Heya. I found your page completely at random (was poking through some of the old Early Revier books to add to my Amazon wishlist) and when I clicked on your name, I saw that we share a hometown in common. While I no longer reside in M-town, I visit often. Small world! :)

Anyway, I just thought I'd say hello while I was passing through. Take care!

-Callie

posted by Violaine at 9:03 pm (EST) on Apr 1, 2008

Thanks for your comment. I hope you enjoy the books and look forward to talking soon!

posted by lisaunger at 7:08 am (EST) on Nov 12, 2007

Thanks for your friendship! I look forward to checking out your books and hope you enjoy mine.

posted by lisaunger at 12:16 pm (EST) on Nov 8, 2007

Hi, Sharon. I finally got to the end of The Accidental. It took a little extra effort, but it was worth it. I admit that when I had finished it, I felt totally confused, so I went back and reread the last 80 pages or so to sort it out in my mind. Ultimately, I loved it, especially the ending. Once Amber is gone, everything gets worse--which is better! Life is like that sometimes . . . I was totally blown away by the chapter in which Amber is telling her "life story"--a series of lies made up from movies, TV, songs, and the news. "I was born free, I've had the time of my life and for all we know I'm going to live forever."

What else by Smith would you recommend? I couldn't find a thing in my local Borders last weekend, so I'll likely have to order online.

I'm about to start The Yacoubian Building, which has been highly recommended by a number of LTers. What are you reading these days?

posted by Cariola at 7:33 pm (EST) on Nov 6, 2007

Hi, Sharon. I'm about halfway through The Accidental. I wasn't too sure if I was going to like it, but it has certainly grabbed me. I'm not a big fan of the adolescent narrator, so the first section, narrated by 13-year old Astrid, put me off a bit, but the next one (17-year old Magnus) sucked me right in. In reading some other readers' comments, I see that a lot of people are disturbed by the fact that they don't learn more about the background of Amber, the mysterious visitor who changes the lives of the Smart facmily members. So far, that's not bothering me, and I doubt that it will. I'm not a reader who needs all the ends neatly tied up. Have you read the book yet?

Happy reading!

Deborah

posted by Cariola at 5:19 pm (EST) on Oct 28, 2007

Well, I just talked to Unbridled again yesterday, and they're looking into it. So sorry about that delay!

posted by ablachly at 12:14 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2007

That is only a small part of my library in the photo. Obviously I think you have some very interesting books also. This Library Thing lets one be a book voyeur. You can troll through people's books which is a great deal of fun for a book lover.

Take care.

posted by CandySchultz at 4:25 pm (EST) on Sep 26, 2007

Hi Sharon,

You're more than welcome. Your library really does look interesting and I'm looking forward to having a detailed nosey through it soon.

Thanks!
Allie

posted by AllieW at 2:34 pm (EST) on Sep 25, 2007

Hi Sharon - yes I love LT and like you I love being surrounded by books. Joining LT got me into the whole virtual world of challenges and sharing thoughts about reading. The Novel Challenge group has given me loads of inspiration and I am planning my next ones already!
I see we share quite a wide taste in books. I will be getting some for my themed read from the library rather like the Newbery award books I've been reading. Then I tag them with library plus the subject, say Newbery.
I very much enjoyed browsing your blog, really liked the clear, simple and uncluttered layout. The 2007 books read down the side section was also impressive.
Regards
Julie

posted by juliette07 at 11:27 am (EST) on Sep 25, 2007

Hi Sharon,
Thank you for accepting my invitation. To answer your question -- I read Nightwood for a college class in the seventies, so I had to go back and look at it before writing what I think of it. I can see why it fits into an Outmoded Authors category. The language is very descriptive, almost bizarre at times, however, Barnes was daring in her exploration of female sexuality and relationships. I think it is still an important piece of literature.
Patricia Highsmith is another interesting writer I am just getting into. I am reading her biography -- Beautiful Shadow -- fascinating!

posted by abarree at 2:42 pm (EST) on Sep 4, 2007

Hi Sharon -- You have a great library! I have just started putting my books in LibraryThing but I see we share 60 titles. I also like Joyce Carol Oates, the Brontes, Margaret Mitchell, Amy Tan, P.D. James, Kurt Vonnegut and Charles Dickens. I just joined BookMooch, too.

posted by abarree at 9:46 pm (EST) on Sep 1, 2007

Hi!! I picked up The Accidental to read this week, and tore through it-- finished it maybe two minutes ago. What a FANTASTIC read, thank you for recommending it to me! The end left me a little confused-- care to discuss?

posted by redrabbit at 4:47 pm (EST) on Jun 2, 2007

Hey! I happened to luck upon an Ali Smith book (The Accidental) at Border's, on their 3-for-2 table. I've ALREADY learned a new word: "solipsistic." :D Thank you for the recommendation... see you in a month!

posted by redrabbit at 10:24 pm (EST) on Apr 16, 2007

Hi there! I never thought for looking for friends here. I'm only logging those books I actually read. So my back catalogue won't be here. This is going to be my current record as it were. Have a wonderful Easter.

