Archive for the 'books' Category
Kaplan Schweser Auditing and Attestation Study Guide- I really like Kaplan CPA’s study program, especially since I passed FAR! Right now I’m getting killed on Internal Control multiple choice questions but as long as I learn from those mistakes, I’ll be fine.
Trophy House, Anne Bernays- Domestic turn-off-your-brain reading. The main character is a middle aged children’s illustrator who has an affair with her editor. This was like eavesdropping on a conversation between a couple middle aged WASP biddies.
Mirror Dance, Lois Mcmaster Bujold- Wow. This was one of those books that you never want to end. The characterization is amazing, especially Mark’s. I think Bujold captured perfectly what someone in his position must go through. I really loved watching Mark forge his own separate identity from Miles. This is really Mark’s book, although Cordelia nearly steals the spotlight.
Cordelia’s Honor, Lois Mcmaster Bujold- Speaking of Cordelia, I’m almost ready to set up an altar to her in my room. What a very extraordinary person. I haven’t quite finished reading Barrayar yet. After reading Shards of Honor I started thinking of uterine replicators as an excellent alternative to pregnancy, then remind myself that there are none in the real world. And Sergeant Bothari’s name and image have been burned into my brain. I wonder how much research Bujold did into military and Russian culture to make her books so convincing. She makes everything intriguing.
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination, Helen Fielding- I really liked this one and reread it a couple times. I think I’ve found a new comfort book! Loved Olivia Joules’ Rules for Living, her sense of humor, perserverence, and attitude.v.good.
Jackaroo, Cynthia Voigt- Slow going at first but the pace picks up after the first third. Not sure if its just me, but there’s an atmosphere of sadness and anxiety that doesn’t let up until the very end. Life is hard. Everyone’s lives are bound by ironclad social roles; rebellion comes at a dear price. I loved Gwyn and Burl; the way Gwyn is so compassionate, the way Burl implicitly understands Gwyn, the way both of them are so responsible and courageous and perceptive. A very thoughtful book.
Almost the first thing I did after taking the FAR test was go to the local library to check out some books. Here’s what I took away:
The Bronte Novels, W.A. Craik- In which Professor Craik critiques every last Bronte novel, from Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre to The Professor and Agnes Grey. Not having read the Professor, Shirley, or Agnes Grey, I skipped those essays. Craik clearly admires Wuthering Heights. Personally, I find it extremely difficult to relate to and more than a little overwrought (ditto Craig’s essay). Oh well, different strokes and all that. The essays I enjoyed the most were of Jane Eyre and Villette. I couldn’t explain to you exactly why I liked them but I felt they offered fresh and detailed insights into the novels.
The Spirit Ring, Lois McMaster Bujold- I thought this fantasy got off to a great start. The relationship between Fiametta and her great artisan father was poignant and bittersweet. I read a review online somewhere that said this was perhaps Bujold’s most personal novel in that she draws from her personal experience of growing up under the shadow of a brilliant father. I think I agree. The romance felt rather trite and forced though. Sometimes I felt as if I were reading a historical romance with some fantasy thrown in. Definitely not Bujold’s best, but still enjoyable weekend/weeknight reading. After reading this I was really glad that Bujold invented her own compelling religion of the Five Gods as opposed to the blending of sorcery and Christianity in the Spirit Ring. Sometimes I wish her religion actually existed in the real world.
Simon the Coldheart, Georgette Heyer- Methinks I should have tried a different Georgete Heyer for my first, err, Georgette Heyer, who started the whole Regency romance genre.
Oh, and I’ve changed the About section again and added a list of favorite foods.
Chalice, Robin McKinley- I was really looking forward to this. Its a lovely story but it doesn’t compare to Sunshine in its brilliance. The familiar elements of a McKinley story are here: the seemingingly ordinary but responsible, courageous, and compassionate heroine and hero, the self directed apprenticeship, the obsession. I really loved the Chalice as a role and symbol for unity and healing, with her many chalices. I loved the bees and honey and the connection with the earth. Reading the book felt like moving through a vivid dream. I couldn’t quite connect with Mirasol though, not the way I feel connected to Rae Seddon in Sunshine or Lissar in Deerskin. There’s a rather palpable feeling of impending doom throughout the novel.
The Swan Kingdom, Zoe Marriott- This lush, imaginative retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Wild Swans was a delight to read (great, now I sound like an old lady). I liked the way Marriott incorporated nature based paganism as the guiding religion of the heroine, Alexandra as opposed to the Christianity featured in Anderson’s tale. I loved the vivid descriptions of the flora and fauna and love for the land. The ending is rather abrupt though. I would have liked the book to go on for at least another 50 pages, I like the characters and the world so much. I thought this was a great first novel.
Houseboat, Cary Grant & Sophia Loren- I bought this movie because it was on sale, I needed to add another item to get free shipping, and I thought I’d seen this a long time ago. I don’t think this was that movie. Its cute. Sophia Loren is gorgeous and a great actress. I thought the way they portrayed the kids reactions to losing their mother, attaching themselves to a new mother figure but rebelling when the prospect of that same mother figure actually becoming their new mother was great. There’s a rather touching conversation about death between father and son in one scene. Four stars I guess.
brown paper packages tied up with string
Published September 19, 2008 acquisitions , books Leave a Comment…these are a few of my favorite things!
