Rebel Angels by Roberston Davies
32. Who Owns Antiquity? by James Cuno
31. Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen
30. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
29. The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow
28. *What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
27. Chess Story by Stefan Zweig
26. *Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles
25. *The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
24. Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan
23. *Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
22. Wolf Totem by Rong Jiang
21. *The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
20. Middlemarch by George Eliot
19. *Lush Life by Richard Price
18. The Successor by Ismail Kadare
17. *The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business, The Manticore, World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
16. *The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block
15. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony
14. *The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric
13. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee
12. Serve the People! by Yan Lianke
11. *What's for Dinner? by James Schuyler
10. *Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
9. *The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth
8. The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation by Philip Shenon
7. *Unforgiving Years by Victor Serge
6. A Charmed Life: Growing Up in Macbeth's Castle by Liza Campbell
5. Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt
4. Our American King by David Lozell Martin
3. *The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan
2. *The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
1. The Birthday Party: A Memoir of Survival by Stanley M. Alpert

Account typepublic, lifetime

Connection NewsConnection News

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/rebeccanyc (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/rebeccanyc (library)

Common KnowledgeSeries (159), Awards (388), Characters (2969), Places (686)

Member sinceJul 14, 2006

Currently readingThe Paris Review Interviews, IV by Philip Gourevitch
How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities by John Cassidy
Everything Flows by Vasily Grossman

Most recent activity

rebeccanyc added:
In Search of a Lost Ladino: Letters to Antonio Sauro by Marcel Cohen

rebeccanyc added:
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Niall Ferguson

rebeccanyc added:
A Dictionary of Modern English Usage: The Classic First Edition by H. W. Fowler

rebeccanyc added:
Gourmet Today: More than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen by Ruth Reichl

rebeccanyc added:
After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation by George Steiner

rebeccanyc added:
New York 400 by John Thorn

I'm glad you'll be getting a copy - hope you enjoy it!

posted by wandering_star at 7:08 pm (EST) on Dec 20, 2009

Thanks for the recommendation. I haven't heard of 'Out of Egypt' but I'll look out for it. I was going to put 'Lost Ladino' on Bookmooch, but I have got plenty of points at the moment so I'd be happy to send it to you instead (it's very small and light!). Just let me know your address!

posted by wandering_star at 3:43 am (EST) on Dec 20, 2009

Thanks! I am very interested in migrations and changes of culture, which is why I was intrigued by the sound of this book. I think I will try and track it down.

posted by wandering_star at 7:54 am (EST) on Dec 19, 2009

Hi Rebecca,

I've just been reading a book about the Ladino language and then following the threads from that on LT. One of the interesting-looking books it's led to is "The Cross and the Pear Tree" by Victor Perera, which you have in your library. What do you think of it?

Thanks, wandering_star

posted by wandering_star at 7:36 am (EST) on Dec 19, 2009

Sorry to hear you have the flu! Hope it touches you only lightly and you recover quickly! XXX Lois

posted by avaland at 9:27 am (EST) on Dec 2, 2009

"Wise Blood" is hilarious and horrifying by turns--got that weird Southern literature thing going--bu it's also pretty "deep." I've found that I'm not smart enough to understand O'Connor w/o some context. She was a devout Catholic, but without the "freight" that implies now.

She's on my re-read list, so let me know when you read it, and maybe we can compare thoughts, eh?

posted by nohrt4me at 8:58 am (EST) on Apr 4, 2009

I just read a brief synopsis of Every Man Dies Alone which I found on an historical novel website. When I do a search it does not come up on Libary thing and the book is out of print according to Powells? So,it was really weird that I saw it on your list of books read!

posted by MEENIEREADS at 5:50 pm (EST) on Mar 27, 2009

Thanks Rebecca. I'm highly envious of your reading, though and the amount you get through. I particularly like the eclectic nature of your favourite authors list. I've just got through J.G.Farrell's Siege of Krishnapur and am guessing you would recomment carrying on with the trilogy. Andrew

posted by blackhornet at 5:13 pm (EST) on Mar 23, 2009

I find that through Interesting Libraries, I can keep track of what people with tastes similar to mine but with wide enough variations to prod my interest are reading. It's much less time consuming than reading threads. And right now, time is in short supply for me.

