Books read recently by J. Zimmerman.

Disclaimer. Links. Booker Prizes Best books read. Books read Best writers of poetry and prose New books on Christianity and Spirituality by Pagels, Ehrman, et al.
Why read a book? Harry Potter; also Harry Potter en Español. The Mental Health of George W. Bush "Just because you've decided to sell out, that doesn't mean anyone's going to buy." p.157. See Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels and Book log of Making Comics.

Reader's Bill of Rights [after Daniel Pennac in Better than Life from November 2003 Utne Magazine] includes the rights to:

Skip pages Not read Not finish Not defend your tastes

{ September (septiembre (see also books on learning Spanish)) 2007 }

(9.30.2007)

Completed and reluctantly returned to library: Seabirds: a Natural History by Anthony J. Gaston, the consumate expert on seabirds

(9.28.2007)

• Finished the classic The little treasury of one hundred people, one poem each, a compilation of 100 tanka, each by a different Japanese poet and compiled by Fujiwara no Sadaie (1162-1241 C.E.); this version translated by Tom Galt.

  Compare with blog of Sounds from the Unknown (a collection of tanka by Japanese-Americans) and report on tanka page of Sounds from the Unknown (a collection of tanka by Japanese-Americans); translated and edited Lucille M. Nixon and Tomoe Tana.

(9.27.2007)

• Read the Tintin book King Ottokar's Sceptre by Hergé.

  See also Tintin: The Complete Companion for Hergé (author and illustrator)
  written by Michael Farr.

(9.26.2007)

• Finished The Discomfort Zone: a Personal History by Jonathan Franzen. A collection of essays about his adolescence. I was lulled into it when I began the study of Natural History of Birds by his final (though post-adolescent) essay "My Bird Problem":

  Then my mother died, and I went out bird-watching for the first time in my life [p. 175]. ... It was in California that the affair really took of. My furtive hour-long get-togethers gave way to day-long escapes that I openly spent birding [pp. 183-184]. ... In the distance, hip-deep in salt grass, were two adult whooping cranes whose white breasts and long sturdy necks and russet heads reflected sunlight that then passed through my binoculars and fell upon my retinas, allowing me to claim the crane as my No. 400 [p. 195]. ... All of a sudden -- it might have been my having reached the empty plateau of four hundred species -- I felt weary of birds and birding [p. 195].

• Read Poetry (September 2007).

  Poems by 20 poets, including 14 poets from Indian poets, many translated by their authors. No favorites.

  As usual, the issue is heavy with prose, which includes a single ruby: Kay Ryan's "I Demand to Speak With God", her review of The Notebooks of Robert Frost edited by Robert Faggen.

(9.24.2007)

• Read the Tintin book The Black Island by Hergé.

  See also Tintin: The Complete Companion for Hergé (author and illustrator)
  written by Michael Farr.

(9.23.2007)

• Completed Marine Mammals of California by Robert T. Orr and Roger C. Helm.

(9.22.2007)

• Read the Tintin book The Broken Ear by Hergé. This is the English version of what was read earlier in Spanish: La Oreja Rota (Las Aventuras de Tintín) by Hergé.

  See also Tintin: The Complete Companion for Hergé (author and illustrator)
  written by Michael Farr.

(9.21.2007)

Completed (well, reluctantly returned to library): National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America edited by Jon L. Dunn and Jonathan Alderfer.

(9.20.2007)

Completed (well, reluctantly returned to library): Tintin: The Complete Companion for Hergé (author and illustrator), written by Michael Farr.

(9.19.2007)

• Re-read "Expressing your feelings: Tanka", the chapter on tanka in Bruce Ross's How to Haiku.

(9.18.2007)

• Read Sounds from the Unknown (a collection of tanka by Japanese-Americans),
  translated and edited Lucille M. Nixon and Tomoe Tana.

(9.17.2007)

• Completed (well, reluctantly returned to library) The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley.

  Begun as part of a study of Natural History of Birds.

  See also Sibley's The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America.

(9.15.2007)

• Abandoned Learning Human by Les Murray.

  It contains 137 poems that Murray considers his best from 1965-1998.

(9.10.2007)

• Day 4 of 2007 Asilomar Haiku Retreat.

(9.09.2007)

• Day 3 of 2007 Asilomar Haiku Retreat.

(9.08.2007)

• Day 2 of 2007 Asilomar Haiku Retreat.

(9.07.2007)

• Day 1 of 2007 Asilomar Haiku Retreat.

(9.06.2007)

• Finished The Narrow Road to Oku by Matsuo Bashō, translated by Donald Keene and illustrated by Miyata Masayuki.

