dog eared copy

TEN ON TUESDAY

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Last week, I was sick and I took a sabbatical from blogging; and now I’ve got some catching up to do!  

I’m still picking my way through Snow Falling on Cedars (by David Guterson.) It’s not a novel you whip through; but there’s a story underneath all the nautical terminology. It’s about a Japanese man accused of murdering another local man in a fishing community.  It takes place in the Pacific Northwest, on an island off of Seattle, in Post-War America.

I’ve also starting A Short History of Byzantium (by John Julius Norwich.) It’s my “Sunday” read, which means I only read a chapter or two every Sunday. This is something I had started to do when I was a member of The History Book Club on goodreads and it’s a practice that works out well for me. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by an interesting; but perhaps daunting tome, I just pick at it a little bit until it’s done! You too can eat an elephant one bite at a time!

I’ve removed Enough About Love (by Herve LeTellier and The Kite Runner (by Khaled Hosseini) from my list for now and added The Little Book (by Selden Edwards)  and Atonement (by Ian McEwan.) I’ve moved up Netherland (by Joseph O’Neill) because I’m sort of in that mood where I can tolerate repressed white lit-fic male authors and I might as well read it ‘em while the mood lasts!

1. The Little Book (by Selden Edwards) - Mount TBR
2. Netherland (by Joseph O’Neill) - Mount TBR
3. Atonement (by Ian McEwan) - Mount TBR
4. Emma (by Jane Austen) - Back to the Classics; Mount TBR
5. The Royal Road to Fotheringhay (by Jean Plaidy) - Mount TBR
6. Pest Control (by Bill Hughes) - What’s in a Name? Challenge #5
7. The Religion (by Tim Willocks) - Mount TBR
8. The Time Traveler’s Wife (by Audrey Neffenegger) - Mount TBR
9. The Age of Innocence (by Edith Wharton)
10. Sea of Poppies (by Amitav Ghosh)

AUDIO

I finished We’re Alive, Season 1 (by Kc Wayland; performed by a full cast.) The review went up on my regular blog today so you can check it out there. I’m still procrastinating on listening to more of the Arthur Miller plays, though I suspect that when I need to listen to a  short audio and, post a review to stay on blogging schedule, The Arthur Miller Collection (by Arthur Miller; performed by various full casts) will come in migty handy… and rather soon too! 

I also listened to The Spy Who Loved Me (by Ian Fleming; narrated by Nadia May) which I really did not like one bit! It’s the only Bond novel written from a female’s point of view and, Fleming apparently thought that a female’s point of view was all about her identity as defined by her sex life. I haven’t fleshed out what I really want to say about this audio yet; but I suppose it will come to me in the next couple of days (look for a review either Thursday or next Tuesday!)

I also finished Zombiestan (by Mainak Dhar; narrated by John Lee.) I liked the fact that the story wasn’t all doom -and-gloom: There were children, lots of survivors and hope; but I didn’t like the writing (seemed kinda like a self-pub, even though it wasn’t) and I felt the zombies weren’t zombie enough :-/

Right now I’m listening to The Last Werewolf (by Glen Duncan; narrated by Robin Sachs.) I read it in eBook format last summer and wasn’t really all that impressed: I felt that GD was showing off the fact that he passed his Philospohy 101 course and, I thought the inclusion of vampires was stupid. I’m listening to it now because I always wondered if I was overly critical because I didn’t have the red-gilt, parchment-colored pages to indulge in or; the leering voice of Robin Sachs to engage me. The Readers (podcast and goodreads group) are hosting a Summer Reading feature and The Last Werewolf os the first book up. I thought this was a great opportunity to take another look at the first-in-series. Even though I only gave it three stars before, and i’m not sure that, even with Robin Sachs, it will garner a higher rating; I know I’ll still probably pick up Tallula’s Rising (second title in the trilogy) in June and, it’s good to have a  little refresher before preceeding in a series!

I’ve snuck Half-Blood Blues (by Esi Edugyan; narrated by Kyle Riley) onto the list. It’s another Readers selection for the summer….