Thanks for the explanation about the books! From time to time, I find the same thing--I've forgotten to add one. But I'm pretty much caught up, I think.

Joyce

posted by Joycepa at 8:41 am (EST) on Mar 23, 2009

Thanks so much for your kind words in the Reading thread, and so glad you liked the Falada book, thought you would too. In today's LATimesBooks the lede story is called "Finally a "Now What" and it highlights Falada's career, huge kudos for Every Man Dies Alone of course, and I found it all interesting to the max. I'm halfway in Bailey's Cheever and can't believe it's so great. Next up is Yiyun Li's The Vagrants, to be followed by Updike's Rabbit is Rich, a re-read I'm especially anxious to get to. If you've not read Lionel Shriver's wonderful novel The Post Birthday World, I can't recommend it any higher, one of my favorites this year. All the best!

posted by LouisBranning at 6:40 pm (EST) on Mar 22, 2009

Rebecca:

I'm much further along in Sacred Games, and it has indeed picked up--gotten very interesting.

Looking at the books you've just added--haven't gone on a Vargas Llosa spree or anything, have you? :-) The War of the End of the World is one of my all-time favorite books. His research was impeccable for that book. I have the original da Cunha book on that era and fight, Rebellion in the Backlands, which gives a terrific background of the social and political context of the battle at Canudos. If you like the Vargas Lloasa book, you might consider reading the other.

Joyce

posted by Joycepa at 4:26 pm (EST) on Mar 22, 2009

Hi Rebecca,
I've only just found your profile - I should have been here before now! Have you read all the history books? If so, I'll come back with questions.

I'm guessing you're in New York... We lived in NYC (Upper East Side first, then Chelsea) from 2000 - 2002 and I miss it still. Especially the book stores. And everything else! I laughed when I saw you were reading Barbara Tuchman, because I'd never heard of her till some random guy on a bus saw me reading a book and told me excitedly that I had to read everything she'd written. I haven't (yet) but own the Proud Tower and a Distant Mirror.

Cheers
Cushla

posted by cmt at 3:40 am (EST) on Mar 10, 2009

I like your impressive literature collection :)

posted by theoria at 1:50 pm (EST) on Jan 25, 2009

Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes, by Daniel Everett

A brilliant book, in my opinion. The cover indicates "travel" and "linguistics". Hilarious! I suppose that DantÃ©'s Divine Comedy is also a "travel" book, then.

No, Mr. Everett is a scholar, a philosopher, an anthropologist, a sociologist, an explorer, a moralist, an environmentalist and a person of extraordinary insight and, with it all, a marvelous writer and story-teller who brings us so much that is so very needed from the lives and manners of a small and remote Amazonian tribe to a greatly suffering and morally lost 21st century capitalist industrial civilization.

Ironically, Everett set out as a missionary with as object the conversion of the PirahÃ£s to christianity. In the end, it is they, by their example of wise, humane and simple living in harmony with nature, for which they had a profound respect and understanding, that converted him. And, now, with the publication of this book, Professor Everett can take a certain satisfaction in his having become at last and indeed a sort of "missionary"---one of the wisest and best kinds, a missionary of humanist wisdom, patience and generosity.

To any who would consider this book, its reading will reward you, enrich you and very possibly change you----forever, and for the better.

I applaud the author and his achievement with my most heartfelt thanks.

posted by proximity1 at 11:43 am (EST) on Jan 17, 2009

Just wondering if you've ever read any Robert Edric? I think if you like James Salter (on the basis of The Hunters anyway) you might find something like Peacetime worth a read...

posted by wandering_star at 7:26 pm (EST) on Jan 12, 2009

Thanks for your response. I guess that I saw Vivien as a passive vehicle for her parents assimilation into english society -until she rebels. Her mother's own set of secrets seem more plausible as the idea of not telling is the way they all live and behave. I really enjoyed reading this book. In fact I saw Linda Grant at the International authors festival in Toronto in the fall. I was impressed by her contribution at the roundtable discussion.
Thanks for the comments
Cyrel

posted by torontoc at 12:16 pm (EST) on Jan 6, 2009

Hi
I just saw your note re: The Clothes on their Backs by Linda Grant. I thought that a pivotal moment that illustrated Vivien's helplessness ( cultivated by her parents ) was her acceptance of her mother's suggestion that she get an abortion after her husband died. Her mother deprived her of a connection to her marriage and perhaps a relationship with a child. Although Vivien might have decided to take that route, the author has her mother suggesting it first. I could see Vivien's rejection of her parent's way fo life and her attraction to her uncle and his telling of history, Just a few thoughts tonight.
Cyrel

posted by torontoc at 11:32 pm (EST) on Jan 5, 2009

Hi Rebecca:

