Some Book Pics, Some Weekly Geeks, Some General Complaining…
Posted by: Eva on: July 21, 2008
- In: *Personal| TBR| WeeklyGeeks
- Comment!
First, the complaining. So, whenever we go on vacation, we pay a boy who lives next door to watch our pets. He’s thirteen now, so it’s nice for him to make some money and for us to not have to worry about finding a kennel. It’s always worked out. Well, last night I happened to open my internet history, because I was looking for a site I’d forgotten to bookmark. And I notice that there’s activity during the days I was on vacation. This kid was using my laptop to play some kind of internet game!!!!!!!! He didn’t ask me or anything, and now who knows if I have stuff on my computer, or if he hurt my power cord (it’s sensitive-that’s what sent my laptop into a coma for so many months), or stuff like that. So now I have to go lecture a thirteen-year-old about other people’s property. I just don’t understand what his thought process was-at that age, I was babysitting a lot, and I wouldn’t have touched my clients’ books without their permission, much less $1,000, easily damaged pieces of technology!! Not to mention, my laptop is just that-mine. I even get a weird feeling when my friends use it, much less random people who live next door. I mean, seriously?!?! Ok, rant over. I’m just very, very upset by the whole thing: we pay him a lot of money to watch our pets, not to use our private property.
In more uplifting news, I thought I’d do a book pile of new acquisitions! Some of these came in the mail as review copies or prizes, some are from the library, and some I bought on vacation. 
As always, click to make bigger.
First, you might notice the two awesome magnets propped on the Rushdie and the pink dishcloth hanging out at the top of the pile: those were my prizes from the generous Dewey: thanks so much! Now from the bottom up: Dream Country-the third in Gaiman’s Sandman graphic novel series from the library, Queen of Scots by John Guy-I’ve been wanting to read a bio of her since I saw the horrible way she was portrayed in Elizabeth: the Golden Age, and Mom pointed this out to me at Barnes & Noble when I was looking for a book for the plane, Shadow Cities by Robert Neuwirth-I’ve been wanting to read this since JenClair’s review last summer and the library had it, The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie-I’ve been on the holds list for this forever, and I’m so excited it’s finally my turn to read it! Rushdie’s a favourite of mine, The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner-a review copy, this is historical fiction set in Spain taht I’m quite excited about, The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf-I bought this my first time at Barnes & Noble, since classics tend to be the best deal and I’ve been wanting to read Woolf’s first novel (it didn’t disappoint), Apartment Therapy by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan-I saw a review of this on some blog yesterday (let me know if it was you!) and the library happened to have a copy, so since I’ll be moving into an apartment soon I picked it up, The Savage Garden by Mark Mills-I won this from Danielle and her review has me so excited, Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household-I won this from C.B. and I can’t wait to try out this different approach to spy fiction, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest Gaines-one of my Southern reading choices, that I had to go find in the stacks since my hold was returned (remember that drama?)…oddly enough, my branch library seperates mass market paperback from the rest of fiction, so the librarian had to help me find the thing, and last but not least Dressed for Death by Donna Leon-the other book I bought to read during my flight, it’s part of a wonderful mystery series set in Venice. Whew-I have to catch my breath.
