i don't know why i like to describe books the way i describe food. maybe it's because figuratively they're food for the soul.
but today i got a book that i wanted for a long time...for free! what a gift from above! i was milling around the carpeted stairs today for some reason, and this one book on a vendor's table caught my eye. it was Boom, Bust, and Echo by David Foot. it's a book about the demographics and economics of Canada. i heard about it in geography back in grade 9, and have wanted it since. i was so excited because rarely do i see books being sold in the UC that i have a hankering for. i madly dashed down the stairs before anyone could see my jewel of a book and snatch it before i did. i got there and i asked how much it was, and it turns out it wasn't a vendor's table. it was a stuff swap! so i got it for free! w00t. i love free stuff.
later today i finally went to the guelph library after three years of living here, and got myself a library card. i checked out The Five People You Meet In Heavenby Mitch Albom that Jena recommended, Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, and Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. i wonder if i'll actually like any of them. good books are so hard to find these days.
i love historical fiction about the lives of women in another culture. the last good book i read that fit into that category was the Red Tent, but can we say "blasphemous"?. The Birth of Venus was good too, but the author's new book is about a courtesan's life in venice. sketch, yo. pauline gedge wrote about life in ancient egypt, but i'm pretty much done with all of her books that i can find in the library, and she doesn't seem to be turning out any new ones any time soon. teens' books use to be good too. now's it's so sketch. i seriously didn't think they were that sketch when i was at that age.
i think one of the reasons that i stopped reading was because i didn't have time to go to the library and dig through books to find the good ones. but i'm glad i did today. i'm sick and tired of non-fiction. change will be good.
Oooh...Redeeming Love. Watch out for that one. Have the kleenex nearby and prepare to be blown away by this book and more importantly, God's redeeming love for us.
ReplyDeleteI'm serious.
you WANTED a book on economics? uh.... weird. then again, i guess since your majoring in nasty economics thats expected isnt it....still....*shudder* i'd rather jump off a cliff than read anymore about economics than I already have. nearly failed it. :S hahah. marketing all the way!!!
ReplyDelete"i love historical fiction about the lives of women in another culture"
ReplyDeleteone that i read that is sort of half fiction (i think anyways) is "The Imperial Woman" by Pearl S. Buck. It's about the last Empress Dowager of China -- T'zu Hsi (or Cixi depending on your pinyin).
I remember it being pretty good, balancing both the cultural details pertaining to the Chinese Imperial court, but also having a pretty good plot. I'm not sure how historically accurate it is, but i thought it was a good read. it's an older book.
another good one by her is "The Good Earth." It's about a farmer in China, just before the overthrow of the Qing dynasty, and his rise through poverty to wealth. i think its the book that made her famous and may have gotten a Pulizter. One of my favourites.
... i now officially feel like a nerd. haha.
hey dlu,
ReplyDeletethe good earth was really good. i didn't know that she had the other one though. i'd love to read that one. i'll go find it. thanks for the recommendations. i saw a novel about the empress dowager last night when i was at the library, but reading the cover made me really sketchy about its contents.
oh i've totally read those dlu! good recommendations!!!
ReplyDeleteI did NOT like the Red Tent. I don't recommend it.
ReplyDelete