Books in November, 2010

This month I: took the SAT again, got really sick, went to the movies a million times, wrote a 35,000 word story, and read 16 books (totaling to 136 so far this year). That's why I didn't really blog a lot.

121. The Road from Home, David Kherdian
Considering how much I love history, I know very little about the time and place this book was set it. It was really eye-opening.


122. At Home in Thrush Green, Miss Read
There is something irresistible about charming country living in England.


123. The Abolition of Man, CS Lewis
This was a really thought-provoking collection of essays. Honestly though, I disagreed with him on a lot of things. His education theory was good, but I don't think he really 'got' kids.


124. The Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Spooky and awesome. I am such a sucker for books that take place on boats or have to do with whaling or colonialism or explorations.


125. Wharton: Collected Stories 1891-1910, Edith Wharton
She is just the most perfect author ever. Every time I read her I can't believe how amazing she is. It was a really awesome collection, full of fascinating characters, which is is what she does best.


126. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
I can't believe I've never read this book before. It was absolutely magnificent. It was carefully plotted; obviously Haddon spent a lot of time working out the way the plot would unfold. Also, it made me cry. First book this year!


127. Leisure: The Basis of Culture, Josef Pieper
A fascinating little lecture, defending leisure. My sister had to read it for her Philosophy class, and I stole it for a while.


128. Cart and Cwidder, Diana Wynne Jones
How can Diana come up with so many completely unique universes? This book was epic, and beautifully written and plotted. Her vision always shines through and her characters are always hysterical.


129. The Philosophical Act, Josef Pieper
Another little lecture. Really, they were incredibly short, but incredibly impactful. Read them- it will only take an hour or so, but it will give you a lot to think about.


130. Hidden Rainbow, Christmas Carol Kauffman
I've never been so proud to be a Baptist! (No offense to all my pedobaptist friends out there) It's a story about a family in Yugoslavia who owns a copy of the Bible, and how their religious views change, and how they are persecuted for it.


131. The Neumiller Stories, Larry Woiwode
This was an amazing collection of stories, all about the same family. They weren't told in chronological order so it was a lot of fun piecing them together. They were so beautiful.


132. 97 Orchard, Jane Ziegelman
After six months on the hold list, I finally got this book! It was a book on the culinary history of the Lower East Side, covering a German, Irish, Jewish, Russian and Italian family, spanning from 1860 to the mid 20th century.


133. My Hands Came Away Red, Lisa McKay

This was an very inspiring book. I'm a fan of good, modern, religious fiction. (Except I didn't like Kyle. He was kind of jerky. Her romance with Jeff was much more developed and mature... I thought the love triangle bogged the book down.)

134. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Alexander Solzhenitsyn
I seriously enjoyed this book. I'm usually not fond of books full of misery and war, but this was really excellent. I am always kinda proud of myself when I genuinely enjoy classics. Haha.


135. Dear Emma, Johanna Hurwitz
I'm surprised I never read this before. I thought I'd read every piece of historical fiction about Jews in New York for children ever written, but I obviously missed this one.


136. The Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
WHAT DO I LOVE BETTER THAN EMO WIZARD TEENS? NOTHING. There is nothing I love better than emo wizard teens. If LotR had had an emo wizard teen, I'd probably have liked it.

Okay then.

Mopey, Droopy, and Romantic

Oh dear, with October comes a bad case of The Romantics. Costume dramas will be watched, England-lust will be suffered through, tea will be drunk and rain storms will be stared at. Here is my Droopy Romantic playlist.


Bella's Lullaby, Carter Burwell


Sea of Love, Cat Power


Jenny's Theme, Paul Englishby


When Ginny Kissed Harry, Nicholas Hooper


Le Valse D'Amelie (Piano Version), Yann Tiersen


Can't Take It In, Imogen Heap


One Day, Hans Zimmer


The Secret Life of Daydreams, Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Today I got SEVEN books from the library! Tomorrow my mom has a wedding and my sister has a college gala-ma-bob-thingy. So I will be alone and Romantic all day with my seven books.

Quite simply, soup.

I have a head cold, oh joy. I need to get better too, because I've got work tomorrow morning. But when you have a head cold, what do you do other then drink lots of tea? You drink lots of soup. Here in lies the perfect opportunity to do a soup post. Because soup is, quite simply, the best thing known to man.


