Musings of a Bookish Kitty

"Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them all." ~ Henry David Thoreau
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    Saturday, June 28, 2008
    A Little Bit of Saturday Fun
    Julia tagged me for the Page 123 meme, which is always a little fun meme to do.

    The rules
    1. Pick up the nearest book.
    2. Open to page 123.
    3. Find the fifth sentence.
    4. Post the next three sentences.
    5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.
    He stared at me through the flickering blue flames, holding his ground. He would never forgive me for this, I knew it. Anger had made his face pale and drawn.
    --from Nightwalker by Jocelynn Drake


    Melody decided to include me in on the One Word Meme. I thought this would be the perfect time to offer up my responses.

    All you have to do is answer the questions with one word, and tag four people.

    1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
    2. Your significant other? Chocolate
    3. Your hair? Brown
    4. Your mother? Daisies
    5. Your father? Soldier
    6. Your favorite thing? Books
    7. Your dream last night? Dancing
    8 Your favorite drink? Water
    9. Your dream/goal? Reading
    10. The room you’re in? Office
    11. Your hobby? Reading
    12. Your fear? Loneliness
    13. Where do you want to be in 6 year? Home
    14. What you’re not? Male
    15. Muffins? Depends
    16. One of your wish list items? Janeology
    17. Where you grew up? U.S.A.
    18. The last thing you did? Ate
    19. What are you wearing? Soup
    20. Favorite gadget? Computer
    21. Your pets? Playful
    22. Your computer? Awesome
    23. Your mood? Sleepy
    24. Missing someone? No
    25. Your car? Purple
    26. Something you’re not wearing? Hat
    27. Favorite store? Bookstore
    28. Like someone? Possibly
    29. Your favorite color? None
    30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
    31. Last time you cried? Today

    In both cases, I will take the easy way out and refrain from tagging anyone specifically. If you have some time on your hands and want to play along, please do! Just let me know.

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/28/2008 06:00:00 AM   17 comments
    Friday, June 27, 2008
    Can You Believe It's Friday?

    Questions courtesy of Jennifer this week; thanks, Jennifer!

    1. Birthdays are a great time to treat yourself right.

    2. Autumn is my favorite season because the weather begins to turn cooler and leaves start to change colors. The holidays are still ahead of me and yet they are close enough to touch. The end of the year is in reach. The World Series. There is a certain something in the air that makes me feel cozy and comfy during the fall season.

    3. I feel my best when I am well rested, feel confident, and am doing something I enjoy.

    4. Barbeque chicken pizza is my favorite food!

    5. First impressions are sometimes deceiving.

    6. The best piece of advice I ever received was that life shouldn't always be taken so seriously.

    7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to cuddling with my dog and torturing my cat with hugs and nuzzles; tomorrow my plans include spending time with my family and Sunday, I want to feel the sand beneath my toes as I walk along the beach!



    Appetizer

    What is the weather like today where you live?

    Summer is definitely here. Temperatures went from scorching triple digits last week to the mid-9o's this week. For the past couple of mornings, I have been greeted by fog and a gentle mist when I head out for work, which has been a pleasant change. It isn't long before the sun burns right through and claims the day.

    Soup

    On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how career-minded are you?

    I probably fall somewhere around an eight.

    Salad

    What type of window coverings do you have in your home? Blinds, curtains, shutters, etc.?

    There are blinds in some windows and curtains in others.

    Main Course

    Name something that instantly cheers you up.

    The sight of a book in the mailbox or sitting on th back walkway when I get home from work.

    Dessert

    How many times do you hit the snooze button on a typical morning?

    Lately I have been pushing it once on those mornings I have to wake up to my alarm.

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/27/2008 06:00:00 AM   16 comments
    Tuesday, June 24, 2008
    Tuesday Thingers: Those Not so Well Known Books

    Today's Question from Marie at The Boston Bibliophile:

    Last week I asked what was the most popular book in your library- this week I'm going to ask about the most unpopular books you own. Do you have any unique books in your library- books only you have on LT? How many? Did you find cataloging information on your unique books, or did you hand-enter them? Do they fall into a particular category or categories, or are they a mix of different things? Have you ever looked at the "You and none other" feature on your statistics page, which shows books owned by only you and one other user? Ever made an LT friend by seeing what you share with only one other user?

    While I may not pay much attention to the most popular books on Library Thing, I have been known to visit my stats page to check out just how many books I only share with one other person on the site. Some come as a surprise, but others are, well, kind of obvious.

    Books I share with only one other LT user:
    1. Dead Birds Don't Sing by Brenda Boldin (my review) - I initially reviewed this book for Front Street Reviews. I thought the premise sounded interesting (and it was!).

    2. Jailbird: Book Two in the Alex Masters Series by Brenda Boldin - I liked the first book in the series so much, I added the second to my collection.

    3. Rabbit in the Moon by Deborah and Joel Shlian - I will be reading this one soon. It sounded too good to pass up.

    4. 英文版 火車 - All She Was Worth by Miyuki Miyabe - I won this copy in a contest hosted by my blogging friend, Tanabata. I'm looking forward to reading it.

