Frankie reads 2013

[frankie]

Okay, apparently no one studies children's literature at the uni because I could only find copies of The Wind in the Willows From about 30 titles!

[Kylie]

Did you ever finish reading The Phantom Tollbooth?   (Yes, I'm glaring fiercely at you. )

 

I'll comment on the rest of your post later. And I still have to comment on your updated book list *brandishes whip*

[frankie]

Did you ever finish reading The Phantom Tollbooth?   (Yes, I'm glaring fiercely at you. )

 

No But I've been thinking about it quite often lately, actually! I want to read it. It was so good!! As far as I got, anyways.

 

I'll comment on the rest of your post later. And I still have to comment on your updated book list *brandishes whip*

 

Oh dear, the whip again...!

[Janet]

I'm so sorry to hear they're not keeping you on, frankie.   They don't know what they're doing!   

[Brian.]

It's so easy to get hung up on the number of books you have read but even if you are behind last year, your number is still pretty righteous.

[frankie]

I'm so sorry to hear they're not keeping you on, frankie.   They don't know what they're doing! 

 

Thanks Janet for your kind words I'm okay about it now. I know it's about finances and there not being enough work after September. It's been quite stressful and maybe this isn't my kind of line of work anyways... Or maybe it's the institute that doesn't suit me that well.

 

It's so easy to get hung up on the number of books you have read but even if you are behind last year, your number is still pretty righteous.

 

Righteous! *pumps fist in air* I love that word Yeah I've done okay, and I've said it before that I don't mind if I don't reach the target, but it's also been kind of odd in general, not having read that much lately. It's an odd feeling because I'm used to reading more.

[frankie]

I went a bit crazy yesterday. Or indulgent. I was browsing BD yesterday to see what kinds of books they had on sale. Then I went to look at the website of the Nordic equivalent, Adlibris. They had 3 paperbacks for 9,90e! Usually the range of the paperbacks is small and boring, but when I started going through it, I found a lot of books I wanted. First I thought I will definitely order at least one 3-book-deal. But then I found 6 books I couldn't decide between, so I ordered two sets Also, when I went to my shopping cart, I realised that I already had two books there, and that I should delete them before ordering the others, because otherwise I'd buy them, too, at the same time. I looked at the titles, pondered, and then went ahead and ordered those, too

 

I have 8 new books coming my way in 2-3 + 3-5 (week)days!    (It was a bit of a retail therapy thing. Work was rather crappy earlier this week, now it's been nicer, and I just felt like I deserved a little something for putting up with it all )

[Athena]

I look forward to see which ones you bought! I understand, when I feel bad, book shopping helps me too. I think that's not a bad thing as long as one can afford it and it doesn't distract from essential things in life (ie. one should still be able to eat and to concentrate on things). In my case I think it may have gone a bit far, but I hope to be working on that problem in a while (first I need to be less stressed). Anyway.. sorry for rambling. Those prices sound awesome! I hope you enjoy your new books!!

[Kylie]

I'm sooo proud of you, Frankie! You deserve new books, and it's been so long since you gave in and bought any.

OK, here are the books I'm most interested to read off your list. When I copy it over to my reading log, is it OK if I leave off the Finnish titles? Otherwise I won't ever be able to complete the whole list.

TBR
Stephen King: The Stand
Ira Levin: Rosemary's Baby
Nick Hornby: Juliet, Naked
Grace Metalious: Peyton Place
Poppy Z. Brite: Exquisite Corpse
Erich Segal: Love Story
Irene Nemirovsky: The Ball
Dai Sijie: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Nevil Shute: Pied Piper
Stephen Fry: The Hippopotamus
Sue Monk Kidd: The Secret of Bees
Alex Garland: The Beach
David Mitchell: Black Swan Green
Kathryn Stockett: Help
Vicki Myron: Dewey - The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
Vincent Bugliosi: Helter Skelter
Augusten Burroughs: Magical Thinking

