tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364107052011-12-08T08:44:48.646ZGus: Are you crazy? Shawn: I wouldn't say crazy. Maybe an eccentric who looks good in jeans.bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.comBlogger1591100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-58244569372454135782011-11-11T14:07:00.003Z2011-11-11T14:16:05.291Z

Although I waited anxiously to read Sy Montgomery’s book “Birdology: Adventures With Hip Hop Parrots, Cantankerous Cassowaries, Crabby Crows, Peripatetic Pigeons, Hens, Hawks and Hummingbirds” I have to admit I wasn’t that impressed when I first finished it. But months passed and I went back to it – first to re-read the chapter on hummingbird rehabilitation, then the one on chickens then the one

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-77366432890722211602011-11-11T13:22:00.004Z2011-11-11T13:31:22.665Z

I had been meaning to read “Kraken: The Curious, Exciting and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid” ever since I first saw it. But it after reading Sy Montgomery’s brilliant article on octupuses for Orion magazine and seeing Wendy Williams book listed as a suggested reading I had to order it right away.And it is an amazing book. Packed with astounding information on these amazing cephalopods (and

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-59570861990185151102011-11-08T12:39:00.002Z2011-11-08T12:40:27.398Z

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-59286015603849573122011-10-20T14:24:00.012+01:002011-10-21T16:53:51.248+01:00

I guess "Feel Better Little Buddy: Animals with casts" is primarily aimed at children who have broken a leg or arm and need reassurance that a cast does not make you a monster, or something. But most people who get the book are probably pet-cute-junkies such as myself.Just what is this obsession with charming animals sporting hats, or casts and quizzical looks? A symptom of end-of-days malaise?

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-29411369841322496992011-10-20T13:56:00.004+01:002011-10-20T13:58:44.971+01:00

What’s it like being an old woman? Well, in the benefit of full disclosure the answer to that question is not the primary reason why I got “Somewhere Towards the End”. I was actually won over by the first paragraph where Diana Athill professes a love of black pugs but sadly realizes that at 89 years old it wouldn’t be fair to get a new puppy. I decided to read the book on the strength of that

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-66167073832605101522011-10-18T13:16:00.005+01:002011-10-18T13:23:49.986+01:00

Another beautiful book of illustrations by Sara Midda.

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-78593418345437340692011-10-17T17:22:00.009+01:002011-10-17T23:36:10.137+01:00

A quaint little book, “Bird-keeping and Birdcages: A History” was published in 1972, and is probably more interesting for its black and white illustrations and photos than for its historical research. Excluding the first chapter which deals with “The Ancient World” and travels from biblical times to the medieval age in about five pages and the second “Renaissance Exoticism and After” which has

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-26953211779350245042011-10-13T15:45:00.004+01:002011-10-13T16:04:37.554+01:00

I own a small, modern imitation of an antique clock which in I bought in my early teens because I loved the illustration it features: a rider in a red jacket, jumping a fence and three running hounds in the foreground all set in a bucolic landscape. Later, when I realized there was such a thing as fox-hunting and that this was unmistakably a representation of it (despite there being no fox in the

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-76647381918701892562011-10-13T12:22:00.012+01:002011-10-13T15:57:09.587+01:00

January His Dark Materials– Philip PullmanOnce Upon a Time in the North - Philip PullmanInto the beautiful North – Luis Alberto UrreaThe Lacuna – Barbara KingsolverThe Hearts of Horses – Molly GlossFebruaryHalf-Broke Horses – Jeannette WallsUn Lieu Uncertain – Fred VargasThe Cow in the Parking Lot: A Zen Approach to Overcoming Anger - Leonard Scheff and Susan EdmistonMarchYoga School Drop-Out –

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-75735892335111827262010-11-23T13:21:00.004Z2011-11-11T13:31:46.328Z

The Story of Sushi: An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and RiceTell you what: I don’t know when I’ll be eating sushi again. No, I didn’t learn anything disgusting about it while reading Trevor Corson’s “The Story of Sushi” – except maybe the correct way to prepare an octopus, which seemed unnecessarily cruel. It’s more like I learned everything I wanted to know about sushi (and then some) and now feel

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-31510739719455491452010-11-23T10:57:00.005Z2010-11-23T19:37:58.707Z

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese FoodFor non-American readers the revelations in “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles” will probably come as less of a shock, since, for most Europeans (the uber-sophisticaded world travellers excluded) the first image of Chinese food (and more recently sushi) probably came from watching a random American TV show or movie.As I followed

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-71411003297180748102010-09-21T17:20:00.008+01:002011-11-11T13:32:02.372Z

“Leviathan” is a whale of a book. Ah. Obvious I know, but it is four hundred something pages long. Impossible not to think Philip Hoare was going for some sort of “whose is longest” contest with the mythical whale book “Moby-Dick”. Unfortunately, length does not equal reading pleasure and Leviathan proved to be a somewhat frustrating experience.Whales might be the closest thing to aliens living

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-70064749450833026642010-09-13T14:59:00.004+01:002010-11-23T13:25:10.536Z

Why do we think of hedgehogs as “cute”? I mean, they are not soft or cuddly and they rather tend to smell (since I have never met one face to face, I have to take the author’s word for it – and I do). But somehow they just evoke the warmth and comfort of a toasty home while it’s cold outside. Maybe it’s the hibernation thing.In my case I think I can trace it to a 1980s children’s book about a

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-12089606675439332472010-09-13T13:35:00.006+01:002010-11-23T13:25:35.002Z