    5. Watches of the Night (Ben Reese Mysteries) by Sally Wright - It's not the first in the series (a series I haven't yet started), but I was offered a chance to review this particular book, and it sounded like it would be worth giving a try. I hope to get to it soon.

    6. Jackfish, The Vanishing Village (Inanna Poetry & Fiction) by Sarah Felix Burns - Another one I want to get to soon. Wendy's review pushed me past temptation and into the must have status.

    7. Overleaf Hong Kong: Stories & Essays of the Chinese, Overseas by Xu Xi - I picked up a copy of this one so that I would meet my "X" obligation in an alphabet challenge, which I ended up not signing up for in the end. I have heard good things about the book and am still looking forward to reading it.

    8. I'm Sorry... Love Anne by Andrea Peters - I found this one on my first trip to the L.A. Times Book Festival. The author had a way about him that made it impossible to say no--plus the book sounded interesting.

    9. Don't You Know It's 40 Below? by Jack Kates - A local author was signing books in town, and I decided to show my support and buy a signed copy of his memoir.

    10. The Thinking Cat's Guide to the Millennium by Anne Richmond Boston - A gift to a pair of cat lovers.

    11. ドラゴンハーフ (2) (Dragon Half Trilogy, Volume Two) by Ryusuke Mita - Manga in the original Japanese, which no one in my house can actually read.

    12. ドラゴンハーフ (3) (Dragon Half Trilogy, Volume Three) by Ryusuke Mita - This one too is in the original Japanese.

    13. The Fault of Kaïber by Mathieu Gaborit - It came with a game my husband owns.

    14. For a Special Teenager published by Blue Mountain Arts - Still scratching my head, wondering why I still have this . . .

    I own fifteen books that no other LT member has cataloged in his or her library, one of which I entered manually because I could not find it listed in any of the reference sources. Most of the books that fall into the "owned only by me" category are books that are printed by small presses or were self-published. One is a reference book and another is a children's cookbook.
    1. Baked Alaskan by William Scarborough

    2. Beneath a Buried House by Bob Avey

    3. California Juvenile Laws and Rules 2006: Desktop Edition

    4. Discord in Harmony by A.G. Copeland

    5. A Disturbing Presence by Joy Lee Rutter

    6. Dust Covered Dreams by E.A. Graham

    7. I, Tutus: Book One: The Son of Heaven by Don Phillips

    8. Lost to Them by Gaytri Saggar

    9. Media Justice by G.B. Pool

    10. Pariah Stigma by Howard Selden

    11. Say Goodbye by E.J. Rand

    12. Scenes from the Blanket by Ted Torres

    13. Tragedy in South Lebanon: The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006 by Cathy Sultan

    14. The Thoughtful Spot by Eric R. Weule

    15. Young Children's Mix and Fix Cook Book

    I would not go so far as to classify most of these books as unpopular, meaning they are disliked or out of favor. Rather, they are unique and still relatively unknown. Some I have read and others I have yet to read. A small few I had mixed feelings about while others I quite liked.

    What unique books do you have sitting on your shelf?

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/24/2008 06:00:00 AM   19 comments
    Monday, June 23, 2008
    EW Top 100 New Classics
    I was quite thrilled when my issue of Entertainment Weekly arrived in the mail this past week. It's one of my guilty pleasures--a magazine that feeds my pop culture craving. This week's issue is a double issue that offers up the EW staff's top picks of modern classics, movies, TV shows, albums and books that have come out over the last 25 years.

    Thom Geier of EW states up front that he expects disagreement with some of their choices. He explains that each of the selections were made with the idea that they have "endured in the public consciousness despite shrugs from academics." They stand out in memory; some pushing the boundaries of what has come before. Regardless of whether we agree or not, it is an interesting list, isn't it? A little bit of everything just about.

    Since the EW Top 100 New Classics list (books published between 1983-2008) seems to be making the rounds, I thought I would join in on the fun as well. The titles in bold are ones I have read while those in italics are sitting in my TBR collection waiting to be read.

    1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
    2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
    3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
    4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
    5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
    6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
    7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
    8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
    9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
    10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
    11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
    12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
    13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
    14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
    15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
    16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
    17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
    18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
    19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
    20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
    21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
    22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
    23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
    24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
    25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
    26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
    27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
    28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
    29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
    30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
    31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
    32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
    33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
    34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
    35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
    36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
    37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
    38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
    39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
    40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
    41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
    42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
    43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
    44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
    45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
    46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
    47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
    48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
    49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
    50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
    51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
    52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
    53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
    54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
    55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
    56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
    57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
    58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
    59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
    60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
    61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
    62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
    63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
    64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
    65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
    66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
    67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
    68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
    69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
    70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
    71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
    72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
    73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
    74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
    75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
    76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
    77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
    78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
    79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
    80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
    81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
    82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
    83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
    84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
    85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
    86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
    87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
    88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
    89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
    90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
    91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
    92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
    93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
    94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
    95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
    96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
    97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
    98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
    99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
    100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

    I noticed several authors I have read made the list, however, not the books of them that I have actually read. Among them being Joyce Carol Oates, Jon Krakauer, Gabriel García Márquez, Edwidge Danticat, and Ann Fadiman. And then there are those I would like to try but which books listed are not ones I actually own (I do own others of their books, however): Haruki Murakami, Charles Frazier, Alice Munro, John le Carré, Ruth Rendell, and David Mitchell.

