Bluestalking

Another 100 Must Read Book List...

2013-06-16T14:16:38-05:00

Just when you think it's safe to feel fairly confident about what you've read, along comes another one. This list is from BookRiot (an intense bookish site if ever there was one) and is in answer to the question "What qualifies as "well read"?

I've bolded the books I've read:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
All Quiet on the Western Front by Eric Maria Remarque
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay by Michael Chabon
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beowulf
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Brave New World by Alduos Huxley
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Candide by Voltaire
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
The Complete Stories of Edgar Allan Poe
The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Dream of Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin
Dune by Frank Herbert
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Faust by Goethe
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Game of Thrones by George RR Martin
The Golden Bowl by Henry James
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Gospels
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Harry Potter & The Sorceror’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
Howl by Allen Ginsberg
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
if on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino
The Iliad by Homer
The Inferno by Dante
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exepury
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
The Odyssey by Homer
Oedipus, King by Sophocles
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Pentateuch
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Rabbit, Run by John Updike
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut
The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner
The Stand by Stephen King
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee
Watchmen by Alan Moore
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
1984 by George Orwell
50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James

So, do I qualify as well read? Maybe mediumish read.

Where do you stand? And don't tell me "In the corner, when I'm naughty."

Any of these books surprise you? They sure did me. 50 Shades of Grey? Why? And The DaVinci Code? Even Gone Girl.

Does being trendy in your reading count you as well read? Methinks not.

That's CRAZY TALK.

But all lists are subjective. They're just fun to read.

On the move... to Wordpress

2013-06-13T13:40:34-05:00

Loves,

I am in the process of moving Bluestalking to Wordpress. I'm tired of dealing with the difficulties of Typepad. It can be such a butt pain sometimes.

New posts may be found there as I work assiduously - behind the scenes - ferrying what's worth taking with me to my new location, deleting what's not worth the effort.

Only god knows how long the process will take. The money factor - Wordpress is free; Typepad most definitely isn't - behooves me to make the transition as quickly as possible but the format changes may be present a challenge.

Woe!

Look forward to seeing you there!

Kisses,

Lisa

YouTube: Lionel Shriver on her new novel 'Big Brother'

2013-06-11T16:19:02-05:00

I need to get my hands on a copy of this novel. Read the description and tell me you don't find it compelling.

A sister abandons her husband in order to help her morbidly obese brother because she's afraid his life depends on her intervention.

But is she a reliable narrator? What's her true motivation?

It's timely, relevant and centered on food issues, not to mention judgement of ourselves and others.

From the Back Cover

From the acclaimed author of the National Book Award finalist So Much for
That and the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin
comes a striking new novel about siblings, marriage, and obesity.

When Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at her local Iowa airport, she
literally doesn't recognize him. In the four years since the siblings last saw
each other, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of
pounds. What happened?

And it's not just the weight. Imposing himself on Pandora's world, Edison
breaks her husband Fletcher's handcrafted furniture, makes overkill breakfasts
for the family, and entices her stepson not only to forgo college but to drop
out of high school.

After the brother-in-law has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher
delivers his wife an ultimatum: It's him or me. Putting her marriage and adopted
family on the line, Pandora chooses her brother—who, without her support in
losing weight, will surely eat himself into an early grave.

Rich with Shriver's distinctive wit and ferocious energy, Big
Brother is about fat—an issue both social and excruciatingly personal. It
asks just how much we'll sacrifice to rescue single members of our families, and
whether it's ever possible to save loved ones from themselves.

Indie Pick: Creating Postpartum Wellness, Natural Solutions to Banish Depression After Childbirth by Laura Rude

2013-06-07T19:52:10-05:00

When a newborn child is placed into its mother's arms the joy is indescribable; finally, after all those months of anticipation and trepidation the child lies cradled in her arms. Beneath that portrait of perfection lie all the raging hormones associated with pregnancy and the body's adjustment to nursing and caring for a baby, not to mention the emotional component, which is off the charts. For all too many women, though, the period following the birth of a child can bring on a darkness, a deep depression made all the worse by societal expectations once your child is born you will feel nothing but relief and joy.