Timothy; or; Notes of an Abject Reptile: a novel – Verlyn KlinkenborgLonesome George: The Life and Times of a Conservation Icon – Henry NicholsTimothy the Tortoise: The Remarkable Story of the Nation’s Oldest PetIt all started with Klinkenborg’s book: I must have bought it some two years back and started reading it some five times. Each time I gave up in the very first pages. Then one day I

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-10540939212440834192010-09-13T13:26:00.003+01:002010-11-23T13:26:00.049Z

Hounding the Pavement (A Dog Walker Mystery) – Judi McCoyThe Missing Ink (A Tattoo Shop Mystery) – Karen E. OlsonOne Bad Apple (An Orchard Mystery) – Sheila ConnollyThe cozy mystery genre is getting a little crowded. I could probably spend the next three months reading nothing but the first numbers of different series. I suppose the measure of success might be whether you go for the second in the

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-72659157281163533532010-07-28T13:01:00.004+01:002010-11-23T13:26:20.260Z

Gardening tips, recipes and lore, beautifully illustrated.

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-58648772445021016702010-07-28T12:56:00.005+01:002010-07-28T13:01:10.356+01:00

"True Nature: an illustrated journal of four seasons in solitude"Filled with the author's thoughts and drawings taken down in different occasions while spending time alone in a secluded cabin. A gem.

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-24287283201115968042010-07-28T12:44:00.006+01:002010-07-28T12:49:15.289+01:00

"The Earth Moved: on the remarkable achievements of earthworms"Leave it to Amy Stewart to write a book about earthworms that is actually a page turner. Taking her cue from a famous worm-lover, Evolution dad, Darwin, Stewart explores the natural history of worms: what are they exactly, how do they work, what do they do and how they do it.Interviews with worm scientists (oligochaetologists)

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-42391263994509845482010-07-28T12:39:00.004+01:002010-07-28T12:49:34.635+01:00

"Robbing the Bees: A biography of honey, the sweet liquid gold that seduced the world"“Robbing the Bees” divides its pages between a modern day bee-keeping operation in Florida and a world history of bee-keeping.In apiculturalist Smiley, Holley Bishop seems to have found the perfect guide into the world of commercial bee-keeping. A competent businessman who is also deeply entranced with his

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-43164231338948301602010-07-28T12:35:00.003+01:002010-07-28T12:44:15.225+01:00

"The Nature of Horses: their evolution, intelligence & behaviour"Just like his books on cats and dogs, Budiansky’s “The Nature of Horses” follows the same path: it explores their evolution, intelligence and behaviour (hey, just like it says in the sub-title!).As with his previous books I was more interested in the natural history and the history of domestication, and somewhat bored by the

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-70030289926394532082010-07-12T13:12:00.003+01:002010-07-28T12:49:59.346+01:00

Just what is up with the vanishing honeybees?The mysterious ailment with the X-files worthy name of “Colony Collapse Disorder” has scientists stumped since the spring of 2007 when American bee-keepers opened their hives to find a whole lot of nothing. Pretty soon European bees were disappearing too.“A World Without Bees” is a fascinating, if unsettling book, which for some reason, I really didn’t

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-34186632839307300812010-07-12T13:04:00.003+01:002010-07-28T12:50:15.979+01:00

Another recommendation from DogEar Diary", I enjoyed reading about Masson’s adventures with his five cats.Trained in psychiatry and a militant vegan Jeffrey Masson always has his own way of telling animal tales. While “The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats” may not shed much light on the behavior of cats, except to reinforce, once again, how deeply alien they are to us humans and simultaneously how

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-5400598488430848812010-07-12T12:59:00.003+01:002010-07-28T12:50:31.164+01:00

I didn’t enjoy Stephen Budiansky’s book on dogs as much as I did his cat one. Maybe, as Laura Miller refers in a scathing dog and cat book review, “while most human-dog bonds are fairly similar, there seems to be so much variety in cat owners' relationships to their pets -- every cat is a custom job”. But dog books somehow can never avoid the subject of “leadership” which is a concept that in

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-7726947209593799842010-07-02T16:41:00.002+01:002010-07-28T12:50:49.088+01:00

Corpse PoseDial Om for MurderMurder on the Eightfold PathI enjoy dipping into the “cozy” genre every once in a while. Sure, you have to be in the right mood, but I’ve enjoyed Maggie Sefton’s “Knitting Mysteries” and some of Joanne Fluke’s “Hannah Swensen Mysteries” as well as a few others.However, Dianna Killian’s series “Mantra for Murder” is just on a whole different level. Intelligent, very

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-55299890684073122622010-06-30T13:16:00.005+01:002010-06-30T13:27:05.499+01:00

I started this book not expecting to learn anything new. After all, as far as the natural history of cats is concerned I’ve read my fair share: “The Tribe of Tiger” by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, “The Cat Who Came in From the Cold” by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson as well as various other non-fictions, memoirs etc. But I couldn’t very well resist the cover or the fact that it was cheap, even if I wasn

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-22289187592638040972010-06-23T13:20:00.005+01:002010-06-23T18:09:22.363+01:00

“A fungus scholar once told me that rain causes fungus spore-pouches to burst and release kazillions of spores into the air, and that the smell of baby fungi is mistaken for the smell of clean air.”This was my favorite fact of Hannah Holmes “Suburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn” although it is filled with interesting stuff. How interesting is a suburban backyard? Well, not only is it chock-full of

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-8560280245877474912010-06-23T13:19:00.001+01:002010-06-23T13:33:33.354+01:00

One of the funniest books I’ve ever read. Robert Rodi’s “Dogged Pursuit: My Year of Competing Dusty, the World’s Least Likely Agility Dog” is a must for any dog lover, or anyone looking for a hilarious read.It gives a fascinating insider’s view of the sport of canine agility, but the real gem is Rodi’s self-deprecating, urbanite tone. Somewhere between feeling a little superior and more

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-8786925524455094052010-06-11T13:02:00.006+01:002010-06-11T13:15:46.896+01:00

Fortunately “How to Wash a Cat” is not that complicated. However, this first title in a new “antique-store” themed series of so-called “cozy” mysteries relies on a bit of time-travelling.Turns out that other than the Golden Gate Bridge and trolleys, San Francisco shares something else with Lisbon: earth has surely and steadily conquered the waters. So a part of the contemporary city used to be

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-68572843329878525102010-06-11T12:57:00.003+01:002010-06-11T13:17:06.381+01:00

As Megan McMorris noted on the introduction to “Cat Women”, girls tend to be apologetic about cat ownership these days. Decades of “cat lady” syndrome has given kitties a bad name, and if you happen to have more than two, well…be afraid, be very afraid…But just as knitting is now cool (it is, right?) so can cats make a fearless comeback. If they become the symbol of independent ladies everywhere

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-78794354058591825782010-06-02T16:31:00.004+01:002010-06-11T13:18:27.878+01:00

“A Country Year” is a small book, but I took my time reading it. It’s a memoir, but also something of a manifesto, about being a woman, going back to the land, paying attention to things most of us deem too small to pay attention to.Like bees. In her place in the Ozarks Hubbell carved a meager wage out of honeybees – fascinating and sensitive creatures that they are, they sure make a human sweat

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-63301628917071246372010-05-05T12:40:00.005+01:002010-06-11T13:19:26.017+01:00

“The Lizard King” is just one of those books. It’s such a thrill to read, such a joy-ride but, at the same time, so hard to describe, it leaves you gushing like a barely coherent idiot. I actually said to my husband “you have to read this”. I do that maybe twice a year. Almost always it’s a fiction or crime book.Well, “difficult to describe” is not exactly the truth, the subtitle, after all,

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-35627670968587461592010-05-04T14:24:00.005+01:002010-06-11T13:20:05.279+01:00

By Page DickeyLovely photography books that explore the place of cats and dogs in our gardens. Well, not "our" gardens - these are rather on the grand side...There is a little text with each entry that introduces gardeners, pets and describes the landscape. I couldn't help noticing that the majority of cats arrived as strays or were adopted as kittens while most dog were bought purebreds...how

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-59720405030691026542010-04-23T15:09:00.003+01:002010-04-27T15:29:15.063+01:00

These past couple of days I re-read “From the Ground-Up: The Story of a First Garden” and just had to tell the world how great it is, since I was too lazy to do it the first time around.It’s a wonderful story and one that I think appeals to a new generation of gardeners who dream of planting a wild, rambling back yard and having a yummy salad at the end; people who think vegetables and herbs are

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-77442556682548002432010-04-23T13:28:00.007+01:002010-11-23T13:28:54.780Z

I just didn’t hit it off with this book. While I was reading “Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China”, especially as I reached the middle of the book, I kept asking myself why.It certainly revolves around themes close to my heart: food and travel; It was on my wishlist for months; I was so excited when it arrived in the mail – and that’s about the most excitement this book caused.

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-72133247009759496722010-04-19T13:03:00.003+01:002010-04-27T15:30:44.714+01:00

“Shrinking the Cat: Genetic Engineering Before We Knew About Genes” is a great little book that attempts to address cultural hysteria about genetic manipulation by means of a very interesting history lesson.Taking four specific examples of plant and animal species (or strains or breeds) that have been created by humans – meaning selectively bred to achieve certain desirable qualities such as

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-44016879916267693342010-04-07T14:22:00.002+01:002010-04-07T14:29:25.338+01:00

"The Hidden Lives of Dogs""The Social Lives of Dogs: The Grace of Canine Company""The Tribe of Tiger: Cats and their Culture"Eight years separate Elizabeth Marshall Thomas’ “The Hidden Lives of Dogs” and “The Social Lives of Dogs”. As far as dog-keeping in the western world is concerned, it’s been almost a life-time.But don’t take my word for it. Scroll down some of the violent costumer reviews

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-75888022866136019742010-03-31T12:38:00.003+01:002010-03-31T12:53:03.904+01:00

Odd as it may seem, I found much common ground between “Self-Portrait with Turtles” and “Corvus: A Life With Birds”. They are, of course, both memoirs and as such their narrative spans several decades. They both revolve around animals, even if crows and turtles share little common ground in our minds.But what connected them in my mind was, first that both Esther Woolfson and David M. Carroll love

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-85684840175260483482010-03-30T13:06:00.003+01:002010-03-30T13:21:54.663+01:00

“The Lost History of the Canine Race: Our 15,000-Year Love Affair with Dogs” is a must-read for every dog lover. But anyone interested in knowing more about our complex historical relation with the creature that, for good and bad, has been our closest companion will find a lot of information in this book.This large volume is put together like the reference book it deserves to be. It is filled

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-49244960440248509062010-03-19T13:54:00.007Z2010-03-19T14:20:41.488Z