    There are obviously a number of titles missing, ones I might argue should be on the list and others I am still scratching my head over in wonder. What about you? Who do you think should have made the list? Any in particular that raised your eyebrows?

    Labels:

    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/23/2008 06:00:00 AM   11 comments
    Friday, June 20, 2008
    Fun on a Too Hot Friday

    1. A smile is a great way to greet a friend.

    2. Cribbage is my favorite board or card game.

    3. I would love to have more peace in my life and less chaos.

    4. When I think of the Summer Solstice, I think of heat, watermelon and barefeet.

    5. I just remembered I need to pull the clothes out of the dryer.

    6. One of my favorite song lyrics goes like this:
    If you're going through hell
    Keep on going, don't slow down
    If you're scared, don't show it
    You might get out
    Before the devil even knows you're there.

    7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to visiting my friends in blogland and catching up on some reading; tomorrow my plans include going to see Get Smart at the movie theater; and Sunday, I want to stay cool inside!


    Appetizer

    If you could live on another continent for 1 year, which one would you choose?

    I would love the opportunity to live and travel in Australia for a year. Or maybe Europe. I cannot decide.

    Soup

    Which browser do you use to surf the Internet?

    I use Firefox.

    Salad

    On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you know about the history of your country?

    Sometimes I feel like I know quite a bit about my own country and other times, I seem to know so little at all. So, maybe a 5?

    Main Course

    Finish this sentence: Love is . . .

    Complex.

    Dessert

    Have you ever been in or near a tornado?

    Last month there were a couple of tornadoes that touched down not too far from where I work. I was completely unaware of it until I heard it on the news later that night, however. Tornadoes are very rare in California.



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    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/20/2008 02:26:00 PM   18 comments
    Tuesday, June 17, 2008
    Tuesday Thingers: Popularity

    Today's Question from Marie at The Boston Bibliophile:

    What's the most popular book in your library? Have you read it? What did you
    think? How many users have it? What's the most popular book you don't have? How does a book's popularity figure into your decisions about what to read?

    According to the LibraryThing Zeitgeist, the most popular book in my library is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling. Evidently my copy is just one of 32,518 listed in LT catalogs.

    I read the book several years ago. My cousin had actually loaned me several of the Harry Potter books, but I returned them unread. I am not a big fan of YA fiction and Harry Potter didn't really interest me. As I heard more and more about it though, my curiosity grew, and I decided to give it a try. It turned into one of those instances where I wanted to kick myself for waiting so long to give the book a try. I loved it.

    The most popular book listed on the LibraryThing Zeitgeist that I do not have in my library is Life of Pi by Yann Martel, a book 31,281 LT members have listed in their libraries. This is one book that has never really appealed to me despite the numerous attempts by fans of the book to make me give it a try.

    Popularity in terms of who has what in their library at LT has nothing to do with my reading choices. I have never really paid close attention to the Zeitgeist page before. There are some interesting statistics listed, but I do not imagine any of those stats would have an impact on my own reading or library content. It is hard not to be impacted, however, by frequent book chatter about a popular book. Whether it is in book groups, through advertisements, displays in the store, on blogs, and other websites, it is a given that the book will come to my attention. Whether I choose to read it or not will depend on if the book catches my fancy. Sometimes blogger reviews or word of mouth recommendations influence my decision. A book's popularity in and of itself is not enough to get me to read a book. I am most interested in what a book is about and whether or not the subject matter interests me. Whether it makes a bestseller's list or wins a popularity contest makes no difference.

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/17/2008 03:00:00 PM   19 comments
    Friday, June 13, 2008
    More Friday Fun

    1. Reading all of the books in my TBR room is high up on my bucket list.
    2. My favorite quote is "Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures"; it's from Jessamyn West.
    3. My husband not only encouraged but also inspired me to start blogging.
    4. Strawberries are best in a smoothie.
    5. I scaled down the side of Florinda's blog, waving to her as I went by in the last dream I remember having. It looked like a giant computer tower.
    6. The most enjoyable time to go for a walk is in the early evening when the temperature is cooler and the sun has yet to set.
    7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to going to bed early; tomorrow my plans include finishing Michelle Moran's novel, Nefertiti, if I haven't already by then; and Sunday, I want to be completely over this cold! I actually am suffering from laryngitis at the moment too, which is kind of fun. I like talking like a frog. My husband is getting tired of me testing my voice to see if I am still hoarse. Let's not talk about my embarrassing moment when I had a coughing fit during jury selection yesterday. Hopefully today will go better (when I'm squawking out answers to attorney's questions).



