Cerulean Paper

September Reading

2011-10-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

81. Gullstruck Island by Frances Hardinge (also published under the title "Lost Conspiracy")
Written for children I suppose, but that's never stopped me. Great World & Culture building. Also about a girl always livign in her sister's shadow stepping up to save the day.)
More on the awesome world building: The Lost are psychics who have the ability to leave their bodies and check on goings-on far away from their physical selves. (When they are young they can have trouble finding their way back into their bodies hence "Lost.") The tribe these psychics occur in is native to an island with three (or more?) volcanoes of various levels of activity. The island has been colonized by generations by a civilization bogged down in formality & protocol with very little practical knowledge of how the tribe, the Lost, or the volcanoes really operate, but they depend heavily on the Lost for settlement to settlement communication. So what happens when there are no Lost, or maybe only one?

82. Stuff Hipsters Hate by Ehrich & Barty
...I might be a hipster. This was a great lesson for me in taking myself less seriously. Also revealed many interesting insights on the hipster male, of which the dishing-on was primarily laid.

83. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (audiobooked)
A mystery for bibliophiles. What lengths would a person go to for their favorite author whose books are being quietly, secretly being collected an destroyed? Full of wonderfully turned quotes about life, love & the power of a good book.

84. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen (audiobooked)
Another amazing & eventually sweet little novel. She has a running theme of not fitting-in in small town settings, but different every time. Also as always, mostly realistic but with just a smidge of magic.

85. Castle Waiting. Vol 2. by Linda Medley
The adventures of the motley crew at more about the castle itself which really is acting almost as a character it is so active. While this is appropriate for children there are some jokes hidden for older readers without getting scandalous. If you liked Princess Bride this will be up your alley!

August Reading

2011-09-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

71. Fables. Vol 15: Rose Red
Fables has sort of lost momentum for me, but I'm not giving up on it yet. In their favor someone did apparently hear me cussing about Rose Red turning into Sleeping Beauty...

72. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
Another frothy tale from Sara Addison Allen, sweet and a bit chick lit. but with so very much heart. Also addresses how living in a small town can make it hard to grow out of your former selves.

73. The Sweetness a the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (re)
Re-read this to help out at a book group. I thought being a mystery I might not enjoy the re-read as much as the first reading, but it held up very well. & Flavia the 11-year-old, poison obsessed sleuth is still absolutely fabulous. (Although YA appropriate, don't count this book out post-YA-ers.)

74. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Historical fiction biography of Thomas Cromwell. Mostly my reading on Henry VIII's court has been decidedly queen-centric, this was an interesting shift in point of view.

75. The Stories of Ibis by Hiroshi Yamamoto
For me this was very sci-fi, I tend more toward fantasy. Set in the future when humans are nomadic tribes & the dominate civilization is that of robots. But this is so much more than a human vs. robots plot; this was some of the most thought-provoking futuristic fiction I've read in a few years. The short stories told within the plot line of the novel were extremely well-crafted in their own right, any one of them was outstanding on it's own, but they built on each other... I was impressed by the portrayal of how cultures are informed through their stories, possibly one of the best examples of this I've read. (So good I made my library buy it just so I could Staff Pick it.)

76. Beastly by Alex Flinn
Audio-booked. Sweet, YA rewrite of Beauty & the Beast. I did try to read it first but got bogged down in the open scene in a chat room with way too much webspeak for my poor little brain to handle, luckily this does not carry on for the majority of the book. Mostly I picked this up because of all the nice teens who are reading it...

77. The Virgin Project by Kevin Boze & Stasia Kato (now Stasia Burrington)
I picked this up because I came across the art of Stasia Burrington (& the lady herself) at Seattle Art Walk in Occidental Park a few months ago. I have since become a raving fan of her illustration. Raving. (& she has an Etsy shop.)
....And this was an interesting project. Admittedly the art was less amazing than I had expected, but it is much earlier work & there are crumbs of the charm & heart that she has so greatly developed now. The stories are amazing, strange, tragic, wonderful and so many other things. I highly recommend it.

78. The Virgin Project 2 by Kevin Boze & Stasia Kato

79. Tokyo on Foot: Travels in the City's Most Colorful Neighborhoods by Florent Chavouet
This was a bright, fun little travel journal. It is exactly a beautiful sketch book of a guy in Tokyo. If you will be disappointed by a lack of plot arc this is not for you, but if you like little details & noticing them & the kind of people that do notice them, than it is.

80. A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot (re)
I realized I did not remember this well enough to reference in conversation & was shamed. It held up extremely well to re-reading. If there is a great long list somewhere amazing war novels then this should be on it, because of what has to say about the pettiness of humans and the astounding lengths we go for love.

July Readings

2011-08-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

55. Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente
Sucked my heart out with amazing writing style & imagery, I had to make sure she'd written more so I could chill on rationing pages to make it last... but is difficult to recommend generally.... I think it would be particularly enjoyed by people who are really into urban spaces on a philosophical level if they can manage not to be offended a shared dream STD. you've been warned....

56. Nathaniel Fludd Beastologist: Book One- Flight of the Phoenix by R.L. LaFevers
Cute little fantasy orphan coming-of-age novel for the elementary set particularly for fans of James & the Giant Peach, but less demanding than Dahl generally is. I'd be interested to see how this series develops.

57. Your Pinkie is More Powerful Than Your Thumb :And 333 Other Surprising Facts That Will Make You Wealthier, Healthier and Smarter Than Everyone Else by Mark DiVincenzo
Delightful collection of recent science trivia.

58. Library Wars 1: Love & War by Kiiro Yumi
General concept: the government has taken up heavy censorship that can only be stopped by an active military force within the library system, excellent. On the other hand this is definitely shojo, in content & labeled as such. There is an awful lot of the main character bemoaning a mystery crush and a teacher who seems harsh. I might read the next volume...

59. Black Bird 6 by Kanoko Sakurakoji
The romance between a special human girl & the leader of a demon clan continues. Jealousy is a major theme in this volume, again handled on a very shojo level.

60. Black Bird 7 by Kanoko Sakurakoji

61. Mouse Guard, Winter 1152 by David Peterson
A great little graphic novel, perfect for Redwall fans.

62. Castle Waiting by Linda Medley
A great graphic novel. I think this was a cataloged as juvenile, but it isn't too light for adult reading. This would be good for fans of the Princess Bride, and for fans of the Fables series though much lighter in tone. Also this is a graphic novel that is weights in as a 472 page hardcover so there is none of that volume-over-before-it's-gained-momentum issue that less lengthy comics are prone to. It did take me well into the first chapter to be sold on this and then I was hooked. Very much looking forward to the next installment.

63. Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
This book broke my heart. High-functioning, preteen boy in the Autism spectrum, getting through the days... read it.

64.Ship Breaker by Paulo Bacigalupi
Action adventure, good as an audiobook. Lowly peasant saves snotty princess who gets less snotty, in a future where all the resources we have are the trash we dropped at the bottom of the oceans when we didn't need it. An interesting vision of where our global choices will put individuals in years to come, lots of great hard-boiled characters.

65. Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
Audiobooked. I picked this up because it was recommended to me by someone very dear. I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise as the form is a little bit "Chick-Lit," but sometimes that can be exactly the right thing. These are not extraordinary lives, but they are women with tough stuff in their souls, and that reminds me of the tough stuff in my soul & of she who recommended it. That is what makes this worth reading. Might be good for fans of Alice Hoffman, lighter magical element, less dire generally.

66. Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
Jane Austen fans rejoice! Now with Magic! The temptation to go out and buy this for my seven favorite Austen fans after the first ten pages was high. (Saved only by being so ill I could barely convince myself to stand up...)

67. Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy) by Lauren DeStefano
I'm a sucker for dystopian futures. Humanity thought it could wipe out all diseases associated with old age & did but in the next generation all the girls die at twenty, all the boys at twenty-five. Social order rewrite. Polygamous social politics... Would recommend to fans of Matched by Ally Condie.

68. Ooku: The Inner Chambers, vol. 5. by Fumi Yoshinaga
The alter-history of Japan continues...

69. BoneShaker by Kate Milford
A great juv. novel set in 1914 Mid-West. Tomboy girl. Machinery, automatons. Sketchy traveling sales folk. Magic. It was wonderful!

70. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
Fans of Alice in Wonderland take note! This is one of the best fairy tales I've read in an awfully long time. I think it would be great for a child but it also has metaphor and life lessons that will appeal to adults of the right persuasion. I rationed myself on this book to make it last as long as it could.

June readings

2011-07-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

50. How to Kill a Rock Star by Tiffanie DeBartolo (Another great modern love story by DeBartolo, God-Shaped Hole...Dream for An Insomniac... these are not romance novels in a genre sense, these are romantic in a gut-wrenching, gambling with your soul sense. It feels way more accurate to me.)

51. The Girl in the Flammable Skirt: Stories by Aimee Bender (Bender blows my mind. These stories are nothing like real life, they are so far beyond reality, past reality, twists of reality. Amazing, bend your mind, stretch it.)

52. The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical & Practical Aphorisms by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Some great quotables in this, not all agreeable but much to provoke thought & some laughter.)

53. Oh No She Didn't: The Top 100 Style Mistakes Women Make And How to Avoid Them by Clinton Kelly (Not high literature by any means, but a bit funny if you're in the mood for the very lightest of reading with a sprinkle of snark.)

54. Death: a User's Guide by Tom Hickman ( A fun survey of death culture in many nations and throughout history. The writing was humorous without being discourteous to any particular view. It was a book that didn't care how long I took a break from it, worked on it off and on without any loss of enjoyment or educational value.)

May Readings

2011-07-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

46. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (re)

47. Love Comes First: Poems by Erica Jong

48. A Rare and Curious Gift by Pauline Holstock (This was another case of maybe I should have just let it go half way through. In trying to take pictures of a whole Renaissance art community attention got spread so thin I started merging similar old-guy painter characters. On the other hand she was pretty amazing at showing how very, very differently an action can be interpreted depending on which character is viewing it, the extreme tint our own point of view puts on the story we believe we're living in. This could be described as a tragic clash of points of view. I wish she'd just stuck to the names of the artists she was basing it on, or at least put the historical note at the beginning...I spent way too much time trying to figure out if she was referring to who I thought she was. She was.)

49. The Girl Who Played with Fire (re)

April readings

2011-07-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

43. The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C. W. Gortner (Quite good. Historical fiction lovers take note. A nice "bad guy" side of the story; I bet you'll feel for her by the end.)

44. Best New Poets 2008: 50 Poems From Emerging Writers. edited by Mark Strand. (Came up in a search for Mark Strand, just enough good one to make me wade through the dross.)

45. Green by Jay Lake (About half way through this I felt like the author got more interested in world-culture building than in his characters. By half way I wanted to know exactly how big an emotional time bomb, & how deadly a ninja, the main character would turn out to be. Maybe he felt a sudden need to really sell it as sci-fi fantasy rather than a novel set in an alternate history of the world... really enjoyed the first half, might have let it go if I'd had a long-awaited hold in.)

March Reading (so late, I know)

2011-06-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

23. A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley

24. Emma, Vol. 8 (These have sort of lost momentum for me. I had to get Volume 6 through ILL, and the waiting sort of got me out of the story. Also at this point the author is following Emma's supporting characters, and I just don't care about them nearly as much, but I like a certain amount of comic book reading in my life, so...)

25. Emma, Vol. 9

26. Fried Butter: A Food Memoir by Abe Opincar (There is a sensuality to the style of writers who relate strongly to food that I really get into, this was a great example of that. See also Reckless Appetites: a Culinary Romance by Jacqueline Deval & Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber.)

27. So, Now You Know... : A Compendium of Completely Useless Information by Harry Bright & Harlan Briscoe (Exactly what it sounds like, a nice, humorous, light read.)

28. Paris in Mind, edited by Jennifer Lee (Been reading this off & on for over a year. Reading about Paris is good for a particular kind of melancholy, but causes another when overdosed.)

29. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan (Another wonderful collaboration between this two favorite YA authors. Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist also not to be missed, but avoid the film at all costs. *shudder*)

30. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia &Margaret Stohl (Did this as an audiobook. Having a the guy's point of view in a romance with a paranormal was interesting. I'm pretty much burned out on the YA paranormal romances, probably wouldn't have finished this if it hadn't been an audiobook.)

31. This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson (I've been working on this off and on for a couple months. Great cure for a crisis of faith cause by bureaucracy.)

32. Other People's Rejection Letters, edited by Bill Shapiro (At first I was amused by this book, but by the end it just was horribly depressing.)

33. Fables 14: Witches (I almost didn't get this. The previous volume relied varily on a character I hate, and was just plain tedious, but Fable seems to be back on track and it's nice to seem some of the characters who have been at war for so long finally com into some small happinesses. I am however still considering this series on probation.)

34. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier (Interesting merge of vampire mythos & the Twelve Dancing Princes, with a strong dose of Transylvanian historical novel, good cure for the common YA paranormal romance.)

35. Love is a Four-Legged Word by Kandy Shepard (Not proud of this. This novel took -10 off my street cred as a reader, but if you want to read something that takes no effort whatsoever...)

36. And the Pursuit of Happiness by Maira Kalman (I love this lady, this is a personal journal with illustrations with meditations on the historical figures in early U.S. history & whatever else crosses her mind.)

37. We Could Almost Eat Outside: An Appreciation of Life's Small Pleasures by Phillippe Delerm (A pleasant collection of musing a small, nice daily things.)

38. Our Paris; Sketches from Memory by Edmund White & Hubert Sorin (This is like hanging out with your gay best friend bragging about his wonderful life in Paris, don't be jealous, be happy for him. Sweet for his delight in their daily life & a guilty pleasure of being the one dished-to in gossip rather than the one dished-on. For a more literary-minded version of Edmund White's Paris check out The Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris.

39. Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block (I boycotted this for a while because it is sad to see an author I admire as much as I do Francesca Lia Block give in to the YA paranormal romance genre, not once, but twice. This does however bring interesting material to the table, female werewolf protagonist, also racial prejudices, and small-town small-mindedness. While this is by no means Block's best work, or even in her top five, if you aren't familiar with her you won't miss the difference.)

40. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (This was fun & mischievous read. YA. Kind of made me want to go pull large-scale overly-intellectual pranks.)

41. Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer, edited by Robert Swartwood (I love this. I wanted to hand it to everyone! It's so wonderfully compact and so interesting and satisfy, I only with their were more books like this. See also the Six Word Memoir books. Excellent!)

42. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (Audiobooked. This got be through a lot of commuting. And I can think of teens I would recommend it to. Intriguing world theory, a country that used to have extremely advanced technology gave it up by royal decree, and now lives in a Georgian high-court world of politics & protocal, the ever hanging threat & mystery of a massive inescapable prison that's physical location is a mystery. The characters didn't hold me through the book and I knew it was going to be a cliff-hanger ending long before it arrived which made the end seem needlessly drawn out... but might give the sequel a shot, we'll see...)

February Readings

2011-02-09T22:21:00.000-08:00

11. Emma. Vol 6. (Kudos to ILL for getting this for me.)

12. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (Audiobooked. Not sure if I would have read this but it was a good listen. I liked the shifting point of view between the adult granddaughter & the elderly sisters, one of who has been in a mental institute for 60 years, the other with dementia. I like how she used the later two characters to explore internal coping mechanisms. And I liked the adult grand daughter, maybe not liked exactly, but she made a lot of sense to me, her choices & shifting point of view.)

13. 77 Love Sonnets by Garrison Keillor (This is not mushy love poetry, it isn't even all poetry about romantic love, but it is poetry about loving life & living loves, if that makes any sense. I can't think of anyone I wouldn't hand this to if they were at all open to poetry.)

14. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (Another entry to the YA-supernatural-doomed-love genre. the twist is that it fallen angels rather than vampires & the heroine has a a more developed sense of self-preservation than Bella. not bad. only recommending to people who haven't seen past the Twilight glitter entirely yet.)

15. Lover's Dictionary: a novel by David Levithan (Genius Levithan strikes again. Nobody else I'm aware of is writing such good prose about what love is, the frothy as well as the gritty. And I'm a sucker for fiction with footnotes or in a encyclopedic format so this is doubly good.)

16. Emma Vol. 7 by Karu Mori

17. They Call Me Naughty Lola:Personal Ads from the London Review of Books. edited by David Rose (I didn't like this quite as much as the sequel, Sexually, I'm More of a Switzerland, but I might just have not been so in the mood for it. It didn't seem so sad before.)

18. It all changed in an instant: more Six Word Memoirs by authors Famous & Obscure, edited by Smith Magazine (I love this series!)

19. The Strange Affair of the Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder (Steampuck mystery, it this becomes a series I'd check out the next one. The premise was odd, but it is steampunk is it pretty much has to be. Burton & Swinburne were hilarious once they got together, I'd have enjoyed it more if that had happened sooner.)

20. The Book of Eleven: An Itemized Collection of Brain Lint by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (She's had me hooked since Encyclopedia of An Ordinary Life. This wasn't as good as that, but I laughed some.)

21. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (Really, really good! Punk smart Brooklynite falls into revolutionary Paris, really great soundtrack if you recognize the songs they mention.)

22. How Did You Get This Number: essays by Sloane Crosley (Not exactly humor, but not not funny, odd, but good odd. I will read anything she puts her name to, I like the way she thinks.)

January Readings

2011-02-09T21:56:00.000-08:00

1. Sexually, I'm More of a Switzerland: More Personal Ads from the London Review of Books. Edited by David Rose. (Hilarious & sweet. Perfect for when you might feel like the oddest crayon in the box. Will put a hold on the first one. Thanks to J. for handing it to me.)

2. House of Dolls by Francesca Lia Block (My favorite rockstar author takes a crack at kids books... It's okay, but it's no Dangerous Angels.)

3. All Things Alice by Linda Sunshine (Cute little book of Lewis Carroll quotes with masses of vintage illustrations.)

4. Almost French by Sarah Turnbull (Memoir. It was interesting to see Paris from the point of view of an outsider trying to make a life there & that kept me in it even though I was not enthralled by her writing style.)

5. Dandelion Fire: Book 2 of the 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson (I really enjoyed 100 Cupboards but in its trilogy I found myself just barely keeping track of the multiple characters roaming separately and by the end I just didn't care anymore. Have not put the third on hold.)

6. Matched by Alley Condie (Very cool. Utopia/dystopia/futuristic. What is you lived in a society that found your perfect mate for you? What if it was wrong? Fans of Hunger Games, Brave New World, 1984... anyway, it's great fun. Question authority, read poetry.)

7. Walks with Men: fiction by Anne Beattie

8. The Frozen Thames by Helem Humphreys (A collection of short stories that take place on or around the Thames at various times when it was frozen. Interesting meditation on cold, ice, celebration, life in London over a long period of time in snapshots of lives.)

9. Baby, Remember My Name: An Anthology of New Queer Girl Writing. Edited by Michelle Tea. (My favorite was "Homo Marriage Redux" by Zoe Whittal. Some fun stuff, some sad stuff, some strange stuff, that's how anthologies go.)

10. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride (I got through this because I liked the main character, but I'm a little critical of bringing this many kind of magical people into a reality (werewolves, necromancers, witches & more) theres a certain point where it just feels like someone pulled out a myth dictionary and started opening it at random & tossing out types. I think there were also parts that were supposed to be funny (idea propagated by Sherman Alexie quote on cover) that just weren't my kind of funny.... Not hating, but it wasn't quite for me.)

A good breakfast better include tea

2011-02-04T22:34:00.001-08:00

A short survey of my breakfast for Plinkyness, the usual, the ideal...

tea
Tea is warm & I'm always cold in the morning. It's enough caffeine to get me moving without the overpoweringness of coffee. It's gentle, & mornings seem so harsh.

protein & carb
Usually this is eggs & toast for me, but I greatly prefer having a noodle+tofu dish left over from the night before. Leftover phad thai or #17 from the pho shop is fantastic.

vitamins
I don't really like my little collection of moring pills, often make me gag a little, but the multi, rosemary, cranberry, flax seed oil, & allergy tablet keep my body happier than it is without them. If I don't take them after breakfast it just isn't going to happen.

I can't say 'no' to books

2011-02-04T22:15:00.001-08:00

weekend book binding

I can't not give book recommendations. If someone asks me I have to answer & sometimes I tell people about books when they don't really feel like listening.

I can't say no to greatly discounted dk yarn in blacks and or blues, espcially if machine washable or has any silk content.

...beach glass, sweet & sour "chicken," Heath or Skor bars, salads that include pear & walnuts...

....chai, earl grey, jasmine tea, anything in the antique shop with lace that fits me at all...

....my department manager, anyone crying on the phone, little kids reading books that remind me of anything I read as a kid (I just start jumping through hoops like its my job; it might be my job)...

...dogs-- they want petting & I'm their girl--

...boxes of book donations, even when everything on top looks trashy, & they smell a little heinous, there could be something really cool at the bottom, some Anne Sexton, or T.S. Eliot, or anything!

...wicked old dictionaries with beautiful curly typeface, even if the binding is dead the pages come home to become endpapers & other things...

...papercrafts, cut out constructables or origami, decoupage or bookmarks left by other people in library books...

...blank books of a roughly paperback size with sewn bindings & creamy paper...

...black pens with real ink (not Bics), hard tips, thin unbroken lines...

...very thin tipped paint brushes, neither weak nor too stiff, even though I already own more of these then I'll likely ever use up...

...double sided tape in handheld dispensers & glue in purse-sized quanities...

...shiny blue things...

Best of 2010 Book List

2011-01-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

So, the great recap of the year. No particular order...

The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious--and Perplexing -- City by David Lebovitz (This was a fun little foodie's biography as a Paris transplant. Great for getting great gritty daily city details & the otherness of being a cultural transplant.)

Ooku: The Inner Chambers. by Fumi Yoshinaga.(series. manga. fantastic alter-history. Good enough that I got her entire early series, Antique Bakery, through ILL. Looking forward to anything she does in the future.)

Portable Childhoods: Stories by Ellen Klages (Wonderful fantasy short stories of a similar vein as Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things, only found because Gaiman did the introduction. She should be better known.)

The Anxiety of Everyday Objects by Aurelie Sheehan (Wonderfully written. The adventures of whimsical dreamer in an office job. You can relate? Excellent.)

The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault (A fun little mystery in a dictionary office. A treat for etymology geeks. Found by using that Amazon Recommends thing at the bottom of the page for Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie.)

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: a Flavia De Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley (Flavia has definately joined Witch Baby & Lisbeth Salander on my list of Fictional Rolemodels. She may be eleven but she's a chemistry genius with a knack for poisons, oh but she's the good guy/gal. I don't read a ton of mysteries but I can imagine resisting any bit of snooping Flavia might let me tag along for. Waiting for the third Flavia book in Feb 2011.)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson (The original title in Swedish translates to "Men Who Hate Women," and although fitting in many ways I would probably not have read this if that had been the title in english. I love this book and the main female character even if she is only sparsely characterized early in the book. She was instantly added to my fictional rolemodels. Not for the faint of heart; well worth the time.)

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger (This is a picture book look graphic novel. Very different style graphicly from Three Incestous Sisters and the Adventuress, and not as thematically difficult as the former & Her Fearful Symmetry. This is a the perfect bedtime story for bibliophiles in general, bibliophiles who work in libraries in particular.)

The Magicians by Lev Grossman (If Harry Potter were written for adults then it would be The Magicians. Excellent, also the mechanism of the magic system were way more likely than in the Potter-verse. Followed this up with Grossman's Codex, same main character for all purposes so is prbably standing in for Grossman himself, but I kind of like him so I didn't mind. Feel free to hit Codex instead if you'd rather paly with old books than magic.)