Wish List
Stephen King: Misery
Stephen King: Cujo
Linda Gillard: Emotional Geology
William Goldman: The Marathon Man
Guy Gavriel Kay: The Lions of Al-Rassan
Augusten Burroughs: Dry
Augusten Burroughs: Possible Side Effects 
 
Removed:
Margaret Atwood: Handmaid's Tale
Diane Setterfield: Thirteenth Tale
Elie Wiesel: Night
Michael Cunningham: A Home at the End of the World
Charles Bukowski: Ham on Rye
Legs McNeil & Gillian McCain: Please Kill Me – The Uncensored Oral History of Punk
 
Aw, bit sad about these being removed. I've read the first three and have been looking forward to the last three. I can't tell you how much time I've spent searching for A Home at the End of the World because of your recommendation! I think I'll still look for it though.
 

*I think I will have to make another, very, extremely, decidedly compact list. Say, 15 fiction, 10 non-fiction, and 10 Childrens/YA books.

 

That sounds good! It will be slightly less overwhelming for your fans (read: me). But I would still want to read all of the books from the longer list as well (except the Finnish ones, unless they're translated into English).

 

Edit: I don't think Kylie and poppyshake will be too pleased with the new, loads longer list

 

I was gobsmacked but excited.
 

And I've just realised that now I have to do another combined list of the books we've all liked, because I've added new titles. Darn  

 

Yes please! I'd rather you do it than me.

[julie]

Frankie

Sorry your job won't be a permanent one, but from one of your previous posts, it sounds as though maybe it wasn't your cup of tea anyhow . You'll find something else you'll enjoy that is book related ,which would be right up your alley . Either working at a bookstore or library or publisher ...

 

I noticed the other day in Goodreads they had a couple Help Wanted job listings over on the right hand side of the page. Not sure what they were and if they were paid-type things .

 

Good idea to purchase yourself a few treats . I do that on days I go to the doc .. if I behave myself ,  I stop and buy myself a donut . I think a book would be a healthier choice, but a donut tastes better . 

[poppyshake]

I went a bit crazy yesterday. Or indulgent. I was browsing BD yesterday to see what kinds of books they had on sale. Then I went to look at the website of the Nordic equivalent, Adlibris. They had 3 paperbacks for 9,90e! Usually the range of the paperbacks is small and boring, but when I started going through it, I found a lot of books I wanted. First I thought I will definitely order at least one 3-book-deal. But then I found 6 books I couldn't decide between, so I ordered two sets Also, when I went to my shopping cart, I realised that I already had two books there, and that I should delete them before ordering the others, because otherwise I'd buy them, too, at the same time. I looked at the titles, pondered, and then went ahead and ordered those, too

 

I have 8 new books coming my way in 2-3 + 3-5 (week)days!    (It was a bit of a retail therapy thing. Work was rather crappy earlier this week, now it's been nicer, and I just felt like I deserved a little something for putting up with it all )

Oh well done you  you deserve a special treat. Am very curious to know what they are .. but it would be rude to ask ....  ..  ..   What are they frankie?       

[frankie]

I look forward to see which ones you bought! I understand, when I feel bad, book shopping helps me too. I think that's not a bad thing as long as one can afford it and it doesn't distract from essential things in life (ie. one should still be able to eat and to concentrate on things). In my case I think it may have gone a bit far, but I hope to be working on that problem in a while (first I need to be less stressed). Anyway.. sorry for rambling. Those prices sound awesome! I hope you enjoy your new books!!

 

 

I used to buy loads of books when I was feeling down... But nowadays I'm more cautious. In 2010 I think I bought over 300 books... (That was the year I was staying at Kylie's so I totally blame her ) So 8 books for me, having bought maybe 40 books earlier this year, is pretty good for someone like me! Buying books was such a nice type of retail therapy... Especially when I went into secondhand bokshops and charityshops... But in hindsight, I bought a lot of books I now feel like I might not really want to read, or books that were in not so great shape but that were cheap at the time. I think I've been very good this year and I hope to continue on this path. My TBR was wayyyy over 500 at the beginning of the year and now it's been reduced by 100 or so titles (I've either read the books or given them away).

 

I'm sooo proud of you, Frankie! You deserve new books, and it's been so long since you gave in and bought any.

 

I think I definitely deserved a book buying spree now. And yep, it's been a really long time since I last bought any new books. I think I've only bought two full price books this year

 

 

OK, here are the books I'm most interested to read off your list. When I copy it over to my reading log, is it OK if I leave off the Finnish titles? Otherwise I won't ever be able to complete the whole list.

 

Of course it's okay! I don't expect you to learn Finnish... Although I did leave you the Finnish-English-Finnish dictionary, didn't I?

 

 

TBR

Removed:

Margaret Atwood: Handmaid's Tale

Diane Setterfield: Thirteenth Tale

Elie Wiesel: Night

Michael Cunningham: A Home at the End of the World

Charles Bukowski: Ham on Rye

Legs McNeil & Gillian McCain: Please Kill Me – The Uncensored Oral History of Punk

 

Aw, bit sad about these being removed. I've read the first three and have been looking forward to the last three. I can't tell you how much time I've spent searching for A Home at the End of the World because of your recommendation! I think I'll still look for it though.

 

I didn't remove the books because in hindsight they were bad. Not at all! I think Handmaid's Tale is still definitely worth a read. But it's not one of my favorites any more... Thirteenth Tale I would still recommend you read it, but unfortunately I remember less and less of the book the further time goes by... This is probably the same thing for the other books. And A Home At the End of the World was really a great read the first time, but when I re-read it, I didn't enjoy it as much. Maybe it was the timing, maybe I wasn't in the mood for it. I still think you might like all of those books, but I felt like I couldn't just add books and not remove any. Kinda like the 1001 list. If you know what I mean.

 

That sounds good! It will be slightly less overwhelming for your fans (read: me). But I would still want to read all of the books from the longer list as well (except the Finnish ones, unless they're translated into English).

 

Hehehe Don't worry, my fans (meaning, only you ) can go for the whole experience if you like. I'll try and get the shorter version done some time this weekend.

 

Yes please! I'd rather you do it than me.

 

 

Oi!!! But I did it the last time....

 

Well, we don't need to think about it yet, because YOU haven't updated your list yet

Edited September 13, 2013 by frankie

[frankie]

Frankie

Sorry your job won't be a permanent one, but from one of your previous posts, it sounds as though maybe it wasn't your cup of tea anyhow . You'll find something else you'll enjoy that is book related ,which would be right up your alley . Either working at a bookstore or library or publisher ...

 

Thanks Julie for the sympathy! I actually kind of like my work, which has been surprising, but there are some aspects to it which I don't like... I don't want to go further into it because I know that non-members can read my log, too. Maybe if I could get a job at some other company, then it might be okay But still, I think I was made to be a librarian

 

I noticed the other day in Goodreads they had a couple Help Wanted job listings over on the right hand side of the page. Not sure what they were and if they were paid-type things .

 

That's interesting! Although, like you, I wonder if it's something they'd pay for... A friend on here also suggested that maybe I should look into proof-reading for e-books! I thought that was a great idea, and I searched for Finnish e-book companies and found one that sounded pretty good, and sent them an inquiry but they haven't replied yet...

 

Good idea to purchase yourself a few treats . I do that on days I go to the doc .. if I behave myself ,  I stop and buy myself a donut . I think a book would be a healthier choice, but a donut tastes better . 

 

I think it's definitely good to treat oneself every now and then... I was thinking, that when I'm done with this job, I would go and get a massage. That's like the ultimate pressure and stress relief I know, and it's so luxurious and expensive that I wouldn't normally do it.. but with the paycheck, I think I will do so this one time

 

 

Oh well done you  you deserve a special treat. Am very curious to know what they are .. but it would be rude to ask ....  ..  ..   What are they frankie?       