    Appetizer

    Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist?

    I am a realist with optimistic leanings.

    Soup

    What is your favorite color of ink to write with?

    I can't say I have a favorite color of ink. In one of my previous positions, a couple of my staff often joked that the reports I returned to them for corrections were dripping in alien blood. I tend to be more traditional these days, sticking with black or blue ink. Whatever is handy and people can read easily.

    Salad

    How often do you get a manicure or pedicure? Do you do them yourself or go to a salon and pay for them?

    It has been years since I got a manicure or a pedicure. I am a minimalist when it comes to my nails these days. I trim them when necessary and do little else with them.

    Main Course

    Have you ever won anything online? If so, what was it?

    Books seem to be about the only thing I ever win in a contest, online or otherwise. If you believe the e-mails I receive sometimes in my spam folder, I have won the U.K. Lottery a number of times. I haven't seen a dime.

    Dessert

    In which room in your house do you keep your home computer?

    You would think that because I now have a laptop, I would take it with me all over the house. Not so much. I haven't gotten used to the fact that my computer is mobile yet. It pretty much stays in my husband's and my home office, otherwise known as the computer room.

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/13/2008 06:00:00 AM   13 comments
    Thursday, June 12, 2008
    Booking Through Thursday: Clubbing

    A combo of two suggestions by: Heidi and by litlove:

    Have you ever been a member of a book club? How did your group choose (or, if you haven’t been, what do you think is the best way to choose) the next book and who would lead discussion?

    Do you feel more or less likely to appreciate books if you are obliged to read them for book groups rather than choosing them of your own free will? Does knowing they are going to be read as part of a group affect the reading experience?


    Over the years, I have belonged to a handful of online book clubs that host book discussions of selected books. In each case, members of the group are asked to nominate books they would like to see read by the group. Some groups have set monthly themes, and the nominations must fit within that certain theme. Other groups have a more open process, where readers can nominate any book they choose. Sometimes there are restrictions such as only being able to nominate a book that is easy to find and those which are in paperback so as to save those who buy a little money. Once all the nominations are gathered, a poll is set up, and readers vote for which book they would like to read as a group. The book with the most votes wins.

    In a couple of the groups, the moderators takes turns leading the book discussions; while in others, the person nominating the winning book takes charge. In some instances, the discussion is left open without prompts--it's a free for all. Regardless of how it is done, a book club discussion is only as good as the participants make it.

    I have read a few books that I might not have read otherwise thanks to these book clubs and, as a result, have been introduced to new-to-me-authors. If anything, reading a book with a group adds to my appreciation of a book. Being able to talk about the book, what we liked and did not like, and exploring different aspects of the book in ways we would not have thought to do if we had been reading by ourselves made the experience all the more richer.

    I have not been able to join a face to face book club but have taken full advantage of the various online book clubs out there. One advantage to an online group is being able to participate in a discussion at any time of day or night. If I can't get to the group one day, I can catch up later in the week. This type of discussion works best for me.

    These days, I tend to prefer the open dialog a few online book clubs offer. Some have monthly book selections where reading the chosen book and participating in the discussion is optional. I can participate in a group discussion if I want to, but there's no obligation to do so nor is there any guilt for being unable to join in.

    I would love to be a part of a face to face book group someday. Perhaps one day, it will be feasible.

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/12/2008 06:46:00 PM   16 comments
    Tuesday, June 10, 2008
    Banned Books & Tuesday Thingers: Playing Tag

    Today's question is about tags- do you tag? How do you tag? How do you feel about tagging- do you think it would be better to have standardized tags, like libraries have standardized subject headings, or do you like the individualized nature of tagging? What are your top 5 tags and what do they say about your collection or your reading habits?

    I do tag. I am not very organized about it, although I try to be. Said by the woman who uses several different versions of the same tag because she can't make up her mind. I think part of my problem is that I am not quite sure yet how I want to go about it. You would think by now I would be. I have been cataloging my books on LibraryThing since December of 2006 and blogging for nearly 2 years now (2 years next month, in fact). These things take time. At least, that is what I tell myself.

    My purpose in tagging is to make it easier to organize or search for particular books (LibraryThing) or posts (my blog)--more so for myself than for my readers or viewers. I admit that when I first started tagging, it wasn't for anyone but me. Who would want to read my blog, after all? Who would want to look through my library? So, with that in mind, I decided to keep it simple. In regards to my books both in my library and those I review on my blog, I tag them by book type or genre (by my own definitions--we all know that book classifications can be controversial). My most commonly used tags for LibraryThing include TBR, ARE, Fantasy, Fiction, and Crime Fiction. As for my blog tags (talk about being all over the place), the most common blog tag you will find is "Review".

    I do occasionally look to see how other people are using tags and think I might try their style on for size. Truth be told though, I probably will continue to do my own thing.

    Someday I will get the hang of this tagging thing. I really just need to settle down in front of my computer and take the time to get more organized. For now though, you are more likely to find me reading or blog hopping. And there's a little something called work that always manages to get in the way . . .


