Next!

I know I am about to get swamped by course work so I am trying to get one more pleasant read in before the hardcore educational reading comences. I finished Manifesta which is actually school work (yet enjoyable) and needed something light. Not that Under the Tuscan Sun is what I would call "light," it is a book I have read before and adored.

Back when Ms. Mayes Tuscan lovin' books came out and before the movie, I too fell for her artful descriptions of Italy. I have yet to go to Tuscany but boy do I want to!!! If I could live like she does with a house, a garden, and the onderment of the region it would be a dream. I imagine a visit someday will have to do.

Until then I have my book and the visions of cyprus trees swaying in my head!

Books I've Read in 2006

1. The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
2. Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards
3. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
4. Being Adolescent by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Reed Larson (for a class)
5. Lysistrata by Aristophanes
6. Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
7. The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
8. Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell
9. Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay
   
10. The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat
    
11. The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
    
12. In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner
13. Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis
14. Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris (re-read)

Do you read books?

This has to have been one of the worst pick-up lines I ever witnessed. Unfortunately one of my best friends was the victim of this line...and yes indeed she does read books. In fact we both read alot of books! I'll admit it...I love books! I have a couple of bookshelves full, which I have a resoltion to purge in order to make room for more books.

I wanted to create a record of what I read in a year and maybe provide a platform for informal reviews so that others can find inspiration. I read a pretty wide variety of fiction and non-fiction titles...but I do tend to be a book snob. Rarely do I read cheesy romance novels or thrillers. The NY Times best-seller list is my guide, supplemented by the Oprah's Book Club and other literati-type lists. I guess you could say I am an urban-fem lit sort of girl with smidge of geeky non-fiction thrown in for good measure. Yes- I do indulge in a few creativity stimulating self-help type of books too.

So what am I reading right now? Well, since I am about to start my second semester of grad school I am trying to get a head start on a few books for a Feminist Literature course I am taking. I rang in the New Year with The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson and moved on to Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards. I have not been disappointed by either. I am really looking forward to taking this class since it is going to be a refreshing break from the educational theory and artistic development texts I will also be consuming. I have been lucky that all of the books I had to read for last semester were pretty interesting...no complaints about any of it!!!