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Member: lindsacl

CollectionsPrizewinners (127), Reading Globally (313), Virago Modern Classics (114), Your library (511), Wishlist (5), Currently reading (3), To read (149), Read but unowned (251), Favorites (15), All collections (516)

Reviews221 reviews

Tagsfiction (435), woman author (344), own (259), british (197), tbr (152), swapped (119), virago (114), reading challenge (102), 1001 (98), borrowed (94) — see all tags

Cloudstag cloud, author cloud

GroupsAnglophiles, Barbara Pym Fan Club, Book Lovers for Obama, Book Nudgers, Girlybooks, Monthly Author Reads, Project 1929, Reading Globally, The Prizes, The Red Room — show all groups , The Story Sisters, Virago Modern Classics

Favorite authorsChimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Isabel Allende, Elizabeth von Arnim, Jane Austen, Willa Cather, Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth Gaskell, Kate Grenville, Khaled Hosseini, Barbara Kingsolver, Jhumpa Lahiri, David Mitchell, Toni Morrison, Iris Murdoch, Barbara Pym, Vita Sackville-West, John Steinbeck, Rose Tremain, Edith Wharton (Shared favorites)

Favorite bookstoresBaldwin's Book Barn, Barnes & Noble (Newark, DE), Bookplace, Hockessin Bookshelf, Kennett Square Resale Book Shoppe, Rainbow Music & Books

Favorite librariesOxford Public Library

About meI live in southeastern Pennsylvania, near both Delaware and Maryland, and am currently an IT director for a large company. I'm married with 2 teenage daughters, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and a number of domestic ducks and geese. When I'm not reading, I tend my fruit & veg garden, and volunteer at a bird rescue & rehab center.

Where books are concerned, I read mostly fiction: books by and about women, books by authors from outside the U.S., and classics. When I read non-fiction, it's usually memoirs or history. I like reading with a goal in mind whether that be a short-term reading challenge, or a longer-term project. I'm working on reading all Booker and Orange Prize winners, and am reading books from as many countries as possible (see "Reading Globally" map below).

Of course I have a wishlist!
My Wishlist Collection has a few items. And I have a long wishlist, mostly Virago Modern Classics, on my Paperbackswap Profile.

About my libraryThis library consists of books I've read (see tags like "read in 2008"), or plan to read (tag "TBR"). I don't own all of the books listed, and there are many in my home that I haven't cataloged.

I have been writing reviews since 2007, and post my reviews both on LibraryThing and on my blog, Musings. In 2009, I'm tracking my reading in two places:
- 75 Book Challenge thread
- Reading Globally thread

LT has made me a more discerning reader; I have found so many excellent books through LT recommendations that I can't be bothered with books that haven't received critical acclaim. My ratings tend to be 3 stars or better. Adapted from LT member tiffin, this is a good description of my rating system:

*****: Those rare gems which knock my socks off, and give my brain a run for its money. Perfect in every way; completely unforgettable.
****1/2: A great book, one you want to tell all of your friends about.
****: My interest didn't flag while reading, and I came out of the book with a bit of a "glow." Would recommend to others.
***1/2: Overall a nice read, but there were a few special places that made it "pop."
***: good, solid, nice, enjoyable read. A respectable rating. Middle of the bell curve and all that. I might have drifted a few times.
Anything less than 3: Forget it! Life's too short! I'm not likely to finish.

THIS MONTH'S READING (November, 2009):
Le grand Meaulnes, by Henri Alain-Fournier
The Sugar House, by Antonia White
Offshore, by Penelope Fitzgerald
Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka
The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom
The Emperor's Children, by Claire Messud

LAST MONTH'S READING (October, 2009):
Empire Falls, by Richard Russo
The Snow Goose, by Paul Gallico
Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee
Rites of Passage, by William Golding
To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel

Homepagehttp://laura0218.livejournal.com

Also onAIM, Facebook, LiveJournal, PaperBackSwap

Membership LibraryThing Early Reviewers/Member Giveaway

Real nameLaura

LocationChester County, Pennsylvania, USA

Account typepublic, lifetime

Connection NewsConnection News

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

Common KnowledgeSeries (45), Awards (343), Characters (2609), Places (545)

Member sinceOct 13, 2006

Currently readingPeople's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.) by Howard Zinn
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss