2010 Battle of the Prizes, British Version: Wrap Up Post

The 2010 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, ends today, on January 31, 2011.  The 2011 challenge starts February 1.

This challenge pitted winners of the English Man Booker Prize against winners of the Scottish James Tait Black Memorial Prize in a British Version of the Battle of the Prizes.

Thanks to everyone who participated! I hope you sign up for the 2011 challenge. I'll get that post up tomorrow.

Participants could read three books or four -- either one Booker winner, one Black winner, and one that won both prizes; or two Booker and two Black winners.

In theory, the idea was to compare the prizes and the winners, but in practice (at least for me), the point was to read, and hopefully enjoy, three or four books and then scratch them off my lists.

PARTICIPANTS

Rose City Reader

chaotic compendiums 

Musings  (The first to complete the challenge -- congratulations!)

Oh, So Many Manias . . .  

Books in the City 

ExUrbanis

J.G. at Hotchpot Cafe (read her wrap up post here)

Birdie's Nest

REVIEWS

If any one else has reviews still to do, no problem.  Just give me a link in a comment here and I will add it. 

The rest of the reviews, in order of submission, were:

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel on chaotic compendiums 

G by John Berger on Musings 

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro on Birdie's Nest

Without My Cloak by Kate O'Brien on Musings

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry here on Rose City Reader

Something to Answer For by P. H. Newby on Musings

The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch here on Rose City Reader

Personality by Andrew O'Hagan on Hotchpot Cafe

Last Orders by Graham Swift on Hotchpot Cafe

Staying On by Paul Scott on Hotchpot Cafe 

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen on Books in the City

G by John Berger here on Rose City Reader

Mailbox Monday and GIVEAWAY

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! I also have a new GIVEAWAY this week and three winners of last week's giveaway.  Keep reading through the post to find all the goodies.

It has been a lot of fun to host MM in January.  Next week, MM moves to the Library of Clean Reads for February.

MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. (Library books don’t count, but eBooks & audiobooks do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

Please leave the link to your Mailbox Monday post with Mr. Linky. If you do not have a blog, leave your mailbox list in a comment.

GIVEAWAY WINNER

I had three copies of JOYRIDE: Pedaling Toward A Healthier Planet By Mia Birk with Joe "Metal Cowboy" Kurmaskie (published by Cadence Press). These are finished books, not ARCS.



THE BOOK: This is the inspiring story of pioneering transportation leader Mia Birk's 20-year crusade to integrate bicycling into daily life. With a table scrap of funding, Mia led a revolution that grew Portland, Oregon into the #1 American cycling city. Mia then hit the road, helping make communities across the nation -- even her hometown of Dallas, Texas -- more human, healthy, safe, and livable. While many books today extol the pain of our world's problems, Mia's funny, touching Joyride is the antidote, offering hope to any and everyone interested in changing our world, one pedal stroke at a time.

THE WINNERS:

•  Wendi at Wendi's Book Corner
• Apple Blossom at 4 the Love of Books
• Gabe at Reading Local

Thank you to all who participated and congratulations to the winners!  I will contact you shortly.

THIS WEEK'S GIVAWAY

This week, I am giving away an ARC of Bering Sea Blues: A Crabber's Tale of Fear in the Icy North by Joe Upton.  Thanks again go to Mary Bisbee-Beek, an incredibly diligent book publicist, for providing the bounty.



THE BOOK:  This is a white knuckle memoir of a winter season of king crab fishing in the Bering Sea, with relentless 12 to 14 hour days of setting and hauling the pots to catch the crab and searching for elusive pockets on the ocean floor that can yield as much as 70 tons of crab. For the lucky ones there were financial rewards; for others, surviving was the reward. And in the quiet moments, there is reflection on the rich history of the North Pacific, the spectacular empitness of Alaska's remote southwest coast, and nature's maelstrom on the meanest sea on earth.

Joe Upton is a fisherman, journalist, and the author of five books on Alaska. The book is published by Epicenter Press.


THE RULES: The contest is open until Sunday, February 6, 2011. To enter, do any or all of the following, but you must leave a comment for each one:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must include a way to contact you (email or website address in your comment or available in your profile). If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway. (Posting the giveaway on your sidebar is also acceptable.) Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Subscribe to my rss feed, follow me on blogger, or subscribe via email (or tell me if you already are a subscriber or follower). Leave a separate comment for this. (1 entry)

4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name. (1 entry)

5. Stumble this blog, digg it, technorati fave it, or link it on facebook. Leave a separate comment. (1 entry)

There are a lot of ways to enter (maximum of five entries), but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count. I will use random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is open to entries from the U.S. and Canada only. The deadline for entry is 9:00 PM, Pacific Time, on Sunday, February 6, 2011. I will draw and post the winner's name in my Mailbox Monday post for February 7, 2011.

MY MAILBOX

I got two book last week, both in my mailbox. Mary Bisbee-Beek sent me this one, also distributed by Epicenter Press:

Sunken Klondike Gold: How a Lost Fortune Inspired an Ambitious Effort to Raise the S.S. Islander by Leonard H. Delano.



Even though this is adding to my Guilt List and therefore violating my New Year's reading resolution, I am happy to get it.  For one thing, it looks pretty good and is full of cool pictures and drawings.  But better yet, my husband's face lit up like a kid at Christmas when he saw it.  It is so up his alley.

Oregon State University Press sent me an ARC of the soon-to-be-released Among Penguins: A Bird Man in Antarctica by Noah Strycker.



As fascinating as this looks -- and it really does -- and as much as I liked that penguin movie with the little baby penguins, I'm going to stick with my resolution on this one and will be passing it on to someone who will get to it sooner than I will.

