Random books from rebeccanyc's library
A Sport and a Pastime: A Novel by James Salter
The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol by Nikolai Gogol
Prisons by Mary Lee Settle
Chem-Thermo: A Statistical Approach to Classical Chemical Thermodynamics by Leonard K. Nash
The Yale Younger Poets Anthology by George Bradley
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love: Stories by Raymond Carver
The Tenderness Of Wolves by Stef Penney
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Member: rebeccanyc
CollectionsYour library (2,317), Currently reading (3), Read 2009 (83), Hope to read soon (157), Books to investigate (unowned) (18), Ex P (14), Read 2008 (70), Read 2007 (incomplete list) (55), Read 2006 (incomplete list) (33), Give Away (1), All collections (2,336)
ReviewsNone
Tagsfiction (867), [needs cover] (695), 20th century fiction (387), [photographs] (307), US literature (246), [illustrations] (242), contemporary fiction (204), mystery (172), history (168), travel (147) — see all tags
Cloudstag cloud, author cloud
Groups75 Books Challenge for 2008, 75 Books Challenge for 2010, Biographies, Memoirs and Autobiographies, Board for Extreme Thing Advances, Club Read 2009, Club Read 2010, Combiners!, Early Reviewers, Editors, Researchers, Whatever, Fans of Russian authors — show all groups
Favorite authorsChimamanda Ngozi Adichie, W. H. Auden, John Le Carré, Sarah Caudwell, Anton Chekhov, Anne Fadiman, J.G. Farrell, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Paula Fox, Mavis Gallant, Vasili Grossman, Shirley Hazzard, A. E. Housman, Shirley Jackson, Thomas Mann, Hilary Mantel, Flannery O'Connor, Philip Roth, James Salter, Victor Serge, Vikram Seth, Jane Smiley, Rebecca Solnit, Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʾo, Leo Tolstoy, Honor Tracy, W. B. Yeats (Shared favorites)
Favorite bookstoresBook Culture, Crawford Doyle Booksellers, Crawford-Doyle Booksellers, St. Mark's Bookshop
About meI am still developing my ideas for collections. "Books to Investigate" is for books I do not own but want to think about more. It is not a wishlist, because I haven't decided whether I want to buy these books.
You can read my comments on my 2009 reading on my Club Read 2009 thread and my 75 Book Challenge thread.
About my libraryBooks I've Read in 2009
For both 2009 and 2008, my most recent reads are at the top, and starred books are favorites.
*83 The Giant, O'Brien by Hilary Mantel
82. Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis
*81. Giving up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel
*80. Fludd by Hilary Mantel
79. Eight Months on Ghazzah Street by Hilary Mantel
*78 Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
77. The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
76. Madame de Staël by Francine du Plessix Gray
75. The Book of Fathers by Miklós Vámos
74. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
*73. The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa
*72. A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
71. The Last Jet-Engine Laugh by Ruchir Joshi
70. A Fiery Peace in a Cold War by Neil Sheehan
69. Translation Is a Love Affair by Jacques Poulin
*68. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
*67. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
*66 Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann
65. Lucinella by Lore Segal
*64. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
63. The Gates of Hell: Sir John Franklin's Tragic Quest for the Northwest Passage by Andrew Lambert
*62 Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
61. The Skating Rink by Roberto Bolano
60. Harare North by Brian Chikwava
*59. The Cost of Living by Mavis Gallant
*58 Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow
57. In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic by David Wessel
56. The Cave and the Cathedral by Amir D. Aczel
*55. The Glass Room by Simon Mawer
54. Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
53. Carpentaria by Alexis Wright
*52. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
51. Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History by Margaret MacMillan
50. Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford
49. My Life in France by Julia Child
48. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
47. The Russia House by John le Carré
46. Revolution in Mind: The Creation of Psychoanalysis by George Makari
45. The Thing around Your Neck by Chamamanda Ngozi Adichie
44. Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien
43. An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by César Aira
*42. A Perfect Spy by John le Carré
41. A Dream in Polar Fog by Yuri Rytkheu
*40 The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expeditions by Susan Soloman
39. The Old Man and Me by Elaine Dundy
*38 Smiley's People by John le Carré
37. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré
*36 The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré
*35 Bosnian Chronicle by Ivo Andrić
*34. In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien
33. Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy and Why It Matters by George A. Akerlof and Robert Shiller
*32. Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
31. The Mighty Angel by Jerzy Pilch
30. Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey
29. Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass by Bruno Schulz
28. *Nobody Move by Denis Johnson
27. Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
26. In the United States of Africa by Abdourahman A. Waberi
25. The Drinker by Hans Fallada
24. *Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s by Frederick Lewis Allen
23. A Meaningful Life by L.J. Davis
22. The Winners by Julio Cortázar
21. *The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World before the War, 1890-1914 by Barbara Tuchman
20. *Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada
19. *The Emperor's Tomb by Joseph Roth
18. The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer
17. *Agent Zigzag by Ben McIntyre
16. Novel 11, Book 18 by Dag Solstad
15. *Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 by David M. Kennedy
14. The Numbers Game: The Commonsense Guide to Understanding Numbers in the News, in Politics, and in Life by Michael Blastland and Arthur Dilnot
13. A Disorder Peculiar to the Country by Ken Kalfus
12. *The Snows of Yesteryear by Gregor von Rezzori
11. The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa
10. Sleepwalking Land by Mia Couto
9. With Your Crooked Heart by Helen Dunmore
8. The Secret Pilgrim by John Le Carre
7. *2666 by Roberto Bolano
6. The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lily Koppel
5. Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
4. How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas by David Bornstein
3. *The Great Crash 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith
2. The River Between by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
1. Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean by Edward Kritzler
Books I Read in 2008
69. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
68. *Dr. Faustus by Thomas Mann
67. *The Clothes on My Back by Linda Grant
66. Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier
65. Speak Softly, She Can Hear by Pam Lewis
64. The Paris Review Interviews III
63. Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu by Lawrence Bergreen
*62. Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
61. Counting my Chickens by the Duchess of Devonshire (Deborah Mitford)
60. *Count d'Orgel's Ball by Raymond Radiguet
59. The White Tiger by Aravind Avida
58. Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh
57. Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh
56. Indignation by Philip Roth
55. *A Most Wanted Man by John le Carre
54. Chicago by Alaa al Aswany
53. The Ancient Shore: Dispatches from Naples by Shirley Hazzard
52. To Siberia by Per Pettersen
51. *Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
50. *By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah
49. Goldengrove by Francine Prose
48 *The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists by Gregory Curtis
47. The Breezes by Joseph O'Neill
46. *Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
45. The Girl from Foreign: A Search for Shipwrecked Ancestors, Forgotten Histories, and a Sense of Home by Sadia Shepard
44. Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says about Us) by Tom Vanderbilt
43. *Blood-Dark Track by Joseph O'Neill
42. *In Hazard by Richard Hughes
41. The Terminal Spy: A True Story of Espionage, Betrayal, and Murder by Alan S. Cowell
40. Libraries in the Ancient World by Lionel Casson
39. *The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on America's Ideals by Jane Mayer
38. *A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
37. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
36. *A Way of Life, Like Any Other by Darcy O'Brien
25. *The Condition by Jennifer Haigh
34. Before by Ireni Spanidou
33. The Rebel Angels by Roberston Davies
32. Who Owns Antiquity? by James Cuno
31. Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen
30. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
29. The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow
28. *What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
27. Chess Story by Stefan Zweig
26. *Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles
25. *The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
24. Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan
23. *Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
22. Wolf Totem by Rong Jiang
21. *The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
20. Middlemarch by George Eliot
19. *Lush Life by Richard Price
18. The Successor by Ismail Kadare
17. *The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business, The Manticore, World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
16. *The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block
15. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony
14. *The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric
13. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee
12. Serve the People! by Yan Lianke
11. *What's for Dinner? by James Schuyler
10. *Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
9. *The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth
8. The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation by Philip Shenon
7. *Unforgiving Years by Victor Serge
6. A Charmed Life: Growing Up in Macbeth's Castle by Liza Campbell
5. Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt
4. Our American King by David Lozell Martin
3. *The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan
2. *The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
1. The Birthday Party: A Memoir of Survival by Stanley M. Alpert
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http://www.librarything.com/profile/rebeccanyc (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/rebeccanyc (library)
Common KnowledgeSeries (159), Awards (388), Characters (2964), Places (685)
Member sinceJul 14, 2006
Currently readingThe Paris Review Interviews, IV by Philip Gourevitch
How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities by John Cassidy
Everything Flows by Vasily Grossman
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posted by wandering_star at 7:08 pm (EST) on Dec 20, 2009
posted by wandering_star at 3:43 am (EST) on Dec 20, 2009
posted by wandering_star at 7:54 am (EST) on Dec 19, 2009
I've just been reading a book about the Ladino language and then following the threads from that on LT. One of the interesting-looking books it's led to is "The Cross and the Pear Tree" by Victor Perera, which you have in your library. What do you think of it?
