Random books from Medellia12's library

About me Composer, graduate student. I love people. I hate people. I'm searching for something I know not what. (And no, it's NOT your religion, but thanks.)

My literary heroes include Murakami's Boku and Toru Okada, Russo's Hank Devereaux Jr., Saki's Clovis, Adams' Ford Prefect, Austen's Elizabeth Bennett, Stella Gibbons' Flora Poste, Powers' Adie Klarpol and Taimur Martin, Stephenson's Nell, and David Foster Wallace's Lenore Stonecipher Beadsman.

Some books that I love: Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Kafka on the Shore, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle; Charles Baxter's The Feast of Love and Shadow Play; Richard Powers' Plowing the Dark; David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas; Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day; Richard Russo's Straight Man; John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman; David Foster Wallace's The Broom of the System; Michael Cunningham's The Hours; Markus Zusak's The Book Thief; Italo Calvino's If On a Winter's Night a Traveler; Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics; Orhan Pamuk's Snow; Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities; anything by Douglas Adams; anything by Jane Austen; anything by Salinger; Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash and The Diamond Age; Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog; and Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort Farm.

"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one sings."

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About my library Last 5 books read:

Some short story collections that I am perpetually reading:

LocationNYC

Account typepublic, paid

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/Medellia12 (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Medellia12 (library)

Member sinceNov 15, 2007

Comments from other LibraryThing-ers

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Hi,
And yes: I'm reading 'Galapagos' just now. I've got an English paperback edition, and I think I understand most of it (My number one language is Norwegian, though). How did you like this novel? I've only read 6 chapters of it for the time being, and it seems a little curious to me. It is the first novel by Vonnegut I am reading, and if I enjoy it I'll surely read more of his books. I've heard about 'Slaughterhouse 5', of course. It is his most famous novel, isn't it? Have you read it, and IF you have: Do you recommend it?

kik :-)

posted by kjellika at 4:34 pm (EST) on May 10, 2008

Actually my profile pic was in Sympathy for the Kettle in St. Marks Place - not really an Anglophile destination but certainly a nice place to relax over a well-made cup of tea if you're in the area. Tea & Sympathy is THE quintessential British tea room in NY, of course, right in the heart of "Little Britain". If you can't be in London, what better place to be!

posted by ladygata at 11:33 am (EST) on Apr 29, 2008

Thanks for your words of encouragement. I haven't given up on the Wind-Up Bird and with about 150 pages to go, I am looking forward to those final 100 pages. Murakami has a great style which I am enjoying, it is the very slow plot which was doing me in in the beginning.

Judy

posted by judylou at 9:46 pm (EST) on Apr 17, 2008

Hi,

I'll be sure to let you know how O'Hagan's Be Near Me turns out. I see it received some stellar reviews but we'll see.

Slainte!

Sean

posted by SeanLong at 7:36 am (EST) on Apr 14, 2008

Thanks for adding me to your interesting library list! And I hope you love "The Straight and Narrow Path" as much as I do. I've been rereading it every few years, and I always get many laughs out of it -- I find it especially good if I'm stressed out or sad. Rebecca

posted by rebeccanyc at 5:25 pm (EST) on Apr 3, 2008

Hi! Saramago is a favorite...All the Names is a god place to start. His sentence structure is addicting...

""There are people like Senhor Jose everywhere, who fill their time, or what they believe to be their spare time, by collecting stamps, coins, medals, vases, postcards, matchboxes, books, clocks, sports shirts, autographs, stones, clay figurines, empty beverage cans, little angels, cacti, opera programmes, lighters, pens, owls, music boxes, bottles, bonsai trees, paintings, mugs, pipes, glass obelisks, ceramic ducks, old toys, carnival masks, and they probably do so out of something that we call metaphysical angst, perhaps because they cannot bear the idea of chaos being the one ruler of the universe, which is why, using their limited powers and with no divine help, they attempt to impose some order on the world, and for a short while they manage it, but only as long as they are there to defend their collection, because when the day comes when it must be dispersed, and that day always comes, either with their death or when the collector grows weary, everything goes back to its beginnings, everything returns to chaos." - Jose Saramago All The Names

I contacted you because the 'books we share' are a good cross section of things I like, but I haven't read any of your 'books I love' in your profile. I'll have to give one a try...

posted by JoK at 8:10 pm (EST) on Mar 28, 2008

Thanks so much for your response. I think I am going to try to go on reading Snow and see how it goes. I hate to not finish a book esp. if its for a book club reading. I appreciate your insight!