(9.02.2007)

Finished the 2007 Booker favorite, On Chesil Beach (2007) by Ian McEwan. A novella of the failure of two people that thought they loved each other to speak truthfully to each other and to truly want the best for each other. The woman, Florence, traveling to Chesil Beach for her honeymoon with her husband of a few hours, looks forward to her marriage consummation with " a visceral dread, a helpless disgust as palpable as seasickness" [p.8]. Florence has rich, intellectual, and self-obsessed parents; Florence's mother is not someone to whom Florence can confide; Florence's father (we learn early) traveled with her alone; at age 12 she shared hotel rooms with him, setting up an unresolved innuendo that Florence received inappropriate sexual attentions from her father on those trips, and perhaps lessons in not talking about sexual matters. Concerning Florence and her father, the would-be husband (Edward) thinks "they were intensely aware of each other, though, and had the impression they exchanged glances when other people were talking, as though sharing a secret criticism" [p.140] and "that he [the father] was rather too keen to give his daughter away" [p.141]. Initially more time seems spent with Florence's perspective, so one feels quite sympathetic to her and her offer of an unusual relationship to Edward. But with increasing information about Edward, he evolves from a rather pathetic character into someone that Florence could loved and, had they both had patience and courage, someone that could have even been a Leonard Woolf to Florence's Virginia.

{ August (agosto (see also books on learning Spanish)) 2007 }

(8.29.2007)

• Finished Sea Kayaking Basics (Hearst Marine Books) by David Harrison.
  Excellent.
• the 2007 Booker favorite, On Chesil Beach (2007) by Ian McEwan: my request is now number 2 out of 61 on my library's reservation list.

• Finished Conscious and Verbal by Les Murray.

• Finished Falling Man by Don DeLillo.
  It's his "9/11" novel, and gives a fair impression of shock and awe, and experience of recovery from the WTC collapse. However, I found more interesting the other 9/11 book: Extremely loud and incredibly close by Jonathan Safran Foer.
  Other books by DeLillo:
  • Cosmopolis: a surreal farce of sociopathic greed.
  • The Body Artist: a slender story about how one artist creates her work from her passions and her losses, from the aggregation of her experiences and her memories. And how she integrates and communicates them through her medium, which is, for the novel's heroine, her body.
  • Underworld: his weakest book that I've read; the book's mass is like that of a small moon of Jupiter; the tome is merely a collage of information, which the diverse and intermittent narrative fails to hold together. DeLillo writes (a third of the way through the book): "Pain is just another form of information". And in this novel, vice versa.

• So, on to the 2007 Booker favorite, On Chesil Beach (2007) by Ian McEwan: my request is now number 5 out of 61 on my library's reservation list.

• Finished listening to The lady and the unicorn by Tracy Chevalier.
  Interesting to hear Chevalier's invention of how a set of six tapestries were designed and woven in the late 15th century. One's hope that the seductive Nicholas and the rebellious Claude get their justice is somewhat met. More importantly, however, is the delight of learning more about the many different skills needed to make tapestries, and the many struggles of peoples at that time.

• For the 2007 Booker favorite, On Chesil Beach (2007) by Ian McEwan, my request is now number 9 out of 64 on my library's reservation list.

• For the 2007 Booker favorite, On Chesil Beach (2007) by Ian McEwan, my request is now number 14 out of 67 on my library's reservation list.

Finished Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007) by J.K. Rowling. Yes, it is terrific. A very satisfying ending (albeit with too many soggy camping experiences and a suspicious wealth of coincidences and dei ex machinae). See also: Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Book 5: Paperback Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Book 4: Paperback Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Español: Harry Potter y el misterio del pr&iacut;ncipe. Harry Potter en Español. Harry Potter auf Deutsch.

Enjoyable to listen (eventually) to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows read by Jim Dale. But he is quite weak compared with the brilliant Stephen Fry in British English -- get that recording if you can get a British friend to send it to you. (8.8.2007)

• Booker prize long list announced for 2007.
• For the 2007 Booker favorite, On Chesil Beach (2007) by Ian McEwan, my request is now number 16 out of 67 on my library's reservation list.

• Chortle: a friend just gave me Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. Deleted my request from my library's reservation list.

• At P-Day plus 11 for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling, my request is now number 20 out of 166 on my library's reservation list.
• For Possible 2007 Booker favorite, On Chesil Beach (2007) by Ian McEwan, my request is now number 20 out of 69 on my library's reservation list.

{ July (julio (see also books on learning Spanish)) 2007 }

(7.31.2007)

• Birdsong by Don Stap.

  Completed as part of a study of Natural History of Birds.

  See also Sibley's The Sibley Guide to Birds and his
  The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America.

• Completed listening to Fingersmith (2002 Booker Prize nominee) by Sarah Waters.

