50 Essential Books of Poetry!

Happy National Poetry Month! I came across an article on Flavorwire titled 50 Essential Books of Poetry That Everyone Should Read by Emily Temple. In the article, Temple writes the following:

It’s National Poetry Month, and you’re probably thinking: “I should really read more poetry. But where oh where do I start?” Well, sound the trumpets, because here is Flavorwire to the rescue! After the jump, you’ll find a list of 50 essential books of poetry that pretty much everyone should read. There’s something for everybody here, from the deeply established canonical works to riveting, important books by newer poets, from the Romantics to the post-modernists, from the goofy to the staid. NB: as with other lists like these, only one work per author has been included, and there is a bias against the “Collected Poems of” unless necessary. Obviously, inevitably, painfully, there are many, many poets and works of poetry, both of great renown and less so, that are missing here and should still be read by everyone. This list can only reflect personal taste, chance meetings, and wild subjectivity, so please add on your own favorite collections in the comments.

Until my next post, have a happy time reading poetry!!

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer

Abridged Audio Version

I listened to the abridged version of Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer and read by Roger Allam. Paths of Glory is the third novel I've listened to by Jeffrey Archer and I enjoyed it very much.

I felt that Roger Allam did a terrific job of reading Paths of Glory. I also thought the abridgement of Paths of Glory was well done --- Many times I've listened to abridged audiobooks, only to feel like the storyline was jumbled and didn't flow so smoothly due to the abridgement. I also enjoyed the storyline and characters of Paths of Glory. Paths of Glory is well written and makes for captivating reading.

Below is an overview if Paths of Glory from the Barnes and Noble website:

Some people have dreams that are so magnificent that if they were to achieve them, their place in history would be guaranteed.  People like Christopher Columbus, Isaac Newton, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Edison, Nancy Astor, Charles Lindbergh, Amy Johnson, Edmund Hilary and Neil Armstrong—their unparalleled success has made their stories into legend.  But what if one man had such a dream, and once he’d achieved it, there was no proof that he had fulfilled his ambition?

Jeffrey Archer’s new novel, Paths of Glory, is the story of such a man—George Mallory. Born in 1886, he was a brilliant student who became part of the Bloomsbury Group at Cambridge in the early twentieth century and served in the Royal Garrison Artillery during World War I. After the war, he married, had three children, and would have spent the rest of his life as a schoolteacher, but for his love of mountain climbing.

Mallory once told a reporter that he wanted to climb Mt. Everest, “because it is there.” On his third try in 1924, at age thirty-seven, he was last seen four hundred feet from the top. His body was found in 1999, and it remains a mystery whether he and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, ever reached the summit.

In fact, not until you’ve turned the last page of Archer’s extraordinary novel will you be able to decide if George Mallory should be added to that list of legends, while another name would have to be removed.  Paths of Glory is truly a triumph.

I am giving Paths of Glory a rating of 7 stars out of 10 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Read These Books About Intelligent Animals!

If you love animals as much as I do, then you may want to checkout the following article I discovered through The Guardian titled, Top 10 books about intelligent animals by Karen Joy Fowler. 

Several of the titles mentioned in Fowler's article I'm already familiar with, but I have yet to read any of them yet. I'll have to add a few of them to my reading wishlist.

Do You Ever Wonder Where Your Books Travel to After You Pass Them On?

I've always wondered where my books will travel to after I've passed them along to another reader. I've also wondered what other readers have thought about the book too... Did they like reading the book as much as me or not?

Well, through Bookcrossing, I've been able to see where my books have traveled to and what readers have thought about the book as well. For instance, I read The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, then registered the book on Bookcrossing, placed a special label on the inside of the book with a tracking number and passed the book along to another reader. And that's where the magic of Bookcrossing begins!!

So far, twelve people have read my copy of The Vagina Monologues!! It has traveled around the USA, four countries in Europe, and is now currently in Australia, where it will be traveling around Australia and New Zealand before heading back to the USA and Canada... Amazing!! The average overall rating of The Vagina Monologues by the readers is 8 stars out of 10 stars. Pretty exciting news if you ask me. 

I've also had similar experiences with other books I've read through Bookcrossing as well.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

April is National Poetry Month!!

Happy National Poetry Month!! Reading poetry, especially reading it aloud, can be fun!! 

Benedict Cumberbatch has a wonderful voice for reading poetry aloud. Checkout this audio clip of Benedict Cumberbatch reading Kubla Khan by  Samuel Taylor-Coleridge.

Spice Up Your Books With Beautiful Bookplates!!

