Recent Book Activity

Stuff I read in 2015

January
1) The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, Nick
2) Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto (re-read)
3) Penguin Lost, Andrey Kurkov
4) The Quotable Cat
5) The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats, Jeffrey Masson
6) The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
7) Poor Man's Feast, Elissa Altman
8) I Could Pee on this, Francesco Marciuliano (re-read)
9) Futures Past

February
10) Hard Times, Charles Dickens (audiobook)
11) Horton Hears a Who, Dr. Seuss

March
12) Sixty Lights, Gail Jones
13) Corvus, Esther Woolfson
14) The Dickinson Papers, Mark Ragg
15) In Evil Hour, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
16) Keeping up with Magda, Isla Dewar
17) Dirty Beasts, Roald Dahl
18) The Debt to Pleasure, John Lanchester
19) The Man in the Picture, Susan Hill
20) A Crafty Killing, Lorraine Bartlett
21) The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion

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This year I have been the recipient of wings several times, by known and unknown benefactors. You know who you are--thank you heaps! I always love flying!

I've been keeping a separate file for books I've read this year (2013) instead of listing them here.

2012 Reading:
1) In the Country of Men, Hisham Matar
2) Birthday Stories, selected and introduced by Haruki Murakami
3) The Four Courts Murder, Andrew Nugent
4) The Best Poems Ever; a collection of poetry’s greatest voices, edited by Edric S. Mesmer (Poetry)
5) The Things They Carried, Tim O’ Brien,
6) More Home Cooking, Laurie Colwin (NF)
7) 44 Scotland Street, Alexander McCall Smith
8) Grow Great Grub, Gayla Trail (NF)
9) Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of Five Rings, Leo Gough (NF)
10) Toast, Nigel Slater (NF)
11) Espresso Tales, Alexander McCall Smith
12) Still Life with Chickens, Catherine Goldhammer (NF)
13) Hamlet: The Manga Edition, William Shakespeare
14) Butter Safe Than Sorry, Tamar Myers
15) Death and the Penguin, Andrey Kurkov
16) Love Wins, Rob Bell (NF)
17) Run, Ann Patchett
18) In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner, Elizabeth George
19) The Past and Present of Solomon Sorge, Judith Barnard
20) Scottish Poems, chosen by John Rice (Poetry)
21) A Cordial Receipt, MFK Fisher (NF)
22) Slammerkin, Emma Donoghue
23)The Petshop of Horrors 2, Matsuri Akino (Manga)
24) The Man Who Smiled, Henning Mankell
25) The Behaviour of Moths, Poppy Adams
26) We’ll Always Have Parrots, Donna Andrews
27) The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch
28)The Petshop of Horrors 8, Matsuri Akino (Manga)
29) Eric, Terry Pratchett
30) The End of the Affair, Graham Greene
31) The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Agatha Christie
32) Death of a Snob, MC Beaton
33) Separations, Marilyn Hacker (poetry)
34) Tulip Fever, Deborah Moggach
35) Usagi Yojimbo, Book 1; Stan Sakai (manga)
36) Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto
37) Getting Stoned with Savages, J. Maarten Troost (NF)
38) The Scholar of Extortion, Reg Gadney
39) Miss Garnet’s Angel, Salley Vickers
40) The Iron Horse, Edward Marston
41) Death of a Hussy, MC Beaton
42) One Step Behind, Henning Mankell
43) JFK is Missing, Liz Evans
44) The Mind’s Eye, Hakan Nesser
45) The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi
46) Population 485, Michael Perry (NF)
47) The News from Paraguay, Lily Tuck
48) The Enormous Crocodile, Roald Dahl
49) Suburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn, Hannah Holmes (NF)
50) Beyond Black, Hilary Mantel
51) Shakespeare’s Landlord, Charlaine Harris
52) Sweet Love, Sarah Strohmeyer
53) Long Ago in France: The Years in Dijon, MFK Fisher (NF)
54) The 100 Best Love Poems of All time, edited by Leslie Pockell (poetry)
55) Water Wings, Kirsten Den Hartog;
56) Italian Shoes, Henning Mankell
57) Hypo-thermia, Arnaldur Indridason
58) The Dew Breaker, Edwidge Danticat
59) A Year with Two Winters, Martin Robbins (poetry)
60) All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
61) Vie de France, James Haller (NF)
62) Cat Among the Pigeons, Agatha Christie
63) Brats, X. J. Kennedy (poetry)
64) Sun Angel, Chris Fisher
65) A Metropolitan Murder; Lee Jackson
66) Walking in Circles Before Lying Down, Merrill Markoe
67) Arctic Chill, Arnaldur Indridason
68) A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George
69) Quotable Cats, assorted authors
70) Elimination Dance; Micheal Ondaatje (poetry, really?)
71) Identity Theory, Peter Temple
72) Beg, Borrow, Steal, Michael Greenberg (NF)
73) Tender at the Bone, Ruth Reichl (NF)
74) Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, Anne Fadiman (NF)
75) The Pale Horse, Agatha Christie (re-read)
76) Missing Joseph, Elizabeth George



