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Lullaby
Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk Published: 2002 It was a hot afternoon, and I was lying over the covers on my bed next to a cute girl. The open window to our right cooled us with a light breeze as we both read our separate books. She told me she was reading about a girl who decided to live a greener life by making a small change every day for a year. She said it was informative, inspirational, funny, and changing her for the better. Then she asked what I was reading, to which I had to respond, “It’s a book about an old African song…that…kills babies.” Oh. So I read…
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John Irving at Home
Time Magazine did a fun feature showing John Irving at home with snippets of him discussing his writing technique and life. I haven’t read any of his books yet, but I really enjoy little peeks into the lives of authors, and I’d love to see more of these.
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American on Purpose
American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson Published: 2009 Narrated by: Craig Ferguson It’s been a bit of a crazy month, and as a result I’ve managed to finish…NOTHING. I listened to this book over a month ago now, so that shows just how on top of things I’ve been. Life’s starting to settle, though, so I’m hoping to get back to bookworming it up again. I’ve discovered a new love this last year and a half, and that is listening to the self-narrated autobiographies of comedians. I love comedy and stand-up, something that ranks up there in my top five list of things I’d be terrified of ever attempting, so…
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Back To The Classics Challenge – Complete!
I finished! Here’s what I ended up reading: Any 19th Century Classic – The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Any 20th Century Classic – Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. Reread a classic of your choice – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A Classic Play – The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. Classic Mystery/Horror/Crime Fiction – The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Classic Romance – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Read a Classic that has been translated from its original language to your language – Solaris by Stanisław Lem (translated from Polish). Classic Award Winner – As I Lay Dying…
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The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Published: 1925 I first read this in high school, but I’ve been meaning to return to it since. I rushed through it quite quickly in order to meet a deadline, and when I picked it up to read this time, over a decade later, I couldn’t remember a thing about it. As a result of this, I wasn’t that impressed the first time through, but there’s so much love for the book out there that I thought it would be a good time to give it another try. The story is narrated by Nick Carraway, a recent university graduate and veteran of The…
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Solaris
Solaris: The Definitive Edition by Stanisław Lem Published: 1961 Narrated by: Alessandro Juliani Translated by: Bill Johnston (in 2010 from Polish) I remember seeing this science fiction classic on my dad’s bookshelves growing up, always meaning to sit down and give it a read. In this case, I’m glad I procrastinated. The only English translation available was actually translated from the French translation of the book, and it apparently wasn’t that good, but now Audible.com has produced a proper Polish to English translation by Bill Johnston. Kris Kelvin has just landed on a hovering research facility on the planet of Solaris. The planet is covered in an ocean that past…
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Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris Published: 2010 Illustrated by: Ian Falconer I stumbled upon a David Sedaris book signing a couple years ago. He read a few of his essays, and they were hilarious, so I figured I should probably grab one of his books. I’d seen him on Letterman once before at that point, but that’s about all I’d heard of him. I picked up his newest book soon after that, which was Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, but I only just got around to it now. I had read that this probably wasn’t his best book to start on, since it’s a bit of a departure…
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The Walking Dead, Vol. 15: We Find Ourselves
The Walking Dead, Vol. 15: We Find Ourselves by Robert Kirkman Illustrator: Charlie Adlard Format: Trade Paperback Comic Published: 2012 Publisher: Image Comics Collects: #85-90 The 16th volume of this came out last week, which reminded me that I had this one sitting unread on my shelf. I haven’t been reading many comics lately, and they’re starting to pile up. I’ll have to start slotting some in between novels. The Walking Dead had been feeling quite stale for me, but the last volume was a great one. It had some horrific moments, and the end hinted at some exciting character development to come. In this volume, we see that start…
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Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d’Art
Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d’Art by Christopher Moore Published: 2012 I’m a big fan of Moore, and I’ve caught up on all his books now, so it’s a big event when a new one is released. The day Sacre Bleu came out, I ran over to the book store to pick up a copy and was pleasantly surprised to see how cool the first edition hardcover was. They even had signed copies. If you judge a book by its cover, and don’t lie you do, this one gets top marks – beautifully illustrated cover, thick pages with uneven rough edges, very readable blue font, and coloured in-text prints of the…
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Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice (audio) by Jane Austen Published: 1813 Narrator: Kate Reading Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters are under pressure from their crazy mother, and society in general, to find husbands. Elizabeth and her older sister Jane are sensible enough, but the three youngest are a bit idiotic. Marriage is basically the main ambition in their lives, outside of a bit of socializing, reading, and cards. Skip the next paragraph if you don’t want spoilers. Near the beginning we’re introduced to a few potential suitors, one of whom is Mr. Darcy – a man who appears to be uptight, rude, and too full of pride. Over the course of…