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Pulitzer (oops, I mean Nobel) Prize Winners (take 2)

I wrote this post yesterday and when I was about to finish it up, the browser crashed and I was so disheartened that I couldn't bear to re-write it.  Today I will give it another try.  Wish me luck.

Lately I have been reading books by some Pulitzer Nobel Prize winning authors -- not by design, but rather by chance.  First up was Blindness by Jose Saramago -- a novel I would liken to Cormac McCarthy's The Road.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that McCarthy must surely have read Blindness before writing The Road.  The post apocalyptic vision in both are eerily similar in their feeling of hopelessness and violence -- however, while I found The Road more emotionally moving, Blindness gave me more to think about.

The novel is about a pandemic which leaves all humanity blind -- leading to a total break down in society.  Only one woman retains her sight and through her we experience the depth of horror that only she can see. 

The writing style is a bit strange with dialog written out in paragraphs with commas separating different speakers' words.  It seemed a bit awkward at first (which could also be owing to the fact that it is translated from Portuguese) but after only a handful of pages it became easier to read.

Yesterday I went to the library and picked up Seeing -- the follow up to Blindness and I'm looking forward to revisiting these characters in a new setting.

Pan by Knut Hamsun -- another Pulitzer Nobel Prize winner and one of Pete's favorite writers was up next.  I enjoyed this book even more than his novel Hunger -- perhaps because there was more sex and less starvation. 

Pan is the story of Lieutenant Glahn -- a man who has opted out of society to a certain extent and has taken up living in a hut near the forest -- hunting wild game for food and communing with nature.  However, he feels the pull of society and often finds himself looking for companionship (with which he is quickly disillusioned).  The main action of the story centers around the romance -- if you can call it that -- between Glahn and Edvarda who seem to delight in tormenting one another.

I just found that you can read Pan online at Project Gutenberg.

In keeping with the Pulitzer Prize (okay, this one really did win the Pulitzer!) theme -- I started The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon last night and am enjoying it so far.

I also read Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and while he hasn't won the Pulitzer Prize (or Nobel), this book did win the the National Book Award. 

I haven't read many books about American Indians, so I found this book quite educational.  While it is fiction and directed at young adults -- I would highly recommend it to adults wanting to learn a little more about the struggles of American Indians and specifically American Indian teens who can be caught between two worlds. 

I've also been reading more Philip Pullman -- surprise, surprise.  Recently I finished Clockwork, Count Karlstein and Spring-Heeled Jack and I brought home I Was a Rat! from the library yesterday which should be a very quick little read.  I find that I'm enjoying reading these "young adult" books between novels and so many good authors are writing for this age group these days.  I just can't resist.

Intertwined

As I am getting back in the groove with my spinning, I couldn't resist picking up Intertwined by Lexi Boeger when I saw it on the new arrivals shelf at the library.  Like many of you, I followed Lexi's blog for ages and admired the wild and sometimes outrageous yarns she made, but thought it was something I a) couldn't do myself and b) even if I could do it I would have no use for the yarn.  This book changed all that. 

First of all, the book has detailed instructions and tips for each kind of yarn it covers -- and there are a lot of different yarn styles.  While I might not want to make yarn out of cassette tape (although this book will tell you how), I do want to learn how to make wrapped yearns and thread plied yarn and even thick and thin yarns.  All covered.

The patterns are diverse -- hats, scarves, shoelaces and more -- and these projects are not only for knitters.  Techniques used include weaving, felting, knitting, crochet and even sewing.  And there are tons of great photos of yarns, techniques and finished goods.

If you are a spinner, or even just a yarn lover, I think you'll really enjoy this book!

A cliché

I grew up in a very Catholic town (and in fact, have moved back here as an adult) filled with Catholic schools.  *Everyone* (at least pretty much everyone I knew) went to Catholic school and I was no exception.  I went to St. Paul the Apostle for grade school -- following in my mother's footsteps -- and then went on to St. Francis Academy -- a college preparatory school for girls -- again following in my mother's footsteps. 

Yes. . . I said for girls. 

The cliché begins.

Are you picturing wool plaid skirts?  (Actually polyester blend by the time I was in high school.)  White shirts with Peter Pan collars? You would be correct.  No boys to be found in the halls before or after school (well, unless you count band members who had practice first period.)  And our dean was in fact a Catholic nun -- Sr. Sue.  I have a vivid memory of her yanking on the tail of my blouse which was *gasp* untucked on one of the hottest days of the school year.

Then there was the ultimate cliché -- taking 4 years of Latin from Sr. Irene.  The final two years were spent translating Vergil's Aeneid from Latin.  Oh. My. God. 