July 6, 2011: It's an epic day--my first true WILD CATCH!!! Hurrah! I'm so excited! What a surprise!
www.bookcrossing.com/---/9706474

Books read in 2011--I've decided it's too hard to rate books with a number, so I'm going to put one or two (or three, or more) words about my opinion on it. See if that works better!

97) Death in the Clouds, Agatha Christie
96) Cockatiels at Seven, Donna Andrews
95) The Kurosage Corpse Delivery Service 1, Eiji Otsuka & Housui Yamazaki
94) The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, Umberto Eco
93) The House on the Strand, Daphne Du Maurier
92) Parker Pyne Investigates, Agatha Christie
91) Isle of 100,000 Graves, Jason & Vehlmann -- ROFL, really great fun!
90) To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer -- Surprisingly good sci-fi
89) Enslaved by Ducks, Bob Tarte -- (Non-fiction) Sweet, heart warming
88) Farewell, my lovely, Raymond Chandler -- Great classic crime read
87) Jar City/Tainted Blood, Arnaldur Indridason -- Brilliant, really good
86) The Murder Room, P. D. James -- Good thriller, first from this author for me
85) Animal Farm, George Orwell -- Great classic
84) Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott -- (Non-fiction) Brilliant book about writing
83) A Streetcar Named Expire, Mary Daheim -- Alright, not amazing or anything
82) Snow Country, Yasunari Kawabata -- Beautifully written
81) A Suitable Vengeance, Elizabeth George -- A bit of a letdown
80) Careless in Red, Elizabeth George -- Excellent
79) The Photograph, Penelope Lively -- Satisfying, real
78) Moral Disorder, Margaret Atwood -- Interesting; good read
77) The Road, Cormac McCarthy -- Wow. Wow.
76) Bookmarked for Death, Lorna Barrett -- Great read from my (current) fav cozy author
75) The Skeleton in the Closet, M.C. Beaton -- Light, fun
74) Pasquale’s Nose: Idle days in an Italian town, Michael Rips -- (non fiction) fantastic, atmospheric
73) Tooth & Nail, Ian Rankin -- okay, not as good as other Rebus' I've read
72) A Place of Hiding, Elizabeth George -- always great, this featured characters I care less about, but still, fantastic
71) New Birth or Rebirth: Jesus talks with Krishna, Ravi Zacharias -- interesting, ok
70) The Last Child, John Hart -- Incredible writing, beautiful, heartbreaking story 10/10
69) The Witch of Exmoor, Margaret Drabble -- unusual, clever, interesting
68) Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen -- my first Jane Austen
67) The Kitchen Garden (non-fiction) In depth detail, learned a lot
66) The Falls, Ian Rankin -- Excellent thriller
65) Educating Alice, Alice Steinbach (non-fiction) good read, educational
64) Short Stories, Ruth Rendell -- Good, short stories
63) Bachelor Brothers’ Bed and Breakfast, Bill Richardson -- Good Canadian read; light while still intelligent
62) Reasons Not to Move to The Country, Judy Rumbold -- So so
61) Siddhartha, Herman Hesse -- Well written, but I found it overrated
60) The Teahouse on Mulberry Street, Sharon Owens -- Lovely, light read
59) Divisadero, Michael Ondaatje -- Sweet, sad; not as good as The English Patient, though
58) The Art of Drowning, Frances Fyfield -- Good, intelligent thriller
57) Canal House Cooking Volume No. 4, Hamilton & Hirsheimer -- They just get better!
56) Double Star, Robert A. Heinlein -- Fun, light SF read
55) Food Matters, Mark Bittman -- I was not impressed
54) Excision, Ingrid Andersen -- Poetry, good, new poet for me
53) Canal House Cooking Volume No 2, Hamilton & Hirsheimer -- Yes, I actually DO read cookbooks cover to cover, recipes included, this one is genius!
52) Ooku: The Inner Chambers Volume 5, Fumi Yoshinaga -- Historic graphic novel
51) Speaking With Strangers, Mary Cantwell (non fiction) -- Interesting memoir
50) The Pale Horse, Agatha Christie -- I always love Christie
49) Goodnight Dune -- Online book, ok I know this isn't really a book, but I LOVED it!
48) Small Ways to Make a Big Difference, organized by Raam Dev (non fiction) -- ebook, meaningful, makes you think
47) Ten Little Niggers, Agatha Christie -- Great story, had read as a graphic novel
46) After the Funeral, Agatha Christie -- Christie is always great!
45) After you’d gone, Maggie O’Farrell -- Very good, well written, touching, sad
44) The Mushroom Man, Stuart Pawson -- Police novel, highly enjoyable
43) Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster’s Daughter, Shoko Tendo (non fiction) Great read, sad, highly recommended
42) The Stargazey, Martha Grimes -- ok
41) The Pure in Heart, Susan Hill -- Good police novel
40) The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig, Eugene Trivizas -- Fun kids' book
39) A Three Dog Life, Abigail Thomas (non fiction) -- Beautiful, beautiful memoir
38) American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis -- unfinished, will come back to
37) The Love Poems of John Keats, In Praise of Beauty -- poetry, lovely
36) Seven Dials Mystery, Agatha Christie -- Great read, fun (with Bundle)
35) A Breach of Promise, Anne Perry -- ok
34) The Olive Readers, Christine Aziz -- Started well, but not worth it (poorly written)
33) The Earthquake Bird, Susanna Jones -- Creepy, good, interesting
32) In the Presence of the Enemy, Elizabeth George -- Excellent, I love all she writes!
31) A room swept white, Sophie Hannah -- Sad, deep
30) Love Affairs for Grown-ups, Debby Holt -- Fun; intelligent chick-lit
29) The Thoughtful Dresser
28) Journey into the Past, Stefan Zweig -- Good, inightful
27) Flutter, Erin E. Moulton -- Sweet, fun
26) Where we going, daddy? Life with Two Sons Unlike Any Others, Jean-Louis Fournier (non-fiction) -- Sad, honest, surprising, beautiful
25) The Clouds Above, Jordan Crane -- lovely art
24) The girl who chased the moon, Sarah Addison Allen -- Fun, magic; have been waiting to read this one for ages!
23) Coastliners, Joanne Harris -- Good but B Wine was better
22) What I think about when I think about running, Haruki Murakami (non-fiction) -- Short and genius; read it if you love writing or running (or Murakami!)
21) The Adventures of Tintin: The Broken Ear, Herge -- when in Belgium, read Tintin!
20) The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun, Herge -- these three were from a Belgian friends' personal collection that I read while there
19) The Adventures of Tintin: The Seven Crystal Balls, Herge -- always fun
18) Payment in Blood, Elizabeth George -- Fantastic, genius, 10/10
17) The Lying Tongue -- unusual, interesting
16) The Winter Ghosts, Kate Mosse -- not impressed
15) The Little Book of Venom: A Collection of Historical Insults, Compiled by Jennifer Higgie -- just for fun
14) Blackberry Wine, Joanne Harris -- probably my favourite of her books so far
13) The Savage Garden, Mark Mills -- Interesting, good
12) The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History, Lewis Buzbee -- Fascinating, lovely book (non fiction memoir)
11) Arresting God in Kathmandu, Samrat Upadhyay -- Ok
10) The Season of the rainbirds
9) Love Bites, Lyndsey Sands -- Not too impressed, airport read
8) Canal House Cooking Volume No 1, Hamilton & Hirsheimer -- A cooking book, yes, but I read it cover to cover and it's FANTABULOUS!
7) Sleeping Murder, Agatha Christie -- Classic Christie, love it!
6) I Feel Bad About my Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, Nora Ephron -- Funny, insightful, great (non-fiction memoir)
5) Pobby and Dingan/Specks in the sky, Ben Rice -- Magical, beautiful tale
4) We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families, Philip Gourevitch -- Sad, informative, makes you think (non-fiction about Rwanda)
3) Who Killed Palomino Molero?, Mario Vargas Llosa -- Interesting, atmospheric
2) Ooku: The Inner Chambers Volume 4, Fumi Yoshinaga -- Laevina's bookring; good
1) The Death of a Gossip, M C Beaton -- Fun, light
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I currently have two rings going on--one for Birdsong, a small poetry book by Rumi, and A House to Let, by Charles Dickens. They are both travelling but would love to go further. PM me if you're interested, and I'll add you to the roster!

Books I've read so far in 2010--I keep a log of all the books I've read, along with a personal review for myself. For simplicity, I've marked them here between 1 to 5 in case anyone is interested to know what kind of books I've enjoyed. 1 and 2 I didn't like much at all, 3s are okay/good, 4 and 5 I really liked, and as you can see there are a few + as well! If anyone is interested in a full review (my opinion only, of course!) on any of these, PM me and I'll send it to you!

