Library Loot- March 18

Library Loot hosted by Eva and Alessandra
asks us to list what we brought home from
the library this week.








Geez, I think I just need to step up to the front of the class and tell you all right now, "I'm a bookaholic and I need help." There, it's out in the open and we can all see that I have problems and I'm trying to come to grips with them....maybe!! I went to the library because there was 1 book waiting for me, did you hear me? I said 1, but I came home with 5 extra ones. Somehow when I got up to the check-out counter there were all these "extra" reads. Here is what I brought home:



The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

--I saw this on someone's blog in reference to the WWII Challenge. I usually always mark where I saw the book review but this time I messed up! I will blame all my book blogging buddies.






The Owl Service by Alan Garner

--This is entirely Nymeth's fault. Read her awesome review here.








Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

--no one to blame for this one. I saw this at B&N and thought it might be interesting to read. Then I ran across a student that was reading the series and she told me they were good, so I figured why not?






Against Medical Advice by James Patterson

--I thought that this story just sounded interesting. I want to know what is wrong with this little boy and how his family helped him.







Sucks to Be Me- The All-True confessions of MINA HAMILTON Teen Vampire
by Kimberly Pauley

-- I'm a sucker for a teen vampire story!



Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

--I've seen this book and the author on blogs so when I ran across this one I decided to add it to my pile, because I'm INSANE!!!!


What did you bring home from the library? Please include your link in your comments so that I can visit you!! And probably add your titles to my huge TBR list!!

To Read List Total today 3/18/09 : 632
Last week's To Read List Total 3/11/2009: 620
Books Read in 2009 to date: 29

Teaser Tuesdays and It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

And suddenly music would fill my mind. I would try to hold on to the image while I hurried to my room and took out my violin. And when I was able to stay inside that vision, the music would pour from my fingers.
~Sonata for Miriam by Linda Olsson
___________________________________________________________________

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I married someone I didn't love just to get back at Ashley Wilkes. But he died before the war could really get started. Now all I have is a baby and I'm stuck wearing black, for a long time. When will this war be over?---Gone With the Wind

I'm also in beautiful New Zealand, which I call home, but there I have found some clues as to my birth father and now I'm on my way to Krakow, Poland. I've experienced the heartache of the loss of a loved one and find solace only in my music.- Sonata for Miriam



Where are you today?

The Polysyllabic Spree- my thoughts

The Polysyllabic Spree
-Nick Hornby
Published 2004
143 pages

From Amazon:
The Polysyllabic Spree collects a year's worth of Hornby’s riotous and informative "Stuff I’ve Been Reading" columns from the Believer, in which Hornby lists the books he’s read, along with what he bought and may one day read. He ably explores everything from the classic to the graphic novel, as well as poems, plays, and sports-related exposés. And if he occasionally implores a biographer for brevity, or abandons a literary work in favor of an Arsenal soccer match, then all is not lost. His warm and riotous writing, full of all the joy and surprise and despair that books bring him, reveals why we still read, even when there's soccer on TV, a pram in the hall, and a good band playing at our local bar.


One of my favorite passages:

Never mind that, as regular readers of this column know, I have over the last few months bought several hundred books I haven't yet read. And never mind that, as it turned out, I found myself passing a bookshop the very next day, and the day after that (because what else is there to do with a new baby, other than mooch around bookshops with him?), and was thus able to buy Mystic River. I didn't know for sure I'd ever go to a bookshop again; and if I never went to a bookshop again, how long were those several hundred books going to last me? Nine or ten years at the most. No, I needed that copy of Prayers for Rain, just to be on the safe side.p. 104

I absolutely identified with this passage because I'm always worried that I might run out of books to read. Which is crazy, because I always check out about 26 from the library, and then I have over 200 books laying around the house, but when I read that Hornby has those feelings about books, I knew that I would like him! I enjoyed the fact that a high-profile author, such as Hornby, also shares the same problems and dilemmas as us "normal" readers. When I read how he enters a bookstore and leaves with several, only to find the next month that he never cracked them open, I rejoice in the knowledge that I am "O.K." There were times, though, during my reading that I had a hard time keeping up with Hornby. Unfortunately, I am not as well-read as he is and some of his jokes or insider humor fell short. That, however, did not stop me from plowing through this book. In fact, it made me more determined than ever to try to read some of the books that Hornby had read and loved. That is the one thing that I took from this book....that we "the readers" share our love of the written word and in return, our knowledge and experiences grow.
I can now blame Nick Hornby for some of the books that I will be checking out of my library in the future!! Here's the list that I walked away with:

Notes on a Scandal- Zoe Heller
Revolutionary Road- Richard Yates (bought this a few weeks ago)
How to Breathe Underwater- Julie Orringer
George and Sam: Autism in the Family- Charlotte Moore
The Sirens of Titan- Kurt Vonnegut
Clockers- Richard Price
David Copperfield- Charles Dickens
Random Family- Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
Mystic River- Dennis Lehane

I am trying to get my hand on Housekeeping vs. The Dirt and Shakespeare Wrote for Money which would round out his column that he wrote for The Believer. I'm sure my TBR list will be out of control once I finish those!!!