A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse' (I love this book! I made pages of notes on things to read, and there's some really lovely quotes on the importance of good books. It's a book about books, a mystery, a love story. Little bit of a slow start but well worth it. Sort of want to mail this to almost everyone I know.)

Dec. 2010

2011-01-06T19:52:00.000-08:00

168. I am neurotic (and so are you) by Lianne Kong (Fans of PostSecret check this out.)

169. Emma 1 by Kaori Mori (Manga in 1800's England. Brainy maid meets gentleman, love & caste conflict.)
170. Emma 2
171. Emma 3

172. Scott Pilgrim's Fines Hour (Vol. 6) by Bryan O'Malley (I'm so done with this series.)

173. Eisenstaedt on Eisenstaedt (Photos & his notes. Amazing.)

174.Emma 4

175. A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse' (I love this book! I made pages of notes on things to read, and there's some really lovely quotes on the importance of good books. It's a book about books, a mystery, a love story. Little bit of a slow start but well worth it.)

176. Emma 5

177. Flight, Vol 4.

178. The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry (If you liked the Thursday Next novels this will be right up your alley. Mystery novel with carnivals and in-dreaming scenes.)

179. The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace (Quite good. Wasn''t sure where it was going, but I liked it.)

180. Time Stops for No Mouse by Michael Hoeye (Audiobooked. A fun little adventure with mouse characters. Delightful.)

181. The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons from the World Most Elegant Woman by Karen Karbo (Sort of Coco Chanel biography crossed with a self-help book. Great fun.)

182. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson. (Excellent world-in-the-wall fantasy without feeling like a Narnia rehash. Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.)

183. Some Girls: My Life in a Harem by Jilliam Lauren (Writing style was so-so but I stuck with it for the content.)

Nov. 2010

2011-01-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

157. Space: Japanese Design Solutions of Compact Living by Michael Freeman

158. Possession by A. S. Byatt (re) (Audiobooked. A.S. Byatt is amazing, and the writing styles of the writer characters are excellently crafted, also really great depiction of the Joy of Research.)

159. The Magicians by Lev Grossman (If Harry Potter were written for adults then it would be The Magicians. Excellent, also the mechanism of the magic system were way more likely than in the Potter-verse.)

160. Something Missing: a novel by Mathew Dick (Excellent first novel. Told by a burgler who burgles the same people for years & never gets caught, find out how. Wonderful character building, recommending to anyone who will listen.)

161. Koko Be Good by Jen Wang (Loved the art style, but confused by Koko, but I think I was supposed to be...)

162. Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (Pretty good YA novel with a cute play on inheriting magic & feeling like a sub-par member of your family or community, interesting theory of magic object mechanics. Will likely read the sequel.)

163. A Man Without A Country by Kurt Vonnegut (Read this, it's good for you, but you'll like it too.)

164. Muse & Reverie: A Newford Collection by Charles de Lint. (Three cheers for Newford Collections! No one does fantasy like De Lint.)

165. Avatars, Book One: So This Is How It Ends by Tui T. Sutherland (Started as a great post-apocalyptic teen novel, but the end got silly and by the time it was over I didn't even care that it had a cliff-hanger ending & the library doesn't have the sequel.)

166. Codex: a novel by Lev Grossman (Another exploration of the Joy of Research, also video game & rare books. Pretty much the same main character at The Magicians, but I like him okay so I'm alright with it. I will be watching out for Grossman's books in the future.)

167. How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton (Not an easy read but I do love Proust quotes, also trying for some self-improvement, not sure it worked.)

Oct. 2010

2011-01-06T17:26:00.000-08:00

140. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger (This is a picture book look graphic novel. Very different style graphicly from Three Incestous Sisters and the Adventuress, and not as thematically difficult as the former & Her Fearful Symmetry. This is a the perfect bedtime story for bibliophiles in general, bibliophiles who work in libraries in particular.)

141. The Octonauts & the Only Lonely Monster by Meomi

142. The Octonauts & the Sea of Shade by Meomi

143. The Octonauts & the Great Ghost Reef by Meomi

(Meomi is a delightful art company. I (heart) them, they make me smile.)

144. Four Word Self Help: Simple Wisdom for Complex Lives by Patti Digh (Given more shelf space in my life I would definately want to own this book. Beautiful art & very good for the soul.)

145. You are one-third daffodil and other facts to amaze, amuse, and astound. compiled by Tom Nuttal (This is was delightful, great for a couple days with a short attention-span.)

146. Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 4. by Fumi Yoshinaga (Still loving this series.)

147. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan (This was actually quite sweet--but no toothache--& had some great quotable lines. Save yourself from the movie, don't see it before or after, or ever.)

148. The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel by Diana Gabaldon & Hoang Nguyen. (I keep thinking I'm done giving Gabaldon chances, but I did really enjoy the first few Outlander books. Really this is Outlander minus any classiness I may have internally-imposed on it.)

149. At Home in Japan: A Foreign Woman's Journey of Discovery by Rebecca Otawa (Because this was the travelogue of someone who wasn't just a traveler but actually transplanted for life. Way more detailed than any similar book about living in Japan, also rural which is a whole other world from city-dewelling or non-modern, most of my previous reading have been one or the other.)

150. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (Who else could sell a story concept of being able to taste the emotions of the person who prepared your food = awesome. See also Willful Creatures: stories.)

151. How They Met And Other Stories by David Levithan (Very sweet, but not a toothache.)

152. You Know Where to Find Me by Rachel Cohn (Great YA novel about the effects of a suicide on those left behind, also interesting sidenotes of the politics of Washington D.C. as a stateless state, and I feel for the main character. Well done.)

153. The Character of Rain by Amelie Nothomb (re) (Insert love letter to Amelie Nothomb here.)

154. Loving Sabotage by Amelie Nothomb (re) (Insert love letter to Amelie Nothomb here.)

155. Japanese Style by Sarah Lonsdale (Little pop culture overview.)

156. The Life of Hunger by Amelie Nothomb (re) (Insert love letter to Amelie Nothomb here.)

Sept. 2010 (cont.)

2011-01-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

136. Antique Bakery Vol. 4.

137. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. (I love this book! Took pages of notes on things to read. Will probably definately re-read.)

138. The Physic Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe (Audiobooked. I wasn't expecting this to be all that good, and while not something I'll recommend for years to come, it does do a great job of portraying the Joy of Reseach, at least as well as People of the Book.)

139. Kushiel's Dart (re). (I seem to be good to reread this about yearly, but I probably wouldn't have at this point if I hadn't just rebound a discarded paperback of it. Pretty successful rebinding if I do say so myself.)

What I Miss About Childhood

2010-10-05T19:42:00.001-07:00

Time Flies

The thing I miss about childhood was having hours and hours of time where I wasn't accountable to anyone. I was a latchkey kid who had three or four hours of unsupervised time at home every afternoon before either of my parents got home. I used to read a whole book in a day, and do projects that took up the floor in a whole room. I didn't notice time passing until the room would suddenly grow dark as the sun fell. I miss the books and the pojects. I miss knowing that nothing would interupt what I was doing and how deeply I was doing it, whatever it was. The art project or the world in the book would be my whole world. And that was happiness.

As an adult I don't make up for it very well, I have consolations, but they are consolations, make no mistakes. Days out by myself, stolen moments reading in locked bathrooms. I try to schedual time for projects but they aren't priorities, not compared with people I care about, a job I believe in. And because I can't turn away the things I give priorty there is little time for the little projects and stories to really saturate my soul.

2010-09-18T12:23:00.001-07:00

Saturday question: worst injury received& inflicted?

2010-09-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

88. Ooku: the Inner Chanbers. vol. 2. by Fumi Yoshinaga

89. Ooku: the Inner Chambers. Vol 3. by Fumi Yoshinaga

90. Dreaming of Dior by Charlotta Smith, ill. by Grant Cowan (A bunch of nice little stories matched with amazing illlustrations of the dresses the women of the stories wore.)

91. Spendor by Anna Godberson

92. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

93. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson (The original title in Swedish translates to "Men Who Hate Women," and although fitting in many ways I would probably not have read this if that had been the title in english. I love this book and the main female character even if she is only sparsely characterized early in the book. She was instantly added to my fictional rolemodels. Not for the faint of heart; well worth the time.)

94. By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Ann Peters

95. Scott Pilgrim (vol 5.) vs. The Universe by Bryan Lee O'Malley

96. The Good Body by Eve Ensler

97. Angelography by Danielle Trussoni

98. Chobits. 1. by Clamp

99. Britten & Bulightly: a graphic novel by Hannah Berry

100. French Milk by Lucy Knisley (a fun sketchbook travel journal of paris. full of all those little details that make a reality.)

101. The Meaning of Herbs: Myth, Language & Lore by Gretchen Scoble & Ann Field

102. Chobits. 2. by Clamp

103. Chobits 3 by Clamp

104. Design Your Life: The Pleasures & Perils of Everyday Things by Ellen & Julia Lupton (recommended by JB. A series of fun little essays about the every day things that generally go unnoticed because of how common they are. instills a lingering tendancy to thing about why things like toasters and bras look the way they do. wonderful.)

105. Show Me How: 500 Things You SHould Know: Instructions for life from the everday to the exotic by Derek Fagerstrom, Lauren Smith & the Show Me team. (A wonderful full-color manual on a wonderful array of things. well worth a thourough browse.)

106. Antique Bakery 1. by Fumi Yoshinaga (an earlier comic by the creater of Ooku. the antic of three guys running a french bakery in Japan. romance hijinks between gay & straight characters, the mysteries of personal histories. not as well thought out as Ooku but not inteded to be.)

107. The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha (a delightful list of things that will make you smile no matter what mood you were in when you opened it.)

108. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larrson

109. This is Water: Some Thoughts Delivered on a Signifigant Occasion About Living a Compassionate Life by David Foster Wallace (The speech everyone should get at soem point, or many points, in their life.)

110. Heroes: Saving Charlie: The Untold Story of Hiro & Charlie by Aury Wallington

111. the Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

112. The Arrival by Shaun Tan (re) (Easily & by miles my favorite book about the immegrant experience. no preaching, no whining, just honest & compassion inducing. Apropriate for a human of any age, readign level or lack there of, no words.)

113. Chobits 4 by Clamp

114. Chobits 5 by Clamp

115. Chobits 6 by Clamp

116. M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman. (a little disappointing because so many of the stories have appeared in other collections, nothing against the stories themselves. Neil is always a Magician of the highest order.)

117. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: a Flavia De Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley (Flavia has definately joined Witch Baby & Lisbeth Salander on my list of Fictional Rolemodels. She may be eleven but she's a chemistry genius with a knack for poisons, oh but she's the good guy/gal. I don't read a ton of mysteries but I can imagine resisting any bit of snooping Flavia might let me tag along for.)

118. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag: a Flavia De Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley (No more Flavia until February 2011, very sad.)

119. Lulu Meets God & Doubts Him: A Novel by Danielle Ganeck (The title is the title of painting that is the lust-point for most of the characters in this book. not a bad book, but I probably wouldn't have finished it if I hadn't been missing New York at the moment & mourning the wait for Flavia, Lisbeth & manga.)

120. The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault (A fun little mystery in a dictionary office. A treat for etymology geeks. Found by using that Amazon Recommends thing at the bottom of the page for Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie.)

121. Chobits 8 by Clamp

122. The New Yorker Book of Literary Cartoons

123. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (the third in the Hunger Games trilogy. go read them if you have not. thanks to AR for the recommendation.)

124. Alice in the Country of Hearts. 1. by Soumei Hoshino & Quinrose. (not wonderful, haven't looked to see if there is or will be a sequel, so I guess I don't care. getting kind of tired of people trying to re-write Carroll's mythos, I liked it the way it was.)

125. Skim by Mariko Tamaki & Jilliam Tamaki (graphic novel, first love, the first time you don't tell your best friend the whole truth, being different. very well done.)

126. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (re) (still hilarous.)

127. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (re) (I still love this book, its language and its characters so much... it's very tempting to carry it about like a talisman as I used to with Dangerous Angels.)

