Tag: Poetry

Obsession In the Eighth Year

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So. Here we are. Year Eight of the Book Lust Challenge. I haven’t even read 1,000 books yet. Sometimes I ask myself why I even bother (because I’ll probably be dead before I ever finish this thing), but then I think about all the great books I have picked up simply because of the challenge; books that would have remained a mystery. So. Drum roll…here are the books of Year Eight:

  1. After the Dance by Edwidge Danticat
  2. Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin*
  3. Andorra by Peter Cameron
  4. Any Four Women Can Rob the Bank of Italy by Ann Cornelisen
  5. Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler
  6. Art Student’s War by Brad Leithauser
  7. Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman
  8. Beaufort by Ron Leshem*
  9. Beirut Blues by Hanan al-Shaykh
  10. Benjamin Franklin: an American Life by Walter Isaacson
  11. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks*
  12. Black Lamb and Gray Falcon by Rebecca West
  13. Bluebird Canyon by Dan McCall
  14. Bring Me a Unicorn by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
  15. Cabin Fever by Elizabeth Jolley
  16. Call It Sleep by Henry Roth
  17. Captain Sir Richard Burton by Edward Rice
  18. Careless Love by Peter Gurlink
  19. Caroline’s Daughters by Alice Adams
  20. Cradle of Gold by Christopher Heaney
  21. Culture of Disbelief by Stephen Carter
  22. Dancer with Bruised Knees by Lynne McFall
  23. Dark Sun by Richard Rhodes
  24. Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan*
  25. Earthly Possessions by Anne Tyler
  26. Eye of the World by Robert Jordan*
  27. Faith Fox by Jane Gardam*
  28. Feast of Love by Charles Baxter*
  29. First Man by Albert Camus
  30. Fordlandia by Greg Gandin
  31. Georges’ Wife by Elizabeth Jolley
  32. Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee
  33. Good Life by Ben Bradlee
  34. Grass Dancer by Susan Power
  35. Hall of a Thousand Columns by Tim Mackintosh-Smith
  36. History Man by Malcolm Bradbury
  37. Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
  38. House of Morgan by Ron Chernow
  39. Illumination Night by Alice Hoffman
  40. In a Strange City by Laura Lippman
  41. Inside Passage by Michael Modselewski
  42. Inspector Ghote Breaks an Egg by H.R.F. Keating
  43. It Looked Like Forever by Mark Harris
  44. Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott*
  45. Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges
  46. Last Train to Memphis by Peter Guralink
  47. Long Way From Home by Frederick Busch
  48. My Father’s Moon by Elizabeth Jolley
  49. Now Read This II by Nancy Pearl
  50. Ocean of Words by Ha Jin
  51. Palladian Days by Sally Gable*
  52. Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan
  53. Power Without Glory by Frank Hardy
  54. Raw Silk by Janet Burroway
  55. Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro*
  56. Rose Cafe by John Hanson Mitchell
  57. Rose of Martinique by Andrea Stuart
  58. Thousand Ways to Please a Husband by Weaver/LeCron
  59. Wheels Within Wheels by Dervla Murphy
  60. Winners and Losers by Martin Quigley
  61. You Get What You Pay For by Larry Beinhart

*Planned as Audio books

Here are the three books that are on the list for this December:

  1. Eighth Day, the by Thornton Wilder
  2. Civil Action by Jonathan Harr
  3. Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff

Poetry:

  1. “Romance” from the Anthology of Modern Verse edited by W.J. Turner
  2. “War” from the Poems of Siegfried Sassoon by Siegfried Sassoon

Of course, I will read more than 60+ books and two poems and. And! And, I haven’t included the short stories. I am keeping the list modest for now. Five books a month sounds about right…we shall see, won’t we?

Year Seven Recap

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Another year over.

FINISHED:

