1.20.2011

Booking Through Thursday... sort of

Last week was a little quiet on Booking Through Thursday, although Masha told a hilarious story about her resentment for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and George put up a request for a book he loved but can't remember the title of:
"If anyone knows of a book with anthropomorphized animals in a town with a river going through it out to the sea & a mean, grumpy old fox, who all the children are scared of, let me know."
I'm curious, now. Anybody heard of this?

This week's Booking Through Thursday question was about what magazines we read, which I couldn't summon up enough interest in to make a real blog post out of it. I steal Lou's First Things every month, long enough to read the 'While We're At It' section (never quite so much fun since the original editor, Father Neuhaus, died) and sometimes some of the essays. That's just about it. I'm not a magazine or catalog kind of a person—unless you count blogs, which I read by the dozens.

In lieu of that, here's a list of what I've been reading—some Wednesday posts to look forward to.

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. I figured it was high time to read The Other Cool Middle-Grade Fantasy (besides Harry Potter, that is.)

The Narnia Code by Michael Ward. A Christmas gift from my in-laws, this book explains the influences of the seven planets (as recognized in medieval times) upon the seven Chronicles of Narnia.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. My best friend read this and asked me if I would. Oh, I can't wait for this conversation, MissPhotographerB.

That SummerThat Summer by Sarah Dessen. Because I've thought for a long time that I'd enjoy Dessen's books.

At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald. Because everybody said so.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin. Thanks to our friend Lazarus, I've finally read this important fantasy work.

Are you the magazine type? Which ones do you read? Have you read any good books lately?

6 comments:

  1. I have never admitted it to a single soul, but I'm a magazine junkie. I don't subscribe to many unless they're sent to us for free (like Good Housekeeping and Better Homes & Gardens), but if I'm at somebody else's house and they have a stack, I get lost in the glossy full page color photos with soundbite captions.

    I don't even look at the covers of celebrity or fashion magazines, much less read them, but photography, home & decorating, food/recipes, baby/parenting, farm/garden, and occasionally travel or science... I love 'em.

    I subscribe to the Faith & Family magazine (a daughter publication of the National Catholic Register), but it has been kinda lame, latley, so I won't renew that subscription.

    Books? Um... I haven't really read any lately. Maybe I will pick up a good autobiography at the library this week.

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  2. Like City Wife, I love magazines but rarely subscribe. I read them in bookstores whenever I can. Unlike her, I love fashion magazines, I don't know why. I used to subscribe to Ceramics Monthly, Mother Earth News, and the New Oxford Review, but I dropped all of them because they started getting repetitive. Right now I've been enjoying baby/pregnancy magazines, fitness magazines, and food magazines, but none of them stand out enough to recommend or subscribe to - isn't that Sad!

    As for books, I read an amazing one recently: Acedia and Me by Kathleen Norris, and re-read A Moveable Feast by Hemingway, which is a fantastic "snowed in with good food" book, because he spends so much of the book telling you about his amazing parisian cafes, writing in paris, and really good food. I love it.

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  3. Jenna, thanks for posting my request for help in finding this childhood book.

    In regard to magazines, I subscribe to many, mostly for the tax deduction I can take for professional ministry expense. So, I've got First Things & Touchstone & Modern Reformation & Logia & Gottesdienst as the primary ones I subscribe to. Sometimes I even read them... :)

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  4. It's fun reading about the magazines you all enjoy. It reminds me that back in my teen years, I used to faithfully read the Reader's Digest straight through.

    George, you're welcome. Sorry it hasn't turned up anything. I did some Googling, but haven't been able to come up with anything that looked like what you described. I'm sure it's out there somewhere...

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  5. Looking forward to your thoughts on Percy Jackson. I've read the first three in the series but got stuck mentally & haven't managed to pull myself up to facing the last two. I still can't see how some people look at Percy Jackson as better than Harry Potter. :)

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  6. Coming tomorrow, George. I liked it, but not THAT much. Better than Harry, seriously? Yipes.

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