128. Time's Magpie: A Walk in Prague by Myla Goldberg (a nice little travelogue, keen details from an authoress who seems to be interested in the same kind of little details of culture & curiousity that I would have been. a nice littel respite from the daily.)

129. Black Bird 1 by Kanoko Sakurakoji (a girl who can see demons finds out that her first love was a demon & that now that she is sixteen she is the most desired bride of every demon ever. very ramntic drama with a bit of magic. silly fun escapism.)

130. Black Bird 2

131. Black Bird 3

132. Black Bird 4

133. Black Bird 5

134. Antique Bakery 2

135. Antique Bakery 3 (Long term mystery building. I'll read something that isn't a comic again soon, really.)

2010-09-12T19:18:00.001-07:00

Testing

the great catching up...

2010-06-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

47. Tongue by Kyuang Ran Jo (An excellently written tale of food, sorrow & revenge.)

48. Twitter Wit

49. Enchanted Dreams by Nancy Madore

50. Red Carpet Rose by Pat Brady

51. Garden of the Perverse edited by Sage Vivant & M. Christian

52. Illustration Now edited by Julius Wiedeman

53. Paris Changing: Revisiting Eugene Ateget's Paris by Christopher Rauschenberg

54. Philip Marlowe's Guide to Life by Raymond Chandler (Words of wisdom from the master of the tough call.)

55. Steamed: a Steampunk Romance by Katie MacAlister (Kept expecting it to get better, silly me.)

56. Best American Erotica 2005

57. The Proof of the Honey by Salwa Al Neimi (A study of Middle Eastern feelings towards the erotic from an insider.)

58. Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange (A nice Pride & Prejudice novel from Darcy's side, carefully kept to original tones & word choice.)

59. A Touch of Deadly by Charlaine Harris (Brain-junk fun)

60. Rose is Rose: Right on the Lips by Pat Brady

61. Best American Erotica 2004

62. Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni

63. Fables 13: the Great Fables Crossover (the most disappointing volume in the otherwise fantastic Fables series)

64. The World According to Twitter by David Pogue & his 500,000 Followers

65. The Anxiety of Everyday Objects by Aurelie Sheehan (Wonderfully written. The adventures of whimsical dreamer in an office job. Excellent.)

66. Best American Erotica 2008

67. Autobiography of a Geisha by Sayo Masuda

68. Yellow Dog by Charles de Lint

69. Portable Childhoods: Stories by Ellen Klages (Wonderful fantasy short stories of a similar vein as Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things.)

70. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (Pretty good fantasy. Death sentence traded for a food tasting job, interesting scenario, but the main character wasn't enticing enough to get me through the sequel.)

71. The Bad Girl's Guide to Getting What You Want by Cameron Tuttle

72. The Wild Things by Dave Eggars (Pretty close to the movie, very emotionally dense.)

73. Instructions by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Vess (Everything you need to know about how to live is in fairy tales, instruction manual by extract. Excellent.)

74. Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Vess

75. The Year of Yes by Maria Dahvana Headley

76. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

77. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (Why would a teen girl commit suicide? What drives us to the bottom? What would you do if you got there? Excellent, not an upper. Strong argument for the importance of all actions, no matter how small a decision might appear to be.)

78. Demo by Brian Wood & Becky Cloonan (graphic novel) (A bunch of awesome short stories about extraordinary people.)

79. Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn

80. Shrimp by Rachel Cohn (sequel to Gingerbread)

81. Cupcake by Rachel Cohn (finishing the trilogy)

82. Luxe by Anna Godbersen (1899 NYC. betrothals, scandals, secrets...first in quartet.)

83. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer (Not as good as the main Twilight books, it exists for the obsessed, more so than I. Luckily short.)

84. Herotica 5

85. Ooku: The Inner Chambers. Vol. 1. by Fumi Yoshinaga. (Alterna-history. What if a disease killed off 75% of teen males in ancient Japan & kept doing so for centuries? How would it change culture, state infrastructure & interpersonal relationships? Excellent adult manga.)

86. Rumors by Anne Godbersen (The Luxe quartet continues.)

87. Envy by Anne Godbersen

a lot of reading can happen when you're out sick (nothing too strenuous though)

2010-04-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

37. Rose is Rose: 15th Anniversary Collection by Pat Brady

38. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (re)

39. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (re)

40. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (re)

41. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (re)

42. The Big Bento Boy of Unuseless Japanese Inventions by Kenji Kawakami

43. Nightmares & Fairy Tales: Once Upon a Time... by Serena Valentino & FSc (re)

44. Tokyo: a certain style, text & photos by Kyoichoi Tsuzuki

45. Nightmares & Fairy Tales: Beautiful Beasts by Serena Valentino & FSc (re)

46. Rose is Rose: Running on Alter Ego by Pat Brady

2010-03-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

30. The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery (This was a very engaging autobiography-style portrait of Japan as it was opening to the west, of the evolution of gaijin [foreigner] from the differences in cultural etiquette, and how a traditional art form updated itself to remain relevant in changing times.)

31. A Year in Japan by Kate J. Williamson (A delightful volume of wonderfully executed watercolors and observations.)

32. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Two novella, engaging & sparse writing style.)

33. Stitches: a memoir by David Small (Tragic, moving, inspiring. The terror of a childhood made of secrets.)

34. The Floating World by Cynthia Gralla (Toyko's entertainment world in the '90s with amazing descriptions of the power of dance and feeling admired, heart-wrenching narration of anorexia.)

35. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (re) (As good as it was in elementary school, probably better. "Whole Story" edition was an added entertainment.)

36. High-Spirited Rose is Rose by Pat Brady

2010-02-23T16:24:00.000-08:00

7. City Chic by Nina Willdorf

8. The Character of Rain by Amelie Nothomb (re)

9. The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint (re) (My first experienc with De Lint's Newford & Jilly Coppercorn)

10. Promises to Keep by Charles de Lint (So far the novel with the youngest Jilly, to my knowledge)

11. Memories of my Melancoly Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (re)

12. PostSecret: Confessions of Life, Death, and God edited by Frank Warren

13. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

14. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

15. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

16. Definately Dead by Charlaine Harris

17. A Survival Guide for Landlocked Mermaids by Margot Diaz

18. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

19. Yotsuba&! 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma (re) (Manga made of joy.)

20. Yotsuba&! 2 (re)

21. Yotsuba&! 3 (re)

22. Yotsuba&! 4 (re)

23. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

24. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

25. The Lost Painting by Joanthan Carr (the true story of a lost & found Carravaggio)

26. Yotsuba&! 5

27. Yotsuba&! 6

28. The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious--and Perplexing -- City by David Lebovitz (Amusing musing on living in Paris)

29. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Book List 2010

2010-01-20T00:27:00.000-08:00

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (re) (Comfort food.)

2. A Guide to Elegance by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux (Some of her reactionary stances make far more sense in light of the original copyright, 1964, but she can be admired through and through for her absolute faith in her own way.)

3. How to Wrap Five Eggs: Traditional Japanese Packaging by Hideyuki Oka with photos by Michikazu Sakai (Seldom instructional, but very inspirational.)

4. Sundays at Tiffany's (re) (Comfort food, too sweet still.)

5. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (Junk food.)

6. Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris (More junk food.)

reads from Halloween on past Solstice

2009-12-29T17:29:00.000-08:00

167. Tokyo Fiance by Amelie Nothomb (Dear Amelie Nothomb, I'm in love with you...)

168. Frazz: Live at Bryson Elementry by Jeff Mallett (comics)

169. 99% Perspiration: a Frazz Collection by Jeff Mallett (comics)

170. Pretty Dead by Francesca Lia Block

171. The Elegance of the Hedgehog (re)

172. Anticrista by Amelie Nothomb (not one of her best, but it will do for a fix if you're already addicted to her)

173. The Life of Hunger by Amelie Nothomb (wonderful)

174. Sulpheric Acid by Amelie Nothomb (another fix)

175. The Most Beautiful Book in the World: Eight Novellas by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt

176. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games, book 2)

177. My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme

178. Switch Bitch by Roald Dahl

179. When Wanderers Cease to Roam: a traveler's journal of staying put by Vivian Swift

180. The Life of Hunger by Amelie Nothomb (re. Yes, it was that good.)

181. The Secret Lives of Men & Women: a Post Secret book edited by Frank Warren

182. Her Fearful Symmetry by Andrey Niffenegger (graveyards. the identity crisis of twinness. what could love be like in extreme enough situations?)

183. Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl

184. The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Nancy Madore (not recommended. a self-help book in a harlot's disguise.)

185. The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint (wonderful & without the "too many characters, doing too many things in unrealted places" problem he sometimes stumbles into.)

186. Lust & other stories by Susan Minot (not as over the top & skull-excavating as Rapture, but not bad. it's easy to see how this kind of writing was laying ground for Evening & Rapture.)

187. Still Life by Irving Penn (photos)

188. The Best Time to Do Everything by Michael Kaplan

the good stuff

2009-11-08T19:27:00.000-08:00

159. Across the Nightengale Floor: Tales of the Otori Book One by Liam Hearn

160. On Reading by Andre Kertesy (photography. very lovely!)

161. Ghost Girl (poems) by Amy Gerstler (like playing in a shop full antique toys, a bit whimsical, a pit like a treasure hunt in a friend's back yard)

162. The Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris by Edmund White, The Writer & the City series (a wonderful little read for anyone who loves obsure, footnote-ish history, cities, Paris... J.E. & A.B. would probably both enjoy.)

163. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (Informative, intriguing, gross at points in a CSI kind of way. Awesome.)

164. Gourment Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery (Same author as The Elegance of the Hedgehog. She needs to publish again as soon as possible.)

165. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman (re) (Still awesome, maybe my favorite Neil Gaiman, maybe.)

166. Idoru by William Gibson (Not quite as lovely as Pattern Recognition, but still good futuristic fun with computers.)

Elegance of the Hedgehog, Hunger Games, much love.

2009-10-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

147. The End by Lemony Snicket

148. Naamah's Kiss by Josephine Carey

149. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman (re)

150. The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman (re)

151. The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman (re)

152. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (I kept expecting this to get better & ended up finishing it. Can't imagine bothering with the sequel.)

153. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. (I finished this and immediately started it again. I'm in love with this book. I'd like to send a bouquet of sunrise-colored roses to Madame Barbery and her two unlikely heroines.)

154. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Massive, massive kudos to A.R. for convincing me to try this book even though it didn't seem like my thing. I'm on tenderhooks for the sequel.

155. Juxtapoz Illustration (there will be at least one artist in this book to amaze you, though there will also probably at least one gross out.) J'aime KozyNDan. (I don't bother to make a link unless it's awesome. Hint, hint.)

156. Rose is Rose: In Living Color by Pat Brady

157. Open Letter to a Quiet Night by Francesca Lia Block (I would send roses to Francesca too. Daily.)

158. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson (Interesting as a study of the time and thought process thereof in a way that the movie is not. I love the movie.)

8/26/09 to 8/30/09

2009-09-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

141. Fables Vol. 12--The Dark Ages

142. Spectacles by Samuele Mazza

143. Brahaus by Samuele Mazza

144. In the Bag by Samuele Mazza

145. A Growling Place by Thomas Aquinas Maguire

146. Pink Samurai: Love, Marriage & Sex in Centemporary Japan by Nicholas Bornoff

2009-08-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

125. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr (delicious)

126. The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket

127. Zen Shorts by Jon. J. Muth (delightful picture book)

128. Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr (delicious)

129. Twilight Director's Notebook by Catherine Hardwick

130. The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket

131. The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman (Yet again she wields her magic.)

132. 1000 Artist Journal Pages: Personal Pages & Inspirations. edited by Dawn DeVries Sokol

133. 1000 Handmade Greetings edited by Laura McFadden & Deborah Baskin

134. Obsession by Gloria Vanderbilt

135. The Arrival by Shaun Tan (go look up this guy's work! right now!) (a picture book without words, but that says so much.)