 

It's Friday, I'm very, very exhausted, and I've had a glass of wine... but I will try and remember which books they were and tell you about them.

 

Must think... Thinking is hard...

 

[frankie]

Okay. I ordered these:

 

Godfather by Mario Puzo. I've never been interested in the mafia thing, but ever since I read Donnie Brasco (which I really, really should send to Brian, asap, as promised! ), I've been fascinated, and I've wanted to read this classic.

 

Just Kids by Patti Smith. This is her letters or an autobio, I can't remember. Hmmm... Oh yes. I think I became interested in this when I read the punk book that was on the Rory Gilmore reading challenge list. Should be good! (And no, I haven't listened to Patti Smith, ever.)

 

Some book by Kamila something. I searched the author on here and noticed that poppyshake had read another book by her. I'd never heard of the author or the book but it sounded interesting. Oh yes. Kamila Shamsie. Or something. Oh yes and the title is Kartography.

 

The Zorbas book by Niko something Greeky. Sorry, I'm so bad with Greek names! And I'm way too lazy to google on a Friday night!

 

Two French 'chick lit' books. The other was a Gavalda book, and the other one was by an author I've never heard of before. Audrey Tatou is playing the main role in the movie. Oh yes, the book was called Delicacy in English, I think. It's my French phase

 

Those were the adlibris books. They were all in Finnish but I thought to hell with it, I can read books in Finnish if I want to.

 

The other books were:

 

Moby Dick. I've wanted to read this for maybe a year now... I watched the movie and I thought I would enjoy the book. And the English copy was like 3,30e. And a pretty copy at that.

 

And last, but certainly not least:

 

In 2011, I did the Transworld Books reading group thingy (some of you will remember it) and one of the books I got was a sort of a detective novel by Christopher Fowler. I really, really enjoyed the book, and ever since then I've wanted to read the other books in the series. So I finally ordered the first book, it was 10,10e, I think.

 

 

[frankie]

And even though work has been a bit of a pain this week, I just wanted to say that I had a meeting with my boss today, she wanted to go over the stuff I've managed to translate so far. I was quite worrisome, waiting for her to criticize a lot of things, but she looked at it and said that she was very positively surprised. She said it twice, actually. And she also said that I'd done good work and that I ought to keep it up. It was a pretty good feeling

[poppyshake]

Moby Dick!!! .. brilliant .. I loved that book Also I've heard very good things about the Patti Smith book (for the longest time though I thought she was married to John McEnroe  .. I mean I knew her songs and what she looked like but I just kept hearing that he was married to her .. turns out it's someone quite other .. who spells her name Patty Smyth .. but confusingly she's also an American singer/songwriter .. however I haven't heard any of her songs so I'm guessing Patti with an 'i' has got one over on her

Now I've read something by Kamila Shamsie but I don't know what .. it wasn't Kartography though. Perhaps it's on my Goodreads (but I could never find my way there at this time of night ... and after a cider and all )

Hope you enjoy your books my lovely .. book parcels are the best  

 

Glad your working week ended well

[pontalba]

And even though work has been a bit of a pain this week, I just wanted to say that I had a meeting with my boss today, she wanted to go over the stuff I've managed to translate so far. I was quite worrisome, waiting for her to criticize a lot of things, but she looked at it and said that she was very positively surprised. She said it twice, actually. And she also said that I'd done good work and that I ought to keep it up. It was a pretty good feeling

 

The fact that she felt you should continue in that line of work shows just how high you are held in her esteem.  And now you know what kind of reference she will give...! 

 

 

Just Kids by Patti Smith. This is her letters or an autobio, I can't remember. Hmmm... Oh yes. I think I became interested in this when I read the punk book that was on the Rory Gilmore reading challenge list. Should be good! (And no, I haven't listened to Patti Smith, ever.)

