Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Virtual Book Club

I'm thrilled there is a name for this madness: Bibliophile.Good. (bordering on Bibliomania.Bad.)

I analyze sales numbers and create financial stories at my big girl job. If you can't use your skills in real life what are they good for, right?

If I were to recap my current purchases to income ratio of books, 83.6% of my expendable income (this could be called my share of wallet) can be attributed to paper. Of this 83.6 %, 90.5% can be attributed to books. (The other is another little addiction I have--you've seen it here, and here. But still paper.)

I only wish that there was a way to ascertain the "really good" factor before I purchase. Only about 43% of my purchases can be labeled as a "re-read". Sometimes, you just can't trust the reviews; everything is "Stupendous! A must read!"  Yeah right. 

Because when I get into a book, I do NOTHING else. Laundry piles up, husband gets neglected, dinner choices reduce...and then I finish and am ticked because I wasted my life reading a not-so-good book that was supposed to have changed the literary world.

This darkness at 5 o'clock stuff makes me want to put on my pajamas the minute I get home and crawl into bed and read. Tis the season, I say.

So in my humble opinion: the list 'o books that will not leave you feeling unsatisfied. The books from my library that have the spines cracked and creased so much that they are barely legible.

{Whenever I read this, the visual of Delores's grandma's house is in my own grandmother's hood.}

{I love the culture shock of this novel, the imagery is raw, and the story is twisted, ugly, and incredibly entertaining.}

{Another coming of age--now that I look @ this list, seems that I like these types of books.}

{Maya sure can spin a story.}

Anything by Amy Tan; The Kitchen God's Wife, The Joy Luck Club, The Bonesetter's Daughter
I love her voice--the way she writes rolling you backwards and forewards to weave her stories. They always include heavily accented English, and leaves you feeling a weird desire to offer something up to a god.

Anything by the real VC Andrews--skip anything after she died. Her ghost writer could never quite replicate the darkness. My personal favorite is the Casteel series.

"The Prince of Tides" Pat Conroy-a movie I've never seen but I love the book

"Sophie's Choice" William Styron-another movie I've never seen, but love the book


I'm currently reading....
"Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking" Susan Cain
"Tell the Wolves I'm Home" Carol Rifka Brunt

I'm crossing my fingers these can go on the list. Or there's going to be a ton of undone laundry and one needy husband in this house.

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