136. The Art of Alex Gross

137. The Blue Stone: a journey through life by Jimmy Liao (a melencoly but adorable picture book)

138. The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket

139. I Was Told There'd Be Cake: essays by Sloane Crosley (everything the back of the books says, in a good way.)

140. Red Tree by Shaun Tan

2009-08-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

113. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (awesome. sort of like Twilight with Faeries instead of vampires...)

114. The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alice Bechdel (always great for a little laughter, perhaps a few tears and a heaping dose of introspection.)

115. Busted: Zits Sketchbook 6

116. The Waters & The Wild by Francesca Lia Block (Block is fabulous as always...)

117. The Melancoly Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories by Tim Burton (all the creepy of his movies minus the sense of wonder.)

118. The Squirrel Mother: stories by Megan Kelso (not really sure why I bothered to finish this. I kept thinking it would get better.)

119. Goodbye, Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson (a snapshot of all the things that made Blankets so lovely.)

120. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

121. Fleur De Leigh's Life of Crime: a novel by Diane Leslie

122. Wonder Tales: Six French Ftories of Enchantment editied by Marina Warner

123. The Other Side by Istvan Banzai

124. Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (Stunning.)

120.

120.

2009-07-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

104. Gothic Art Now, edited by Jasmine Becket-Griffith

105. She: Poems by Saul Williams (re)

106. Carnet de Voyage by Craig Thompson (Author of Blankets. Awesome! Thank you to the Interlibrary Loan dept.)

107. Serenity: Vol. 1-Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews & Will Conrad

108. Serenity: Vol. 2-Better Days

109. Amulet: Vol. 1- The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi

110. The Tree Show by Mark Ryden

111. Flight: Vol 1. edited by Kazu Kibuishi

112. A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle (re)

2009-07-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

83. The Ultimate Tea Diet by Mark "Dr. Tea" Ukra

84. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

85. Slim: A Fantasy Memoir by Cynthia Rowley

86. Fables: Vol 10- The Good Prince by Bill Willingham (Probably my favorite volume in the series thus far.)

87. Flash Fiction Forward: 80 Very Short Stories, edited by James Thomas & Robert SHepard

88. The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket

89. The Sexual Life of Catherine M.

90. It sucked and then I cried: how I had a baby, a breakdown, and a much needed margarita by Heather B. Armstrong creator of dooce.com

91. Free-Range Chickens by Simon Rich (hilarious)

92. Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (sort of prequel to the series chronologically, could be read entirely seperately or at any point in the series) (re)

93. Fables: Vol 11- War & Pieces (and with that I am unfortunately caught up and much wait patiently for the next volume release.)

94. A Poem Travelled Down My Arm: Poems & Drawings by Alice Walker

95. Bittersweet Journey: a modestly erotic novel of love, longingn and chocolate by Enid Futterman

96. The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket

97. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

98. Blankets: an illustrated novel by Craig Thompson (re)

99. Carmine: a little more red by Melissa Sweet

100. Twilight: the complete illustrated movie companion by Mark Cotto Vaz

101. Moonheart by Charles De Lint

102. Stories for an Enchanted Afternoon by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

103. A Year of Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart: a photocollaboration by Maria Alexandra Vettese & Stephenie Congdon Barnes

dream: elephants, running, stairs, nuns, pain, anger

2009-06-28T20:17:00.001-07:00

Dream: I am between 12 and 15. I'm on the Island and there's a general store, but it's really quite large but on main street. The back half of it is a exibit that is changed seasonally or twice a year. This time there are elephants (!) three or four adults and a similar number of babies. I take the bus and see them everyday. There is a rail around them, you can't touch them, but it looks like maybe the adult trunks could reach if the wanted to but they don't they try to pretend people aren't there and play with their babies. Other people that come to see them yell at them and children run and scream about. I am very quite and always go alone. One day the babies are gone and the adults are paceing around their small space very quickly. The workers tell the people the babies must all be napping in the cave space.

One of the adult elephants puts its trunk out at they never have before. I'm gasping it is so close and so beautiful. It's trunk is coming toward me! And I put my hand in the air to reach towards it back. I think it's going to be an E.T. type moment and the tip of it's trunk will touch the palm of my hand, but the tip of the trunk dips past my hand and the trunk wraps around my arm and lifts me into the air!

I'm on their side now and I can see that the babies are gone! The workers hustle me out, hitting the elephants with sticks to get by. They tell the crowd the babies must have been stolen by people from the city. If feels like they're lying.I run out into the street.

Then it's later and I'm running farther down the same street with my best guy friend and my lover (even though we didn't know him them he looks like he looked in pictures from then). In an alley way we run up some stair that just keep going, three or four stories of stairs. At the top there is a door with light around the edges. I open it and there is another. There are maybe seven door, all right togeter with light always coming through to make you feel like you're almost there. Then there is a gauze curtain instead of a door it is red, like burgundy, but a slightly bloodier shade of red. All the doors have been this color too, but not identical.

Through the curtain we can see a whole bunch of nuns on a platform and on stair that go down outside mirroring the ones behind us. Between in the nuns and curtin there is a woman in a broad rimmed hat standing with a little girl they look like they're dressed in 1940's clothes for church. I motion to E & J that we should just go. But as I turn my movement makes the curtain move. they're all coming after us. I feel like no one was supposed to see this. We try to close the doors behind us put they're all turned into door-sized pieces of red parchment with paste on the side toward the curtain like we had peeled them off. I'm trying to press them over, but there are always fingers tearing through from the other side.

We're running down the stairs, but when there are only ten or fifteen left I fall because I'm clumbsy. The fall is like being inside a wave except the sharp corner of each step. pain. pain. pain.

It's years later. There were never anymore live animal in the exibit area. SO I don't feel all heartbroken about their cramped captivity, but the taxidermy animals make my stomach roll. I'm buying something and the guy behind me is tapping my shoulder and saying, 'hey, you're that girl...' His voice is laughing meaness and as I'm turning I can see the wallet in his hand made of elephant-hide leather. I punch him right in the nose and walk out the door. No one is chasing me.

I don't know what this dream means, I had it in the morning between 5:23AM and 7:00AM on 6/24. The previous day I'd put an elephant photo on the wallpaper of a computer at work and answered a coworker that I love them when she asked. I do not have fear of nuns, but I am clumbsy, and taxidermy does make me uncomfortable. I have never punched anyone in the face.

Les miserables is worth it, really.

2009-06-28T19:29:00.001-07:00

Or, how to read a monster-length book and still have room in your bag.

This is absolutely wonderful and engaging, laugh, cry, growl, the works. You may find yourself bringing it up in extremely unrelated conversations, "Thats like when in Les Miz. [insert approprite anedote]."

To avoid carrying a brick around, I recommend buying a cheap paperback copy like the one shown. Find the start of the four or five books that make up the volume. Carefully break the spine at the start of each books and carefully take an exacto knife to the seam between pages.

(If you care about rereading or think you might pass it on to a friend, make new covers for each section with cardstock and packing or duct tape.)

Enjoy your newly carriable volumes of Les Miserables!

Book List still lives, really.

2009-05-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

56. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

57. Ant Farm and Other Desperate Situations by Simon Rich

58. Willful Creatures: Stories by Aimee Bender

59. Green Angel by Alice Hoffman

60. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

61. Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith

62. Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoir by Writers Famous & Obscure, edited by Smith Magazine

63. Enchanted Again by Nancy Madore

64. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice writing as A.N. Roquelaure

65. Beauty' Punishment by Anne Rice writing as A. N. Roquelaure

66. Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

67. The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

68. The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket

69. The Comopolitan: Poems by Donna Stonecipher

70. Beauty's Release by Anne Rice writing as A. N. Roquelaure

71. The Garden of Eye Candy

72. Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid by Lemony Snicket

73. Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (Vol. 1) by Bryan Lee O'Malley

74. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Vol. 2) by Bryan O'Malley

75. All You Need to Be Impossibly French by Helena Firth Powell (re)

76. Matilda Bone by Karen Cushman

77. The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hays (re)

78. Fables: Vol. 9- Sons of Empire by Bill Willingham, etc.

79. Welcome to To Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Every day Life by Sandra Aamodt Ph. D. & Sam Wang Ph. D. , 2008 edition

80. Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Saddness (vol. 3) by Bryan O'Malley

81. Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket

82. Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together (Vol. 4) by Bryan O'Malley

sundries that travel with me

2009-05-21T11:21:00.001-07:00

cell phone
So family member can text me for library materials or grocceries.

hankerchief
for allergies, mostly pollen & book dust.

planner
o I can pretend to be in control of my life and so that I can be inspired by the bird & goldfish I pated on the cover.

journal
so that when I feel like laughing or crying at inappropriate times I don't.

Chai Rose lip balm
My lips get chapped otherwise & the smell make me happy, also sort of energizing.

Orange Lavender lip balm
Chapped lips and the smell is very calming.

Creative Zen mp3 player
life soundtracking

knitting
to keep my hands busy in waiting rooms and conversations.

bottle of bubbles
for joy.

mini sharpie
things come up...

pill box
ibprofen, caffeine, and a days worth of vitamins.

novel

massive keyring.

black & silver wallet

fish coin purse

"If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" brings me back to bedtime storytime.

2009-04-07T19:02:00.001-07:00

"If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" reminds me of bedtime when I was little. Before I could read I would memorize my favorite picture books. Adults who didn't know me thought I knew how to read until they gave me a book that wasn't mine. I can almost still recite this though not nessesarily in the order in which it occurs.
I get really excited whenever a little kid comes to check this out at the library.

the book list lives!

2009-04-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

21. Free Range Knitter by Stephenie Pearl-McPhee

22. The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead (THIS is what I love about New York!)

23. Gargoyle

24. Cautionary Tales for Children by Hillaire Bellog, rediscovered & illustrated by Edward Gorey

25. Frank Miller's Sin City: Vol 7- Hell & Back

26. The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman

27. The Discovery of Chocolate: A Novel by James Runcie

28. An Underground Education by Richard Zacks (Awesome random information.)

29. Letters in the Attic by Bonnie Shimko

30. A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary by Xiaolu Guo

31.Fables Vol 3. Storybook Lovey by Bill Willingham, etc.

32. Leftovers by Laura Weiss

33. After School Nightmare Vol. 9 by Shona Mizushiro

34. Snow by Tracy Lynn

35. (As Francesca): A Novel by Martha Baer

36. 500 Handmade Dolls: Modern Explorations of the Human Form, Lark Books (Gorgeous, absolutely.)

37. Parnassus On Wheels by Christopher Morley (Utterly delightful adventure for the joy of books.)

38. How to (Un)Cage a Girl: Poems by Francesca Lia Block

39. Fables Vol. 4 March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham, etc.

40. Fables Vol. 5 The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham, etc.

41. The Diving Bell & The Butterfly by Jean-Dominiques Bauby (The writing is so amazing you might forget how sad the circumstances are.)

42. The Bell at Sealy Head by Patricia A. McKillip (Fantastic & amazing as McKillip almost always is.)

43.Women (photogrphs) by Annie Leibovitz & Susan Sontag

44. X-Ray by Nic Veasey (X-ray photos of common things. Awesome.)

45. Fables Vol. 6 Homelands by Bill Willingham, etc.

46. Mouse Guard, Fall 1152 by David Peterson (If you loved Redwall and wish there was a graphic novel like that, well there's this...)

47. Nightmares & Fairy Tales: Vol. 4 Dancing With the Ghosts of Whales

48. Fables Vol 7. Arabian Nights & Days by Bill Willingham, etc.

49. Fables Vol. 8 Wolves by Bill Willingham, etc.

50. The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar

51. Unpacking the Boxes: A Memoir of A Life in Poetry by Donald Hall

52. Snake Hips: Belly Dancing and How I found True Love by Anne Thomas Soffee

53. 500 Handmade Books: Inspiring Interpretations of a Timeless Form, Lark Books

54. Someplace to be Flying by Charles De Lint (De Lint never lets me down for inspiring, thought-provoking, dream-inpiring urban fantasy. Love, love, love.)