Thanks, wandering_star
posted by wandering_star at 7:36 am (EST) on Dec 19, 2009
posted by avaland at 9:27 am (EST) on Dec 2, 2009
She's on my re-read list, so let me know when you read it, and maybe we can compare thoughts, eh?
posted by nohrt4me at 8:58 am (EST) on Apr 4, 2009
posted by MEENIEREADS at 5:50 pm (EST) on Mar 27, 2009
posted by blackhornet at 5:13 pm (EST) on Mar 23, 2009
Thanks for the explanation about the books! From time to time, I find the same thing--I've forgotten to add one. But I'm pretty much caught up, I think.
Joyce
posted by Joycepa at 8:41 am (EST) on Mar 23, 2009
posted by LouisBranning at 6:40 pm (EST) on Mar 22, 2009
I'm much further along in Sacred Games, and it has indeed picked up--gotten very interesting.
Looking at the books you've just added--haven't gone on a Vargas Llosa spree or anything, have you? :-) The War of the End of the World is one of my all-time favorite books. His research was impeccable for that book. I have the original da Cunha book on that era and fight, Rebellion in the Backlands, which gives a terrific background of the social and political context of the battle at Canudos. If you like the Vargas Lloasa book, you might consider reading the other.
Joyce
posted by Joycepa at 4:26 pm (EST) on Mar 22, 2009
I've only just found your profile - I should have been here before now! Have you read all the history books? If so, I'll come back with questions.
I'm guessing you're in New York... We lived in NYC (Upper East Side first, then Chelsea) from 2000 - 2002 and I miss it still. Especially the book stores. And everything else! I laughed when I saw you were reading Barbara Tuchman, because I'd never heard of her till some random guy on a bus saw me reading a book and told me excitedly that I had to read everything she'd written. I haven't (yet) but own the Proud Tower and a Distant Mirror.
Cheers
Cushla
posted by cmt at 3:40 am (EST) on Mar 10, 2009
posted by theoria at 1:50 pm (EST) on Jan 25, 2009
A brilliant book, in my opinion. The cover indicates "travel" and "linguistics". Hilarious! I suppose that Danté's Divine Comedy is also a "travel" book, then.
No, Mr. Everett is a scholar, a philosopher, an anthropologist, a sociologist, an explorer, a moralist, an environmentalist and a person of extraordinary insight and, with it all, a marvelous writer and story-teller who brings us so much that is so very needed from the lives and manners of a small and remote Amazonian tribe to a greatly suffering and morally lost 21st century capitalist industrial civilization.
Ironically, Everett set out as a missionary with as object the conversion of the Pirahãs to christianity. In the end, it is they, by their example of wise, humane and simple living in harmony with nature, for which they had a profound respect and understanding, that converted him. And, now, with the publication of this book, Professor Everett can take a certain satisfaction in his having become at last and indeed a sort of "missionary"---one of the wisest and best kinds, a missionary of humanist wisdom, patience and generosity.
To any who would consider this book, its reading will reward you, enrich you and very possibly change you----forever, and for the better.
