Books - April 28 - May 25

Audiobook - Chicks with Sticks - Elizabeth Lenhard, 2005 - really enjoyed this Traveling Pants styled story. Four disparate high school girls drawn together by a newly discovered love of knitting. Enjoyed the references to knitting and also the Chicago setting.

Audiobook - Doing It - Melvin Burgess, 2004 - a short British story carrying on with the high school theme. Three friends, boys totally obsessed with sex with very different experiences.

Audiobook - Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl - Barry Lyga, 2006 - yet another high school story, this one centering on a geek loner focused on creating a graphic novel. He is befriended by an emotionally unstable goth girl.

Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane, 2003 - both listened to and read this LLB assigned book. A well-written suspense mystery. Most of us enjoyed this change of pace book. Ending would have surprised me if I hadn't browsed ahead.

A Week from Sunday - Dorothy Garlock, 2007 - a rather formulaic, maukish romance. Young girl discovers at the funeral of her father that his lawyer has inherited control of the estate and wants to force her into marriage. Predictable.

Summer in the City - Robyn Sisman, 1998 - slight book, along the lines of Bridget Jones. A London girl exchanges jobs and apartments with a New York man in advertising. Fun and romantic.

Mortal Love - Elizabeth Hand, 2004 - spent almost a month on this dense book. Story lines set in the mid 1800s and present day exploring the link between creativity and madness and a mysterious, supernatural muse.

Week 7 - Podcasting and Online Hosted Video

Enjoyed exploring YouTube. I'd certainly been there before, but never searched for videos. Some really useful information amid a ton of worthless stuff. It seems to be a relatively simple way of publishing videos that can be accessed easily also. Can see its use in instructional and orientation modes. I was able to insert a video in my blog, but didn't attempt to imbed it. The code intimidated me.

Week 6 - Online Photo Sharing

I think I spent way too much time on this. I was disappointed that after the careful labeling I added to my photos on Flickr, it all disappeared when I inserted them into Facebook or my blog. I was able to insert them into Facebook easily even though they were set as private, but they would only go into my blog after I reset each one to public. Considering the issue with labeling, I would only recommend using Flickr directly. Could be used for archiving historical or current marketing type pictures. A good way to collect pictures and share widely or with a limited group.

Books - April 9 - April 27

The Tender Bar : a memoir - J.R. Moehringer, 2005 - boy growing up on Long Island without a father turns to the bar where is uncle bartends for male role models and companionship. Read for LLB and MSOE  Great Books dinner and discussion on April 16. Interesting book and enjoyed the format of the MSOE discussion. About fifty people, mostly women, who have all opinions about the book and are not afraid to speak up. We will try to do it again next year. 

Donorboy - Brendan Halpin, 2004 - young, single attorney takes in teenage daughter for whom he donated sperm when her mothers are killed in car accident. Told through email, blog posts, and text messages. Well done and well written. Will recommend to Robin/Karly.

The Food of Love - Anthony Capella, 2004 - retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, but with a homely Italian chef and a handsome waiter romancing an American student. Enjoyed the romance, the Italian and the descriptions of food.

Audiobook - Kill the Messenger - Tami Hoag, 2004 - suspenseful story of LA bike messenger caught up in blackmail and murder. Read by Scott Brick.

Summer at Tiffany - Marjorie Hart, 2007 - memoir of an Iowa Kappa who gets a summer job in 1945 working as page in Tiffany's in New York. Vividly recounts experiences as small-town girl going out to night clubs, dating GIs and celebrating VJ day in Times Square. Read for Kappa Book Group and finished in one day.

Books of March - Week 2 to April 8

While vacationing in Cancun, and then Columbus, Sarasota, and Claremont:

White Lies - Jayne Ann Krentz, 2007 - a modern day Arcane Society novel. "Human lie detector" and "hunter" solve murder

Birthright - Nora Roberts, 2003 - when 5,000-year-old human bones are found at a construction site in small town, archaeologist drawn out of sabbatical to work beside ex-husband amid adventure and danger. Death, misfortune and mystery about her privileged Boston childhood.

Forever in Blue : the fourth summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brasheres, 2007 - see subtitle, brought it for Cecily, but had to read it myself

The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett, 1989 - long, complex novel detailing the personalities surrounding the construction of a gothic cathedral in England, 1123-1174

Audiobook - Special Topics in Calamity Physics - Marisha Pessl, 2006 - precocious high senior describes final year in a private school marred by mysterious deaths. Told with copious references and ending with a final exam.

Scandal in Spring - Lisa Kleypas, 2006 - "Wallflower series" wealthy American girls come to England to find aristocratic husbands

It Happened One Autumn - Lisa Kleypas, 2006

Devil in Winter - Lisa Kleypas, 2007 - "Wallflower series" orphaned girl elopes to escape forced marriage to cousin and takes over gaming house