    Andi over at Tripping Toward Lucidity and Michelle from Fluttering Butterflies posted a Banned Books list, sharing with readers which books from the list they have read. Like Michelle, I think it would have been an even more interesting list had some of the reasons for banning had been listed. As many of us know, however, the reasons tend to be quite varied, often times making no sense at all. At least not to me. I am the kind of person that if you tell me I should not read something "for my own good", I'll want to read it to see why you'd think that in the first place.

    The titles in bold are the books I have read, and the titles in red are ones that I have on my shelves waiting to be read. It is kind of embarrassing how little of these titles I have read, much less own. This is just a small sampling of the books that have been banned over the years, however. Think of all those that did not make this particular list. The Harry Potter books, for example.

    #1 The Bible (I actually own several different versions of the Bible and have attempted to read it on two occasions. Not sure I will try again.)
    #2 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
    #3 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
    #4 The Koran
    #5 Arabian Nights
    #6 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
    #7 Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
    #8 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (I have read bits and pieces of this one.)
    #9 Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
    #10 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
    #11 Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
    #12 Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
    #13 Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
    #14 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
    #15 Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
    #16 Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (One of these days, I'll get around to finishing this one!)
    #17 Dracula by Bram Stoker
    #18 Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
    #19 Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
    #20 Essays by Michel de Montaigne
    #21 Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
    #22 History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
    #23 Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
    #24 Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
    #25 Ulysses by James Joyce
    #26 Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
    #27 Animal Farm by George Orwell
    #28 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
    #29 Candide by Voltaire
    #30 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
    #31 Analects by Confucius
    #32 Dubliners by James Joyce
    #33 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
    #34 Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
    #35 Red and the Black by Stendhal
    #36 Capital by Karl Marx
    #37 Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
    #38 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
    #39 Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence
    #40 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (I tried but couldn't get through this one--maybe someday.)
    #41 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (Another one I tried but did not make it through.)
    #42 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
    #43 Jungle by Upton Sinclair
    #44 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
    #45 Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
    #46 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
    #47 Diary by Samuel Pepys
    #48 Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
    #49 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
    #50 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
    #51 Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
    #52 Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
    #53 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
    #54 Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
    #55 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
    #56 Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
    #57 Color Purple by Alice Walker
    #58 Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
    #59 Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
    #60 The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
    #61 Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
    #62 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
    #63 East of Eden by John Steinbeck
    #64 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
    #65 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
    #66 Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
    #67 Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais
    #68 Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
    #69 The Talmud
    #70 Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
    #71 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
    #72 Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
    #73 American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
    #74 Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
    #75 A Separate Peace by John Knowles
    #76 Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
    #77 Red Pony by John Steinbeck
    #78 Popol Vuh
    #79 Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
    #80 Satyricon by Petronius
    #81 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
    #82 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
    #83 Black Boy by Richard Wright
    #84 Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
    #85 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
    #86 Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
    #87 Metaphysics by Aristotle
    #88 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    #89 Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
    #90 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
    #91 Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
    #92 Sanctuary by William Faulkner
    #93 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
    #94 Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
    #95 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
    #96 Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    #97 General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
    #98 Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
    #99 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
    #100 Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
    #101 Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
    #102 Émile by Jean Jacques Rousseau
    #103 Nana by Émile Zola
    #104 Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
    #105 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
    #106 Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
    #107 Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
    #108 Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
    #109 Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
    #110 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/10/2008 05:43:00 AM   21 comments
    Saturday, June 07, 2008
    Saturday Fun
    While doing a little blog hopping last night, I came across a post by Danielle over at A Work in Progress titled "Suggestions and Unsuggestions". I thought I would have a little Saturday fun while waiting for the in-laws to arrive and follow her lead. Library Thing has two fun features that offer recommendations and unsuggestions based on a person's library.

    LT's top ten recommendations for me:
    1. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers - I imagine this is in part because of the number of mysteries I own. I may someday read this one, but it's not at the top of must read books.
    2. Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance - Another case of having quite a few similar books in my home library. I have heard good things about Karen Chance and will probably give her a try one of these days.
    3. Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer Series, Book 1) by Karen Chance
    4. The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell - I've actually read this one. I recently gave away all of my Patricia Cornwell books and followed that up by deleting them from my LT library since I no longer own them.
    5. The spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre - I am hoping to read my first John Le Carre book this year and so was glad to see the author's name come up twice on my top ten recommendation list.
    6. L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy - Both my husband and I want to read this one. We saw the movie years ago and really enjoyed it.
    7. When the Bough Breaks by Mercedes Lackey - I have quite a few Mercedes Lackey books on my shelves, most of which I have read. She was one of the first fantasy authors who drew me into fantasy.
    8. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre
    9. "G" is for Grafton : the world of Kinsey Millhone by Natalie Hevener Kaufman - Could this be because I'm a Sue Grafton fan? Honestly though, this one is not one I will go searching for. I tend not to read books like this--but you never know!
    10. River, Cross My Heart by Breena Clarke - I am not at all familiar with this book or the author. It sounds like something I might like though.

