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Chrissy L

Chrissy L

I am a high school teacher who always has a book in my hand. I'm mostly a fiction junkie, but I've been more interested in memoirs and biographies lately as well. I'm always looking for the next book that's going to captivate me, and when I get to meet a published author, I become very giddy.

I participate in NaNoWriMo every year, am... more »
  • CT, USA
  • member since January 19 2008

Public Notes

 
  • Shy

    Shy says

    Saw that you've read couple of Philippa Gregory's novels.
    Wonder how good do you think they were?
    I'd watched the movie The Other Boleyn Girl and found it really interesting.
    So, I thought I should try her novels as well =)

    posted 2 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Paul G

    Paul G says

    Sadly, I am on my third. I am thinking of giving up on the 100 in a year and adding some magazines to the mix instead. Without television, I am sometimes out of the loop on current events.

    Haven't spoken to you in a while. How're things?

    posted 11 months ago. ( send a note )
  • uplandpoet

    uplandpoet says

    Welcome to Better than Starbucks! Look around, make yourself at home, start a new thread or dig up an old one or just read and jump in on the more active ones.

    posted 12 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Pawbones

    Pawbones says

    Good luck with your 101, I should commit to something like that... I think I might... (that didn't sound like commitment). Maybe I'll tally up a shorter list and time frame to start, but a little goal achievement sounds like a good plan.

    posted 12 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Pawbones

    Pawbones says

    So what's the 101 in 1001? I could speculate but thought asking would make more sense. If your interested, the Better Than Starbucks group (great group) has a Jane Austen group going on within the larger group. The plan is 1 novel every 2 months (nice pace). The order is by published date I believe, easy to find out, but Sense and Sensibility is being discussed currently - pretty good chatter really. I really enjoyed The Secret History. I think her other book The Little Friend was liked by the populous a bit more - at least thats my perception, and I liked it as well - but I preferred The Secret History, truth be told...

    posted 12 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Pawbones

    Pawbones says

    Howdy, browsed your shelves and I don't believe these were already up there (some aren't even on my shelf yet!), but I may have overlooked them...
    As far as classic gothic literature goes, the first I would recommend is Mary Shelly's Frankenstein - one of my favorite novels of all-time, heart-wrenching...
    I really enjoyed most of Edgar Allen Poe's work, The Turn of the Screw by by Henry James, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, and Bram Stoker's Dracula... For more current novels in the gothic vein I would suggest stuff like The Secret History and The Little Friend by Donna Tartt, The Shining by Stephen King, Ghost Story by Peter Straub, The Witching Hour by Anne Rice (really the majority of her work fits this description).
    A couple of other novels I've read in the last year or so that come to mind (and I could argue they fit the category) The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist (Victorian/surreal), Asylum by Patrick McGrath, and The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. The next 'classic' gothic novels on my list to read are Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
    There are certainly many more but I should reign it in. Some of the above I reviewed on my shelf but that doesn't necessarily ensure helpfulness. If you have any questions about anything on the list or my shelf ask away. Hope to see you around the shelves.

    posted 12 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Paul G

    Paul G says

    That's the plan, Stan. I only made 83 last year, but here's to hoping :)

    posted 12 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Paul G

    Paul G says

    MARY ROACH'S NEW BOOK IS OUT!

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Paul G

    Paul G says

    Well, some of mine are pretty slim kid's books, so don't feel so bad. Also, I get mad time to read at work. You don't. Also also, look at your word count versus mine.

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • The Book Muncher

    The Book Muncher says

    no one is ever to old for Middle Grade or YA. that's so cool you met NA Nelson :D and i'm glad you liked my review

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Elizabeth  L

    Elizabeth L says

    How'd you like Spook? I loved it, but still liked Stiff better. And how's the Alchemist?

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Paul G

    Paul G says

    Awesome! I forget, but have you read Stiff?

    Also, what was your final opinion of Atonement?

    And you still haven't guessed!

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Elizabeth  L

    Elizabeth L says

    Eh. It wasn't my favorite,but I enjoyed it. It seemed that in some cases, she dragged on a bit. The story was nice though. I still like 'My Sister's Keeper' and 'Plain Truth' better. Kind of on par, for me, as 'Salem Falls.'
    Was able to pick up 'Mercy' and 'Perfect Match' through bookmooch. So if they suck, I didn't spend any money on them. :)
    How many are you up to?

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Paul G

    Paul G says

    Up to 20 now. Hoping for 24 by the end of the month. Probably won't happen, though.

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Paul G

    Paul G says

    What made you decide to pick up The Moviegoer? I snagged that last year on the dollar shelf at Stop and Shop. Hope you didn't pay much more for it. It's decent to waste a few hours on, but that's about it.

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Eleanor T

    Eleanor T says

    Hi Chrissy. I've noticed you as a friend - thanks! - and see that you've read "Lucky." This is a book I need to read for my book club. I hope to enjoy it as much as you did. We just finished "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" and "Atonement." In between all these serious books I read Janet Evanovich and others like Laura Childs. Happy Reading during these cold, winter months!

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Elizabeth  L

    Elizabeth L says

    Sure, I'd love to borrow them. I'll add it to the stack I have here on the table. Thanks for the offer!

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Elizabeth  L

    Elizabeth L says

    If you liked 'Running with Scissors' you should totally read 'Dry.'
    Also, I'm beginning to love Jodi!?! How is 'Nineteen Minutes?'

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Paul G

    Paul G says

    You need a new book to read? Did you finish Life of Pi? If so, we need to discuss.

    PS: You could always read Spook :)

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Paul G

    Paul G says

    Have you seen the Running with Scissors film? It's really funny, but it loses a lot of the flavor of the book.

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )