Booklist, A/V, and writing accomplishments 2005
This is a list in progress. I'm taking off the backdate because I don't like it being at the top!
January through May
Dreamcatcher: A Memoir / Salinger
Embroideries / Marjane Satrapi
Ghost Dance / Carol Maso (did I finish this? very interesting book yet strange.)
June
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight / Alexandra Fuller (great memoir about growing up in Africa)
Bone / Jeff Smith (comic book/novel -- not quite graphic novel. Sweet, funny, adventure story... an exception to my dislike of fantasy novels)
July
The moral property of women : a history of birth control politics in America
Harry Potter and whatever whatever -- the first book
Somewhere in here I read a sort of SciFi story about a kid grown to be the host body for somebody else's brain, but I can't remember where I read it.
August
audiobook: Dating is Murder
September
The scientist in the crib : minds, brains, and how children learn
Freakonomics
Dating Dead Men
Farenheit 459 / Ray Bradbury
Skimmed through/Gave up on "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" -- I didn't like it.
audiobooks:
2 mysteries (Murder at the Library of Congress; Murder in Havana)
The Dirty Girl's Social Club -- I'm not sure if I would've liked this in print but it was good as an audiobook.
October
Never Let Me Go / Kazuo Ishiguro
The Brothers K / David James Duncan (had to buy a copy b/c it was due at the library with 300 pages left -- it's long!)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Nice Big American Baby / Judy Budnitz (short stories) -- I don't think I'm going to finish this. They're good but so ultra-modern and detached that I don't feel emotionally connected at all to the characters. (I returned this book w/o finishing it.)
Audiobooks:
Murder on a Girl's Night Out / Anne George (didn't pay a lot of attention; pretty silly. but got another audiobook by George from the library 10/23)
A Slight Trick of the Mind / Mitch Cullin (recommended)
To the Nines (Janet Evanovich, narrated by CJ Critt -- a good listen, but junk food reading)
Loves Music, Loves to Dance / Mary Higgins Clark (mystery audiobook; okay to listen to but not particularly intriguing characters/story; a soft thriller)
November
The Yokota Officers Club / Sarah Bird -- reminiscent of YA fiction. A good, easy read; I learned something, was entertained and was not annoyed by bad grammar or shoddy storytelling. Not award-winning but worthwhile, since I've never read a novel about being an army brat before. It covers old ground--the 60's, Viet Nam--from a different perspective. Interestingly, this is available on CD. Also, I checked it out because the spine attracted my attention as I worked in the Ballard library "quiet room."
Audiobooks:
Dirty Sally / -- quit halfway through. too "gritty" aka violent for me, especially sexually violent.
Two for the Money & Three to whatever... / Janet Evanovich -- these books are fun to listen to. Still probably wouldn't read as many as I'll listen to while knitting.
Murder Boogies with Elvis / Anne George -- I have a new respect for Ms. George & her mysteries since learning she's an accomplished poet. These stories have nice detail and charming characters. Still they're "just" mystery novels.
Peach Cobbler Murder / Joanne Fluke -- I don't plan to check out more in this series. The main character is too wishy washy and the whole shebang too cutesy and annoying. I really hate the "nice guy vs hot guy" thing with the dentist vs the cop.
The Century / Peter Jennings (audio) -- a lot like listening to a documentary, and a semi-soft one at that, but a good way to reinforce my understanding of the events of the 20th century.
Stopped short:
The Noonday Demon / Andrew Solomon (non-fiction about depression) -- returned to library. I want to try this again at some point when I don't have knitting deadlines.
December
The Inn at the End of the World / Alice Thomas Ellis -- a random pick at the library. just started on 11/27. Finished on 12/3 or so. A good read by a famous British author. I may look for more by her.
Four to Score (audio) and High Five (paper) by Janet Evanovich. It was a nice break to read the regular version, faster in some ways and it's good to have something to read to sleep (as with the other books).
Our Husband / Stephanie Bond (audio) -- another silly mystery. Okay but too long for what it was.
Murder Makes Waves / Anne George (audio) -- kind of different from others in the series and better for it. Not sure why but the characters were better-rounded (I think having two more women characters throughout helped).
