My Web Site
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Books Read in 2007
= Canadian
by Jane Austen*
by Jane Austen*
by Margery Allingham
by Margery Allingham*
by Jane Austen*
by Margery Allingham*
by Cervantes
by Zadie Smith
by P.G. Wodehouse
by Margaret Atwood 
by Edward Willett 
by J. K. Rowling
by Philip Pullman
by Philip Pullman
by Philip Pullman
by Agatha Christie*
by Don Kerr (poetry) 
by Dave Margoshes (poetry) 
by Eric Wright 
by Robert Currie (poetry) 
by Bonnie Burnard 
by Maeve Binchy*
by Confucius 
by Edith Wharton
by Jeanette Lynes (poetry) 
by Fannie Flagg *
by Maurice Sendak
by Robert B. Parker*
by Robert B. Parker*
by Gwendoline Butler*
by A. A. Fair
by Judith Krause (poetry) 
by Sylvia Legris (poetry) 
by Sylvia Legris (poetry) 
by Ray Bradbury
by Ray Bradbury
by A. S. Byatt
by Glen Sorestad* (poetry) 
by Agatha Christie*
by Laura Ingalls Wilder*
by Laura Ingalls Wilder*
by Laura Ingalls Wilder*
by Terry Jordan 
by Guy Gavriel Kay 
by Guy Gavriel Kay 
by Laura Ingalls Wilder*
by Laura Ingalls Wilder*
by Katherine Paterson
by Guy Gavriel Kay 
by Roger Moore (poetry) 
by Agatha Christie*
by Roald Dahl
by Maya Angelou
by Judy Blume
by Martha Grimes
by Shel Silverstein
by Naguib Mahfouz
by Judy Blume
by Margery Allingham
by Maeve Binchy
by Henry James
by Nikolai Gogol
by Laura Burkhart (poetry) 
by Maeve Binchy*
by Naguib Mahfouz
by Dick Francis*
by Ben Jonson
by Austin Clarke 
by Gail Bowen 
by Agatha Christie*
by Neil Gaiman
by Robert B. Parker
by Douglas Glover 
by Orson Scott Card
by Dick Francis*
by Jane Austen*
by Ben Jonson
by Terry Pratchett
by Alice Walker
by Alexander McCall Smith
by Neil Gaiman
Books Read in 2006
* = reread
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I’m off for a few days as I a) celebrate the holidays and b) change hosts.
For those of you who celebrate it–Merry Christmas! Happy holidays to everyone else.
Thanks for reading in 2006; I’m looking forward to 2007.
Posted by Amy as Blog Housekeeping at 8:28 PM EST
Here’s the text of a speech by Philip K. Dick that I’ve only just discovered: How To Build A Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later.
Here’s an excerpt:
It is my job to create universes, as the basis of one novel after another. And I have to build them in such a way that they do not fall apart two days later. Or at least that is what my editors hope. However, I will reveal a secret to you: I like to build universes which do fall apart. I like to see them come unglued, and I like to see how the characters in the novels cope with this problem. I have a secret love of chaos. There should be more of it. Do not believe — and I am dead serious when I say this — do not assume that order and stability are always good, in a society or in a universe. The old, the ossified, must always give way to new life and the birth of new things. Before the new things can be born the old must perish. This is a dangerous realization, because it tells us that we must eventually part with much of what is familiar to us. And that hurts. But that is part of the script of life. Unless we can psychologically accommodate change, we ourselves begin to die, inwardly.
He manages to work in references to Disneyland, Gnosticism, the pre-Socratics, and the nature of time. It’s an interesting read.
Posted by Amy as Authors at 4:12 AM EST
If you like to cook but aren’t quite sure what some of the exotic ingredients are that the recipe calls for, check out The Cook’s Thesaurus.
Here’s what you’ll find there:
The Cook’s Thesaurus is a cooking encyclopedia that covers thousands of ingredients and kitchen tools. Entries include pictures, descriptions, synonyms, pronunciations, and suggested substitutions.
This is a different take on a thesaurus, but it’s fun to browse through.
Via Weblog V2.
Posted by Amy as Words at 1:25 AM EST
King Alfred over at Bitter Scroll has an entertaining list: Unlikely Germanic Book Ideas.
Here are a few of the ones we won’t see soon:
• Dinner Guest Etiquette by Grendel
• “For I am Meek and Humble of Heart”: A Treatise on the Passive Virtues by Eirikr Blood-axe
• Glories of the Frankish Realm by Widukind the Saxon
I don’t have to be a specialist in Germanic history to catch the jokes here.