What made me think of all this?   I just finished reading this:

Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin is the retelling of the Aeneid from the perspective of Lavinia -- Aeneas' wife (or last wife, as the case may be).  It was an interesting read and I enjoyed the story which brings a very human perspective to Vergil's epic poem.

And best of all -- it is written in English.  Ha!

Way Behind

I've been reading quite a bit lately, but I know I haven't kept the book section of the blog updated.  I'm sure I'll forget something, but here's a quick update:

I re-read Atonement and if possible, it was even better the second time.  What a book!

Blue Mars -- the third book in the Mars trilogy -- by Kim Stanley Robinson was a satisfactory ending to the series.  At his point I was very invested in the characters and enjoyed reading more about them.  This is one of the most amazing sci-fi series I've ever read.

Another Pullman -- this time The Tin Princess.  Really enjoyed this book -- still a Pullman fan.  I just checked out Count Karlstein and Spring-Heeled Jack from the library, so there is more Pullman in my near future.

I mentioned this book in conjunction with my reading of the Norton Anthology.  It is the Seamus Heaney verse translation of Beowulf.  Such a well written translation -- it captures the original Old English feel.  Love the facing page Old English and side margin notes.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart is a "children's book" but I'm quickly learning that many so called books for kids are equally enjoyable when you read them as an adult.  This was a fun little mystery book that kept the action moving forward.  Fun!

The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon is my latest finish.  Pete loved it and I have to agree that it was quite a book.  The symbolism is heavy and it is a book that you could read more than once.  Themes include disillusionment and the plight of immigrants or the disenfranchised in general.  Another impressive book from Hemon.  (I also enjoyed Nowhere Man.)

I think I'm caught up now, although I can't be sure since I went so long (over a month!) between updates.  Currently reading Ursula K. LeGuin's Lavinia and working through the Canterbury tales in the Norton Anthology.

Reading the Norton Anthology

I recently began re-reading the The Norton Anthology of English Literature -- for fun.  Okay, I know that sounds strange, but I was looking for a good challenge. 

So far I've only read The Dream of the Rood and Beowulf -- so we're talking Old English here.  Back in college I took an advanced course in the Old English language (I was just an undergrad, but I'm a sucker for dead languages so I took the course with my teacher's approval).  Old English is a Germanic language brought to Britain by the Anglo-Saxon invaders (loose dates to set the stage -- 450AD-1066AD).  This was the age of the bard in which the heroic ideal reigned.  Family led tribes ruled and the religion of the region was Christianity.

The old version of the Norton Anthology that I have has a rather dull translation of Beowulf, so I decided to read the Seamus Heaney verse translation -- which actually appears in the newer edition of the NA.  I love it because it keeps alive the rhythm and alliteration of the original and in addition the original Old English appears on the facing pages.  Haney's translation is quite impressive.

The last work in Old English is the Battle of Maldon and then I'm already into Middle English and the Canterbury Tales.  More updates to follow.

In love with Philip Pullman

I've been reading a lot lately and need to get caught up on my book reviews.  Since I've read 3 Philip Pullman books, I'll write about all these together first.  And first up is Once Upon a Time in the North which is another side story in the Dark Materials universe.  It's a nice little story concerning the first meeting of Iorek Byrnison (the king of the bears) and Lee Scoresby (the Texan balloonist).  I loved it just as I loved Lyra's Oxford -- another side story.  These are pretty little books with woodblock prints and little extras thrown in -- like the board game in the back of Once Upon a Time in the North.  A must have for fans of the Dark Materials trilogy.

I also read the next two Sally Lockhart mysteries -- or perhaps a better word is devoured.  They were both excellent and I think everyone should give them a try.  I just love Sally and really enjoyed being back with her for a little while. 

And while I'm on the subject of Philip Pullman... I recently listened to an excellent podcast from The Guardian in which Philip Pullman speaks and answers questions concerning the Dark Materials trilogy.   After hearing him, I like him even more!

I really want to get a copy of Milton's Paradise Lost which includes commentary by Philip Pullman as well as engravings from the 1688 illustrated manuscript.  Wow!

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

A while ago, I finished reading David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas and I've been hoping that with some time I would gain perspective so that I could more clearly share my thoughts on this "novel".  However, despite ruminating on it for several weeks now, I am no closer to consolidating my thoughts so I'll have to just make do.