The Century, finis! Well, as much as I'm going to. I didn't want to listen to some 1997 geniuses speculate on the next century, especially since this was introduced with Clinton's reaction to the bombing of our embassies and our retaliation... so, terrorism. I did enjoy a lot of the book and learned a good bit. Thanks, Peter Jennings!
Metro Girl / Janet Evanovich (audio) -- yep. another mystery.
All She Ever Wanted / somebody / audio. This was okay but got very very sappy. And some aspects were really annoying--"he paused a moment too long"--and an engagement/fairy-tale ending... so silly. It made me laugh though.
Seven Up (Janet Evanovich audio mystery)
In progress (these are all carrying over into January '06):
A stack of comics/zines for Punk Planet.
The golden spruce : a true story of myth, madness, and greed / John Valliant
Women in Pacific Northwest History (collection of writing, ed. Karen J Blair)
DVDs/documentaries/related:
June:
To Be and To Have (documentary about a one-room school in France)
July?:
Fooling with words a celebration of poets and their craft (only watched first tape)
September:
I am a promise the children of Stanton Elementary School
Not for ourselves alone the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony
Blue Vinyl
October:
Bob Dylan biography
Season 4 of Curb Your Enthusiasm
Frontline: The OJ Verdict, 10 years later
A Doula Story
November:
December:
This Divided State
Word Wars
Mr. Show first season
Writing accomplishments
March-ish:
Personal essay/humor class (HH; Brangien Davis, instructor)
October:
Turned in "State of the Clinic" article to PP on 10/10/05; was a work-in-progress since June or so. 4,271 words. Turned in table material 10/13/05. It's the featured article in the Jan/Feb '06 issue!
Magnificent Obsession class (HH; Brangien Davis, instructor). Quit this class halfway through. Too much repetition from previous class and too much time listening to fellow students read their work aloud. If I'd felt inspired to write for the class I could've kept going by turning in pieces to the instructor for comments. It just turned out to be not the best idea to take the class.
November: received first-ever paycheck for freelance writing from Punk Planet!
January through May
Dreamcatcher: A Memoir / Salinger
Embroideries / Marjane Satrapi
Ghost Dance / Carol Maso (did I finish this? very interesting book yet strange.)
June
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight / Alexandra Fuller (great memoir about growing up in Africa)
Bone / Jeff Smith (comic book/novel -- not quite graphic novel. Sweet, funny, adventure story... an exception to my dislike of fantasy novels)
July
The moral property of women : a history of birth control politics in America
Harry Potter and whatever whatever -- the first book
Somewhere in here I read a sort of SciFi story about a kid grown to be the host body for somebody else's brain, but I can't remember where I read it.
August
audiobook: Dating is Murder
September
The scientist in the crib : minds, brains, and how children learn
Freakonomics
Dating Dead Men
Farenheit 459 / Ray Bradbury
Skimmed through/Gave up on "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" -- I didn't like it.
audiobooks:
2 mysteries (Murder at the Library of Congress; Murder in Havana)
The Dirty Girl's Social Club -- I'm not sure if I would've liked this in print but it was good as an audiobook.
October
Never Let Me Go / Kazuo Ishiguro
The Brothers K / David James Duncan (had to buy a copy b/c it was due at the library with 300 pages left -- it's long!)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Nice Big American Baby / Judy Budnitz (short stories) -- I don't think I'm going to finish this. They're good but so ultra-modern and detached that I don't feel emotionally connected at all to the characters. (I returned this book w/o finishing it.)
Audiobooks:
Murder on a Girl's Night Out / Anne George (didn't pay a lot of attention; pretty silly. but got another audiobook by George from the library 10/23)
A Slight Trick of the Mind / Mitch Cullin (recommended)
To the Nines (Janet Evanovich, narrated by CJ Critt -- a good listen, but junk food reading)
Loves Music, Loves to Dance / Mary Higgins Clark (mystery audiobook; okay to listen to but not particularly intriguing characters/story; a soft thriller)
November
The Yokota Officers Club / Sarah Bird -- reminiscent of YA fiction. A good, easy read; I learned something, was entertained and was not annoyed by bad grammar or shoddy storytelling. Not award-winning but worthwhile, since I've never read a novel about being an army brat before. It covers old ground--the 60's, Viet Nam--from a different perspective. Interestingly, this is available on CD. Also, I checked it out because the spine attracted my attention as I worked in the Ballard library "quiet room."