I was thrilled to see you mention that you had a "mini "Central Europe/end of the Austro-Hungarian empire" reading jag. I come from Bratislava, formerly Czechoslovakia, and am keenly interested in that area. Would you mind sharing with me what you read and how you felt about the books? IMHO, for the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire books, nothing has surpassed Hasek's The Good Soldier Schweik, but I would love to read more.

Thanks,

A.

posted by polutropos at 11:22 am (EST) on Dec 16, 2008

Hi, Rebecca! I saw your best of the year list and was very impressed! I've only read one of them, "Lush Life", but there are at least 5 others, that are high on my tbr list. I'd love to get to "The Savage Detectives". I just picked up his latest 2666, it's a big novel! At least next year will be as equally rewarding. Check out my best of the year and you take care!! Mark

posted by msf59 at 8:21 pm (EST) on Dec 5, 2008

There's an awful lot of 'favorite books' on that list:-) It will certainly make your year end top ten all the more interesting. - L

posted by avaland at 8:31 pm (EST) on Sep 18, 2008

Hi, Rebecca! Thanks for your thoughts on "Edgar Sawtelle". I'm somewhat hesitant criticizing a book. I don't want to turn other readers off. It could be the best book they ever read! Especially with a book like this, one that contains such incredible writing. I also saw your comment on "Lush Life". It's on my tbr pile. I loved his last 4-5 books. By the way, I love your 1st name. If I would of had 2 daughters, the 2nd one would have been Rebecca! Mark

posted by msf59 at 7:42 pm (EST) on Aug 16, 2008

Thanks for the comment in the group "What are you reading now?" I am thoroughly enjoying Revolutionary Road, I can't put the book down. I think I have about 45 pages left. Yes, most movies don't measure up to he book. But if the movie is an academy award potential, I want to have read the book. The language is so rich, and flows so smoothly.

posted by jglassow at 12:45 am (EST) on Jul 4, 2008

Glad you liked it!

The other relatively short novel that I am currently raving about is The Story of a Marriage. Have you read it? Doesn't have the humor o DAA, but it every word counts and it has great insights into human nature. Also has some unforeseen plot twists...

posted by alphaorder at 11:01 am (EST) on Jun 29, 2008

Rebecca,

Have you read Dear American Airlines yet? I see it is in your library. If you haven't, I urge you to go start reading it NOW. It will have you laughing out loud and getting teary eyed all in the smae book. It is short, but I think very well done. To me, this often means that every word written is given consideration.

What you have read and loved lately? The other book I am trying to spread word about is The Story of a Marriage. Highly recommend.

N

posted by alphaorder at 7:48 am (EST) on Jun 24, 2008

Hello--I love your library! A good mix of things I know and things I don't. On one of the talk threads I saw you recommend "The Straight and Narrow Path"--I found a copy on Bookmooch and am looking forward to it.

posted by Medellia at 1:09 pm (EST) on Apr 3, 2008

Rebecca -

A publicist at Random House receommended The Story of Forgetting to me last week so I found a galley and started reading it immediately (don't know how I missed it on LT until now, but...) It is amazing. I saw that you were thinking about picking it up after Terri and Louis were talking about it. It goes on sale today - I urge you to get a copy and strt it right away. You won't regret it!

Nancy

posted by alphaorder at 7:35 am (EST) on Apr 1, 2008

Rebecca,

I agree about "What's for Dinner?" I saw teelgee's request for you to tell her more, but I am not sure how to discribe this book. I think hse would trust the two of us if we said just read it, don't you?!

Anwyay, did you get it from their moving sale? I picked up a few books there, but more from our bookstore. I haven't looked at your library to see if you have read Troubles yet. I have The Summer Book, which should be out soon, if it is not already, and of course about 10 more of the series to read. I just love (and trust) them.

posted by alphaorder at 10:45 pm (EST) on Mar 27, 2008

Rebecca,

I saw you just finished What's for Dinner? I read it a few weeks ago and have found that is has really stuck with me. I guess that is why NYRB Classics republished it. Glad you liked it too.