Posted by Amy as Humour at 1:15 AM EST
If you love words, check out Verbotomy.
Here’s how the site creator describes it:
Verbotomy is about creating words.Every day we create a new definition and matching cartoon. Your challenge is to create a word — a verboticism — that matches the definition. After you create your verboticism, you can vote for, or against, other player’s words to help select the winning verboticism for the definition.
I kind of like the suggestion of “glucoverdose” for the definition “To enjoy, or derive physical pleasure from, the eating of sweets and other sugared substances — often leads to over-consumption.”
I think the voting is still open on that one, though, and you could also vote for “fludging” or “saccrophilia” or many others.
Via The Presurfer.
Posted by Amy as Words at 1:10 AM EST
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I was also told that if I weren’t a sonnet I’d be a haiku:
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Via Iambic Café.
I was browsing the other day and once again came across Mark Twain’s wonderful The Awful German Language.
As we can always use a little more cheer, I thought I’d link to it. If you’re not familiar with it, here’s Twain’s assessment of German:
Surely there is not another language that is so slipshod and systemless, and so slippery and elusive to the grasp. One is washed about in it, hither and thither, in the most helpless way; and when at last he thinks he has captured a rule which offers firm ground to take a rest on amid the general rage and turmoil of the ten parts of speech, he turns over the page and reads, “Let the pupil make careful note of the following exceptions.” He runs his eye down and finds that there are more exceptions to the rule than instances of it.
He goes on to explain his exasperation with sentences written in German:
There are ten parts of speech, and they are all troublesome. An average sentence, in a German newspaper, is a sublime and impressive curiosity; it occupies a quarter of a column; it contains all the ten parts of speech — not in regular order, but mixed; it is built mainly of compound words constructed by the writer on the spot, and not to be found in any dictionary — six or seven words compacted into one, without joint or seam — that is, without hyphens; it treats of fourteen or fifteen different subjects, each inclosed in a parenthesis of its own, with here and there extra parentheses which reinclose three or four of the minor parentheses, making pens within pens: finally, all the parentheses and reparentheses are massed together between a couple of king-parentheses, one of which is placed in the first line of the majestic sentence and the other in the middle of the last line of it –after which comes the VERB, and you find out for the first time what the man has been talking about; and after the verb — merely by way of ornament, as far as I can make out — the writer shovels in “haben sind gewesen gehabt haben geworden sein,” or words to that effect, and the monument is finished.
Also consider this:
You observe how far that verb is from the reader’s base of operations; well, in a German newspaper they put their verb away over on the next page; and I have heard that sometimes after stringing along the exciting preliminaries and parentheses for a column or two, they get in a hurry and have to go to press without getting to the verb at all. Of course, then, the reader is left in a very exhausted and ignorant state.
I’ve always been very fond of German as a language, but Twain is certainly very funny.
Via Weblog V2.
Jane Austen, my all-time favourite author, was born on this day in 1775.
Today her popularity has grown far beyond what it was in her lifetime which is no doubt due to the release of films and television shows based on her novels.
For a source of information on all things Austen, check out the Jane Austen Museum or the extensive material at The Republic of Pemberley.
If you’re really dedicated, you can download a font based on Jane Austen’s handwriting.
I’ve never been able to decide which of her novels is my favourite. The two on the short-list are Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park. It depends on my mood, but I think Mansfield Park has the edge.
I’ve always been pleased that I share a birthday with her.
Posted by Amy as Authors at 8:40 AM EST
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You Should Learn Japanese |
 You’re cutting edge, and you are ready to delve into wacky Japanese culture. From Engrish to eating contests, you’re born to be a crazy gaijin. Saiko! |
Posted by Amy as Fun Stuff at 4:16 AM EST
There’s a collection of short stories written in the genre of the fantastic at Literature of the Fantastic.
There are 26 stories by numerous writers, among them Sheridan LeFanu, Edgar Allan Poe, Saki, Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, and Ambrose Bierce.
Some of the stories include the following:
• “The Damned Thing” (Ambrose Bierce)
• “The Mortal Immortal” (Mary Shelley)
• “The Vampyre” (John Polidori)
• “Tobermory” (Saki)
• “Wake Not The Dead” (Johann Ludwig Tieck)
If you’re not sure what the literature of the fantastic is, this is a good introduction to the genre.
Posted by Amy as Readers & Reading at 1:11 AM EST
The CBC gives us a story on an artist who makes books that are a work of art: Grand Designs.