  Long and a little slow. A Victorian-style tale of romance, sin, and murder, told somewhat like a tale by Dickens or Trollop, though not as rich peopled.

• Read Poetry (July-August 2007).

  As usual, the issue is heavy with prose Favorite poems are:

  • Patricia Smith's Hip-Hop Ghazal.
  • Billy Collins Old Man Eating Alone in a Chinese Restaurant.
  • Wendy Cope's Some Rules.

Returned to library (skimmed for study of Santa Cruz Mountains):

• Boundaries of home: mapping for local empowerment edited by Doug Aberley.
• Geology of the San Francisco Bay region by Doris Sloan.

Far from the Madding Gerund and other dispatches from the Language Log (2006) by Mark Liberman and Geoffrey K. Pullum. Dipped into this for a couple of months. Completed as part of a study of language and linguistics. See also Pullum's The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax.

• Lesson 12 of Natural History of Birds: Bird conservation, primarily marine birds.
• At P-Day plus 4 for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling, my request is now number 47 out of 184 on my library's reservation list.

• Listened to America (the audiobook): a citizen's guide to democracy inaction by Jon Stewart.

  Samples from Stephen Colbert, Ed Helms, Jon Stewart, and others on The Daily Show. Satire but somewhat predictable. Lacks significant intrinsic wit.

• At P-Day plus 3 for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling, my request is now number 47 out of 182 on my library's reservation list.

• Lesson 11 of Natural History of Birds: Bird conservation, primarily terrestrial Birds.
• At P-Day plus 2 for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling, my request is now number 63 out of 191 on my library's reservation list.

• And as it is now P-Day plus 1 for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling, my request is now number 69 out of 193 on my library's reservation list.

• And as it is now the 21st July 2007, they have released Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling, my request is now number 72 out of 189 on my library's reservation list just before the library opens!

• And as it is now Only ONE day till the 21st July 2007 release parties for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling, my request is now number 72 out of 188 on my library's reservation list.

Birding Basics by David Allen Sibley. Completed as part of a study of Natural History of Birds. See also Sibley's The Sibley Guide to Birds and his The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America.

• Lesson 10 of Natural History of Birds: Mating systems and social behavior.

• And as it is now Only 3 days till the 21st July 2007 release parties for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling, My request is now number 72 out of 179 on my library's reservation list.

• Abandoned Fredy Neptune: a novel in verse by Les Murray.

  It's won praise for its length and its material (Armenian, Nazi, and other atrocities). But after three attempts I decided life is short and I don't have time for it.

• Discovered the Possible Cause of the Great Vowel Shift.

• And as it is now Only 4 days till the 21st July 2007 release parties for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling, I notice that my request is now number 72 out of 178 on my library's reservation list.

• Lesson 9 of Natural History of Birds: Communication and nesting.

• The Assault on Reason by Al Gore.

  Terrific book. Very readable presentation of Gore's considerable knowledge of politics, U.S. history, and the intent of the Founders as expressed in the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

  Chapters:

  • Introduction
  1. The Politics of Fear
  2. Blinding the Faithful
  3. The Politics of Wealth
  4. Convenient Untruths
  5. The Assault on the Individual
  6. National Insecurity
  7. The Carbon Crisis
  8. Democracy in the Balance
  9. A Well-Connected Citizenry
  • Conclusion: The Rebirth of Democracy
  • 20 pages of notes.
  • 12 pages of index.

• Lesson 8 of Natural History of Birds: Field trip to Big Sur Ornithological Laboratory (bird banding laboratory) and Andrew Molera State Park (riparian birds).

• Lesson 7 of Natural History of Birds: Migration and molt.

Further discard of books:

• The Art and Craft of Novel Writing by Oakley Hall.
  A useful book for the beginner. One of the books that helped me attempt the misguided NanoWriMo, Write a Novel in November challenge.

• The Art of War translated by Leong Weng Kam, edited and illustrated by Tsai Chih Chung.
  "All commanders have five weaknesses:
  1. When he is reckless, it is easy to kill him.
  2. When he is afraid, it is easy to capture him.
  3. When he is angry, it is easy to provoke him.
  4. When he is sensitive, it is easy to insult him.
  5. When he is emotional, it is easy to worry him.

• Bad Trips by Keath Fraser.
  50 short stories, or excerpts from longer works, each by a different author. My favorite is the 1985 Booker Prize short lister, Jan Morris's brief "My Journey":

  I resolved ... I would have a glass of wine every day for the rest of my life, if there was wine to be had; and ... if I could possibly help it, I would never travel disagreeably again. ... and if, Zagazig being the place it is, I were unable to have a glass of wine with my bean stew dinner that evening (if indeed I were able to face dinner at all, in the current state of my stomach), well, it would only go to show that principles of travel, like any other rules, can only be proved by exception. Never let it, I would tell myself firmly, on any account happen again.