55. Passive Aggesive Notes: Painfully polite & Hilariously HostileWritings. ed. Kerry Miller

joy by post

2009-03-03T18:23:00.003-08:00

pirate bandaids
pirates are awesome. and bandaids should have cool stuff on them to help people feel better.

chocolate
chocolate makes people feel happy. their favorite chocolate if I know it.

small collage
well, I'd base it on who it was going to. it would make them smile & maybe remember something I did that made them laugh at some point.

wind-up toy
traiin, hopping bird, wobbly robot

pocket-sized hand-made blank book
because people should at least be invited to keep track of their thoughts, especially when in new situations

Yellow Butterfly Doom Bag, better than a towel.

2009-03-03T18:23:00.001-08:00

black & silver wallet
for coffee & groceries. for gas for the van.

planner
so I can make "to do" lists for myself & also to help me feel in control of my life.

red journal, full
because I haven't blogged my book list out of it yet

wanderlust journal, empty
because the red one is full

mango lotion in a bottle
my hands get dry from processing books and washing pint glasses

asiany blue zip bag, large
It holds my knitting, currently an anatomical heart knit in pink-purple-brown stripey sock yarn, also a click-clack row counter, tapestry needles, pattern instructions, a pen, cabling needles, and a london shot glass trying to get to the kitchen.

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTheart.php

pebbley beret
to keep my head warm and to stave off dumb questions in yarn stores

asiany blue zip bag, medium
mp3 player & headphones, to allow me to instantly inprove my mood while driving, sorting books & sewing.

digital camera in blue felt zip bag
in case something awesome shows up

glue stick & double sided tape
in case something else awesome shows up

mini tin
pills, for too sleepy, allergies, or aches

packet of pirate tissues
in case I forget to put a hankerchif in my jeans' pocket

black pens, loose
for the books that need writing in, or to write notes to myself on the back of my hands

How to (Un)Cage a Girl: Poems by Francesca Lia Block
in case I have to wait in a line or in case I run out of things to go online.

I wish I could move to Brooklyn

2009-03-03T18:22:00.001-08:00

I perfer the city, and I love New York. Home would feel more like home if it were in New York. Subways instead of cars. Awesome vegetarian takeout everywhere.
I wouldn't have a studio, but I probably would craft more because I'd be living among my supplies and I wouldn't be freezing my butt off when I'm out there at the sewing machine or easel.
Really I might have more room becaue I'd be sharing with one person instead of three. And it would just be us, more room for both of us. And I have colorful stuff that could be everywhere instead of just in our bedroom so it would be home.

paper room

2009-02-15T15:57:00.001-08:00

(The room is my bedroom, but in varied incarnations, the best of one smooshed with the best of another.)

clouds of paper cranes hanging from the ceiling, twisting about with every flury movemeent causes. incense curling up among sandlewood, vanilla, ylang-ylang candles. comfy chair with an automaton. Tansu chest full of yarn stash. lots of book shelfs. loft bed like a nest. stereo to hook mp3 player to, Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, full collection of Modest Mouse and DJ Cheb i Sabbah. easel in the corner by the window with a shelf of paint & art supplies. closet of pinstriped skirts, combat boots, asian brocade blouses. full lengh mirror made of many small mirrors hung next to each other. jars of marbles on the windowsils with light shining through. a desk in front of the window big enough to sit cross-legged with your laptop while watching the people walking by, children dancing to the synagogue, fighting for love's sake outside the bodega.

Bookworm meets the world wide web

2009-02-15T15:11:00.001-08:00

I started using the internet in the mid or late '90s as a latchkey kid. My parents were both teachers who'd been to conferences toting how the future of communication/education would be internet based. Although very protective in other ways I had unfiltered access to the whatever was online starting at eleven or twelve.

I had an email address that got very little except a word-of-the-day and weird-history-daily emails. There was a fantasy short story website with a sort of labryrinthian layout that I'd wander through. I did searches for mythology stuff on altavista and snap.com. I'd kill the three or four hours until one of my parents got home easily.

None of my friends had the internet at home for two years or more, so the internet didn't really feel like communication as much as very magical sort of never-ending, choose-your-own-adventure book. It felt very foreign to me to get emails from real people I knew and to chat online with people I'd spoken to at lunch.

I used the internet even more when I first went to college. I'd never lived in a city before, and google was a major help filling my evenings & weekends with events, parks & museums. When I did start to have acquaintances from class I started to instant message in earnest for the first time, everyone in the major would be logged in if they were in their dorm room. It was less weird that calling someone's room & getting their crazy roommate or trusting your own messages to a roommate you'd known for a few weeks. When I started talking to someone special we talked online while I was at work (a secretary's secretary, a maker of copies, a fetcher or lunches) and from our dorms even through we were sitting in rooms less than a city block apart. In retrospect he probably knew I was shy.

I'm not sure now if my view of the internet is normal. I feel sort of out of touch with how much I'm supposed to be connected to others. When it was just me and people I didn't know I felt free to skip the internet for a day to paint or go to a friend's house instead of online. Now that I have two jobs, a partner, the ability to transport myself from place to place, I feel more obligated to be present online, but have less time to do it.

Hint: A trip to Siam Garden, Court St, Brooklyn, NY would be nice this Valentine's Day

2009-02-10T17:13:00.001-08:00

These are a few of my favorite things.... (permisson to daydream)

Siam Garden, Court St, Brooklyn, NY
Because it's not one of those fancy-shmancy places thats all booked up for V-Day. I really like their Thai art on exposed brick walls with votives on the tables. Also on V-day they have Lava Tofu which is just about the best. Also ideally the awesome toy store down the street wouldn't have closed and you could pick out toys for each other on your way to dinner. (Try to look tough walking through Fulton Mall on the way home.)

Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA
Browse Dio Del Los Muertos figurines & milagro charms at Milagros Mexican Folk Art gallery. At Cafe Yarmarke get a bowl of awesome borscht & a piroshki or two, the owners are wicked nice. Then go fiddle with instruments in Lark In The Morning Musique. Smell things in Tsing Momo. Get the newest COLORS in the big stand at 1st & Pike. Wander down to the French bakery for an almond latte. take a bus to the Frye museum, debate how to get my stuff in a museum.

manhattan, nyc
people watching over endless coffee at the Skyline diner. gallery cruzing at the Met. sketching around the skylit greek statues. go see a movie at the Anglika or another cinema. Tanti Baci would be the last stop but get off the subway a stop or two early for browsing & people watching. Wendy would be the server, so you'd feel like a guest in her home instead of like a customer.

home
Candle light only. DJ Cheb i Sabbah on the CD player. Lasagna in the oven. A nice cab-sav.

at work, libraryland
well, I really will be there. It would be nice to have a non-work email in my work email work inbox... It would be nice if the customers were nice or scarce or both...

Watch "Amelie" next time you're home sick, or...

2009-02-10T13:53:00.001-08:00

It's whimsical and uplifting, willing to laugh at the little quirks of everyday people and utterly inersed in the fact that what makes people weird is also what makes them interesting. Also on a purely visual level this film is a work of art, composition, lush color saturation, and all the fine detail of dream before you wake up.

(However, if you're too sick to follow subtitles, and don't speak french, I would recommend "Penelope". It is also delightful in many similar ways to "Amelie".)

Book List 2009

2009-02-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

1. Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-- Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by The Waiter

2. The Coffee Trader by David Liss

3. Playing With Grown-Ups by Sophie Dahl

4. Memoirs of a Teenage Amenesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

5. Robert Doisneau Paris (photographs with excerpts from Doisneau's notebooks)

6. Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block (re)

7. Ruby by Francesca Lia Block (re)

8. It Itches: a stash of Knitting Cartoons by Franklin Habit

9. Nightmares & Fairytales: (Vol. 2) Beautiful Beasts by Serena Valentino & FSc

10. Frank Miller's Sin City-- Vol 4. :That Yellow Bastard

11. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

12. Yellow Silk II

13. Blood Roses by Francesca Lia Block

14. Frank Miller's Sin City -- Vol 5: Family Values

15. Frank Miller's Sin City --Vol 6: Booze, Broads & Bullets

16. A Writer's San Francisco: A Guided Journey for the Creative Soul by Eric Maisel, Drawings by Paul Madonna

17. High-Spirited Rose is Rose: A collection of Rose is Rose by Pat Brady

18. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, illustrations by Basil Ering

19. Nightmares & Fairy Tales: (Vol. 1) Once Upon A Time by Serena Valentino & FSc

20. Nightmares & Fairy Tales: 1140 Rue Royale by Serena Valentino, art by Crab Scamby

Best of 2007

2008-12-31T18:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, yeah... this post is running late, but it's finished now:

These are what I consider to be the best of my 2007 Book List. I have attempted to exclude things I was rereading (but may have failed wherever I failed to note such in my origianl entry). Entries are in the order read and not rated within the list or seperated by genre, reality, or style.

Od Magic by Patricia A. McKillip

The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block

Getting Wet: Adventure in the Japanese Bath by Eric Talmadge

The Elephants of Posnan by Orson Scott Card

Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi

Widdershins by Charles De Lint

Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

The Privilage of the Sword by Ellen Kushner

The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book by Frank Warren

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (and the following volumes)

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham, etc.

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey (and the following volumes)

Libaries: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles

Orphans of Chaos; Fugitives of Chaos; Titans of Chaos by John C. Wright

The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay

Goodbye, 2008.

2008-12-31T16:21:00.000-08:00

214. Heroes, Vol. 1. (great fun, even if you watch the show, and even if you don't.)

2008-12-30T15:43:00.000-08:00

199. Blood Alone 4

200.Pattern Recognition by William Gibson (Some of the best science fiction I've read in years.)

201. (?)

202. The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic by Darby Penny & Peter Stastney. Photos by Lisa Rinzler. (Very interesting, and depressing.)

203. Quakeland by Francesca Lia Block (Not Block's very best, but still wonderful in it's own way.)

204. Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (re)

205. Searching For Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (re)

206. Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (re)

207. 500 Pendants & Lockets: Contemporary Interpretations of Classic Adornments, edited by Marthe Le Van, etc. (Wicked lovely)

208. Midsummer Snowballs by Andy Goldsworthy

209. The Hero and The Crown by Robin McKinley (re) (absolutely a classic.)

210. 360 Paris by Nick Wood

211. At Home With Books: How Booklovers Live With and Care for Their Libraries by Estelle Ellis (library-dreams)

212. Under Antarctic Ice: the Photographs of Norbert Wu (Gorgeous)

213. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks (Fantastic!)

Who loves Edward Gorey?

2008-11-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

187. Inked: 42 people, 42 stories. By Carey Hart

188. The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey

189. Donald & the ... by Peter F. Neumeyer & Edward Gorey

190. The Iron Tonic: Or a Winter Afternoon in Lonely Valley by Edward Gorey

191. The Object-Lesson by Edward Gorey

192. Donald has a Difficulty by Peter F. Neumeyer & Edward Gorey

193. While You Are Sleeping by Alexis Deacon

194. Bats in the Library, written & illustrated by Brian Lis

195. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (re)

196. Different Dances by Shel Silverstein (re)

197. The Glass of Time by Micheal Cox (sequel to The Meaning of Night)

198. The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris (sequel to Chocolat)

whoo-ho! Look! Two posts in a month!

2008-11-18T15:53:00.000-08:00

178. Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey (re)

179. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (re)

180. The Dying Animal by Philip Roth (I read this after watching Elegy which is a movie based on the novel. The narration of the moview was exceedingly well written and I was delighted to find that most of my favorite lines were direct quotes. I may need to read more Philip Roth.)

181. A Soul in a Bottle by Tim Powers

182. Boris & Bella by Carolyn Crimi & Gris Grimly (Picture book about getting along with people with different cleanliness values. Illustrations reminecent of the world of Tim Burton.

