I thought about creating a dummy blog for the LIBR203 assignment - so embarrassing to have people actually read what you've written and know that it's you (isn't "internet" synonymous with "anonymous" for us introverts?) - but I have several stuttering blog-starts scattered around the web already. I don't need to add more to the meaningless blog-clutter.
As you can see, I was enthusiastic about this blog for about a week two years ago and then abandoned it. I no longer live in Portland, OR, where I went to college and lived off and on for an additional three years. I would live in Portland forever if it weren't for that pesky ever-present cloud cover. It was too much for me, so I moved back to the Bay Area, where there is unending sunshine and a beautiful library system. Portland is full of overeducated underpaid blibliophiles, so the small (relatively) number of books the libraries have the budget to provide are nearly always checked out. I will never forget being 274th on a waiting list for The Marriage Plot. I caved to pressure and bought the book so I wouldn't have to wait two years to read it. At my local Santa Clara library, on the other hand, I've never been higher than 17th on a list, despite wanting to read some very popular books. What does all this mean? Mostly that I really like libraries.
And now, here's a list in no particular order of books I think everyone should read:
Letters to Anyone and Everyone by Toon Tellegen
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Strong Poison/Have His Carcase/Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
The Golden Compass/The Subtle Knife/The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman
Anything by Madeleine L'Engle