“Flyaway: How a Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings” makes for compulsive reading. It’s one of those books where you are torn – you can’t stop reading yet each page brings you closer to the end, something you would rather not see coming.Suzie Gilbert is one of the most likeable memoir voices I’ve ever encountered: she’ll be the first to point out her flaws, but is never

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-40533362297904797882010-03-18T18:10:00.002Z2010-03-19T13:58:46.453Z

Ann Moyal’s “Platypus: The Extraordinary Story of How A Curious Creature Baffled the World” is a book in search of a protagonist. Why that is, is unclear for certainly this oddest of beasts has an inbred star quality, or so it would seem.Yet the book lacks a center, a thread, instead following the complicated historical flow of platypus scientific discussion – a complicated ping-pong of (mis)

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-28346894903701836392010-03-18T15:18:00.008Z2010-03-19T13:59:00.560Z

Ruth Harkness and Su-LinBeing cute blows. Pandas know this. They might be predators who weigh up to 150kg and can cause some serious pain when annoyed (“A man has been attacked by a panda at a park in southern China, after he climbed into its enclosure hoping to cuddle the creature.” – “Teenager Hospitalized After Panda Attack at Chinese Zoo” – “Giant panda in China bites third victim”) but

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-62493346770528382622010-03-18T15:15:00.007Z2010-03-19T13:59:14.470Z

“The Daily Coyote” is über-famous so no need to dwell on the background too much: city, new agey, arty, girl falls in love with Wyoming wilds, gets orphaned coyote from local coyote control officer slash love interest and decides to raise the pup.First off, let me start by saying I think the book is worth it for the photos alone, which are, after all, how the blog phenomena got started. Second,

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-2651800573728670772010-03-18T15:12:00.011Z2010-03-19T12:29:35.033Z

Neither Ella Maillart’s “Ti-Puss” nor Sandor Marai’s “Un Chien de Charactère” are currently in print in English. This, I think, is more than a coincidence – the English-speaking world being as ravenous for pet tales as it is nowadays.Ah, you ask: But are these uplifting tales, stories of overcoming adversity, disabilities, abandonment and bad behavior? Well, not really and that might have

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-46918074195832104102009-09-28T16:47:00.007+01:002010-03-18T16:07:48.808Z

It would appear good horse literature is harder to find than good dog (and cat) literature.Case in point – “Riding Lessons” by media darling Sara Gruen (she of “Water for Elephants” fame).Annemarie Zimmer is an Olympic bound equestrienne who suffers a near fatal riding accident. Fade to black. We next meet her on the day she is fired, her husband leaves her for the secretary, her mother announces

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-73132029425970842352009-09-18T17:01:00.003+01:002010-03-18T16:00:21.413Z

Jon Katz’s “Izzy and Lenore” was not exactly the fun, doggy lit romp I was anticipating. I got more than I bargained for with this one: it’s not just tear-inducing, it’s enervating.It touches a lot of spots most of us (and I’m definitely in the group) would rather leave in the dark until we’re absolutely forced to confront them: depression, death, loneliness, solidarity and the roles our dogs

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-43443071349450633262009-09-18T16:26:00.009+01:002010-03-18T16:08:21.877Z

After I finished “Wolf Totem” I went online in search of reviews. To my surprise critics everywhere seemed (at the very least) hesitant about this great book: most were uncomfortable at the harsh criticism of Chinese mentality (because they're on “our” side now and we mustn’t bother them), many resented the fact that characters talk at length about their world-views (“didactic” is now a four

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-68179159233825026982009-08-17T13:19:00.005+01:002010-03-18T16:12:35.850Z

Search for the Golden Moon Bear: Science and Adventure in Search of a New Species - Sy MontgomeryMonster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind - David QuammenSpell of the Tiger: Man-Eaters of the Sundarbans - Sy Montgomery

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-61946551170954967682009-08-17T13:13:00.005+01:002010-03-18T15:42:50.081Z

A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage and the Quest for the Colour of Desire - Amy Butler GreenfieldRed Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale - Catherine OrensteinThe Red Canary: The Story of the First Genetically Engineered Animal - Tim Birkhead

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-91018088513319562282009-06-29T17:44:00.005+01:002010-03-18T17:56:16.543Z

Fred Vargas:This Night's Fowl WorkCoule la SeineL'homme a l'enversCeux qui vont Morir te SaluentDorothy L. Sayers:Strong PoisonBusman's HoneymoonJefferson Bass:Carved in BoneFlesh and BoneDr Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson:Beyond the Body FarmSanto Piazzese:La Doppia Vita di M. Laurent

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-40871507885979121562009-06-23T17:06:00.006+01:002010-03-18T16:01:31.359Z

...but I'm not in a reviewing mood - it's too hotGolden Boy - A Hong Kong ChildhoodMartin BoothI honestly did not want this book to endFrom The Ground Up - The story of a first gardenAmy StewartI think I'll re-read pieces of this one - and not necessarily wait until I have a garden of my very own

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-26380932669718700782009-06-23T16:56:00.005+01:002010-03-18T16:01:05.648Z

documentation and bibliography are iffythe better known episodes deserve books of their own, the others are just boring and how did the authors manage just 5 pages on the Krakatoa eruption when Simon Winchester wrote a whole book on it.I liked the Naked Baroness (Elisa von Wagner) story, but she must be the least explored character on the whole cyberspace - she doesn't even have a Wikipedia

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-7563490909569866302009-06-08T11:30:00.009+01:002010-03-18T16:14:58.723Z