2010 Battle of the Prizes, American Version: Wrap-Up Post

The 2010 Battle of the Prizes, American Version, ends on January 31, 2011.  The 2011 challenge starts February 1.

Thanks to everyone who participated! I hope you sign up for the 2011 challenge.

This challenge pitted winners of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction against the winners of the National Book Award in the American Version of the Battle of the Prizes.

Participants could read three books or four -- either one Pulitzer winner, one National winner, and one that won both prizes; or two Pulitzer and two National winners.

In theory, the idea was to compare the prizes and the winners, but in practice (at least for me), the point was to read, and hopefully enjoy, three or four books and then scratch them off my lists.

PARTICIPANTS

Rose City Reader
chaotic compendiums (read her wrap-up post here)
Musings 
Oh, So Many Manias . . . 
Joy's Blog
Book In Hand
ExUrbanis 
100 Books. 100 Journeys
J.G. at Hotch Pot Cafe (read her wrap-up post here)
Remember to Breathe  (read her wrap-up post here)
Book Psmith
Man of La Book

REVIEWS

Reviews were strongly encouraged, but not mandatory.  Good thing there was that loophole, because I failed to review one of my own Pulitzer picks, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz.

Here are the reviews, in the order submitted:

Morte d'Urban by J. F. Powers on Musings 

World's Fair by E. L. Doctorow on chaotic compendiums

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner on 100 Books. 100 Journeys 

The Adventures of Augie March on 100 Books. 100 Journeys 

Lonesome Dove on chaotic compendiums 

Breathing Lessons on Book Psmith

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson on Musings

The Color Purple by Alice Walker on chaotic compendiums

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann on Musings

The Color Purple by Alice Walker on 100 Books. 100 Journeys

Tinkers by Paul Harding on Musings

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon on Man of La Book

The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter on Hotchpot Cafe

The Optimist's Daughter on Hotchpot Cafe

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann on Man of La Book

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann here on Rose City Reader

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout here on Rose City Reader

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon here on Rose City Reader

Tinkers by Paul Harding on Joy's Blog

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx on Book in Hand

Herzog by Saul Bellow on Book in Hand

Review of the Day: Lord of Misrule

Lord of Misrule is Jaimy Gordon's back-of-the-house view of small track horse racing. It is not a pretty view – everything is crooked, crippled, rusty, or staved in at Indian Mound Downs. The horses are burned out; the grooms, trainers, and jockeys are barely grubbing by; and even the crooks are two-bit.

The story is vaguely set in the early 1970s and begins when frizzly-haired Maggie crashes through the back gate of a third-rate West Virginia race track, trying to find stalls for her boyfriend's meager string of horses. She falls in with Medicine Ed, an illiterate black groom whose old-school ways include nice touches like braiding a horse's mane as well as dubious tricks like mixing up a batch of "goofer dust" before a big race, and Duecey, a hard-bitten sad sack of an owner/trainer who sleeps in the stall with her horse.

The book was a little hard to get into because Gordon goes for authenticity over clarity, using undefined racing slang and realistic dialog. Also, the point-of-view moves among several characters and the narration switches between an omniscient third-person narrator and second-person narrative by Maggie's boyfriend, the increasingly crazier Tommy. These stylistic choices may trip up the reader but they add to the overall mood and, ultimately, the quality of the book.

Less forgivable is Gordon's choice to omit quotation marks from the dialog. Left unmarked, spoken words mingle with unspoken thoughts in a way that may have been meant to evoke a stream-of-conscious atmosphere but comes off as an annoying distraction.

Despite these obstacles, Lord of Misrule is a terrific book with a story and characters than linger. There is a strong but loosely woven plot that leads to an exciting showdown and a satisfying ending. It is a dark horse that deserved to win the National Book Award.

NOTES

This review was first published on the Internet Review of Books, an indispensable resource for readers.

I read this as one of my two National Book Award choices for the Battle of the Prizes, American Version, Challenge.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this book listed here, please leave a comment with a link to your review and I will add it.

Opening Sentence of the Day: Shipwrecks, Monsters, and Mysteries of the Great Lakes

"In 1679, a French ship called the Griffon, the first sailing vessel built on the Great Lakes, left Green Bay on Lake Michigan, bound for Niagra with a cargo of furs."


-- Shipwrecks, Monsters, and Mysteries of the Great Lakes by Ed Butts.

This is a short book with 10 stories of Great Lakes adventures, just a sample of stories about the 6,000 or so ships lost on the Great Lakes since the Griffon disappeared.

It would be a great book to read with kids ready to learn history. All the adventures and mysteries would make learning about inter-coastal commerce, industrial development, and navigable waterways much more interesting.

This is my latest LibraryThing Early Reviewer book. There are others on that list that I should get to first, but this was too inviting.

Review of the Day: George Passant

George Passant is the first volume of C. P. Snow’s 11-volume Strangers and Brothers series. In fact, this book was originally published in 1940 as Strangers and Brothers. It tells the story of an idealistic, progressive, young attorney in post-WWI England determined to build his career and passionately devoted to helping his group of friends.

Unfortunately for George, his dual aims lead to some questionable financial dealings and he and two of his protégés end up facing criminal fraud charges. It soon becomes clear that George’s lifestyle is on trial more than his business practices, leading to an impressive courtroom finale.

It is a good story, well told. However, it has not aged particularly well. It requires an exceptionally willing suspension of disbelief to be shocked by the notion that a bunch of single twenty-somethings had sex with each other. Free love and communal living (weekends only) may have been scandalous in the 1920s, when the book was set, and even when it was first published. But now it takes a conscious effort to comprehend just what all the fuss is about.

Read it as the gateway to the rest of the series. Read it because Snow is a good author, and what he wrote about relationships among friends and professional colleagues, and the continual need to hone one’s reputation, still rings true. But don't read it as the sensational courtroom drama it originally was.