It covers her life with Mapplethorpe.  Charles has read this, and has also attended an exhibition of his work, thought it was very interesting, and that Mapplethorpe was an excellent photographer, who well deserved his fame.  Despite the reservations of some about some of his subject matter. 

Edited September 14, 2013 by pontalba

[julie]

Frankie

That's great that your boss was so pleased with your work .. It'll definitely look great on your next resume to have her as a reference .

I'm wondering about how some of these online book jobs work . Maybe the proofreading or something like that would work ?

Not sure ,but I know you'd do a Blue Ribbon job on anything book related . You'd definitely make an outstanding librarian ,with the love of books you have .

[Athena]

Moby Dick is on my TBR, I bought it because of the good things I've heard about it (plus, Matilda in the film Matilda reads it, can't remember if it's also in the book or not).

x

And even though work has been a bit of a pain this week, I just wanted to say that I had a meeting with my boss today, she wanted to go over the stuff I've managed to translate so far. I was quite worrisome, waiting for her to criticize a lot of things, but she looked at it and said that she was very positively surprised. She said it twice, actually. And she also said that I'd done good work and that I ought to keep it up. It was a pretty good feeling

x

Congrats, that's excellent!

[frankie]

Moby Dick!!! .. brilliant .. I loved that book

 

I think your review was the one that made me think about actually reading it. Before that I'd never been interested. I'm not a water person at all. And then sometime after that I noticed they were showing the movie on TV and I started watching it, and it seemed a bit boring at first, but then I somehow got sucked into it, eventhough I still thought not much was happening.. It was weird On one hand I was somewhat bored at times, and on the other hand I was completely mesmerized, and whatever happened, I couldn't get myself to stop watching it even though I thought I should

 

Ever since then I've had this strong urge to read the book I already borrowed a copy from the library, oh, that was a year ago I think, but never got to it. I now bought a copy because there was this beautiful (imo) copy for a good price.

 

OMG. I just image googled 'Moby Dick Vintage' to find an image of the cover, and the most wonderful range of the most beautiful things came up!! You have to go and image google that. What beautiful earrings!

 

Check these out:

 

 

 

And a mug:

 

 

 

And a fun flask:

 

[frankie]

Oh yes, the actual book cover of the copy I ordered:
 

 

 

I think it's pretty Although now that I image googled, there are nicer ones out there, but I don't care (And it was Collins Classics, not Vintage No wonder I got misled)

 

 

Also I've heard very good things about the Patti Smith book (for the longest time though I thought she was married to John McEnroe  .. I mean I knew her songs and what she looked like but I just kept hearing that he was married to her .. turns out it's someone quite other .. who spells her name Patty Smyth .. but confusingly she's also an American singer/songwriter .. however I haven't heard any of her songs so I'm guessing Patti with an 'i' has got one over on her

 

I think the book should be really good John McEnroe, him I had to google. The name was distantly familiar but I would've put him down as a CEO of some company, not a tennis player

 

Poor Patty Smyth, she must've gotten a lot of confused remarks... Especially when she's also a singer

 

Now I've read something by Kamila Shamsie but I don't know what .. it wasn't Kartography though. Perhaps it's on my Goodreads (but I could never find my way there at this time of night ... and after a cider and all )

 

When I searched Kamila Shamsie and found your reading log in the results, I dug in and it was a book called Burnt Shadows or something like that. Was it a neighbor perhaps who'd lent you the book?

 

Hope you enjoy your books my lovely .. book parcels are the best  

 

Yes they are! I haven't had many come my way this year so this is extra nice!

 

Glad your working week ended well

 

Yes, I'm happy to have received good feedback, but unfortunately the negative stuff are weighing in my mind more

[frankie]

The fact that she felt you should continue in that line of work shows just how high you are held in her esteem.  And now you know what kind of reference she will give...! 

