Random books from avaland's library
Home Landscaping: Northeast Region: Including Southeast Canada (Home Landscaping) by Roger Holmes
Pride and Promiscuity : The Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen [Parody] by Arielle Eckstut
Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain by Kirsten Menger-Anderson
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Square / Moderato Cantabile / 10:30 on a Summer Night by Marguerite Duras
A Peculiar Grace: A Novel by Jeffrey Lent
If the Stars Are Gods (Fleet) by Gregory Benford
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Member: avaland
CollectionsYour library (3,044)
Reviews186 reviews
Tagsfiction (1,058), science fiction (417), poetry (222), women's studies (167), mystery (162), literary fantasy (158), New England (156), literary reference (151), arc (147), short fiction collection (146) — see all tags
Cloudstag cloud, author cloud
GroupsAll Things New England, Anglophiles, Atwoodians, Board Room, BookMooching, Clarissa's Cottage, Club Read 2009, Crime, Thriller & Mystery, Dystopian novels, Fans of Russian authors — show all groups
Favorite authorsChimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Louisa May Alcott, Patricia Anthony, Margaret Atwood, Trezza Azzopardi, Anita Rau Badami, Juliana Baggott, Elizabeth Bishop, Martin Booth, Charlotte Brontë, Anne Brontë, Emily Brontë, Octavia E. Butler, Angela Carter, Suzy McKee Charnas, Nancy F. Cott, A. J. Cronin, John Crowley, Emily Dickinson, Assia Djebar, Thomas Dublin, Carol Ann Duffy, Helen Dunmore, George Eliot, Nawal El-Saadawi, Buchi Emecheta, Karen Joy Fowler, Elizabeth Gaskell, Amitav Ghosh, Sandra M. Gilbert, Lisa Goldstein, Kate Grenville, Ursula K. Le Guin, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Elizabeth Hand, Thomas Hardy, Nathaniel Hawthorne, David Herter, Reginald Hill, Nalo Hopkinson, Arnaldur Indriðason, Gish Jen, Ha Jin, Gail Jones, Graham Joyce, James Patrick Kelly, Margo Lanagan, Margot Livesey, Amy Lowell, Ian R. MacLeod, Henning Mankell, Maureen F. McHugh, China Mieville, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Mary Beth Norton, Joyce Carol Oates, Yôko Ogawa, Sharon Olds, Boris Pasternak, Viktor Pelevin, Ian Rankin, Adrienne Rich, Kenneth Lewis Roberts, Mary Doria Russell, Robert Shearman, Elaine Showalter, May Swenson, Deborah Tannen, Sheri S. Tepper, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Jeff VanderMeer, Kate Douglas Wiggin, William Carlos Williams (Shared favorites)
Favorite bookstoresOld Number Six Book Depot, Toadstool Bookshop - Milford
Favorite librariesJ. V. Fletcher Library
About meMiddle-aged, married mother of three grown children. Former bookseller & journalist, published poet (nothing recent). Founder of Belletrista.com: an online, nonprofit web zine which celebrates women authors from around the world. See LT user "Belletrista."
Creator of the following live* LT Groups:
Reading Globally
Club Read
Atwoodians
I Lock My Door Upon Myself: Fans of Joyce Carol Oates
All Things New England
3 private groups
*not meant to suggest activity level, but meaning "not defunct/deleted."
CURRENT PICTURE: "A Walk in the Woods", Hollis, New Hampshire (USA)
MY READING: I enjoy ALL kinds of fiction, both international and domestic. I also enjoy poetry (contemporary and classic), women's studies, social history, New England history, art history, literary criticism, a smattering of science, nature and whatever else intrigues me at the moment. MY 2009 BOOKLOG is HERE. My 2008 booklog is on the 75 Book Challenge group HERE, if you're interested.