posted by momom248 at 2:21 pm (EST) on Mar 27, 2008

Medellia12, I see you have Snow listed as a book you loved. I am currently reading it for a book club and having a hard time getting into it. Is it one of those books I just need to stick with and it will get better? It's also not so easy a read.

posted by momom248 at 1:36 pm (EST) on Mar 26, 2008

Oh, Nobody's Fool is awesome. So is Mohawk. I just love his sense of humor. Have you read The Risk Pool? I have two of his latest sitting here unread, Bridge of Sorrows and The Whore's Child, and I really need to get to them sooner rather than later.

Good luck with your studies!

posted by clamairy at 7:53 pm (EST) on Mar 24, 2008

Figured someone out there might get the Simpson's reference.

posted by Jesse_wiedinmyer at 3:42 am (EST) on Mar 11, 2008

Love it! Another BSC fan! I had a huge collection and when my parents moved, that box was lost. A great tragedy in my life! ;) I've been picking up copies here and there. It's hard to find a nice copy without crayon drawings and stickers!

Funny because my favorite was also Claudia! I wanted to be her with her funky clothes and artistic ability. I think my friends and I were so dorky we tried to start a babysitters club ourselves. At the time, we were still being babysat ourselves, but that didn't stop us!

Annie

posted by blissfulwitch at 9:44 am (EST) on Mar 5, 2008

Ahhh, but the journey, the search is the whole point of the exercise. Stay true to you!Like your books; some of them I love; some I've never heard of (didn't mean to make that rhyme). Oh, well. Enjoy reading your posts.

posted by medievalmama at 9:18 pm (EST) on Feb 29, 2008

Hi, yes, I am angrystarlyt's friend who recommended Richard Powers. He and I "met" via Galatea 2.2 in a dingy library basement one bored winter evening, and I've been an enthusiastic reader ever since. I also love Kazuo Ishiguro, whom I see you've listed among your favorite authors. You have a lovely library. I am also always glad for recommendations.

What did you think of The Echo Maker, by the way?

posted by metamariposa at 7:31 pm (EST) on Feb 21, 2008

I also am not usually a fan of short stories, so I put those off for last.

I also read The Abstinence Teacher last year (I got it from the library, so it isn't in my catalog) and was underwhelmed. I've never read Election, but I loved the movie. Of the three books I've read by him, one was really good (Little Children), one was okay (Bad Haircut), and one was not so great (Abstinence Teacher). So take that for what you will. I doubt I'll pick up another of his anytime soon.

posted by blissfulwitch at 12:28 pm (EST) on Feb 20, 2008

Your Murakami collection is quite impressive!

posted by blissfulwitch at 11:46 am (EST) on Feb 20, 2008

Thanks! Yeah for super shifty! I probably should just steer clear of that whole debate. I think my comments are becoming less and less even headed! When I get upset, I have a tendency to get stupid, which isn't good for anyone, including me! I also love a lot of your loved books and plan on checking out some of the rest. Have you read Charles Baxter's latest? It's The Soul Thief. IMO, not nearly as good as most of his other works.

posted by blissfulwitch at 9:09 am (EST) on Feb 20, 2008

I really enjoyed Galatea 2.2. That's actually the first book by him I've read, but my friend gave me the highest of recommendations about him, so I picked up a couple others at a used bookstore. I am really pretty shocked by how little his readership is, too--he's been nominated for so many awards, and he writes in a way that readers of other literary fiction should like, so how he's under the radar is beyond me.
Lovey our books that you love list, though. The only ones that I wouldn't put on that list I just haven't read yet (if that makes sense).

posted by angrystarlyt at 10:07 pm (EST) on Feb 3, 2008

No, of course I don't mind! If you ever want any reviews or suggestions for authors you mean to read but haven't, let me know, and I'll be glad to provide them.

posted by differentbeat at 8:03 pm (EST) on Jan 11, 2008

You seem to have done it successfully, as I received the usual notification, and, no, I don't mind at all. I'm always flattered when someone finds me (well, my library) interesting!

posted by lilithcat at 7:31 pm (EST) on Jan 10, 2008

I love your library! I think we've got similar taste in books so if you ever have a recommendation send it my way!
-cheers!-

posted by bookworm12 at 12:35 pm (EST) on Dec 26, 2007

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