Member: kattepusen

Hi! We've both read Ave Eva, which is a HELL of an amazing modern tragedy. I worked an internship for the Xenos Books editor/founder while I was doing an MA in California. Great guy.

posted by Wattsian at 11:28 pm (EST) on Jul 30, 2008

What's up, kattepusen?

Thanks for finding something of interest in my library. I looked at the 24 books we share and I'm extremely embarrassed to admit that, while I've started reading 8 of them, I haven't finished or read any of them; really quite sad, methinks. On the other hand, just a couple of months ago I read Norwegian author Jo Nesbo's first two mystery novels, "The Redbreast" and "The Devil's Star." I highly recommend that you pick them up the next time you pop over to Norway (though you can easily find The Redbreast over here right now in hardcover. Barnes & Noble.com voted it their mystery of the year and it's selling at 20% off in all Barnes & Noble stores right now, in their "Discover" bay of books).

Okay, that's enough of a commercial for B&N:) Please let me know if you have any books you think highly of. I primarily read things where there's shooting, stabbing, clubbing and/or light-sabering:)

Later,

bookstothesky

posted by bookstothesky at 3:41 am (EST) on Mar 5, 2008

Hello, Kattepusen! Sorry, I have not been checking out Library Thing in a while, but saw only now that you asked whether I was Norwegian. And of course I am! I've visited your library before, when checking out who else had books by Anne Cath. Vestly!

posted by hegemor at 11:14 am (EST) on Aug 19, 2007

I were just doing some combing on Astrid Lindgren and happend to see your book.

Happy easter to you too.

posted by bonne1978 at 1:43 am (EST) on Apr 8, 2007

I'm not sure what you mean.
How I found the book or the correct author?

posted by bonne1978 at 7:01 pm (EST) on Apr 5, 2007

I recommend One Flew Under the Cuckoo's Nest.

posted by nikki5 at 5:01 pm (EST) on Mar 14, 2007

Hi Karin-

I do have a lot of Christmas books and I love to browse through them- I don't usually have much time during the season itself so in the summer I get them out and dream about the holiday! I have three young children so although we do a lot of Christmas activity it never quite looks like the pictures in the books. I decorate a lot and bake a little- I live vicariously throught the books to a certain degree. :) I like holiday books in general and whenever I go to a library sale or rummage sale I always look for Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and other holiday items, especially books. I'm still in the process of entering in my books- most of my collection is children's books. I think I've entered between a third and a half of my total collection so far- it's hard to tell because you can fit an awful lot of picture books on a shelf. It's a big job but Librarything makes it so much easier. I'm really glad I found this site. Do you have a favorite Christmas or other holiday book?

Sherri (jalual)

posted by jalual at 3:04 pm (EST) on Sep 29, 2006

Hi,

My ratings for the mathematics texts are based on the clarity of their examples, proofs, and so forth, and how well they're structured (as well as the choice of content included in each text and, to a lesser extent, the author's style of writing).

With regards to the speeches of Cicero, I'm less judging the translation or the speeches themselves, as I am (making the cardinal sin) judging the subject of those speeches and the man himself. He was, without a doubt, a great orator and an expert rhetorician, but I can imagine few people whose works I'd less rather read. Pliny has a greater charm, and Caesar greater deeds to justify self-promotion - in comparison and neglecting style, poor old Cicero can't compete ;)

posted by CaptainBroadchurch at 8:21 pm (EST) on Sep 1, 2006

More from our friend RG: http://www.nysun.com/article/37606

posted by sine_nomine at 8:02 pm (EST) on Aug 18, 2006

Hi, currently I don't have a favorite author...I am reading so much....just finished The Tender Bar by JR Moeringer...fantastic memoir....interesting life....All time favorite author: Barbara Kingsolver.
I just purchased a bunch of books so my stack on the coffee table is now two feet high, two stacks...this will keep me busy this winter along with planning my daughter's wedding.
Purchases:
The Alchemist is on the top of my stack of books. I also picked up 3 books in Sylva the last time I was up to see the kids. They have a used bookstore which benefits their local library....from there I bought:
Disgrace by Coetzee (have always wanted to read him)
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
Fall on Your Knees by MacDonald (thanks to you)
I am presently reading Devil in the White City...excellent..
Purchased this weekend:
March by Brooks
Interpreter of Maladies by Lahiri
The Known World by Jones
Blessings by Quindlen
Loosing Battles by Welty
The Collected Stories of Welty
Collected Stories of Carol Shields
American Pastoral by Roth
Gilead by Robinson
Run with the Horseman by Ferrol Sams (the 2006 Georgia Reads book)
The Bostonians by Henry James
The Timeline History of Italy...for our future trip to Italy
I have put you on my watch list so I can keep up with your reading....thanks for sharing....

posted by netoll at 8:55 pm (EST) on Aug 9, 2006

Hi, I was in Sylva, NC today visiting my daughter and family. We came upon their local library's resale shop. We entered and as I was browsing I came across Fall on Your Knees. In the back of my mind I remembered reading about the book several years ago. Thanks for the comment on the book. Due to your enthusiastic review, I cannot wait to begin!

posted by netoll at 11:14 pm (EST) on Jul 29, 2006

Hi gain.
You asked about Vertigo...and, yes, I have read that one too. I have enjoyed each of Sebald books and, now, beinging in that awe state, cannot say which one I like best. BTw Goldstein has another piece in the NYTs this morning (Saturday) giving light to the current Mideast crisis using Spinoza as the flame of reason. She signs it with both here old and new name.
Nice to hear from you again!
Michael

posted by sine_nomine at 11:56 am (EST) on Jul 29, 2006

Karin

2 corrections on my list:

1. J.K. Rowling (not J.R. Rowling)is author of Harry Potter series 2. Dai Sijie (not Sjiie Dai) is author of “Balzac And The Little Chinese Seamstress"

mea culpa

Dick

posted by bookinmind at 9:18 pm (EST) on Jul 24, 2006

Karin,

Thank you for asking me for my favorite read--- I am so impressed that you asked me what I like to read, even though you are an accomplished book reviewer.