For too many, this is the furthest thing from the truth.

Laura Rude's Creating Postpartum Wellness addresses this serious condition in a caring and thorough manner, raising awareness of what constitutes more serious depression that needs intervention, as opposed to the normal exhaustion and bleary-eyed overwhelming state all parents pass through as they adjust to life with a newborn.

Her book helps guide women, and those who care for them, through the options for treatment as well as providing good, sound medical advice on basic self care as a means of helping mothers along. The information is thorough, including everything from potentially helpful changes in diet to suggestions on how to choose a therapist.

Rude's tone is understanding, gentle in a way those suffering from the often-brutal reality of depression will likely find encouraging. The breadth of her research, as well as her suggestions as to methods of helping alleviate the condition, is impressive; it's obvious she's done her homework. I cannot imagine a more comprehensive treatment of the topic, nor one written so well. I would have no hesitation suggesting this book to anyone suffering from postpartum depression, or, actually, depression in general.

File Size: 1196 KB
Print Length: 223 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1938686365
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Aviva Publishing; 1 edition (April 30, 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00CLLA9J8

Indie Pick: The Millionaire Dropout by Vince Stanzione

2013-06-07T11:51:59-05:00

The Millionaire Dropout: Fire Your Boss, Do What You Love, Change Your Life by Vince Stanzione

Business/self-help isn't my usual genre but Mr. Stanzione approached me with the possibility of my reviewing his book and, after reading it, I give it my endorsement. It's tough out there; God knows I've learned that over the past month, after losing my own day job. Suddenly I'm getting a lot more interested in books about how to get your life back on track.

The economic outlook is bleak and getting bleaker by the day. This won't come as a surprise to anyone. What we don't always realize is there is hope out there; it's largely a matter of mind-set and putting in the time it takes to earn success. The current economic climate is not for the wimpy, nor the half-hearted. And Vince Stanzione is just the kind of book we all need to get our heads out of the sand and give our careers - and lives - 100%.

How you look at your life and situation is a huge element in your success. The Millionaire Dropout teaches you how to adjust your thinking, to look at your outmoded mindset and readjust it to help change your old, ineffective habits.

But this isn't just another general "think positive" manual. Stanzione offers concrete advice on how to change at a reasonable pace, breaking it down step by step to help real people make progress without becoming burned out or discouraged. He addresses things like becoming overwhelmed, taking advantage of connections you may not have thought about, considering adding to your education: all real-life, down to earth suggestions to help anyone move forward and become unstuck.

He discusses evaluating your skills, assessing your current career path and considering the possibility you may be in the wrong profession. Current trends, the psychology of what people buy and why and using the internet to your advantage are all very relevant and sometimes over-looked aspects of job hunting. The Millionaire Dropout covers all these avenues and a lot more.

Not all books on the topic of job hunting and finding your niche are created equally: Stanzione's book is a practically, useful and well-written guide to achieving your goals and living your dreams. He writes in understandable language, using real-world examples. Very highly recommended for everyone unhappy with their current employment situation or those who are out of work and pounding the pavement. Maybe you're looking in the wrong direction. The Millionaire Dropout can help anyone in need of useful career - and life - advice.

File Size: 970 KB
Print Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (May 6, 2013)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00CPOQAGM

My Mid-Year Crisis

2013-06-06T19:41:46-05:00

Probably doesn't need saying that I've gotten far less read this year than I'd hoped. What with all the life events transpiring, the unemployment, the job searching and what-not my reading life has all but ground to a halt.

I've become a very restless reader, starting books and setting them aside. I decided to try Dan Brown's Inferno (I know), which is light and relatively fast-paced. Literary it is not, despite the Dante theme (cough), but it's almost keeping my interest. It's sitting here beside me, the one book that's beside me, which is highly unusual. Indeed.

On my Kindle I've been reading Dubliners, which is brilliant and lovely - as the Irish themselves always are - but it's a collection of short stories that end practically in mid-sentence they're so abrupt. Joyce lets you get to know characters and then pulls the rug out from under them. Hard to really grasp the point but I suppose it's highly literary and that's why it's somewhat confusing. Otherwise, what value could it have? Joyce isn't keen on reader comprehension. As if that needs to be said.