Now, let’s do Weekly Geeks! Dewey has suggested that we list books we haven’t reviewed yet and solicit questions from our blog readers. I really like this idea, since I have a ton of reviews that are either in draft form or still in my head. So I’m going to list all of the book titles, and you can ask me questions about any you’re curious about. Then, I’ll review those books first and incorporate your questions! Since Dewey’s moving next week, this will cover a two week time period. But you have to promise not to judge my big list of titles, ok? Oh, and since I’m lazy and copying and pasting this from my ‘books read’ page, you get to see my star rating-it’s out of five. Here we go:
Ghost Wars by Steve Coll****
The X in Sex by David Bainbridge****
The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf*****
The Questory of Root Karbunkulus by Kamilla Reid**
When We Were Romans by Matthew Kneale*****
Legerdemain by James Heaphey***
Special Assignments by Boris Akunin****
Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway*****
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter***
Aunt Dimity’s Death by Nancy Atherton***
The Arrival by Shaun Tan*****
Pyongyang by Guy deLisle****
The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing***
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray****
Girl, 13 by Starla Griffin****
Beauty by Robin McKinley*****
Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby*****
Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood****
Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson*****
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie****
Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout***
How I Live Now by Meg Roff****
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery*****
Ending Slavery by Kevin Bale****
A Defense of Ardor by Adam Zagajewski***
Killing Mr. Lebanon by Nicholas Blanford*
The War for Muslim Minds by Gilles Kepel**
Song of the Crow by Layne Mahue*****
Voyage of the Turtle by Carl Safina*****
Orsinian Tales by Ursula Le Guin***
The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler****
Flower Net by Lisa See**
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy Sayers****
The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman****
Deep South by Nevada Barr****
Sew Everything Workshop by Diana Rupp*****
Not a Happy Camper by Mindy Schneider****
The Warden by Anthony Trollope****
Healthy Child, Healthy World by Christopher Gavigan****
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery****
A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett*****
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis***** (on CD)
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis***** (on CD)
Digging to America by Anne Tyler***
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen*****
My Ox is Broken! by Adam-Troy Castro**
The Grand Tour by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer****
The Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer***
Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon****
Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit***
Train to Pakistan by Kushwant Singh*****
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis**** (on CD)
The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis***** (on CD)
House of Many Gods by Kiana Davenport***
The Assassin’s Gate by George Packer*****
Peony in Love by Lisa See****
30 Responses to "Some Book Pics, Some Weekly Geeks, Some General Complaining…"
2 | Andi
July 21, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Wheee! Long list o’books. I have to know: what did you think of Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber? I see that you gave it three stars. so what bothered you or gave you pause about it?
As for the kid and the laptop, I would be SO UPSET. Lecture away, and I’m there helping you in spirit.
3 | TY
July 21, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Wow, that kid prying into your laptop is totally wrong! I had that happen to me once. I was subletting my apartment for the summer and when I came back from a two week vacation, I walked in on one of the subletters (a complete stranger, mind you!) sitting at my desk, using my computer. And she acted like it was out of the norm to be using someone’s computer. Some people, sheesh!
As for the reviews, please review A Great and Terrible Beauty. I read it about a month ago and have since then finished the trilogy, but I would love to hear what you think about it because I hold a great store on what you have to say! You are, after all, my source for finding new books for my TBR list!
4 | Nancy, aka Bookfool
July 21, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Wow, I’d definitely be upset if someone who watched my cat invaded my computer. We keep ours password-protected so that we have control over the teenager in the house, but you shouldn’t have to worry about that kind of thing. On a side note, we hired someone to feed and take care of our cats, once, and came home to total chaos. He hadn’t cleaned their litter box, so they used the bathroom carpet (ugh), they knocked down plants — obviously, they were not happy and well cared for, so we never hired him, again. Our retired neighbor did a much better job. He petted them, chatted with them and took such good care of our girls.
I notice you didn’t like Legerdemain as much as I did. I’m dying to read your review. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen more than about 8 books behind on reviews, but I don’t read as fast as you do. You inhale books, don’t you? LOL I’m in awe.
5 | Kristen M.
July 21, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I’m going to ask you about Agatha Christie – The Secret Adversary. You gave it 4 stars and obviously she has some 5-star work. I’m about to start the Tommy and Tuppence series as well (I have this and the next book in my stack) so is the 4 stars for the quality of this particular story or for the level of excitement about the T&T series compared to other Christie series?
(Nothing to ask about the 5-starred Northanger Abbey – that book made me laugh out loud. It’s so incredibly saucy and fun. I’m glad you liked it too!)
6 | Lizzie
July 21, 2008 at 2:45 pm
My husband, the English major, just had me read Train to Pakistan when I had nothing in my TBR list. I found it hard to concentrate on, though. Was it an easy read for you?
7 | Devourer of Books
July 21, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I’m excited for you to read “The Last Queen”. I read it a few months ago and really enjoyed it.
8 | Nymeth
July 21, 2008 at 3:35 pm
That thing about the laptop would have really upset me too. You’d think a 13 year old would know better!
I really look forward to your thoughts on The Enchantress of Florence. I can’t wait to read that one.