99) Anna Kerenina, Leo Tolstoy
98) The Fellowship of the Ring, JRR Tolkein
97) A Wrinkle in Time, Madeliene L’ Engle
96) The Caravaggio Books, Bernard Peterson
95) Charming Billy, Alice McDermott
94) Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes
93) Loving Jesus, Mother Theresa --5+
92) A Year in Provence, Peter Mayle -- 5
91) The Chopping Spree, Diane Mott Davidson -- 3
90) The Canterbury Papers, Judith Koll Healey -- 4
89) Eternity in Their Hearts, Don Richardson 2 or 3
88) The 100 Best Love Poems of all Time, (edited by) Leslie Pockell
87) Ooku: The Inner Chambers Volume 3, Fumi Yoshinaga
86) Heat Wave, Richard Castle ;) -- 2 or 3
85) The Summer of My Greek Taverna, Tom Stone -- 4
84) Kindred, Octavia Butler -- 4
83) The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemmingway -- 5+
82) Sidetracked, Henning Mankell -- 4
81) Driving Over Lemons, Chris Stewart -- 5
80) Carry a Poem, Assorted Authors -- 5+
79) There Was a Knock, Shinichi Hoshi
78) The Careful use of Compliments, Alexander McCall Smith
77) The Dogs of Riga, Henning Mankell -- 5
76) The Small Pleasures of Life, Phillipe Delerm 5+
75) The little book of Stress, Kaz Cooke
74) Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri -- 5+++
73) The Seven Secrets of Happiness, Sharon Owens -- 5
72) Truth & Beauty: A friendship, Ann Patchett (non-fiction) -- 5+
71) December Heat, Luis Alfredo Garcia-Roza
70) Take care of yourself, Penelope Sachs
69) The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders
68) Hide and Seek, Ian Rankin
67) The Carousel, Rosamunde Pilcher -- 2
66) Poirot Investigates-a Hercule Poirot Anthology, Agatha Christie -- 3
65) A Great Deliverance, Elizabeth George -- 5+
64) Rhyme Stew, Roald Dahl (Hakkalina bookring) -- 4
63) Dying for Cake, Louise Limerick
62) Faceless Killers, Henning Mankell
61) N or M, Agatha Christie
60) The Right Attitude to Rain, Alexander McCall Smith
59) The Fifth Woman, Henning Mankell
58) Deadly Slipper, Michelle Wan -- 4
57) The Lover, Marguerite Duras -- 3
56) Matilda, Roald Dahl -- 5+
55) Parched, Heather King (non fiction) -- 5
54) A Dead Sky, Tammi Hoag -- 2
53) The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield -- 5
52) Home Cooking, Laurie Colman (non fiction) -- 5
51) Ooku: The Inner Chambers Volume 1, Fumi Yoshinaga (laevina bookring) -- 4
50) Light on Snow, Anita Shreve -- 4
49) The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood -- 4
48) Murder in the Dark, Margaret Atwood (shovelmonkey1's bookring) -- 3
47) The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (ayntastic's bookring) -- 5+
46) Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Jeff Lindsay (sarkiegir's bookring) -- 2
45) Guilty Pleasures, Laurell K. Hamilton -- 4
44) And then there were none, Agatha Christie (Graphic Novel) -- 3
43) Chess, Stefan Zweig -- (cat 207's bookring) -- 4
42) The Sharper Your Knife, the Less you Cry, Kathleen Flinn (non-fiction) -- 5+++
41) In the Company of Cheerful Women, Alexander McCall Smith -- 5
40) The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, Mario Acevedo -- 3+
39) The Writing on my Forehead, Nafisa Haji (J4Shaw's bookring) -- 5
38) And a Puzzle to Die On, Parnell Hall -- 4+
37) The Death of Colonel Mann, Cynthia Peale--5+
36) The Bookshop, Penelope Fitzgerald (lucy-lemon's bookray)--5
35) The Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri--5+
34) Kal Jerico – Contracts and Agendas (Graphic Novel), Gordon Rennie & Wayne Reynolds--3
32) Hallowe'en Party, Agatha Christie--4+
32) Nemesis, Agatha Christie (reread)--5
31) The Crow (Graphic Novel) McFarlane, Jon J Muth--5
30) The Camelot Caper, Elizabeth Peters--2
29) Unforgettable, William Gill--3 or 4
28) Toujours Provence, Peter Mayle (non-fiction)--4
27) Thinking About Memoir, Abigail Thomas (nonfiction)--5+++ (began last year)
26) Ooku—The Inner Chambers, Fumi Yoshinaga (laevina bookring)--4
25) The Outside Man, Richard North Patterson--2
24) The Club Dumas, Arturo Perez-Reverte--3
23) The Full Cupboard of Life, Alexander McCall Smith--2
22) The Kalahari Typing School for Men, Alexander McCall Smith--5
21) Miss Marple's Final Cases, Agatha Christie -- 5
20) The Twits, Roald Dahl -- 5+
19) Watch Me Disappear, Jill Dawson -- 4
18) Everyman (silvia-pco bookring), Phillip Roth -- 5
17) Morality for Beautiful Girls, Alexander McCall Smith -- 4
16) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows -- 5
15)Birdsong, Rumi (Poetry) -- 3
14) The Sunday Philosophy Club, Alexander McCall Smith -- 5
13) As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner -- 4
12) Southwesterly Wind, Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza -- 5++
11) Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami -- 5+
10) First Daughter, Eric Van Lustbader -- 1
9) Good Bones, Margaret Atwood -- 5
8) The Cat Who Robbed a Bank (Sfogs bookring), Lillian Jackson Braun -- 3
7) The Drowning People, Richard Mason -- 4
6) Fantastic Mr Fox, Roald Dahl -- 3
5) I Heard That Song Before, Mary Higgins Clark -- 2
4) A Nun in the Closet, Dorothy Gilman -- 4
3) The Regatta Mystery, Agatha Christie -- 3
2) Monday or Tuesday, Virginia Woolf -- 1
1) Body on the Beach, Simon Brett -- 3

