Author Archives: Thistle

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About Thistle

Queer, neurospicy, chronically longwinded oversharer. 40s; they/them. ✍️📷🐈📚🥾🇩🇪🏳️‍🌈😇💖🐍

The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway

Posted on October 1, 2008 by Thistle

The Cellist of Sarajevo is a fictional account of four people during the siege of Sarajevo in the early ’90s. First, there is the cellist, who witnesses an attack that kills 22 people outside his window as they waited in … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Adult, Prose | Tagged | 3 Comments

The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton

Posted on September 27, 2008 by Thistle

I remember reading something by Edith Wharton in 11th grade. Ethan Frome, I believe. I don’t remember particularly liking her style, which is why, when my book club at the library chose House of Mirth for our October selection, I … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Adult, Prose | Tagged | 2 Comments

Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams, by Sylvia Plath

Posted on September 22, 2008 by Thistle

Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams is a collection of short stories, essays, and journal entries by Sylvia Plath. Altogether, 20 stories, 5 essays, and 5 journal collections grace this book. I must say that it’s extremely difficult to … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Adult, Prose | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Killing Mr. Griffin, by Lois Duncan

Posted on September 8, 2008 by Thistle

I first read this book fifteen or more years ago. I was on a real Lois Duncan streak then. I loved her works, especially Down a Dark Hall, which had a profound effect on me – I reread it last … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Dr. Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak

Posted on September 6, 2008 by Thistle

Spoilers. Ugh. What else can I say about this book? It’s nearly 550 pages of ugh. Somewhere awhile back we** were talking about loss in translation. I think this book is the perfect example of that. Not just because it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Adult, Prose | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Nine Lives to Murder, by Marion Babsen

Posted on August 21, 2008 by Thistle

Spoilers. This book was…okay. Not my favorite, but then again, I’ve not read anything in the mystery genre since my youngin’ days of R.L. Stine’s The Babysitter (not the best recommendation for the genre, I might add). I was therefore … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Adult, Prose | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Pale Fire, by Vladimir Nabokov

Posted on August 20, 2008 by Thistle

Wow. I say that in the most respectful, perfectly awed tone possible. This is, without a doubt, the most difficult book I’ve ever read. Harder by far than Don Quixote and Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary. Harder than any other … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Adult, Poetry, Prose | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Prophet of Yonwood, by Jeanne DuPrau

Posted on August 9, 2008 by Thistle

The Prophet of Yonwood is much, much better than The People of Sparks, though not quite as good as The City of Ember. It is, like Sparks, definitely a juvenile book, complete with sections of fact completely brushed over. But … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Children's, Prose | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The People of Sparks, by Jeanne DuPrau

Posted on August 8, 2008 by Thistle

Spoilers for the first book in the series. The People of Sparks takes up where The City of Ember left off. Lina and Doon have flung down the instructions for escaping Ember, and Lina’s guardian picks them up. Within a … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Children's, Prose | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Headless Cupid, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Posted on August 5, 2008 by Thistle

When I turned ten, a friend of mine gave me a pack of five books by various authors for my birthday. One of them was The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I loved that book! I read it over … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Children's, Prose | Tagged | 1 Comment