Space Station Mir

Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at the Broke and the Bookish ! 1. Wild by Cheryl Strayed Made me want to read The Dream of a Common Language by Adrienne Rich. 2. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Made me want to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which was even better. 3. Don Quixote Made me want to tilt at windmills =P...more seriously, made me want to travel around Spain. 4. Jane Austen books Make me want to visit Bath. 5. Little House on the Prairie books Made me want to pickle and can, make maple syrup candy by dripping hot syrup on snow, and grind wheat in a coffee mill.

33. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld I read  Uglies  a while ago, and ran across this at the library. I like the concept of the series--a world where everyone is cosmetically and neurally changed/enhanced--but I can't bring myself to care that much about the characters. I may or may not pick up the rest of the series at some point. 34. Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights Salman Rushdie My favorite Salman Rushdie so far. Also, totally contradicts the assertions of my fiction workshop leader that the intrusive nineteenth century style third-person narrator is dead. "They" are very much alive in Rushdie's book, written from the perspective of the future of tumultuous years in their past (and our future). There are jinn. 35. All the Queen's Players by Jane Feather Found this in an antiques shop, and they gave it to me for free. It skews more toward romance than historical fiction, but actually an interesting perspective on the Babington plot.I ...

This is perfect, since I'm about to be traveling out of the country! 1. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell Set primarily in Milton, a fictional city in Derbyshire County in the north of England. Also some appearances in London and a small village in the south of England. 2. Empress Orchid by Anchee Min Set in late-nineteenth century imperial China, primarily in the Forbidden City. 3. The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni Set in 1600s Italy; the protagonists travel to a variety of states and cities, though the story starts and centers on their small village. 4. The Lost Girls by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner Set primarily in contemporary South America, Kenya, India, and Australia/New Zealand. 5. The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz Set (surprise!) in modern-day Paris. I've read it a few times, and it makes me laugh aloud every time. 6. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon Set in a (ba...

28. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer Enjoyed the fast-paced sequel to Cinder and looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I think it really helped that I'd read a short story on Wolf's origins, so I knew about the Lunar Queen's plans to take over the Earth with an army of genetically enhanced wolf-men. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's a great setup for a scifi version of Red Riding Hood. Scarlet is a much more impetuous, and therefore less relatable, heroine than Cinder (whose story is also continued here, yay!), but I thought Meyer did a good job creating a backstory for her that explains how her fate is entwined with Cinder's. Looking forward to Cress . 29. The Dream of a Common Language by Adrienne Rich Inspiring, evocative poetry--I would recommend this to every woman, and any other gender as well. 30. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (audiobook) Light and fluffy, like I like my audiobooks. Definitely a YA book, but it was e...

1. I'm reading Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South . It's like a less sparkling, way more political Pride and Prejudice . Gaskell isn't as witty as Austen, but she was way more willing to tackle the serious issues--and still write a rich work of fiction. 2. The weather is finally just the way I like it. Low 90s, medium humidity. Yes, I know, I'm the only one. 3. Turns out there are all kinds of Pokemon in my home. Who knew.