pontalba's 2012 Reading List

[pontalba]

I found something interesting that I thought I'd share with my fellow bibliophiles.

 

 

Biblioholism:The Literary Addiction

 

 

"HOW BIG OF A PROBLEM?"

 

1. When you go to a bookstore with a friend, are you usually carrying more books when you leave than your friend is?

 

2. Do you wake up the morning after, unable to remember how many books you bought or how much you spent on them?

 

3. Do you, inexplicably, yank down a volume from the store shelves, open it, and shove your nose deeply into the binding, hungrily inhaling the ink and paper smells?

 

4. Have you ever bought the same book twice without knowing it?

 

5. When you go to a bookstore after work, thus arriving home late at night, do you lie about where you have been, telling your spouse you were in a bar?

 

6. At Christmastime, do you buy your loved ones books you want to read?

 

7. Have you ever given up on a book before you started it?

 

8. Are you unable to walk through a mall without stopping at a bookstore?

 

9. Do you have a personal library on an entire subject, none of which you have read?

 

10. Do you ever buy books simple because they were on sale?

 

11. Have you ever bought a book because you liked the cover design?

 

12. When you go to a garage sale, is the first thing you look at the books?

 

13. Have you ever been fired from a job, or reprimanded, for reading?

 

14. Have you and your immediate family ever "discussed" your book-buying habits?

 

15. When you watch TV, do you always have a book in your lap for slow parts and commercials?

 

16. Do you "watch" television sports with the sound off?

 

17. Does panic set in when you find yourself in a barber's chair or under a hairdryer with nothing to read?

 

18. Have you ever become suddenly deeply interested in an obscure topic and immediately bought six or more books on that topic?

 

19. Do you ever lie about how many books you've bought?

 

20. Do you devise grand and devious strategies for getting your books into the house to avoid your spouse's or family's scrutiny?

 

21. Has your book buying ever embarrassed your family or friends?

 

22. When a stranger walks into your house or apartment, are his or her first words usually a comment about your books?

 

23. If someone asks you for a reading list of the twenty most influential books you've ever read, do you happen to have such a list on your person?

 

24. Do you have at least six books next to your bed?

 

25. When a bookstore clerk has been unable to locate a certain books in the stacks, have you been able to find that book?

 

Count up the number of yes answers. If you answered yes to more than four questions, you are looking down into the deep and woeful pit of biblioholism. If you answered yes to more than eight, you are hanging by your fingernails on the edge, your legs kicking in the emptiness and your eyes imploringly turned heavenward for rescue. And if you answered yes to more than twelve questions, you are in space right now, a full-throated scream careening off the canyon walls, and it's only a matter of time until you splat onto the canyon floor with a puff of dust and a hearty yelp a la Wile E. Coyote of cartoon fame. But then, you already knew you were kind of weird.

.......................................

 

Biblioholism:The Literary Addiction by Tom Raabe

 

 

How many have you answered YES! to??

 

I'm obviously careening through space, at 14 affirmatives. I love it!

[vodkafan]

Great post Pontalba !! My score was 9! I am on the edge I can see you falling in the distance.....

[chesilbeach]

Ha ha! That's funny I scored 8, so not too bad I guess.

[Brian.]

I've got 8 as well. I imagine many of us have bought the same book twice without knowing at the time.

[Chrissy]

Eleven.

 

I will make clear though that I have a very understanding spouse to whom I would never lie, so my 'yes' answers relate to the buying side rather than the deception regarding the buying.

[pontalba]

Great post Pontalba !! My score was 9! I am on the edge I can see you falling in the distance.....

 

Thanks VF! Yup, I can see ya up there waving frantically. hee hee

 

Ha ha! That's funny I scored 8, so not too bad I guess.

 

Quite respectable!

I've got 8 as well. I imagine many of us have bought the same book twice without knowing at the time.

 

Oh, boy is that ever true! In our case compounded by the fact that before my husband came down here with all of his books, we'd buy the same books and read them together by skype and email. So I admit it, we have on a few occasions have 3 copies. That's not counting different editions, anniversary editions, and the like.

