tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-185005402009-02-21T05:23:00.884-06:00Books, Reading, Writing, Authors: The Joy of the Written Word.StacieMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10378380788906271905noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-91643252140012514872007-10-27T00:05:00.000-06:002007-10-27T00:22:57.124-06:00

In a place where nature has proven herself more brutal than mankind and also more forgiving, 65 women forged a life close to the earth while the rest of humankind was walled off from the effects of living large upon the earth for too long. "Sister" got tired of living packed in concrete like sardines, implanted by law with a contraceptive device, factory work building machines went unused: all

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-16115542933904111302007-10-21T10:12:00.000-06:002007-10-27T00:20:43.423-06:00

This one left me speechless, gaping like a fish to find the right words of devotion to this exquisite, beautiful novel. I've been working for weeks to write up a proper review, but it isn't working. And to think, I posted about my favorite novels of late only a week before completing one that must be added to the list. I promise to find better, more accurate words of love for this remarkable,

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-77227918214141685312007-09-24T20:09:00.000-06:002007-09-24T20:29:21.708-06:00

I'm not the biggest fan of fiction and always have trouble finding novels that appeal to me enough to finish reading or otherwise leave a lasting impression. Here is a list, in no particular order, of my top favorite novels of the last two years:The Road by Cormac McCarthyFive Skies by Ron CarlsonBrief History of the Dead by Kevin BrockmeierSmonk by Tom FranklinCoal Black Horse by Robert

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-74735001757162793302007-09-24T20:07:00.001-06:002007-09-24T20:09:30.335-06:00

Personal Note: Sorry for the long absence. I departed for the summer and since coming home I have been, simply put, lazing around the house re-adjusting to normal life. As a jump back into posting snippets and reviews and thoughts, a short and sweet post will follow this one. Ta!

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-37021894383753417192007-05-28T16:20:00.000-06:002007-05-28T16:37:15.713-06:00

Written Nerd has a great post about the pros and cons of bloggers writing book reviews. Not an attack upon or critical of print book reviews, WN notes the greatest perk of blogged book reviews over print reviews:Blogs, on the other hand, have the benefits that come from no filter: their passion for or against a book, or their complex thoughts about it, are subject to no one's editing but their

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-29210284437101853732007-04-17T17:58:00.000-06:002007-04-17T18:27:05.761-06:00

One Idaho summer envelops the lives of three men in her broad skies, flat plains, high plateaus and dramatic silences. It is one season in the lives of the huge, silent Arthur Key; the internally raging Darwin Gallegos; and the ex-criminal but earnest young pupil Ronnie Panelli. They bond in the steely, emotionless, simple ways that men do, as they work on a contracted big-money building project

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-51544479588624539792007-04-12T11:52:00.000-06:002007-04-12T12:02:20.337-06:00

Literary legend Kurt Vonnegut has died at 84 years old. There comes a time when great authors will all leave us, but it is always a sad day and fills us with great loss.Two great pieces:KURT VONNEGUT: 1922-2007Darkly comic novelist a counterculture heroSan Francisco ChronicleNovelist Vonnegut Remembered for His Black HumorNPRWriter Kurt Vonnegut dies at 84BBC News

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-293965029390945542007-04-04T21:42:00.000-06:002007-04-04T21:45:12.274-06:00

Ever wanted to take a peek into the offices/writing spaces of beloved authors? Check out the UK Guardian's page featuring various writers' rooms with commentary by each author. I am a little surprised at how neat nearly all of them seem to be, but it could be they just tidied up before the photographer came.

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-64092619933839367232007-03-30T13:46:00.000-06:002007-03-30T13:54:11.042-06:00

Check out the final results of The Morning News Tournament of Books.It isn't any surprise and sure didn't feel like any competition was actually occuring. With words like "trounced" being used and some of the best bloggers, reviewers (and even a few authors) weighing in on the final match-up with wit & without holding back, the summaries are worth reading even if you weren't already convinced

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-22574291031619454942007-03-28T23:19:00.000-06:002007-03-28T23:34:22.133-06:00

Wow. Oprah's announcement today may have been missed by indie booksellers, but it was impossible to not see the paperback copies of Cormac McCarthy's The Road with the highly-recognizable sticker stuck on the front cover. We were joking today that when the housewives come in to pick up the book, be sure to suggest they also purchase a copy of Blood Meridian. Yes, we can be evil. But seriously

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-68635580337260790612007-03-27T15:25:00.000-06:002007-03-27T15:36:04.434-06:00

Fresh out in hardcover, these are brief reviews of a few new books I'm recommending. The first is especially a strong contender as my favorite book of Spring. Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead A perfect, beautiful child of Cormac McCarthy and Tom Franklin, Robert Olmstead’s Coal Black Horse brings to life the bloody, horrific details that make up people and land of the Civil War while

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-30573100742724264672007-03-20T15:27:00.000-06:002007-03-20T15:48:57.652-06:00

Through the conversation of a Pakistani man and an American at a marketplace in Lahore, we learn about the recent life-changing events of a young man who leaves his home of Pakistan in order to make use of the education and opportunities in the United States. He attends Princeton and is hand-selected to work for an important firm in New York City whose sole purpose is to evaluate the financial

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-9320267846883279172007-03-06T19:22:00.000-06:002007-03-06T19:25:46.670-06:00

So I just tried out the Lulu Titlescorer by entering in three different titles (just for fun, of course they aren't actual titles I have in mind for anything I'm working on) and each one received the same score: 69.0% chance of becoming a bestseller. Can I pick 'em or can I pick 'em?Anyone need help titling their novel?

