Top Ten Book Covers I'd Frame As Pieces of Art

Hello again! Life here has gone up ten points since I finally found my way to my library for the first time since moving.  I'd mostly been relying on ebooks and audiobooks (shameful, yes, but...well, not really, since it was raining and snowing outside, and once you've been full-body splashed by a car you really don't need to experience it again).  I wandered over, and I am incredibly glad that I did.  I picked up three that I think will be really great for me to read, and I'm excited about sharing them here later on.

But on to Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and The Bookish - this week's topic is Top Ten Book Covers I'd Frame As Pieces of Art:

Going clockwise:

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier.  I'm a sucker for mountains.

Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell.  A door-stopper if ever there was one.  This was the cover on the one I read - paperback, so stuffed that pages fluttered out if you cracked the spine too much.  I read this one on a nearly three-day train ride from St. Petersburg to Sochi.  I'd frame it just for the memory.  I gave my copy to a girl for the plane ride back to the States, and never saw it again (sad but true).

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  This was the cover illustration I grew up with, and again, I'd frame it for the memories.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.  I tried reading it my freshman year of college, but couldn't get into it - I was too creeped out.  I may give it another shot later in life.  I do like a good black-and-white photo, though, and those shoes.

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney.  Every page of this book could be framed.  So beautiful.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.  One that I have been meaning to pick up for a long time.  The cover reminds me of Sammy Keyes for some reason.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.  Every time I see this one in the store/library I want to pick it up.  And each time I do, I don't get more than the first few pages.  Maybe it'll get me another time.

The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman.  Haven't read it, hadn't really heard of it, but it reminds me of a New Yorker cover.

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami.  I have heard many, many good things about Haruki Murakami's books, and would like to find a shorter book of his.  Last year I got about 300 pages into 1Q84 before giving up.  This cover reminded me of my grandmother.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi.  I first heard of Persepolis from the movie that came out, though I have flipped through the book(s) at bookstores.  I really should bite the bullet and pick it up.

This one was tough - I kept thinking of books I liked, or wonderful children's books.  I guess the inside of a book is more important for me, but I get that marketing and covers have an impact as well.  There are some great books out there that I wouldn't necessarily frame.  What about you? Could you think of any off the top of your head that would work?  Go check out the rest at The Broke and the Bookish!

What We Did Sunday #18

went grocery shopping//dozed//admired flowers on a neighborhood walk

What did you do Sunday?

peaches for father francis/monsieur le curé review

Ah, spring.  Moody, angsty weather with sunshine one day and miserable drizzles the next.  In honor of the chill and gloom this week, a review! A book to stay warm inside with (or enjoy outside, depending on the weather's mood) and read in your most comfortable chair: Peaches for Father Francis by Joanne Harris.

Basic plot:Vianne Rocher, roamer and chocolate maker, receives a letter from an old friend, who died years earlier.  She decides to head back to the small town of Lansquenet with her two daughters.  It's been eight years since she's been back, and as she meets with her old friends and neighbors, she discovers that there are newcomers - an intriguing community of North Africans - and someone has tried to burn down her old chocolate shop.

On a scale from 1 to Cripplingly Depressing: 3.5 - only because of the surprisingly (really) dark and sort of violent turn towards the end of the book. (Does that count as a spoiler?) Until then, I would have given it a 1.5.

Memories from reading: This is one I listened to most in the morning and at the end of the day, and, oddly enough, in the rain.  I have several memories of walking the rest of the way to work with the hood of my raincoat up, earbuds firmly in my ears and umbrella whipping around my head.

Favorite characters: Ammi/Enmi, a fantastic older character in the community who sneaks macaroons during Ramadan and cackles (another downside to the audiobook - I can't find the spelling of her name, have googled and given up) and Mea, with her pink rain boots.

Weapon of Choice: Audiobook again! I really enjoyed the accents of the two narrators - I'm learning more and more that a good narrator can carry a book and a bad one can kill it.  I finally experienced with this audiobook what I've experienced with a physical book - I stayed up late to finish the book.  I hadn't read the other books, but this one made me want to go back into the series.

Other titles by this author: 

Chocolat

The Girl With No Shadow

Blackberry Wine

Five Quarters of the Orange

Holy Fools

Coastliners

Runemarks

Runelight

Gentlemen and Players

Blueeyedboy

Have you read any books in this series? Any by Joanne Harris? What did you think?

currently re-reading

"'What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?'
'Of course he has,' said Ron, wheeling around.  'I'm his second, who's yours?'"
-J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Top Ten Books if You Like...

Recently I've discovered book blogs.  I can't even handle it.  I don't know why I didn't look into this earlier.

These ladies are far wittier, cooler, and better-read than I am, and seem to have an intense and rapid rate of book reading and ability to produce engaging content.

Here's hoping I can keep up.

So, lovely people who are reading my blog today: Top Ten Tuesday, linked with The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's topic is top ten books if you like X movie/tv show/any other form of entertainment.  Mostly what I realized in this exercise is that a lot of what I watch is either crime/mystery or already based on a book.  For your sake, I tried to branch out, but I could only come up with 8 decent ones.  Forgive me.

Get psyched.

1. Miss Marple: Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers. Oh, I know Agatha Christie wrote her own books, which are different from Dorothy Sayers', but if ever there were two female mystery-solvers that climb to the top of my list, it's Miss Marple and Harriet Vane.  Gaudy Night is a special favorite, and if you're looking for a slow burn with smart characters and beautiful writing that'll keep you hanging till the end, read it.  Read them all!

2. Brave: Sammy Keyes Series by Wendelin Van Draanen.  Some of my absolute favorites when I was 11-13.  A girl who, like me, got into stuff she shouldn't have because of nosiness/curiosity? Done and done.  Sammy is gutsy, plucky, self-reliant, and real.  Love 'em.  Read them even if you're older than 12.

3. Bletchley Circle: Charlotte Grey by Sebastian Faulks.  In my opinion, Bletchley Circle is superior to Charlotte Gray, but if you're looking for a gloomy WWII story about a woman-turned-spy who has her wits about her, Charlotte Gray is a go-to.

4. Ain't Them Bodies Saints: Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier.  Two stories about the frontier (ok, basically the Midwest, bear with me) and flawed people who make difficult choices for love.  Both, by the way, could be described as terrifically artful, should you be in the mood for adverb overload.

5. Miss Congeniality: Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich.  Goofy, lovable protagonists that trip over themselves and have a blast? Yes, please! I loved this series for a long time - I even played hooky from school once and went with my mom to a book signing (dork, yes, but still memorable, and Ms. Evanovich was very nice).  Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter from New Jersey, and Janet Evanovich brings in a fantastic cast of characters to solve murders, chase after criminals, and bring in bond-skippers.

6. Steel Magnolias: The Supremes at Earl's All You Can Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore.  Not sure if I was up to snuff with this pairing, but - group of friends that know each other inside and out, stick together and sass each other, each sort of in the South, semi-maudlin - that's what I was going with.  I enjoyed them both immensely.  Read my review here.

7. Downton Abbey: The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally.  A tale about two sisters from Australia who sign up to be nurses during WWI, and the many awesome and awful things they see along the way.  It's a long one (around 500 pages) but worth it.  Hopefully I'll have a review coming soon.

8. Blue is the Warmest Color: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.  Obsessive love? Check.  Passion that seems to come out of the woods, take over your life and change you? Double check.

This was so fun! Go check out the others at The Broke and the Bookish.  Can you think of any? What are some of your favorites?

What We Did Sunday #17

enjoyed the quiet of a weekend morning//contemplated sudsy dishes//came back from volunteering

What did you do Sunday?

lunch