First, I'd like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book -- which I hesitate to call a novel.  In fact, to me it felt more like a group of short stories linked together by a thread, or more like a set of nesting dolls first taken apart and then reassembled.  It is a group of 6 stories told in 6 different voices -- each presented in an open ended manner in the first half of the book and then completed (cascading back through time) in the second half of the book. 

In the beginning it took me some time to become fully engaged in the book, but by the halfway point I was completely hooked. While the structure in unconventional I feel that it only adds to the overall enjoyment of the book.  If you are looking for something very different, yet familiar, give this book a try.

Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light

For my birthday I received a copy of Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light by Mort Rosenblum -- a most excellent book about all things chocolate.  Rosenblum covers pretty much everything that you would want to know, starting with the history of chocolate and moving on to the current state of cacao production from the plantation to the factory (both large and small), finishing with a look into some of the finer (and not so fine) ways in which chocolate is used today.

Rosenblum draws you in with seductive passages which describe the smell and taste of chocolate, but is equally interesting while discussing cacao bean production.  He literally travels the world in order to explore this amazing bean and bring his knowledge to the reader. 

The book was so well written, that I had to ration it out -- reading only 1-2 (or 3-4) chapters a night. And I'm not the only one who thought so -- this book won the IACP Cookbook Award in 2006 for best literary food writing.   If you are interested in all things chocolate -- from where and how it is grown, to what the French master chocolatier can do with it -- read this book!

This was also posted over at the Chocolate Blog.

Knitting New Scarves

I was in the library a few weeks ago and I came across a knitting book I hadn't seen or heard of before.  It is called Knitting New Scarves and it was written by Lynne Barr.  When I picked it up to page through it, I figured I'd see the same old rehash of the usual scarves, but I was really quite surprised and shocked by what I saw here.  Instead of knitting in the traditional way, Barr presents some interesting new techniques that push the boundary of knitting.  I brought the book home for a closer look and was further inspired after having time to really check these techniques out.

First of all, many of the scarves aren't knit using two needles and more than often are three dimensional as a result.  Variety and unusual forms are the norm in this book and some of the scarves look like they would be a lot of fun to make.

I especially like the technique section at the back of the book that illustrates the steps involved in many of the projects.  This is definitely a well illustrated book with many photos to help you work your way through these scarves. 

I haven't started any scarves from the book yet, but I think I'll be playing with some of the techniques and perhaps tweaking them for use in my own designs.  It's a pleasure to see something really new in knitting after all these years.  Take a look at these scarves and find a little inspiration of your own!

A couple books

I'm still reading a lot as the effects of the writers' strike lingers on (man is TV really bad, or is it just me?)  I am happy that one show is back on -- LOST!  Man, I love that show.  And in a effort to be the best fan possible, I have read a book from the list of literary works referenced in the show. (Whoa -- I've actually read about half of that list!) 

The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien is a strange, sometimes confusing, sometimes funny book.  I don't want to give away the ending for anyone who wants to read it, but suffice it to say, this book felt like Monty Python meets Jean-Paul Sartre.  At times it was engaging and funny, and at times I was lost and had to muddle through.

The book does appear to have similar themes to LOST and I guess that's one reason to read it, but I mostly picked it up on Pete's recommendation since he mentioned that he wanted to read it during March -- when he traditionally reads literature by Irish writers.

Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman is a little side story set in the Dark Materials universe.  In other words -- yeah!  More time with Lyra!  I absolutely loved Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy and am glad to have a little more time with it's sympathetic and charismatic protagonist.  The book is lovely, with wonderful woodblock illustrations throughout as well as a fold out map and additional ephemera at the back of the book.  I love this fun aspect and am looking forward to the next little trip back to this universe -- Once Upon a Time in the North -- which is due out April 8th. 

I'm also in the middle of reading The Republican War on Science which is a bit drier, but quite interesting.  More on that soon.

Reading some great (and not so great) books. . .

I'm on a bit of a Nemirovsky kick I suppose as this is the third "book" I've read by her in less than a year.  I put book in quotes because the first one I read -- Suite Francaise -- was really two novellas, then there was Fire in the Blood which was actually a stand alone novel, and I just finished David Golder, The Ball, Snow in Autumn, The Courilof Affair  which consists of 4 separate works. 

What can I say?  I find her work mesmerizing -- her characters are so realistic and engaging that you can hardly escape their pull.  This current book was no different. Take the main character of David Golder -- I'm not sure if I disliked him or pitied him, but I know he was human and couldn't stop reading about his struggle.    I found these works to be quite dark as they explored the issues of money, war, society and class -- the four worked remarkable well together and I had no problem reading them one right after another.

I strongly urge you to give Nemirovsky a try -- I don't think you'll regret it.

Next up was J.M. Coetzee's Diary of a Bad Year and I have to say that I might rename it "Diary of a Bad Book".  Ugh!  I really tried to get through this one and waded through 90 pages before I gave up and returned it to the library.  I had high hopes because I read Coetzee's Disgrace back in 2005 and thought it was stunning.  So read that and forget the strangely structured political rant that is Diary of a Bad Year.

And since I'm serially reading certain authors, I decided to pick up Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke which is the first of the Sally Lockhart mysteries.  I have to say that it appears Pullman can do no wrong in my book because I loved this little gem and tore through it in just a couple days.  I'm very much looking forward to reading the other books in this series -- I'd call it a trilogy, but it appears there is a side book as he is want to do.  Speaking of Pullman's side books, I have Lyra's Oxford on my shelf waiting to be read and he has another Dark Materials side book -- Once Upon a Time in the North -- coming out soon!

Right now I'm in the middle of Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman and I'm really into it so far.  More on that soon, I'm sure.

The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is marketed as a book for teens, but don't let that stop you from running out and getting this book for yourself. The story is incredibly engaging, the characters endearing and the themes are thought provoking.

In a nutshell, it's a book about Nazi Germany told by Death. Sounds strange, but the device is used well and enhances the story without intruding too much. Otherwise, the tale is rater straightforward although there are little asides thrown in here and there that make it different -- nothing Vonnegut hasn't done before.

While I fell in love with the characters, I also loved the honest portrayal of the German citizens -- torn by the Nazi dictatorship -- living in fear, trying to do the right thing, wondering what the right thing is when they can hardly take care of their own families. It puts things into perspective in a way that you might not expect.

So I highly recommend this book and not just for teens.

More Winter Reading

I enjoyed Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky so much that I was sure to pick up Fire in the Blood as soon as I saw it at the library.  It's a really lovely book and did not disappoint.   It's a love story, or more aptly put, a story of passions.  Her style is so easy and engaging, that I'm sure you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

After that it was time for a little sci-fi.  If you haven't read the Mars trilogy, I highly recommend it!  I read Red Mars several years ago and enjoyed it very much, but never found a used copy of Green Mars until recently.  (Now to find a copy of Blue Mars!)  So, I just re-read Red Mars and I'm a good ways into Green Mars.  Both are just incredible, but don't take my word for it.  Red Mars won the Nebula Award and both Green Mars and Blue Mars won the Hugo.  Quite impressive.

So, what are these books about?  Well, they are mostly speculative fiction about the colonization of Mars -- including questions of science, ethics and social structures.  Really well thought out and beautifully executed.  If you like sci-fi -- give these books a try.  (And if you don't know if you like sci-fi -- give it a chance.)

Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma was up next.  I've been looking forward to reading this book and it was even better than I thought it would be.  Of course there were some passages where it seemed that he could have used some editing -- he had a tendency to restate things a bit too much -- but parts of the book really were fascinating.  The section on fast food was informative and disturbing (all that corn!), the pastoral section gave me hope, and the "big organic" section was eye-opening, but the hunter-gatherer part of the book was my favorite.  It gives you a whole new appreciation for our genetic predisposition to this form of eating. 

If you are at all interested in knowing where your food really comes from (or could come from with some effort), or just in finding out what alternatives are out there, read this book.  I guarantee you'll learn something you didn't previously know about food.

Right now I'm working my way through Green Mars and looking forward to reading Pollan's next book -- In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto -- which is sitting on my shelf waiting for me.

Baking Bread -- the easy way!

I've been obsessed with making good bread for years and I've found a few recipes that are good, but none of them are particularly easy or --  more importantly -- quick.  So when I saw this book, I knew I had to give it a try.

The book is Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg, and I have to say that I'm loving it!  The concept here is simple -- you make a large batch of dough, stick it in the fridge, and slice off a chunk of it whenever you want fresh bread.  The basic dough keeps for 14 days and is easy to mix up (no kneading!)   It uses only very basic ingredients and you can do a lot with it.  I made a batch of the basic dough and we have had fresh baked bread with dinner 3 times this past week. 

The book also includes some other dough recipes and then expands on these so that you can use the dough to make all kinds of different loaves.  I'm looking forward to trying one of the richer breads -- like the brioche -- soon.

What I like most about it is that I can make a family sized loaf.  There are only three of us, so I hate to make a huge loaf that goes stale before we can use it all.  And I also love that you only mix up the dough once every week or so.  Taking out all the ingredients and then cleaning up afterward takes most of the time in baking.

I wish I had some bread to show you, but I'm afraid it doesn't stick around for more than about 30 minutes after it comes out of the oven!

Book Binge

The cold damp weather makes me want to do one thing -- lay in bed with the blankets piled on and read.

Just before Christmas, I treated myself to the His Dark Materials Trilogy -- The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass -- by Philip Pullman.  I am so glad that I did!  At first I decided to read the books because of all the controversy.  In case you haven't heard about it -- some people are outraged because Pullman's Dark Materials world appears to be anti-god and truly can be called anti-organized religion.  What do I say about this?  Hurrah!  Finally an opposing view.  So much literature is overtly or covertly religious, what is wrong with voicing a different view.  (If you want to read his views on religion -- which I wholeheartedly concur with -- you can read more at his website.)

But religious themes aside -- I *loved* these books and devoured them greedily!  When I read the last word on the last page, I was sad that it was over.  This is when I know that I've read something amazing.  At its roots, it's a story of growing up and of good vs. evil -- wisdom vs. blind faith.  I can't wait to read them again and I can't wait for Maddie to be old enough to read them. 

I do want to say that these are not books for young children -- in fact, I think they are more than substantial enough for any adult.  And some of the themes are appropriate only for older kids -- on the cusp of adulthood -- teens perhaps.

After this I read something very different -- Forgetfulness by Ward Just.  This is a book set mostly in France and concerns the death of a French woman married to an American ex-pat.  It was interesting, as it concerns terrorism, 9-11 and anti-American feelings.  I'm not sure what to make of it.  The main character -- the American living in France -- seemed to dislike himself.  The French wife who died at the beginning was unsympathetic.  This lent realism to the story, but left me a bit cold.

My mom bought I Am Legend by Richard Matheson for Pete for Christmas, but as he has about 20 books on his "to read" pile -- I snagged it.  The book is actually a collection of stories -- I am Legend is more of a novella.  Right now there is a movie out starring Will Smith based on this book, but it sounds like they fleshed out the story and moved it to New York City.

This book is set in a suburban area and the main character is the last man on the planet  -- a planet that has now been populated with a kind of vampire.  It's certainly scary and fits right in to the apocalyptic genre.  If you like horror then you have to read some Matheson and I am Legend is a good place to start.  It's very old school horror -- akin to old school sci-fi which probably explains why I liked it.   I have to admit that I didn't read all of the other stories in the book.  After reading I am Legend and a few other stories, I had a nightmare and decided that I don't read horror for a reason  :)

Up next is Fire in the Blood by Irene Nemirovsky who wrote Suite Francaise which I read and enjoyed last year.  So far I love the book and read more than half of it yesterday.

The books of 2007

Well, it's that time again.  I've been looking back on what I read in 2007 and taking stock.  It was an unusual year for me -- the summer of classics, lots of "children's" books and more non-fiction than I'm used to reading.  It looks like I blogged about 41 books (not including crafting and cookbooks), but Pete swears I read more than that.  I'm guessing about 1 book a week this past year.  Here are some of the highlights:

Non-fiction:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver was a clear winner.  I can't stop thinking about this book -- or talking about it for that matter.  I *highly* recommend it to anyone interested in local eating -- or healthier eating -- or just the state of agri-business in this day and age.  I reviewed this book in October.

Other notable non-fiction:  The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain

Fiction:

I don't know that there is one novel that I read this year that stood out above all others, but I have to say that I was most moved by The Road by Cormac McCarthy.  (I reviewed this book back in May.)

Other notable fiction: On Chesil Beach by one of my all time favorites -- Ian McEwan.

I have to mention series/trilogies too since I've spent a good portion of this year re-reading the Harry Potter books and am now finishing up the His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass).  I don't know if I can put one above the other, but they are both utterly fantastic and I would highly recommend them for adults as well as children (older children only for His Dark Materials, though).

I'm not sure where I'll be going with reading in the coming year, but I'd like to re-read some Vonnegut and I'd love to find some good science fiction.  We'll see what happens!
 

Been reading:

The Final Solution by Michael Chabon was on my to read list for quite awhile -- it's a short book and was a quick read. I'm thinking it would be a must for any Sherlock Holmes fans as it's a story starring SH as an old man.  I never read any Sherlock Holmes, so I missed most of the references I'm sure.  It's a nice little derivative work. 

What I really like is the cover, which was created by Jay Ryan.  We have the print hanging in our hallway, as well as several other Jay Ryan works throughout the house.  (See more of his stuff at The Bird Machine.)

So, all in all, I suppose the book would be a must read for the Sherlock Holmes fan, but I wasn't all that excited about it.