    Now for my top ten unsuggestions (books you are unlikely to find in my home library):
    1. The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman - I thought it was funny that Neil Gaiman's Sandman series made this list. My husband does not actually own any of these, but he's definitely interested in reading them someday as am I.
    2. The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman
    3. The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman
    4. The Sandman Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman
    5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - Hmm. I looked the book up on Amazon.com to see what it was about and it sounds interesting. Never say never.
    6. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers- Finally--a book I have no interest in reading. I was beginning to wonder about the validity of the Unsuggester.
    7. Directors on Directing: A Source Book of the Modern Theatre by Toby Cole - The title alone tells me I won't be reading this one.
    8. Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper - Another one I'm happy to skip.
    9. Bold spirit : Helga Estby's forgotten walk across Victorian America by Linda Lawrence Hunt - This is one I am not likely to read, but you can never tell. It does sound interesting.
    10. Falling off the edge of the world : New Zealand stories by Gwen Gawith - Why wouldn't I want to read this one, I wonder.

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/07/2008 09:49:00 AM   12 comments
    Friday, June 06, 2008
    Just Another Friday
    Questions courtesy of One Knutty Knitter; thank you, Knutty!

    1. Idle hands are itching for a book.

    2. I love to read in the shower. I just can't--soggy book and all that. If only I could keep the book dry . . .

    3. My favorite time of the day is when the UPS man arrives. He's like a daily Santa Claus.

    4. The last tea I drank was warm and soothing.

    5. I like to go to baseball games in the summer.

    6. My mother always said the best walks are often taken in the pouring rain.

    7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to spending a quiet evening with my husband and our furkids; tomorrow my plans include celebrating my husband's birthday and entertaining my in-laws and Sunday, I want to enjoy a decent breakfast with our company before they head home and then spend the afternoon lost in a book!




    Appetizer

    When you drink soda/pop/coke, do you prefer to drink it from the bottle, a can, or after pouring it into a cup?

    I do not drink soda of any kind anymore. When I did, I preferred it in a glass glass over ice. Sometimes I would crave an ice cold bottle of root beer.

    Soup

    What television show are you willing to stay up late to watch?

    None. With the advent of digital recorders, I no longer have to give up my precious sleep for a favorite television show. Even when a show is on at a decent hour, I tend to record it and watch it later or at least get it started late so I can fast forward through all of the commercials.

    Salad

    Name one person, place, or thing you think of as brilliant.

    Books.


    Main Course

    Would you be willing to work 4 10-hour days instead of 5 8-hour days in order to save gas?

    This has recently come up as an idea for staff at the agency I work for. Whether it's going to be adopted or not is still up in the air. I am more than willing to work a 4/10 schedule. As it is, I currently work a 9/80 schedule, meaning that I work 9 hours Monday through Thursday and then 8 hours alternating Fridays, with three day weekends every other week. Considering how much overtime I put in, an extra hour a day will not make much of a different. It sure would be nice to have three days off every week though!

    Dessert

    If you were a superhero, what would you call yourself?

    Why, the Literary Feline, of course! I could swoop in when there is a biblio-emergency and save the day. Stuck somewhere with nothing to read? Found the last few pages missing from your book? Accidentally dropped your book in a bucket of water? Realized the only book you have on hand is one you have already read--or worse, one you wish you had never picked up? Just give a shout out for the Literary Feline!

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/06/2008 11:30:00 AM   21 comments
    Tuesday, June 03, 2008
    The Errant Dreams Author Meme
    My fellow blogging friend, Heather came up with this great meme. I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and give it a try.
    • Answer the questions as you see fit. Although they’re all phrased to ask about a singular author, feel free to respond with multiples, or even a list.
    • Where possible & convenient (you don’t have to go as crazy as I did!), include a link here or there to an author’s website, your review of one of their books, or a review that inspired you to try the author(s), so your readers can get more information on anyone that sounds interesting.
    • Tag five people and drop by their blogs to let them know you tagged them, or open-tag your readers.
    • It would be nice if you included a link back to your tagger.
    I struggled with this meme for several reasons, the biggest being that I am no good at singling out one or two or three authors as favorites, and add to that all-time favorites! That's a tall order. Then I start wondering if I can count an author as a favorite when I've only read one of his or her books. After hemming and hawing, I finally decided the best way to approach this meme was to start with the last question first.

    Who’s your all-time favorite author, and why?

    Jane Austen's writing warms my heart. Her novels appear simple on the surface and yet they are quite complex. Jane Austen's writing is beautiful, so easy to lose myself in. Of the books I have read by he so far, they each have left me with a satisfied smile on my face as I finish reading that last paragraph.

    I met and fell in love with Harry Dresden, modern wizard extraordinaire, long before the television series came out (and yes, I finally did get to watch it). Jim Butcher can do no wrong in my mind. I am always out of breath when I finish one of the Dresden Files' books--oh, the suspense!--I don't know how Harry does it! He's such a good soul, even when the darkness threatens to cave in around him. I haven't yet read Jim Butcher's more traditional fantasy series, but you can bet I have the books in my TBR room waiting their turn.