Ann

posted by ann163125 at 3:29 am (EST) on Apr 6, 2007

I've never found any Saunders books at discount stores, and I've looked. Good luck with that. You're always welcome to borrow mine if you want a taste before you order (I know, I know)! :)

posted by redrabbit at 9:05 am (EST) on Feb 26, 2007

I am waist-deep into The Falls by JCO and I am absolutely enamored of the book. Thank you so much for sparking me to read it... god knows how long this beauty would have been ignored on my shelf! You're a good influence on me... ;)

posted by redrabbit at 3:31 pm (EST) on Feb 24, 2007

I have not read the Flannery O'Connor collection yet, but I was just deciding what to start tonight (since I finished the Vonnegut). I guess that's what I'll pick up next! Let me know when you get the Vonnegut-- can't wait to hear what you think of it.

posted by redrabbit at 11:41 pm (EST) on Feb 2, 2007

Hi Ex_Libris! This is Erica, from the Northern Cincinnati Book Club! I'm trying to figure out who's who on LibraryThing... and just saying hi! I added you to my watch list... I aspire to the day when I can have 2k+ books in my catalog!

posted by redrabbit at 7:52 pm (EST) on Feb 2, 2007

Thanks for your message Ex-Libris, but you can indeed listen to Radio 3 - by visiting the BBC Radio 3 website and using either the streaming media service or the "Listen Again" service. I'll put details on the group page.

posted by antimuzak at 2:43 am (EST) on Jan 4, 2007

Ha! Then you are like me, collecting Jane Urquhart books but not reading them! 2007 is the year!
I've read News from Paraguay and liked it...it's quirky and different, which may be why I liked it. I do have Siam but have not read it. Just this morning I saw another of her books at a library sale; one I'd not heard of. I didn't care for the premise of the story and thus didn't pick it up. Currently, i'm trying to finish up the Inheritance of Loss so I can start the reader's copy I got of the forthcoming Lionel Shriver novel (it's 500 pages!).

Did you like We Need to Talk about Kevin? I found it slow at first and certainly disturbing, ultimately I found it to be one of the most powerful books I've read since Handmaid's Tale. I read Joyce Carol Oates' Rape a Love Story not long after...that is also disturbing, the subject matter unpleasant but it's necessary, I think, to shake the reader up, make us think. In that book, it's about justice.

posted by avaland at 5:57 pm (EST) on Oct 27, 2006

Hi, I see we share quite a bit, including several Jane Urquhart novels. Difference is, I haven't read mine (I have been collecting her over the years with the intent to read her...). Any suggestions which one to start with?

posted by avaland at 10:02 pm (EST) on Oct 26, 2006

I find Siddons and Frank to be very similar in writing style and subject, so I'm betting you, too, would likely enjoy both.

You asked, did I go to OSU. Ha ha, I certainly "hung out" there quite a bit when I lived in Columbus, but I am a Virginia Tech alumna myself.

Other Southern authors I enjoy: Eudora Welty is a classic one, and a more recent favorite of mine is Robert Morgan (Gap Creek, The Truest Pleasure).

posted by SnoopingBunny at 1:06 pm (EST) on Oct 14, 2006

I saw your post in the Deep South group, and thought I'd say hello. We share some books in common, as well as some places. I currently live in North Carolina, but I'm from Virginia (lived in Roanoke, Blacksburg and Radford) and moved to Ohio (Columbus) right after college for a couple of years. As for books: I have a lot of Anne Rivers Siddons and Dorothea Benton Frank, too. They make great beach reads, don't they? I see you have E.L. Doctorow's City of God, a Novel. I keep thinking about reading that one. Did you enjoy it?

posted by SnoopingBunny at 11:30 am (EST) on Oct 13, 2006

Hi again, I really enjoyed Marjory Fleming - far more than I was expecting to. I was more interested in Marjory (why I got the book) than in Oriel Malet but now I'm interested in OM too. I found it very intense, and evocative of a child's view of the world. I will read it again.

posted by artymiss at 1:40 pm (EST) on Sep 25, 2006

Sharon,
thank you for joining the Virago Modern Classics group!

Paola :-))

posted by aluvalibri at 12:52 pm (EST) on Sep 19, 2006

Hi there. I just popped in after reading your comment on the Virago group. We certainly share a lot of books! What did you make of Oriel Malet's 'Marjory Fleming'? I was fascinated by it.

posted by artymiss at 12:07 pm (EST) on Sep 19, 2006

Yay! Another Tin-Houser. Welcome!

posted by bookishbunny at 3:27 pm (EST) on Sep 13, 2006

"literary fiction, classic fiction, mysteries, and non-fiction (primarily history and biographies)." and music, and Ohio...

We are cut from the same cloth, you and me!

:)

posted by annabethblue at 9:33 am (EST) on Jun 15, 2006

I've done our LP collection today, it's been like a trawl through a past life! And yes Neil Young!

posted by dovegreyreader at 11:46 am (EST) on Apr 17, 2006

Hi Sharon, Thanks for your comments on my profile page. We do share a lot of books in common! I am currently reading The Once and Future King by T.H. White, which is actually really good! For some reason, I thought it was more of a children's book but it isn't at all. Highly recommended. I am saving Team of Rivals for this summer when I have to take a couple of business trips. I like to make sure I always have a good book for a long trip. So you are into Joyce Carol Oates. I read Bellefleur (I think the spelling is correct) years ago. Can you recommend any of her others?
Thanks

Dana

posted by dkeish at 12:50 pm (EST) on Mar 22, 2006