NOW READING
Day by A.L. Kennedy (novel, Scottish)
Sun and Shadow by Ake Edwardson (mystery, Swedish)
Speaking for Myself: An Anthology of Asian Women's Writing, By Sukrita Paul Kumar (Editor), Malashri Lal (Editor)
LAST READ
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell (audio, nonfiction)
The Passport by Herta Müller (fiction, Romanian/German, 2009 Nobel winner)
The Tongue's Blood Does Not Run Dry: Algerian Stories by Assia Djebar (Short stories, Algeria)
Frozen Tracks by Ake Edwardson (mystery, Sweden)
Death Rites by Alicia Gimenez-Bartlett (mystery, Spain)
Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya (novel,India)
The Land of Green Plums by Herta Muller (novel, Romania)
Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason (mystery, Iceland)
Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates
Jamilia by Chingiz Aitmatov (novella, Kyrgyzstani author)
The Hunter by Julia Leigh (novel, Australia)
The Mysteries of Winterthurn by Joyce Carol Oates (American gothic)
Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdottir (mystery, Icelandic author)
A Peculiar Grace by Jeffrey Lent (novel, US author)
Decapolis: Tales from Ten Cities, edited by Marsha Crossan (stories, international authors)
Genesis by Bernard Beckett (SF, New Zealand)
My Soul to Take by Yrsa Sigurdadottir (mystery, Iceland)
Prime Time Suspect by Alicia Gimenez-Bartlett (mystery, Spain)
Living, Loving & Lying Away at Night by Sindiwe Magona (short fiction, South African author)
Dog Day by Alicia Gimenez-Bartlett (mystery, Spain)
My Driver by Maggie Gee (UK & Uganda, UK author)
If Here be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents: A Memoir by Gregory Rabassa (memoir, US author)
Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason (mystery, Icelandic author)
The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood (reread, novel, Canadian)
By the North Gate by Joyce Carol Oates (short fiction)
Four Freedoms by John Crowley (novel, WWII era)
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (Japanese author)
Leaving Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun (novel, Moroccan author)
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (novel, forthcoming Sept.'09)
The Seamstress by Frances De Pontes Peebles (fiction, Brazilian author)
Nadia by Assia Djebar (fiction, Algerian author, written when she was 20!)
Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto (fiction, Mozambique)
The Diary of Elizabeth Drinker, edited by Elaine Forman Crane (diary, 18th century American)
The Female of the Species by Joyce Carol Oates (suspense, short fiction)
The Black Path by Asa Larsson (mystery, Swedish author)
Flash Fiction Forward, edited by James Thomas & Robert Shapard (anthology)
I'd Like by Amanda Michalopoulou (short fiction, Greek author)
Stick Out Your Tongue by Ma Jian (short fiction, Tibet, Chinese author)
Dear Husband : Stories, Joyce Carol Oates (ongoing, short fiction collection)
De Niro's Game by Rawi Hage (fiction, Canadian-Lebanonese author)
The Quiet War by Paul McAuley (science fiction, UK author)
Enclave by Kit Reed (science fiction)
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin (fiction, Pakistani author)
*A Good Master Well-Served: A Social History of Servitude in Massachusetts 1620-1750. Dissertation by Lawrence William Towner, 1954 (courtesy of UMich)
The City and the City by China Miéville (fiction, UK author)
The Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll (fiction, US author)
The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels (fiction, Egypt/Canada, Canadian author)
*The Coquette by Hannah Foster (fiction, late 18th C, US author)
Inside and Other Short Fiction: Japanese women by Japanese women by Amy Yamada et al. (short fiction anthology, Japanese authors)
Tinkers by Paul Harding (fiction, US author)
The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa (short fiction collection, Japanese author)
The Man who Smiled by Henning Mankell (mystery, Swedish author)
*research-related
The Last of 2008
A Pilgrim's Guide to Chaos in the Heartland by Jessica Goodfellow (poetry, US).
Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical by Robert Sherman (short fiction, UK)
The Imposter by Damon Galgut (fiction, South African)
The Situation by Jeff VanderMeer (fiction, US)
Firewall by Henning Mankell (mystery, Swedish author)
Delirium by Laura Restapo (fiction, Colombian author)
A Mercy by Toni Morrison (fiction, US author)
About my libraryavaland2: 2nd account opened exactly one year after the first for mostly children's books, mine or my grown children's, and other odds and ends of theirs.
dukedom_enough: husband, scientist and reader extraordinaire. Our libraries are quite married physically, but are separate on LT with overlap. He has much more data entry to do.
anguissette1979; Reeshy Daughter's accounts which are perhaps incomplete and not terribly active.
MY RATINGS
My ratings average high because I rarely finish a book I don't like. I find it difficult to rate some kinds of books (i.e poetry, memoirs), so I don't. My ratings for books read decades ago are current (since I came on LT in '06) and in relationship to my reading now, so they may not be accurate. I may have thought the book a five back in the 70's but looking back now, it might score a three...know what I mean?
