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1lawgrrl07
I'm actually hoping to read quite a few more than 50 books this year, but I'll settle for underpromising and (hopefully!) overdelivering...here's what I've read so far this year:
1. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
2. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
3. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
4. The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
5. On God: An Uncommon Conversation by Norman Mailer
6. The Red Room by Nicci French
7. The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho
I'm in the middle of about 4 different books right now (never can read just one!), so stay tuned for the next list!
1. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
2. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
3. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
4. The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
5. On God: An Uncommon Conversation by Norman Mailer
6. The Red Room by Nicci French
7. The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho
I'm in the middle of about 4 different books right now (never can read just one!), so stay tuned for the next list!
2lawgrrl07
Finished #8 last night...
8. The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
I absolutely recommend this one to anyone even halfway interested - it's a wonderful tour through the Scriptures and a very honest look at what happens when you stop picking and choosing which of God's laws to follow and actually try to live as a literalist. Very honest and very sweet. 5 stars.
8. The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
I absolutely recommend this one to anyone even halfway interested - it's a wonderful tour through the Scriptures and a very honest look at what happens when you stop picking and choosing which of God's laws to follow and actually try to live as a literalist. Very honest and very sweet. 5 stars.
4lawgrrl07
More books in the READ pile!
9. Why Are We At War by Norman Mailer
10. People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks
11. Knitting: A Novel by Anne Bartlett
I should be able to add more to that list over the weekend since its just me and the cat this weekend...
9. Why Are We At War by Norman Mailer
10. People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks
11. Knitting: A Novel by Anne Bartlett
I should be able to add more to that list over the weekend since its just me and the cat this weekend...
6lawgrrl07
13. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
Unbelievably weird, awesome book...so glad I decided to include it. I can't stop recommending it to my friends...
Unbelievably weird, awesome book...so glad I decided to include it. I can't stop recommending it to my friends...
7lawgrrl07
14. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
15. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
16. The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs
17. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (loved the book, but not impressed with the movie)
15. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
16. The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs
17. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (loved the book, but not impressed with the movie)
8lawgrrl07
18. The Last Cato by Matilde Asensi
Very engrossing mystery - I always enjoy any mystery entwined with Dante's Divine Comedy. I'm not that impressed with the English translation of the novel, though. I think the editors could have done a better job in that regard. For example, I find it highly unlikely that a Sicilian nun who has always worked in the Vatican's archives would use phrases like "go off the reservation"...oh, well.
Very engrossing mystery - I always enjoy any mystery entwined with Dante's Divine Comedy. I'm not that impressed with the English translation of the novel, though. I think the editors could have done a better job in that regard. For example, I find it highly unlikely that a Sicilian nun who has always worked in the Vatican's archives would use phrases like "go off the reservation"...oh, well.
9lawgrrl07
19. The Translator by Daoud Hari
10lawgrrl07
20. The Manticore by Robertson Davies
21. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
The Manticore I loved, loved, loved...what a head trip! I definitely need to read more of Davies. The Lace Reader I was beginning to feel was getting a bit overhyped - of course I just HAD to see what the fuss was about! I confess I really loved the entire book...I read the whole thing (385 pp.) on the 5-1/2 hour flight from Philiadelphia to Phoenix yesterday. Highly recommend it!
21. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
The Manticore I loved, loved, loved...what a head trip! I definitely need to read more of Davies. The Lace Reader I was beginning to feel was getting a bit overhyped - of course I just HAD to see what the fuss was about! I confess I really loved the entire book...I read the whole thing (385 pp.) on the 5-1/2 hour flight from Philiadelphia to Phoenix yesterday. Highly recommend it!
11lawgrrl07
22. A Muslim in Victorian America by Umar F. Abd-Allah
23. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Dr. Abd-Allah's book is a great read, but even better is hearing him speak. I hope some of you get the opportunity. Mrs. Dalloway is a re-read - I've been wanting to read Michael Cunningham's The Hours, so I thought I would read Dalloway first. I still found it a bit of a mess, but still thoroughly intrigued by mysterious Sally Seton (for me, Sally has always stolen the show while Clarissa fades into caricature).
23. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Dr. Abd-Allah's book is a great read, but even better is hearing him speak. I hope some of you get the opportunity. Mrs. Dalloway is a re-read - I've been wanting to read Michael Cunningham's The Hours, so I thought I would read Dalloway first. I still found it a bit of a mess, but still thoroughly intrigued by mysterious Sally Seton (for me, Sally has always stolen the show while Clarissa fades into caricature).
12lawgrrl07
24. Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson
Ick...I'm terribly embarrassed that this is one of my 50 books. My assistant told me it was "really cute", so I thought I would try it...ugh. Nothing but gooey, sentimental pap that isn't good enough to be considered airport fiction. And what's with the two author thing? James Patterson couldn't write this crap himself? I think I lost brain cells reading this...
