What I Read – October 2009

October was a more introspective month with a lot of yoga-related reading, though the best yoga book I’ve ever read I just finished, so you’ll have to wait until November to see it here on Perusals.  Unless of course you are on Goodreads – then you can see it now.  ::wink::

A few reminders:
*’s mark books that were really wonderful
All links take you to my reviews on Goodreads

Without further ado …

Falls the Shadow, Sharon Kay Penman (Welsh Trilogy, book 2)

*Worry, Edward M. Hallowell

Julie & Julia, Julie Powell

*The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

The Perilous Gard, Elizabeth Marie Pope

The Hindus: An Alternative History, Wendy Doniger
(Didn’t finish this one.  It had to go back to the library before I could even get past the introduction.  Dense but good.)

*A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson
(This was a re-read from yoga school.  I wasn’t ready for this book back in October 2008 and I am so glad I revisited it.  Both reviews, from 08 and 09, are included.)

What I Read – September 2009

September was a good reading mojo month.  With a few hiccups (I’m looking at you, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle) I found a lot of great reads this month.  Links take you to my reviews on Goodreads.com and *’s mark the books I found truly outstanding.

*Song of the Sparrow, Lisa Ann Sandell

The Edge of Impropriety, Pam Rosenthal

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver
(Note: this book made me so angry, that I was trying to come up with a symbol to denote books that I wanted to hurl against a wall, run over with a car, and then stomp to an inky pulp.  Hopefully this is the only book that will ever make me THAT mad.)

Cooking Up a Storm, Emma Holly

**I Shall Not Want, Julia Spencer-Fleming

Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, Richard Wrangham

A Little Bit Wicked, Kristen Chenoweth

Prairie Tale: A Memoir, Melissa Gilbert

What did you read last month?

What I Read – August 2009

This was a great month for reading and a week’s vacation in Maine helped create some quality downtime to really get involved in some great books.

Links take you to my reviews on Goodreads.com and the * marks books that I highly recommend/enjoyed.

*In Too Deep, Portia Da Costa

Au Revoir to All That: Food, Wine, and the end of France, Michael Steinberger

*In The Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming

*Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase

A Fountain Filled with Blood, Julia Spencer-Fleming

*Out of the Deep I Cry, Julia Spencer-Fleming

One Thousand White Women, Jim Fergus

*We Took to the Woods, Louise Dickinson Rich

All Mortal Flesh, Julia Spencer-Fleming

*To Darkness and to Death, Julia Spencer Fleming

Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, Richard W. Wrangham

How about you?  What did you read this summer that you really liked?

Black Dagger Brotherhood Madlibs!

Thank goodness for the Smart Bitches and Doc Turtle.  Who else can dole out the brilliant snark and make me snarf my morning drink?!

If you’re not familiar with Dark Lover, book one in the Black Dagger Brotherhood  you probably also haven’t heard of Twilight.  I’m half tempted to tell you to go back into your cave, but the BDB is just too damn fun and cracktastic.

Once you’ve caught up on the BDB here, here, here, here, here, and here, now you’re ready to play MADLIBS!

If you play, post your results in the comments.  I’d love to see what you all come up with!

Here’s my first round of hilariousness:

Wrath opened the door to the sound of celtic rock.  Tohr and Rhage were listening to Enter the Haggis again.  ‘What is this shit?’ Wrath demanded.

‘Shizzle, my brother, it’s just Enter the Haggis’s new album, Sexy Chair.’

Just then Fritz came in.  With a tray laden with greasy Lubriderm pens.

‘Damn, Fritz!’ cried Rhage.  ‘These are fucking hot!’

Vishous came in, dagger drawn.  ‘The lessers are back.  I caught Mr. X shooting a civilian vampire.  With a starfish.’

‘Time to play. Dubiously.’ said Wrath.

‘Whatever,’ said Rhage.  ‘I don’t care as long as I get to nom some pink bunnies.’

What I Read – July 2009

Links take you to my reviews of Goodreads.com and asterisks mark books that have made the “Favorites” list.