My pre-ordered hardcover copy of Robin McKinley’s newest, Chalice, arrived on my doorstep today. Hurrah! The book is lovely. I love the cover art. My only complaint is that dust jacket was a bit scraped on the back and there was a slight tear on the bottom of the front. There’s something rather exciting about following the books of a live author as opposed to reading the complete works of, say, Charlotte Bronte or JRR Tolkien (Harry Potter series… ehh). I love the way Robin McKinley writes. Its nice to watch her writing evolve from book to book. My two favorite books of hers, so far, are The Hero and the Crown and Sunshine. I’m glad they re-issued her books with different covers, particularly of Hero and the Crown. One of my beefs with the original cover is that it shows Talat wearing a bridle. Talat doesn’t wear a bridle; Aerin invented a new way of riding without the use of reins and bits and bridles. They didn’t even bother to check with the author before slapping the cover on the book? Oooiii.
The other two things I ordered were The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott and Houseboat with Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. The Swan Kingdom is a revisionist retelling of the tale of The Wild Swans, in which the heroine doesn’t seem *quite* as forlorn as in the original tale. I wonder if one of her brothers is going to end up with one wing and one arm in this retelling. I feel sorry for that brother. I remember watching Houseboat on TV as a kid and I’ve never watched it since. I’m looking forward to it.
oh, I’ve written more stuff under the about page if anyone’s remotely interested…
I was reading the comments on a blog when I came across a link to the strip above at wondermark.com. Its just perfect. 
Trickster’s Queen, Tamora Pierce- Very enjoyable read but I liked the first book, Trickster’s Choice, better. I usually like the first book better anyway, when we’re still being introduced to the characters.
The Dark Is Rising, Susan Cooper- When I first started reading this book, I had it confused with Under Sea, Over Water, the prequel to this book, which I attempted to read in sixth grade. The book was a bit slow going at first but once I got through the first third, the pace picked up at lightning speed and I couldn’t put it down until I’d reached the end.
Young Miles, Lois McMaster Bujold- I bought this book at a second hand bookstore while they were having a 50% off sale on all paperbacks so I ended up getting it for $2. Yipeee! Anyway, Young Miles is a compilation of Warrior’s Apprentice, Mountains of Mourning, and the Vor Game. Because I’m so impatient I have this bad habit of skipping pages in search of more interesting story when I’m bored… so I was very confused about what happened between Auson, Tung and Osser and I’m still not sure how Miles broke the blockade. I haven’t completely finished this book. Some of the military/political intrigues bore me, but I’m just not into that stuff. I like Miles. He’s funny and clever and constantly bouncing off the walls. *small voice* I think my favorite character of all Bujold’s books that I’ve read so far is Cazaril though; he kind of reminds me of Aragorn. All in all, *very* fun read.
Financial Accounting and Reporting, Kaplan Schweser- Oy vey, I’m studying for the CPA. This time I’m going to pass it dammit!! The studying is rather slow going. What I really like about the Kaplan program is they give you such a variety of resources for study: webcast lectures, flash cards, online Qbank, CD’s, and of course, the 3 lb study guide. So far, my favorites have been the flash cards that you can carry around anywhere and the online Qbank.
April showers bring Mayflowers.
What do Mayflowers bring?
Pilgrims!
My brain feels like mush. Can’t. Think. Why am I even blogging? I don’t know.
Anyway…
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris- very funny. I liked this much better than Barrel Fever. At the risk of sounding pretentious, these stories feel warmer, more insightful, and vivid than his last book, Me Talk Pretty One Day. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a damn good writer on top of everything else.
The Hallowed Hunt, Lois McMaster Bujold- I really, really liked this book. I don’t think it’s fair to compare this to the other two Chalion books- like comparing apples to oranges. I really liked the introduction of another spiritual tradition and the way worked in, or didn’t with the religion of the five gods. The Bastard is still my favorite god of all. The two main characters, however, were harder to relate to and love, than, say Cazaril and Ista. Is it weird if I have a tiny crush on Cazaril? I stayed up late reading this last Sunday evening trying to get to the end.
I also read a self help book that covers the basics of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
I burned my left hand today with the wood-burning pen. Working on another little project, decorating a wood box with a, err, burning of what’s supposed to be an apple tree on the top and an apple blossom on the front. Undecided on whether I should paint the background and blossoms, and what to do with the sides and back.
Books: Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook by Alice Waters, Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold, and The Snow Fox by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer
Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook- I’m still reading this book. At first, I was put off by a lot of the ingredients while skimming through the recipes (squab, duck fat, truffle, champagne, parsley, chervil) and the heavy French influence. Silly/bad joke: You know you’re eating French food when it tastes like butter and garlic. A lot of the recipes seem rather labor intensive or the ingredients hard to procure on a limited budget. Definitely not for casual weeknight consumption. I know, what was I thinking, these are recipes from a restaurant, not from Cooking Light or Rachel Ray. I took a second stab at the book this morning after my walk and liked it just for the sheer pleasure of reading recipes. I’ve found a couple recipes I’d like to try on weekends. I’m also curious as to what truffles taste like.
Memory- I found out later that this was not the best introductory book to read for the Miles Vorkosigan series. Still, I liked it. It was very introspective but still entertaining. The political hobnobbing and status games annoyed me a little, but I suppose its to be expected. The writing was good but not up to the level of Curse of Chalion, which was more literary. I’d like to try another Miles book. Maybe next time I’ll try Cordelia’s Honor or Komarr.
The Snow Fox- I loved the style of writing in this book which reminded me of The Tale of Genji. I also liked the characterization of the three main characters and their relationship to one another. The characters were realistically drawn, but mythic at the same time. I think Lady Utsu, Matsuhito, and Lord Norimasa had very modern ideas and personalities, but they didn’t come across as anachronisms. They remained rooted in the customs and traditions of their time. I also liked Lady Utsu’s poems.
The pampas grasses wave like banners
What makes the grass so strong?
Does its strength come from the soldiers
Buried deep beneath the roots?
I’m certainly no judge of poetry, but I liked the strong feelings and simplicity of the poems.
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