 

 

Eleven.

 

I will make clear though that I have a very understanding spouse to whom I would never lie, so my 'yes' answers relate to the buying side rather than the deception regarding the buying.

 

Oh yeah, me too Chrissy, I've been fortunate in the fact OH is just as bad as I am regarding books, thankfully. I can't imagine being married to someone that was otherwise. I'm certainly too old and ornery to change. And I've never been embarrassed by anyone commenting.......I just pitied the poor sod that felt that way. /evil grin/ I must add that OH's score added to my own is around 30 in combination. I rest my case.

 

This reminds me of a poster on another forum that posted that his wife insisted on throwing out his books as they were "clutter".

He bought a kindle to compensate.

Edited August 26, 2012 by pontalba

[Chrissy]

This reminds me of a poster on another forum that posted that his wife insisted on throwing out his books as they were "clutter".

He bought a kindle to compensate.

 

I actually did a sharp intake of breath reading this!

[pontalba]

I actually did a sharp intake of breath reading this!

 

I'll tell you, I had a very difficult time not posting what I thought! Of course OH's arms holding me back played a large part in that.

I finally posted a little....just basically saying I had no words that were not rude to comment.

[julie]

Wow, Kat

Anyone calling a spouses' books CLUTTER ... That is grounds for divorce . I'm sure the lady had lots of CLUTTER of her own . Books are at least useful and entertaining and educational. Lots of reasons to keep them around,but the guy getting a Kindle would solve all her complaints I guess. It certainly doesnt take up much space .

 

I qualify on lots of your questions, didnt count how many,though .

[pontalba]

Wow, Kat

Anyone calling a spouses' books CLUTTER ... That is grounds for divorce . I'm sure the lady had lots of CLUTTER of her own . Books are at least useful and entertaining and educational. Lots of reasons to keep them around,but the guy getting a Kindle would solve all her complaints I guess. It certainly doesnt take up much space .

 

I qualify on lots of your questions, didnt count how many,though .

 

I thought it was pretty obvious that's heading for divorce too, if she's like that in general, who can live with it? A kindle won't solve much of anything IMO, she will just find something else to bully him about. But WDIK?

[poppy]

In our case compounded by the fact that before my husband came down here with all of his books, we'd buy the same books and read them together by skype and email.

 

I thought this was so sweet. A marriage made in heaven I'd say.

[pontalba]

Thanks B. He is pretty darned wonderful.

[julie]

Hi Kat

Just checking in with you to make sure all is ok down your way . Hope the storms didnt hit your area too badly .

Take care --

[wordsgood]

Hey, Pontabla, isn't it great out here in space? Look at all the pretty stars!

 

Fourteen here as well.

[pontalba]

Hi Kat

Just checking in with you to make sure all is ok down your way . Hope the storms didnt hit your area too badly .

Take care --

 

By us, it isn't too terrible. Heavy rain on and off, the bands of the storm you know. High winds sometimes too. But we haven't lost power, unlike the majority of the region. Of course I do expect to lose power right after the storm passes.....that's the way it does sometimes.

 

Hey, Pontabla, isn't it great out here in space? Look at all the pretty stars!

 

Fourteen here as well.

 

Welcome, Fellow Bibliophile! lol

[pontalba]

Since last posting my mini reviews, I've read a bunch.

 

The Ethical Assassin by David Liss, I've only scored 2/5, and that high on account of the beginning parts. The book falls into a mish mash of animal rights, and whether it is, or in what degree "pay-back" is applicable. Frankly it totally turned me off, and I am someone that is an animal lover. I felt the book was rather distasteful and did more harm to the animal rights people than anything.

 

The 4 books by Peter Steiner - Le Crime, L'Assassin, The Terrorist and The Resistance are varying in quality. The first, as with most first-in-series has a little too much set up and repetition for my taste although the story of a burned out CIA agent that sort of fell into the job needed it. The following two were interesting and kept the pace going with an excellent enemy for our protagonist/hero.

The last in the series, so far, was mostly flashback in nature, giving one of the supporting character's family history in WWII.

