Current features, travel adventures, and whatever interesting stuff I find on the net or in life.
Book sale: if you buy Intermediate French for Dummies between now and the end of April, you can get a $5 rebate – just download the rebate form and follow the instructions here: Dummies rebate
If you didn’t already know about it, my book includes intermediate-level grammar lessons, writing tips, and practice exercises, and is the most extensive (and, all modesty aside, the best) book I’ve written. Check it out at Amazon.com or your favorite bookstore:
Update 4 Dec: Another kind reader has made three book wishes come true. The internet’s wonderousness never ceases to amaze me.
Update 7 July: I’ve received three books from one grateful reader who emailed me, and two others who didn’t. So to all three of you, anonymous and named, thank you! I appreciate the books. 
Original post (28 January 2009): I had a flash of inspiration this morning. While looking at my never-ending list of books I have to have, I realized that there are probably tens, even hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of people out there just dying to buy me presents. So I put them all into my Amazon wishlist to make it easy for you:
Seriously, though, I made this to organize my thoughts. But if anyone out there does want to buy me a book, please note that I prefer paperbacks. Kindle is good too, except for cookbooks and grammar books.
I’ve been writing so much for my new chick lit blog that I felt it was time to review a completely different kind of book. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, is one of the best books ever written, and I actually envy you if you haven’t read it yet, because the first reading of this five-part trilogy* is out of this world. (But don’t get me wrong – the second and third and fourth reading are great fun too.) Squarely in the realm of science fiction, it’s screamingly funny and wholly original. I can’t recommend it highly enough. (The original radio scripts are fun to read too.)
*A little joke of the author’s
I’m addicted to chick lit, and I’m finally ready to talk about it. You can read all about my guiltiest pleasure on my new blog: Chick Literate – Confessions of a chick lit fanatic
To make my new blog a little more fun and playful, I created a rating system of 0 to 5 hearts, with an appropriately cute graphic for each rating. Since I started with some of my favorite books, only the 5 hearts award is visible on the blog so far, but the others will all show up soon enough. Hope to see you there!
While I was in New York, I received my Kindle in the mail, and I absolutely love it. The books download very quickly, the screen is easy to read, it’s lightweight… everything is good. Plus, it’s amazing to hold this device that is about the size of one book and know that it can hold 200! Sure cuts down on luggage. Of course, I can’t use the wireless feature in France, but all I have to do is attach the Kindle to my computer and transfer the new books that way. All in all, a great buy.
Well, I did it – after reading dozens of reviews (both good and bad), and thinking about how convenient it would be to have 200 books hidden in a portable device, I bit the bullet and bought Amazon Kindle. Unfortunately, it’s on backorder with no delivery estimate, so I don’t even know if I’ll get it before I move in March. Just have to wait and see.
This book was published in 2006, but I only just got around to reading it, and the only reason I bought it in the first place was that I noticed it on a friend’s bookshelf and liked the cover. I’m amazed that I never heard anyone talking about it, and no one ever recommended it to me, because it’s fantastic. It’s the true story of a woman who spends a year finding herself by eating (and learning Italian) in Italy, praying in India, and loving in Indonesia. It’s funny, it’s touching, it’s inspiring – it’s just a fantastic book. Don’t miss out like I almost did – read
Book lovers rejoice! I was lucky enough to be given a copy of the book Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader recently, and I could not be more thrilled. This collection of essays on topics related to books, reading, and writing is delightful, and two of them – “Inse(r)t a Carrot Caret” and “The Literary Glutton” – made me laugh until I wept. This is a great book for book addicts, fanatical readers, compulsive proofreaders, and language lovers – don’t miss it.
It’s official: the 7th and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be released in July, but everyone is taking pre-orders. I debated between the standard and deluxe versions, but in the end I’m just going to read it a couple of times, so I went for the plain version. I’m looking forward to and dreading this book simultaneously. It will really be the end of an era.
Calling all French lovers – you have to read The Story of French. I can’t imagine the kind of dedication it must take to write such an informative and interesting book, but I’m definitely grateful to the people that did it. It’s a reference book on my favorite subject that reads more like a novel – I enjoyed it immensely.
The Story of French review
