When I set out to write a book about the natural history of breasts, I knew I'd have to answer some awkward questions about my book topic. At a...
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Umberto Eco at it again, for those who already love him. For those who don't, this is a relatively fast way to meet the author for the first time and enjoy all of the wonderful things about his writing: historical periodicity, fantastical twists, super-engaging story lines, mysterious surprises, and linguistic fun and games. If you have any interest in the early middle ages in particular, you need to read this book.
Imagine reading a biography of a 19th century European queen, add wine, maybe a splash of Julia Child but wearing much higher heels and very expensive jewelry, and you have something approximating this book. Ergo, be you a lover of biographies, a lover of wine, and/or a lover of highly-impressive and pioneering and slightly crazy women, you will probably enjoy this book.
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(7 of 13 readers found this comment helpful)
Winemaking is SOOOOO romantic...until you make wine yourself or read this book. Doyle may not have actually made the pinot over his year at an Oregon winery, but that seems to have meant that he had time to write stories about the people who did make the wine and who probably would have liked to write stories but didn't have time because they were making the wine. Doyle's super-informal semi-stream-of-consciousness style takes a little acclimation, but then makes you feel ever so much more immersed in the whole process. Plus, as a literary geek genius, the man has as much good taste in words as he does in wine.
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(6 of 11 readers found this comment helpful)
Be you Catholic or not, this book provides an entirely worthwhile and entirely unique window into silence and what drives men to pursue it. Begone any myths you may have held regarding monks, for you will never look at a man or woman in a habit the same way again. Yes, monks, too, are human!
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(4 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)
Should you ever give into the temptation to pretend to write a book, pretend to write this one. It's intellectual enough to boost your reputation, enough fun to boost your reputation with your friends, improbable enough that no one will imagine you made it up, and obscure enough that no one should catch on too quickly.
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(3 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
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szymanskiea has commented on (5) products.
Baudolino by Umberto Eco
szymanskiea, January 9, 2012
Umberto Eco at it again, for those who already love him. For those who don't, this is a relatively fast way to meet the author for the first time and enjoy all of the wonderful things about his writing: historical periodicity, fantastical twists, super-engaging story lines, mysterious surprises, and linguistic fun and games. If you have any interest in the early middle ages in particular, you need to read this book.The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It (P.S.) by Tilar J. Mazzeo
szymanskiea, February 25, 2010
Imagine reading a biography of a 19th century European queen, add wine, maybe a splash of Julia Child but wearing much higher heels and very expensive jewelry, and you have something approximating this book. Ergo, be you a lover of biographies, a lover of wine, and/or a lover of highly-impressive and pioneering and slightly crazy women, you will probably enjoy this book.(7 of 13 readers found this comment helpful)
The Grail: A Year Ambling and Shambling through an Oregon Vineyard in Pursuit of the Best Pinot Noir Wine in the Whole Wild World by Brian Doyle
szymanskiea, February 25, 2010
Winemaking is SOOOOO romantic...until you make wine yourself or read this book. Doyle may not have actually made the pinot over his year at an Oregon winery, but that seems to have meant that he had time to write stories about the people who did make the wine and who probably would have liked to write stories but didn't have time because they were making the wine. Doyle's super-informal semi-stream-of-consciousness style takes a little acclimation, but then makes you feel ever so much more immersed in the whole process. Plus, as a literary geek genius, the man has as much good taste in words as he does in wine.(6 of 11 readers found this comment helpful)
The View from a Monastery: The Vowed Live and Its Cast of Many Characters (Voice from the Monastery) by Benet Tvedten
szymanskiea, January 15, 2010
Be you Catholic or not, this book provides an entirely worthwhile and entirely unique window into silence and what drives men to pursue it. Begone any myths you may have held regarding monks, for you will never look at a man or woman in a habit the same way again. Yes, monks, too, are human!(4 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)
The Solitaire Mystery: A Novel about Family and Destiny by Jostein Gaarder
szymanskiea, January 15, 2010
Should you ever give into the temptation to pretend to write a book, pretend to write this one. It's intellectual enough to boost your reputation, enough fun to boost your reputation with your friends, improbable enough that no one will imagine you made it up, and obscure enough that no one should catch on too quickly.(3 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)