Age 30+ ... A Lifetime of Books: Friday Finds 1/2/09

Who AM I?

That's a good question ... I'm a daughter, a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend ... and there's so much more! But for the purpose of this blog I am a first and foremost a reader.

When I was in the first grade I read The Hobbit and my love of Fantasy took root. By the time I left elementary school I had completed the entire series as well as The Belgariad by David Eddings. Seventh grade brought me the beginning of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series ... which is still not complete. High school and college introduced me to the classics and to history. My reading disappeared for several years when I had a child. Then I started a book club and it came back in full force.

Today I read anything that catches my eye ... at the moment that includes historical fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, and any titles I find interesting. I'm always on the lookout for the next great find ... any suggestions?

Friday, January 2, 2009

Friday Finds 1/2/09

Ahh, the first Friday Finds of 2009 ... how exciting! Of course, all my finds were actually "found" in 2008 but that's not important right now. Here's my list:

The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes, by Andrew Lycett - I read about this in the Simon & Schuster newsletter - I'm a huge Holmes fan and this sounds quite interesting to me (lean close to your computer, I have a secret to tell you ... I'm signing up for The Baker Street Reading Challenge and this book is perfect for it! But I'm not supposed to be signing up for too many challenges this year, so you'll keep my secret, right?)

Danger's Hour: The Story of the USS Bunker and the Kamizake Pilot Who Crippled Her, by Maxwell Taylor Kennedy - this also came from the Simon & Schuster newsletter - I love reading about WWII, and I'm signed up for the WWII portion of the War Through the Generations Challenge - I'm concerned it might be too technical or detailed for me, since it is about one specific battle, but it tells the story of the first kamizake pilot and that sounds fascinating to me

The Last Town on Earth, by Thomas Mullen - Ti over at Book Chatter has much the same taste as I do ... we both love reading about diseases - strange, huh? Her letter to Santa brought this book to my attention and it is a high priority on my TBR list now.

Annie Dunne, by Sebastian Barry - if you've been reading my blog for any length of time then you know that my Gram was born in Ireland and that I've been there and love all things about it - so when I read the very first sentences of Softdrink's review of this book I knew it had to go on my list!

Life on the Ice: Traveler's Tales, by Susan Fox Rogers - this book was mentioned in the last Book Review Carnival - it was reviewed by a blogger who I'd never visited before - usually I go reread the post that intrigued me so I can share with you my reasons for adding this book, but my work internet filter is keeping me from visiting that blog for some reason - if I recall correctly, this book is about people who have lived in Antarctica for various reasons, and includes stories of their lives there - I love reading about this strange, remote, frozen part of the world so this is a good one for me

Emporers of the Ice, by Richard Farr - another Antarctic book, but this one is an adventure story - Guy's Lit Wire did an excellent review that I suggest you go check out - this is a true story of life and death all in the name of scientific discovery ... what could be better than that?!

I found one book for kiddo this time around as well:

Angela and the Baby Jesus, by Frank McCourt - this is a children's Christmas book that I'd love to read with kiddo next Christmas ... let's hope I can remember to do it! Maw Books did a great review if you want to check it out.

What did YOU find this week? Post a comment here and let me know. I usually tell you to head over to MizB's page to see what everyone else has come up with, but it looks like MizB is behind on her posting this week. Oh well, that's just how is goes sometimes. UPDATE: She's got the page up now!

6 comments:

Beth F said...: Great list of finds!; January 2, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Anonymous said...: Those look interesting!; January 2, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Stacy said...: Great list. I am going to check out The Man who Created Sherlock Holmes. Sir Doyle is all over my lists for challenges this year. Thank you.; January 2, 2009 at 12:48 PM
Shana said...: Heather, Annie Dunn sounds like one I need to check out. Great list.

Shana
Literarily; January 2, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Kathleen said...: Well I must say none of those look interesting to me but I do have one book I found via your blog on my list.; January 2, 2009 at 7:21 PM
Dreamybee said...: Ooh, disease books intrigue me too! If you like stories of the Antarctic and of disease, you might like Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole by Maryanne Vollers. It's about a female doctor who finds out she has breast cancer while she's working in the Antarctic. The weather is too bad for her to leave, and so she ends up having to operate on herself.

Another good one was The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic by Gay Salisbury. It's the story of the sled dog teams who were charged with delivering diptheria serum to Nome, Alaska in 1925 after an epidemic breaks out and the town finds itself without medicine.

Harrowing stuff on both accounts.; January 4, 2009 at 3:27 AM