  1. Abide By Me by Elizabeth Strout
  2. Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
  3. Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day by Philip Matyszak
  4. Apollo: the epic journey to the moon by David West Reynolds
  5. Apples Are From Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins
  6. Arctic Grail by Pierre Berton (I started this last year. No, sorry – two years ago)
  7. Ariadne Objective by Wes Davis
  8. Ariel by Sylvia Plath
  9. At Home in the Heart of Appalachia by John O’Brien
  10. Author, Author by David Lodge (audio)
  11. Bang the Drum Slowly by Mark Harris
  12. Beautiful Swimmers by William Warner
  13. Before the Knife by Carolyn Slaughter
  14. Bellwether by Connie Willis
  15. Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengist (audio)
  16. Beyond the Bogota by Gary Leech
  17. Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
  18. Billy by Albert French
  19. Bit of Wit, A World of Wisdom by Yehoshua Kurland (Early Review book from LibraryThing)
  20. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
  21. Brass Go-Between by Oliver Bleeck
  22. Breakfast with Scot by Michael Drowning
  23. Brush with Death by Elizabeth Duncan
  24. Brushed by Feathers by Frances Wood
  25. Burma Chronicles by Guy DeLisle
  26. Burning the Days by James Salter
  27. Camus, a Romance by Elizabeth Hawes
  28. Cardboard Crown by Martin Boyd
  29. Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy
  30. Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lillian Jackson Braun
  31. Child that Books Built by Francis Spufford
  32. Churchill, a life by Martin Gilbert
  33. City in the Sky by James Glanz
  34. City of Thieves by David Benioff
  35. Conspiracy and Other Stories by Jaan Kross
  36. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
  37. Death in Verona by Roy Harley Lewis
  38. Descending the Dragon by Jon Bowermaster
  39. Diamond Classics by Mike Shannon
  40. Diary of a Mad Housewife by Sue Kaufman
  41. Difficult Young Man by Martin Boyd
  42. Dining with Al-Qaeda by Hugh Pope
  43. Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
  44. Domestic Manners of the Americans by Fanny Trollope
  45. The Evolution of Jane by Catherine Schine
  46. Edward Lear in Albania by Edward Lear
  47. Fanny by Edmund White
  48. Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
  49. Final Solution by Michael Chabon
  50. Fixer by Joe Sacco
  51. Flamboya Tree by Clara Olink Kelly
  52. Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco
  53. Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Zabat Katz
  54. Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
  55. Gabriel Garcia Marquez by Gerald Martin
  56. Galton Case by Ross MacDonald
  57. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
  58. Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem
  59. God: a biography by Jack Miles
  60. Gold Coast Madam by Rose Laws
  61. Golden Spruce by John Vaillant
  62. Good City edited by Emily Hiestand
  63. Good Thief’s Guide to Paris by Chris Ewan
  64. Good Thief’s Guide to Vegas by Chris Ewan
  65. Good-bye Chunk Rice by Craig Thompson
  66. Grand Ambition by Lisa Michaels
  67. Guardians by Geoffrey Kabaservice
  68. Her by Christa Parravani
  69. Hole in the Earth by Robert Bausch
  70. Hole in the World by Richard Rhodes
  71. Home Before Dark by Susan Cheever
  72. House on the Lagoon by Rosario Ferre
  73. Iliad by Homer
  74. Idle Days in Patagonia by William Hudson
  75. Imperfect Harmony by Stacy Horn (for LibraryThing’s Early Review program
  76. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark
  77. Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer
  78. Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
  79. Keeping it Civil by Margaret Klaw (Early review book)
  80. Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street by Michael Lewis
  81. Light Infantry Ball by Hamilton Basso
  82. Lives of the Painters, vol 2, 3 & 4 by Giorgio Vasari
  83. The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz
  84. Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou for the Early Review Program
  85. Mortality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
  86. Naked to the Waist by ALice Dark Elliott
  87. No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
  88. Nobody Knows My Name by James Baldwin
  89. Now Read This I by Nancy Pearl
  90. Now Read This II by Nancy Pearl
  91. Of Human Bondage by William Maugham
  92. Old Friends by Tracy Kidder
  93. Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
  94. Outbreak of Love by Martin Boyd
  95. Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
  96. Panther Soup by John Grimlette
  97. Path Between the Seas by David McCullough
  98. Patrimony: a true story by Philip Roth
  99. Pick-Up by Charles Willeford (part of Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s)
  100. Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam
  101. Points Unknown edited by David Roberts
  102. Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
  103. Ready for a Brand New Beat by Mark Kurlansky
  104. Real Cool Killers by Chester Himes (part of Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s)
  105. Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell
  106. Rosalind Franklin: Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox
  107. Scar Tissue by Michael Ignatieff
  108. Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
  109. Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham – did not finish
  110. Star Beast by Robert Heinlein
  111. Star Trap by Simon Brett
  112. Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
  113. Suzy’s Case by Andy Siegel (as recommended)
  114. Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (Part of Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s)
  115. Tatiana by Dorothy Jones
  116. Tattered Cloak by Nina Berberova
  117. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
  118. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
  119. This is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakawila for LibraryThing
  120. Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
  121. Ticket for a Seamstitch by Mark Harris
  122. Time, Love, Memory by Jonathan Weiner
  123. True Crime: Real-Life Stories of Abduction, Addiction, Obsession, Murder, Grave-Robbing and More edited by Lee Gutkind (Early Review)
  124. Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers
  125. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery
  126. Viceroy of Ouidah by Bruce Chatwin
  127. What you Owe Me by Bebe Moore Campbell
  128. When Blackbirds Sing by Martin Boyd
  129. White Devil by John Webster
  130. Wholeness of a Broken Heart by Katie Singer
  131. Widow for One Year by John Irving
  132. Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
  133. Women of the Raj by Margaret MacMillan
  134. Working Poor by David Shipler
  135. Year in Provence, a by Peter Mayle

