Tuesday Thingers (hosted by The Boston Bibliophile)

I have to confess that I don’t pay much attention to the “recently added by other members” section of my LT home page for LibraryThing as a whole, but I do check out the updates in my “connection news” section, and I do occasionally see a book there that I’ll click on for more information. Also, whenever I go to a book’s details on LT, I’ll take a look at the “members” section of its main page to see if I see any familiar names listed under “recently added by.”

I do use my own “recently added” section quite a bit, though. I link to a book’s LT page when I post a review of it, and if it’s a review book or other recent addition to my collection, that list is the fastest way for me to find it! This is what I’ve most recently added (during the last two weeks):

• Home Girl: Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block, by Judith Matloff
• Who by Fire: A Novel (P.S.), by Diana Spechler
• The Abstinence Teacher (Reading Group Gold), by Tom Perrotta
• The Glimmer Palace, by Beatrice Colin
• Buffalo Gal, by Laura Pedersen
• The Pages In Between: A Holocaust Legacy of Two Families, One Home, by Erin Einhorn

I know not all of you use LibraryThing (or GoodReads), but what books have you most recently added to your own shelves (real and/or virtual)?

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

My most recent additions to my LibraryThing TBR listings include one book I won in the MOMocrats‘ pre-DNC swag raffle (I received it a couple of weeks ago but hadn’t entered in the LT database yet), two others I picked up at Borders this past weekend, and one review book. Yes, I know I should be packing up and weeding out books right now, rather than adding to them – what’s your point? Anyway, since all but one of these aren’t review books, I’m not sure when I’ll get around to reading more of them than this week’s Teasers.

“And although she knew it meant nothing, that it had to mean nothing, he met her gaze and held it until she turned away.” (page 128)
 – The Glimmer Palace, by Beatrice Colin

“Maggie stepped back from the embrace, tugging at her uniform to get everything back in order. Ruth was unexpectedly moved by the sight of her, as if she were being offered a glimpse of two Maggies at once: the little girl she still was – a dirty-kneed tomboy straight out of Norman Rockwell – and the happy, confident young woman she was already on her way to becoming.” (page 57)
 – The Abstinence Teacher, by Tom Perrotta

“‘Damaged goods.’ Those are the words that keep returning to me, as I lie sleepless in the dark, one hand on my abdomen, staring up at the crack in the ceiling.” (page 288)
 – Who by Fire, by Diana Spechler (which made my book wishlist just last week – books don’t usually move from wishlist to TBR list quite so fast!)

“I felt comfortable buying a house without consulting John, but not one occupied, however briefly, by drug fiends. I told John the news, stressing that we could withdraw the offer.” (page 33)
 – Home Girl: Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block, by Judith Matloff (another wishlist book; a review copy received via publicist Julie Harabedian at FSB Associates)

Booking Through Thursday: Book Meme (Q&A)

What was the last book you bought? The weekend trip to Borders I mentioned above yielded two of the books I “teased”, The Abstinence Teacher and Who by Fire, for me, plus Steve Martin’s new-in-paperback memoir, Born Standing Up, for Tall Paul.
Name a book you have read MORE than once
There haven’t been many recently; I used to re-read books much more when I was younger. I’ve read the first five Harry Potter books at least twice, though; I read Order of the Phoenix for the second time about two weeks after I finished the first reading. That one is definitely my favorite.
Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and A History of God by Karen Armstrong
How do you choose a book? e.g. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews
It involves a combination of factors. Good reviews and recommendations from people I trust will prompt me to keep my eye out for a particular book. If I’m just browsing, the title, author, and cover will catch my eye, and then I’ll check the back cover for a summary. If there isn’t one – just blurbs – and I don’t already know something about the book, I probably won’t choose to read it.
Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?
Fiction, but I do read a fair amount of non-fiction as well – mostly memoir, biography, cultural history, and essays.
What’s more important in a novel – beautiful writing or a gripping plot?
While I’ve said here that I prefer character-driven books, I really do need a story to keep me reading. Excellent writing will certainly help hold my attention, but well-chosen words that don’t tell me anything are basically someone’s writing exercise, in my opinion. On the other hand, bad writing will turn me off from an otherwise good story, because it just gets too distracting.
Most loved/memorable character (character/book)
It’s hard for me to pick just one! When I was growing up, it was Jo March from Little Women. These days, I would probably say Hermione Granger.
Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?
The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver, which is taking me longer to read than I thought it would
What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?
Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield, which I finished a couple of weeks ago. I actually started on The Post-Birthday World right after that.
Have you ever given up on a book half way in?
I’ve still got a bookmark stuck in The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova where I left it a year and a half ago – I just can’t admit that I’ve given up on that one!

If you’re not a BTT player, feel free to answer any or all of these questions in the comments!

Friday Fill-ins #93

1. One of the best concerts/plays/movies I ever saw that I really didn’t think I’d like was The Dark Knight. (I hadn’t really liked Batman Begins all that much, and I was very lukewarm about seeing the sequel.)
2. Penne Rustica (at Romano’s Macaroni Grill) is a recipe I recently made or meal I recently ordered that was delicious!
3. It’s time for sorting through my clothes and filling some boxes for Goodwill (change of seasons, AND less to pack when we move!)
4. A cool evening breeze through an open window is quite refreshing.
5. If I never hear the word “extreme” again, it’ll be too soon. (This is Tall Paul’s contribution to this week’s games; I couldn’t think of one.)
6. To one side of the curving road was the ocean, and on the other was a tall cliff (this is actually a familiar scene on the California coast – lucky us!).
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to the end of the work week, tomorrow my plans include packing and prepping for the move, and Sunday, I want to get some writing done in between packing and prepping for the move (T minus 24 days)!

I’m sure you have a much more fun weekend planned than I do. But next week we’re making it a four-day weekend in honor of our wedding anniversary, and we have pledged NOT to spend the whole time packing and prepping for the move!

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