Category Archives: Adult

The Belly of Paris, by Émile Zola

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Thistle

This is probably the best Zola I’ve read since Germinal. The translation, by Mark Kurlansky, was fabulous. Each of the six chapters opens up a new section of life in the Paris food market. Food becomes a metaphor for everything … Continue reading →

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The Nun, by Denis Diderot

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Thistle

I’ve wanted to read this for years solely because I bought it in French back in 2000. I didn’t even know what it was about, but I owned it in French. I read it in English though. It’s all about … Continue reading →

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Dracula, by Bram Stoker

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Thistle

The first weekend of May, a cold front came through and got me right into the mood for RIP reading. My last book of the weekend was Dracula. Everyone pretty much knows the story of Dracula. While I didn’t love … Continue reading →

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Death in the Castle, by Pearl S. Buck

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Thistle

The first weekend of May, a cold front came through and got me right into the mood for RIP reading. Death in the Castle was the second of three books I read. Buck is famous for The Good Earth, which is … Continue reading →

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Amphigorey Again, by Edward Gorey

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Thistle

The first weekend of May, a cold front came through and got me right into the mood for RIP reading. Amphigorey Again is the first of the three books I read! This is the final of four Gorey collections, morbid macabre … Continue reading →

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Protected: The Winter of our Discontent, by John Steinbeck

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Thistle

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The Professor’s House, by Willa Cather

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Thistle

The Professor’s House is different from most of Cather’s more famous works, which feature immigrants, pioneers, and life in the lower Midwest. Interestingly, I’ve found that I tend not to care much about those works. My Antonia was okay but … Continue reading →

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The Unit, by Ninni Holmqvist

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Thistle

Imagine a world where economic productivity comes first, a world perhaps not so different from our own, if you really think about it. In this world, people are considered necessary to society if they marry, have children (future workers), and/or … Continue reading →

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Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Thistle

Jude and Sue are two distant cousins from a family that has had bad luck with marriage. They’ve both been warned not to marry anyone, but both do, and both marriages fail. Now they are in love with each other, … Continue reading →

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Joy in the Morning, by Betty Smith

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Thistle

Eighteen-year-old Annie leaves Brooklyn to join her longtime boyfriend Carl in the Midwest, where he’s attending law school. The two get married against their families’ wishes. This book takes them through their first year of marriage and the birth of … Continue reading →

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