POETRY COMPLETED:

  1. “Golden Angel Pancake House” by Campbell McGrath
  2. “Lepanto” by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
  3. “Listeners” by Walter De La Mare
  4. “Mandalay” by Rudard Kipling
  5. “Road and the End” by Carl Sandburg
  6. “Sea-Fever” by John Masefield
  7. “Winter” by Marie Ponsot
  8. “In My Craft or Sullen Art” by Dylan Thomas
  9. The Long Hill” by Sarah Teasdale
  10. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

SHORT STORIES COMPLETED:

  1. “Here’s a Little Something” by Dan Chaon (from Among the Missing)
  2. “Big Me” by Dan Chaon (from Among the Missing)
  3. “Servants of the Map” by Elizabeth Barrett (from Servant of the Map)
  4. “The Cure” by Elizabeth Barrett (from Servants of the Map)
  5. “In the Land of Men” by Antonya Nelson (from In the Land of Men)
  6. “Goodbye Midwest” by Antonya Nelson (from In the Land of Men)
  7. “Ado” by Connie Willis (from Impossible Things)
  8. “At the Rialto” by Connie Willis (from Impossible Things)
  9. “A Tiger-Killer is Hard To find” by Ha Jin (from Bridegroom: stories)
  10. “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town” by Ha Jin (from Bridegroom: stories)
  11. “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri (from Interpreter of Maladies)
  12. “A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri (from Interpreter of Maladies)
  13. “A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies” by John Murray (from A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies)
  14. “Watson and the Shark” by John Murray (from A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies)

SHELVED UNTIL NEXT YEAR:

  1. House of Morgan by Ron Chernow
  2. Rose Cafe by John Hanson Mitchell
  3. Ocean of Words by Ha Jin

Thanks for November List

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Here it is. The last six books to read for Year Seven! I have every confidence that I will be adding to this list just a little. As a matter of fact, at the time that I started this blog I only had four books on my November list. I don’t remember the last time I read only four books in a month. So, true to form I added two more.

  1. Burma Chronicles by Guy Delise
  2. Guardians by Geoffrey Kabaservice
  3. Now Read This by Nancy Pearl
  4. Time, Love, Memory by Jonathan Weiner
  5. ADDED: Bang the Drum Slowly by Mark Harris (to continue the Southpaw series)
  6. ADDED: Ariadne Objective by Wes Davis (Early Review book for LibraryThing)

FINISHED:

  1. Abide By Me by Elizabeth Strout
  2. Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
  3. Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day by Philip Matyszak
  4. Apollo: the epic journey to the moon by David West Reynolds
  5. Apples Are From Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins
  6. Arctic Grail by Pierre Berton (I started this last year. No, sorry – two years ago)
  7. Ariel by Sylvia Plath
  8. At Home in the Heart of Appalachia by John O’Brien
  9. Author, Author by David Lodge (audio)
  10. Beautiful Swimmers by William Warner
  11. Before the Knife by Carolyn Slaughter
  12. Bellwether by Connie Willis
  13. Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengist (audio)
  14. Beyond the Bogota by Gary Leech
  15. Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
  16. Billy by Albert French
  17. Bit of Wit, A World of Wisdom by Yehoshua Kurland (Early Review book from LibraryThing)
  18. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
  19. Brass Go-Between by Oliver Bleeck
  20. Breakfast with Scot by Michael Drowning
  21. Brush with Death by Elizabeth Duncan
  22. Brushed by Feathers by Frances Wood
  23. Burning the Days by James Salter
  24. Camus, a Romance by Elizabeth Hawes
  25. Cardboard Crown by Martin Boyd
  26. Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy
  27. Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lillian Jackson Braun
  28. Child that Books Built by Francis Spufford
  29. Churchill, a life by Martin Gilbert
  30. City in the Sky by James Glanz
  31. City of Thieves by David Benioff
  32. Conspiracy and Other Stories by Jaan Kross
  33. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
  34. Death in Verona by Roy Harley Lewis
  35. Descending the Dragon by Jon Bowermaster
  36. Diamond Classics by Mike Shannon
  37. Diary of a Mad Housewife by Sue Kaufman
  38. Difficult Young Man by Martin Boyd
  39. Dining with Al-Qaeda by Hugh Pope
  40. Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
  41. Domestic Manners of the Americans by Fanny Trollope
  42. The Evolution of Jane by Catherine Schine
  43. Edward Lear in Albania by Edward Lear
  44. Fanny by Edmund White
  45. Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
  46. Final Solution by Michael Chabon
  47. Fixer by Joe Sacco
  48. Flamboya Tree by Clara Olink Kelly
  49. Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco
  50. Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Zabat Katz
  51. Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
  52. Gabriel Garcia Marquez by Gerald Martin
  53. Galton Case by Ross MacDonald
  54. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
  55. Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem
  56. God: a biography by Jack Miles
  57. Gold Coast Madam by Rose Laws
  58. Golden Spruce by John Vaillant
  59. Good City edited by Emily Hiestand
  60. Good Thief’s Guide to Paris by Chris Ewan
  61. Good Thief’s Guide to Vegas by Chris Ewan
  62. Good-bye Chunk Rice by Craig Thompson
  63. Grand Ambition by Lisa Michaels
  64. Her by Christa Parravani
  65. Hole in the Earth by Robert Bausch
  66. Hole in the World by Richard Rhodes
  67. Home Before Dark by Susan Cheever
  68. House on the Lagoon by Rosario Ferre
  69. Iliad by Homer
  70. Idle Days in Patagonia by William Hudson
  71. Imperfect Harmony by Stacy Horn (for LibraryThing’s Early Review program
  72. Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer
  73. Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
  74. ADDED: Keeping it Civil by Margaret Klaw (Early review book)
  75. Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street by Michael Lewis
  76. Light Infantry Ball by Hamilton Basso
  77. Lives of the Painters, vol 2, 3 & 4 by Giorgio Vasari
  78. The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz
  79. Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou for the Early Review Program
  80. Mortality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
  81. No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
  82. Nobody Knows My Name by James Baldwin
  83. Of Human Bondage by William Maugham
  84. Old Friends by Tracy Kidder
  85. Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
  86. Outbreak of Love by Martin Boyd
  87. Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
  88. Panther Soup by John Grimlette
  89. Path Between the Seas by David McCullough
  90. Patrimony: a true story by Philip Roth
  91. Pick-Up by Charles Willeford (part of Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s)
  92. Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam
  93. Points Unknown edited by David Roberts
  94. Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
  95. Ready for a Brand New Beat by Mark Kurlansky
  96. Real Cool Killers by Chester Himes (part of Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s)
  97. Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell
  98. Rosalind Franklin: Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox
  99. Scar Tissue by Michael Ignatieff
  100. Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
  101. Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham – did not finish
  102. Star Beast by Robert Heinlein
  103. Star Trap by Simon Brett
  104. Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
  105. Suzy’s Case by Andy Siegel (as recommended)
  106. Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (Part of Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s)
  107. Tatiana by Dorothy Jones
  108. Tattered Cloak by Nina Berberova
  109. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
  110. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
  111. This is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakawila for LibraryThing
  112. Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
  113. True Crime: Real-Life Stories of Abduction, Addiction, Obsession, Murder, Grave-Robbing and More edited by Lee Gutkind (Early Review)
  114. Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers
  115. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery
  116. Viceroy of Ouidah by Bruce Chatwin
  117. What you Owe Me by Bebe Moore Campbell
  118. When Blackbirds Sing by Martin Boyd
  119. White Devil by John Webster
  120. Wholeness of a Broken Heart by Katie Singer
  121. Widow for One Year by John Irving
  122. Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
  123. Women of the Raj by Margaret MacMillan
  124. Working Poor by David Shipler
  125. Year in Provence, a by Peter Mayle

POETRY COMPLETED:

  1. “Golden Angel Pancake House” by Campbell McGrath
  2. “Lepanto” by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
  3. “Listeners” by Walter De La Mare
  4. “Mandalay” by Rudard Kipling
  5. “Road and the End” by Carl Sandburg
  6. “Sea-Fever” by John Masefield
  7. “Winter” by Marie Ponsot
  8. “In My Craft or Sullen Art” by Dylan Thomas
  9. The Long Hill” by Sarah Teasdale
  10. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

SHORT STORIES COMPLETED:

  1. “Here’s a Little Something” by Dan Chaon (from Among the Missing)
  2. “Big Me” by Dan Chaon (from Among the Missing)
  3. “Servants of the Map” by Elizabeth Barrett (from Servant of the Map)
  4. “The Cure” by Elizabeth Barrett (from Servants of the Map)
  5. “In the Land of Men” by Antonya Nelson (from In the Land of Men)
  6. “Goodbye Midwest” by Antonya Nelson (from In the Land of Men)
  7. “Ado” by Connie Willis (from Impossible Things)
  8. “At the Rialto” by Connie Willis (from Impossible Things)
  9. “A Tiger-Killer is Hard To find” by Ha Jin (from Bridegroom: stories)
  10. “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town” by Ha Jin (from Bridegroom: stories)
  11. “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri (from Interpreter of Maladies)
  12. “A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri (from Interpreter of Maladies)
  13. “A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies” by John Murray (from A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies)
  14. “Watson and the Shark” by John Murray (from A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies)