Reading memoirs and chronicles that center around food is something I love, but haven't really done lately. Last books I read on the subject were "Climbing the Mango Tree" by Madhur Jaffrey and Elizabeth David's "My Life in France". I much preferred the first - I like my books, if not my food, on the exotic side.Then I read the second part of Ruth Reichl's autobiography: "Comfort me with apples"

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-27509154553532629952009-06-03T13:57:00.004+01:002010-03-18T15:43:21.078Z

Kiwi's Egg - Charles Darwin & Natural SelectionI liked the image of Darwin pregnant with his evolution theory just as a female kiwi is enlarged with her egg (the only bird whose egg comprises 25% of her body weight). Yup, he was just about to burst. But it was a long pregnancy and in the end, labor had to be induced – by the young fella Alfred Russel Wallace.Wallace basically scared Darwin’s big

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-23911953263608963572009-06-03T13:51:00.005+01:002010-03-18T15:46:50.501Z

All Things Reconsidered - my birding adventuresI had some trouble getting into this book. I guess one reason is, while I love birds very much, I’m not (yet, maybe) a bird-watcher, so many bird names in the book, especially the first pieces didn’t really mean much to me.I also didn’t know much about Roger Tory Peterson except for a couple of articles I read on New York Review of Books (one, a

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-21896342842789656162009-06-03T13:42:00.002+01:002010-03-18T15:47:24.050Z

This is a tiny, off-beat book by famous travel-writer Jan Morris. It’s the first book of hers I’ve read. I loved all 90 pages including the illustrated ones. It tells of the animals of Venice which might be real birds, cats and dogs, or statues of winged lions and horses.She knows Venice so well she travels deftly between everyday life, history, art pieces and architectural markers. It’s a joy to

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-65111698382408838942009-06-03T13:38:00.006+01:002010-05-12T23:18:03.893+01:00

Fowl Weather - how thirty-nine animals and one sock monkey took over my lifeThe title does not lie. This one’s a bit of downer. In fact, unless you read the author’s first book “Enslaved by Ducks” and liked it, I’d say skip this one. If you have no prior reading relationship with Bob Tarte and his mad menagerie there is no reason you’d want to endure hearing about the worst years of his

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-52446671810196432332009-05-26T15:37:00.005+01:002010-03-18T15:51:05.429Z

Orchids seem to bring out the wackiness within. Who knew? Not me. I thought they were pretty plants who usually die despite my best efforts, or whose flowers smell like carrion like a specimen I was once presented with (thanks.).Turns out there’s a whole orchid “sub-culture” out there – where nurseries are patrolled by armed security and people get into fist-fights over bulbs. (Two things that

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-29170415975641768002009-05-21T15:14:00.005+01:002010-03-18T15:49:35.258Z

Journey of the Pink Dolphins - Sy MontgomeryA Parrot without a Name - Don StapAt one point in Sy Montgomery’s expedition in the Amazon it seems as if every other hut on the river is inhabited by a grad student. Scary. Some tag turtles, some count fish, some get bored out of their mind and others get sick (has a ring to it, doesn’t it?).Montgomery’s journey to find the Amazonian pink dolphins was

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-81502297526265411242009-05-13T14:56:00.007+01:002010-03-18T15:50:32.457Z

Gilding the Lily - Inside the Cut Flower Industry - Amy StewartOscar Wilde and the Candelight Murders - Gyles BrandrethI'm done with faux-epoch mysteries. After "Crocodile on the Sandbank" and "An Expert in Murder" and now "Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight murders" it's plain to see this genre is not my cup of tea. Gyles Brandreth's book also has some of the most outrageously exaggerated blurbs

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-57904572086495440832009-05-07T18:39:00.005+01:002010-03-18T17:55:23.238Z

“Lost Cosmonaut”, Kalder’s first book, was already hovering close to genius with its whole “anti-tourism” schtick (travelling to “nowhere”, or more precisely, those unknown bits in the middle of Russia), but “Strange Telescopes” just raised the anti-travel-writing gambit further: this time he visits universes that only exist in his interviewees heads’.But first, some infidel bashing: back in 2006

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-62216844777083685382009-04-29T17:45:00.005+01:002010-03-18T16:26:36.516Z

Have I been looking for a mystery series with loads of published books?Have I pined for the comfort of a series with a strong sense of place?Have I yearned another detective in my life? Let’s-start-as-polite-acquaintances-and-see-where-it-leads-us-type-thing?Has this seemingly endless quest found a happy conclusion in Comissario Guido Brunetti’s first mystery “Death at La Fenice”? I shall respond

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-18855472566739726112009-04-27T12:56:00.003+01:002010-03-18T15:52:57.208Z

So, I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but the “I’m reading” header has stayed the same for the past two or three months. The reason is that I’m stuck way before the middle into “The Perfect Red”. The reason, I think, is that Amy Butler Greenfield is no Michel Pastoreau and “Perfect Red” is no “Black: History of a Color. But I hate leaving books in the middle so I’ll try and get on with it.Another

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-11137866213387472262009-04-27T12:48:00.006+01:002010-03-18T16:02:22.287Z

Sy Montgomery - "The Good Good Pig"Pigs are adorable. They just are. They are as smart as dogs (some smarter) and the way we treat them is nothing short of immoral. However, certain traits such as appetite and girth will impede most of us from keeping one at home.Fortunately Sy Montgomery had at her disposal a barn, a little bit of land and a heart sad enough after the ordeal of watching her

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-18346929533429656512009-04-27T12:19:00.002+01:002010-03-18T15:54:46.458Z

