Shifting Through the Noise

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

- Should Be Reading

My teaser for this week: “‘And my father preached a whole set of sermons on the occasion; one set in the mornings, all about David and Goliath, to spirit up the people to fighting with spades and bricks, if need were; and the other set in the afternoons, proving that Napoleon (that was another name for Bony, as we used to call him) was all the same as an Apollyon and Abaddon.” – p. 73, Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell.

My teaser’s a bit late because I finished Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities and Robert Harris’s Archangel and I wasn’t sure what to read next. Decided early this afternoon to go with a classic

I missed last Monday’s because I was busy so I’m doing this a bit early this time, lol:

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about mid-year reading…

Now that we’ve come to the middle of the year, what do you think of your 2009 reading so far? Read anything interesting that you’d like to share? Any outstanding favourites?

- Just One More Page

I think my reading list has been pretty good so far, as of today I’ve read a total of 62 books this year (partly as a result of my constant-reading mode last month after exams, lol). The books I’ve read so far have been interesting and some have been pretty different from what I’m used to reading. I’ve managed to get around to reading the books that I’ve been meaning to read for some time (i.e. Catch-22, the remainder of the Abhorsen trilogy, etc.) and discovered some amazing novels along the way (i.e. The Spanish Bow, Elantris, The Shadow of the Wind, etc.). Outstanding favourites that I’d like to share, (to roll the two questions into one, hehehe)…

• Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind

• Federico Garcia Lorca’s Selected Verse (collection of poetry)
• Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief
• Brandon Sanderson’s Elantris
• Andromeda Romano-Lax’s The Spanish Bow
• Anna Gavalda’s Hunting and Gathering (I prefer the original title though,Ensemble C’est Tout)

Because the reading list got a wee bit longer again thanks to books arriving last week (on the day of my graduation!) in the mail and a trip to the bookstore earlier this week *blushes*:

• Christopher Andrew & Vasili Mitrokhin’s The Mitrokhin Archive II: The KGB and the World (N)
• David Anthony Durham’s Acacia
• Greg Keyes’s The Born Queen
• The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (N)
• Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy of Four
• Brian Ruckley’s Bloodheir
• Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities (N)
• Giles Tremlett’s Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through a Country’s Hidden Past (N)
• David Rotenberg’s Shanghai
• Gary R. Ryan’s Blessings in Disguise (N)
• Elizabeth Gaskall’s Wives and Daughters
• Elizabeth Gaskall’s Cranford
• David Benioff’s City of Thieves
• Ariana Franklin’s City of Shadows
• Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice
• Robin Hobb’s Royal Assassin
• Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Quest

I realized that I’m going to have to re-read Brian Ruckley’s Winterbirth before I can read his Bloodheir because I clearly do not remember what happened in the first novel, even after reading the “What came before” section! *blushes* (I enjoyed the book, I really did…I’ve just read so many other books since then). I want to read Hobb’s trilogy next month because one of the groups I’m a part of on GoodReads is reading the first book for the month and I haven’t really partaken in any of the featured books so far…I’m saving Rotenberg’s Shanghai for my trip to Ottawa next month (to scope out my housing situation) so I guess that leaves me with Gaskell and a few other novels. Also realized how massive my nonfiction is getting considering that the fiction is slowly getting read, lol. But it’s getting there, I won’t be freaking out as much come August (as I don’t want to leave for Ottawa with a massive TBR pile still sitting on my shelf *blushes*).

Found this list from a book group I belong to on GoodReads. Thought it would be interesting to post up the results here

Continue reading "Meme: 501 Must-Read Books" »

Am a bit late here. I wasn’t able to post this past Thursday because my graduation was scheduled that day xD

One of my favorite sci-fi authors (Sharon Lee) has declared June 23rd Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Day. As she puts it:

“So! In my Official Capacity as a writer of science fiction and fantasy, I hereby proclaim June 23 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Day! A day of celebration and wonder! A day for all of us readers of science fiction and fantasy to reach out and say thank you to our favorite writers. A day, perhaps, to blog about our favorite sf/f writers. A day to reflect upon how written science fiction and fantasy has changed your life.”

So … what might you do on the 23rd to celebrate? Do you even read fantasy/sci-fi? Why? Why not?

- Booking Through Thursday

I believe I will be out for most of the 23rd so I don’t think I’ll be celebrating, sadly. Plus, I’m immersed in Joven’s The Book of God and Physics to start a new sci-fi or fantasy novel (though I have a few sci-fi and fantasy novels on my TBR list). I’ll probably celebrate this day next month or so when I re-read The Lord of the Rings (something I do every year ). I do read fantasy and sci-fi; you could say that my roots are in those two genres. I don’t know what to say regarding why I read them, really; the two genres have always appealed me since I was 8/9 years old. I don’t read it as often as before (let’s say, in high school) but I still enjoy reading fantasy from time to time as a break from general fiction and whatnot

Because I’m making excellent progress

• Christopher Andrew & Vasili Mitrokhin’s The Mitrokhin Archive II: The KGB and the World (N)
• David Anthony Durham’s Acacia
• Greg Keyes’s The Born Queen
• The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (N)
• Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy of Four
• Brian Ruckley’s Bloodheir
• Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities (N)
• Cathy Yardley’s Turning Japanese
• Giles Tremlett’s Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through a Country’s Hidden Past (N)
• David Rotenberg’s Shanghai
• Gary R. Ryan’s Blessings in Disguise (N)
• Elizabeth Gaskall’s Wives and Daughters
• Elizabeth Gaskall’s Cranford
• Enrique Joven’s The Book of God and Physics

I’m currently reading Files Tremlett’s Ghosts of Spain but I’m also trying to figure out what fiction novel to read next. I’m dealing with registration/accommodation/language training kefuffles right now and I’m graduating from my undergraduate program tomorrow but I want to post up a bit update/commentary on some of the books I’ve read recently. Maybe this weekend? I dunno, we’ll see

Because I’ll likely be busy pouring over course calendars and registration information:

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

- Should Be Reading

My teaser for this week: “An advance party, Colonel, to announce your arrival to the garrison and still give them time to prepare a proper reception.” Alwyn realized he was out-and-out lying to the colonel of the regiment and the future King. – p. 357, A Darkness Forged in Fire by Chris Evans.

Am more than halfway through the book and it’s pretty interesting