Skip to main content

Featured Post

Waltzing in the Music City | Weekly Snapshot

Posted on
If you're in the US, do you have Monday off from work or school, to observe President's Day? All of us at our home do, which is lucky because this isn't a day that every company or institution observes with a day off. Even though it's not been too long since the Christmas and New Year holiday season, I'd been pining for a vacation for a while - something either low-key or relaxing that even the kids will enjoy.


Currently This post is coming to you from the Music City - Nashville - where we are spending the long weekend. We are technically here only for two days and will leave early on Monday so that we are home in time to pick our dog from boarding. Although I don't personally care much for the music scene other than to listen to what's popular on the radio, I had been hoping to stop by Nashville someday and check it out.

We are staying at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, which is a sight in itself, with its acres and acres of gardens and walkways. It's def…
Post a Comment

It's Monday! What are you reading? -- May 24, 2010

Posted on
It's Monday! What are you reading this week?
This is a weekly event initially hosted by J. Kaye at J. Kaye's Book Blog, now by Sheila @ One Persons Journey through a world of Books, to celebrate what you are reading for the week as well as books completed the previous week.

Books completed last week
I didn't exactly have my best week, so I managed to complete just one book.
- The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara

Books reviewed
- Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi
- The Lumby Lines by Gail Fraser
- The Arrival by Shaun Tan

I am currently reading

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See: No progress on this, I need to take my rusty old iPod out and get back to listening!
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling: I am halfway through this book now and I'm hoping this will get me out of my reading funk!
The Lion's Game by Nelson DeMille: So far, I didn't find this book as good as Plum Island, but John Corey is still amazingly sarcastic and that's making for some good laughs.
One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni: This is Chitra's first book that I am reading, and I'm finding her writing style quite engaging. So far, this book is going well, not amazing, but definitely interesting.





Tags

Comments

Emidy @ Une Parole said…
Yay, Goblet of Fire! I think that was one of my favourite HP books. I've got to re-read the series.
May 24, 2010 at 12:11 AM
Zia said…
Love Goblet of Fire. The Motorcycle Diaries sounds interesting.
May 24, 2010 at 12:24 AM
Jennifer said…
Great list of this week. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is brilliant. I hope you enjoy it. My Monday: http://www.rundpinne.com/2010/05/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-24-may.html
May 24, 2010 at 1:23 AM
The1stdaughter said…
Nothing like a little Harry Potter to get you back into enjoying books again. It's hard when you hit a block, but sometimes a book that got you going in the past can help. It has for me I know!
Have a fantastic reading week and if you get a chance, stop by: Monday Reading's at There's A Book
May 24, 2010 at 3:14 AM
Anonymous said…
Snow Flower is a good book: keep going, soon you'll be into it. Happy reading/listening!

My Monday post can be found here: http://leeswammes.wordpress.com
May 24, 2010 at 4:52 AM
gautami tripathy said…
I loved The Goblet of Fire. Best out of the lot!

Mondays: Mailbox/Musings/Whereabouts
May 24, 2010 at 5:46 AM
Unknown said…
One Amazing Thing looks interesting. My Goodreads wishlist just keeps getting longer and longer! Have a good week!
May 24, 2010 at 7:44 AM
Sheila (Bookjourney) said…
Harry Potter is like taking a muscle relaxer Aths - puts you in the right mood again for books! I hope you are enjoying it, you know I am a fan :D

Have a super week!
May 24, 2010 at 8:29 AM
Tea said…
I would love to read One Amazing Thing. You have read good books.
May 24, 2010 at 8:31 AM
Tea said…
By the way I loved "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I think the story is so uniquely different.
May 24, 2010 at 8:32 AM
NancyO said…
I have Motorcycle Diaries sitting on my shelf. You inspired me to read Columbine (did you see the note from Dave Cullen on my blog about your comment, by the way?), so maybe I'll move Motorcycle Diaries up closer to the top of the TBR pile.