1. Half-Blood Blues (by Esi Edugyan; narrated by Kyle Riley)
2. Vacation (by Matthew Costello; narrated by Peter Macon)
3. The Bone House (by Brian Freeman; narrated by Joe Barrett) - Thriller/Suspense
4. Silent Scream (by Karen Rose; narrated by Marguerite Gavin) - Thriller/Suspense
5. My Dog Tulip (by J.R. Ackerley; narrated by Ralph Cosham) - Biography/Memoir
6. The 4% Universe (by Richard Penak; narrated by Ray Porter) - Non-Fiction
7. My Korean Deli (by Ben Ryder Howe; narrated by Bronson Pinchot) - Non-Fiction
8. The 13-1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear (by Walter Moers; narrated by Bronson Pinchot) - Fantasy
9. Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures (by Walter Moers; narrated by Bronson Pinchot) - Fantasy
10. The Eleventh Plague (by Jeff Hirsch; narrated by Dan Bittner)

THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN AND SCHEDULED FOR 05/22/2012. IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN I FOUND IT STILL SITTING IN MY DRAFT FILE! I’VE PUBLISHED IT IN LIEU OF A POST FOR 05/29/2012 AS TUMBLR HAS EATEN THAT DRAFT! I GUESS IT ALL WORKS OUT :-/

NEXT WEEK I’LL DO A TWO-WEEK CATCH-UP (HOLD THE MUSTARD :-D )

#photoadaymay

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Something You [I] Do Everyday

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Camera: iPhone 3Gs; Exposure time: 1/15; FNumber: 2.8; Focal Length:3.85; No Flash

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Description/Comments: Detail of Logon Screen of My Laptop: I’ve been entering in logon sequences into computers almost daily for over twenty-five years now!

#photodadaymay

A Smell You [I] Adore

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Camera: iPhone 3Gs FNumber: 2.8 Focal Length: 3.85 Exposure Time: 1/20; No Flash

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Description/Comments: A bottle of “Wild Honeysuckle” spray cologne: When I lived back East, in the back yard of the last house I lived in, there were hedges of wild honeysuckle, sweat pea and roses. On a summer night, we could open our bedroom windows and this heavenly smell would waft in. When Bath & Body started rolling out their Signature fragrances, I couldn’t resist this! There’s a Sweat Pea fragrance as well, and probably a light rose cologne too; but as I really don’t wear colognes or perfumes; this, the lightest of the trio. is enough for me :-) 

TEN ON TUESDAY

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I finished  The Blackwater Lightship (by Colm Toibin,) the second novel from this author that I have read. The thing that was intriguing to me about this book and Brooklyn was the asexual nature of the female protagonists. It wasn’t that the characters didn’t have sex; but that they seem so emotionally distant  from the passion. I think they aren’t doing it right! :-D Overall though, I find Colm Toibin’s writing to be very… wordy. It lacks lyricism or poetry, and that seems unforgivable to me especially with an Irish author. It’s not that he doesn’t describe beautiful things, just that there isn’t any beauty in the writing itself.

I also finished Paul Auster’s short novel, Man in the Dark and I’m really glad I gave this author another shot! While reading Man in the Dark didn’t shed any light on Invisible (see last week’s post about how reading more Atwood helped me to understand more Atwood,) it was a very entertaining read. It’s the story of a seventy-something-old man who wiles away his insomniac hours by making up stories. In Man in the Dark, he creates an alternate reality that has the reader guessing as to which is the “real” story! Slightly fantastic, but believable nonetheless.

And once again, instead of forging ahead with my list, I heeded the call of another book that was calling my name, Snow Falling on Cedars (by David Guterson.) It’s not a novel you whip through; but there’s a story underneath all the nautical terminology. It’s about a Japanese man accused of murdering another local man in a fishing community.  It takes place in the Pacific Northwest, on an island off of Seattle, in Post-War America.

