Burli Blog: Getting in the Christmas Mood

Books Read, 2010

Secret Son by Laila Lalami (Moroccan; very good)
The Great Perhaps by Joe Meno
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (short-stories)
The Confessor by Daniel Silva (Ah, intrigue at the Vatican.)
Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light by M. Rosenblum (Now I feel like a semi-expert on chocolate and will never think that Swiss choclate is the best again. Ok, I never found a Swiss chocolate that I loved anyways. But now I want to explore some top quality chocolate and chocolates!)
The Chocolate Connoisseur by Chloe Doutre-Roussel (JT and I have been learning about chocolate and doing tast tests. The author is a true chocolate-lover.)
Identical Strangers by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein (Adopted twins reunite. Well-written and emotionally honest,)
Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton (I thoroughly enjoyed this book and wish I could hang out with Iris (the daughter). I even briefly considered investing in a portable skillet so that JT could make his own pancakes...)
The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken (Librarian loves a giant. )
Death of a Valentine by M. C. Beaton (I prefer not to have to read Scottish accents.)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Good Oprah-book-club-type read)
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris (The main character is a Saudi Arabian man. Written by an American woman. Not sure how believeable in terms of SA society or Saudi men's inner lives.)
Philosophy Made Simple by Robert Hellenga (older man sells home, buys avocado farm in Texas and plans his daughter's Indian wedding)
The Tarnished Eye by Judith Guest
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (The best book I've read this year, by far. I am not much of a sci-fi fan, but this is different. Good different.)
Confessions of Supermom by M.L. Hauser (Sometimes choosing a book at random off the shelf is a good idea. This time it wasn't.)
Rainwater by Sandra Brown (I usually don't check out books with large photos of the author on the back. Now I remember why.)
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea (pop culture from Saudi Arabia, insightful)
Outcasts United by Warren St. John (Go Fugees! Do read this.)
Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb (more of a longish story, packed with fun details)
Liberating Paris by Linda Bloodworth Thomason (mildly entertaining)
Intimate Relations with Strangers by David Valentine Bernard (very strange, not recommended)

Books Read, 2009

A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carre
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfield
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (made me wish I had a farm. sort of.)
Buddhism for Mothers by Sarah Nepthali
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
Come with Me to Babylon by Paul Levitt
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon
Down Came the Rain by Brooke Shields
Fragment: A Novel by Warren Fahy (a local author, a beach read)
Hello Goodbye by Emily Chenoweth
Kissing Games of the World by Sandi Kahn Shelton
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (recommended - have tissues ready)
Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby
Michaelangelo's Notebook by Paul Christopher
Natural Selection by Dave Feredman
Pasadena by David Ebershoff
Pictures at an Exhibition by Sara Houghteling
Pinkerton's Secret by Eric Lerner
Prescription for a Superior Existence by Josh Emmons
Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
Soul by Tobsha Learner
Sunlight and Shadow by Sue Boggio and Mare Pearl
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff (recommended)
The Believers by Zoe Heller
The Book of Unholy Mischief by E. Newmark (recommended - food, Gnostic gospels, a fun summer read)
The Cure for Grief by Nellie Herman
The Empty Mirror: A Viennese Mystery by J. Sydney Jones
The End of Manners by Francesca Marciano
The Experiment by John Darnton
The Fatherstyle Advantage by Kevin O'Shea
The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus
The Good Mother by Sue Miller
The Grift by Debra Ginsberg (recommended)
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
The Last Cato by Matilde Assensi
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
The Memorist by MJ Rose (This was a fun read set in Vienna.)
The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult
The Preservationist by David Maine
The Ruins of California by Martha Sherrill
The Satr of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson (YA book set in Habsburg Austria, great descriptions of Vienna)
The Savior: A Novel by Eugene Drucker
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon *I recommend this one!*
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
The teacher Who Couldn't Read by J. Corcoran
The Third Twin by Ken Follett
The Various Flavors of Coffee by Anthony Capella
Time of My Life by A. W. Scotch
Towelhead by Alicia Erian
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen *recommended*
Without Mercy by Renate Dorrestein

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Sunday, November 27, 2005

Getting in the Christmas Mood

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