I stil have the Mary Swan book on my TBR pile and I think of you everytime I look at it. Haven't heard from anyone else who has read it yet.

posted by alphaorder at 11:33 pm (EST) on Mar 25, 2008

Rebeccanyc - I hope that you enjoyed The Radetsky March. I remember it started slowly, but once I got into it, I found it delightful.

posted by RcCarol at 7:58 pm (EST) on Mar 9, 2008

Hi Rebecca. I'm kath...
I noticed a post of yours about how your childhood affected your reading...I could have written it! So I thought I would pop in and say hello.

You have some library! I doubt that my own listing will ever be up to date here, as I tend to wander off to read . sigh...

So Hello and take care
kath

posted by mckait at 1:30 pm (EST) on Jan 21, 2008

Rebecca- it took me a long time to get through Savage Detectives...actually the structure, the short oral histories, allowed me to go back to it, after intervals, without too much distraction. In the end it was a great read, quite different from much that it is now written, although it did remind me of a book by Kerouac- Desolation Angels. I loved that the main characters were poets, "on the road" exploring themselves, literary ideas and the world.

posted by berthirsch at 2:23 pm (EST) on Jan 13, 2008

FYI- i just did a review of Roth's Exit Ghost...have you read it yet?

How are you finding Savage Detectives?

posted by berthirsch at 7:09 am (EST) on Jan 12, 2008

hi rebecca- i was just clicking around and I saw you recently added [Savage Detectives]- I really loved it and will be curious to hear what yopur reactyions are to the book. happy reading-
Bert

posted by berthirsch at 7:54 pm (EST) on Dec 20, 2007

Rebecca, Thanks very much for the Haiti book recommendations!

posted by bfertig at 12:43 pm (EST) on Nov 30, 2007

Hi Rebecca,
I thought I'd get in touch as I haven't seen you in the reading globally group for a while. I am emulating your championing of 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by recommending Patricia Grace's books, particularly 'Potiki'. I think quite a few people have taken it up, so i thought I would recommend it to you too, hopefully as a way of repaying you for pushing me in the direction of Adichie's book.
Cheers,
Andy

PS I'm beginning to feel the pressure of being responsible for a lot of other people's reading time. I don't know how you put up with it.

posted by depressaholic at 8:21 am (EST) on Oct 13, 2007

Thanks, Rebecca--I put both Salter titles on my Bookmooch wishlist.

posted by cabegley at 9:36 pm (EST) on Sep 27, 2007

Hi, Rebecca,

In the What Are You Reading Now? thread, you say James Salter is one of your favorite authors. Since I don't think you've steered me wrong yet . . . which book of his would you recommend starting with?

Regards,

Chris

posted by cabegley at 3:44 pm (EST) on Sep 27, 2007

just looked at CriticalMass blog and the critic Edmund White listed 5 must books in a reviewer's library...i thought of you:

Roberto Bolaño's The Savage Detectives, which I read just this last spring, is a book that renews my faith in fiction. Written by a Chilean author who lived in Mexico and Spain, it is bursting with narrative energy and that most elusive and seldom-mentioned of essential qualities: charm.

posted by berthirsch at 8:21 am (EST) on Sep 26, 2007

Rebecca, I really enjoyed your maps section.
Tiffin

posted by tiffin at 10:59 pm (EST) on Sep 25, 2007

Hey Rebecca- I am thoroughly enjoying Savage Detectives...the best word i have come up with to describe it is that it is a worldwind :"romp" of a tale about 2 crazed poets and the encounters they have through the years...the structure- mostly oral histories...allows for one to pick it up, put it down and still come back to it in full stride...Bolano certainly speaks to that part of me that was nurtured ion the 60's.

posted by berthirsch at 12:43 pm (EST) on Sep 14, 2007

Thanks for your comment about the Magic Mountain.

David Perrings

posted by dperrings at 7:49 pm (EST) on Jul 26, 2007

Thanks for visiting my photoblog and especially thanks for liking it. I can see you love New York City by your nice collection of New York books. Makes me newly ambitious, in an acquisitive sort of way.

posted by marysargent at 1:48 am (EST) on Jul 22, 2007

Did you, or are you, enjoying Kapuscinski's 'Travels With Herodotus'? I see you are the only other reader here to have it in your catalog.