Tara Bryan devotes herself to making books that are works of art. She creates a variety of items, from chapbooks to book boxes, and she only creates a few of each item.
Some of the items Bryan creates are breathtakingly intricate—I think I would be afraid of handling them for fear of ruining them. But I’m glad there are people like her in the world who will create such things of beauty.
This story, and Bryan’s web site, are definitely worth a look.
Via CBC.ca.
Posted by Amy as Art & Literature, Books, Design/Illustrations at 1:00 AM EST
Bookfool has started another reading challenge for 2007: the Chunkster Challenge.
I was confused by the name until Bookfool helpfully explained that she considers any book that is fat enough to be intimidating to be a “chunkster”—for her, that’s usually something clocking in at 400 pages or so.
Now that I understand, I’m going to sign up for this reading challenge too. There’s no set limit for the books to be read, but I have four that I’d like to dive in to.
Here are my books that I’m hoping to read in between 01 January and 30 June:
• John Galsworthy: The Forsyte Saga volume 1 (The Man of Property, In Chancery, To Let)
• John Galsworthy: The Forsyte Saga volume 2 (The White Monkey, The Silver Spoon, Swan Song)
• John Galsworthy: The Forsyte Saga volume 3 (Maid In Waiting, Flowering Wilderness, Over The River)
• A.S. Byatt: The Virgin In The Garden
This makes 4 reading challenges that I’ve signed up for (see left sidebar). Now I just hope that no one else comes up with another brilliant challenge in between now and, say, July. By that time I’ll have finished all but one of the challenges *and* I’ll have read the new Harry Potter.
Posted by Amy as Readers & Reading at 1:34 AM EST
As 2006 draws to a close, here’s a meme to finish it off.
What to do: post the first sentence of the first post from each calendar month of this year, with links.
February
Here’s yet another twist in l’affaire James Frey–even his agent has dumped him.
March
April
Now that it’s April, Debra Hamel reminds us that it’s Buy a Friend a Book week.
May
June
Here’s a site about a topic I’d never thought about before: American Women’s Dime Novels, 1870—1920.
July
August
Here’s a great read: Some Old English in Tolkien.
September
October
Here’s yet another title generator: the Danielle Steel Title Generator.
November
December
Via Hassenpfeffer.
Posted by Amy as Fun Stuff at 1:00 AM EST
When I think of the book illustrators who drew the artwork for the books of my childhood, the first ones who come to mind are Garth Williams, who drew the beloved illustrations in the Little House books or John Tenniel of the Alice books.
But there were many more illustrators, and Denise Ortakales has put together a site that fills a gap in our knowledge of early children’s book illustrations: Women Children’s Book Illustrators.
She explains the purpose of her site as follows:
The world of children’s book illustration is filled with prolific and accomplished men and women. My curiosity about some of my predecessors sent me on a quest to discover the history of this noble profession and its participants. I was surprised to find in book after book that very few women were included. There was a mention here or there and a few images, but little else. The number of women’s biographies seemed disproportionately low compared to the number of women illustrators involved in the children’s book field.
Accordingly, she did some research, and her site introduces us to such illustrators as Cicely M. Barker, Bessie Gutmann, and Jessie M. King.
She sets up the site by giving us history on topics such as the following:
• history of children’s book illustration and the role women played
• women in Victorian England
• the 19th century American woman
There’s also an excellent set of links. This site is definitely worth checking out.
Via Ursi’s Blog.
Posted by Amy as Children's Literature, Illustrations at 6:45 AM EST
What’s the first poem you remember reading/hearing/reacting to?
I was forced to memorize (name of poem) in school and . . .
I don’t think I was forced to memorise any poem—which is really too bad.
I read/don’t read poetry because . . .
I read poetry because I love the images and the skill with words.
A poem I’m likely to think about when asked about a favorite poem is . . .
It depends on my mood. Maybe “Mont Blanc.”
I write/don’t write poetry, but . . .
I haven’t written more than a handful of poems since I was a teenager, but attempting those few has made me acutely aware of how much skill it takes to write something worthwhile.
My experience with reading poetry differs from my experience with reading other types of literature . . .
because in the other fiction, non-fiction, and plays I’m looking for a narrative.
I find poetry . . .
diverse.
The last time I heard poetry . . .
It was Tim Lilburn and Tim Bowling reading their work—great stuff.
I think poetry is like . . .
music.
Roy Peter Clark has put together Fifty (50!) Tools Which Can Help You In Writing.