Audiobooks:
Dirty Sally / -- quit halfway through. too "gritty" aka violent for me, especially sexually violent.
Two for the Money & Three to whatever... / Janet Evanovich -- these books are fun to listen to. Still probably wouldn't read as many as I'll listen to while knitting.
Murder Boogies with Elvis / Anne George -- I have a new respect for Ms. George & her mysteries since learning she's an accomplished poet. These stories have nice detail and charming characters. Still they're "just" mystery novels.
Peach Cobbler Murder / Joanne Fluke -- I don't plan to check out more in this series. The main character is too wishy washy and the whole shebang too cutesy and annoying. I really hate the "nice guy vs hot guy" thing with the dentist vs the cop.
The Century / Peter Jennings (audio) -- a lot like listening to a documentary, and a semi-soft one at that, but a good way to reinforce my understanding of the events of the 20th century.
Stopped short:
The Noonday Demon / Andrew Solomon (non-fiction about depression) -- returned to library. I want to try this again at some point when I don't have knitting deadlines.
December
The Inn at the End of the World / Alice Thomas Ellis -- a random pick at the library. just started on 11/27. Finished on 12/3 or so. A good read by a famous British author. I may look for more by her.
Four to Score (audio) and High Five (paper) by Janet Evanovich. It was a nice break to read the regular version, faster in some ways and it's good to have something to read to sleep (as with the other books).
Our Husband / Stephanie Bond (audio) -- another silly mystery. Okay but too long for what it was.
Murder Makes Waves / Anne George (audio) -- kind of different from others in the series and better for it. Not sure why but the characters were better-rounded (I think having two more women characters throughout helped).
The Century, finis! Well, as much as I'm going to. I didn't want to listen to some 1997 geniuses speculate on the next century, especially since this was introduced with Clinton's reaction to the bombing of our embassies and our retaliation... so, terrorism. I did enjoy a lot of the book and learned a good bit. Thanks, Peter Jennings!
Metro Girl / Janet Evanovich (audio) -- yep. another mystery.
All She Ever Wanted / somebody / audio. This was okay but got very very sappy. And some aspects were really annoying--"he paused a moment too long"--and an engagement/fairy-tale ending... so silly. It made me laugh though.
Seven Up (Janet Evanovich audio mystery)
In progress (these are all carrying over into January '06):
A stack of comics/zines for Punk Planet.
The golden spruce : a true story of myth, madness, and greed / John Valliant
Women in Pacific Northwest History (collection of writing, ed. Karen J Blair)
DVDs/documentaries/related:
June:
To Be and To Have (documentary about a one-room school in France)
July?:
Fooling with words a celebration of poets and their craft (only watched first tape)
September:
I am a promise the children of Stanton Elementary School
Not for ourselves alone the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony
Blue Vinyl
October:
Bob Dylan biography
Season 4 of Curb Your Enthusiasm
Frontline: The OJ Verdict, 10 years later
A Doula Story
November:
December:
This Divided State
Word Wars
Mr. Show first season
Writing accomplishments
March-ish:
Personal essay/humor class (HH; Brangien Davis, instructor)
October:
Turned in "State of the Clinic" article to PP on 10/10/05; was a work-in-progress since June or so. 4,271 words. Turned in table material 10/13/05. It's the featured article in the Jan/Feb '06 issue!
Magnificent Obsession class (HH; Brangien Davis, instructor). Quit this class halfway through. Too much repetition from previous class and too much time listening to fellow students read their work aloud. If I'd felt inspired to write for the class I could've kept going by turning in pieces to the instructor for comments. It just turned out to be not the best idea to take the class.
November: received first-ever paycheck for freelance writing from Punk Planet!