I can recommend them, and enjoyed all of them.

 

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ranson I give 4/5. He gives true stories/examples and goes farther into the innards of the whys and wherefores. Some of it was quite funny, and interesting.

Recommended.

 

Mephisto by John Banville I give a 4/5.......I'd give it a 5/5 if the story line had been a bit stronger, but the prose, language, and the general feeling was absolutely poetic. Banville is a worthy successor to Vladimir Nabokov, and my praise cannot be higher.

 

I finally finished Beautiful Shadow, A Life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson, and give it a 4/5 as well.

Her tragic life is presented in all it's pathos by Wilson, who had direct access to her private diaries that she kept for all her life, excepting a few years during adulthood. Her novels are dissected and her life at the time of writing is analyzed throughly.

I'd stopped reading about halfway through a while back, but got back to it last week, and couldn't put it down. Fascinating book, fascinating woman, and novelist.

Highly recommended.

[julie]

HiYa Kat

I'm glad to see you made it back in ok. I saw over on the right side section --don't remember what it's called ) that you were having trouble getting onto the boards.

Looks like you have been on a huge reading binge lately ,with lots of enjoyable choices ! I'm in between books at the moment. Trying to decide what to choose next .

[bobblybear]

The Ethical Assassin by David Liss, I've only scored 2/5, and that high on account of the beginning parts. The book falls into a mish mash of animal rights, and whether it is, or in what degree "pay-back" is applicable. Frankly it totally turned me off, and I am someone that is an animal lover. I felt the book was rather distasteful and did more harm to the animal rights people than anything.

 

That's a shame. I read his Conspiracy of Paper and really liked it. Most of his stuff is reasonably well reviewed on Amazon, but there aren't any reviews for The Ethical Assassin. Oh well, I won't add it to my wishlist.

[pontalba]

That's a shame. I read his Conspiracy of Paper and really liked it. Most of his stuff is reasonably well reviewed on Amazon, but there aren't any reviews for The Ethical Assassin. Oh well, I won't add it to my wishlist.

 

Yes, I was disappointed, to say the least. I haven't read anything else by him, and don't know if I want to at this rate.

 

HiYa Kat

I'm glad to see you made it back in ok. I saw over on the right side section --don't remember what it's called ) that you were having trouble getting onto the boards.

Looks like you have been on a huge reading binge lately ,with lots of enjoyable choices ! I'm in between books at the moment. Trying to decide what to choose next .

 

Thanks Julie. Yeah, it was really frustrating to say the least. But I did get more reading done. lol

 

I'm still reading two, alternating. Twelve Patients, Live and death at Bellevue Hospital by Eric Manheimer, MD...all true stories of the famous hospital. All heartwrenching. Then I picked up The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas...takes place in Australia. I have to look for more by this author, he presents a great story.

I have in fact just ordered Dead Europe by CT...we'll see.

 

I think you'd really enjoy the Bellevue Hospital book Julie.

[pontalba]

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas 4/5

 

A fascinating examination of what happens when a non-relative grown male slaps a four year old child that is badly misbehaving at a summer barbecue and not being disciplined at all by his parents that are observing the bad behavior. The familial relationships and the long standing friendships between the party goers is thoroughly tested and explored. By the end of the book, we have the full picture of why they are the way they are, and why their reactions are so passionately varied.

 

Well written. Thought provoking. Harsh. Probably offensive to some, in that the author pulls no punches with regard to the hot buttons of society today. Abuse, as in child and spousal. Drug use. Teen sex. Abortion. Homosexuality. Foul language and racist remarks are casually and liberally scattered throughout.

 

I was only bothered a few times by the male author's point of view for a couple of the female characters. I felt he didn't portray the inner anguishes of them as deeply or realistically as needed. A little too much was glossed over. Some were right on target though, so I'd call that a bit of hit and miss. I loved the ethnicities that were highlighted, the diversity of Australians was, I thought, well done.

 

I'd probably go with 3 and a half stars if it was possible, but with this system I'd rather rate higher, than lower. I'll pick another of this authors books, for sure.