Let the record show: it's not my intention to bash Dubliners, it's just not doing much for my reading slump.

I'm reading mostly for "production," I guess you could say - what I'm reviewing or reading for book groups. I did finish The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. It lent itself well to all the starting and stopping, the picking up and putting back down that is my before bedtime reading, all done on my Kindle so my book light doesn't wake HIMSELF.

This book is much like Forrest Gump meets Don Quixote. Explosives expert Allan Karlsson - after blowing up his house and a significant amount of land in the process - is sent to an asylum for a few years, castrated and basically kicked out of Sweden. Talk about harshing your day. So he travels the world, wherever life takes him. And why not? There's nothing tying him down and he's more than able to live by his wits.

In the process he winds up meeting pretty much every head of state from Stalin to Churchill to Truman, always coming off the genius and always landing on his feet despite the odds stacked against him. Every time you'll think "No way can he get out of this mess..." then, somehow, he does. And it's always a very clever way, always very funny but makes perfect sense. Kind of.

If you've seen the film Being There, it's similar to that. Not that he's unintelligent, or mentally impaired in any way like Chauncey Gardener, not at all. He really does know everything important about explosives and figures out the secret behind the atom bomb, inserting himself into history though others have essentially taken credit for his knowledge. And all because he just follows along, floating with the tide. It's that quality that gives the plot such ease. Like in children's novels, when all the adults are noticeably absent, the main character's left to do as he pleases. If he'd been anchored the story could never have happened.

The plot is two-fold, alternating between Allan's flight from the pursuit of the police - as people tend to die around him, not always through his own fault (but sometimes), they're a bit eager to catch up with him - since he escaped from the old folks' home and his unbelievable past. It's a hilarious book, sometimes slapstick, sometimes more subdued. So many great characters. Really a treasure, if you have time to read it.

Looking at my reading going all the way back to January, I have to marvel what a strong start I had and how suddenly it all ground to a halt. I set my Goodreads goal at 100 books for 2013 and spent the first three or four months of the year ahead of the average, staying on track and then some. Not so now. I don't know if I could catch up even if I wanted to and it's a pretty low priority. Too many more serious issues than meeting an arbitrary reading goal.

2013 is also the year I found BookMooch.com, which should never have been invented, as people like me don't know the word RESTRAINT or PACING. If you don't know the site, basically you list a few books you're willing to trade and you get so many points for each book you enter. Mooching from another person here in the States costs 1 point per book and mooching abroad 3. I've sent off, oh, maybe thirty or forty books and have received almost as many in return. It's gotten totally out of hand, so I'm thinking of going "on vacation" for a bit. You may get the books for free but the POSTAGE! Good god.

Then, the Half Price Books store opened here in town. Oy. Want to guess how happy that made me? And how much more poor. As far as how much they pay you when you sell, it's less than I'd hoped. Am I better off selling there or going through the Amazon program? Considering the pain in the arse involved in packing and shipping I'm not sure my time isn't worth more than the money I'd make through Amazon. Some books would the effort but most not. The penny sellers have crippled that selling outlet. I'm leaning toward going into HPB, bag by bag. And walking out with the equivalent in "new" books, probably.

Probably? DEFINITELY.

Have you been to a HPB? Holy mother. Selection varies by store but in general the calibre is HIGH. For book snobs like myself it's a paradise! All the stuff I'm likely to buy - like the book Kafka wrote abou this father, which is supposed to explain what made him the "eccentric" man he was - are not likely to sell before I scrape together the money to buy them. Most books I have my eye on - for future purchase - are still there when I go back to get them.

I bat clean up for Half Price Books.

And, by the way? There's a HalfPriceBooks.com...

I also found a yummy new blog I want to tell you about: 101 Books: Reading my way through Time Magazine's 100 Greatest Novels. Just found it and I likes it. He just finished Portnoy's Complaint and is gearing up for All the King's Men. Check him out.

Restless and distracted, that sums up my recent reading. I need to hit upon something stunning to get me back on track again, something more diverting than pouting glumly about my life. The answer is a book blog surf away, I have no doubt. It usually is.