NEXT YEAR:

  1. House of Morgan by Ron Chernow
  2. Rose Cafe by John Hanson Mitchell
  3. Ocean of Words by Ha Jin (as previously mentioned)

Spooky October List

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The list is now down to one month! The reading year is nearly over. Here are the remaining books for November, the last month:

  1. Burma Chronicles by Guy Delise
  2. Guardians by Geoffrey Kabaservice
  3. Time, Love, Memory by Jonathan Weiner

ON DECK FOR OCTOBER:

  1. Southpaw by Mark Harris
  2. Deafening by Frances Itani
  3. Going Wild by Robert Winkler
  4. One By One in the Darkness by Frances Itani
  5. Panther Soup by John Grimlette
  6. What you Owe Me by Bebe Moore Campbell (in audio)

FINISHED:

  1. Abide By Me by Elizabeth Strout
  2. Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
  3. Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day by Philip Matyszak
  4. Apollo: the epic journey to the moon by David West Reynolds
  5. Apples Are From Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins
  6. Arctic Grail by Pierre Berton (I started this last year. No, sorry – two years ago)
  7. Ariel by Sylvia Plath
  8. At Home in the Heart of Appalachia by John O’Brien
  9. Author, Author by David Lodge (audio)
  10. Beautiful Swimmers by William Warner
  11. Before the Knife by Carolyn Slaughter
  12. Bellwether by Connie Willis
  13. Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengist (audio)
  14. Beyond the Bogota by Gary Leech
  15. Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
  16. Billy by Albert French
  17. ADDED: Bit of Wit, A World of Wisdom by Yehoshua Kurland (Early Review book from LibraryThing)
  18. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
  19. Brass Go-Between by Oliver Bleeck
  20. Breakfast with Scot by Michael Drowning
  21. Brush with Death by Elizabeth Duncan
  22. Brushed by Feathers by Frances Wood
  23. Burning the Days by James Salter
  24. Camus, a Romance by Elizabeth Hawes
  25. Cardboard Crown by Martin Boyd
  26. Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy
  27. Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lillian Jackson Braun
  28. Child that Books Built by Francis Spufford
  29. Churchill, a life by Martin Gilbert
  30. ADDED: City in the Sky by James Glanz
  31. City of Thieves by David Benioff
  32. Conspiracy and Other Stories by Jaan Kross
  33. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
  34. Death in Verona by Roy Harley Lewis
  35. Descending the Dragon by Jon Bowermaster
  36. Diamond Classics by Mike Shannon
  37. Difficult Young Man by Martin Boyd
  38. Dining with Al-Qaeda by Hugh Pope
  39. Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
  40. Domestic Manners of the Americans by Fanny Trollope
  41. The Evolution of Jane by Catherine Schine
  42. Edward Lear in Albania by Edward Lear
  43. Fanny by Edmund White
  44. Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
  45. Final Solution by Michael Chabon
  46. Fixer by Joe Sacco
  47. Flamboya Tree by Clara Olink Kelly
  48. Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco
  49. Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Zabat Katz
  50. Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
  51. Gabriel Garcia Marquez by Gerald Martin
  52. Galton Case by Ross MacDonald
  53. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
  54. Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem
  55. God: a biography by Jack Miles
  56. Gold Coast Madam by Rose Laws
  57. Golden Spruce by John Vaillant
  58. Good City edited by Emily Hiestand
  59. Good Thief’s Guide to Paris by Chris Ewan
  60. Good Thief’s Guide to Vegas by Chris Ewan
  61. Good-bye Chunk Rice by Craig Thompson
  62. Grand Ambition by Lisa Michaels
  63. Her by Christa Parravani
  64. Hole in the Earth by Robert Bausch
  65. Hole in the World by Richard Rhodes
  66. Home Before Dark by Susan Cheever
  67. House on the Lagoon by Rosario Ferre
  68. Iliad by Homer
  69. Idle Days in Patagonia by William Hudson
  70. Imperfect Harmony by Stacy Horn (for LibraryThing’s Early Review program
  71. Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer
  72. Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
  73. Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street by Michael Lewis
  74. Light Infantry Ball by Hamilton Basso
  75. Lives of the Painters, vol 2, 3 & 4 by Giorgio Vasari
  76. The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz
  77. Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou for the Early Review Program
  78. Mortality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
  79. No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
  80. Nobody Knows My Name by James Baldwin
  81. Of Human Bondage by William Maugham
  82. Old Friends by Tracy Kidder
  83. Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
  84. Outbreak of Love by Martin Boyd
  85. Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
  86. Path Between the Seas by David McCullough
  87. Patrimony: a true story by Philip Roth
  88. Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam
  89. Points Unknown edited by David Roberts
  90. Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
  91. Ready for a Brand New Beat by Mark Kurlansky
  92. Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell
  93. Rosalind Franklin: Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox
  94. Scar Tissue by Michael Ignatieff
  95. Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
  96. Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham – did not finish
  97. Star Beast by Robert Heinlein
  98. Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
  99. Suzy’s Case by Andy Siegel (as recommended)
  100. Tatiana by Dorothy Jones
  101. Tattered Cloak by Nina Berberova
  102. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
  103. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
  104. This is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakawila for LibraryThing
  105. Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
  106. True Crime: Real-Life Stories of Abduction, Addiction, Obsession, Murder, Grave-Robbing and More edited by Lee Gutkind (Early Review)
  107. Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers
  108. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery
  109. Viceroy of Ouidah by Bruce Chatwin
  110. When Blackbirds Sing by Martin Boyd
  111. Wholeness of a Broken Heart by Katie Singer
  112. Widow for One Year by John Irving
  113. Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
  114. Women of the Raj by Margaret MacMillan
  115. Working Poor by David Shipler
  116. Year in Provence, a by Peter Mayle