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-89413065984964334492007-03-06T15:25:00.000-06:002007-03-06T15:27:37.185-06:00

Yes, yes I am a book girl, but I am referring to the blog: Book Girl. It's aesthetically pleasing, made up of simple layouts, and boasts reviews of books I don't read (which means you can read more of a variety in reviews). Check it out!

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-82884722035378879092007-03-06T13:35:00.000-06:002007-03-06T14:24:06.298-06:00

Chuck is BACK! Using a device called the "oral biography," the story is told from the first-person perspective of many people who had some sort of contact with the main character, Buster Landru Casey, AKA "Rant". This lends itself most often to feeling as though you are listening to a radio documentary. As though someone interviewed hundreds of people one at a time, getting his or her entire

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-48440320270081455402007-02-12T16:49:00.000-06:002007-02-12T17:01:26.262-06:00

At least Bibliochef does! And oh, how! This is a really nicely done review, from a personal reflective note, of course. Don't expect New York Times Book Review type, but its clear that this book does seem to touch something very personal inside everyone who reads it.And as a side note, the blog of Bibliochef fills a nice niche for lovers of mystery, food and books about either, or both! The

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-41046120825330071222007-02-11T02:19:00.000-06:002007-02-09T23:53:18.790-06:00

A new addition to the links list: Written Nerd. Check out this bookseller-blogger with her readable, simple layout, basic approach to blogging about bookselling!

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-36486613339078885422007-02-09T23:25:00.000-06:002007-01-28T17:56:56.446-06:00

I never quite got around to writing about this book after I read it and I'm not sure why. I think it had something to do with wanting to write it up properly, but not having the right words to really put it all together in the larger picture of importance.So tonight I had the honor of hosting Greg Mortenson at my bookstore for an event. We packed in somewhere around 250 people for a marvelous

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-54863485906417055582007-01-11T13:29:00.000-06:002007-01-11T14:21:11.476-06:00

My favorite books read in 2006:FICTIONThe Road by Cormac McCarthySmonk by Tom FranklinBrief History of the Dead by Kevin BrockmeierWater for Elephants by Sara GruenTraveling Death & Resurrection Show by Ariel GoreWillful Creatures: Stories by Aimee BenderNON-FICTIONThree Cups of Tea by Greg MortensonGuests of the Ayatollah by Mark BowdenEat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth GilbertLast Chance in Texas by

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-27801457454127868592006-12-31T19:34:00.000-06:002006-12-31T19:47:46.135-06:00

Through a leapfrog maneuver from one blog to another and clicking on a link, I find myself faceto face with a challenge I long to complete. One ambitious Canadian book blogger was recently inspired after reading Italo Calvino's If On a Winter's Night, A Traveler and in particular by the lengthy passage discussing the various searches that go on in a bookstore. She has dubbed it the "Calvino

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-1164153426582278392006-11-21T17:40:00.000-06:002006-11-21T18:39:17.763-06:00

It was the eve of the eve of his death by murder and there was harmonica music on the air when E.O. Smonk rode the disputed mule over the railroad tracks and up the hill to the hotel where his trial would be.And so begins this fabulous tale of the new mythology of Smonk, Evavangeline, Phail Walton, William R. McKissick Jr., and the entire town of Old Texas. The characters are truly

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-1162483398183493772006-11-02T10:01:00.000-06:002006-11-02T10:03:18.200-06:00

Prize-Winning Novelist William Styron Dies at 81by Renée Montagne Morning Edition, November 2, 2006 · Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist William Styron died Wednesday of pneumonia at a hospital in Martha's Vineyard, Mass. . He was 81.Styron won the Pulitzer for The Confessions of Nat Turner, a fictional account of Nat Turner and the slave revolt of 1831. As a white, Protestant Southerner, Styron was

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-1160368678448952292006-10-08T22:27:00.000-06:002006-10-09T09:45:29.173-06:00

Changing the look of Literati Illuminations. This might not be the only change. Be forwarned.Speaking of blogs, I found a new LitBlog today. I haven't been able to get on the bandwagon for many that are out there (and there are way too many, of which this is one), but this one was a standout. Design, accessibility, readability, focus, lack of pointless chatter, so on and soforth. Check out

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-1159908210943397222006-10-03T14:19:00.000-06:002006-10-03T14:43:31.043-06:00

Sometimes you come across a book that truly keeps you riveted. Not only while you read it, but for days after. McCarthy's apocalyptic vision does just that. I feel as though I cannot do this book any justice by writing properly formulated sentences. So much of my reaction is visceral, that a well-crafted paragraph will only take away from the impact such a work has on the mind and soul. So I

StarStarnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18500540.post-1159503587649201452006-09-28T16:08:00.000-06:002006-09-28T22:28:28.920-06:00

7am Officially on the road! I left home at 6am after being up for only 30 minutes. And yet it was way, way too early for me. 7am is too early to wake up and I have to do it several days a week. Bought coffee on the way to meet the charter bus - mostly because I decided I might as well have some boost to the trip since I know I won’t fall back asleep, no matter how badly I will want to (and I

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