Into the Forest, Jean Hegland
(while it didn’t get a coveted * (har har) I highly recommend this one too,
for sheer interesting-ness.)

Here Be Dragons, Sharon Kay Penman

Out of Africa, Isak Dinsen

*The Gathering, Anne Enright
(I’d give this a 10 *’s if I could!)

Emo-Vamps and Weak Women: How Did We Get Here?

The internet has been a wealth of  interesting discussions about the relationship between Buffy and Twilight, and I’ve been unable to disconnect from the fascinating dialogue going on, despite my intentions.  As you know by now, I have a very love-hate relationship with Twilight.  I dislike the books and movies, but it’s given me a new space to think and talk (and blog) about a lot of very interesting topics.

The Edward Cullen/Buffy video mashup has been around and web and back again in the past few weeks.  With its pro-feminist, totally awesome Buffy-as- uber-Vampire-Slayer ending, I cheered to see Edward Cullen turn to dust.  Au revoir Mr. Sparkles!

But in the end, isn’t Buffy to blame for the rise of emo-y vampires that women swoon over despite the vamps stalker tendancies and the fact they they’re soulless demons created maim and kill?

What I Read: June 2009

Reviews take you to Goodreads.com and *’s denote particular favorites.  Looking back at the June books, it looks like I didn’t really rate any one very high.  I think I was in a bit of a reading funk since there are two DNFs and it’s pretty rare that I don’t finish a book.

A Wild Sheep Chase, Haruki Murakami

Kushiel’s Justice, Jacqueline Carey

Kushiel’s Mercy, Jacqueline Carey

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, David Wroblewski

What I Read – May 2009

What I read for the month of May.  This was a better month for breaking outside of the romance genre.  Links take you to my reviews on Goodreads.com.  Asterisks mark books that were really good reads.

Indiscretion by Jillian Hunter

*Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

Mister Pip by Lloyd James

Shift by Charlotte Agell

What did you read recently?

Light on Yoga

As a fairly new yoga student and newly minted yoga teacher, I’ve been picking up little clues around Yogaville that BKS Iyengar’s Light on Yoga is a must read for aspiring yogis.

So far, I’m on page 24 and already I feel that if Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are the equivalent to the Old Testament, then Light on Yoga is the New Testament.  Unfortunately, this simile which popped into my head while trying to write this post, is dredging up some of the same resistance I felt with reading the Sutras — I don’t like it when a third party is telling me how to be a good person and that unless I follow their rules exactly, I am a flawed/bad person.  (Clearly there are some issues to be worked out here, too ::wink::)

What I am enjoying is Iyengar’s arguemnt that both types of yoga, the physical and spiritual are needed to open the body, mind and spirit.  On page 22 he says:

“As a mountaineer needs ladders, ropes and crampons as well as physical fitness and discipline to climb the icy peaks of the Himalayas, so does the Yoga aspirant need to knowledge and discipline of the Hatha Yoga to reach the heights of Raja Yoga…”

This fits really well with what seems to be shaping up to be my life philisophy: everything in moderation.  Life is so much more interesting and dymanic when I am flexibile of mind and open in spirit.  The trick for me is also staying grounded in the midst of exploration – not an easy feat for this Pisces!

Any advice out there from the yoga community as I embark on what looks to be a very enlightening journey with Mr. Iyengar?  If you’ve read Light on Yoga what did you think?

What I Read – April 2009

Hmmm … didn’t read much this month.  Went on another romance novel bender and sucked down Jillian Hunter books like they were going out of style.  I’ve got a couple non-romance reads started and I think I may actually be ready to read outside of the genre.

The Love Affair of an English Lord, Jillian Hunter

The Wedding Night of an English Rogue, Jillian Hunter

The Devilish Pleasures of a Duke, Jillian Hunter

The Sinful Nights of a Nobleman, Jillian Hunter

No stars this month.  These books were all good reads, but nothing too outstanding.  Though one could probably write a dissertation on the ridiculous titles of these novels.