I really, really wanted to like this book. On paper it had everything to please me: late 19th century Cairo, an intrepid spinster, Egyptology and 17 other books on the series to go on to. But Elizabeth Peters failed me. Oh how she disappointed me with a “Pride and Prejudice gone Colonial” plot and a very weak and foreseeable mystery. Now I don’t know what to do because 1) when this book

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-13002302379496407942009-04-21T17:29:00.009+01:002010-03-18T17:57:03.019Z

Andrea CamilleriLa vampa d'agosto (10 in the series)Le alli della sfinge (11)Montalbano - may I call you papà?Of Comissario Montalbano, what can I say? This is comfort reading at its very best. It's murder mystery at its best and it stacks up my Italian vocab with loads of Sicilian expressions I hope I will someday have cause to use.That chicks dig Montalbano is a given. The why is harder to

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-51065216831269583792009-04-21T16:58:00.007+01:002010-03-18T16:02:47.219Z

Of Parrots and People - The Sometimes Funny, Always Fascinating, and Often Catastrophic Collision of Two Intelligent SpeciesMira TwetiThis is a wonderful book for anyone who is interested in parrots – their future as wild animals and pets.Mira Tweti is a journalist and her straight-to-the-point style is very readable. “Of Parrots and People” is filled with testimonials from all sorts of people:

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-65981406107363424372009-04-07T15:00:00.003+01:002010-03-18T15:58:16.239Z

The Boilerplate Rhino: Nature in the eye of the beholder - David QuammenFlight Maps: Adventures with Nature in modern America – Jennifer PriceI loved “The Song of the Dodo”. It’s one of my all-time favorite books. But the short article form doesn’t really give David Quammen the space to spread his wings. An author that jumps as deftly as he does through time, space and scientific and natural

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-37181803403150678462009-04-07T13:25:00.004+01:002010-03-18T15:59:02.453Z

Elephant Slaves and Pampered Parrots – Exotic Animals in Eighteenth-Century Paris - Louise E. RobbinsNew Worlds, New Animals – From Menagerie to Zoological Park in Nineteenth Century - Edited by J. R. Hoage and William A. Deiss“Elephant Slaves and Pampered Parrots” and “New Worlds, New Animals” are both published by Johns Hopkins University Press but are very different: the first, by author

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-55898041300284961642009-04-07T12:19:00.005+01:002010-03-18T16:03:24.376Z

“The Pope’s Elephant: an elephant's journey from deep in India to the heart of Rome” is a book I felt I had to read. After dwelling on the history of the giraffe brought to Napoleon’s court and the rhinoceros that toured Europe in the XVIII century, Silvio Bedini’s book felt almost mandatory. Not only is it about a previous historic episode featuring the travels of an elephant, it involves

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-48324152863554415302009-03-23T12:07:00.004Z2010-03-18T16:04:37.683Z

"Clara's Grand Tour - travels with a rhinoceros in eighteenth century Europe" - Glynys Ridley"Zamba - the true story of the greatest lion that ever lived" - Ralph Helfer"The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw - one woman's fight to save the world's most beautiful bird" - Bruce Barcott“Clara’s Grand Tour” suffers from the plight of the history writer: lack of personal documentation.It’s all very

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-80164749841632337212009-03-23T12:06:00.005Z2010-03-18T16:05:19.394Z

"Casanova's Parrot - and other tales of the famous and their pets" - Mark Bryant"Reigning Cats and Dogs - a history of pets at Court since the Renaissance" - Katharine MacDonoghOkay, let me just start by saying I’m glad I got “Casanova’s Parrot” real cheap because this book is not worth much unless you’re a complete psycho about animal reference books. It’s sort of an encyclopedia (with VERY

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-25107967717356148032009-03-18T11:56:00.003Z2010-03-18T17:57:56.989Z

For some reason Annemarie Schwarzenbach’s books are not available in English. Or maybe it’s not that strange. According to Dominique Miermont’s preface to “La Mort en Perse” it was only ten years ago that her work was rediscovered.Born in Switzerland, 1908 Annemarie’s life has the makings of a Hollywood production: an overbearing mother, a closet lesbian who stifled her daughter’s homosexual

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-21265515097968725852009-03-03T13:39:00.014Z2010-03-18T17:57:24.012Z

“Zoo animals have frequently found themselves at the center of human conflicts. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the inhabitants of Paris’s Jardin Zoologique were ordered slaughtered and handed over to butcher’s shops. World War II saw Rosa the hippopotamus bombed to death in her pool at Berlin, along with seven Indian elephants. Berlin’s aquarium was hit dead-center. Gasping fish mingled

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-41870028947504804252009-03-03T13:38:00.003Z2010-03-18T16:10:28.013Z

Hamburger - Andrew F. SmithPancake - Ken AlbalaListen very carefully, even though I’ll probably say it again when I review the upcoming “Hot Dog” and “Pie”: you cannot call yourself a foodie if you are not reading the Edible Series.Look, I’m not saying I’ll get them all – obsessive collecting is not my thing and I can’t imagine myself reading a book titled “Caviar” (probably all the more reason

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-16102139750325769562009-03-03T13:33:00.005Z2010-03-18T16:10:54.568Z

Old-fashioned and dowdy are probably the words most associated with porcelain these days. But once it was nothing less than white gold, an art form so precious and admired, so exotic to Europeans that when the first pieces started making their appearance in Europe, Chinese porcelain collecting soon became the hobby of kings everywhere.For a king to be able to produce his own porcelain, to crack