• The Complete Guide to the Tatshenshini River by Russ Lyman et al.
  What a gorgeous Canadian river.

• Maiden Voyages: Writings of Women Travelers edited and introduced by Mary Morris.
  Exerpts from 51 authors. Morris's half-page biography of each author is a pleasant introduction to the essays. Mary Kingsley is a special light-hearted delight.

• Sugar and other stories by A.S. Byatt.
  This collection of 11 stories that "are long ... and intricately constructed, requiring a reader's full attention". Her stories need the attention that I give to science texts for my Natural History, Political Science, and Psychology classes. Not what I want for summer reading, or for gentle relief from studying science texts. Goodbye to the donation box.

(7.9.2007)

• Lesson 6 of Natural History of Birds: Seabird and shorebird ecology.

• And as it is now Only 12 days till the 21st July 2007 release parties for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling I notice that my request is now number 72 out of 165 on my library's reservation list.

(7.8.2007)

• The History of the English Language: Part 3 by Seth Lerer.

  Adjunct to my studies of language and linguistics.

  Better than The History of the English Language: Part 2 but still not as interesting as The History of the English Language: Part 1 where we heard about the foundations of the language.

(7.7.2007)

• Home and Exile by Chinua Achebe, Winner of the 2007 Man Booker International Prize.

• And on an equally important note in terms of getting people to read: Only two weeks till the 21st July 2007 release parties for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling. My request is number 72 out of 158 on my library's reservation list.

(7.6.2007)

• Lesson 5 of Natural History of Birds: Field trip to Elkhorn Slough by kayak: waders and water birds.

(7.5.2007)

• The Devil's Larder (2001) by Jim Crace.

(7.4.2007)

• July Survey of Big Basin Berry Creek Falls flowers, banana slugs, and newts.

• Skimmed the marvelous Dragonflies and Damselflies of California (California Natural History Guides, 72) by Tim Manolis. The hunt was afoot for the yellow-and-black ringed dragonfly with the yellow forehead, seen on the July 11-mile hike in Big Basin. It's most likely the Pacific Spiketail (Cordulegaster dorsalis).

  Such names imply evidence of J. K. Rowling's sense of humor: the Dragons in Harry Potter books are named after Dragonflies!

  Handy information on Dragonflies:

  1. Dragonflies are of the order Odonata, from Greek for tooth and referring to refer to the impressive chewing mouthpiece of the dragonfly.
  2. Modern odonates are found 200 millions years ago, in fossils from the Jurassic.
  3. Dragon fly fossils with wing spans over 2 feet are found from the Permian (about 250 million years ago).
  4. Adults have two pairs of relatively long wings, about equal length and extensively veined.
  5. Adults have large compound eyes.
  6. Adults have relatively long and narrow bodies with a 10-segmented abdomen.
  7. Two main suborders: Zygopterans (damselflies), whose two eyes are on stalks on either side of their heads and whose wings at rest are held together above their abdomens; and Anisopterans ("typical" dragonflies), which are more robust than damselflies, whose large compound eyes are close together (often on top of their heads), whose hind wings are broader at their base than the front wings, and whose wings at rest are held together above their abdomens.
  8. Voracious predators, mostly eating insects on-the-wing, including other dragonflies.
  9. Capture by hawking (mainly "typical" dragonflies, constantly pursuing flying insects, somewhat like swallows) and by sallying (mainly damselflies, perching then darting out to capture prey before returning to perch, somewhat like flycatchers).
  10. Mating usually in late morning of early afternoon, using wheel position.
  11. Amphibian: lay eggs in water; larva stage (high-level predators feeding on aquatic vertebrates including small fish and tadpoles).
  12. Danger of overheating is reduced by resting in shade or adopting "obelisk" position (pointing in the direction of the sun).

(7.3.2007)

• The History of the English Language: Part 2 by Seth Lerer.

  Adjunct to my studies of language and linguistics.

  The History of the English Language: Part 1 was more interesting.

(7.2.2007)

• Lesson 4 of Natural History of Birds: Feeding.

(7.1.2007)

• Skimmed and listened to CD that accompanies Common Birds and Their Songs by Lang Elliott and Marie Read.

  Had hoped this would be a useful way to learn some bird songs for the Natural History of Birds class. But they give no sea birds, and where a bird is found in only one side of the USA, it is the East: Baltimore Oriole, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Towhee, Scarlet Tanager, and so on.

Related pages: Books on Buddhism. Books on Learning Spanish. Poetry - Learn How to Write Your Own. Forests of California and Trees of the World.

Check our disclaimer. Copyright © 2007-2016 by J. Zimmerman.