I applaud the author and his achievement with my most heartfelt thanks.
posted by proximity1 at 11:43 am (EST) on Jan 17, 2009
posted by wandering_star at 7:26 pm (EST) on Jan 12, 2009
Thanks for the comments
Cyrel
posted by torontoc at 12:16 pm (EST) on Jan 6, 2009
I just saw your note re: The Clothes on their Backs by Linda Grant. I thought that a pivotal moment that illustrated Vivien's helplessness ( cultivated by her parents ) was her acceptance of her mother's suggestion that she get an abortion after her husband died. Her mother deprived her of a connection to her marriage and perhaps a relationship with a child. Although Vivien might have decided to take that route, the author has her mother suggesting it first. I could see Vivien's rejection of her parent's way fo life and her attraction to her uncle and his telling of history, Just a few thoughts tonight.
Cyrel
posted by torontoc at 11:32 pm (EST) on Jan 5, 2009
I was thrilled to see you mention that you had a "mini "Central Europe/end of the Austro-Hungarian empire" reading jag. I come from Bratislava, formerly Czechoslovakia, and am keenly interested in that area. Would you mind sharing with me what you read and how you felt about the books? IMHO, for the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire books, nothing has surpassed Hasek's The Good Soldier Schweik, but I would love to read more.
Thanks,
A.
posted by polutropos at 11:22 am (EST) on Dec 16, 2008
posted by msf59 at 8:21 pm (EST) on Dec 5, 2008
posted by avaland at 8:31 pm (EST) on Sep 18, 2008
posted by msf59 at 7:42 pm (EST) on Aug 16, 2008
posted by jglassow at 12:45 am (EST) on Jul 4, 2008
The other relatively short novel that I am currently raving about is The Story of a Marriage. Have you read it? Doesn't have the humor o DAA, but it every word counts and it has great insights into human nature. Also has some unforeseen plot twists...
posted by alphaorder at 11:01 am (EST) on Jun 29, 2008
Have you read Dear American Airlines yet? I see it is in your library. If you haven't, I urge you to go start reading it NOW. It will have you laughing out loud and getting teary eyed all in the smae book. It is short, but I think very well done. To me, this often means that every word written is given consideration.
What you have read and loved lately? The other book I am trying to spread word about is The Story of a Marriage. Highly recommend.
N
posted by alphaorder at 7:48 am (EST) on Jun 24, 2008
posted by Medellia at 1:09 pm (EST) on Apr 3, 2008
A publicist at Random House receommended The Story of Forgetting to me last week so I found a galley and started reading it immediately (don't know how I missed it on LT until now, but...) It is amazing. I saw that you were thinking about picking it up after Terri and Louis were talking about it. It goes on sale today - I urge you to get a copy and strt it right away. You won't regret it!
Nancy
posted by alphaorder at 7:35 am (EST) on Apr 1, 2008
I agree about "What's for Dinner?" I saw teelgee's request for you to tell her more, but I am not sure how to discribe this book. I think hse would trust the two of us if we said just read it, don't you?!
Anwyay, did you get it from their moving sale? I picked up a few books there, but more from our bookstore. I haven't looked at your library to see if you have read Troubles yet. I have The Summer Book, which should be out soon, if it is not already, and of course about 10 more of the series to read. I just love (and trust) them.
posted by alphaorder at 10:45 pm (EST) on Mar 27, 2008
I saw you just finished What's for Dinner? I read it a few weeks ago and have found that is has really stuck with me. I guess that is why NYRB Classics republished it. Glad you liked it too.
I stil have the Mary Swan book on my TBR pile and I think of you everytime I look at it. Haven't heard from anyone else who has read it yet.
posted by alphaorder at 11:33 pm (EST) on Mar 25, 2008
posted by RcCarol at 7:58 pm (EST) on Mar 9, 2008
I noticed a post of yours about how your childhood affected your reading...I could have written it! So I thought I would pop in and say hello.
You have some library! I doubt that my own listing will ever be up to date here, as I tend to wander off to read . sigh...