OTHER REVIEWS

(If you would like your review of this or any other C. P. Snow book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.)

Teaser Tuesday: 365 Thank Yous

"But it seemed uncanny that Grace had written this note just before I'd determined thank-you notes to be my way out of despair.  By thanking me for a Christmas present, she awakened me to something in my life, however small, for which I could be grateful."

-- 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik.

This is a great little book. I am enjoying it tremendously and am already thinking of notes to write myself.  Of course, I am a huge fan of the handwritten note, so he is preaching to the choir.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday and GIVEAWAY

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! I also have a new GIVEAWAY this week and three winners of last week's giveaway.  Keep reading through the post to find all the goodies.

MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. (Library books don’t count, but eBooks & audiobooks do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here). I am very pleased to host this month.

Please leave the link to your Mailbox Monday post with Mr. Linky. If you do not have a blog, leave your mailbox list in a comment.

GIVEAWAY WINNER

Last week I had three copies to give away of Emotional Currency: A Woman's Guide to Building a Healthy Relationship with Moneyby Kate Levinson, PhD.  The full title gives a pretty good description.  It sounds like a book all women should read.



THE BOOK: Emotional Currency gives women the tools to understand – and challenge – their psychological relationship with money so they can make smarter decisions about their current and future financial responsibilities.

Here’s the book every woman (and most men) need: a clear, thoughtful, and beautifully-written guide for how to cope with the myriad of emotions caused by money. Kate Levinson – practicing therapist and businesswoman –shows how money is both mercilessly public and intimately personal – stirring up our deepest feelings about dependence and independence, status, attractiveness, and terrifying confusion between net worth and self worth. Women in today’s economy are especially vulnerable because of gender biases in the workplace, patterns of parenting and upbringing that assume women do not “handle” financial matters well, and social norms that still disapprove of money-wise women. This book is a wise and important antidote.

Robert B. Reich
Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy
Goldman School of Public Policy
University of California, Berkeley

THE WINNERS: Based on random.org's choices, the winners are:

• J.G. at Hotchpot Cafe
• LKT at The Infusion
• Carol at Carol's Notebook

Thank you to all who participated and congratulations to the winners!  I will contact you shortly.

THIS WEEK'S GIVAWAY

Again thanks to book publicist extraordinaire, Mary Bisbee-Beek, I have three copies of JOYRIDE: Pedaling Toward A Healthier Planet By Mia Birk with Joe "Metal Cowboy" Kurmaskie (published by Cadence Press). These are finished books, not ARCS.

Mia Birk lives in Portland and is available for speaking engagements in the area.  She is also available for blog interviews.  If anyone is interested, please contact Mary Bisbee-Beek via her LinkedIn profile, or leave your email in a comment and Mary will contact you.




THE BOOK: This is the inspiring story of pioneering transportation leader Mia Birk's 20-year crusade to integrate bicycling into daily life. With a table scrap of funding, Mia led a revolution that grew Portland, Oregon into the #1 American cycling city. Mia then hit the road, helping make communities across the nation -- even her hometown of Dallas, Texas -- more human, healthy, safe, and livable. While many books today extol the pain of our world's problems, Mia's funny, touching Joyride is the antidote, offering hope to any and everyone interested in changing our world, one pedal stroke at a time.


THE RULES: The contest is open until Sunday, January 30, 2011. To enter, do any or all of the following, but you must leave a comment for each one:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must include a way to contact you (email or website address in your comment or available in your profile). If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway. (Posting the giveaway on your sidebar is also acceptable.) Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Subscribe to my rss feed, follow me on blogger, or subscribe via email (or tell me if you already are a subscriber or follower). Leave a separate comment for this. (1 entry)

4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name. (1 entry)

5. Stumble this blog, digg it, technorati fave it, or link it on facebook. Leave a separate comment. (1 entry)

There are a lot of ways to enter (maximum of five entries), but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count. I will use random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is open to entries from the U.S. and Canada only. The deadline for entry is 9:00 PM, Pacific Time, on Sunday, January 30, 2011. I will draw and post the winner's name in my Mailbox Monday post for January 31, 2011.

MY MAILBOX

My New Year's reading resolution was to tackle my Guilt List and to stop adding to it.  Luckily, I keep a separate list for LibraryThing Early Reviewer books, so this one doesn't count. Really.



Shipwrecks, Monsters, and Mysteries of the Great Lakes by Ed Butts.  This is a short book with 10 stories of Great Lakes adventures.  I asked for it because it would tickle my husband's reading fancy, but I am going to tear through it myself.

I also hit the jackpot at Powell's the other day.  I always check the Anthony Powell shelf when I am there (no relation, and the book store name rhymes with "towel," while the author's name sounds more like "pole"), looking for books other than A Dance to the Music of Time.  The Dance books are always there, but it is hard to find his others.  I got lucky.



From a View to a Death, his third novel, first published in 1933, before he started Dance.



What's Become of Waring, his fifth novel, first published in 1939, also before he started Dance.

To Keep the Ball Rolling: Infants of the Spring and To Keep the Ball Rolling: Messengers of Day, the first two volumes of his four-volume memoirs, published in1976 and 1978. They have plain gray covers with no dustjackets.



The Fisher King, a novel first published in 1986, after he completed Dance.

Opening Sentence of the Day: 365 Thank Yous

"On December 22, 2007, I felt my life was at an irreversible personal nadir."

-- 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik.

The senior partner at my firm gave me this for Christmas.  Then, just the other day, he wrote me a letter thanking me for joining the firm as a partner and saying some very nice things about me.  He laid it on pretty thick, but I have to say that it sure made my day.  He told me he has been writing similar letters to people because he was inspired by this book. I'm intrigued.

