Dear Oprah,
So first there are the unfortunate sex abuse allegations at your girls' school in South Africa, and now you have chosen Ken Follett's, The Pillars of the Earth as your book club selection. It even has it's own special edition! When will it ever stop? I inhabit such a small space in the world; why must you invade my space? Is this some sneaky means of getting me on your show? Because if it is, it will work.
Seriously, I am really annoyed by this for some reason. I have always disliked being one of those on the bandwagon sorts of people, not that I go out of my way to purposely be different, but still.
I guess I would characterize myself as having somewhat of an obsessive-compulsive personality when it comes to my reading habits as I tend to get hooked on a topic (usually historical) and then read as many books as possible on said topic.
Recent topics have included Italian Renaissance art history, Tudor England, and the Black Death. I read this book last year as an aberration during my Renaissance obsession and it was as if I had struck gold... secretly. Now Oprah has to go and make this an instant smash hit and everyone will know my little secret, well not so little as this is nearly 1000 pages. Screw you Oprah, I found this first, check my library account!
An exciting side note is that Ken Follett has just published a follow-up to Pillars, and it touches on the topic of the Black Death. See how nicely this fits into my obsession. I am 30-something on the waiting list at the library which is fine, as I am reading another book on Tudor England; Philippa Gregory's, The Boleyn Inheritance.
And don't all be sitting there thinking to yourselves, "What the hell does she think she is doing reading all of these books. She doesn't have time for that? ". No, I don't really have a lot of free time (or any for that matter since I can't even go to the bathroom to pee without Quinn following me in), but I sneak it in when I can- which is usually during the wee hours of the night when all others are sleeping. Thankfully I read quickly.
Here are some of the books I have read in the recent past:
The entire Harry Potter series. Yes folks, I finally broke down and read them all after the final one was published. Am I ashamed to admit I really enjoyed them? Slightly.
Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King
Brunelleschi's Dome by Ross King
Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel
Letters to Father: Suor Maria Celeste to Galileo, 1623-1633 by Sobel
The Ruby Ring: A Novel by Diane Haeger
Artemisia: A Novel by Alexandra Lapierre
The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland
The Birth of Venus: A Novel by Sarah Dunant
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
A Vision of Light by Judith Merkle Riley
The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett
Plagues and Peoples by William H. McNeill
A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time by John Kelly
Nectar from a Stone by Jane Guill
The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
Katherine by Anya Seton
The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles (currently reading)
posted by Kerry @ 8:01 PM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
LOL ... Maybe Oprah is jumping on *your* bandwagon. :)
I go through those topic obsessions from time to time (though not as obsessively as you, I venture to guess) and your reading list looks fabulous. I read The Birth of Venus a year or two ago, and I found it delightfully trashy while also historically educational (the best kind!). I may have to check out the other ones on your list.
Speaking of Oprah, I devoured Love in the TIme of Cholera many years ago (along with One Hundred Years of Solitude and a couple others in the Latin American/magical realism theme), and I was surprised it took her this long to get to it! ;-)
Ahhh ... late-night reading when everyone else is asleep. Nothing beats it. I imagine it must be sheer heaven for you.
Heh, heh, heh. This is how I now choose all of my reading material. I steal ideas from the lists of others.
Thank goodness I'm over my reading obsessions...although, I suppose you could say I'm obsessive about making my "need to read" list as eclectic as possible... Hmmmmm.
um, when do you have time to read?!?!? I loved some of the books on your list - now I will have to check out the others!
I'm impressed by the reading list and really liked several on that list. I found Pillars a few weeks ago and it has been on my list to get to. I can't wait to read it. It's too bad it's been Oprah-ed though. Although, on the other hand I suppose it does get people reading more.
I hate that feeling, too, when something special to me has been "commercialized" for the masses. Particularly with music...
I'm a little "Oprahed out" myself, I don't watch the show hardly at all, quit subscribing to her magazine and don't read anymore of the books on her booklist after the James Frey fiasco.
But I still admire her as a person. So don't knock her too much. I think her staffers do more of the recommending than she does, anyways. ;)
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