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Twitterature: November 2013 edition. With a sad library story and a kid’s cookbook review.

(If you’re viewing this post in an RSS reader or by email, click over to the blog to view the link up. Thanks!)

twitterature monthly reading linkup short reviews

Welcome to the Twitterature link-up! For the lowdown, head over here, or try this Cliff Notes version: this is the place to share short, casual reviews of books you’ve been reading.

After last month’s video, you said you wanted the video to contain information that wasn’t here on the blog. You got it. This time I’m speaking unscripted–really unscripted, I even forgot a book!–about this month’s selections, and I even recorded the video before I wrote these 140 character reviews. (Let me know what you think.)

(Click over to YouTube if you can’t see the video here.)

in the video I also tell you a sad story about Neil Gaiman, and read my daughter’s review of Well Fed 2 from her Sunday morning newspaper.

Here’s what I’ve been reading

Downs

Speak Love: Making Your Words Matter, Annie Downs

Words have the power of life and death–so how are we using our words? Real talk about friendships, social media, and the mean girl. #speaklove

gladwell

David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell

Junior high basketball, dyslexic lawyers, impressionist painters, Ivy League admissions. Gladwell examines what strength really looks like in this long-anticipated new release. #finally

goldman

The Princess Bride, William Goldman

The movie is better than the book. Or maybe the book is better than the movie? Forget the debate; just enjoy them both. #cultclassic

gaiman

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman

An adult fairy tale about childhood and magic and monsters. I’m in awe of the fantasy world Gaiman creates in this slim novel. My first Gaiman fiction, but not my last. #fantasy

paterniti

The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World’s Greatest Piece of Cheese, Michael Paterniti

This tangent-filled true story is about food and wine, friendship and loss, and the stories that won’t let you go. I still don’t know how I feel about the last third, but I’m still thinking about it a month later. That’s something, right? #catalonia

joulwan

Well Fed 2: More Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat, Melissa Joulwan

My go-to cookbook of late that features paleo interpretations of international food. We haven’t made a bad recipe yet (and we’ve cooked a lot of these recipes). #kidapproved #whole30

fforde

 The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde

Crazy and fun: Lord Peter meets Lost in Austen. My only problem: how am I going to find time to read the rest of the series? Because I definitely want to keep reading. #LitCrime

What have you been reading lately? (And what do you think of this month’s video?)


The next Twitterature link-up will be on Monday, December 16.

twitterature monthly reading linkup short reviews

61 comments

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  1. MK says:

    Loved the video; very fun!

    I just found David and Goliath at the library (in the express, no-reserves area, no less), and I’m excited to dig into it.

  2. Jeannie says:

    I think your video’s great! The unscripted format is interesting and very real.

    I’ve never read any Malcolm Gladwell but have heard a LOT about him lately, so I’ll have to check him out.

    I’m not able to get a Twitterature post up today but am currently reading (for my book club) a wonderful novel, Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road, about two young Cree men fighting in the First World War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Day_Road

  3. MJ says:

    I loved the Neil Gaiman. I usually feel like I’m not smart enough to follow his books completely, but this one was fabulous! I haven’t read the new Malcolm Gladwell yet, but I always find him compelling.

  4. I have a book question for you, Anne. Maybe you’ve already written about this? How do you manage your “books to read” list? I am always hearing about books I’d like to read (often from you!) and I just don’t know where/how to catalog and organize the titles to I don’t forget about them. Help!

    • Anne says:

      Mandi, I use Goodreads to keep track of the books I want to read. I don’t refer to it a ton–I always have too many books piled up by my bed to feel like I need to check out my to-be-read list on gr–but I like knowing that the books that caught my eye are in fact captured somewhere I can find them again.

  5. Moira says:

    I loved the Neil Gaiman book so much that I have been harassing all my book loving friends and family to read it. I think I could literally shout about it from my rooftop! And I just started his newest children’s book with my boys (Fortunately, The Milk) and we are all giggling non-stop. The range in his writing is so incredible!

  6. Anne says:

    Fun video! You did really well going unscripted! 🙂 (You looked great, too!) I’ll have to check out the Malcolm Gladwell book. I’ve liked everything else of his that I’ve read. Sounds like he is working on an autobiography? Or something about faith? The Eyre Affair sounds good, too. I once tried to read American Gods by Gaiman, but I abandoned it after a while. I don’t have a blog (well, I do but only has one post), but I’ll tell you what I’m reading:

    – Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott – very good recommendation, Anne! She has *such* a voice.
    – Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill – an inside look at growing up in Scientology
    – rereading parts of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin – was trying to find the part where she wrote about how sarcasm can be equated with intelligence and wit but she didn’t want that for herself anymore. That part really spoke to me. I finished Happier at Home not long ago, too. I liked them both very much.
    – I have many more of your recommendations in my floor pile, but I haven’t been able to start them yet!

