Space Station Mir

Happy Top Ten Tuesday! So...the most anticipated ten books on my TBR list (which has been growing for years) or just the last ten I added? I'm doing a mix, but trying to include only books I added in the past, let's say, six months. 1. The Martian by Andy Weir 2. Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran 3. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu 4. The Tale of the Heike (author or authors unknown) 5. The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley 6. The Just City by Jo Walton 7. Holy Cow by David Duchovny 8. The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings by Philip Zaleski 9. Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok 10. The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine

13. Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld Sisterland is Curtis Sittenfeld’s most recent and perhaps most mature novel. The Sittenfeld trademarks, a nonlinear narrative and first-person perspective in hindsight, are present, but more polished than in previous books. This novel also adds new elements to the oeuvre, including a premise that relies on magical realism. I’m not always certain what ‘magical realism’ means (except that I know it when I see it, natch), but here I’m using it to describe something that could be interpreted as either genuinely supernatural, or merely a character’s (in this case, two or more characters) delusion. The conceit is that the protagonist Kate and her twin sister Violet are psychics. Violet revels in her ‘powers,’ and becomes a psychic medium. Kate denies her visions, struggles to live a normal life, and eventually rids herself of her powers altogether (perhaps). The room that the twins share growing up is labeled “Sisterland” with a physical sign that V...

Happy Top Ten Tuesday! I revisit my favorite books from my childhood and adolescence regularly. I read the Lord of the Rings every year for 10 years between the ages of 11-21. I can't count the number of times I've read A Wrinkle in Time , all the Harry Potter books, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler , the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, and all the major works of L.M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, and Jane Austen. My Chronicles of Narnia books are all literally falling apart (except for the last book, which is in near perfect condition and I pretend doesn't exist). So...here are some of my perhaps lesser favorites that I *probably* haven't read since childhood, but still really liked and would return to. 1. The Borrowers by Mary Norton I will never forget when my third grade teacher read this aloud to the class. Looking back, there were definitely some spotty bits with "Old Madeira" that I never questioned then, but whoa...

I saw paperbacks in plenty, but not one Kindle. Not sure why. Both are common on the DC Metro. Here are three whose titles I happened to catch a glimpse of:

Took a quick jaunt to NYC during my spring break, and paid a visit to the Strand. The selection was incredible, better than any bookstore I've ever been to, including Barnes & Noble. They had literally every book I've ever looked for. Night Watch and Dispatch from the Future are two I've been looking for quite a long time, so I snatched them up, along with some discounted Ursula K. Le Guin books (already read The Dispossessed , but don't have my own copy) and the hot debut Seraphina . The sequel was available too, but didn't want to get ahead of myself.