They include tips (and explanations) for items such as the following:
• control the pace
• interesting names
• show and tell
• internal cliffhangers
• tune your voice
• dig for the concrete and specific
These tips are intended for all writers, no matter what the genre.
Posted by Amy as Writing at 6:51 AM EST
The Times has been publishing as a daily newspaper in London since 1785.
Now there is an online display of the various mastheads the paper has used over the years, and it’s fun to watch the design develop.
There are 20 different mastheads to examine, and each has a brief explanation of the differences between it and its predecessor.
Via kottke.org.
Posted by Amy as Newspapers & Magazines at 1:08 AM EST
Here’s a good introduction to early books: Handwritten Books: Manuscript Leaves In Special Collections.
This page explains the following:
• why books were originally bound together (as opposed to being written on rolls)
• the materials used (inks and parchment)
• the different types of books (e.g. breviaries, missals, psalters)
• the kinds of illustrations found (e.g. versals, miniatures, illuminations, zoomorphic letters)
The page is intended for the general public—there’s no special knowledge needed of the subject, and those with no prior knowledge of the topic walk away with a good grounding in the information.
Via Weblog V2.
Posted by Amy as Books at 3:55 AM EST
Dante lovers out there might like to check out a site I’ve just come across: Danteworlds.
This is intended as a study guide to the Divine Comedy. Here’s the explanation for the site:
[It is] an integrated multimedia journey–combining artistic images, textual commentary, and audio recordings–through the three realms of the afterlife (Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise) presented in Dante’s Divine Comedy. The site is structured around a visual representation of Dante’s worlds: it shows who and what appear where. Click on regions within each realm (circles of Hell, terraces of Purgatory, spheres of Paradise) to open new pages featuring people and creatures whom the character Dante meets during his journey. Click on individual figures in the regions to view larger images in pop-up windows. Available for each region are explanatory notes, a gallery of artistic images, recordings of significant Italian verses, and study questions–all aimed at enriching the experience of reading Dante’s poetic vision of a voyage literally out of this world.
In addition to the multimedia section, there is also a short section of links to other sites on Dante.
It’s a good introduction to the work or a good refresher for those who haven’t read it in a while.
Posted by Amy as Multimedia at 1:33 AM EST
Here’s an interesting page: a collection of stamps featuring sketches of German authors.
Some of the authors are familiar to me: Goethe, Schiller, Kafka, or Brecht.
Some of the others I hadn’t heard of before, such as Karl May, Ludwig Thoma, and Nelly Sachs.
There are links to bios on the writers, but the ones I clicked through to were in German, so if you’re curious about them you might like to check them out on Wikipedia.
This was a good way to expand my knowledge of German literature. I didn’t know that Karl May, who died in 1912, has sold the most books of any German author.
Via Plep.
Posted by Amy as Authors at 1:00 AM EST
Here’s a good site to buy gifts for the the readers in your life: Literary Luminaries.
The products feature caricatures of various artists, ranging from Louisa Alcott to Rudyard Kipling to Shakespeare.
There’s a wide selection of gifts; you can have the caricatures on the following items:
• notecards
• bookmarks
• umbrellas
• posters
• mugs
• journals
• playing cards
• note cards
• book bags
• magnets
So if, as Christmas approaches, you’re not quite sure what to get the bookworm in your life who already has everything Sylvia Plath ever wrote, this might be a good stop for you.
Via Brandywine Books.
Posted by Amy as Gifts For Readers/Writers at 4:47 PM EST
O.K., how have I missed hearing about this site? It’s Wordie, a site dedicated to talking about words.
Its tagline? “Like Flickr, but without the photos.”
Here’s what the site says about itself:
Wordie lets you make lists of words — practical lists, words you love, words you hate, whatever. You can then see who else has listed the same words, and talk about it.
Some of the much-discussed words include shadenfreude, avuncular, cacaphony, and serendipity.
A few of the recent words listed are ajwain, aubade, confederate red, hackles, and spunk.
Come to think of it, I kind of like the joining of those last three words. Hackles and Spunk. It sounds like a bar. Or a band. Or maybe a new flavour of something.
Via The Presurfer.
Posted by Amy as Words at 4:13 PM EST
I’m a little late coming to this, but I want to note it anyway: The 50 Most Significant SF & F Books published between 1953 and 2002.
Lou Anders has posted this list (originally from the Science Fiction Book Club) on his blog. It’s a bit of a meme; here’s what you do:
Bold the ones you’ve read.
Strike-out the ones you hated.
Italicize those you started but never finished.
Put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert*
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling*
27. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams*
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of
