Space Station Mir

Just Finished: 12. Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality by Jacob Tomsky Borrowed from the library, it was a quick and entertaining read.I'm fascinated by what goes on behind the scenes, and according to Tomsky, there's plenty of intrigue behind the front desk of a luxury hotel. Plus, he'll give you the low-down on how to score free minibar items and other perks (Warning: Not for the morally uptight). A bit too profanity-laden for my taste, and fluffy in parts, but I definitely wanted to keep reading after it ended. 13. Empress Orchid by Anchee Min Another historical fiction tome for my commute, I really enjoyed both the writing and the narrator. I'm glad I listened to it too, because I'm sure I would have pronounced the Chinese names all wrong. Min tells the story of China's last empress from her girlhood until she solidifies her regency (in her son's name). Despite ending rather abruptly, I really enjoy...

11. Youth in Revolt by C.D. Payne Pedantic Tom Sawyer meets 21st century.

10. The Lost Girls by Jennifer Baggett, Holly Corbett, and Amanda Pressner For the first few chapters of this book, a sanitized crossbreed of The Devil Wears Prada and Sex and the City , I was mildly intrigued. Then, it became a rather straightforward and not particularly interesting account of partying across South America. And then, it began to breathe. This is the true (but melded and simplified) story of three New York women who took a trip around the world. There is nothing special about their descriptions of the places they went, but it is their encounters with other people, and with each other, where their narrative shines. The book is divided into chapters narrated alternately by each of the three. Each woman has a distinctive voice and character, but the writing style is cohesive and the content rarely repetitive. Jennifer is searching for direction, though more in terms of romance than career. She and Amanda are both feisty and outgoing, while Holly is quieter. Holly ...

9. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard I read an enthusiastic review of Wanderlove somewhere,and it sounded like just the kind of book I was longing for. A bildungsroman about a girl who finds herself (and, inevitably, romance), backpacking through South America. So I really wanted to like this book. And I will say that I got what I wanted out of it, namely nostalgia for a particular kind of traveling and inspiration for future travel plans. But the overwhelming YA-ness of this book, I'm sorry, I just didn't love it. There are some books that fall in the YA category that I do absolutely love. This is not that kind of book. Wanderlove is a YA book with an eighteen-year-old protagonist, a choppy writing style, inspirational quotes, kids' book references (and yeah I was into that part), an obvious cutesy romance, and a tendency to stereotype and simplify the world. Not all YA books are like this, but it's exactly what I'm afraid of when I pick up a YA book. This book...

8. The Queen's Lover by Vanora Bennett Despite the generic title and that I picked it out of the bargain books at B&N, The Queen's Lover really impressed me with its depth of atmosphere and character. I've been on a Wars of the Roses kick, mostly with Philippa Gregory's Cousin's War books, and The Queen's Lover smoothly fits in the historical overlap between the Wars of the Roses, and The Hundred Years' War between England and France. At the center of both is Catherine de Valois, the French princess turned English queen who embodied the English claim to the French throne, and later, the Tudor claim to the English throne. Although the title character is "The Queen's Lover," and the book does begin with Owain Tudor, Catherine's future lover and grandfather of Henry VII,this is a book about a heroine. Surprisingly and delightfully, much of the first part of the book focuses on Christine de Pizan. I am familiar with Pizan as a write...

Happy Top Ten Tuesday ! Top Ten Popular Authors I've Never Read 1. Stephanie Meyer Ok, I did read the first chapter of the first Twilight book. But that doesn't really count, right? 2. E. L. James And I've sworn not to. 3. Marissa Meyer Maybe I'll get to Cinder and co., maybe not. 4. James Patterson 5. Stephanie Perkins I feel like almost every blog I read has mentioned Anna and the French Kiss . 6. Nora Roberts Not really into romance. 7. Janet Evanovich I see her books everywhere. 8. Ian Fleming He has a huge following, just don't know if it's my cup of tea. 9. Cormac McCarthy Again, huge following, his subject matter just seems too grim to me. 10. John Updike I liked some of his poetry I saw, but the Rabbit books don't really appeal to me.

7. The White Princess by Philippa Gregory My commutes with Philippa Gregory's "Cousin's War" books have come to an end, at least for now. Apparently, there's going to be a new book about Margaret Pole , and there are the auxiliary books about Elizabeth Woodeville's mother, Jacquetta, and Richard III's wife Anne Neville that I haven't yet read. I've said before that Gregory makes some unusual and spurious choices vis-a-vis historical evidence, but the world that she creates in her books is amazingly cohesive. She also continues to focus on lesser known events, infusing them with dramatic tension even for the well-informed reader. A book on Elizabeth of York has inherent frustrations, because after her marriage, she was effectively walled from influencing public policy or exercising almost any kind of agency. The White Princess reflects that reality, and I wanted to bang my head against the wall every time Elizabeth nicely acts her husband for...

6. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain I've been looking forward for some time to Cain's well-publicized paean to introversion. For over a year, I've been trying to get it out of the local library and finally, my turn came around. In the meantime, I'd read the critics who said it focused too much on the business world, or overstated the barriers to introverts in pop culture. I actually think Cain covered introversion in a respectable variety of settings relevant to the contemporary American audience. And I agree that she generalizes, but even she admits that in several places. What was really, ironically, lacking from this book was a depth of focus-the very quality that Cain praises so much in introverts. In fact, the book itself is an excellent example of how the media caters to extrovert culture. Quiet is organized into easily navigable chapters, it's filled with personal anecdotes, lists, and repetitive tagl...