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-69672912138780626102009-02-25T16:17:00.005Z2010-03-18T16:12:21.634Z

“The Medici Giraffe” is a remarkable book that spans from about 250 years before Christ up until the last century. From ancient Egypt to the Aztec court of Montezuma, from the court of Rudolph II, Holy Roman Emperor to the opulent Florence of Lorenzo de Medici and from the menagerie of Josephine Bonaparte to the vast hills of Hearst Castle in California the author never falters.Marina

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-81728836598099575342009-02-19T15:34:00.005Z2010-03-18T16:12:02.166Z

I was going to review "Zarafa – the true story of a giraffe’s journey from the plains of Africa to the heart of post-Napoleonic France” along with “The Medici Giraffe” which I just started. But having started it yesterday and finished it today I came to believe this little book deserves a review of its very own.“Zarafa” is elegant in its sparseness (only 200 pages with a nice, big, font), there

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-72071760617302017542009-02-19T12:54:00.006Z2010-03-18T16:14:43.372Z

"Getting Wet- Adventures in the Japanese Bath" - Eric Talmadge"Pizza - A Global History" - Carol HelstolskyNational identity is a strange, elusive subject, best left to boring, long incomprehensible philosophical treaties (the exception being Norbert Elias “The Germans” which is still a heck of a long book). National obsessions however, are more my speed. Anecdotes abound, history is breezy,

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-45820111634938831212009-02-18T13:14:00.008Z2010-03-18T16:21:22.375Z

It was in 1848 that sisters Maggie and Kate Fox, then fourteen and eleven years old respectively, were first in the presence of mysterious sounds, “rappings”, as they came to be known. Soon they would be catapulted into the sort of hysterical teenage celebrity we might easily equate with our own times and would both help to establish the new belief in Spiritualism. Were they teen con-artists or

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-4469314416704300842009-02-11T13:59:00.005Z2010-03-18T16:22:05.853Z

The Parrot Who Owns Me – Joanna BurgerThe Philosopher and the Wolf – Mark RowlandsI got slightly off track with these too, but I could hardly help myself. When “The Parrot Who Owns Me” arrived I just had to start immediately, and then it seemed natural to read “The Philosopher and the Wolf” right after.Actually, the two books have a lot more in common than I could have guessed: both tell of

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-11349832326814576702009-02-06T16:00:00.003Z2010-03-18T16:22:34.363Z

A wonderful, intimate, biography of Mozart and the women who surrounded him.Although it might be argued that Wolfgang Mozart’s most important formative and even adult relationship was with his tyrannical father (even while trying to escape his control), Jane Glover has found a very interesting, almost cozy, angle in order to explore the great musician’s life.The book is divided in four parts: in

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-54103782251490106472009-02-01T11:43:00.004Z2010-03-18T16:22:58.416Z

“Black” is a big book, with shiny high-quality paper and filled with beautiful reproductions of works of art. It screams coffee table book but it’s actually a work of erudition that spans the cultural meanings of this mesmerizing color from antiquity to modern times. It’s not a book you’ll want to read in bed or even in the couch (this puppy is heavy), but it will more than compensate you for the

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-24186657260985349362009-01-31T19:28:00.003Z2010-03-18T16:24:15.125Z

A page turner it is not. This history book business is really cramping my style, because books like “Empire Adrift – the Portuguese court in Rio de Janeiro 1808-1821” make me read s-l-o-w-l-y. They make me ponder, and wonder, check stuff on the internet and think a lot – and that’s Not why I got into this book reading gig, man!Because – small parenthesis here – it is hard to find the motivation

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-82533469250431075172009-01-20T12:20:00.004Z2010-03-18T16:24:43.616Z

Liberty – The lives and times of six women in Revolutionary FranceLiberty kept me submerged for almost a week. It’s a slow starter, granted, but it almost had to be since there are so many characters and the French Revolution is such a complex event. The first chapters are short which sort of kills the mood – I was already into Germaine de Stael when pow! It changes to Pauline Léon and so

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-23631155003164481262009-01-12T16:29:00.006Z2010-03-18T16:24:59.880Z

Two men who stood for two very different worldviews met in 1747: one was the musician Johann Sebastian Bach the other the king of Prussia Frederick the Great.In his sixties, Bach illustrated the hard life of a professional musician in the XVIII century, shuffling between court appointments and working for town councils (teaching at the local school and composing), profoundly imbued in the

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-27892048022360465812009-01-08T14:58:00.006Z2010-03-18T17:32:01.742Z

To breed or not to breed, that is the question!Okay, so it’s not a question for many. The majority does breed in a wanton and carefree (in certain cases too carefree) manner. Their genes, instincts, family and friends tell them to go ahead, and ahead they go with the dubious task of ensuring that the world is full to the brim with human beings. Am I giving myself away?A small, small minority has

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-23274224088791302322009-01-07T11:00:00.004Z2010-03-18T16:25:53.023Z

The best of the bunch is "Bottomfeeder - How the fish on our plates is killing our planet". Each chapter has a theme that is both a location and a dish, such as "New York City - Pan-roasted Monkfish" and which Taras Grescoe takes as a starting point to instruct us on what's going on under the waves.Increasingly, not much, because the fishing fleets of the world (that seem to behave as modern time

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-39569246964222191182009-01-06T13:23:00.005Z2010-03-18T16:26:18.355Z