Next up was Nowhere Man by Aleksandar Hemon which was recommended to me by Pete.  It was a very impressive read with a strange structure.  Many different narrators recount bits and pieces of the main character's life.  Instead of switching back and forth amongst these narrators, Hemon sequesters each one to its own section of the book. 

The story feels (and is) somewhat biographical -- telling the story of a young man who flees Yugoslavia and makes a life for himself in the US.  It's not dissimilar in feeling to some of the books on immigration that I read earlier this year (notably The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears), but is completely unique at the same time.  I definitely recommend this book.

Right now I'm reading (yet again) The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien -- although I'm reading a fancy version that Pete bought me several years ago which includes Tolkien's illustrations, as well as his color illustrations.  (My eyes are too bad for the ancient paperbacks which used to belong to my dad.)  I'm also following along in The Atlas of Middle-Earth which has a bunch of added maps -- yes, I'm a geek.  After that I plan to read the His Dark Materials Trilogy which is on it's way from Amazon.  Fun holiday reading -- yeah!

Scribbles

Need a great gift idea for a kid? Scribbles: A Really Giant Drawing and Coloring Book by Taro Gomi is a coloring book that really gets the creative juices flowing. Maddie already had Doodles: A Really Giant Coloring and Doodling Book, which we bought her before we went on vacation last year, so I knew this was going to be a winner. We actually use Scribbles during school time. She picks out one set of pages and she works on the right hand side while I do the left. It's a great way to play creatively with your child/grandchild/niece/nephew.

Perhaps I should explain a bit more about what kind of coloring book this is. On many pages there is an incomplete picture (for instance, an empty vase on the pages I show above) and there is a suggestion of what to draw to complete it. Usually it's very open ended -- fill the vase, draw an outfit, what is on this hill, draw a super scary monster, or some such thing. Very fun for kids and adults! Maddie and I both highly recommend these books.

Reading List

It's been a while since I updated my reading list and I'll forget what I've read if I don't get it down here.  Maybe you'll find something for some of the people on your holiday shopping list!

I believe that last time I did a book post I was in the middle of The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain.  What an enjoyable read!  I'm a closet foodie ( the Dean & Deluca catalog is like porn for me -- seriously), so I love reading about food.  Bourdain's food writing is raw and accessible -- sometimes eye-opening, sometimes stomach churning -- but always interesting.

I finally read Lian Hearn's Heaven's Net Is Wide from the Tales of the Otori Series -- this is a prequel to the trilogy I read over the last year or so and is an excellent book!  If you are going to read the series, read this one last.  (More on this series here & here.)

Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon was my next read.  I was so taken with Barabra Kinsolver's book -- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life -- that I decided I should explore some other books of this nature.  Plenty didn't excite me as much as Kingsolver's book (which I absolutely loved) but it was a very interesting look at another way to go about eating locally.  While Kingsolver and her family grew much of their food, Smith and Mackinnon lived in an urban area and were forced to find other alternatives while sticking to their 100 mile diet.  I'm not much of a gardener myself, so I enjoyed reading about their hunt and hope to do some of this myself over the coming year. 

After reading The Road and being so so moved by it, I knew I wanted to try some more of Cormac McCarthy's books.  Pete had a copy of All the Pretty Horses that he picked up at the used bookstore, so I gave it a try.  Now McCarthy is probably best known for his "cowboy" stories -- a genre I am not accustomed to reading.  However, I soldiered on and found this book quite enjoyable, although I was not moved by it as I was by The Road.  Quite a bit of dialog is written in Spanish, which I found distracting -- but if you know a bit of Spanish, I'm sure you could read it easily enough.  I probably won't be reading any of his other books, but I think this book would be great for anyone with an interest in westerns.

I'm now reading American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza by Peter Reinhart.  While it is a cookbook technically, there is large part of the book devoted to Reinhart's quest for the perfect pizza which takes him around the US and Italy.  I love making homemade pizza and I think this book will give me a greater appreciation for it as well as a vast amount of knowledge concerning how to make a great pizza at home.  Reinhart is also the author of the most excellent cookbook --  The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread.

I'm not sure what is up next in fiction, I'm thinking of re-reading J.R.R. Tolkein for the holidays.  Or maybe I'll go in a totally differrent direction -- until I decide, I'll keep reading about pizza with my tummy rumbling and my mouth salivating -- yum!

Good Reading

I've been on a reading binge lately -- perhaps because of the cooler weather.  Here are my latest reads. . .