MY COMMENTS/REVIEWS
I prefer to call these comments or feedback, not reviews as I don't aim to produce critical reviews. I do aim to tell you, as if you are sitting across the table from me, what I thought about a book. Some of my older recommendations may have been originally sent as bookseller recommendations to Booksense (American Booksellers Association). And those are just that, recommendations.
Homepagehttp:// www.belletrista.com
Real nameLois
LocationWestford (Northwest of Boston), Massachusetts, USA
Account typepublic, lifetime
Connection NewsConnection News
URLs
http://www.librarything.com/profile/avaland (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/avaland (library)
Common KnowledgeSeries (267), Awards (522), Characters (5255), Places (1129)
Member sinceOct 3, 2006
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I haven't had the chance to see the movie of Indridason's first novel; I'd like to and shall look out for it. The Sigurdardottir book, Last Rituals, was one I borrowed from the local library so I don't have it here to check exactly how far into it I was when I put it aside, but I'll have another shot at it now that you've told me about the Icelandic history that features later on in the story. I get a bit put-off by 'black-magic', and there was a fair bit of that in the book as I remember (if I'm remembering the right book). I read your review of Sigur....'s second novel, and have bookmarked the belletrista blog. Thanks for that.
I've read and enjoyed a couple of Ake Edwardson's books. As for Ian Rankin's post-Rebus ventures.... I did finish Doors Open, but found the characters a bit two-dimensional and missed the detail I'd become accustomed to in the Rebus series: I didn't feel I was walking down those mean streets of Edinburgh that I'd grown to love through Rebus's exploits. The style of Doors Open seemed to lean a bit towards that of the 'Thriller' which is a genre that doesn't much appeal to me. All very subjective of course, and I'm sure Doors Open would appeal to a lot of people.
With Ian Rankin's second (I think) post-Rebus story The Complaints I felt I was back in familiar territory, but looking at that territory from a sharply different angle - that of the protagonist whose name I can't think of at the moment and who is a copper who investigates other cops. Some thought-provoking moral ambiguities to ponder too. There are enough differences between Rebus and what-the-heck-is-his-name in The Complaints to make the change-of-gear refreshing. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and look forward to the rest of this new series.
Thrin
posted by Thrin at 9:11 pm (EST) on Nov 20, 2009
How did you like Indridason's Hypothermia? I enjoyed it. An easy read and I liked the 'how was it done' aspect instead of the ususal 'who....'; well it was both really, wasn't it?. I also thought the three threads of the story - the detective's private life, the secondary mystery of the two people who had disappeared and the main story - were well balanced. I had the oddest feeling that I was sharing some of Indridason's thought processes as he wove these three story-lines together (of course I was doing no such thing but was observing, unusually for me, some of the machinery of story-telling. At least I think that's what I was doing). I suppose some readers may have found part of the story over-ingenious (trying to avoid spoilers here), but I'm always happy to suspend disbelief when reading who-dun-its, and thought it was just about plausible.
All in all an interesting read, and I like the feeling of place Indridason manages to convey (mainly when his characters are out-of-town).
Thrin
posted by Thrin at 1:32 am (EST) on Nov 19, 2009
Sorry about the silence. I have been having one of my moments (over now, I think), and a few issues at work. Will check out all the goings on and respond asap. Belle2 looks great, by the way, but I have only skimmed through it. Well done again.
By the way, thanks for the book and the Belle bag. I have some plans for it already.
Andy
posted by depressaholic at 5:24 pm (EST) on Nov 15, 2009
/Anders
posted by GingerbreadMan at 6:04 pm (EST) on Oct 31, 2009
(Oh, and thanks for the Locus pages....)
- Bob
posted by AsYouKnow_Bob at 10:04 pm (EST) on Oct 28, 2009
Happy Fall.
I hope all is well with you!
posted by Whisper1 at 1:37 pm (EST) on Oct 28, 2009
--Tad
posted by TadAD at 10:08 pm (EST) on Oct 27, 2009
Finished Woman at Point Zero = harrowing and intense. Looked at the synopses of other books by El Saadawi and wondered how this woman hadn't got herself into big trouble. Then I read the author profile ...and you know the rest. Very, very interesting author.