POETRY COMPLETED:

  1. “Golden Angel Pancake House” by Campbell McGrath
  2. “Lepanto” by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
  3. “Listeners” by Walter De La Mare
  4. “Mandalay” by Rudard Kipling
  5. “Road and the End” by Carl Sandburg
  6. “Sea-Fever” by John Masefield
  7. “Winter” by Marie Ponsot
  8. “In My Craft or Sullen Art” by Dylan Thomas
  9. The Long Hill” by Sarah Teasdale
  10. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

SHORT STORIES COMPLETED:

  1. “Here’s a Little Something” by Dan Chaon (from Among the Missing)
  2. “Big Me” by Dan Chaon (from Among the Missing)
  3. “Servants of the Map” by Elizabeth Barrett (from Servant of the Map)
  4. “The Cure” by Elizabeth Barrett (from Servants of the Map)
  5. “In the Land of Men” by Antonya Nelson (from In the Land of Men)
  6. “Goodbye Midwest” by Antonya Nelson (from In the Land of Men)
  7. “Ado” by Connie Willis (from Impossible Things)
  8. “At the Rialto” by Connie Willis (from Impossible Things)
  9. “A Tiger-Killer is Hard To find” by Ha Jin (from Bridegroom: stories)
  10. “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town” by Ha Jin (from Bridegroom: stories)
  11. “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri (from Interpreter of Maladies)
  12. “A Temporary Matter” by Jhumpa Lahiri (from Interpreter of Maladies)
  13. “A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies” by John Murray (from A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies)
  14. “Watson and the Shark” by John Murray (from A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies)

NEXT YEAR:

  1. House of Morgan by Ron Chernow (as previously mentioned)
  2. Rose Cafe by John Hanson Mitchell (as previously mentioned)
  3. Ocean of Words by Ha Jin – I just realized this was supposed to be read way back in February in honor of Ha Jin’s birth month. How I missed it is beyond me. Ugh

Ariel

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Plath, Sylvia. Ariel: the Restored Edition.New York: Harper Perennial, 2004.

Sylvia Plath wrote with such raw energy and emotion. Her essence is on every page, in every word. Nowhere is that more plain to see than in the collected poems in Ariel. As the last collection of poetry written before her death it is riddled with references to death. That is to be expected from one suffering from depression, on the wrong kind of medicine, and already an attempted suicide survivor. It’s as if death is stalking her, wooing her (case in point: the last line of “Death & Co” is “somebody is done for” (p 36) and “Dying is an art…I do it exceptionally well” (p 15). I chose to read Ariel: the Restored Edition and now that I’ve thought about it I don’t think it’s the version Pearl was referring to (see BookLust Twist). Oh well.

Favorite lines – the first being from Path’s daughter, Frieda, in the foreword, “The manuscript was digging up everything that must be shed in order to move on” (p xiv – xv).

Reason read: Although we are getting to the end of the month April is still National Poetry Month.

Author fact: Everyone knows a little something about Sylvia Plath (Smith College, Ted Hughes, suicide, etc), but what I recently learned was that she was born in Boston.

Book trivia: If you haven’t read Ariel I would suggest skipping the version Ted Hughes introduced to the world and pick up the one his daughter, Frieda Hughes, wrote the foreword for, Ariel: the Restored Edition. It is far more informative.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “You Can’t Judge a Book By Its Cover” (p 237). Oddly enough, Ariel is not a recommendation by Pearl. She merely uses it as an example of a recognizable cover when discussing Alan Powers’s book Front Cover: Great Book Jacket and Cover Design.