In the Richter Magnitude Scalearticle in Wikipedia only three earthquakes surpass the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755. Two took place in the XX century (Alaska 1964 and Chile 1960) and the third in the XXI (Indian Ocean 2004). In fact, the earliest earthquake recorded on this list is 1906, San Francisco.But the place Lisbon occupies in the list is calculated by approximation – the scale was

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-23314477548736501352008-12-29T18:52:00.005Z2010-03-18T16:20:55.499Z

I love Josephine Tey. I’ve read all her mysteries. How excited was I to find out about a new crime series featuring the writer as character? Very excited.Did “An Expert in Murder” live up to my expectations? Not even a tiny bit. I swear I was skimming the last 20 pages and didn’t even understand the big revelation in the end, that well. It didn’t seem very likely but what’s even sadder is that I

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-55148943397516735012008-12-23T15:19:00.003Z2010-03-18T16:27:09.608Z

Since “An Expert in Murder” is turning out to be a disappointment I stopped reading it and picked up Julian Barnes’ “Flaubert’s Parrot” (1984) and liked it so much I immediately started “The Pedant in the Kitchen” (2003) which I just finished.“Parrot” and “pedant” are two very different books – the first a novel that, until about half way through reads like pure non-fiction, and the second a

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-29572455746695642042008-12-18T13:26:00.003Z2010-03-18T16:28:17.007Z

I was going to write a great review for this book. It would start something like this:“1985 was the year the Russian painter Marc Chagall died. It is also the year we meet Anatoly Pavlovich Sukhanov, the year when his waking life as the successful editor of the Soviet publication Art of the World, married to the daughter of the most revered national painter and father of two, starts slowly to

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-50425013229165680302008-12-12T23:29:00.004Z2010-03-18T16:28:47.605Z

Unseen - Mari JungstedtThis is a huge spoiler, so don’t go any further if you are considering reading "Unseen".If you were 32 years-old and had, at age 12, spent some months brutalizing a shy school colleague going so far as to shove his underwear in his mouth while kicking him, would having your best friend (who participated in the attacks) brutally murdered and found with her underwear stuck in

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-22350049231267908492008-12-12T23:24:00.005Z2010-03-18T17:29:39.479Z

Last Rituals - Yrsa SigurdarsdottirIn “Last Rituals” a German student is found murdered in Reykjavik University. More than murdered actually, because someone has seen it fit to remove his eyes. Harold Guntlieb had a life-long fixation with witchcraft a subject dear to his grandfather who, in the confused times that ensued the II World War, was able to procure numerous artifacts and documents

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-66110513585885539172008-12-03T13:37:00.004Z2010-03-18T17:31:46.055Z

This book changed my opinion on adoption forever. I grew up thinking that adoption was the ultimate altruistic gesture, and could never make sense of people who spend absurd amounts of money trying to get pregnant (or get someone else to be pregnant for them), when there are so many children needing homes. However, I have to say I never (knowingly) met anyone who was adopted.Then, in the last

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-49042498417242612272008-12-03T13:09:00.009Z2010-03-18T17:30:12.307Z

I love the Mutts series!This book takes Mutts strips (some previously published)and adds photographs of adopted pets and short testimonials by their forever families. Lovely, snuggly and christmasy.

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-16154336051789420632008-12-01T17:50:00.004Z2010-03-18T17:30:35.346Z

I thought this was Inspector Sejer's first appearance, but I just checked Wikipedia and I was mistaken - it's actually the second.Anyway, it just reiterated the feeling that Fossum is one murder mystery writer I want to follow - I plan to read the whole of Sejer's series and at least a couple of her other mysteries.This one starts with a brilliant diversion maneuver…or is it? And then, the naked

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-55787170495633537412008-11-25T10:14:00.002Z2008-11-25T10:21:42.970Z

I had not remembered that the place was so popular. The entrance was teeming with parties of schoolchildren and coachloads of tourists, German, Dutch, French, even Polish and Russian. But then there are tourists everywhere these days, they even penetrate as far as Twickenham and Pinner. It is as if the whole world is on the move, eager to gaze upon anything that is not its habitual home: the

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-1005734690286238612008-11-24T14:03:00.006Z2010-03-18T17:30:58.416Z

Gabriel Josipovici - "Golberg: Variations"Rereading the “Tao of Pooh” by Benjamin Hoff, I found the Tao Te Ching quote “The wise are not erudite, The erudite are not wise” which this morning immediately came to mind when I started thinking of Gabriel Josipovici. Josipovici is a very erudite writer who may or may not also be wise – though it would hardly be fair that he were both. “Goldberg:

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-60865864770230563642008-11-19T17:07:00.006Z2010-03-18T17:32:20.769Z

"Princess of Burundi" - Kjell Eriksson“Do you know how it is to be poor? It’s living on the margins, but still wanting to enjoy things. We spent everything o Justus. We wanted him to have nice clothes. John bought a computer this fall. Sometimes we bought good food for a special occasion. You can’t feel poor all the time.”For better or worse, a lot of people read crime novels in order to escape.

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36410705.post-77080760218317696242008-11-17T11:58:00.006Z2010-03-18T16:27:41.644Z

Animal books are my guilty pleasure.Not in the sense of the online definition of “something one considers pleasurable despite it being mainly received negatively or looked down on by a majority of society” but more in the sense that I enjoy reading (most) of them so much that it triggers a sense of guilty (yes, catholic education).“All My Patients are Under the Bed – memoirs of a cat doctor” is a

bookworm (inês)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10101953582355997885noreply@blogger.com2