Author's Chose their Favourite Books of the Decade

From the Guardian... I've read four.

Entertainment Weekly's New Classics

Above is the link to EW's top 100 books of the last twenty five years. I've read 41, and you? and anything you feel is over or underrated? The omission of Time Traveler's Wife is the first that comes to my mind.

Books that Should Be Movies

Here's a list of books that should be made into movies. Anyone got any others?

Harry Potter Update

So, as you've no doubt heard, Albus Dumbledore is gay. What do you think of Rowling's decision to keep revealing more and more tidbits about her characters after the release of the final book?

Books You May Have Missed

I forgot to post yesterday, but here's a bonus post I came across while cleaning out some bookmarks. I love book lists of any kind, and this list has books I've mostly never heard of (the only one I've read is Any Human Heart by William Boyd). I have read many of the contributors, though, and may have to check out some of their selections. Has anyone read Elizabeth Taylor? Those stuck out for me as books I want to try out.

National Book Award nominees announced

Our very own Anstrat has read and reviewed Now We Come to the End but otherwise we seem to have made it through another year without reading any of the best books. Very sad. I guess we have until November 14 to get the rest read. If anyone has read any of the other nominated books, be sure to post about it in the comments.

Doris Lessing wins Nobel for Literature

What does everyone think of this choice? I've recently read The Sweetest Dream and wasn't terribly impressed. I tried to read The Golden Notebook in college and it never grabbed me. Post your thoughts on Ms. Lessing or other Nobel literature choices.

Opening Line Trivia Quizes

Sorry for the missed post we had some technical difficulties with our internet. This link is to a series of first line quizzes. They give the first line, you ID the book. I did well on the children's lit one, but not so well on the others. Post your results if you dare.

Other book blogs

Nina's Reading Blog
Conversational Reading
AbeBooks' Reading Copy
Reading the Past
Becky's Book Reviews
Comics Worth Reading
Fausti's Book Quest

Best of 2007 (So Far)

Amazon.com has listed its best books of the first half of 2007 in fiction, nonfiction, and kids books. The lists are mostly populated by the big names you'd expect--Chabon, DeLillo, Kingsolver--but there is also a list of hidden gems as well. My 2007 book year started out great but I hit a couple of dry spells and haven't done a great job of keeping track of my recent reads. I would have to say that my (new) book of 2007 so far is one that is also on Amazon's list--Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. If we count books published before this year, it would probably have to be The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham. What books make your best of 2007 list?

Good Reads

A friend of mine suggested I check you this book recommendation web site. It's similar to Librarything, but seems to be more focused on rating books rather than cataloging them. I have been using it to rank books as a means of listing what I've read (as opposed to what I own)and check out other recommendations. You can organize your books into "shelves" which seems to be the equivalent of the librarything tags. I think that if you could get several of your bookish friends to keep up with it, it could be a lot fun, getting updates about what they are reading and how much they like it. Check it out!

What Book Got You Hooked on Reading?

FirstBook.org has compiled a list of the Top 50 books that got people reading. It's a list with a lot of familiar titles, many of which I could make an argument for applying to myself. Laura Ingalls Wilder, Dr. Seuss, the Ramona books, etc. There is also a list of writer and celebrity favorites as well. So what book got you hooked?

Harry Potter round-up

If you can't get enough Harry...spoilers ahead

Stephen King on Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling interview
Deathly Hallows quiz
Another J.K. Rowling discussing the upcoming Encyclopedia of Magic
Harry Potter parody
Another interview

Thanks to Krista and John for links

First Lines

This site allows you to receive emails or texts of a first line of a book twice a day. Or just check out the ones posted, if you aren't that high tech. Once again thank to Pop Candy for the link.

Potter Mania!

Could there be any other possible subject for the bonus post today? Unless you're living under a rock, you probably already know that the seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be released at midnight. The title link goes to J. K. Rowling's official site. I was going to link to an article about the release but really, all you need to do is open up any newspaper or magazine or book website and you will find more information and speculation than you could possibly want to know. Confession: I've only read the first book (and seen the first movie). Shuttsie, on the other hand, is probably in line at a bookstore as we speak. I kind of wish I had gotten into the whole Potter craze because it would be fun to take part in all the mass excitement over a book. Sadly, I can't imagine this much build-up over a book again in a long, long time. As much as I would love it, I don't think Borders will be staying open until midnight on September 25 when Richard Russo's newest book comes out, even though I've been waiting SIX years for it. So time to hear from you (if you're not too busy reading Deathly Hallows, that is). What do you think of the Harry Potter books? If you're not a fan, whose books would you wait in line for?

The Best Novels You've Never Read

New York magazine asked book critics to list "one that got away", a book that they loved but didn't seem to catch on with the public. The result is a very eclectic list of titles that makes for an interesting list. I've only read a few of the books on this list, have heard of several more, but the majority of the list are books and even authors that are mostly new to me. I have this list bookmarked and hope to try a few of the titles soon.

Book Inscriptions

As a used book lover, I'm always interested in what I will find in a book, whether it's a grocery receipt from the 1980's or a postcard to someone from the their grandma. Lots of used books have inscriptions in them --some that make you wonder about the circumstances behind giving the book away ("to a wonderful Daughter-In-Law, Christmas 1997"). This Page collects the most interesting inscriptions and posts them for your reading enjoyment. (Thanks to the cool Pop Candy blog for the heads up)

Bad Book Covers

I've picked up many books I may not otherwise have read because of a good cover or title. A bad one can have the same effect. I swear half my aversion to romance, science fiction, and fantasy are some of the horrid covers involved. I make no judgment on the content of The Price of Temptation (in fact I am now completely fascinated and want to read it, but my library doesn't own it and I know the people in ILL) But really, is that a watermelon in there? The title link goes to a site that is devoted to bad covers including a weekly special Phallic Phridays.

Worst. Book. Ever.

Welcome to Bad Books Week! This bonus post is a link to another blogger's worst books of 2006 and our picks for the next week will be books that we didn't like, didn't get, or thought were way over-hyped. Feel free, dear readers, to chime in with your votes for the hall of shame!

Reading in Bed

Except for maybe over meals, I do most of my reading under the covers before bed, like seemingly most readers. This art project takes reading in bed to a whole new level. I love how turning the pages adds layers if you are either too hot or too cold. This bedtime story is sure to bring pleasant dreams to every book lover.