Ick...I'm terribly embarrassed that this is one of my 50 books. My assistant told me it was "really cute", so I thought I would try it...ugh. Nothing but gooey, sentimental pap that isn't good enough to be considered airport fiction. And what's with the two author thing? James Patterson couldn't write this crap himself? I think I lost brain cells reading this...
13lawgrrl07
25. What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
Ok, so I didn't actually "read" it - I borrowed the audio copy from the library - but I'm counting it anyway, since I'm getting down to the last 3 months of the year and I'm only halfway to my goal!
Liked the book...loved the movie!
Ok, so I didn't actually "read" it - I borrowed the audio copy from the library - but I'm counting it anyway, since I'm getting down to the last 3 months of the year and I'm only halfway to my goal!
Liked the book...loved the movie!
14lawgrrl07
26. The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
I finally sloshed my way through this one...slightly too clever by half and could stand some more editing, but thoroughly intriguing thesis...
I finally sloshed my way through this one...slightly too clever by half and could stand some more editing, but thoroughly intriguing thesis...
15lawgrrl07
27. The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille
Oversimplifications abound, to be sure, but this is like a Cliff's Notes for understanding different cultures. Could be immensely helpful for anyone in marketing or those working in multinational corporations (and these days, who isn't?)...
Oversimplifications abound, to be sure, but this is like a Cliff's Notes for understanding different cultures. Could be immensely helpful for anyone in marketing or those working in multinational corporations (and these days, who isn't?)...
16lawgrrl07
28. How Does it Feel to Be a Problem? by Moustafa Bayoumi
29. The War Within by Bob Woodward
Still 20 books behind and halfway through November...eeek!
29. The War Within by Bob Woodward
Still 20 books behind and halfway through November...eeek!
17lawgrrl07
30. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
Way too precious for me to say that I loved it, but there was something about the characters that I very much connected to anyway. Setting the book in Palo Alto during the '60s and '70s was an absolute must - anywhere else and the mere range of social issues that the "sisters" encounter would have been laughable at best. A good read for a weekend or if you find yourself trapped on a plane for 4 hours. Definitely a chick book - I can't imagine too many guys reading this one.
Way too precious for me to say that I loved it, but there was something about the characters that I very much connected to anyway. Setting the book in Palo Alto during the '60s and '70s was an absolute must - anywhere else and the mere range of social issues that the "sisters" encounter would have been laughable at best. A good read for a weekend or if you find yourself trapped on a plane for 4 hours. Definitely a chick book - I can't imagine too many guys reading this one.
18lawgrrl07
31. A Catalogue of Angels by Vinita Hampton Wright
32. Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice
Trying to read shorter books in the hope that I'll make 50 this year!
32. Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice
Trying to read shorter books in the hope that I'll make 50 this year!
19lawgrrl07
33. Turning Angel by Greg Iles
Ok, so much for the reading-shorter-books idea! At just over 620 pages (paperback version) I'm completely shocked by how fast I read this one - two days! I wasn't prepared to even remotely like it...I'm not really into the airport-fiction-murder-mystery thing, but I could not put this down until I knew who the killer was...so many twists and turns I hope someone is optioning this for a film version! Highly recommend - not as a work of serious literature, but if you want just a great read to take your mind off your own life, please consider diving headfirst into this one.
Ok, so much for the reading-shorter-books idea! At just over 620 pages (paperback version) I'm completely shocked by how fast I read this one - two days! I wasn't prepared to even remotely like it...I'm not really into the airport-fiction-murder-mystery thing, but I could not put this down until I knew who the killer was...so many twists and turns I hope someone is optioning this for a film version! Highly recommend - not as a work of serious literature, but if you want just a great read to take your mind off your own life, please consider diving headfirst into this one.
20lawgrrl07
34. The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder by Vincent Bugliosi
I had to read this in small doses because I found myself getting so angry at Bush, his cronies, the media and, well, Americans in general. This is the book that every lawyer in American should read; every American should read Chapter 5 (about how Bush could not possibly have performed worse in the War on Terror). Mr. Bugliosi deserves a National Book Award for this one...he's not only put together the prosecution's case, but by articulating what some of us were thinking but afraid to say, perhaps we can somehow wash off the dreck from the last 8 years.
I had to read this in small doses because I found myself getting so angry at Bush, his cronies, the media and, well, Americans in general. This is the book that every lawyer in American should read; every American should read Chapter 5 (about how Bush could not possibly have performed worse in the War on Terror). Mr. Bugliosi deserves a National Book Award for this one...he's not only put together the prosecution's case, but by articulating what some of us were thinking but afraid to say, perhaps we can somehow wash off the dreck from the last 8 years.