[julie]

Kat

Been thinking of you and wanted to check in to see that you are ok . I tried looking on your page to see if I can send you an email or pm ,but dont see a place to do that.

Iknow you saud you would be taking a couple vacations this Fall, so I hope you have just been busy and nothing is wrong .

If you read this, Happy Holidays ,and check in when you can .

[pontalba]

Hey Julie, will respond separately, don't want to lose this page again...! lol

 

Since October I've read some, my list at the beginning of the thread is updated now.

 

Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino is part of a series by this famous Japanese author. The first one was The Devotion of Suspect X, I have a very favorable review of that one up the thread. This entry was not quite as twisty, but was extremely well done, and perhaps a bit more conventional. The method and reasoning for the murder is certainly different, to say the least. And, I think, most Japanese.

Recommended.

 

The Twelve is another sequel, this time to Justin Cronin's The Passage. Vampires with a man-made twist. With many of the ends tied up from the first book, many more are left hanging. Some stories were carried a bit far, and others truncated, at least to my taste. But it is a worthy sequel, all in all.

Recommended.

 

Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan was a Man-Booker finalist a couple of years ago, and it had been sitting on my shelf that long. I finally pulled it out of guilt. The story of several black jazz musicians, circa 1939 in Berlin. Talk about the wrong place at the wrong time! Especially as one of the fellows is actually German, he is second in line to be carted off to the camps.

The story covers what happens to him as the story moves to Paris, the United States, and Poland at different times. The story is told by one of the group, so we know at least two of the guys made it out, and wonder at the rest. Were they betrayed? Who survives? The first half of the book kinda dragged, but the last half really picked up to a resounding and interesting ending.

Recommended.

 

The two Lawrence Block stories, A Walk Among the Tombstones and The Devil Knows You're Dead are vintage Matt Scudder. Block is noir with humanity. 'nuff said. Good stuff.

Recommended.

 

Vengeance by Benjamin Black aka John Banville is, as usual, IMO anyhow, wonderful. We get to know more and more about the circa 1950 Irish coroner, Quirke. The mystery is not the hottest, sexiest, or even very twisty......but the writing, oh, the writing!

Highly Recommended.

 

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny is the latest of her French/Canadian mysteries. The mystery is, to me, somewhat lukewarm, but well written, and again we get to know more and more about the regular characters, although what Penny does with one of the main characters, is to me, a great disappointment. Unrealistic in the extreme, and actually out of character. But that's me. My 4 stars is more for the prose itself.

Luke warm recommendation.

 

Cat Bearing Gifts by Shirley Rousseau Murphey is the latest installment in the wonderful Joe Grey, feline, oh, yes, and talking detective. I love Joe Grey. Just love him. Smart aleck alley cat. I know and have cats like him, and I do wish they could talk. What conversations we'd have! lol The mystery is a good one, and the character development is excellent. Cozy? Yup!

Recommended.

 

Cold in the Light by Charles Gramlich is an excellent military/science fiction/alien story. Interesting premise in that the aliens are here, and have been for centuries, in fact......they might precede us on this lil ole blue marble we call home. Fast paced and accurate as far as the terminology of guns and explosives.

Recommended. In the interest of full disclosure, Gramlich leads the writing group we used to attend, and man can he write!

 

Heroes Proved by Oliver North. Yes, that's the famous Lt. Col. Oliver North. He paints a picture of our future that is rather scary, and all the more so because of it's plausibility. His prose could use a little work, but the message is valid. We actually went to a book signing of his in Fairhope, Alabama. That's about a 3 hour drive for us, we stayed over a few days and played tourist.

He is every inch the gentleman, gracious and sweet. We were told ahead of time that he wouldn't be able to personalize the autographs, but he changed that, and personalized everyone's book. It was a verra long line!

Recommended.

 

 

The Man Who Never Retuned by Peter Quinn is a fictionalized account of a Federal Judge, Joseph Crater that disappeared, never to be seen again in August of 1930. The book takes place in 1955, and "solves" the case. Well, it could have happened that way. We will never know, more than likely. Quinn presents a credible solution though, a bit twisty and solid.

