Member: GwenH

CollectionsYour library (2,640), Currently reading (2), Books I'll get back to one day (3), Wishlist (10), To read (9), All collections (2,651)

Reviews5 reviews

Tagsscience fiction (1,599), nonfiction (516), anthology (265), collection (217), space (183), mystery (161), poetry (122), space exploration (103), fiction (96), history (88) — see all tags

Cloudstag cloud, author cloud

GroupsBBC Radio 3 Listeners, Crime, Thriller & Mystery, Cthulhu Mythos Homeschoolers, Group Reads - Sci-Fi, Los Angeles Loves Librarything, Poetry Fool, Science Fiction Fans, Science!, Writer-readers

Favorite authorsRay Bradbury, Italo Calvino, Virginia Woolf (Shared favorites)

Favorite librariesCharles E. Young Research Library (UCLA), College Library in the Powell Library Building (UCLA), Redondo Beach Public Library, Torrance Public Library - Katy Geissert Civic Center Library

About meCurrently Reading:
Now listed in my "Currently Reading" collection!

Recently finished reading:
The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters ("reread" as audio book)
The Curse of the Pharoahs by Elizabeth Peters ("reread" as audio book)
The Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters ("reread" as audio book)
To Dream in the City of Sorrows by Kathryn M. Drennan
Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi

Less Recently finished reading
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the 20th Century edited by Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
The Inverted World by Christopher Priest
The Shadow Within (Babylon 5, Book 7) by Jeanne Cavelos
The Age of the Conglomerates by Thomas Nevins
Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race by Von Hardesty and Gene Eisman
The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke

A bit of history:
I've been an avid reader as far back as I can remember. The two most memorable reading related memories from my youth were (1) a reading pin in 4th grade for being the best reader in my class, and (2) being in a chair in the backyard during summer vacation, so engrossed in my book that a snail had crawled up my arm before I realized it (then I freaked). I fell hard for science fiction (and never recovered) at age 11, after checking "The Martian Chronicles" out of the library and reading it.

At various times, when not reading, I've been a design engineer, fiction writer, UCLA student, student pilot, rockclimber, seamstress, hiker, cross-country skier, gymrat, moutaineer, world traveler, and probably several other things I've forgotten. Oh, and since finding LibraryThing, I guess I better add book cataloguer to the list.

About my libraryI have lots of books, gathered over a lifetime, covering a broad range of subjects. It's a reading and reference library, though there might, by chance, be a collectable or two. I'm starting with entering my rather large Science Fiction collection. These books have the most entertaining covers. To that end, I've been careful to use the correct cover, scanning and uploading in those cases where one wasn't available. I have to admit to loving the science fiction collection in cover view. Sorting by date makes a nice cover timeline as well!

I have several other good sized collections, including space exploration, literature, philosophy, general science, archaeology, and mythology. I really have a bit of everything though. I'm entering these in a bit at a time to break the process up. I hope to get much of my library added into the GwenH library database over time.

While I haven't read everything in my library, I have read or skimmed much of it, and intend to read more of it as time and whim directs. Once I settle in here, I hope to add more comments and reviews. I've found the reviews and opinions, posted by others, interesting to read,

I've also enjoyed snooping around other people's libraries and have already discovered a few new books of interest! These were often made when exploring libraries with which I share a book in common. It's also surprising to see which books show up in many libraries and which are uncommon.

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Real nameGwen Hembrock

LocationRedondo Beach, CA

Emailmsgnomersyahoo.com

Account typepublic, lifetime

Connection NewsConnection News

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/GwenH (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/GwenH (library)

Common KnowledgeSeries (560), Awards (232), Characters (3787), Places (842)

Member sinceMar 19, 2008

Currently readingA Door Into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski
Committed to the Sane Asylum: Narratives on Mental Wellness and Healing by Susan Schellenberg