Have a lovely reading week!
May 24, 2010 at 9:23 AM
Tales of Whimsy said…
One Amazing Thing has been on my list forever. I can't wait to see what you make of it.
May 24, 2010 at 10:27 AM
Stephanie said…
I am intrigued by Motorcycle Diaries. I've had my eye on One Amazing Thing for a while -- it looks wonderful. And I love The Goblet of Fire -- it's probably my favorite Harry Potter.

http://laughingstars.net
May 24, 2010 at 10:41 AM
E.J. Stevens said…
Great list this week. :)

It's Monday! What I am reading is here and my 300 Follower Giveaway is here.

Happy reading!

xx,
E.J.
May 24, 2010 at 12:59 PM
Helen's Book Blog said…
Can't wait to hear what you think of Snow Flower. And, of course, Harry Potter is always awesome!
May 24, 2010 at 1:22 PM
Laurel-Rain Snow said…
Snow Flower sounds tempting...hope you enjoy your books.

Here's my Monday:

http://laurel-rain-snow.blogspot.com/2010/05/its-monday-what-are-you-reading_23.html
May 24, 2010 at 6:17 PM
Violet said…
Hooray for HP & the Goblet of Fire! Loved that one! Happy reading! :)

My Monday post is here. :)
May 24, 2010 at 8:40 PM
The Mistress of the Dark said…
Snowflower and the Secret Fan is one of the best books I've read.

My reads are up

http://achickwhoreads.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-are-you-reading.html
May 24, 2010 at 8:58 PM
Beverly said…
Great books! Hope you find time to read and enjoy them! Have a great week! Stop by and check out what I got at The Wormhole
May 25, 2010 at 1:57 AM
Unknown said…
I've been wanting to read The Motorcycle Diaries for years, very interested to hear what you thought of it :) Have a great week!
May 25, 2010 at 10:51 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hell-Heaven by Jhumpa Lahiri (Short Fiction Review)

Posted on
I first read Jhumpa Lahiri years ago, when her Interpreter of Maladies was making a huge buzz. At the time, I didn't catch any of the buzz, but for some reason, when I saw the book on the shelf at the store I was browsing in, I felt it just might be a decent read. Funnily, I read the entire short story collection without complaining about it, but for some reason, I cannot read any collection anymore without agonizing over its disjoint nature.

I did enjoy Interpreter of Maladies, but I did get bothered by the thread of loneliness and infidelity and distrust that laced through the stories. For that reason, I have been reluctant to read Unaccustomed Earth. However, when I came across Hell-Heaven at the NewYorker - a free short story from her book, I decided to go ahead and read it. I can't resist the pull of stories set in India or featuring Indian characters, and it is that same aspect that hooked me throughout this story.


In Hell-Heaven, the narrator contemplates the relations…
13 comments
Read more

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Posted on
Maybe that’s what religion is, hurling yourself off a cliff and trusting that something bigger will take care of you and carry you to the right place.
Bernadette Fox has a reputation. While her husband and her daughter Bee love her, there's barely anyone else who share the sentiment. Her neighbor Audrey loves to gossip mean things about her with her close friend, Soo-Lin. The other parents of kids at Bee's school look down on Bernadette because she doesn't involve herself in school affairs. Bernadette herself goes out of her way to avoid company.

And then one day, Bee comes home with an excellent report card and asks for her reward - a family trip to Antarctica. The very plan throws Bernadette into a panic but she has no other option. She hires a virtual assistant, based out of India to take care of all her demands, including getting prescriptions at her local pharmacy, doing her online shopping and taking care of some of the logistics of her trip. (It is ridiculous! Bern…
27 comments
Read more

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (Short Fiction review)

Posted on
With the Hunger Games hype that engulfed us last week, it was hard to avoid all the discussion of similar works that existed. Of the many titles that I came across, two stood out particularly - a short story called The Lottery and a Japanese novel (and movie) called Battle Royale (which I'm reading right now and just cannot put down). The novel will be fodder for another post, so for now, I just want to rave about the awesomeness that was The Lottery.

In contemporary America, villagers across the country are gathering on the 27th of June (and some a day earlier) for an annual event called the Lottery. Children, women, men, all come to the main square of their village or town, where the lottery master keeps a black box full of paper chips. One of these chips is marked has a special mark on it to identify the winner (the person who draws that chip). Not everyone draws however, but only the head of the family. Husbands are viewed as the head of their families/households, and if the …
19 comments
Read more