Tomato Bean Soup


Italian Wedding Soup


Broccoli Cheddar Soup


Potato Leek Soup


Chicken Noodle Soup


Split Pea Soup

Shakespeare in the Park is doing A Winter's Tale this year!! Omg, hyperventilating, no seriously. It's like, my favorite play, and it gets no love. I can not wait.
Yesterday I read the first half of a book at Barnes and Noble... then I realized that I couldn't take it with me without paying for it, lol. B&N = Not a library. Sometimes I forget.

Pillows, for lack of a better name

I have a near obsessive love of throw-pillows. Like, put me in the throw-pillow section of Ikea and I'll start drooling or something.


Silky is awesome. Only, if I continue to own cats, then these are a no-go.


Urban Outfitters is still good for somethings.


Oh, 21st century. Never change.


If I was still 12 I would want 57 of these.


Purty colors.


The funnest part about imaginary throw-pillow shopping is finding complimentary ones!

I am listening to Snow Patrol's Lightening Strikes. Oh, so beautiful.
It's been a long day. It tried to improve it by making today a bacon cheeseburger deluxe day. But I still feel like crap. Maybe I'm getting sick, cause bacon cheeseburgers have never failed me before.

Percy Jackson is making me emo (Laundromats)

For the moment at least. Partly because the fourth book ended very sadly. (Stop fighting Percy and Annabeth, you're making me nervous. And Nico, please stop crying, you're upsetting me.) And also partly because I feel sick and therefore anything makes me emo. Blah. But the Percy Jackson books don't have illustrations and the movie isn't even out yet, so I can't post mad pictures about it. Then I thought I'd post my favorite illustrations from our Greek myth picture book collection. But, you know, I couldn't find any on Flickr or Google or like anywhere. So. Um. Instead, enjoy these pictures of laundromats. Don't ask why. (<- This is why)


We don't have a laundry machine in our house, but nor do I get to do the wash at a awesome laundromat, because our apartment building has one for us. Which is convenient, but not very magical.


But, oh joy! Our laundry room was getting redone, so for two weeks I got to do it at a laundromat! I sat in chairs like these and read Harry Potter four and drank English Teatime tea I brought from home in a thermos and had many transcendent moments.


Sadly, the laundromat near our house does not have green washing machines. (Or magic girl spirits who live inside them.)


Some laundromats are admittedly more drab and sad then others, but they all are very magical I think. It's the hypnotic whooshing of the clothes.


I do not know where this laundromat is, but it is obviously a very hip one. Ours is decidedly not hip.


Strange mirror picture is strange, yet also fascinating.

Okay that is all good night. May tomorrow be a brighter and better day.

Stuff for when you're sick and gloomy

I've been gone almost a week? How could I? Sorry! I've been really busy and sick at the same time. Ah well. Here are some things that make you feel better when sick, because that's mainly what I've been thinking about.


Yogi Ginger Tea. I swear this Healing Hindu Wonder Tea is full of Black Magic or Something Equally Powerful. It almost instantly makes you feel better. Also, the tea bags always have inspirational quotes written on them to lift your spirits.


Costume Dramas. I'm such a girl sometimes. But pretty people in pretty clothes experiencing lots of angst and romance just lifts the spirits so nicely. If you're looking for long, epic and depressing watch Bleak House (2005). If you're looking for dark, romantic and angsty you should watch North and South (2004). If you want short, sweet and charming Northanger Abbey (2007) works especially well, or perhaps Sense and Sensibility (1995). Jane Eyre (2006) is perfect if you want long, dramatic and passionate. If you're feeling a tad unconventional, watch Amazing Grace (2006). If you are feeling very traditional, Pride and Prejudice (1995) is the only way to go.


Wrap-around dresses. It's like a step up from wearing a bathrobe around the house, but it's not quite real clothes and they are comfy but pretty at the same time.


Soundtracks. Or just instrumental music in general. It's really pretty and it's often full of sad songs which sympathize with the melancholy and apocalyptic mood most people contract while sick. This week I've been listening to a lot of the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince soundtrack. The best tracks are Harry and Hermione, In Noctem and Malfoy's Mission.


Raspberries and other sweet and squishy fruits. They're pretty awesome any day of the week, but when sick they are especially refreshing.


Wrapping yourself in a blanket and curling into a ball to die. Okay, maybe not to die. But sometimes just rolling yourself up in a corner to moan about the gloom and doom of your current unpleasant situation is the best thing to do.

Yeah. Well, thankfully, I'm feeling much better now. And I've got a full day ahead of me... School (lots of math). Gym. Cleaning the bathroom. Drawing. Perhaps some babysitting. So enough wasting time on here.