I was going to ask pretty much the same thing as Andi about The Bloody Chamber. But since she covered it I’ll go with A Hat Full of Sky instead. 5 stars, yay So what was your favourite thing about the book? What do you think of Tiffany?
9 | antipodeanowl
July 21, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Total poor form on the laptop! I mean kids these days Eva! And when you said you had a long list, you really did mean long! looking forward to hearing you further elucidate your thoughts on Shaun Tan and Northanger Abbey.
10 | Rebecca Reid
July 21, 2008 at 5:19 pm
As for the laptop, I don’t go anywhere without mine, but PASSWORD PROTECT that kind of thing, for sure. I would be incredibly mad. I’d ask for my money back. I’d never use his pet watching services again. And I’d spread the word to any other clients of his. In other words, NO MERCY. (I’m kind of mean, I guess, but that’s what I’d do.)
Wow, I’m excited to hear your thoughts on so many of those books. Here are some questions:
I had mixed feelings about The Arrival, although I did like it. Some of the fantastical elements made it weird, and the no text at all somewhat bothered me: was is a novel? A picture book? A graphic novel? What would you call it? What made it five stars in your opinion?
How was Pyongyang by Guy deLisle as a graphic novel? (The concept seems interesting but I can’t find it in Australia, so I can’t read it yet.)
So what does it take to have a “Well-Educated Mind”?
11 | Jeane
July 21, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I’d be mad about the computer too! Do exactly what Rebecca said- no pay, and a strict lecture. Some kids just don’t get it.
12 | Lightheaded
July 21, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Hmmm, Andi and Nymeth practically asked the questions I’ve been meaning to ask 
Hey, is that a Brunetti book by Donna Leon?
13 | bybee
July 21, 2008 at 11:44 pm
It sucks that you’ve got to talk to the kid, but it’ll help him later on down the road. I can understand how difficult it would be for him to keep his hands off of such a tempting toy, but still, that’s not an excuse. Sometimes you must resist temptation.
I hope you’ll write reviews of Pyongyang and Digging to America because of The Korean Connection, of course! Can’t think of any questions…I’ll come back later…
14 | Nik
July 22, 2008 at 3:25 am
I’m with you on the babysitting thing. Whenever I babysat as a teen I tried to respect their privacy because I’m a very private person.
15 | Andi
July 22, 2008 at 5:33 am
The laptop – how frustrating. However, I suspect that he sees computers as ubiquitous and maybe even public, he didn’t even think that he was using your private property for his own purposes. He probably sees computers as public in some way. That said, he certainly needs to have some clarification given on that, but I suspect he wasn’t being disrespectful, just ignorant. Just my two cents. . . .
As for books, I’m with Andi on Angela Carter. I love her, so I’d be curious to know why you weren’t bowled over . . . I’d also like to know what you thought of Lessings The Fifth Child. I find that book to be the most accessible of hers; did you find it so? Finally, since C.S. Lewis is my fav, what did you think of these two?
16 | Tara
July 22, 2008 at 6:28 am
That’s maddening! I friend of mine had a French exchange student in her home who was looking at *seriously* inappropriate things on her computer! She was furious.
Okay, I cannot even talk about this long list of books. I am envious that you can read so quickly! But feel free to talk about Peony in Love, and Train to Pakistan soon. I’m curious about these.
17 | Melanie
July 22, 2008 at 7:12 am
I’m with Andi on the computer thing; as a young boy he likely sees computers as open for everyone’s use. They’re everywhere, home and school and library, and if he has no guidance he may not realize how inappropriate his behaviour is. That said, you need to let him know just how inappropriate is really is. I understand how annoyed you must be.
As for book questions, in Beauty, did you think McKinley succeeded in reworking a familiar fairy tale? Was Beauty’s love for the Beast believable? And, do you plan on reading McKinley’s second retelling of this same story, Rose Daughter?
18 | bkclubcare
July 22, 2008 at 8:38 am
Wow, Angela Carter IS popular. My question is the same you asked of me: Have you read any other Angela Carter? What did you think of The Bloody Chamber compared to her other books? (and I am committing to any Carter book for my 1% challenge… tell me your favorite.)
Also, since you have a long list: Would any of these books be good choices to adapt into a movie?