Opening Sentence of the Day: G

"The father of the principal protagonist of this book was called Umberto."

-- G by John Berger.

This is one of only three books to win both the Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.  I am reading it as my last book for the 2010 Battle of the Prizes, British Version, which ends on January 31.

I am only 67 pages into it and I like it so far.  I am worried that it is going to take a weird or bad turn that will leave me not liking it, because J.G. at Hotchpot Cafe doesn't care for it and we have similar taste in books.

Literary Blog Hop: Hateful

The Blue Bookcase hosts a "Literary Blog Hop" for blogs "that primarily feature reviews of literary fiction, classic literature, and general literary discussion."

Each week, in addition to hopping around and visiting some terrific book blogs, participants answer a bookish question.  This week's question -- answered very well for the BB team by Lucia -- is:

Discuss a work of literary merit that you hated when you were made to read it in school or university. Why did you dislike it?

"School or university" was a long time ago and, looking back, I can think of several books I "hated" while I was reading them. The Grapes of Wrath, 1984, Sister Carrie, and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage come immediately to mind.  But, the thing is, I don't think I would hate them now.  I simply didn't understand them when I read them or was bored by them with the profound boredom of a teenager.  I re-read Sister Carrie, for instance, and enjoyed it tremendously (review here).

But there is one book that I can honestly say I hated -- I hated it then and I am certain I would hate it now:  Waiting for Godot.

I don't care if this confession brands me a literary Philistine.  Irish critic Vivian Mercier famously described Samuel Beckett's masterpiece as "a play in which nothing happens, twice."  I had to read it twice, for two different college classes, and I saw it performed once in London, so in my personal experience, nothing happened six times.

Why did I hate it? I found it excruciating. Absurdist theater is not for those who seek a plot. Or character development. Or clever dialog. Or even just a scintilla of entertainment.

In Annie Hall, Woody Allen tells Diane Keaton, "Never take a class where they make read Beowulf." My advise is to skip any class involving Waiting for Godot.

Review of the Day: One City's Wilderness

One of Portland's many blessings is Forest Park, a swath of green on the city's western flank, covering over 5,100 acres and containing close to 80 miles of trails, including the Wildwood Trail, the longest contiguous trail in a city park in the United States.

In the updated and expanded third edition of One City's Wilderness, Marcy Cottrell Houle provides the quintessential guide to this incredible urban park. The book contains detailed descriptions of 29 hikes covering all the trails through the park. Each description includes a full-color map; useful statistics, including GPS coordinates; an elevation chart showing elevation gained and lost over the course of the hike; a precise description of the trail and what you will see; and useful sidebars providing tidbits on the history, flora, fauna, and geology relevant to that section of the park. There is also a foldout color map of the entire park inside the back cover.

The book is chock-o-block full of photographs of the park, including color pictures of the park's most beautiful features, field guide sections on plants and birds, and a few black and white photos depicting the park's history.

Houle also includes informative chapters on the history of the park, its geology, watersheds, vegetation, and wildlife. These later include checklists of the plants, mammals, and birds to be found in the park.

But the book is primarily about the trails because hiking through Forrest Park is how best to experience and enjoy it. As Houle explains:

Forest Park is not overrun with asphalt, swimming pools, picnic areas, or developed sports fields. Instead, since its inception sixty years ago, it has offered a quiet kind of enjoyment, the kind most cherished by lovers of the outdoors. The eighty miles of trails and firelanes . . . and the hundreds of acres of hills and canyons in between, make Forest Park a haven for hikers, bird watchers, nature photographers, runners, bicyclists, equestrians, teachers, and students – in short, anyone needing close-in inspiration and natural refreshment.

Every reader will be inspired to accept Houle's "All Trails Challenge" to undertake all of the 29 hikes described. Conveniently, the book contains a challenge section listing the hikes and including a place to record the date each one is accomplished.

One City's Wilderness is a must-have guide for every hiker living in or visiting Portland.

OTHER REVIEWS

(If you would like your review of this book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.  Also, if you have hiked any of the trails described in this book and would like your review of that hike listed here, leave a comment with a link and I will list that post.)

NOTES

This is another high quality book from the Oregon State University Press.

Teaser Tuesday: Lord of Misrule

Little Spinoza's head flew up and  the horse plunged forward into the small party gathering at the winner's circle.  A woman screamed and another in a black picture hat sat down in the dirt.

-- Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon, which won the National Book Award for 2010.




Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday and Giveaway

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! I also have a new GIVEAWAY this week and three winners of last week's giveaway.  Keep reading through the post to find all the goodies.

MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. (Library books don’t count, but eBooks & audiobooks do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here). I am very pleased to host this month.

Please leave the link to your Mailbox Monday post with Mr. Linky. If you do not have a blog, leave your mailbox list in a comment.

GIVEAWAY WINNER

I had three copies to give away of Strange Relation: A Memoir of Marriage, Dementia, and Poetry by Rachel Hadas.  This looks like an incredible book -- a great book club choice, I would think.

THE BOOK: In 2004 Rachel Hadas's husband, George Edwards, a composer and professor of music at Columbia University, was diagnosed with early-onset dementia at the age of sixty-one. STRANGE RELATION is her account of "losing" George. Her narrative begins when George's illness can no longer be ignored, and ends in 2008 soon after his move to a dementia facility (when after thirty years of marriage, Hadas finds herself no longer living with her husband). Within the confines of those difficult years, years when reading and writing were an essential part of what kept her going, she "tried to keep track....tried to tell the truth."

THE WINNERS:  Using random.org, I picked the following winners of this compelling memoir:

• Tina at Tutu's Two Cents
• Serena at Savvy Verse and Wit
• Lori at She Treads Softly

Thank you to all who participated and congratulations to the winners!  I will contact you shortly.