The first half is slow, setup, but when it takes off, phew! It goes like lightening.

Recommended.

 

And, last but not least.....Wild Thing by Josh Bazell, another sequel. This time our ex-mafia, recent medical school grad, that happens to be in the Witness Protection Program is on the run again. People are trying to kill him! Imagine that.

Of course he runs into a scam.....or is it?, of the Loch Ness-like monster in a frozen(ish) lake. Exciting.

Not, I repeat, NOT for the faint of heart, or squeemish, or those that do not wish to read vulgar words. However, the verra twisted, and highly cynical sense of humor rescues it for me.

Recommended, with caveat above.

 

Thass all for now folks.

Happy to be here, happy to be back.

/waving/

Edited December 20, 2012 by pontalba

[pontalba]

Phew! Running stop...!

 

Hey Julie,

Yup, we managed a 10 day trip to Washington, D.C., and New York City in October, no sooner than we'd gotten home I broke a bone on my right foot. Couldn't drive for 6 weeks! grrrrr! I still can't manage very high heels for another few weeks. Darn it. No, I had on sensible shoes when I twisted my foot right off a curb getting out of the hotel shuttle to pick up our car. Yikes.

As I mentioned above, we drove over to Fairhope, Al. to the Oliver North book signing, and on the way back stopped in Biloxi, Ms, for a show at the Hard Rock Casino, they had the Irish Tenors for one night. They were good, but I felt they didn't actually live up to the hype. Oh well, it was fun anyhow.

We've taken several overnights down in New Orleans to sight see my home town. My husband, Charles is from NYC, so it's all new to him. In all his travelling, he'd never been to N.O.

I've gotten some reading done though, and we had one of his (grown) children visiting us for almost a week. He has great kids.

 

How are you getting along?

You know, I've been looking at the Kindle Fire.....just can't make up my mind to it yet.

[julie]

So good to see you back. I was beginning to worry,because you used to post quite often . I remembered you saying you had plans on taking some trips. How'd you like DC ? Isnt it such a neat place to visit ? I love all the old historical buildings, etc there . Was NY pretty hard to adjust to ? If you live in a fairly small town, it could be overwhelming to be in NYC, but there's so much to do there ,isn't there ? I've never gone there to vist, but we did drive through when I was a kid. I just remember all the big buildings and traffic and people .

Sorry to hear about your foot .That'd HURT ,wouldn't it ? And the not being able to drive would be just about as bad . Don't you hate it when you can't get in your WHEELS and go when you want to ?

It certainly sounds like you have been chewing up the books and making wonderful progress .

It's really good to hear from you again and know you are doing well . Hope you have a Happy Christmas .

[pontalba]

I loved D.C! and NYC too. Charles was a little worried because I ordinarily don't like crowds. But they didn't bother me in either city, they were not pushy or drunk like they are in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. I suppose that is part of what I'd based my dislike on in the past. Totally different crowd. Totally.

 

We saw a Broadway play, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, fantastic. After the play we wandered around Times Square...midnight, mind you. The air was actually electric, the vibes great. You know there were actually workman painting up on scaffolding! At midnight. Man, that's my kind of town! I'm such a night owl, it's perfect for me.

 

We went to the annual book sale at the State Department in W.D.C, and shipped back two cartons of books. lol

In NYC we went to The Strand Book store...ohhhhh! Loverly. http://www.strandbooks.com/ They have the basement, and three floors of books. Stuffed with all kinds of bargains! /drooling/ We only shipped one box of books from them. And Grand Central Terminal! It has so much stuff there, shops, eating places and a book store. You know what we did there! lol

A girl almost gave me a heart attack though at the Empire State Building......she was holding her iPad out through the grill work so as to get an unobstructed picture of the city......oy. I could almost see it slipping out of her hands.

 

In both cities we walked, walked and then walked some more.

The Metro in D.C., and the subway in NYC. Wow, what an experience!

Part of what is so fascinating to me is all the underground building up there. Heck, down here if one digs like that, or even 6 feet sometimes, we hit water. This here is swamp, baby!