Alexandrian Women

thewriteratwork @ 03:49 pm: Are the women reading?
I missed the August read, On Love; for those who read it, any thoughts? I requested it from the library and then never picked it up (shame on me); hopefully September's book won't suffer the same fate. (If only the library were easier to get to...) Did anyone read The Penelopiad? I'm very curious to see what others think...

thewriteratwork @ 10:21 am: Old School - quick thoughts
Although I finished Old School in June, I'm getting fuzzy on the details, so I though I'd post before I forget everything.

This is shameful but true: I'm so sexist in my reading that I almost never read novels by men. I even groaned inwardly when I saw this on the list. But I really enjoyed this book.

What did you all think of it? I do love books on writers and writing; I almost fell out of my chair laughing during the Rand section -- all of my high school friends went through a Rand phase, and that part just took me back to being 17 and feigning nonchalance at our local diner as we tried to emulate her characters...

( I wasn't wild about the end of the bookCollapse )

ex_literatim603 @ 08:18 am: Reading Lists
Book List 2007
January: Reading Lolita in Tehran : A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
February
March: Building Babel by Suniti Namjoshi
April: The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt
May

Book List 2006
June: Old School by Tobias Wolf
July: The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
August: On Love by Alain de Botton
September: Still She Haunts Me by Katie Roiphe
October: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
November: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
December: Possession by A. S. Byatt

Book List 2005
February: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Anne Bronte
June: Moonwise Greer Ilene Gilman
July: The Chess Garden Brooks Hansen
August: Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams Catherynne M. Valente

Book List 2004
The Letters of Abelard and Heloise
Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
The Labyrinth Catherynne M. Valente
Music of a Proto-Suicide Catherynne M. Valente
Medea the Sorceress Diane Wakoski
The Satanic Verses: A Novel Salman Rushdie

ex_literatim603 @ 12:23 pm: June is almost here!!!
Well, ladies, it looks as if June is almost upon us and that means we are back in the swing of things with the first book from the list. You will need to beg, borrow, or steal a copy of Old School by Tobias Wolf recommended to us by the ever fabulous ironed_orchid.

Please post questions, comments, rants, or whathaveyou as you read, so we can all revel in the loveliness of the bookishness.

I'm looking forward to this next year of books since we've a really spectacular list of books and I hope all of you are, too.

Happy reading, ladies!

ex_literatim603 @ 09:24 am: Book List 2006/2007
Hello ladies!

Here is what the plan is for the next year or so. Each of us will get a month to pick the book for the babel ladies. Post the book for your month in the comments and then I can do a complete list later. Book priority goes to the person who's month comes up first. The only rule is that we want new books every month (obviously), but with the amount of books we read on our own, I don't think it'll be a problem. We all have slightly different likes in terms of books, so I think this is going to make for a really great list.

Not all of our members have been active (or present at all), so I'm just listing the ones who have been the most active when the group tends to be active and/or who I know want to be part of the group because, well, I know 'em. If you are a member and are not on the list, then leave a comment saying you want to be on the list. If you are a member and are not on the list and don't leave a comment, I'm going to delete you from the group. If you are not a member, we are not accepting new members, so don't ask.

And now, the list...


June ironed_orchid Old School by Tobias Wolf
July hernewshoes The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
August roomette On Love by Alain de Botton
September pirras_pot Still She Haunts Me by Katie Roiphe
October thewriteratwork The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
November habiliments Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
December shellefly Possession by A. S. Byatt
January fireriven Reading Lolita in Tehran : A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
February grailquestion
March caudelac Building Babel by Suniti Namjoshi
April catvalente The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt
May teaandbiscuits Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson

Please leave your book choice after the beep. *Beep*

ex_literatim603 @ 10:17 pm: It's a New Year! That Means New Books!
Well. Happy New Year ladies!

Unfortunately, however, we are not starting the new year off with a new book list. It seems as though many of us, if not all of us, are wading our way through varying degrees of life stuff. The babel girls, however, are never far away from books, so catvalente and I have decided that until we get a book list together for the coming months (which will be, you know, eventually), we could all use this wonderful haven, as suggested earlier by other babel girls, as a place for posting reviews, rants, commentaries, or whatnots about the books we are reading on our own.

So. Let's read, write, and be merry, shall we?

thesibylqueen @ 01:54 pm: Moonwise thoughts?
Have folks finished Moonwise? Do we want to try a discussion? I'll be honest, I have not started July's book; if others haven't, I suggest we move onto Yume... instead. Which I'm DYING to discuss--I own a blue edition and I *really* want to know what's different in a red edition!!!

reticent_manner @ 08:55 pm: Moonwise
This is just a reminder that our book for June, Moonwise, is supposed to be under your noses as I type. Post any questions or comments or insights about the book as you read so we might all share in the journey together (preferably under a cut with chapters indicated so people who don't like spoilers can save it for after dinner like good girls are supposed to do with dessert).

You bad girls, come with me. ;)

reticent_manner @ 08:20 pm: Summer Reading List
And now for our long awaited summer reading list...

June Moonwise by Greer Ilene Gilman
July The Chess Garden by Brooks Hansen
August Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente

Whatcha waitin' fer? Go get 'em!

ex_roomette173 @ 11:03 pm: Speaking of Oprah sucking moose in Alaska...
Ladies, I present my appeal.

I caught myself watching not just Oprah, but the special edition of Oprah After The Show. This is not really good for my brain. I should not be so familiar with daytime television.

Can we have another book? I have my sanity to defend.