OK, I don’t have one favorite read, but here is my short list:

1. The Harry Potter series by J. R. Rowling.
Rowling’s books are fun and imaginative. As a librarian, I have been able to see how much enjoyment kids and adults get from reading her books.

2. “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou.
Angelou is more than a writer--she is an American legend; she has encouraged people to live life joyfully and not to be afraid to overcome racism or life's hardships.

3. “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress” by Sjiie Dai.
A book club selection that offers subtle humor, intriguing characters and a plot twist that Balzac might have enjoyed. Aren't book clubs great!

4. “Nothing to Declare-Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone” by Mary Morris.
I originally liked this book because of the voyeuristic detail in the book. Now, I wonder how much of her memoir is ‘real’. But I really don’t care! Even if Morris merged memoir with fiction—I still love this book.

5. “Stupeur et tremblements”(Fear and Trembling) by Amelie Nothomb.
Nothomb is a Belgian writer who enjoys cult status in France--- What ‘truth’ is she offering the reader?. Is Nothomb using satire or humor?; nihilism or realism?—in her books.
“Biographie de la faim”(Life of Hunger)is Nothomb’s autobiograpical next book; it's not available in the U.S. yet; I may order a U.K. edition--I need to see if Nothomb's memoir will explain why she writes the way she does.

I enjoy your reviews on Amazon; do you blog about books or submit reviews to any other public site?

Dick

posted by bookinmind at 6:05 pm (EST) on Jul 24, 2006

Karin, Thanks for leaving me my very first comment! So, you're a molecular biologist? That is so cool.

Yes, I live in Alaska, and it is currently 10:19pm and about 60 degrees - I'm guessing it's hot in Virginia. I've lived here three years and love it (moved up from Seattle). I've got the four kids (ages 8, 6, 4, and 2), and it would be fair to say that EVERYTHING I do to care for my family revolves around maximizing reading time. It's what I call "lazy parenting". So, the kids make their own meals much of the time(breakfast and lunch), and the house is often disheveled. I read while cooking, while stopped at traffic lights, and sitting on my kids' beds while they play on the floor in front of me. If they want to hear a story, I read to them from whatever book I happen to be on (with some exceptions depending on content). Consequently, my oldest, a son, is an avid reader himself. He talks about some day writing a book about his mom reading books. He's very into storytelling of all kinds. This makes me very happy.

A note about my LibraryThing catalogue: most of those books are ones I haven't read yet. I haven't gotten to the "already-read-room" yet for cataloguing. One of the reasons I got a LibraryThing account is because my collection is enough out of control that I was starting to buy duplicates. I don't have a dedicated library in my house - my ultimate dream! Maybe when the kids are older.

Cataloguing is an intimidating and overwhelming task. It will require many trips up and and down the stairs, and some ladder-work as well. I'm sure there are more than 1,000 (which to some collectors won't be much... sigh).

My book group only meets once a month, but we're all courageous enough readers that we've treked through "The Brothers Karamozov" and "Heart of Darkness", and this month we're doing Hawthorne's "The Blithdale Romance." Of course, we also did "The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy", so its not all stuff with substance, but neither do we do "chick lit". I'm assuming since you're into Nabokov, that you've read "Lolita". I read it last summer and was very surprised by it (pleasantly so). Haven't mustered myself enough to try another of his. One of my goals for the year was to read something by Henry James, so I cheated and did "Daisy Miller" and really liked it, so the next James I read may be "Portrait of a Lady." I also spent two months on "Don Quixote" this spring. That was a haul but well worth it.

Like you, I've daydreamed about opening a used bookstore, and in the middle of the night, wracked my brain to figure out SOME sort of what to make a buck from reading. With a bookstore, I'm not sure I'd actually be able to part with any of them. A customer would have to prove his/her worth first. As it is, there is a VERY SHORT list of people I'm willing to loan books to. Well, I've taken enough of your time for now. Later, Linda

posted by alaskabookworm at 2:47 am (EST) on Jul 18, 2006

Thanks for your review on "Pi"; I didn't find the magic in the book and I am puzzled by its success.

bookinmind

posted by bookinmind at 8:29 pm (EST) on Jul 16, 2006

I am just devouring the books of the late W.G. Sebald. His style is like being in a dream of sorts...or a nightmare in some cases, given that his subject matter is often what was unspoken in post-Nazi Germany.

posted by sine_nomine at 5:29 pm (EST) on Jul 8, 2006

What is stacked up on your nightstand these days?

posted by sine_nomine at 7:14 pm (EST) on Jul 5, 2006

I just finished a few months ago, Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel. I confess to being a math geek in another life. The book really focused on the friendship between Einstin and Godel and since both were at Princeton I had a nice picture of "place" in my head. Princeton is not too far from here and I love it there.
I also have to admit my favorites are still Mind-Body Problem and The Late-Summer Passion of a Woman of Mind, not the least of which was the memorable sex in them.

posted by sine_nomine at 7:12 pm (EST) on Jul 5, 2006

Not yet. I read the review in the Times a few weeks ago.
The reviewer was, believe it or not, Harold Bloom!
Which of Goldstein's is your favorite?

posted by sine_nomine at 11:07 pm (EST) on Jul 3, 2006