witchyrichy read 75 in 2010

I am so excited to be part of this group and hope to meet the challenge. I finished my doctorate in 2009 and find myself with some free time that I want to fill with all those books I've collected over the past five years!

My first book of the year is Scandalmonger by William Safire. I'm about half way done and really enjoying it for both the prose and the light it sheds on politics and journalism both during the revolutionary times and now.

1/23/2010: I've been adding posts with the new books but noticed that others keep a running list. Here's mine so far:

1. The Cart Before the Corpse by Carolyn McSparren
2. Scandalmonger by William Safire
3. The Mosaic Crimes by Giulio Leoni
4. The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk
5. Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone
6. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz - audio book
7. Girl Mary by Petru Popescu
8. Love Me by Garrison Keillor
9. Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show by Frank Delaney

3/6/2010

I really stalled out on my book club book for February but I'm feeling back on track now...

10. Spirituality for Our Global Community by Daniel Helminiak
11. Ramblin' Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie by Ed Cray

I have been writing reviews at http://www.simplykaren.org

12. Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs
13. Girls Like Us by Sheila Weller: audio
14. Aldo Leopold: A Fierce Green Fire by Marybeth Lorbiecki

April 18, 2010 Update: As long as I'm allowed to count audio books, I'm doing fine! I have made a note.

15. A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
16. Simulation and Its Discontents by Sherry Turkle
17. Zen Effects: The Life of Alan Watts by Monica Furlong
18. Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Life by Richard Merryman
19. The Weed the Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley - audio book
20. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley - audio book
21. The Age of Chivalry by National Geographic Society
22. This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust
23. Rebel by Bernard Cornwell
24. The Apostate's Tale by Margaret Frazer
25. The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton

5/10/2010 Update
26. Pilgrim At Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
27. Life Is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition by Wendell Berry
28. Blood In the Cotswold by Rebecca Tope
29. Shakespeare's Lost Kingdom: The True History of Shakespeare and Elizabeth by Charles Beauclerk

5/19/2010 Update

I am in the midst of a couple books right now but dropped them all to breeze through a gift from an old reading buddy. A trip to Richmond allowed me to complete my current audio book.

30. The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett
31. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Welcome! And congrats on the doctorate!

LOL! Got caught hiding books in the linen closet, huh? Who would expect your husband would look there? :-) Congratulations on achieving your doctorate! Happy reading!

Welcome to the group!

welcome, Karen, to a great party. Where else can you read books for party games? BTW, I am also Karen, age 65, with three dogs but alas no husband. I've hidden books, too but not in the linen closet...yet. I've hidden them because the shelves are too full. hehehe

Hi! Congratulations with your doctorate! Looking forward to follow you through this great, new reading year:)

I took a break from Safire to read my first early reviewer book: The Cart Before the Corpse. I wrote a review...I liked the book. It's not great literature not is it meant to be but I like a "light-hearted" mystery now and then. This one is set in Mossy Creek, GA, the setting for other novels from Belle Books. The funny part was that I eagerly headed to the work page to see my review and discovered the only other reviewer hated the book! Oh well, that's why there are so many books in the world!

I also started listening to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I wasn't sure I would like it but now that I'm a few hours into it, I am enjoying the story. Guess I'll have to take a walk tomorrow ;-)

What a great way to learn about history...William Safire's Scandalmonger was just terrific! The prose had echoes of the early part of our history, and Safire brought the sometimes seemingly stiff founders to life. I just recently finished The Hemingses of Monticello, and it didn't make it clear how wide spread the scandal was about Jefferson and Hemings. I have a much better understanding of those early years of our country and can see how the current partisan ranglings have their roots in history.

Sounds like a terrific read! I am glad you enjoyed it.

Took some time off from planning for the semester to finish up The Mosaic Crimes by Giulio Leoni. It's a translation from Italian and the prose was a little stilted. I actually found it easier reading if I imagined the words in an Italian accent. I do have a whole new image of Dante and the book served as an introduction to 14th century Italian politics.

Next book is The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk for my feminist book group.

I'm still listening to Oscar Wao...I only listen when I'm exercising so it's my incentive to take a walk or ride the exercise bike every day.

I finished The Fifth Sacred Thing last evening. The last 50 pages were more violent than I like and I actually skipped to the end to satisfy myself that they would be worth reading. A little ironic that a book that espouses the forces of nonviolence painted a horrible violent portrait of the future of the world. But still a good read with plenty to consider as we make decisions that lead to the consequences that Starhawk shows.