Selections from the Oprah Book Club or Episodes of Magnum P.I.?

1. Death of the Flowers
2. River, Cross My Heart
3. The Arrow That Is Not Aimed
4. Songs in Ordinary Time
5. Going Home
6. Stones from the River
7. Echoes Of The Mind
8. A Lesson Before Dying
9. Let Me Hear The Music
10. The Pilot’s Wife
11. Did You See the Sunrise?
12. Drowning Ruth
13. Open House
14. Autumn Warrior
15. Back Roads

Continue ReadingSelections from the Oprah Book Club or Episodes of Magnum P.I.?

Books I Read in 1998 (82 titles)

The complete list of what I read in 1998. Click on any title to purchase it from Amazon.com.

Fiction

Absolute Power
Author: David Baldacci

Anything Considered
Author: Peter Mayle

Bonfire of the Vanities
Author: Tom Wolfe

The Book of Vices: A Collection of Classic Immoral Tales
Author: Robert J. Hutchinson, ed.

Bridge Over San Luis Rey
Author: Thornton Wilder

Bridget Jones’s Diary
Author: Helen Fielding

The Decameron (selections from…)
Author: Bocaccio

Fairy Tales: Traditional Stories Retold for Gay Men
Author: Peter Cashorali

Follow Your Heart
Author: Suzanne Tamaro

The Game Is Afoot : Parodies, Pastiches and Ponderings of Sherlock Holmes
Author: Marvin Kaye, Editor

Gone is the Shame: A Compendium of Lesbian Erotica
Author: Marti Hohmann

Great Expectations
Author: Charles Dickens

Grendel
Author: John Gardner

Here on Earth
Author: Alice Hoffman

History of Danish Dreams
Author: Peter Hoeg

The Lions of Al-Rassan
Author: Guy Gavriel Kay

London
Author: Edward Rutherfurd

The Masqueraders
Author: Georgette Heyer

Memory Mambo
Author: Achy Obejas

Metamorphoses
Author: Ovid

Multiple Wounds
Author: Alan Russell

Mythology, Including the complete texts of The Age of Fable, The Age of Chivalry, Legends of Charlemagne
Author: Thomas Bulfinch

The Partner
Author: John Grisham

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure : The ‘Good Parts’ Version, Abridged
Author: William Goldman

Sherlock Holmes – A Study in Scarlet
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes – The Sign of the Four
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes – Valley of Fear
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes – The Hound of the Baskervilles
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes – Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes – Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes – Return of Sherlock Holmes
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes – His Last Bow
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes – The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Tigana
Author: Guy Gavriel Kay

To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee

Total Control
Author: David Baldacci

Unnatural Exposure
Author: Patricia Cornwell

Violin
Author: Anne Rice

The Warrior Returns – Anteros Series
Author: Allan Cole

The Winner
Author: David Baldacci

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Author: Gregory Maguire

Poetry

Love Poetry
Author: John Stallworthy

Tao Te Ching (The Way of Life)
Author: Lao Tzu

The Wasteland
Author: T. S. Eliot

Non-Fiction

20 Years of Censored News
Author: Carl Jensen

Amphigorey
Author: Edward Gorey

An Underground Education
Author: Richard Zachs

The Architecture Pack: A Pop-Up Book Of Architecture
Author: Ron Van Der Meer, Deyan Sudjic

Ars Erotica: An Arousing History of Erotic Art
Author: Edward Lucie-Smith

Athena: A Biography
Author: Lee Hall

Benet’s Readers Encyclopedia

The Best American Essays 1997
Author: Ian Frazier (Editor), Geoffrey C. Ward (Editor), Robert Atwan (Editor)

The Book of Kells : An Illustrated Introduction to the Manuscript in Trinity College Dublin
Author: Bernard Meehan

Breaking the Rules in Graphic Design
Author: Rockport Publishers

Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart & Rekindle the Spirit
Author: Jack Hansen, Victor Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Organizing Your Life
Author: Georgene Lockwood

Creating Killer Web Sites
Author: David Seigel

The Day Diana Died
Author: Christopher P. Andersen

Diana, Princess of Wales: A Tribute in Photographs
Author: Michael O’Mara

Don’t Get Me Started
Author: Kate Clinton

Don’t Know Much About The Bible
Author: Kenneth C. Davis

Dorothy Parker: The Viking Portable Library
Author: Dorothy Parker

Family Outing
Author: Chastity Bono

Feng Shui Revealed
Author: R. D. Chin

Frugal Indugents: How to Cultivate Decadence When Your Age and Salary are Under 30
Author: Kera Bolonik, Jennifer Griffin

