Friday, February 20, 2009

Got Books?

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What are you reading these days?



(Illustration via Lolita.)

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reading The God of Small Things. Wonderful.

iva yaneva said...

I am reading the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand - it is lovely!
your blog is wonderful - so much inspiration! :)

Tessa said...

Ah, books - my life blood! Love, love the illustration for this post - perfect for a book fiend's library.

I'm reading The Last Supper by Rachel Cusk. It's a wonderfully original, witty and perceptive memoir of a family journey through Italy and I'm thoroughly enjoying their day to day discoveries. I think you will too!

Unknown said...

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. Only on page thirty three. I like the way he writes already.

The Clever Pup said...

Boy, do I have books...

On the bedside table is:

The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry. It's kind of like the DaVinci Code but it's not as engrossing.

Nowhere in Africa by Stephanie Zweig. I saw the movie of the same name. I'm a couple of chapters in and so far it's really charming.

and

Volume 1 of the Diary of Samuel Pepys.

Kelly said...

i'm obsessed with edith wharton right now, currently reading ethan frome.... also kierkegaard, jane eyre, and the brothers karamazov. i'd forgotten how good jane eyre is when you're not reading it to write a 30 page dissertation on it.

i love the sketches of all the books, especially the joy of cooking! my favorite!

what are you reading?

Anonymous said...

"For All We Know", a new collection of poems by the Irish poet Ciaran Carson, who is quite fantastic.

English Muse said...

I just started God of Small things. Arundhati Roy is a gorgeous writer.

Karen said...

I just finished "eating, praying, loving" from Elizabeth Gilbert and enjoyed it very much. But my favorite book still is "voyage au bout de la nuit" or 'voyage to the end of the night' from Ferdinand Céline.
A masterpiece.
I like your blog a lot..just discovered it last week and almost checking it daily now ;)

English Muse said...

Hi Kiki! Welcome!

denene @ style and inspiration said...

I love your blog. Just discovered it from "Cup of Jo." I also love books!!! Right now I'm reading "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway."

Giulia said...

Always reading a few things at once, like most people. Re-reading Shirley Hazzard's The Great Fire (I love her.)

On the bedside table: collected Neruda, Amichai, Bishop anthologies. The 2006 Best Short Stories I just got for $2.00 (!) yesterday. Um.

I'm ignoring the piles of books that are on floor, lined up on walls (I need more bookcases), piled on the lower rung of 6 or 7 small tables next to bed, sofa, chairs. On the coffee table, the phone table, under the table the TV sits. Lamps are on top of piles of books. It's nerve-wracking to watch the cat navigate some of these places. I try to "anchor" with heavy art books. Friends tsk-tsk however, so everyone is on alert for bookcase give-aways.

Some excitement. If I can't have galleys of my own (my own damn fault), I have a friend's third novel first galley (confusing wording, I know--sorry:) to give her notes, catch first typos, anachronisms. I'm so excited for her--it's not a good time to be publishing, as we all know. But this might be a breakthrough for her. I hope so. As soon as it's out, I'll let everyone know.

The only problem with doing this is that one hopes that one really likes the work. Usually, I have an idea of it from a workshop or reading through drafts as a favor.

Thanks to all for the mentions of the other writers. I'll go dig out Edith W. The Irish poet is fantastic. I didn't know there was a novel of Nowhere in Africa...I love that film. Shall have to find it. And add the film to my "likes."

Good weekend to all & happy Academy Award watching!

xo, Susan

Yael Swerdlow said...

Have major stack by the bed as I am having ankle surgery on Monday and will be laid up for 6 weeks. So....have Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince, Middlemarch, Alan Furst's Night Soldiers (I read EVERYTHING he writes!!!), Philip Kerr's March Violets (the beginning of his Berlin Noir series), and planning to finish Paul Theroux's Dark Star, and maybe even finish Gone with the Wind...Oh, and will actually be doing work reading too...public diplomacy books!

Christina said...

dreams from my father - obama
the secret sharer & heart of darkness - conrad
walden - thoreau

i have a list a mile high waiting for me.

sigh. i love books.

Anonymous said...

The Power of Kindness. I picked it up at the airport and it's been pretty mind altering.

English Muse said...

I'm adding all your books to my reading list! you awe and inspire me!

Little Miss B said...

I'm reading The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall. It conjures amazing imagery and is written beautifully.

Ms Shallow said...

Mostly Swedish authors right now, like Hjalmar Söderberg (a classic). But also Virginia Woolf- Mrs Dalloway. I love her way of writing.

pve design said...

Lovely illustration, I adore books, I have several that I am reading.
Now, "Trail of Crumbs" - Kim Sunee
"Write it down"
"Bible"
plus all the various children's books that we read, nightly-
pve

Yael Swerdlow said...

Just finished reading Paulo Coehlo's "The Witch of Portobello". It has rocked my world in ways I could not imagine. He always does.