Saturday, December 19, 2009

Holiday Reading

Inspired by a Tweet from Leslie Edwards, Cathy Nelson blogged her holiday reading list.

As a (sort of) retired lady, I'm not under the time constraints faced by working teacher-librarians. I can, and do, read as the mood strikes me. Since I access and process so much information daily via the internet, my recreational reading tends to be fiction.

In addition to a little holiday book collection that I revisit each year,



I have in my stack:



The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Death narrates this tale of Liesel Meminger, a child who learns to steal books because she finds comfort in words during the horrors of World War II.




Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan

Despite her untimely death, Bibi Chen "joins" her friends on a trip to China and Burma.






The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith

In addition to the popular No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency stories, Smith is the author of this series featuring Scottish philosopher (and sometimes detective) Isabel Dalhousie.






Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Rumor has it that Santa is going to bring me this steampunk adventure set in an alternative world on the cusp of WWI.





Anyone else care to share their stack?



"To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful,
ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of poetry." -Gaston Bachelard



"Christmas Books" by dmcordell

7 comments:

anitab said...

Here's my pile :) http://anaddledbrain.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/my-winter-break-reading-list/

diane said...

That is quite a pile! BTW have you seen my photo of the day for 12/15?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmcordell/4188043707/

Cathy Jo Nelson said...

Great list Diane! I didn't mean to make a meme but I'm glad to see others joining in!

Lesley Edwards said...

I have the same little "A Child's Christmas in Wales" book in your picture. When I was growing up it was a family tradition to put on the LP record and listen to the soft, wise voice of Dylan Thomas reading his story each Christmas Eve.
You'll enjoy the Book Thief too!
Maybe tomorrow I will post my own list for this winter break but for now, back to my book, Loving Frank by Nancy Horan.

Kevin Hodgson said...

I just added Leviathan to my Amazon list for post-holiday purchases. Thanks. I suggest people read the Best Non-required Reading Collections (put out by Dave Eggers but put together my a crack team of young people). It has some of the most eclectic and amazing writing each year (I am hoping to get the 2009 version under the tree, if you know what I mean)
Kevin

Lazygal said...

I couldn't possibly create a list - it's more like, which of the 355 books in Mt. Bookpile will I get through during my vacation. Stay tuned!

susanvg said...

I have A Pigeon and a Boy by Meir Shalev. I'm just finishing Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden. The Book Thief is also in my stack. There are many more, but how many can I realistically get through. Great idea to share ideas.