 

Yes, I'm pretty happy about it! And quite surprised. I mean I thought I did a good job but I had a feeling they would expect more, better, faster, etc etc.

 

It covers her life with Mapplethorpe.  Charles has read this, and has also attended an exhibition of his work, thought it was very interesting, and that Mapplethorpe was an excellent photographer, who well deserved his fame.  Despite the reservations of some about some of his subject matter. 

 

Did Charles enjoy the book? I have to say I don't know who Mapplethorpe is

 

 

Frankie

That's great that your boss was so pleased with your work .. It'll definitely look great on your next resume to have her as a reference .

 

Yep, CV's getting a bit fatter and hopefully I'll get good recommendations

 

I'm wondering about how some of these online book jobs work . Maybe the proofreading or something like that would work ?

Not sure ,but I know you'd do a Blue Ribbon job on anything book related . You'd definitely make an outstanding librarian ,with the love of books you have .

 

I'm not sure if I already mentioned that I'm thinking about looking into proof-reading for ebook companies. I've already sent an inquiry to one of the Finnish companies but unfortunately haven't received any reply.

 

Thank you for your kind words

 

Moby Dick is on my TBR, I bought it because of the good things I've heard about it (plus, Matilda in the film Matilda reads it, can't remember if it's also in the book or not).

 

Yes it was mentioned in Matilda, which I thought was pretty amazing, because it's a pretty big book and some of it is rather tedious, I believe. Tens of pages about ropes, for example. But then again, Matilda was not an ordinary girl to begin with

 

 

xx

Congrats, that's excellent!

 

Thanks, I'm mighty pleased

[Athena]

That's a pretty cover ! I tried to find a picture of my cover, but I couldn't find a right one. It's a Wordsworth Classics one, but I can't find the right cover for it.

 

I love book parcels. I hope you enjoy yours .

 

P.S. The images above that you posted, are really beautiful!

[frankie]

I've now compiled a more compact list of my most favorite reads. I will write this down on my book notebook so that I can look the books up in case anyone ever asks which books I would recommend. I always say the same books which is not fair because I've come to remember them better because I always keep mentioning them, and then the other favorites are left behind. Poor books!

 

In chronological book reading order of frankie:

 

 

Fiction

Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities

Ingvar Ambjørnsen: Elling series

Donna Tartt: The Secret History

Jasper Fforde: The Eyre Affair

Carlos Ruiz Zafón: The Shadow of the Wind

Jeff Lindsay: Dexter series

Jeff Eugenides: Middlesex

Sarah Waters: Fingersmith

Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Sofi Oksanen: Purge

Vikas Swarup: Q&A

Haruki Murakami: Sputnik Sweetheart

Michel Faber: Under the Skin

Garth Stein: The Art of Racing in the Rain

John Boyne: Crippen

Dai Sijie: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

William Goldman: Marathon Man

 

Non-Fiction
Augusten Burroughs: Running with Scissors

Alain de Botton: How Proust Can Change Your Life

Ronald Hayman: The Death and Life of Sylvia Plath

Augusten Burroughs: A Wolf at the Table

Ann Rule: Stranger Beside Me

Mötley Crüe: Dirt

Mary Roach: Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Tobias Wolff: This Boy's Life

Constance Briscoe: Ugly

Danny Wallace: Yes Man

Pamela Druckerman: French Children Don't Throw Food

 

YA/Children's

Lois Lowry: Anastasia Krupnik series

Astrid Lindgren: Brothers Lionheart

J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter series

Astrid Lindgren: Bill Bergson series

Sue Townsend: Adrian Mole series

Diana Wynne Jones: Fire And Hemlock

Georgia Byng: Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism

Frances Hodgson Burnett: Secret Garden

L. M. Montgomery: Emily of New Moon series

[Athena]

There's quite a few of those that I've either read and loved or that are on my TBR or wishlist. It looks like a great list! I'll have to check out some of the ones I haven't heard of, sometime .