Iliad

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Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Everyman’s Library, 1992.

If there is one thing I cannot stand it’s writing a review for a classic, especially one that has been analyzed eight ways to Sunday. I mean, I honestly do not think I can add anything new or enlightening to what has already been said. Everyone knows the story of Achilles, right? Having said all that I wish I could pull out a quote from something I wrote in high school or even college. I’m sure I was much more profound in my narrow minded, get good grades, academic-driven youth. Probably the most meaningful element of The Iliad continues to be its grandeur. It is an epic poem of enormous scope with the dominant theme of mortality. According to most other reviewers, translation matters. Everyone has a favorite version. I honestly couldn’t say I felt one way or another about the Fitzgerald translation I read.

Reason read: April is National Poetry month.

Author fact: Homer was a speech writer. He excelled at persuasiveness.

Book trivia: The Iliad andThe Odyssey go hand in hand.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Poetry: A Novel Idea” (p 186).

“The Road Not Taken”

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Frost, Robert. “the Road Not Taken.” The Road Not Taken and Other Poems.New York: Dover Publications, 1993.

This is such a simple poem with such a complex meaning! But, having said that, how many people have used this poem to explain the things that they have done; the decisions they have made? My uncle read this poem at his brother’s funeral. His message was clear – my father, seven years his junior, chose a much different path than him or even the rest of the family. My father chose love over money. Happiness over family. My uncle offered this poem as an explanation for why they weren’t close as brothers but I also think he was (finally) voicing how proud he was of that courageous decision “to take the road less traveled.” It’s the last line that drives the point home. It has made all the difference. I know it did in my father’s short life.

Reason read: National Poetry Month. Need I say more?

Author fact: Robert Frost is one of the best known, best loved poets. We also associate Frost with New England but he was born in California.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Travelers’ Tales in Verse” (p 237).

“In My Craft”

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Thomas, Dylan. “In My Craft or Sullen Art.” The Poems of Dylan Thomas. New York: New Directions, 1971. p 196.

The fact that Dylan Thomas needed to justify why he put pen to paper absolutely astounds me. This poem is all about the explanation behind the craft of writing. Why he writes should not need justification. I’d rather hear about what makes him write; what drives him to create.
Can I just say I love the word ‘rage’ in any context? It implies such a raw passion.

Reason read: April = National Poetry Month.

Author fact: Thomas also wrote a book called Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog, a collection of sequential autobiographical stories. Not on my list.

Poetry trivia: Dylan’s “In My Craft or Sullen Art” was turned into a knitting. Word for word. Crazy.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Poetry Pleasers” (p 187).
Just a note, because I am proud of this – I am almost finished with this chapter of More Book Lust. Just one more poem and I will be finished with “Poetry Pleasers.” Amazing.

“The Long Hill”

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Teasdale, Sara. “The Long Hill.” The Collected Poems of Sara Teasdale. Cutchogue, New York: Buccaneer Books, 1996. p 152.

“The Long Hill” made me laugh and scratch my head all at once. As an avid walker I know what it’s like to anticipate the crest of a hill, to look forward to arriving at the top, only to miss it. Not sensing the highest point defies logic. Surely one would know when he or she has reached it! You expect grandeur to be at the pinnacle. Sara just shrugs and says she might as well continue down.
But there is also contradiction to her poem. She describes the beaten track and yet the hem of her gown was getting caught on brambles. No wonder she missed the top. She was too busy trying to free her gown! And why wasn’t she walking the beaten track? Wouldn’t she has noticed the top of the long hill if she had been paying attention?

Reason read: another poem for National Poetry Month…

Author fact: Sara Teasdale writes a great deal about New York. I’ll be reading more of her material at a later date.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Travelers’ Tales in Verse” (p 237). This poem marks the end of the chapter.

“Mandalay”

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Kipling, Rudyard. Mandalay. Rudyard Kipling’s Verse: Definitive Edition. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1940. p 416.

“Mandalay” is like a song with a chorus. It could easily be set to music. Even the subject matter, a soldier imagining his Burma girl pining away him, is appropriate for a ballad. He is still in lonely London. In my mind’s eye this poem is visually stunning.

Reason read: Poetry month. Need I say more?

Author fact: Kipling has long been a childhood favorite of mine. I can remember wanting to meet Mowgli just so I could hang out with the animals.

BookLust Twist: Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Travelers’ Tales in Verse” (p 237).