So Hello and take care
kath
posted by mckait at 1:30 pm (EST) on Jan 21, 2008
posted by berthirsch at 2:23 pm (EST) on Jan 13, 2008
How are you finding Savage Detectives?
posted by berthirsch at 7:09 am (EST) on Jan 12, 2008
Bert
posted by berthirsch at 7:54 pm (EST) on Dec 20, 2007
posted by bfertig at 12:43 pm (EST) on Nov 30, 2007
I thought I'd get in touch as I haven't seen you in the reading globally group for a while. I am emulating your championing of 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by recommending Patricia Grace's books, particularly 'Potiki'. I think quite a few people have taken it up, so i thought I would recommend it to you too, hopefully as a way of repaying you for pushing me in the direction of Adichie's book.
Cheers,
Andy
PS I'm beginning to feel the pressure of being responsible for a lot of other people's reading time. I don't know how you put up with it.
posted by depressaholic at 8:21 am (EST) on Oct 13, 2007
posted by cabegley at 9:36 pm (EST) on Sep 27, 2007
In the What Are You Reading Now? thread, you say James Salter is one of your favorite authors. Since I don't think you've steered me wrong yet . . . which book of his would you recommend starting with?
Regards,
Chris
posted by cabegley at 3:44 pm (EST) on Sep 27, 2007
Roberto Bolaño's The Savage Detectives, which I read just this last spring, is a book that renews my faith in fiction. Written by a Chilean author who lived in Mexico and Spain, it is bursting with narrative energy and that most elusive and seldom-mentioned of essential qualities: charm.
posted by berthirsch at 8:21 am (EST) on Sep 26, 2007
Tiffin
posted by tiffin at 10:59 pm (EST) on Sep 25, 2007
posted by berthirsch at 12:43 pm (EST) on Sep 14, 2007
David Perrings
posted by dperrings at 7:49 pm (EST) on Jul 26, 2007
posted by marysargent at 1:48 am (EST) on Jul 22, 2007
~Sean-Paul
posted by spkelley at 8:38 pm (EST) on Jun 26, 2007
posted by avaland at 7:52 am (EST) on Jun 26, 2007
posted by avaland at 10:32 am (EST) on Jun 5, 2007
Carmen
posted by carmen29 at 4:51 pm (EST) on May 1, 2007
posted by momom248 at 3:32 pm (EST) on Apr 17, 2007
Finally got around to reading Half of a Yellow Sun, and it is an outstanding book. Just wanted to thank you for pointing me in its direction (despite my teasing). Its definitely one of the best books I have read this year.
posted by depressaholic at 5:33 am (EST) on Apr 14, 2007
Thanks for the reminder to be more careful.
posted by Talbin at 11:32 pm (EST) on Mar 4, 2007
i read The Road a few weeks ago and i,too, was compelled to read on and while it is grim i found it somewhat touching also- the relationahip between father and son and i was not dissappointed with the ending.
ciao, bert
posted by berthirsch at 1:55 pm (EST) on Feb 2, 2007
How interesting about Castle Garden ~ and what a romantic name for what must have been anything but a romantic place. I've been to the Battery, but I never knew it was a point of immigration. Anyway, my grandparents came in about 1910, although I'm not exactly sure what year. It may be somewhere in my papers, which are in storage at this time, but I know it was after 1907.
BTW, my grandparents' names were Kazimir Barkauskus (Charles Birkitis) and VERA KUBILIUTE (Vera Kubilis). I vaguely remember hearing that they came from in or near Vilnius. Vera moved to Scotland sometime around 1907 where she married her first husband, Juozas Karpinskas (Joseph Carpson), and had two or three children. Later, they emigrated to the U.S., where Juozas was killed in a mining accident in Harrisburg, IL. She then married my grandfather, who also worked in the mines in So. Illinois.
Where in Lithuania did your folks come from? (I don't recall whether you mentioned that or not ~ sorry.)
posted by Storeetllr at 6:13 pm (EST) on Jan 29, 2007
I just picked up McCann's Zoli so the Adichie must wait a little longer. And I have a little left to go on Auster's Travels in the Scriptorium but it was giving me intellectual vertigo, so I needed a breather.
I do have you on my watch list; however, I've noticed that recently added books is not the same as recently read books. You have a voracious appetite for literature! I think I may have slowed down a little since the bookstore. It's probably a good thing.
Best, Lois
posted by avaland at 7:26 pm (EST) on Jan 26, 2007