Space Station Mir

This week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday at the Broke and the Bookish . 1. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. After reading his new biography (review soon!), it might make more sense if I didn't want Vonnegut at my table. He comes off as bitter, attention-seeking, and womanizing. Yet he still seems like a charming and entertaining dinner guest when he wanted to be, so I'd be interested in conversing with him on a good day. Also, I feel like we might bond over similar pessimistic yet secretly optimistic worldviews. 2. Madeleine L'Engle It was my dream to meet Madeleine L'Engle, especially because for a long time, she and Vonnegut were the only two authors I liked that were still alive. Both from her books and a taped interview that I have of her, she seems like the sweetest lady, besides being vastly knowledgeable and interesting. I think we would have a lot in common. 3. L.M. Montgomery I love all of her books so much, and I'd like to think we are maybe similar people. ...

Clearly, I didn't look at today's Top Ten Tuesday topic at the Broke and the Bookish last night! Otherwise, I would have saved my TBR list. But here are some other books that still lie unread on my shelf, despite my desire to read them. 1. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen Been meaning to read since I attended a panel with Reif Larsen at the first Boston Book Festival. 2. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares Loved the Sisterhood books, still need to read this, although I'm afraid I won't love it as much. 3. The Room and the Chair by Lorraine Adams Great story about how I attended a Bookslut Reading for this, which just happened to coincide with my visit to Berlin. 4. Sandition and Other Stories by Jane Austen Been meaning to read these forever, and recently picked up a copy in a used bookstore. 5. King of the Murgos by David Eddings The second book of the Malloreon , the follow-up series to the Belgariad , which I loved. 6. Demon...

46. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman 47. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman Since I last reviewed a book, I've had a lot going on (more on that in a moment). A friend left his copy of The Subtle Knife in my car, so I took the opportunity to reread it. I read His Dark Materials back in middle school, I picked up The Amber Spyglass the week it came out. Since then, I've reread the first book, The Golden Compass , a few times, but not the other two. I hoped I'd have something profound to say, but while the hierarchy of angels and Pullman's objective in vilifying the Catholic Church appear more clear in a second reading, to say nothing of Lyra's "sexual" (I put quotes because it's more love than sex oriented) awakening, there's not quite as much going on as I remembered. Still, this mysterious Dust that surrounds adult sentient beings, this conscious matter, dark matter, angels, what is this? It feels like a forced collision of science and re...

Today's Top Ten Tuesday at the Broke and the Bookish : 1. The Theory of Everything by Stephen Hawking I challenged myself to read this, and the first time, as interested as I was, I couldn't wrap my head around it. The second time I got through and understood a lot better, although much of it is still beyond me. Still, I'm interested and appreciate Hawkin's effort to write simply, so I know I will read this again someday. 2. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli Not the type of thing I normally read, this was for a 16th century British literature class (even though it's Italian), but I really loved it. It wasn't an entirely quick or easy read, but funny in parts and very thoughtful. 3. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Nabokov is a master of language, so that in itself is difficult, but the subject matter was really what was out of my comfort zone. I'm glad I read it, but I can honestly say it made me distinctly uncomfortable the whole time and I definitel...

Love the topic, Broke and Bookish ! I also really like Readerbuzz 's interpretation. 1. Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer I read the first chapter of the first book, but I've read summaries, reviews, and feminist outrages on all the books because of how big the series got. I've also had to deal with 10-12 year-old girls telling me how romantic Edward is or how hot Jacob is. So. From what I've seen, terrible writing. But worse, millions of young girls are getting close-minded, sexist, and downright dangerous messages about how they should negotiate relationships with men. In conclusion, I have very, very strong feelings about these books without really having read them. 2. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner The first Faulkner novel I failed to get through. Maybe I'll give him another shot sometime, but just. Ugh. 3. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz SOOO good! Read it now! 4. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce We had...