1. Emma (by Jane Austen) - Back to the Classics; Mount TBR
2. Enough About Love (by Herve LeTellier)
3. The Kite Runner (by Khaled Hosseini) - What’s in a Name? Challenge #5
4. The Royal Road to Fotheringhay (by Jean Plaidy) - Mount TBR
5. Pest Control (by Bill Hughes) - What’s in a Name? Challenge #5
6. The Religion (by Tim Willocks) - Mount TBR
7. The Time Traveler’s Wife (by Audrey Neffenegger) - Mount TBR
8. Netherland (by Joseph O’Neill)
9. The Age of Innocence (by Edith Wharton)
10. Sea of Poppies (by Amitav Ghosh)

AUDIO

I’m still in the middle of We’re Alive, Season 1 (by Kc Wayland; performed by a full cast,)  and  The Arthur Miller Collection (by Arthur Miller; performed by various full casts.) I’m not particlularly enjoying either one right now but I need to finish both for the Armchair Audies. We’re Alive’s sound effects are very much “testosterone driven” (a term Sue Zizza, a audio drama producer, coined.) Lots of adolescent humor and boys playing soldiers; plus there an actress who can’t seem to make up her mind what nationality she is for the first few podcasts: sometime she sounds like she’s trying to be English, other times Asian; but now we’ve settled on a French nationality :-/ As for The Arthur Miller Collection, the unevenness of the performances and the overall tragic tine quickly wear on a soul. Of course, in dragging my heels in both of these audios, I’m hoolding up the listening that I need to do for Zombie Awareness Month. Sigh. Maybe I’ll just bite the bullet and finish We’re Alive in one sitting and then do the same for The Arthur Miller plays.

1. Zombiestan (by Mainak Dhar; narrated by John Lee)
2. Vacation (by Matthew Costello; narrated by Peter Macon)
3. The Bone House (by Brian Freeman; narrated by Joe Barrett) - Thriller/Suspense
4. Silent Scream (by Karen Rose; narrated by Marguerite Gavin) - Thriller/Suspense
5. My Dog Tulip (by J.R. Ackerley; narrated by Ralph Cosham) - Biography/Memoir
6. The 4% Universe (by Richard Penak; narrated by Ray Porter) - Non-Fiction
7. My Korean Deli (by Ben Ryder Howe; narrated by Bronson Pinchot) - Non-Fiction
8. The 13-1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear (by Walter Moers; narrated by Bronson Pinchot) - Fantasy
9. Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures (by Walter Moers; narrated by Bronson Pinchot) - Fantasy
10. The Eleventh Plague (by Jeff Hirsch; narrated by Dan Bittner)

Someone That Inspires You

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Cinderella

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Camera: Nikon D3100; FNumber: 4.2; Focal Length: 26; Exposure Time: 1/20; No Flash

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Description/Comments: Cinderella plastic figure against a Mac PowerBook laptop: It’s not really Cinderella that inspires me; but every IRL person who manages to achieve a goal through their own luck, skill, talent and ambition. Without a fairy godmother, these individuals create their own Cinderella stories and I am a sucker for each and every one of them :-)

You [Me]

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Camera: iPhone 3Gs FNumber: 2.8 Focus Length: 3.85 Exposure Time: 1/15

Post: Cropping, Sharpness and Definition increased, Retouch of minor blemishes (two spots on chin, slight acne scarring on my right forehead)

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Description/Comments: I am exhausted. I can mess with post all I like; but the eyes say it all :-/

Bird

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Camera: Nikon D3100 FNumber: 5.6 Focal Length: 30 Exposure Time: 1/125

Compositional Rule: Asymmetry; Rule of Thirds

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Description: Duck crossing sign near Upper Duck Pond at Lithia Park, Ashland, OR

Fun ********** Camera: iPhone 3Gs; tumblr app ********** Comments: Oh noes! This didn’t post last night! It’s a shot of the marquee at The Camelot Theatre in Talent, OR on opening night for *King of City Island*

Something You Wore Today ********** Layers ********** Camera: iPhone 3Gs; tumblr app ********** Comments: Georgetown t-shirt, DH’s sweater, and fleece-lined reversible windbreaker