The Future Ain’t What it Used to Be: the 40 cultural trends transforming your job, your life, your world
Author: Vickie Abramson, Mary Meehan, Larry Samuel

The Gay Man’s Guide to Heterosexuality
Author: C. E. Crimmins, Tom O’Leary

The Gay Quote Book
Author: Brandon Judell

The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence
Author: Gavin DeBecker

Goddess Wisdom: Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena
Author: Manuela Dunn Mascetti

Hoaxes! Dupes Dodges and Other Dastardly Deceptions
Author: Gordon Stein, Marie MacNee

It’s Not Over Until You Win!
Author: Les Brown

Letterhead and Logo Design 5
Author: Rockport Publishers

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Author: James V. Loewen

The Literary Companion to Sex
Author: Fiona Pitt-Kethley

Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor: Warrior Stars of Xena
Author: Nikki Stafford

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story
Author: John Berendt

Nutin’ But good Times Ahead
Author: Molly Ivins

The Simple Living Guide
Author: Janet Luhrs

The Sewing Circle: Hollywood’s Greatest Secret, Female Stars Who Loved Other Women
Author: Axel Madsen

Why People Believe Weird Things
Author: Michael Shermer

Xena : All I Need to Know I Learned from the Warrior Princess
Author: Josepha Sherman

Continue ReadingBooks I Read in 1998 (82 titles)

Books I Read in 1997 (92 titles)

More or less; I started keeping track diligently in the summer; so there are a few titles missing.

Fiction

April Lady
Author: Georgette Heyer

As the Crow Flies
Author: Jeffery Archer

Behind the Mask
Author: Kim Larabee

The Book of Ruth
Author: Jane Hamilton

Cassandra
Author: Christa Wolffs

Belgariad Series – Castle of Wizardry
Author: David Eddings

Belgariad Series – Enchanter’s End Game
Author: David Eddings

Belgariad Series – Magician’s Gambit
Author: David Eddings

Belgariad Series – Pawn of Prophecy
Author: David Eddings

Belgariad Series – Queen of Sorcery
Author: David Eddings

A Civil Contract
Author: Georgette Heyer

The Corinthian
Author: Georgette Heyer

Cotillion
Author: Georgette Heyer

The Dreyfus Affair
Author: Peter LefCourt

Ellen Foster
Author: Kay Gibbons

The Chronicles of Narnia – The Magician’s Nephew (Book 1)
Author: C. S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Book 2)
Author: C. S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia – The Silver Chair
Author: C. S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian
Author: C. S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia – Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Book 5)
Author: C. S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia – The Horse and His Boy (Book 6)
Author: C. S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia – The Last Battle (Book 7)
Author: C. S. Lewis

Faro’s Daughter
Author: Georgette Heyer

Earthsea Trilogy – The Farthest Shore
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Earthsea Trilogy – Tombs of Atuan
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Earthsea Trilogy – A Wizard of Earth Sea
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Earthsea Trilogy – Tehanu
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Foucault’s Pendulum
Author: Umberto Eco

Friday’s Child
Author: Georgette Heyer

The Grand Sophy
Author: Georgette Heyer

The Island of the Day Before
Author: Umberto Eco

Ladylord
Author: Sasha Miller

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – The Fellowship of the Ring
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – The Two Towers
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – The Return of the King
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

Lord of the Dead
Author: Tom Holland

The Modigliani Scandal
Author: Ken Follett

The Moor’s Last Sigh
Author: Salman Rushdie

The Name of the Rose
Author: Umberto Eco

Never Say Never
Author: Linda Hill

The Nonesuch
Author: Georgette Heyer

Pembroke Park
Author: Michelle Martin

Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen

Primary Colors
Author: Anonymous

The Rapture of Canaan
Author: Sheri Reynolds

Sophie’s World
Author: Jostein Gaardner

Speaking Dreams
Author: Severna Parks

Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle
Author: Georgette Heyer

These Old Shades
Author: Georgette Heyer

A Virtuous Woman
Author: Kay Gibbons

Oathbound – Vows and Honor Series
Author: Mercedes Lackey

Oathbreakers – Vows and Honor Series
Author: Mercedes Lackey

Warrior Woman
Author: Marion Zimmer Bradley

Xena: Warrior Princess – The Empty Throne
Author: Ru Emerson

Xena: Warrior Princess – The Huntress and the Sphinx
Author: Ru Emerson

Xena: Warrior Princess – The Thief of Hermes
Author: Ru Emerson

Xena: Warrior Princess – Prophecy of Darkness
Author: Stella Howard, S. D. Perry

Non-Fiction

The Age of Chivalry
Author: National Geographic Society

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Author: Anne Frank

The Art of Fiction
Author: John Gardner

The Book of Crests
Author: Mike MacLaren

Castles
Author: Eyewitness Books

Complete Idiot’s Guide to Dating
Author: Judith Kuriansky

Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wine
Author:

A Dictionary of Heraldry
Author: Stephen Friar

Erotic Poems
Editor: Peter Washington

Eve’s Revenge: Sinners and Saints and Stand-Up Sisters on the Ultimate Extinction of Men
Author: Tama Starr

Everyday Life of Medieval Travelers
Author: Marjorie Rowlings

Half-Truths and One-and-a-Half Truths: Selected Aphorisms
Author: Karl Krauss

Heroines
Author: Norma Jean Goodrich

A History of Erotic Literature
Author: Patrick J. Kearney

I Know You Really Love Me
Author: Dr. Doreen Orion

How to Travel with an Salmon and Other Essays
Author: Umberto Eco

Illustrator Type Magic
Author: Greg Simsic

Journal of a Solitude
Author: May Sarton

Knights
Author: Eyewitness Books

Love and Friendship
Author: Allan Bloom

Mythology
Author: Edith Hamilton

Photoshop 4.0 Classroom in a Book
Author: Adobe Press

Photoshop Type Magic
Author: Greg Simsic

Photoshop Web Magic
Author: Michael Ninness

The Poetry of Byron, Keats and Shelley
Author:

The Regency Rakes
Author: E. Beresford Chancellor

The Age of Scandal: An Excursion Through a Minor Period
Author: T. H. White

Sexuality in Western Art
Author: Edward Lucie Smith

The Tao of Pooh
Author: Benjamin Hoff

The Te of Piglet
Author: Benjamin Hoff

Teach Yourself Photoshop in 14 Days
Author: T. Michael Clark

Walden Pond
Author: H. D. Thoreau

Warriors of Medieval Times
Author: John Matthews and Bob Stewart

Wicked German for the Traveler
Author: Harold Tomb

Xenophobe’s Guide to Americans
Author: Stephanie Faul

Xenophobe’s Guide to Germans
Author: Stephan Ziedenitz, Ben Barkow

Continue ReadingBooks I Read in 1997 (92 titles)

Literary Terms I Like

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From Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia
Accismus
Irony involving insincere modesty
Aesthetic distance
A term that describes the ability to objectify experience in art and present it as independent from its maker.
Argus-eyed
Jealously watchful
Beatrice
Dante’s symbol of Spiritual inspiration
Bell, book and candle
Used in the ceremony of excommunication.
Berserker
Wild, warlike being, possesed of supernatural strength.
Beidermeier
Social conservatism in thought and didacticism in style, capacity of quiet resignation – a sober, resigned attitude towards the world.
Bifrost
The Rainbow Bridge between Asgard and Midgard
Brocken Mountain
Peak of Harz Mountains, scene of the witches sabbath.
Brocken Specter
Shadows of the spectators projected onto the mists by the mountain
Cabal
Political Intriguers from the court of Charles II. Any group of friends on an internet newsgroup who are targeted by trolls and other hysterics.
Caesura
A Break or pause in a line of poetry, for rhetorical effect.
Caledonian boar
A Boar wounded by Atalanta and killed by Meleager
Candlemas Day
Feb. 2nd, blessing of all the candles used in the church for the coming year
Canute
A Danish King who rebuked flatters by commanding the waves to stand still–in vain, of course– to show the limits of his power.
Cassandra
Doomed by Apollo to know the fate of Troy, but to have no one believe her.
Cenacle
Literary and Political Group
Cento
a literary composition, especially a poem, of lines or parts from the writings of established authors, but with a different meaning
Cestus
Aphrodite’s girdle
Childe
Title of an apprentice knight. Other similar terms include infant, damoysels, valets, bacheliers.
Cimmerians
“Cimmerian Darkness” where the sun never penetrates. Homer describes it as beyond Oceanus, in a land of never-ending gloom.
City of Dreadful Night
Long poem by Victorial poet James Thompson. It describes and imaginary city of misery and horror created out of the author’s own sense of despair as, afflicted by insomnia, he walked through the streets of London.
Clerihew
A comic four-line verse made up of two couplets, invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley. Often satiric or ridiculous biographies of famous people, the lines being a succession of non-sequiturs.
Clytie
In classical mythology, an ocean nymph in love with the sun god.
Sui Generis
Being the only example of its kind; unique: “sui generis works like Mary Chesnut’s Civil War diary” (Linda Orr).

Continue ReadingLiterary Terms I Like