THIS WEEK'S GIVAWAY

Again thanks to book publicist extraordinaire, Mary Bisbee-Beek, I have three copies of Emotional Currency: A Woman's Guide to Building a Healthy Relationship with Money by Kate Levinson, PhD.  I confess I had to read the title twice -- at first I read it as using money to build a relationship, which would be pretty nefarious. :)



THE BOOK: Emotional Currency gives women the tools to understand – and challenge – their psychological relationship with money so they can make smarter decisions about their current and future financial responsibilities.

Here’s the book every woman (and most men) need: a clear, thoughtful, and beautifully-written guide for how to cope with the myriad of emotions caused by money. Kate Levinson – practicing therapist and businesswoman –shows how money is both mercilessly public and intimately personal – stirring up our deepest feelings about dependence and independence, status, attractiveness, and terrifying confusion between net worth and self worth. Women in today’s economy are especially vulnerable because of gender biases in the workplace, patterns of parenting and upbringing that assume women do not “handle” financial matters well, and social norms that still disapprove of money-wise women. This book is a wise and important antidote.

Robert B. Reich
Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy
Goldman School of Public Policy
University of California, Berkeley

RULES: The contest is open until Sunday, January 23, 2011. To enter, do any or all of the following, but you must leave a comment for each one:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must include a way to contact you (email or website address in your comment or available in your profile). If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway. (Posting the giveaway on your sidebar is also acceptable.) Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Subscribe to my rss feed, follow me on blogger, or subscribe via email (or tell me if you already are a subscriber or follower). Leave a separate comment for this. (1 entry)

4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name. (1 entry)

5. Stumble this blog, digg it, technorati fave it, or link it on facebook. Leave a separate comment. (1 entry)

There are a lot of ways to enter (maximum of five entries), but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count. I will use random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is open to entries from the U.S. and Canada only. The deadline for entry is 9:00 PM, Pacific Time, on Sunday, January 23, 2011. I will draw and post the winner's name in my Mailbox Monday post for January 24, 2011.

MY MAILBOX

I ended up with several new books last week, some that came in the mail, some that I picked up while I was traveling in the Bay Area for work.

The Losing Role by Steve Anderson.  WWII espionage from the German point of view. I got it for Hubby but am going to read it myself first.  See my interview of the author here.



Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. This is my Book Club book this week and will be the first book I don't read before we meet. I had it on hold at the library and realized too late that it wouldn't get here in time.  Neither did the one I ordered.  Oh well.



Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.  This is a fancy, annotated edition.  Apparently Santa didn't remember that I asked for this for Christmas, so I had to take matters into my own hands.  I only recently read this for the first time and fell in love with it (review here).



Gargantua and Pantagruel by Rabelais. I read this in college and am not likely to read it again, but I found this Modern Library Giant edition on the "take one, leave one" shelf at my hotel and convinced myself that I would reread it.  I must have been inspired by staying a block from the Berkeley campus.



The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen.  The Friends of the Berkeley Library bookstore was also only a block from my hotel. I found this one and the Buckley novel, below.



Getting it Right by William F. Buckley, Jr.



Exit Lady Masham by Louis Auchincloss. I also went to Moe's Books on Telegraph Ave. and found this beautiful edition that goes with the fancy books I got for Christmas.

Review of the Day: The Palace Council

The Palace Council by Stephen L. Carter is not what it looks like it is going to be. It has a cover on it like a typical political thriller. And the book descriptions support that supposition with lines like "a suspenseful story of secret societies [and] political intrigue" and "the machinations of spies and assassins."

But political thrillers aren't usually narrated by two-time National Book Award winners or have a plot that stretches over 20 years. The hero is Eddie Wesley, a prominent writer and member of African-American high society during the twilight of the Harlem Renaissance. Yes, Wesley solves a murder mystery, hunts for his missing sister, and tries to discover the secrets of an enigmatic clandestine society, the Palace Council. But he also hangs out with Langston Hughes, writes eight or ten serious novels and a scathing critique of the Vietnam War, and spends decades analyzing the sociology of black intellectuals while mooning over his lost girlfriend.

There is violence and intrigue aplenty, with a plot involving J. Edgar Hoover, Cold War spies, all the Kennedys, Nixon, Vietnam, domestic terrorists, and an elaborate, but never fully explained, plan by the Palace Council to control it all. Someday. There are so many moving parts it is hard to follow them all, and several key pieces never fall into place.

But it is not the shaggy plot that makes the book worthwhile, it is the opportunity to consider Mid-Century American culture and politics from the perspective of African-American academics, politicos, and social mavens. This atypical point-of-view makes The Palace Council stand out from others in the genre.

The Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge

The Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge is hosted by My Reader's Block. The goal is to read mysteries written before 1960. I signed up at the "In a Murderous Mood" level with the goal of reading four to six books, by at least two different authors, by the end of the year.

POSSIBILITIES

Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout

BOOKS READ

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (not reviewed yet)

Opening Sentence of the Day: Lord of Misrule

Inside the back gate of Indian Mound Downs, a hot-walking machine creaked round and round.

-- Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon, which won the National Book Award for 2010. It's a back-of-the-house view of horse racing. 

It was a little hard to get into because there are a lot of characters using racing slang, the main narrator is is an old guy named Medicine Ed who doesn't think or speak too clearly, and much of the narrative is thoughts and dialog, both of which jump around realistically.  It is actually easier to understand if I read it more quickly and let the idea if a whole sentence get to my brain -- reading each word made me stumble.

But once I got into the pace of the book, I became fascinated with it. I'd love to curl up in a corner and read it straight through.

