Monthly Archives: April 2008

2008 Pulitzers

Posted on April 8, 2008 | Leave a comment

The 2008 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced yesterday. Below are the results as listed from the New York Times.

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GoodReads – website review

Posted on April 7, 2008 | 2 Comments

I’ve been using GoodReads for quite a while now to track the books I read and keep tabs on what my friends are reading. I’m not really sure how I came across this site, but I like it and most of my friends have a GoodReads account. I had signed up for LibraryThing, but never got around to updating it. It felt a little clumsy to me, when searching for titles. With Goodreads, you can type in the author, and see all the books associated with that author, then just go down the list and add books, (or just rate it) without having to re-enter the author’s name each time to go to another book (something that keeps happening to me on LibraryThing). I do like that LibraryThing lets you do half stars, I can’t do that with GoodReads.

Other than the ease of adding books to my list and organizing the lists, there really isn’t much of a difference between the two. When I signed up for GoodReads, LibraryThing still had a cap on the number of titles on the shelf, whereas GoodReads is unlimited and free. Its also easier to view other people’s bookshelves and be able to add titles to your own bookshelf when browsing.

My favorite part is being able to divide up lists into various categories. I have a “To-Read” list, a “Currently Reading” list, and various subject headings that I can stick titles under. There are thousands of groups for tons of topics, a section for authors that are GoodReads members, (I friended Paulo Coelho). I also joined the Rory Gilmore Book Club on GoodReads. The forum is always active and the posts are actually well thought out and insightful.

I have accounts on both sites, and I’ll most likely keep both accounts. Its always nice having more than 1 online resource for something like this. Used together, they kind of balance each other out. I like that LibraryThing is more library/librarian focused, but I think GoodReads is easier to use.

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Posted in Books, Libraries

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The Knitting Circle – Review

Posted on April 4, 2008 | 1 Comment

How one book can be depressing and inspirational at the same time, I don’t know, but Ann Hood’s semi-autobiographical tale definately fit into those two categories.

The pace of the book was very even, the transitions from scene to scene, character to character, story to story was very smooth and fluid. Its an incredibly quick read. I started it on my lunch hour yesterday, and stayed up until midnight to finish it.

The quick plot summary is that mother Mary Baxter lost her 5 year old daughter, Stella, to meningitis. At her mother’s urging, Mary takes up knitting and joins a Wednesday night knitting group with 5 other women. As the story progresses, these women go from anonymous knitters, to real people with real tragedies and struggles in their lives. Mary befriends these women, who know nothing about her recent loss and slowly is able to learn how to cope with the unexpected and much too early death of her daughter.

I started this book yesterday on my lunch break and I was already teary eyed from the first few pages. The story hit pretty close to home for me. I lost my father to a heart attack when I was 20. A few weeks before, my mom had started teaching me how to knit. My boyfriend, for reasons we’ve both forgotten at this point, asked me to knit him a scarf. Although knitting didn’t provide the same meditative escape described in the book, it did provide a much needed distraction to everyone who came to visit. Throughout that first month, I would sit quietly and knit as relatives and friends came to visit. Everyone had their hands on the scarf, and even knit a few rows themselves, both the men and women. Then they would share stories of sweaters and socks their mother’s knit for them, or how they tried to knit, but failed. I stopped knitting for a while after finishing that scarf, took up crochet a few months later. Then 2 years ago, I started knitting again, and have not stopped since.

Anyway, its a good book. But make sure you have something happy to read afterwards. I am moving on to David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day. I can always count on him for a good laugh. =)

Find this book at your local library

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Posted in Adult Fiction, Books, knitting, life

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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – review

Posted on April 3, 2008 | 5 Comments

I finishedI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou last night.

There isn’t much to say about this book that hasn’t been said before. Maya Angelou is as poetic in her prose as she is with her poetry. Her insights into life are inspirational and moving.

This is the first in a five volume biography series. Written in 1983, it chronicles Maya’s life from age 3 to her early teens. The details of her childhood living with her grandmother in Arkansas, her absentee parents that just flicker in and out of her life, and her incredible bond with her brother showcase the value of family, loyalty, strength and the basic human instinct of survival.

Its amazing to me the lives people have lived in the 1900′s. From early on in the century to now. How much the world has changed, grown, developed, de-evolved, stabilized, and stopped growing. Each decade pushed American society forward one large step. In my lifetime I went from cassette player, to cd player to Ipod. VHS to DVD. The Iraq War is prevalent, although neglected. Potential presidental candidates are a black man, and a white woman. The Terminator is my state govenor.

I’m not sure about any musical group that’s as influential and popular as The Beatles, and Elvis.

I wonder what I’ll experience in the next 3 decades of my life? What other great social movements will happen?

Find this book at your local library

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Posted in Books, life, Nonfiction

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