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver was an amazing book!  So amazing that every night I would read a chapter and then go on and on about it to Pete.  I couldn't help myself!  The whole locavore movement is so interesting to me that I just ate this book up greedily (no pun intended).

I have been a fan of Kingsolver's fiction for years but wasn't sure how she would translate to non-fiction.  I needn't have worried -- her voice is frank and honest.  You almost feel like you are sitting down to a meal with her and having a chat.  I feel like I learned so much and am now questioning many things since I read this book. 

If you are at all interested in eating local, in season or organic, give this book a read.  If nothing else, it will really get you thinking!

Peony in Love by Lisa See was a no brainer for me.  I absolutely loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and recommend it to people any chance I get.  So when I saw that she had a new book out, I was quite excited.

Peony in Love is a love story based on two actual Chinese works -- "The Peony Pavilion" which was an opera first published in 1598 and The Three Wives Commentary which was published in 1694 and is the first known work to survive which was written by women (and actually published).  This is historical fiction that will transport you back to a time and place that you may know nothing about.  It gives you a glimpse of what life was like for women during this time in China when they found a brief period of freedom.

If you liked Snow Flower and the Secret Fan I think you'll like this book also.  If you haven't read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan yet -- well, what are you waiting for!

McEwan has done it again in his most recent work of fiction -- On Chesil Beach.  Once again, I am a huge fan.  I really enjopyed Atonement, Saturday and Amsterdam.

McEwan is master of taking a single moment in time and examining it in such detail that it seems as if this moment were the fulcrum of his characters lives.  This is true of his latest novel, set on the wedding night of a couple just on the cusp of the sexual revolution.  What I love about this book is it's simplicity.  It focuses on one moment, but in exploring that moment we are led to think about issues in the context not only of the times in which they are set, but in the society, and more broadly as universal truths.  He makes you believe that one moment can change the outcome of a life.

This is a very quick read (I read it in a day) and I think that if you haven't read any McEwan, this is a good place to start.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is one of those rare books that breaks the mold and is unclassifiable.  I suppose you could call it a graphic novel, but it's so much different from any graphic novel you have probably seen.  An illustrated book?  That doesn't capture the unique way in which illustrations are used here.  I suppose it is a children's book, since I found it in that section at that library, but at 37 I enjoyed it immensely.

While the book is quite heavy, it took me only an hour to read.  It's printed on thick paper and includes many pages of illustration and also quite a few pages with only a paragraph or two.  The feeling is cinematic -- from the opening pages where you zoom in on the main character to the decorations at the beginning of each chapter that bring to mind silent film captions.  The story is everything you could want in a children's book -- an orphan, magic, mystery, stealth and in the end, belonging.

Pick this one up for your favorite niece or nephew -- or maybe your own child -- and read it with them.  It's really a fun book!

Whew!  I think that brings my reading log up to date.  Right now I'm more than half-way though The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain -- love his raw look at the restaurant/chef world.  His voice is awesome -- fells like you & him are sitting down in a grungy bar with a good stiff drink and swapping war stories (although he is the one with all the stories and you just sit open mouthed, staring with fascination -- or is it horror?)  More on this book soon.

Two Sewing Books

 

Lately I can't seem to get enough of sewing books.  I love Amy's book -- Bend-the-Rules Sewing -- which I thought I reviewed here, but I can't seem to find the post.  Hmmm. .

Now I have two more books to love!  First (and my favorite of the two) is Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.  It's filled with beautiful photographs of incredible projects.  Many are super easy and could be tackled by any first time sewer.  Just some of the projects I want to try from this book:  Flannel Baby Blanket, Super Quick + Easy Baby Quilt, Kelly's Pincushions, Puzzle Ball, Peanut the Wee Elephant, (Sort of) Crazy Quilt -- and there are others.  I mean, almost every project in this book looks like something I would make or build off of. 

The projects here are modern and fresh.  The instructions appear to be well written and there are photos (like on the puzzle ball) to get you through the tricky parts.  I also like the full size patterns glued inside the back cover on regular weight paper.  This is a very impressive book! 

Next up is Simple Gifts to Stitch: 30 Elegant and Easy Projects by Jocelyn Worrall.  There are 30 projects in this book -- everything from bags, to scarves, to kitchen items and blankets.  While the projects are for common items, each project has a little added twist that makes it fun.  The baby bib has a cross-stitch bear on it, there is a pillow that is shirred, and the pattern for the Botanical Tiara shows you how to make your own flowers out of ultrasuede.

All in all I liked the projects in this book.  There is a nice selection of different items and a few fun ideas to perk things up.  I guess that most of the projects were just a bit too simple for my taste.  If you are just beginning to learn to sew, there are easy projects here to get you started.