Review of the Day: The Human Stain

Philip Roth's The Human Stain packs a wallop like few novels can deliver. The book opens by suggesting an interesting, but modest story:

It was the summer of 1998 that my neighbor Coleman Silk -- who, before retiring two years earlier, had been a classics professor at nearby Athena College for some twenty-odd years as well as serving for sixteen more as the dean of faculty -- confided to me that, at the age of seventy-one, he was having an affair with a thirty-four-year-old cleaning woman who worked down at the college.

But just when you think it is going to be a typical ivory tower novel about the late-in-life sexual adventures of a second rate academic, Roth plunges the story into never-expected depths. Colman Silk's life is built on a lie. His lover is illiterate. Her ex-husband is a whacked-out Vietnam vet. And Silk's professional nemesis throws a metaphorical hand grenade into the middle of all of it.

Roth uses the story to explore all the big, close-to-the-bone issues: sexuality, racial identity, religion, education, family affiliation, mental illness, love, and grief – all the things that leave a human stain. It's a book that leaves you gasping. You don't just finish it; you recover from it.

OTHER REVIEWS

(If you would like your review listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.)

NOTES

This would have been my "favorite book" of 2010, except that I finished the last 50 pages on New Year's Day.  It's too early to say, but it may qualify as my favorite book of 2011 as well, in which case it would deserve the double commendation. 

Teaser Tuesday: A Study in Scarlet

"He was more than six feet high, was in the prime of life, had small feet for his height, wore coarse, square-toed boots and smoked a Trichinopoly cigar. He came here with his victim in a four-wheeled cab, which was drawn by a horse with three old shoes and one new one on his off fore leg."

-- A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  An example of Sherlock Holmes's remarkable deductive powers.

I started reading this as my first e-book, using the kindle app I put on my iPhone.  But I had such an adorable little Peebles Classic Library edition on my shelf, that soon I found myself with the book in my hands, tearing through the pages.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday and Giveaway

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! I also have a new giveaway this week and three winners of last week's giveaway.  Keep reading through the post to find all the goodies.

MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. (Library books don’t count, but eBooks & audiobooks do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here). I am very pleased to host this month.

Please leave the link to your Mailbox Monday post with Mr. Linky. If you do not have a blog, leave your mailbox list in a comment.

GIVEAWAY WINNER

I had THREE advanced reading copies of House Arrest by Ellen Meeropol to give away last week.

THE BOOK: House Arrest is set in Western Massachusetts and on an island in Penobscot Bay, Maine.  The story is told from the alternating points of view of Emily, Pippa, Sam, and Gina. House Arrest explores the meaning of family loyalty when beliefs conflict, and questions the necessity of sometimes breaking rules to serve justice.

THE WINNERS:  Using random.org, I picked the following winners of this fascinating new novel:

• Teddy Rose at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time (random #8)
• Amy at The House of Seven Tails (random # 39)
• CT Mom at Inspired by Savannah (random #1)

Congratulations to the three winners and a huge THANK YOU to all who participated. 

I'll email the three winners shortly to get mailing information.

THIS WEEK'S GIVAWAY

Again thanks to book publicist extraordinaire, Mary Bisbee-Beek, I have three copies to give away of Strange Relation: A Memoir of Marriage, Dementia, and Poetry by Rachel Hadas.  This looks like an incredible book.  A tear-jerker, I suspect, but incredible.

THE BOOK: In 2004 Rachel Hadas's husband, George Edwards, a composer and professor of music at Columbia University, was diagnosed with early-onset dementia at the age of sixty-one. STRANGE RELATION is her account of "losing" George. Her narrative begins when George's illness can no longer be ignored, and ends in 2008 soon after his move to a dementia facility (when after thirty years of marriage, Hadas finds herself no longer living with her husband). Within the confines of those difficult years, years when reading and writing were an essential part of what kept her going, she "tried to keep track....tried to tell the truth."

RULES: The contest is open until Sunday, January 16, 2011. To enter, do any or all of the following, but you must leave a comment for each one:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You must include a way to contact you (email or website address in your comment or available in your profile). If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about this giveaway. (Posting the giveaway on your sidebar is also acceptable.) Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Subscribe to my rss feed, follow me on blogger, or subscribe via email (or tell me if you already are a subscriber or follower). Leave a separate comment for this. (1 entry)

4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name. (1 entry)

5. Stumble this blog, digg it, technorati fave it, or link it on facebook. Leave a separate comment. (1 entry)

There are a lot of ways to enter (maximum of five entries), but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count. I will use random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is open to entries from the U.S. and Canada only. The deadline for entry is 9:00 PM, Pacific Time, on Sunday, January 16, 2011. I will draw and post the winner's name in my Mailbox Monday post for January 17, 2011.

MY MAILBOX

The Descent of Man by Kevin Desinger



The wonderful Caitlin Hamilton Summie of Unbridled Books was kind enough to send me the ARC of what looks like a riveting new novel.

Product Description by Bob Shacochis

One night Jim, a quiet wine steward, wakes to find two men trying to steal his car. Against the petitions of his wife, he goes outside to get the plate number of the thieves truck. Instead, something comes over him and he drives away in their truck until he recovers his wits and realizes what he's done. When Jim learns that the two would-be thieves are brothers with a history of violence, he soon finds himself over his head in a mire of sinister events and must risk everything to regain what he can of his life before that night.

There are books that you can't put down, and there are books that won't go away even after you put them down, the force of their moral conundrums haunting the stories of our own lives. The Descent of Man is a spectacular showcase for both literary virtues the riveting tale of a modest but perfect life under assault, and a resonating challenge to our own self-knowledge, the authenticity of that knowledge, which can only be confirmed through crisis. Who are we when push comes to shove? What are we capable of? Do we have the fortitude to save ourselves from the bad things in the world, and the backbone--the strength of mind and spirit to protect those we love from harm? Kevin Desinger confronts us with these questions in the steady, quiet voice of Everyman, a decent guy sitting in a parlor chair, calmly narrating a firestorm that's consuming his house and family. He has written a novel that is flawless, masterful, unforgettable, and chilling in its dramatization of the way we live in fragile grace each day in America, our blessings balanced on the edge of violence and loss. 