Do you like using bookplates?? Then checkout these beautiful bookplates I found through the Huffington Post Website in an article titled 23 Gorgeous Bookplates That Will Give Your Books Serious Style!! 

I'm sort of partial to the Watermarks Personalized Bookplates, Library Card Bookplates, and the Vintage Butterflies Bookplates. Which bookplates do you like?

Happy Wedding Anniversary to Us!!

Today is cause for celebration!! My husband and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary today... Boy, have the years really flown by for us. It's difficult to believe that it's been twelve years since we were married!! We had a terrific time celebrating us this weekend.

One of our mutual hobbies is geocaching, which we have been doing together since May 2005! We even found six geocaches this weekend among other fun activities.

For those of you unfamiliar with geocaching, checkout the following YouTube video.

  
So, are you now interested in participating in geocaching?? Checkout the following article titled Nine Great Geocaching Books to help you get started in this wonderful adventure called geocaching!

Until my next post, happy reading!!

What Would Your Victorian Pen Name Have Been?

So, I came across an article I discovered on the Huffington Post website titled, Name Generator: What Would Your Victorian Pen Name Have Been? In the article, I came across the following information:

The Victorian era in particular saw slews of women writing under male pen names, including the Brontë Sisters, who wrote as Acton, Currer and Ellis Bell, and, of course, Mary Ann Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. Of her pseudonym, Charlotte Brontë said: "we did not like to declare ourselves women because – without at that time suspecting that our mode of writing and thinking was not what is called 'feminine' – we had a vague impression that authoresses are liable to be looked on with prejudice."

Click on the above link to read the full story. You may also discover a Victorian pen name generator as well. Apparently, my Victorian Pen Name would have been Laurence Vosper, should I have been a female writer during the Victorian Era who wanted to use a pen name.

Falling Awake by Jayne Ann Krentz

Unabridged Audiobook

Yesterday, I finished listening to the unabridged audio version of Falling Awake by Jayne Ann Krentz and read by Laural Merlington. This is my first experience with anything written by Jayne Ann Krentz and I really enjoyed it immensely. Laural Merlington's reading of Falling Awake only enhanced my listening experience. I've actually heard Laural Merlington read another novel in the past and she's an amazing and very talented reader!!

Here's an overview of Falling Awake from the Barnes & Noble website:

"Isabel Wright spends her days at the Belvedere Center for Sleep Research analyzing the dreams of others. Dr. Martin Belvedere, a pioneer in the field, recognized her unique talent for what he calls Level Five lucid dreaming - and rescued her from a dead-end job at the psychic dreamer hotline. It's satisfying, lucrative work, but it can be emotionally draining at times. Especially when one of her anonymous subjects, known only as Client Number Two, captures her imagination through his compelling dream narratives. Secretly, she thinks of him as "dream man."" "Client Number Two's real name is Ellis Cutler. A loner who learned long ago not to let anyone get too close, he works for a highly classified government agency with an interest in the potential value of lucid dreaming. And he has just been ordered by his boss to make contact with Isabel, who's been fired after the sudden death of Dr. Belvedere. Heading to California, he pushes his own fantasies out of his mind, determined to maintain a professional relationship with the woman who reads his dreams, the mysterious figure he has come to think of as "Tango Dancer."" But when they meet in the flesh, the dream becomes real enough to touch. And a waking nightmare begins - when a suspicious hit-and-run leads them into a perilous web of passion, betrayal and murder, and forces them to walk the razor-thin line between dreams and reality. 

As I already mentioned, I really enjoyed listening to the unabridged version of Falling Awake. The storyline was fun and entertaining. I loved the main characters of Isabel Wright and Ellis Cutler... Ellis Cutler's character is sexy as hell! There was also enough mystery, suspense and romance to keep the reader captivated from start to finish. I look forward to reading another novel by Jayne Ann Krentz in the future.

 

I'm giving Falling Awake an 8 stars out of 10 stars rating.

Until my next post, happy reading!

7 Self-Help Books That Offer Advice That Works!!

This morning, I discovered an article through Oprah.com titled Self-Help Advice That Works by Leigh Newman. The subtitle of this article reads as follows: "We sifted through recent life-improvement books and found the can-do strategies to help you become more successful, calmer, happier, more focused and more connected to others—and to yourself." 

This sounds good to me, so sign me up!! I mean really, like who wouldn't want to "become more successful, calmer, happier, more focused and more connected to others—and to yourself"? 

Click on the above link and checkout the self-help books listed in Newman's article.

Until my next post, happy reading!