I’ve begun to use Shelfari to keep track of the books I’ve read & plan on reading. I tried out a bunch of similar sites, including aNobii, GoodReads, LibraryThing (there seem to be a lot of sites springing up right now along these lines). I liked Shelfari’s design and usability the best, and although it’s not perfect, it’s got what I need.
I’ve been on a book reading tear ever since I cut the cord with the New Yorker a few weeks ago. Here are some recent highlights:
Even though A Wild Sheep Chase isn’t a strict prequel, I was glad I’d read it beforehand. Without it, the story would have been surreal and confusing, rather than just surreal. Murakami’s plots have a feeling of magical inevitability, which can be good or bad thing depending on what kind of a reader I’m feeling like, but his descriptive prose never fails to blow me away. This year I’ve also read South of the Border, West of the Sun and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. Thanks to Erin B. and Steve L. for getting me on the kick.
Josh M. recommended this prior to the Iceland trip, and although I brought it along I never found time to crack it open while in Iceland. Nor in Paris the week after. So I ended up bringing it on the subsequent Mineral King backpacking trip. The spare, direct style made it work pretty well as a sitting-out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere meditation type read. Some might find it a little dry and encyclopedic, but I thought it was a fun one. Not often that you get to read a story full of blood feuds and infidelity composed in the 13th century.