As good as this looks, I am sticking with my New Year's reading resolution to get a handle on my Guilt List and I have passed this on to the wunderkinder at Reading Local, who will treat it with the prompt respect it deserves.  Kevin Desinger is a Portland author, so he and his book will be treated well by the Reading Local crew.




365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik

The senior partner at my firm gave me this for Christmas.  I guess my first Thank You goes to him.

Favorite Author: C. P. Snow

C. P. Snow (1905 - 1980) was a British author best known for his 11-volume "Strangers and Brother's" series. Published between 1940 and 1974, the series follows several characters through careers in academia and government.

He wrote several other books as well, but I am going to concentrate on S&B. 

So far, I have read the first three volumes, in red below. Those on my TBR shelf are in blue.

Most recommend reading the series in the order listed below so that the narrative is chronological.   

A Time of Hope (1949) (reviewed here)

George Passant (originally titled Strangers and Brothers) (1940) (reviewed here)

The Conscience of the Rich (1958)

The Light and the Dark (1947)

The Masters (1951)

The New Men (1954)

Homecomings (1956)

The Affair (1960)

Corridors of Power (1964)

The Sleep of Reason (1968)

Last Things (1970)

The Masters and The New Men were jointly awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1954.

NOTES

If anyone else has reviews of these books or other posts related to C. P. Snow, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

Last updated November 17, 2013.

State of the Blog, Part Three: The Challenges

It is a new year, and time to assess my reading progress for the year just closed and make plans for 2011.

This is the third of my quarterly blog assessment posts, this one focusing on the challenges I participated in last year and joined (or plan to) this year. The first part addressed the book lists. Part Two looked at my author lists.

2010 CHALLENGES

I hosted two "Battle of the Prizes" challenges in 2010.  Both started on February 1, 2010 and don't end until January 31, 2011.  Good thing, because I still have two books to read -- one for each challenge.  What a lazy host I was!

I also participated in several other challenges, to varying degrees of success.

CHALLENGES HOSTED BY ROSE CITY READER

2010 Battle of the Prizes: American Version

National Book Award winners v. Pulitzer Prize winners, rules here. There are two ways to participate -- either read one book that won the Pulitzer Prize, one that won the National Book Award, and one that won both; or read two Pulizer winners and two National winners.

The deadline for reading the books is January 31, 2011, but wrap-up posts are welcome whenever participants post them.

Several people have completed the challenge already: chaotic compendiums, 100 Books. 100 Journeys, J.G. at Hotchpot Cafe, and Musings These links are also listed on the main post. 

I've finished three of my four books:

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Pulitzer)
2. Olive Kitteridge is Elizabeth Strout (reviewed here) (Pulitzer)
3. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (reviewed here) (National)

I had planned to read three books, with The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter for my double dipper choice. Then I realized that I do not have that book on my TBR shelf and the point of challenges, for me, is to read the books I already own.

So I made a last-minute switcheroo and will be reading Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon for my second National winner.  I am quite excited about it because it looks great.

That meant I had to add a second Pulitzer winner, so I am counting Oscar Wao, even though I didn't review it.  Apparently, the lawyer in me planned ahead for just such a situation by including this loophole in the official rules: "Reviews are not necessary, but encouraged."

2010 Battle of the Prizes: British Version

Man Booker Prize v. James Tait Black Memorial Prize, rules here.  This has the same set up -- either read one winner of each prize and a double-dipper, or read two of each.

The deadline for reading the books is January 31, 2011, but wrap-up posts are welcome whenever participants post them.

I have read two of my three:

1. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (reviewed here) (James Tait Black)
2. The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (reviewed here) (Booker)

I still have to read G by John Berger for my double dipper choice. 

2010 CHALLENGES I PARTICIPATED IN

Bibliophilic Books Challenge



A challenge to read books about books. The home page is here.

I signed up for the "Bibliomaniac" level, which means I did not succeed in the challenge.  My plan was to read 12 qualifying books by the end of the year and I only read seven.

Had my goal been suitably modest, I would have successfully achieved "Litlover" status.  Lesson learned.

I read:

1. The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby (reviewed here);
2. The Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris by Edmund White (reviewed here);
3. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman (reviewed here);
4. A Year in the World by Frances Mayes (reviewed here); 
5. Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby (not reviewed); 
6. The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte (not reviewed); and 
7. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (reviewed here).

Unfortunately, Lesley isn't going to host another Bibliophilic Books Challenge in 2011.  I hope someone takes up her offer to pass the baton, because I would like to participate again.

Birth Year Reading Challenge 

This challenge was to read one or more books published in the year you were born, hosted by Hotchpot Cafe. My main post for this challenge is here.

Luckily, there was no set number of books to read for this challenge.  I read two books, which means I earned two candles.

1. Indian Summer by John Knowles (reviewed here),
2. The Valley of the Dolls by Jaqueline Susann (reviewed here)

Unfortunately, I didn't care much for either book.  I don't know if that reflects generally on 1966 publications, or just on my poor judgment.

Book Awards Challenge

The challenge involved reading ten books that won ten different prizes.  The home page is here.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the challenge ended on November 1, 2010.  I didn't come close to finishing, and got through only five by the deadline:

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (National Book Critics Circle winner);
2. The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips (Discover Award winner; reviewed here);
3. Citizen Vince by Jess Walter (Edgar winner; reviewed here);
4. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (Costa winner; reviewed here); and
5. Small Island by Andrea Levy (Orange winner, reviewed here). 