183. Stellaluna by Jenell Cannon (Picture book about a bat learning how she is differnt from birds. Delightful illustrations could easily stand alone.)

184. Once Upon a Tine in the North by Philip Pullman (Takes place in Lyra's world (see Golden Compass) but not in Oxford instead this is a story of the cowboy aeronaut and how he came to befriend the polar bear prince.)

185. Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey (re)

186. Paris: City of Light by Xavier Richer, Jean-Marie Boelle & Ian Trickett

2008-11-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

154. Quiet Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas

155. Frank Miller's Sin City: Vol. 1- The Hard Goodbye

156. Frank Miller's Sin City: Vol. 2- A Dame to Kill For

157. Learning to Love You More by Harrell Fletcher and Miranda July

158. Reading Women by Stefan Bollmann

159. White Oleander by Janet Fitch

160. Frank Miller's Sin City: Vol. 3-The Big Fat Kill

161. One Hundred Flowers by Georgia O'Keefe

162. The Most Beautiful Libraries in The World, photos by Guillaume De Laubier, text by Jacques Bosser, foreword by James H. Billington

163. Lady in the Water: a bedtime story by M. Night Shyamalan

164. Graphic Witness: Four Wordless Novels

165. Warriors of Art: A Guide to Contemporary Japanese Artists by Yumi Yamaguchi

166. 1000 Artist Trading Cards: Innovative and Inspiring Mixed Media ATCs by Patricia Bolton

167. 100 Butterflies and Moths by Jeffery C. Miller, Daniel H. Janzen, adn Winifred Hall

168. The Book of Air and Shadows by Micheal Gruber

169. Road Trip! Zits Sketchbook #7

170. Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet (Unexpectedly wonderous.)

171. The Tale of Genji: art by Yoshitak Amano

172. The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie (Delicious.)

173. Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey

174. After School Nightmare Vol. 8 by Setona Mizushiro

175. Apartment Therapy presents Real Homes, Real People, hundreds of Design Solutions by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan with Jill Slater and Janel Laban

176. Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey (re)

177. God-Shaped Hole by Tiffanie DeBartolo (re)

art, comics, chaos

2008-09-16T18:33:00.001-07:00

145. Comic book Tattoo: Narrative At Inspired by the Lyrics & Music of Tori Amos (Utterly Gorgeous, need not be a Tori fan to appriciate.)

146. Orlando Bloom has Ruined Everything: A Foxtrot Collection by Bill Amend

147. The Quotable Book Lover edited by Ben Jacobs and Helena Hialmarsson

148. In Vogue: The Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Fashion Magazine

149. The 1000 Journals Project by Someguy

150. Zits Unzipped Sketchbook 5

151. This Is Who I Am: Our Beauty in All Shapes and Sizes by Rosanne Olsen

152. Are We An "Us"? Zits Sketchbook 4

153. Titians of Chaos by John C. Wright (re) (Have I said enough nice things about this trilogy yet?)

2008-09-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

140. The Masterharper of Pern by Anne McCaffery (re0

141. Don't Roll Your Eyes at me: Zits Sketchbook 3

142. For Love of Old: Living With Chipped, Frayed, Tarnished, Faded, Worn, and Weathered Things...

143. Fugitives of Chaos by John C. Wright (re) (book two of The Chaos Chronicles. See thoughts on the trilogy in prvious entry.)

144. Bookworm by Rosamond Purcell

Sorry for the serious backlog...

2008-08-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

118. Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey

119.Marie Antionette: A Journey by Antonia Fraser (very academic, nothing like the movie theoretically based on it)

120. The Meaning of Night by Micheal Fraser (this is one of those books that I can't believe I'd never heard of. amazing. high temptation to send to everyone I know who can appriciate the darker side of Victoriana.

121. The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn (all the life lessons you'd never expect from learning to cook at the Cordon Bleu, interesting cooking stories too. I can't cook and barely care to and it was still lovely.)

122. Autobiography of a Wardrobe by Elizabeth Kendall

123. The Others: A Science Fiction Novel by Margaret Wander Bonanno

124.Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

125. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld (As with "So Yesterday" these could have been better written,but the plot is intriguing enough to wade on while you're waiting for the hold you really really want to come in. [In the case of So Yeasterday (2005) it was done much better by Alex Shakar in The Savage Girl (2001), but I digress, and am abusing the parenteses & brackets.])

126. The Host by Stephenie Meyer (strange & intoxicating)

127. Beach Stones by Josie Iselin & Margaret Carruthers (gorgeous)

128. Japanese School Girl Inferno by Patrick Macias & Izumi Evers (run away.)

129. Banksy:Wall & Piece (more fun than is strickly on the up & up. Go look at his site if you can't get to his walls, or book.)

130. Seashells by Josie Iselin & Sandy Carlson (nice, not as awesome as beach stones)

131. Even Cowgirls Get The Blues by Tom Robbins (re. to believe in a wonderful, random world, for all the cowgirls and other girls)

132. Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge (gift from S.T. thankyouthankyouthankyou. a wild adventure in a world that might have been ours. One of the most imprssive new books in Juv. Lit.)

133. The Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card (a little too political for my taste)

134. Necklace of Kisses by Francesca Lia Block (re)

135. The Privilage of the Sword by Ellen Kushner (re. Sword fighting for girls, see also The Hero & The Crown.)

136. The Goddess Guide by Gisele Scanlon (I'd been hoping this was going to be a bit more practical that it was. 3/4th was how to spend your money if you have too much.

137. Orphans of Chaos by John C. Wright (re. I'm sort of amazed that this was a fantasy trilogy that never really gained the popularity I'd have wished for it. I'm extremely impressed with how well thought out the power workings of this fantsy/sci-fi were. I don't know anyone else who has even seem to have heard of it let alone read it. I do suppose that one of this trilogy's downfalls is that the singular novels are unsatisfying to read if you can't start right in on the next one. If I'd been reading them as they came out I might well have forgotten why I cared by the time the second one came out. Have no fear, all three are out now, and there is no hold list.)

138. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer ( 4th in the Twilight Saga. If you can get through the first half, the second will be everything you were hoping for.)

139. The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman (A sweetly wandering visual journal)

2008-07-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

104. Fresh Fruits, foreword & photos by Shoichi Aoki
105. Bar Flower: My Decadently Destructive Days and Nights as a Tokyo Nightclub Hostess by Lea Jacobson
106. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
107. Elipse By Stephenie Meyer
108. Geisha: A photographic history, 1872-1912 by Stanley B. Burns and Elizabeth A. Burns
109. The Courage Consort by Michel Faber
110. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
111. Tea With the Black Dragon by R.A. McAvoy
112. After School Nightmare Vol. 6
113. After School NIghtmare Vol. 7
114. Scouts in Bondage, and other violations of Literary Propriety, edited by Micheal Bell
115. Only as Good as Your Word: Writing Lessons from My Favorite Literary Gurus, by Susan Shapiro (Thanks again to the friend who recommended this book to me.)
116. No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July
117. The Door: Poems by Margaret Atwood (I particualrly like "Dutiful," "One Day You Will Reach," and "You Heard the Man You Love."

[The last two links are from Google book. I'm not sure that I approve of it, but it exists so there it is.]

2008-06-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

96. And Eternity: Book Seven of the Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony
97. Blood Alone by Masayuki Takano Vol. 1
98. Blood Alone Vol. 2
99. Blood Alone Vol. 3
100. The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman
101. The Journal of Dora Damage by Belinda Starling (Read This.)
102. Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
103. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

2008-05-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

85. Twilight (re)(where am I on the hold list for the sequal?...)
86. With a Tangled Skein: Book Three of the Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony (re)
87. Kat & Mouse Vol. 1
88. Kat & Mouse Vol. 2
89. Kat & Mouse Vol. 3
90. Death by Field Trip: Foxtrot Collection
91. Being A Green Mother: Book Five of the Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony (re)
92. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (excellent)
93. For Love of Evil: Book Six of the Incarnations Immortality by Piers Anthony (re)
94. Filibuster to Delay a Kiss & other poems by Courtney Queeney (yummy like early Erica Jong poems)
95. Disorder in the Court: Great Fractured Moments in Courtroom History by Charles Sevilla (could have been half as long and remained as funny, but amusing nonetheless)

2008-05-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

80. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray (sequel)
81. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
82. Vogue Living:Houses, Gardens, People
83. Two-Hearted Oak: The Photography of Roman Loranc
84. Julie Speed: Paintings, Constructions, Works on Paper

2008-05-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

76. Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
77. Bodies of Subversion
78. Origins: The Art of John Jude Palencar
79. Brian Froud's World of Faerie

2008-04-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

63. Enchanted by Nancy Madore
64. Spectrum 2
65. Martha Quest by Doris Lessing
66. On a Pale Horse: Book One of the Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony (re)
67. 360 New York by Nick Wood (fantastic)
68. Bearing An Hourglass:Book Two of the Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony (re)
69. The House In Paris by Elizabeth Bowen (one can always trust a book recommended by A.S. Byatt to be well-crafted)
70. Monsoon Diary: A Memoir with Recipes by Shoba Narayan (food lit: Like Water for Chocolate, Reckless Appetites, Chocolate, or Crescent)
71. Legends of the Chelsea Hotel by Ed Hamilton www.hotelchelseablog.com
72. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
73. Derelict Fashion Disorder
74. Wielding a Red Sword: Book Four of the Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony (re)
75. A Complelete Guide to Furoshiki, text by Etsuko Yamada, photos by Kanji Okamoto

2008-04-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

43. Lost Girl by N. Kanan
44. A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman (best of Non-Fiction)
45. Orchidelirium by Harold Feinstein
46. Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to Read by Bill Shapiro (because PostSecret doesn't come out often enough)
47. Suddenly Silver: Celebrating 25 Years of "For Better, For Worse" by Lynn Johnston
48. Men, Women & Dogs by James Thurber
49. The Cuddle Sutra
50. Mortal Love: a Novel by Elizabeth Hand (wonderful)
51.Different Dances: An Adult Collection of Social Satire & Sexual Politics by Shel Silverstein (quite)
52. The Alchemist's Daughter
53. Guarding the Moon: A Mother's First Year by Francesca Lia Block
54. What on Earth Have I Done? Stories, Observations, and Affirmations by Robert Fulghum (intriguing as usual, Mr. Fulghum)
55. The Reader by Bernard Schlink
56. Amano: The Complete Prints of Yoshitaka Amano
57. The Delinquent Virgin by Laura Kalpakian (well done)
58. Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi (re)
59. Spectrum 12
60. Spectrum 14
61. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (wonderful)
62. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (wonderful)

book list 2008 lives on

2008-03-05T14:08:00.001-08:00

25. Sex with the Queen: 900 years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics by Eleanor Herman (sequal to Sex with Kings)
26. The Thing About Life Is One Day You'll Be Dead by David Shields (needed sources and or footnotes in a big bad way)
27. Women in The Material World by Faith D'Alusio & Peter Menzel
28. The Adventures of Lyssa & the Pirates by Charles Wise (hilarious)
29. Aya by Marguerite Abouet & Clement Oubrierie
30. Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan
31. Scrapbook by Adrian Tomine
32. jar of Fools by Jason Lutz
33. Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle
34. Dogs & Water by Anders Nielsen (stunning)
35. Museum: Behind the Scenes and the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Danny Danzinger
36. Drawn & Quarterly #4
37. Curses by Kevin Huizenga
38. In & Oz by Steve Tomasula (re)
39. Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
40.Saffron & Brimstone by Elizabeth Hand (amazing)
41. A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book by Frank Warren (possibly the best collection so far)
42. Woman in the Mirror by Richard Avedon (photography, may previously unrealeased photos)

almost done, but I forgot one

2008-02-11T13:21:00.000-08:00

So I thought I had finished the 2.0 games but it turns out I forgot a module: Sites for Students.
So I've made a stikkit account, it sounded the most like a website I would have used in college if I'd had constant internet access. It basically works like sticky note, but one line, at least thats the theory. In real life my planner is usually somwhat wedge-shaped due to sticky notes so this made sense. This sounded easier and no sticky notes falling out of place or covering up important information written in the planner itself.
The down side is this. Making a Stickkit is easy, moving it to your calender or to-do list is not. This is to say I haven't figured out how to do it yet and usually putting with a website like this negates any need to take the tour or guide. I'm goign to assume that this lack of intuitive user friendliness is why I've never heard of this site before. Bah.

