Thursday, December 31, 2009

Books I've read: 2009

Books in bold are ones I've especially liked:
  1. Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman
  2. Owl in Love, Patrice Kindl
  3. Lock and Key, Sarah Dessen
  4. The Two Princesses of Bamarre, Gail Carson Levine
  5. Vegan Virgin Valentine, Carolyn Mackler
  6. The Singing, Alison Croggon
  7. Inferno, Robin Stevenson
  8. Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl
  9. City of Glass, Cassandra Clare
  10. The Last Days, Scott Westerfeld
  11. Guyaholic, Carolyn Mackler
  12. Alanna, Tamora Pierce
  13. In the Hand of the Goddess, Tamora Pierce
  14. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, Tamora Pierce
  15. Lioness Rampant, Tamora Pierce
  16. Trickster's Choice, Tamora Pierce
  17. Trickster's Queen, Tamora Pierce
  18. The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), Rick Riordan
  19. Impossible, Nancy Werlin
  20. Brisingr, Christopher Paolini
  21. The Sorceress (The Secrets of Nicholas Flamel: Book 3), Michael Scott
  22. Revelations, Melissa de la Cruz
  23. The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan
  24. Watchman, Alan Moore
  25. The Arrival, Shaun Tan
  26. Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson
  27. A Homemade Life, Molly Wizenberg
  28. Pretty Monsters, Kelly Link
  29. Good Girls, Laura Ruby
  30. Queste (Septimus Heap, Book 4), Angie Sage
  31. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
  32. The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness
  33. The Secret of Lost Things, Sheridan Hay
  34. Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb, Kirsten Miller
  35. Along for the Ride, Sarah Dessen
  36. Heroes of the Valley, Jonathan Stroud
  37. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
  38. People of the Book, Geraldine Brooks
  39. Light on Snow, Anita Shreve
  40. Three Junes, Julia Glass
  41. Nation, Terry Pratchett
  42. Secrets of My Hollywood Life: On Location, Jen Calonita
  43. The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown
  44. Commencement, J. Courtney Sullivan
  45. Secrets of My Hollywood Life: Family Affairs, Jen Calonita
  46. Secrets of My Hollywood Life: Paparazzi Princess, Jen Calonita
  47. The Boy Book, E. Lockhart
  48. The Treasure Map of Boys, E. Lockhart
  49. The Van Alen Legacy, Melissa de la Cruz
  50. Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, Ally Carter
  51. Liar, Justine Larbalestier
  52. Forest Born, Shannon Hale
  53. Interworld, Neil Gaiman
  54. Fire, Kristin Cashore
  55. Vendetta, Chris Humphreys
  56. The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking, Book 2), Patrick Ness
  57. Front and Center, Catherine Murdock
  58. Sacred Scars (A Resurrection of Magic, Book 2), Kathleen Duey
  59. The Overlord Protocol (H.I.V.E.), Mark Walden

Monday, July 13, 2009

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The Omnivore's 100

From the Boston Globe via Very Good Taste, a food meme.

I know everyone did this forever ago, but I dropped off the face of the blog-earth, and still think this is interesting enough to post. Here are the instructions:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Books I've read: 2008

Books in bold are ones I've especially liked:
  1. The Book of Lost Things, John Connolly
  2. Something Rotten, Jasper Fforde
  3. Bastard of Istanbul, Elif Shafak
  4. Audrey, Wait!, Robin Benway (ARC)
  5. Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris
  6. An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England, Brock Clarke
  7. How to Be Bad, e. lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle (ARC)
  8. Bewitching Season, Marissa Doyle (ARC)
  9. The Last of the High Kings, Kate Thompson (ARC)
  10. Thursday Next: First Among Sequels, Jasper Fforde
  11. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Barry Lyga
  12. Garlic and Sapphires, Ruth Reichl
  13. In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan
  14. The Memory of Running, Ron McLarty
  15. What the Dickens, Gregory Maguire
  16. The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
  17. How Reading Changed My Life, Anna Quindlen
  18. Secrets of My Hollywood Life, Jen Calonita
  19. The Singer of All Songs, Kate Constable
  20. The Queen of Cool, Cecil Castellucci
  21. Rash, Pete Hautman
  22. The Waterless Sea, Kate Constable
  23. The Tenth Power, Kate Constable
  24. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie
  25. City of Bones, Cassandra Clare
  26. Twisted, Laurie Halse Anderson
  27. Peeps, Scott Westerfeld
  28. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick
  29. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart
  30. The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart
  31. Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me, Ben Karlin
  32. The Contract with God Trilogy, Will Eisner
  33. Lady Friday, Garth Nix
  34. Once Upon a Time in the North, Philip Pullman
  35. The Time Machine, H. G. Wells
  36. My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult
  37. Odd and the Frost Giants, Neil Gaiman
  38. Ever, Gail Carson Levine
  39. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert
  40. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell
  41. City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare
  42. Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri
  43. Rapunzel's Revenge, Shannon and Dean Hale
  44. Squids Will Be Squids, John Scieszka
  45. Y: The Last Man: Girl on Girl, Brian K. Vaughan
  46. Y: The Last Man: Paper Dolls, Brian K. Vaughan
  47. Y: The Last Man: Kimono Dragons, Brian K. Vaughan
  48. Y: The Last Man: Motherland, Brian K. Vaughan
  49. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Ann Brashares
  50. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares
  51. The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book 4), Rick Riordan
  52. Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares
  53. Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares
  54. The Plain Janes, Cecil Castellucci
  55. Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
  56. The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Mary E. Pearson
  57. Suite Scarlett, Maureen Johnson
  58. Y: The Last Man: Whys and Wherefores, Brian K. Vaughan
  59. The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Michael Scott
  60. Kitty Kitty, Michele Jaffe
  61. Girl at Sea, Maureen Johnson
  62. Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer
  63. The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl, Book 6), Eoin Colfer
  64. Just Listen, Sarah Dessen
  65. Breaking Up, Aimee Friedman and Christine Norrie
  66. A Conspiracy of Paper, David Liaa
  67. The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory
  68. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
  69. The Virgin Suicides, Jeffrey Eugenides
  70. Something Rotten, Alan Gratz
  71. The Power of One, Bryce Courtenay
  72. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Maggie O'Farrell
  73. Physik (Septimus Heap: Book Three), Angie Sage
  74. Paper Towns, John Green
  75. How to Ditch Your Fairy, Justine Larbalestier
  76. The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
  77. Physik, Angie Sage
  78. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
  79. Graceling, Kristin Cashore
  80. Ironside, Holly Black
  81. The Book of the Unknown, Jonathon Keats