Chunkster Challenge

Again, I bit off more than I could read with this challenge.  I signed up for the "Mor-book-ly Obese" level, meaning I planned to read six 450+-page books (or three 750+-pagers). Caribousmom hosts this challenge.

I have until January 31, 2011 to finish the challenge, but I don't know that I will get any more read besides these four:

1. Three Loves by A. J. Cronin (reviewed here); 
2. The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch (reviewed here); 
3. Echoes by Maeve Binchy (reviewed here);
4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (reviewed here) 

I tackled several big books in 2010, including the monumental The Count of Monte Cristo and the last two volumes of The Lord of the Rings, but I listened to the audiobooks. Those count in terms of a reading "life list" but not for this challenge, which specifically excludes audio books.

I am definitely going to sign up for the 2011 version of this challenge, but at a less-ambitious level. 

100+ Challenge

I signed up for this because I was pretty sure I'd read more than 100 books in 2010. I usually read around 110 books each year, and I did again in 2010.  The challenge home page is here, but I didn't do a challenge post myself.

The list of the 144 books I read in 2010 is here.

I am not going to sign up for this one again in 2011.  Although I will more than likely read 100 books this year, I am trying to read more lackadaisically.  This is one "goal" I don't need to set for myself.  Hopefully, this will encourage me to read some of the big chunksters that have been weighing down my TBR shelves for too long.


Typically British Challenge



I signed up at the "Cream Crackered" level to read eight "Typically British" novels. I blew through all eight pretty quickly, and could have done it another three times at least, since over a third of the books I read in 2010 were by British authors. The challenge home page is here.


Books I read:

1. One Fat Englishman by Kingsley Amis (reviewed here);
2. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (finished, not reviewed);
3. The New Confessions by William Boyd (reviewed here);
4. Three Loves by A. J. Cronin (reviewed here);
5. Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster (reviewed here);
6. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (reviewed here);
7. Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis by Kinglsey Amis (reviewed here); and
8. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (reviewed here).

2011 CHALLENGES

CHALLENGES HOSTED BY ROSE CITY READER

I am hosting the two Battle of the Prizes Challenges again in 2011. I don't have the official posts up yet, because the challenges will run from February 1, 2011 to January 31, 2012.  But if you want to sign up early, leave a comment here and I'll come back and remind you when the official posts go up.

2011 Battle of the Prizes: American Version

 

Like in past years, this challenge pits National Book Award winners against Pulitzer Prize winners.  See the 2010 challenge page for the rules. There are two ways to participate -- either read one book that won the Pulitzer Prize, one that won the National Book Award, and one that won both; or read two Pulizer winners and two National winners.

I don't know yet whether I will do the 3-book or the 4-book option, or which books I'll pick, but I have the following in mind:

Possible National Award winners:

1. The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck
2. Them by Joyce Carol Oates
3. Morte d'Urban by J.F. Powers

Possible Pulitzer winners:

1. One of Ours by Willa Cather
2. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

2011 Battle of the Prizes: British Version

Just as in 2010, this challenge is to read books that won the Man Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.  See the rules on the 2010 post, here.  This has the same set up -- either read one winner of each prize and a double-dipper, or read two of each.

I will have to go with the 4-book option, because, after I finish G for the 2010 challenge, I will have read all three of the double-dippers. 

Possible Booker picks are:

1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
2. How Late it Was, How Late by James Kelman 
3. Shindler's List by Thomas Keneally

Possible James Tait Black picks are:

1. Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd
2. White Teeth by Zadie Smith

2011 CHALLENGES I AM PARTICIPATING IN

The challenge titles link to my main challenge posts.

Daphne du Maurier Challenge

This Challenge is hosted by Chris at book-a-rama and bridges 2010/2011. I was late to this challenge and only signed up for in the fall of 2010. But it goes through April 19, 2011, so I have plenty of time.


I signing up for the "Dreaming of Manderley" category, to read three novels. Since I am still new to du Maurier, I'll am starting with the greatest hits.

Books read so far: one: Rebecca (reviewed here)

Books I plan to read:

1. The Flight of the Falcon;
2. My Cousin Rachel

Foodie's Reading Challenge

Margot at Joyfully Retired is hosting a challenge for 2011 that I am very excited about: The Foodie's Reading Challenge!

I signed up at the "Bon Vivant" level to read four to six books.  My plan is to read books that are already on my TBR shelves.  Some of those in the running include (in no particular order):

• The Food of France by Waverley Root
• James Beard on Food Delights and Prejudices by James Beard
• On the Town in New York by Michael Batterberry
• Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk
• The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Valley by Elizabeth Romer
• Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table by Ruth Reichl
• Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee
• Epicurean Delight: The Life and Times of James Beard by Evan Jones
• American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields by Rowan Jacobsen
• Vie De France: Sharing Food, Friendship and a Kitchen in the Lorie Valle by James Haller
• French Spirits: A House, a Village, and a Love Affair in Burgundy by Jeffrey Greene
• A Cordiall Water by M. F. K. Fisher
• The Feasting Season by Nancy Coons
• Dumas on Food: Selections from Le Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine by Alexandre Dumas

And it might be a good idea to include this one:

French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating For Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano

Chunkster Reading Challenge (no official post yet)


Wendy at caribousmom is hosting this fun challenge again this year.  The challenge sign-up post is here.

Since I didn't reach my chunkster goal in 2010, I am scaling down a bit in 2011 and signing up for the "Chubby Chunkster" level this year.  That means reading four books over 450 pages long.

The only one I am currently planning on is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.  That's my "big book" for 2011.  I don't know which others will strike my fancy.