I'm so glad to see fresh sewing books hitting the market -- keep 'em coming!

Getting caught up on the reading list

I have a couple of finishes that I haven't blogged. . .

Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje -- author of The English Patient, was a really interesting read.  While the stories he interwove in the book were quite engaging, the books structure was what really turned me on.

I'm not sure how to describe the structure.  I would almost call it a story within a story -- an old trick used many times by plenty of authors -- yet this book had an interesting twist.  Basically the stories reflected upon each other -- the second (which actually took place at an earlier time) becoming almost a retelling of the first.  However, the two stories are different.  It was circular in some respects and gave you the feeling of life repeating itself -- the circle of life, as it were, but at a much deeper level.

The stories are of love, loss, desire -- human emotions we can all understand and I I would highly recommend this book. 

The next book I read was Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky.  Wow!  This is just the kind of book I enjoy.  Historical fiction based so much on fact that I get a feeling for what it was like to live in a different time and place.  The book is set in France as the Germans attack and people flee Paris.  She follows several families, individuals and soldiers lives.  Very engaging storytelling.

There is more to this though.  The story of the writing of this book is tragic and amazing.  Nemirovsky had originally planned 5 books that would be part of one volume.  The first 2 parts of that book are Suite Française.  It was written during the war and she handwrote the pages in tiny writing to conserve paper and ink which was scarce (the endpapers of the hardcover show examples of her handwritten pages).  During the planning and writing of the remainder of the story, she was taken to a concentration camp and died (or was killed -- it sound as if she were very ill at the time).  Her husband continued to search for her, not knowing she was dead, and he was eventually taken by the Germans to be killed in the gas chamber.

Her writings only survived because her daughters insisted on keeping their mother's papers as they were shuffled from home to home as orphans.  Wow.  It took over 50 years, but the first two books were finally published and it's a tragedy that she never had a chance to finish because it would have been a masterpiece.

I don't mind when things aren't nicely wrapped up, so I didn't mind that all these stories were left unfinished.  Isn't that how life is anyway?  I also highly recommend this book.

Now I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver and I'm enjoying it as much as I hoped I would!  I actually purchased this in hardcover because I couldn't bear to wait for the paperback and my library system has all books checked out and many holds.  It really is that good!  A full report when I finish.

Books & Pesto

Okay, so I'm way behind on posting the books I've been reading -- so here goes:

I finally finished re-reading HP books 1-6 this summer.  When I last posted, I believe I was only midway through Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  Well, I plowed through that and then devoured Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  I was very happy with how the story went and loved the last book for it's suspense and action.  The Epilogue -- eh.

So having finished 7 HP books in a row, I was ready to resume the "summer of classics" -- and I did:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was up next and it was supremely satisfying.  There's so much to think about in this book -- race, standing up for what you believe in, other-ness -- I could go on.  Beside that, the stage is truly set in this book.  It's almost if you are transported to that time and place while reading it.  So if you haven't read it in a while, I would recommend you giving it another go. 

Night by Elie Wiesel was my first non-reread (i.e. I hadn't read it before) of the "summer of classics".  I picked this up at a garage sale or used bookstore and put in on the shelf for a while thinking I had read it years ago.  Upon reading it, I realized that it was new to me and I was pleasantly surprised.  (Not that the subject matter is pleasant.)

Wiesel's account of his time spent in concentration camps is chilling and shockingly honest.  I was specially amazed by the account of his own feelings at his father's illness and death.  Amazing stuff.  If you haven't read it, pick up a copy -- it's very short and very powerful.  I don't think you will be disappointed.

Time for a break from the classics -- I picked up Philip Roth's Everyman at the library. It had been on my to read list for awhile since I had enjoyed The Plot Against America.  This book was somewhat depressing.  It begins with the death of the main character and the rest of the book is a look back at his unsatisfying life.  It was a good read, but disturbing.

Now I'm kind of in limbo.  I started Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje (author of the English Patient -- which I never read or saw) and it is supposed to be excellent, but I haven't really gotten into it yet.  We'll see how it goes.

Oh!  I almost forgot, then I saw the title of this post -- PESTO!  I made my own pesto from scratch (and even from some basil I grew, although I had to add extra store purchased basil).  It is so delicious!  I'll have to post a photo tutorial next time I make it since it's so pretty too.  And boy is it easy to make.  The only hard part is cleaning the food processor when you are finished.  Yeah pesto! 

It's Here!!

The UPS man just brought me HP Book 7