19 | The Bloody Chamber (thoughts) « A Striped Armchair
July 22, 2008 at 10:43 am
[...] of your questions are directly answered at the end. And there’s still lots of time for you to ask questions about any of the 50+ books I need to review. So far, I’m loving this, and I might make it a regular [...]
20 | Debi
July 22, 2008 at 11:16 am
My mouth is seriously agape here! I’m so glad it’s you with all those reviews to write and not me…but then again, I’m jealous because it means you actually got all those books read! (This was not judging!)
I’m so disappointed to see that Legerdemain only got 3 stars…I’ve really been wanting to read that. What was it about it that let you down?
And about the laptop…so very uncool! That is crossing some serious boundaries there!
21 | Lisa
July 22, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Holy smokes that’s a lot of books left to review! You’ve read more already than I’ll read all year. I love posts with piles of books, I might have to take some book pictures soon.
I can’t wait to see your review of Between, Georgia. I just read gods in Alabama and loved it.
PS I”m giving away a couple books on my blog, stop in!
22 | Somer
July 22, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I’m curious why you gave one Lisa See book 2 stars and one 4 stars. Also, have you read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and how did it compare?
Also, was Anne of Green Gables a reread for you?
23 | C.B. James
July 22, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I was a 13-year-old boy once and a very well behaved one too. That said, I can totally understand why he tried out your lap-top.
It’s his job as a 13-year-old boy to break the rules and our job as adults to lecture him about it afterwards. I say, set the boundries clearly and give him one more chance.
C.J. and I came home from three days at Tahoe to find out pet-sitter was a no show. We’re lucky the animals didn’t die from thirst. So, if you want to trade pet sitters…..
I hope you enjoy Rogue Male as much as I did.
24 | Matthew
July 22, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I’ve got Savage Garden right on my night-stand. I got it after I read Danielle’s post as well. Can’t wait to start it. I believe I have Well_educated Mind *somewhere* in the bookshelf! That’s another project I have yet to undertake, to organize the books. And…Peony in Love is one engaging read, read it on the plane!
25 | Kim L
July 22, 2008 at 7:31 pm
I would be ticked about the computer! If you didn’t expressly give him permission, it wasn’t his to use. I’d be weirded out by someone using my computer, especially considering all the trouble they could get into online. Plus all the nasty things that can get downloaded!
I saw you gave Beauty 5 stars, I’d love to hear more about what you thought of it. I happen to count it among my all-time favorite books, myself.
26 | Alisia
July 23, 2008 at 7:15 am
That’s no fun to return home to find your personal space has been invaded. I would definitely talk to him about it (just don’t mention how you know he was on your computer…it can be pretty easy to delete the history section in the future!). But, he might not have looked at it the way you are, he probably deserves a second chance.
We’re thinking of asking our 12 year old neighbor to cat-sit while we’re gone, I’ll have to keep the computer thing in mind. I know we can put a password on it to be able to access it. I have no idea how much to pay her, though!
27 | Alisia
July 23, 2008 at 7:16 am
Oh, and I would love to hear more about Train to Pakistan and The Well-Educated Mind.
28 | Danielle
July 23, 2008 at 9:09 am
Sorry to hear about the laptop–I’d be mad, too! That was pretty gutsy of him to do without asking. A lovely stack of books, by the way, and I hope you enjoy the Mills book! It should be a nice summer beach read.
29 | Megan
July 23, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Wow, that’s crazy that he was using your computer. That would drive me insane, too. I feel kinda weird even when my friends use my computer, too. It’s bizarre because they seem to think nothing of it, but it kind of gives me a feeling somewhere in between watching somebody juggling my priceless heirlooms and reading my diary. I feel like a jerk then if I say “hey, don’t use my computer” because they’ll probably just think I’m a nutcase, but it’s probably among the most expensive things I own so I guess it just *bothers* me. So I definitely see where you’re coming from! Good luck with your lecture!
30 | Is it August? Really? « A Striped Armchair
August 4, 2008 at 6:08 pm
[...] professor who now teaches, and I’ll be apartment hunting, so here’s my plan. Remember the list of books I need to review? And the Weekly Geeks to ask questions? Well, until August 14th, I would [...]
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In Loving Memory
July 21, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I’m almost done with The Last Queen and loving it! I think you’ll have a good time with that one!
Lezlie