I have been nominated again this year for the Blogger’s Choice Awards. The voting closes in the next few days so if you feel a burning desire to vote for, or to help win the prestige of, “Best Blog About Stuff” then click on the link or the icons on the left. After a very quick registration you can vote. If I win a car I will share it with you all. (They don’t really give you a car.)
Speaking of recognition for the most minimal amount of effort. One of my pictures that I took last year was chosen to be used on Schmaps Fifth Edition Washington D.C. Guide. If you use Schmaps or have an IPhone you can see my picture if you look up the National Aquarium.
I really love the reading social visual bookshelf application on facebook. It’s like having a virtual bookshelf for all my books. It’s perfect for me since I don’t have a bookshelf or a place to put a bookshelf. If you haven’t check it out you should. It is a great way to find books that you might like and to share what your reading with your friends. If you don’t have Facebook here is the link to the site. www.readers.livingsocial.com
I have read over a dozen books in the past few weeks here in albuquerque. It’s been great to have the time to catch up and finally read some of the books that I have been wanting to read for a long time. Following are a few of the reviews that I have left on the site. They weren’t all winners but here are a few that I really enjoyed.
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Dave Eggers
”We are pathetic. We are stars. We are either sad and sickly or we are glamourous and new…We are unusual, tragic and alive.”
A finalist for the Pulitzer Dave Eggers has written something unique and memorable. It eschews the conventional definition of a memoir. Not quite sure what it is but at times very funny, very clever, sad and beautiful.
The Stranger
Albert Camus
There was something fascinating about it and yet… absurd. I read it at the dinner table and while I was sleeping. When ever the sun gets in my eyes I am going to think of this book. I get it now… wish I had read it years ago.
Werewolves in Their Youth: Stories
Michael Chabon
I liked that each of these stories involved people who were making life decisions or experiencing life changing moments even if they don’t realize it at the time. Michael Chabon is a talent, these short stories are well written. I’m looking foward to reading more of his work.
The Little Prince
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
”Look up at the sky. Ask yourselves: Is it yes or no? Has the sheep eaten the flower? And you will see how everything changes… And no grown-up will ever understand that this is a matter of so much importance.”
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Mark Haddon
This book is very clever and it kept me engrossed through the whole story. I wasn’t planning on it but I ended up reading it straight through. The mystery of a dead dog found in the neighbors yard, told from the view point of a fifteen year old Autistic boy. It made me think of “The Stranger” in the way that the narrator was detatched from so many emotions. Fascinating book. I really enjoyed it and have already started recommending it to my friends. You should read it… friends.
Siddhartha
Hermann Hesse
“I have had many thoughts, but it would be difficult for me to tell you about them. But this is one thought that has impressed me, Govinda. Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish.”
“Within Siddhartha there slowly grew and ripened the knowledge of what wisdom really was and the goal of his long seeking. It was nothing but a preparation of the soul, a capacity, a secret art of thinking, feeling and breathing thoughts of unity at every moment of life.”
It’s a lot of fun. You should join, or just let us know what you are reading, that you like. If there are any favorite books of yours that you’d like to share, please do. Hurray BOOKS!
I have been nominated again this year for the Blogger’s Choice Awards. The voting closes in the next few days so if you feel a burning desire to vote for, or to help win the prestige of, “Best Blog About Stuff” then click on the link or the icons on the left. After a very quick registration you can vote. If I win a car I will share it with you all. (They don’t really give you a car.)
I read it at the dinner table and while I was sleeping. When ever the sun gets in my eyes I am going to think of this book. I get it now… wish I had read it years ago. 
