SPRING 2012:

Magazines/Periodicals: The following lit mags and periodicals are ones I read regularly ~~ Tin House,  Poetry, The Sun, Glimmer Train, Poets & Writers, and The Paris Review.

*The Gravedigger’s Daughter. Joyce Carol Oates. (HarperCollins, 2007). 582 pages.The truest, most gripping depiction of poverty I’ve ever read! However, I felt the ending lacked the “spectacular element” it should have had and was a little disappointed.

*50 Essays: A Portable Anthology, Third Edition. Samuel Cohen. (Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, Boston – New York,  2011). 473 pages. Excellent for study and inspiration!

*Rhett Butler’s People. Donald McCaig. (St. Martin’s Press, 2007). 498 pages – fiction.

*Fiske Word Power. Fiske, Mallison, Mandell. (Sourcebooks, Inc., 2006). 371 pages.

Winter 2011:

* Birthday Letters. Ted Hughes. (Farrar, Straus, Giroux., 1998). 198 pages.  * The Book Thief. Markus Zusak. (Alfred A. Knopf., 2006). 552 pages.


*  At Home: A Short History of Private Life. Bill Bryson. (Doubleday., 2010). 497 pages. 

* The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir.Bill Bryson. (Broadway Books., 2006). 268 pages.

* Ariel: The Restored Edition. A Facsimile of Plath’s Manuscript, Reinstating Her Original Selection and Arrangement. Sylvia Plath. (Harper Perennial Modern Classics., 2004). 211 pages.

*Used To Be A Rough Place in Them Hills: Moonshine, The Dark Corner, and The New South. Joshua Beau Blackwell. (AuthorHouse., 2009). 152 pages.

* Velocity: From the Front Line to the Bottom Line.Dale Pollak. (New Year Publishing LLC., 2007). 182 pages.

  * The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World. Eric Weiner.(Twelve: Hachette Book Group USA., 2008). 329 pages.

* The Dark Side of Innocence: Growing Up Bipolar.Terri Cheney. (ATRIA Books., 2011). 277 pages.
  * Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail.Caitlin Kelly. (Portfolio / Penguin., 2011), 226 pages.

* Easter Everywhere: A Memoir.Darcey Steinke. (Bloomsbury, USA., 2007), 231 pages.

Spring 2011:

* Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. Charles J. Shields.(Henry Holt and Co.,2006),324 pages.

* The Great Modern Poets: The Best Poets of Our Time. Michael Schmidt, Ed.(Quercus,–),224 pages.

* The Making of A Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. Mark Strand and Eavan Boland, Eds.(W.W. Norton and Co.,2000),366 pages.
~~~Mark Strand writes an absolutely eloquent and intense introduction! Wonderful educational book for Poets!~~~

* Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emporers Decided What Christians Would believe for the Next 1500 Years. Philip Jenkins.(Harper One,–),– pages.

* The End of The World As We Know It. Robert Goolrick.(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill,2008),– pages.

* A Reliable Wife. Robert Goolrick.(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill,–),– pages.
~~~Beautifully written books! RG is one of my favorite writers! Can’t wait to read more from him.~~~

  

   Fall/Winter 2010:

* A Year With Rilke. Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows, Trans.(Harper Collins, 2009),368 pages.

* The Golden Age: Poems of the Spanish Renaissance. Edith Grossman, Trans.(WW Norton & Co.,2006),199 pages.
~~~A favorite passage: “Our lives are the rivers / that empty into the sea / that is our dying. . . / ….-Jorge Manrique~~~

* The Year of the Flood. Margaret Atwood.(Doubleday,2009),434 pages.

* Oryx and Crake. Margaret Atwood.(Anchor Books,2003),386 pages.

* Armageddon in Retrospect. Kurt Vonnegut.(G.P. Putnam’s Sons,2008),232 pages.

* Courage and Craft: Writing Your Life Into Story. Barbara Abercrombie.(New World Library,2007),157 pages.

* Books: A Memoir. Larry McMurtry.(Simon & Schuster,2008),259 pages.

* Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anne Lamott.(Anchor Books,1994),237 pages.
~~~A Must Read for any writer. Beautiful and insightful writing.~~~

* Alexander The Great: Journey to the End of The Earth. Norman F. Cantor.(Harper Perennial,2005),180 pages.

* April 1865: The Month That Saved America. Jay Winik.(Harper Perennial),451 pages.
~~~One of THE BEST books I’ve ever read. Hard to put down!~~~

* How Fiction Works. James Wood. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux,2008),265 pages.
~~~Another must read for anyone trying to write fiction. Excellent book!~~~

* A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father.  Augusten Burroughs.(St. Martin’s Press,2008),242 pages.

* Wild At Heart: Discovering the Secret of A Man’s Soul. John Eldredge.(Nelson Books,2001),242 pages.

* Let The Great World Spin. Colum McCann.(Random House,2009),349 pages.
~~~Considering the reviews it received, I must be the only person in America who did not love this book. The writing is beautiful, but it was just too-much an unrelated stories collection for me~~~

* Ravens. George Dawes Green.(Grand Central Publishing,2009),325 pages.
~~~A dark, murky story by the author of, The Caveman’s Valentine – which I LOVED! This book, not so much.~~~

* Saling Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems. Billy Collins.(Random House, 2002.),171 pages.

* Power, Ambition, Glory. Steve Forbes and John Prevas.(Crown Publishing Group,2009),309 pages.

* AD 381: Heretics, Pagans, and The Dawn of the Monotheistic State. Charles freeman.(The Overlook Press,2008), –pages.
~~~An elegantly written book, filled with a great deal of historical information. One of the best books I’ve ever read on the topic. HIGHLY Recommended!~~~

* The Lace Reader. Brunonia Barry.(Harper Collins Publishers,2006),– pages.
~~~Excellent, innovative fiction with a unique plot and twisting-turning storyline. Lovely book.~~~

* The Map of True Places. Brunonia Barry.(Harper Collins Publishers,—),– pages.

* The Qur’an. Various versions available.

  

 

Magazines:

 

 Tin House Magazine (I’m a subscriber…you can be too!)   Subscribe or just check out the Tin House website here.

The Sun (Again, subscriber!) This is a wonderfully unique, open-voiced magazine of humanity and its experience. You can check out The Sun Magazine here. 

 

 

   

   

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• An Algonquin Round Table (slog.thestranger.com)
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