Space Station Mir

52. Queen of Flowers and Pearls by Gabriella Ghermandi. Translated by Giovanna Bellesia-Contuzzi and Victoria Offredi Poletto. Came across this interesting gem just browsing in the library. It's a series of interpolated stories, compiled by the narrator, set during Italy's occupation of Ethiopia. Embarrassingly, I didn't even know that Italy had occupied Ethiopia, so it was very informative for me. The author lives in Italy and was born in Ethiopia, and the book is translated from the Italian, so this was a Women in Translation (WIT) read for me this year. Highly recommended if, like me, you want to learn about this moment in history. 53. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard This well-regarded biography of President James Garfield was an appropriate read during the election. Millard starts with Garfield's rise to the presidency and chronicles the assassination attempt and its aftermath. She compellingly argues, based on contemporary medical evidence inclu...

1. After the election, I decided I can take out all the library books I want. Although I've returned only one of the six from two weeks ago, I took out three more today. Pictured below, minus An Abundance of Katherines audiobook. So far, I like it better than Paper Towns . p.s. Do all John Green's books feature road trips? 2. I'm obsessed with memoirs. Biography used to be the only nonfiction I would read, but now, I can't get enough. I loved Jen Lancaster's Bitter is the New Black so much I read it twice in one month, and when I saw a row of Jen Lancaster books at the library, I couldn't help myself. The Tao of Martha , about her attempts to live a la Martha Stewart stood out the most to me, so I got that one, but I'll be back! Mennonite in a Little Black Dress also caught my eye, and although it wasn't what I was expecting (prodigal Mennonite daughter moves back home, instead of out), I'm intrigued. 3. I'm picking wedding colors, and it ...

It's been a long time since I let myself take out this many books, but I needed it. Even though I won't finish them all, it felt satisfying to take out all the books I wanted. Some are research for my NaNoWriMo novel, which spans the time periods of both WWI and WWII.

http://thousandroads.net/fanfic/nanowrimon/preview to get your own! You need to have an account and updated word count at nanowrimo.org!

47. Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire Finally finished the Wicked Years. Out of Oz finishes the story in some ways, and just leaves it open again. Oh well. I don't know how much closure I expected. Still best read for the dark and amusing riffs on the land of Oz. 48. The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory (audiobook) One of my favorite of Gregory's, and I've read nearly everything by her. Katherine Parr is, in my opinion, the most interesting of Henry VIII's wives, both because she survived and because she was one of the first women to publish in English. Also, I wasn't aware of the relationship between her and Anne Askew, a contemporary female preacher, a relationship which is central to Gregory's novel. As usual, Gregory takes an inventive approach to history, creating the highest possible stakes drama (as if the Tudors weren't dramatic enough!). I've also felt that Gregory's later books, like this one, and The White Princess , feel m...

1. Two of the bloggers I follow went to Jonathan Safran Foer readings recently, as did I. It's interesting to hear the different takes on him and his work. When I saw him, he was introduced by his mother and his whole family was there! I didn't realize he'd grown up in D.C., so that was quite a surprise. It also made more sense why his new book is set here. He read the passage about the urinal that he's apparently read elsewhere. Although I loved his first two novels, I'm not sure how I feel about this one...I did start reading Here I Am , but I haven't gotten to the urinal scene yet. 2. I missed the National Book Festival and the Baltimore Book Festival and all the other bookish events the weekend before last because I was sick. I hate that I missed Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Ann Goldstein and so many other interesting writers. At least I saw JSF the week before. 3. I just celebrated Rosh Hashanah, and spending that time concentrating on how I can be a better pe...

I've wanted to read Cold Comfort Farm ever since I learned it is one of Boston Bibliophile's favorite books . Her allusions to it piqued my interest, and while browsing in the library the other day, it caught my eye. Gibbons' wit suffuses this offbeat, Austen-inspired novel. First published in 1932, it's set in early twentieth century England, when the recently orphaned and consummate cosmopolitan young Flora Poste resolves to rely on the generosity of her country cousins, and furthermore, adjust their lives to her convenience. Flora remarks to a friend: I am only nineteen, but I have already observed that whereas there still lingers some absurd prejudice against living on one's friends, no limits are set, either by society or by one's own conscience, to the amount one may impose upon one's relatives (15). Zingers like these abound, and this gem and the one below were two of my personal favorites. In her equally amusing foreword, Gibbons notes that s...

45. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell This is the third of Gaskell's novels that I've read, and my favorite. Interestingly, it's earlier work than the other two. It seems to me that she was more honest and raw here in her opinions about class divisions. North and South and Cranford also both address divisions between mill workers and mill owners, but North and South is more nuanced, while Cranford is almost a farce. Mary Barton is more radical. Mary and her family (and their friends and neighbors) suffer extreme loss, and the consequences that follow are appropriately drastic. Highly recommended, and unfortunately, very relevant in the present day. 46. A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire Finally, after holding onto the final two books for a few years, I finished the Wicked Years series. A Lion Among Men jumpstarts the story again after the possible ending in Son of a Witch . We backtrack to events that took place during Elphaba's life, and the book focuses ...