“Sea Fever”

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Masefield, John. “Sea-Fever.” Salt Water Poems and Ballads. Illustrated by Chas. Pears. New York: The MacMillan Campany, 1916. p  55.

As a girl who grew up by the sea no, surrounded by the sea as only small island living can be, I loved everything about John Masefield’s Salt Water Poems and Ballads. The version I picked up was published in 1916 and had the inscription, “Evelyn, from Cerisi (?) Estelle – Christmas 1916.” Awesome. The illustrations are beautiful (my favorite is on page 73). The particular poem I was to read, “Sea Fever” evoked so many different memories for me. What comes across the strongest is there is a real need to be on the water; a need that cannot be denied. Just give me a ship the narrator cries. It’s all he needs. From that he hears the gull’s cry and tastes the salt wind.

Favorite line, “I must go down to the seas again.” Let me repeat it. I MUST go down to the seas again. Amen.

Reason read: Last time I checked April was National Poetry Month…still.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Travelers’ Tales in Verse’ (p 237).

“Lepanto”

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Chesterton, Gilbert Keith. “Lepanto.” Louis Untermeyer, ed. Modern British Poetry. New York: Harcourt Brace & Howe, 1920.

The real Battle of Lepanto took place in 1571. Chesterton’s poem reads like an army marching to war even though the real battle was fought on the high seas. The cadence is like a chant and the words pulsate with feeling.  It’s a regular as the tide moving in and out.  Don John of Austria.

Favorite words, “dim drums throbbing.” Don’t you just love it? In urban times it would be someone honking their girl down from the apartment, a cranked up bass stuck in traffic a few miles away.

Reason read: April is National Poetry Month.

Author fact: G.K Chesterton was a journalist, a novelist, an essayist, a publicist, a lyricist, and a poet all in one.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Travelers’ Tales in Verse” (p 237). Here, Pearl seemingly makes a mistake. She calls the poem “Lepants” when everything I’ve read called it “Lepanto.”

“The Listeners”

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De La Mare, Walter. “The Listeners.” The Collected Poems of Walter De La Mare. London: Faber and Faber, 1979. p 84.

Have you ever read this poem before? I mean, really read it? Read it out loud and see what happens. It’s full of mystery. Who is this grey-eyed stranger banging on a door by the dim light of the moon? What does he want? His horse waits patiently while he continues to “smote upon the door.” He has kept his word but what did he promise and to whom? Lastly, who is listening? Who hears this exchange between the grey-eyed mystery man and the door he bangs upon? It’s definitely a favorite poem for the month of April!

Reason read: April is still National Poetry Month.

Author fact: Walter is best known for his poem “The Listeners.” I can see why.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Travelers’ Tales in Verse” (p 237).

“Golden Angel Pancake House”

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McGrath, Campbell. “The Golden Angel Pancake House.” Spring Comes to Chicago. Hopewell, New Jersey: Ecco Press, 1996. p 5.

I loved this poem. This has got to be one of my favorites read so far this year.  It reminded me of Natalie Merchant’s song “Carnival” off her 1995 album, Tigerlily. In “Carnival” Natalie pays homage to New York City and I see Campbell McGrath doing the same thing for his hometown of Chicago in “The Golden Angel Pancake House” (which is a real restaurant, by the way). The imagery is amazing. I can just see this group of friends stumbling out of a bar at closing time. It’s way early in the morning and they are prowling the streets looking for a place to eat. The sights and sounds are chaotic and gripping. A freak show.

Favorite line, “a troupe of toothless, dipsomaniacal clowns.”

Reason read: It’s still April and I’m still reading poetry. Obviously.

Author fact: As I mentioned before McGrath is from Chicago.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Kitchen Sink Poetry” (p 139).

“Road and the End”

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Sandburg, Carl. Complete Poems. “The Road and the End.” New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. 1950. p 43.

I see a solitary traveler planning to face whatever comes his way on his journey. He has anticipation of the road ahead and the hours spent going down it. I say anticipation…for he hasn’t left yet. “I SHALL” indicates a plan to do so. The capitalization indicates a determination; a desire to convince someone (maybe himself?) he will eventually leave. It’s a nod to nature. Perfect timing for the changing seasons and hopefully, the warmer weather.

I took this poem personally as I have been slow to start training for my 60 mile cancer walk at the end of May. The apathy I was feeling spread into neglecting my favorite charity event. For the first time in five years I haven’t walked down my road of training the way that I should be by now…to say nothing of the fund raising (which sucks, by the way).

Favorite line, “in the silence of the morning.” Can anyone guess why?

Reason read: April is National Poetry Month…as I’ve said before.

Author fact: Carl Sandburg died two years before my birth. He is the second Chicago poet I’ve read this month.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Travelers Tales in Verse” (p 237).