Amanda XXXXXXX
posted by amandameale at 1:57 am (EST) on Oct 24, 2009
I just had to pop over and let you know I was proud of you.
See ya on the threads.
hugs,
belva
posted by nannybebette at 1:15 pm (EST) on Oct 21, 2009
Amanda XXXXXX
posted by amandameale at 9:11 am (EST) on Oct 19, 2009
I just went to the link for Bellestra! What an incredible job you are doing!
Kudos to you my friend!
posted by Whisper1 at 7:59 am (EST) on Oct 18, 2009
Thank you for the pretty little birthday card. Your greeting cracked me up!! I'm waiting for the largest of the pumpkins to turn orange. If not, I can't use it. :(
I've had tons of fun, though, this past year from my gardening adventures as well as my book adventures.
Belletriste is an amazing website. Best wishes to you for a long-time success with it.
Hugs,
Madeline
posted by SqueakyChu at 8:42 pm (EST) on Oct 17, 2009
I just discovered that Kelly Link is anthologized in the new Library of America American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from the 1940s to Now. Along with Nabokov, Capote, and Oates, etc.
http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=...
(There aren't a lot of people I can share that with...)
posted by AsYouKnow_Bob at 12:09 am (EST) on Oct 15, 2009
I kindly invite you to:
http://www.librarything.com/groups/colla...
http://www.librarything.com/topic/75008
Best regards Reinhardt
posted by gangleri at 9:22 am (EST) on Oct 14, 2009
I came across Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis Trilogy: A Biologist’s Response by by Joan Slonczewski, and thought you might be interested if you had not found it yet yourself.
posted by psybre at 10:30 am (EST) on Oct 9, 2009
--Kris
posted by fannyprice at 1:10 pm (EST) on Oct 8, 2009
The Heavens May Fall has arrived! I look forward to starting it soon--probably after this weekend.
All the best,
Christina
posted by christiguc at 7:52 pm (EST) on Oct 6, 2009
Very nice review on "Little Bird of Heaven" and I was so happy your received a HOT REVIEW for it. Very well done.
Congratulations,
hugs,
belva
posted by nannybebette at 9:12 pm (EST) on Oct 3, 2009
Cheers
posted by richardderus at 12:30 pm (EST) on Oct 2, 2009
sorry for not responding about the site, bit I'm literally waiting for the minute in "when I have minute". I'm very swamped at both work and at home at the moment. But I haven't forgotten, and will eagerly check it out when things calm down a little bit for me.
Best,
Anders
posted by GingerbreadMan at 12:03 pm (EST) on Oct 2, 2009
We do seem to be reading quite a bit of Scandinavian fiction. Is Iceland considered Scandanivian? Should we be using the term 'Nordic' for all those chilly climes? I'll have to consult Wikipedia.
I couldn't finish Yrsa Sigurdardottir's Last Rituals though; got really put off by the black magic angle. Not my cup of tea I'm afraid. Have you begun Hypothermia yet? My local library has it on order and I should have it before long. I really like the sense of place conveyed by so many Scandinav..... whoops... Nordic writers, and prefer the stories with well-developed characters. Have just finished Hakan Nesser's 'The Return' which I enjoyed in spite of the rather odd ending. I like Nesser's sly little jokes (most of which I suspect I miss): In 'The Return' he quotes Voltaire to one of his superiors who doesn't get it; fortunately the reader doesn't need to 'get' it either to enjoy the story, but it makes for a tastier composition.
Thrin
posted by Thrin at 6:27 pm (EST) on Sep 30, 2009
Just a quick message to say I hope you are well.
Linda
posted by Whisper1 at 8:31 pm (EST) on Sep 29, 2009
posted by rachbxl at 8:41 am (EST) on Sep 28, 2009
Such a nice note. We love Sebago - bought our house there in 2006. We are not on Sebago Lake but have a beautiful view of Hancock Pond. The leaves reflecting on the pond are gorgeous! As I take pictures I will be posting them on my Facebook page.... anne gerrish mitchem if you do a search. Hope to get out this weekend and take some. It was nice hearing from you- have a wonderful evening!
anne
n. sebago, me
posted by sebago at 2:21 pm (EST) on Sep 24, 2009
posted by laytonwoman3rd at 3:10 pm (EST) on Sep 21, 2009
posted by dchaikin at 11:47 am (EST) on Sep 15, 2009