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Sun May-29-11 02:43 PMby Linda Adams
Handily, my library has a list of the books I've checked out (though only since March, when they updated the system). The list is probably longer than I have here, and they have a few bugs -- it's missing books I know I checked out.
1. The shadow of the wind - Off the BBC 100 list. A strange and aggravating book.
2. The poisonwood Bible - This one reminded me of my great-grandfather, who was a missionary in Korea (now North Korea).
3. Enlightened sexism : the seductive message that feminism's work is done -- Oddly not particularly memorable.
4. Confessions of a prairie bitch / Alison Arngrim. - I really enjoyed this book on Little House.
5. The way I see it : a look back at my life on Little house / Melissa Sue Anderson. I'd passed on this book before based on reviews but picked it up. It's better than the reviews say.
6. The Color Purple. Off the BBC list. I find I don't particular care for a book that uses letters, so this one didn't do much for me.
7. My time in Hawaii : a polynesian memoir / Victoria Nelson. - Book research.
8. Watership Down - I was expecting to struggle through this one, but it turned out be really good. Omni, too.
9. Swallows and Amazons - Did not enjoy this one at all. It was on the BBC 100 list.
10. The million dollar mermaid - A fascinating look at how Esther Williams' movies were filmed. I got this one because the library put it out on a display shelf.
11. Little women / Louisa May Alcott ; with a new introduction by Susan Straight. -- I read this one because I was supposed to (it's on the BBC list of books you should read). Yawned my way through it.
12. Brady, Brady, Brady : the complete story of The Brady bunch as told by the father/son team who really know -- A look at the Brady Bunch from the producer's perspective.
13. My love affair with modern art : behind the scenes with a legendary curator - Research
14. The checklist manifesto : how to get things right - This one was such a good book that I bought it.
15. The wasp factory - Another one from the BBC list. My eyes were crossing. Awful book. How did it get on the list?
16. Skating Life : My Story / Dorothy Hamill. A look at how Dorothy Hamill became an Olympic Skater and what went on afterwards.
17. A whole new mind : moving from the information age to the conceptual age / Daniel H. Pink. -- A subject I'm interested in (right brain), but a little hard to read.
18. The good earth Buck, Pearl S. - The Chinese culture interests me, but I had trouble staying involved as the book progressed.
19. Under the hula moon : living in Hawaii / Jocelyn Fujii - Research. It's a book of fantastic photos of Hawaii and discribes the culture.
20. The way to the top : the best business advice I ever received / Donald J. Trump. -- A series of quotes from CEOs.
21. Getting organized in the Google era : how to get stuff out of your head, find it when you need it, and get it done right - Interesting but not spetactular.
22. The time trap / Alec Mackenzie. -- Meh.
23. Worth dying for : a Reacher novel - Not his best effort I'm afraid. It seems like all the authors I've read forever aren't producing consistently good books.
24. The power of slow : 101 ways to save time in our 24/7 world - This had some interesting concepts.
25. The tao of time / Diana Hunt and Pam Hait. -- A strange book.
26. Rebecca / Daphne du Maurier. Another one off the BBC list. I had difficult time staying engaged.
27. Lord of the flies, a novel. -- Off the BBC list. Disturbing.
28. Merchants of culture : the publishing business in the twenty-first century -= Fascinating book. Look for some recogizable names in the book. There's a couple of agents who were mavericks early on and pushed the system to change.
29. The Wright way : 7 problem-solving principles from the Wright brothers that will make your business soar! -- Fascinating book. May buy it.
30. The colony : the harrowing true story of the exiles of Molokai -- On the lepers who lived on Molokai. The subject made it a tough read. Apparently, the Hawaiians were unusually susceptable to leprosy, which was why so many people caught it.
31. How Successful People Think -- Fascinating book that gives ideas on how to work on weak areas.
32. How to lie with statistics - I was surprised at the way the media manipulates statistics, or just plain makes mistakes. Worth reading if you follow any of the polls.
33. Dummies Guide to Statistics - Another good book on statistics. This one focuses on making them understandable for the average person, though it doesn't just focus on how people lie but on how they work.
34. Tinkertoys - an update of a book on how to come up with ideas. Some very interesting methods.
35. Rapid Problem Solving with Post-Its -- Sadly, too much of the wrong thing. It would have been an interesting topic if it had spent time on solving problems, not making charts with Post-Its.
36. Jane Eyre -- Also on the 100 list. It was interesting in the beginning, but the last quarter of it just dragged so much that I had a hard time getting through it.
37. The Lazy Project Manager -- This had some surprising concepts that could be applied to writing. The concept of paying more attention to the beginning resonated with me.
38. Life of Pi. Off the BBC list. This was a pretty good book. From the title, you'd think it was about math. It's about a boy who ends up lost at sea for 200+ days with a tiger.
39. Foder's Hawaii. Research, but fun reaseach.
40. Foder's Oahu. Research, but fun research. Sigh. Makes we want to go to Hawaii.
Writing Books
41. Hooked. I read this one multiple times to understand what an inciting incident was. It also gave me an idea for an opening sentence. Excellent book.
42. Story Engineering -- Hated this book. Too much marketing spiel, which was the worst offense. But the author's continious sarcasm directed at non-outliners made a close second. A book I was glad to put down.
43. Description / by Monica Woods. I actually didn't care much for this craft book. Didn't seem to have much content.
44. Bird by Bird. Got this because it was Holly's long list of books. Didn't do much for me though.
45. The Productive Writer. Interesting, but it really didn't apply to fiction writing. It's a time management book for free lancers.
46. Plot and Structure. One of the books I used to help me understand what scenes are. I liked the fact the author respected the many ways people write.
47. Dialogue. I didn't expect much from this one, but I was greatly surprised by it. Some good insights into dialogue.
48. Showing and Telling. Meh.
49. Thanks, But This isn't For Us. Well worth the read. It just doesn't list the things we commonly hear (don't use adverbs, etc.), but some things that can be real problems. Also a nice description of scenes.
50. Gothan Writer's Conference. This one helped me nail what the heck a theme was.
51. Revision and Self Editing (the Bell verison). Meh.
52. Scene and Structure. Another invaluable book on understanding what a scene was.
53. Word Painting. A great book on writing description.
54. The Art and Craft of Storytelling. Meh.
More General Books
55. Dracula -- I was really surprised by some of the vivid descriptions in this.
56. Instant Art History: From Cave Art to Pop Art. Sort of a Dummies Guide to Art History. Good book. I'll be using it as a reference next time I got to the National Art Gallery to see if I can figure out what era a piece of art fits into.
57. What is Art? Sadly, I read this while I was at the emergency (though I broke my foot, but turned it was a bone bruise). It didn't answer the question the title gave, but was still an interesting read. There's a section on women in the art world, and also on the money side of art.
58. Organizing for the Creative Person. A reread for additional tips. Not one of the better right brain books though.
59. Streetwise Time Management. Some good tips in this book. ~~~~~~Signature's Off~~~~~~
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