  7. D says:

    Anne, way to go unscripted! I was one of those who thought you should say more on camera and I think it turned out great. Not that you have to do things my way, of course! I am a much slower reader than you. My latest books are The Handmaidens’ Tale (creepy in a futuristic-Farenheit 451/Gattaca way) and 1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp (reluctant read, but life changer).

  8. Ashley says:

    Love the video! I’m a Gaiman fan. As a writer, I’ve often found his interviews and what he has to say about writing to be very encouraging. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is on my to-read list, and I have Fortunately, The Milk on my shelf waiting for the insanity of November and NaNoWriMo to be over so I can read it! You should definitely check out Stardust and Coraline. Both are excellent. His fantasy world in Stardust is phenomenal and Coraline is just as chilling and wonderful as the movie, but better. 🙂

    • Anne says:

      I keep forgetting he wrote Stardust! I lovedthe movie with Claire Danes, and Coraline, too. (That’s really unusual for me to see two books-to-movie adaptations before I’ve read a single work by the author!)

      • Ashley says:

        I saw both movies first as well. For me, Stardust is another Princess Bride. I love them equally. They’re both fantastic and can be enjoyed on their own merit.

  9. Emily says:

    Hi, Anne–

    I really like your unscripted format and encourage you to continue it. You have a great, relaxed presence — and as a bookworm, I really appreciate hearing your thoughts about these books. Wanted to mention that the NYT Sunday magazine had a long, interesting article about the author of The Telling Room and the writing of that book. Thanks!

  10. Kelty says:

    More video, please! You were very personable and comfortable. I enjoyed hearing about your book picks this way as your enthusiasm for them is more contagious through video than just written text. The Telling room is our book club pick for next month (I think) so I’m glad that you at least enjoyed the story enough to make it a twitterature pick. Read the Eyre Affair a few years ago and just never could get my head into it. I found it very confusing and just never gained mental traction with the story. Sad though because the concept seemed really cool. Now I need to go check out Neil Gaiman. Thanks!

    • Anne says:

      The Telling Room strikes me as an excellent book club pick–there are so many thingsyou could spend all night talking about! Hope it’s a great meeting for your group. 🙂

  11. Love the unscripted video, Anne! I really enjoy seeing a blogger’s naturally personality after “reading their personality” for a while. Also, you just gave me 5 new books for my to-read list, thanks!

  12. Leigh Kramer says:

    Loved the video! The only problem is I want to DISCUSS each one with you. 🙂

    Glad you enjoyed the Gaiman book! I was so captivated by it, once I got over how eerie certain parts were. I definitely want to read more by him now. I’m also in the 3rd camp for Princess Bride- love the book and the movie equally. They really go hand in hand. I’ve got so much to say about the Thursday Next series, I’m working on a post.

    • Anne says:

      I’m jealous–it sounds like that was an amazing experience! You may want to bump that one closer to the top of your list, considering. 🙂

  13. Beth says:

    I almost forgot about Eyre Affair, I read that in high school. Jane Eyre is in my top favorite books ever, so naturally I liked that one. After your reviews I put The Ocean at the End of the Lane on my library holds list. I’ll be watching out for that reminder email 🙂

  14. Bonnie-Jean says:

    I read The Eyre Affair nearly 10 years ago and loved it. As an Aussie living in London at the time I found the alternate reality aspect fascinating. I also loved the way the story weaved classic characters throughout it. Will have to search it out and read that one again!

  15. Anne, I LOVED your video – wonderful! (I have a silly-tech question, but did you do the video on a Mac computer? Also, did you have to upload it to Youtube to embed the video on your blog? I very much want to do a video, and have technological issues). Based on your views, I’m excited to check out Gaiman’s fantasy novel. (I also want to read the Eyre Affair). I’ve been wanting to order Well Fed 2 for awhile (I want to do a Whole 30)–glad to hear you like it. (And what a sweet review by your daughter 🙂 Thanks, as always, for such a great Twitterature post.

  16. I really liked The Princess Bride (the book) – my book club read it this year and I just thought it was so clever but we had members that absolutely hated it. That aside, the movie is one of my all time favorites so I think I’d say I like the movie better?

    LOVE The Eyre Affair – and yes the whole series is great but an unfortunate time suck as I don’t find any of them to be “quick reads” so much as “savory reads” – not a bad thing unless your book collection is starting to drown the room like mine!

    I REALLY want to read the new Gaiman book, I am hearing nothing but good things!

  17. Madeline says:

    I really loved the video this time, Anne. It was great! It felt more like you were telling me about the books while we were chatting in a coffee shop. I have a vague memory of reading a Neil Gaiman book, but apparently it wasn’t the right one. I requested a couple from the library and look forward to reading them!

    Thanks for Twitterature!

  18. Ginger says:

    This video was so charming — you have a great speaking voice. I enjoyed getting a bit more of a peak into your personality, and I enjoyed your reviews in this format.

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