    Sue Grafton never strays far from the top of my favorites list. Her hard-boiled Kinsey Milhone series has been a favorite of mine since I picked up the first book. While many mystery novels tend toward being over the top, I can count on Sue Grafton to offer up a reality check. The author has gotten some criticism in recent years for straying from her usual formula, but I think her books keep getting better and better. Kinsey Milhone herself is a protagonist after my own heart--she's tough, edgy, and independent while still being vulnerable.

    Charlaine Harris quickly became one of my favorites when I started reading her Southern Vampire series featuring her mind reading heroine, Sookie Stackhouse. After reading the first book in the author's Lily Bard series, Charlaine Harris' spot on my all-time favorites list was cemented. For me, these books fall into the comfort reading category--they are fun, light, and yet also have surprising depth to them. And I love the characters. Love them!


    Who was your first favorite author, and why? Do you still consider him or her among your favorites?

    The first names that come to mind are Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume. I could not get enough of their books when I was growing up. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Blubber were my favorite Judy Blume books. Beverly Cleary won be over with Otis Spofford and her Ralph S. books. And who can forget Ramona Quinby? These two authors were not only entertaining to read, but they also took on issues that were important to me when I was growing up. I could relate to the stories and felt a real connection to the characters.

    I still think of both authors fondly. I have read one of Judy Blume's adult books, but it was years ago. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I consider both to be childhood favorites to this day.


    Who’s the most recent addition to your list of favorite authors, and why?

    Two authors in particular that I was introduced to this year have caught my fancy. One of them is Craig Johnson who is the author of the Sheriff Walt Longmire series set in Wyoming. I took an instant liking to the sheriff and I am quite drawn to the rural setting, which is kind of surprising considering how much of a city girl I am. Adrian Hyland is the other author. His first novel, set in the Australian Outback, is rich in culture and character. I look forward to reading more by both of these authors.


    If someone asked you who your favorite authors were right now, which authors would first pop out of your mouth?

    Other than those listed above: Jodi Picoult, Karen E. Olson, Elizabeth Kostova, Diane Setterfield, Mark Bowden, Amulya Malladi,, Kelley Armstrong, Minette Walters, J.R.R. Tolkein, J.K. Rowling, Lisa See, Ian McEwan, Stephanie Kallos, J.A. Jance, Anne Bishop, Charlotte Bronte, P.D. James, Susanna Clarke, Thrifty Umrigar, Anne Rice, Alice Hoffman, Clea Simon, and Carrie Vaughn just for starters. I really could go on and on if you let me.

    Truth be told, I always feel inadequate when answering questions like these, especially when reading other people's lists. I am reminded of just how little I have read. There are so many books and authors that I still want to explore.

    I have lost track of everyone who has taken part in this meme. If you haven't yet, consider yourself tagged!

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 6/03/2008 07:00:00 PM   17 comments
    Friday, May 30, 2008
    TGIF: Friday Fill-Ins
    Questions courtesy of MindFul Mimi who had some thought- provoking ones this week; thank you, Mimi!

    1. For me monotony is the opposite of creativity.

    2. Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos was the last excellent book I read. (based on a look back of my last 5 star rating)

    3. I like fill-ins because they are simple yet thought provoking and are a great way to sign off the work week.

    4. In nature I like looking at all there is to see! I especially love being surrounded by trees near a mountain lake with little critters and deer wandering about.

    5. The best candidate should win the US election.

    6. The last time I laughed with all my belly was I was pretending to be Santa Claus.

    7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to doing a little blog hopping and reading; tomorrow my plans include figuring out how to hook my laptop up to the printer; and Sunday, I want to laze around the house and read in typical Literary Feline fashion!

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 5/30/2008 06:41:00 PM   12 comments
    Thursday, May 29, 2008
    Booking Through Thursday: What Is Reading, Fundamentally?

    What is reading, anyway? Novels, comics, graphic novels, manga, e-books,
    audio books —which of these is reading these days? Are they all reading? Only
    some of them? What are your personal qualifications for something to be
    “reading” — why? If something isn’t reading, why not? Does it matter? Does it
    impact your desire to sample a source if you find out a premise you liked the
    sound of is in a format you don’t consider to be reading? Share your personal
    definition of reading, and how you came to have that stance.
    --Suggested by: Thisisnotabookclub


    Several years ago, a sales person from the Los Angeles Times called just about every day to try and talk me into buying a subscription to the paper. It was always the same man, and usually I would not bother answering the phone when he called, but I decided it was time to put a stop to it. When I told him I was not interested, he politely asked why, and I blurted out, "I don't read." After a stunned silence, he cleared his throat and said, "I'm so sorry." He said it in such a sad way, and I instantly realized his mistake. I had not meant to imply that I didn't know how to read; I simply wanted him to know that subscribing would be silly because I wouldn't read it.

    There was a time in my life when I could not read. It's true for all of us. Reading is something we all had to learn. For some it came more naturally than for others. Reading can be as simple as making sense of the symbols and combination of symbols we call letters and words. Language, written and oral, is an amazing invention. I have never been very good at languages no matter how hard I try, but I am fascinated by the variety of different ones out there and admire those who can read and speak more than one.

    I place a high value on literacy. I know people who cannot read and, while they are able to get by, not being able to read comes with serious limitations, especially in today's society. I cannot fathom not being able to read. It is such an integral part of my life. It is a skill that is easy to take for granted.

    When I say I love to read, that it is one of my passions, I am not just referring to reading on a basic level but more in terms of enjoying a good story. There are some people who read books and only see words on a page. When I read a book, I am transported into another time and place. I am a visual reader in that I can see a story unfold before me as I read. I remember once watching a movie and being so sure I had seen it before, and yet I hadn't. However, I had read the book. The images and descriptions from the book were so real to me that when I saw them on the TV screen, I was sure I had seen them before. Furthermore, I become connected to the characters in a book, even becoming a part of their lives in a sense. I laugh and cry with them, share their pain and celebrate their successes.

    It does not matter whether a story is nonfiction or fiction or whether it is told mostly through artwork or solely in words. Length is insignificant. A short story can pack as much punch as a door stopper of a novel. While there may be book types or formats that I prefer not to read, it does not make them any less worthy as reading materials.

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 5/29/2008 10:00:00 AM   22 comments
    Friday, May 16, 2008
    Friday Night Fill-Ins and a Late Night Meal
    Questions courtesy of Jennifer this week.

    1. There is absolutely NO way you can get me to bungee jump!
    2. These triple digit temperatures we have been having lately remind me that summer is almost here!
    3. I cannot live without my heart.
    4. Snorkeling and going to a hockey game are two things I'd like to try.
    5. When life hands you lemons make a lemon pie.
    6. Playing soccer in the rain is one of my favorite childhood memories.
    7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting a good night's sleep, tomorrow my plans include seeing the second Chronicles of Narnia movie and Sunday, I want to catch up on Lost and Grey's Anatomy!



    Appetizer

    What is the nearest big city to your home?

    Los Angeles, California


    Soup

    On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets?

    I am supposed to keep secrets? Oops.

    Some secrets I refuse to keep. Others I keep quite well, except maybe from my husband. Most people say he doesn't count when I warn them that I share just about everything with him. I suppose though that since they know I'm likely to tell him, it really isn't breaking a confidence, is it?


    Salad

    Describe your hair (color, texture, length).

    My hair is dark brown in color and falls just below my chin in a bob style cut. I have slightly wavy hair.


    Main Course

    What kind of driver are you? Courteous? Aggressive? Slow?

    I tend to fall on the courteous side of the spectrum, however, it does not pay to be too courteous on the roads in Southern California or else you will not make it very far--too many other drivers are quite aggressive, you see. I also admit that sometimes I will drive slow when someone is riding my bumper in the slow lane when the fast lane is open and clear. I sometimes do speed. Don't tell anyone though, okay?


    Dessert

    When was the last time you had a really bad week?

    A better question would be when have I had a really good week. I guess the worst of the worst recently would have been that awful week in March. Heck, the entire month of March was rotten.

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 5/16/2008 09:28:00 PM   26 comments
    Thursday, May 15, 2008
    Booking Through Thursday: Manual Labor Redux

    Following up last week’s question about reading writing/grammar guides, this week, we’re expanding the question….

    Scenario: You’ve just bought some complicated gadget home . . . do you read the accompanying documentation? Or not?

    Do you ever read manuals?

    How-to books?

    Self-help guides?

    Anything at all?

    Part of the excitement of getting a new gadget, be it a car, a new cell phone, or a book case needing assembly, is reading the instruction manual. Perhaps my dedication to reading such manuals before fully putting together or using a new object like those mentioned comes from my upbringing, my parents always encouraging me to know all the facts ahead of time. I tend to learn best when given structure and guidance. That isn't to say I cannot learn how to use something without instructions--I most certainly can and have. Sometimes you do have to experiment. When it gets right down to it, I am not a very impulsive person; rather, I am a flexible planner.

    I have a bookshelf dedicated to "how to" books. There are a couple of home repair type books, a gardening book, and several cookbooks. There are also animal care books offering advice on various animal emergencies or situations that may arise. I tend to read these books as needed rather than try and read them straight through. The animal care books are the most used of the lot. They have come in very handy sometimes.

    I have read a handful of self-help books throughout the years. These kind of books are not ones I generally gravitate towards, however, occasionally one will catch my interest. As a matter of fact, I am slowly making my way through one related to health issues at the moment. The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner was one of the most influential self-help books I have read. It was assigned reading for a college sociology course, but it proved to be quite useful in my life and in my thinking.

    Self-help guides, manuals and "how to" books are not books I usually count among my leisure reading. They serve their purpose and hopefully I am able to get out of them what I need most.

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    posted by Literary Feline @ 5/15/2008 09:11:00 PM   17 comments
    Friday, May 09, 2008