2008-02-07T20:40:00.000-08:00

So I was going to do the last 2.0 assignment but it looks like I have to be at work to do it, but Book List 2008 is already very behind so I guess I'll update that.

12. A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlene de Blasi
13. Odd Corners: The Slipstream World of William Hjortsberg by William Hjortsberg
14. Area Code 212 by Tana Janowitz
15. Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block (re)
16. So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld
17. Savage Girl by Alex Shakar (re)
18. Journeys & Journals: Five Centuries of Travel Writing
19. Free For All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library by Don Borchert
20. My One Night Stand with Cancer by Tania Katan
21. Temptress: from the Original Bad Girls to Women on Top by Jane Billinghurst
22. Bitch 38: Lost & Found
23. La Cucina by Lily Prior
24. The Man in The High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Twitter

2008-01-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

So I am Twittering. As far as I can tell Twitter is just the next reincarnation of the away messages we used to leave on our PCs before going to class.
I really can't imagine the use of this to the library. Maybe to let patrons know of weather closures, or some other non-preplanned event. I really don't think our patrons need to know what we're all up to all the time. I suppose we could use it around the libraries to let each other know where we are instead of the constant email stream, but its not that different, a second page to log into. I'd probably be more likely to use this if I was still away at school, and I can definately see how it would make friends living far apart feel more connected. I guess personally I only need to be so connected, IM or Facebook, or Twitter, or text messages.

facebook

2008-01-16T19:49:00.000-08:00

I'm really not sure how I really feel about library's using facebook. The best arguement I've heard for it was in the discussion on the KRL Facebook page. On the other hand I was pretty skeptical of Facebook in the first place. The web is open to everyone. I appriciated how greatly Meredith Farka discussed this point in her articule. I got onto Facebook when I was a school. I didn't even hear about it online at first; I heard about it first from co-workers using it as a party connection. I ended up eventully getting an account to keep track of people I'd met an college. What scares me about it is how easily people forget that anyone can see facebook...
Although I use it I guess I just think it's a little silly, or that people often use it so much they forget it doesn't exist it solely to amuse or if it does that anyone can use it however they want.

2008-01-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

5. Translations from the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, trans. M.D. Herter Norton
6. Confidential Confessions 4
7. Confidential Confessions 5
8. New York Look Book: A Gallery of Street Fashion by Amy LaRocca & Jake Chessum
9. City of Light, City of Dark by Avi
10. Electric Girl
11. The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu

wiki2

2008-01-14T13:18:00.000-08:00

I'm working on setting up a recommended reading page that would be formated in a way that would be similar to leaving a comment, fast, easy, not a hassel or major time commitment. No answers yet, just big dreams.

c'est la vie.

Book List 2008

2008-01-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

1. Od Magic by Patricia McKillip (re)
2. Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris
3. Yotsuba&! vol. 5
4. Atonement by Ian McEwan

end of book list 2007

2007-12-31T08:57:00.000-08:00

154. Yotsuba&! vol. 2
155. Yotsuba&! vol. 3
156. After School Nightmares vol. 1 by Setona Mizuki
157. Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
158. Secret Ceremonies: A Morman Woman's Intimate Diary of Marriage and Beyond by Deborah Laake
159. After School Nightmare vol.2
160. After School Nightmare vol.3
161. After School Nightmare vol.4
162. Yotsuba&! vol. 4
163. Fables: (1) Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham, etc.
164. Fables: (2) Animal Farm
165. After School Nightmare vol. 5

2007-12-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

151.The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip
152. The Virgin's Knot by Holly Payne
153.Yotsuba&! vol.1 by Kiyohiko Azuma

In other news we're supposed to be adding to the wiki this week. I'm still trying to think of what to put up. It was easier in the FAKE branch wiki because it was just silliness. But I'm having sort of a mental block on what to put in the real wiki. KRL already has a web site and I've never thought to look for anthing on it that wasn't there: hours, catalog. I'm easy to please. I don't know. My only idea so far is to do our own overheard at the library, but I haven't heard anything funny to start with lately.... Something will come up.

2007-12-12T09:02:00.001-08:00

144. The jasmine trade : a novel of suspense introducing Eve Diamond by Denise Hamilton
145. Bed/Time/Story by Jill Robinson
146. Cup of Tea by Amy Ephron
147. Spectrum 13: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy and Arnie Femner
148. The Little Red Fish by Taeeun Yoo
149. Tam Lin by Pamela Dean (re)
150. Tales from the Town of Widows & Chronicles from the Land of Men by James Canon

YouTube

2007-12-05T09:18:00.000-08:00

I use YouTube primarily as a sort of Do-You-Remember...? game with other children of the eighties.

Do you remember Unico?

Also when I get in a crafty mood without any actual project in the work I'll try a project from Weekend Project.

...and I think this song is really beautiful, although not really sad, me thinks.

...and now for something completely different...

2007-11-21T09:02:00.000-08:00

140. Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends by Jan Harold Brunvald

141.The Margarets by Sherri S. Tepper

142. The Adventuress by Audrey Niffenegger

143. The Tattoo Artist by Jill Ciment

In other news I have decided to go over to flickr, and leave behind the frustrations of artconspiracy.com where it has often take twenty minutes to post a single item and much longer when "item size is too large," which is almost always. I'll post in link panel once I finish updating.

Also last night I played with the look of this blog to make it something I actually enjoy aesthetically, despite the fact that cerulean blue doesn't exist in the blogspot palette.

Dear Librarything, I think I love you...

2007-11-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

Librarything is genius. When I first started an account with them I tried to tell everyone I knew about it and had to revisit the fact that not everyone is that into books, or, even if they love to read, they may well be very content to have them on shelves, or stacks, in no order what so ever.
Confession: I have been a compulsive book sorter since I had a enough picture books to cover half a shelf. I have sorted my shelves by primary cover color, main characters first name, setting, and title as well as by basic subject and/or author. When I was little I could spend a whole Saturday fiddling with the order of things on my shelves. Mostly I've gotten over it. "Mostly" because it is this very ability instantly change the layout of your catalog instantly that enamoured me so with Librarything after enter my first twenty books last winter. Since then it has become a sort of obsession, but a very useful one.
As in my childish sortings the goal is always to have the book or information about it on hand as quickly and easily as possible. Besides the ease of sorting and resorting in Librarything, I can enter any book I read even if I don't own it which is a major help when I'm trying to give a friend the name of that urban legends book that I know isn't on my shelf but can remember if I had gotten it out from a library or borrowed it from a friend (ah, the joy of tags).
My catalog is in need of maintenance but if you keep at it ca you come across things to hand the use of it is easy enough to not get out of hand, unless it does... as mine has but the there are always more books to read.

Flickr search

2007-11-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

Search: subways

Cleaning last night I came across a NYC subway map. After living in New York for a while I came to take pride in not having to use this but when I first moved there I I kept one in on me if I was going anywhere other than class. The map wasn't just good for getting you from one stop to another, I'd also use it as a safety net to explore. If you're on Manhattan you really can't get to lost as long as you can get back to the subway. It doesn't matter a bit if you can't find your way back to the stop you came up from, every subway line connects to others in a combination that can get you back to Brooklyn.
The subway photos that came up in Flickr capture many things I love about subways. There are the street performers, they are often amazing. It is oftem more than worth is to keep a collection of ones, a five, and ten on your person at all times to buy CDs from extrememly talented muscians who haven't made it big, and may never do so despite theit amazing skills. If you think, "hey, I'll buy their Cd the next time I'm through this station," all rules of space an logic will bend to ensure you never hear them again.
Subways are also I great shuffling art museum of every art type that has ever been embraced by the people of New York from this goes from design work reminisent of Mackintosh and the Arts and Crafts Movement to Keith Haring cartoons.
People in subways can end up doing really strange things, not the majority of people most of the time, but there are people who just don't know what to do with the energy their saving by not having to navigate a car or feet. Funny things happen. I've seen people hang upside down from the ceiling holding rails like kids on monkey bars and I've seen absolute strangers start making faces at each other across crowded subway cars.
When you get alot of people's photos together, like on Flickr, these things show up.

2007-11-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

137. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Practchett (have a laugh at Armageddon)
138. Samurai: Arms, Armor, Costume
139.Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block (re)

RSS & the recovering over-reader

2007-10-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

So my RSS feed experience has been not dissimilar to my experience with tagging, fine & dandy and should have happened a long time ago. The difference is that I actually had control of the RSS beast once before, but I let it get out of hand: too many feeds. I'm sure I could have skipped all my classes and stayed home all day to read rss when I was in college and eventually ended up ceasing to read them altogether besides a random few who I'd been reading for so long that their urls are permanently fused into my circutry (if the metaphor is broken its okay I'm not a elctrowiz). SO with this activity I've turned over a new leaf I've added to my Google Reader only the feeds related to 2.0 and those hardwired urls.
Mostly these blogs have stuck with me because i find them humorous or thought provoking and so I thought I should shared these because probably anyone could use a little laugh or to have their brain poked at.

http://miss-information.blogspot.com/
http://waiterrant.net/
http://mightygirl.com/
devotedbee.com/
http://www.explodingdog.com/

2007-10-25T09:07:00.000-07:00

134. Blue Bed Sheets Bring Babies (The Truth, or not, of Old Wives Tales)
135. Yarn Harlot by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
136. Kushiel's Justice

the post about tagging

2007-10-25T08:19:00.001-07:00

My delicious site is up: http://del.icio.us/poet13. I do wish I'd known about this a year ago, my poor lap top is laguishing, disconnected from the world at large ("the internet") since last december and full of my favorites from the 4 years previous. It's sad really and will have to be remedied. We shall get there, this is much like my librarything account which has gone un updated since Febuary or so...very sad that.
I think that as much as we need to figure out ways to make tools like del.icio.us useful for library staff use we would do well to get patrons into it. As I see it this could easily fill a major gap in using public terminals: the inability to quickly and easily save where a person has been browsing. I like it.
In the Library Journal articule, there was a bit about using a delicious page to help with a school topic we might know is being covered as well as to keep people us on evens which could be used both for library events as well as local news, a little word of mouth via technology. Thats sort of what makes the tagging thing sensible, its organic, it's a website and the internet, techie-mumbo-jumbo, but its also like show-and-tell just blown to a giant scale if you want that much information.
And I'm now having found memories of ridiculous glee the first time I looked at the subject cloud in my librarything.

first post, rambling thoughts to various Library 2.0 information

2007-10-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

So... new blog. The girl & the blog. I have another blog; it doesn't get much use really. It has reverted into a list of books I read. This may become that in a few months. This is a blog for one of my employers to know I can use this internet tool. I can and we do.

I have a running debate with a good friend of mine about the possible evil of the library and the internet merging, the end result being the disappearance of books. I like the internet. Some of the best relationships in my life began or are maintained through it. I like books too, love is probably more accurate... the way they smell... textures of different paper... preserving some vary carefully... manipulating others that have passed from traditional usefulness. I'm not even talking about content at this point because I'm addicted to stories.

I'm not against library people becoming more internet savey, for the record. I think that to do anything less that utilize it as a resource would be neglectful both towards our own intellects as well as to the patron that approach us with damningly basic questions. "Damning" here refering to the test of one's ability to keep a straight face for some questions...

I think the more information is possible the more we, humanity, desire to have it, more and more. I've just finished a house/dog-sitty job where the internet was down for the majority of two weeks and I've lived in a town where my "transitory" status as a college student meant I was not allowed to sign up for a card at the local public library. I'd perfer to not to repeat either any time soon. I'm hooked on access to anything that I can think of looking up. It isn't just me, or we wouldn't be doing this.