~Sean-Paul

posted by spkelley at 8:38 pm (EST) on Jun 26, 2007

The July issue of Vanity Fair is focused on Africa and included a photo spread and a general article highlighting Africa literary stars - including our fave, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She is so beautiful, so talented. Did you know she lives in a house that Achebe used to live in? I don't read many magazines, but I happened to see this in the pharmacy yesterday, and since I'm studying Africa at the moment, I picked it up. Loving the Red Room although its exhausting (and not helping my studying either). Best, Lois

posted by avaland at 7:52 am (EST) on Jun 26, 2007

The Orange Prize is announced tomorrow. Cross your fingers!!! - Lois

posted by avaland at 10:32 am (EST) on Jun 5, 2007

Hi Rebecca. I recently started reading Omnivore's Dilemma, and find it gets a little dry very early on. I will finish it, because I bought it, but I'm wondering if you can tell me if it gets interesting again.
Carmen

posted by carmen29 at 4:51 pm (EST) on May 1, 2007

Rebecca, I just started Half Of A Yellow Sun and really am enjoying it. It is an amazing book. I saw your recommendation and others and decided to check it out of the library.

posted by momom248 at 3:32 pm (EST) on Apr 17, 2007

rebeccanyc
Finally got around to reading Half of a Yellow Sun, and it is an outstanding book. Just wanted to thank you for pointing me in its direction (despite my teasing). Its definitely one of the best books I have read this year.

posted by depressaholic at 5:33 am (EST) on Apr 14, 2007

Sorry about the New/New York Times Cookbook. I don't think I saw the two News - too much looking at book information, probably. The eyes could have probably used a break! (I actually do have the (older) book, but I haven't cataloged any of my cookbooks.)

Thanks for the reminder to be more careful.

posted by Talbin at 11:32 pm (EST) on Mar 4, 2007

hello again,

i read The Road a few weeks ago and i,too, was compelled to read on and while it is grim i found it somewhat touching also- the relationahip between father and son and i was not dissappointed with the ending.

ciao, bert

posted by berthirsch at 1:55 pm (EST) on Feb 2, 2007

Hi, Rebecca ~ I decided to respond privately to your last post to me on the What You're Reading the Week of 27 January 2007 thread: ("Storeetllr, if your ancestors came before 1892 (as mine did), and they came in through NYC, they came through Castle Garden, not Ellis Island -- it didn't open until 1892. Castle Garden is at the southern tip of Manhattan, also called the Battery.")
How interesting about Castle Garden ~ and what a romantic name for what must have been anything but a romantic place. I've been to the Battery, but I never knew it was a point of immigration. Anyway, my grandparents came in about 1910, although I'm not exactly sure what year. It may be somewhere in my papers, which are in storage at this time, but I know it was after 1907.
BTW, my grandparents' names were Kazimir Barkauskus (Charles Birkitis) and VERA KUBILIUTE (Vera Kubilis). I vaguely remember hearing that they came from in or near Vilnius. Vera moved to Scotland sometime around 1907 where she married her first husband, Juozas Karpinskas (Joseph Carpson), and had two or three children. Later, they emigrated to the U.S., where Juozas was killed in a mining accident in Harrisburg, IL. She then married my grandfather, who also worked in the mines in So. Illinois.
Where in Lithuania did your folks come from? (I don't recall whether you mentioned that or not ~ sorry.)

posted by Storeetllr at 6:13 pm (EST) on Jan 29, 2007

I'm sorry, my mistake. I fished around until I found the original post - mentioned by marietherese on the magazine thread in "what are you reading now." The magazine did seem interesting when I checked it out online, so I subscribed. The current issue features Irish literature, a fair amount of poetry, reviews (including a review on ...can you guess...Half a Yellow Sun!), a few other pieces.

I just picked up McCann's Zoli so the Adichie must wait a little longer. And I have a little left to go on Auster's Travels in the Scriptorium but it was giving me intellectual vertigo, so I needed a breather.

I do have you on my watch list; however, I've noticed that recently added books is not the same as recently read books. You have a voracious appetite for literature! I think I may have slowed down a little since the bookstore. It's probably a good thing.
Best, Lois

posted by avaland at 7:26 pm (EST) on Jan 26, 2007

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