Other reviews:

Stuff As Dreams Are Made On
Things Mean A Lot
The Hidden Side of a Leaf
Rhinoa's Ramblings
Tripping Toward Lucidity
Lisa's Review

If you've reviewed Polysyllabic Spree please let me know and I'll add your link!!

Weekly Geeks- A Quote a Day #7

"Write it down, boy. If you come across a passage in your reading that you’d like to remember, write it down in your little book; then you can read it again, memorize it, and have it whenever you wish."
— Keith Donohue

"Statistically, if you're reading this sentence, you're an oddball. The average American spends three minutes a day reading a book. At this moment, you and I are engaged in an essentially antiquated interaction. Welcome, fellow Neanderthal!"
— Dick Meyer

"When I was a child, it was a matter of pride that I could plow through a Nancy Drew story in one afternoon, and begin another in the evening. . . . I was probably trying to impress the librarians who kept me supplied with books."
— Kathleen Norris ("The Prodigal Reader," Ruminator Review, Summer 2002

***FYI: I was that child. I read the entire Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books during my summer before I went into the 5th grade. After reading them, I went up to the librarian and said, "Where do I go now?" She told me, "Trixie Belden." Oh, how I loved my librarian!!!

"The reading of a fine book is an uninterrupted dialogue in which the book speaks and our soul replies"
— André Maurois

Weekly Geeks- A Quote a Day #6

"She said it out loud, the words distributed into a room that was full of cold air and books. Books everywhere! Each wall was armed with overcrowded yet immaculate shelving. It was barely possible to see paintwork. There were all different styles and sizes of lettering on the spines of the black, the red, the gray, the every-colored books. It was one of the most beautiful things Liesel Meminger had ever seen.

With wonder, she smiled.

That such a room existed!"

— Markus Zusak (The Book Thief)

Weekly Geeks- A Quote a Day #5

"Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them."

— Arnold Lobel

Library Loot- March 11

Library Loot hosted by Eva and Alessandra
asks us to list what we brought home from
the library this week.








** So last week I was asking for suckers and high-fives because I was so good and not getting more books than I could possibly read. Well, this week I'm due for a good smackdown!! I'm out of control and I honestly don't know how to stop!! So without further ado is the loot that I dragged home with me this week!!!

The Cellist of Sarajevo
by Steven Gallowy

** I can blame this book on Wendy from Musings of a Bookish Kitty. If she hadn't wrote such a heartfelt review I could've just went on my merry way and never would have known this book existed.




The Story of Forgetting
by Stefan merrill Block

**Lenore from Presenting Lenore left me a comment on my review of Still Alice and she suggested this title....so I will blame her for bringing this little gem home!






Dope Sick by Walter Dean Myers

** I blame myself entirely for this one. I love WDM and this is his new release so I had to get it....plus, a student at school has been dying to read this so I told him I would share!! Wait, I can blame Bobby can't I?






The Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood

** For some reason I feel like I can blame Nymeth for this one but I could be crazy!! Honestly, I feel that my reading life would not be complete without reading this book.





The Queen's Handmaiden
by Jennifer Ashley

** First off, I didn't realize until I put this post together that I have two books with 'Handmaiden' in the title..weird. No one but myself is to blame for this me. That and my weakness for awesome covers!!!




The Gathering
by Anne Enright

** another one I blame myself for...I liked the cover and the description of the book...all about an Irish family and a secret...made me pick it up and then I read Anna's review at Diary of an Eccentric and felt a little sad about my choice. But I am going to give it a go but if I don't like it...no guilt. I will move on!!



Stuck in the Middle
edited by Ariel Schrag

** I can blame this one on a magazine!! Booklists' current issue featured Graphic Novels and they absolutely recommended this one. It looks like a lot of fun..17 different comics from 17 different comics from 16 talented artists all about those years in middle school!! Can't wait.




Emma- Manga Volumes 1-4
by Kaoru Mori

**The blame goes to Nymeth for these books. I love her reviews and she makes everything sound so great that I feel like I'm missing out on something big if I don't at least try it. So, again, I am stepping outside of my comfort zone and going to read a Manga for the very first time!! You can read her review here and then you too will feel the urgent need to check these out!



So, there's the wrap up for this week's library loot. I truly feel like I've bitten off more than I can chew!!

To Read List Total today 3/3/09 : 620
Last week's To Read List Total 2/25/2009: 562
Books Read in 2009 to date: 26