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Just for fun: while not a a specific challenge of mine, I noticed that I've made quite a few wild releases in airport areas...hope some of them check in soon!

Dead Ringer by Lisa Scottoline released in El Paso, Texas Airport www.bookcrossing.com/---/4544372

Kiss of Heat by Lora Leigh, released in Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Illinois www.bookcrossing.com/---/6495917

Bad Moon Rising by Katherine Sutcliffe released in flight between Boston and Chicago www.bookcrossing.com/---/6842919

Self Storage: A Novel by Gayle Brandeis JFK Airport, NY
www.bookcrossing.com/---/7002836

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Happy New Year 2010 everybody!

I am hosting a bookring/ray for A House to Let by Charles Dickens. Please PM me if you'd like to enter!

Just a note about my bookshelf--I know my wishlist is long, so just to clarify, it's not a gimme list, it's my way of keeping notes for myself about which books I'm interested in reading in the future. That said, I do keep it updated, and thanks to those who have sent me surprise RABCKs from it. I'm enjoying each of them!

I'm also working on entering in my books for my PC, possibly to release one day, as a way of recording what I have. Am I the only one who occasionally runs across books I didn't know I had?

If you've come into the possession of one of "my" books, please know that it is now yours! I'm just as happy if you pass it on or if you keep it. I just want my books to be loved and find good homes! No pressure there!


Update Dec. 14, 2009
In the last few weeks, I also got two birthday buddies. Hurrah!
They are caramae and Junequeensland

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Update December 2009
Well, I'm home at last after a short but wonderful visit with family and friends...enjoyed laughter and good food and collected a trove of books to bring back to Nepal with me (mostly from library sales and a generous bookcrosser, princess-peapod, who sent me a bookbox, bless her!) These books, combined with others I've received from some bookcrossers recently or discovered in used bookstores here, are enough to keep me contentedly reading for some time to come.
Once I catch up with my work enough to get some time to read again, that is!
And no, sadly, I was unable to complete 50k words for NaNoWriMo. Too much travelling and work to make it this time. But what I wrote, I enjoyed!

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Update Nov 10, 2009:
Tomorrow I'll hop on a plane and spent two weeks in the US, visiting friends and family. I'm looking forward to re-stocking my bookbag, enjoying luscious libraries, and wild releasing while there too! I might not get online as much, and also, obviously will not be checking my PO box here in Nepal--so if my replies are slower, that is why. Have a good one!

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Update Nov 1, 2009:
This month I am participating in NaNoWriMo...wish me luck!

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General Profile:

My mom taught me to read when I was tiny, and it's been a joy ever since, in all the countries I've lived in.

My PC shelf is my record of personal favourites and treasures--often irreplaceable where I live--so I would only loan them by hand in my city, and not mail them away. Over the next weeks I am working to log in all my personal to keep books--as a record of what I have, and also to see if I find any thing that I am willing to part with and release.
TBR...I won't know till I've read it!
If you like anything i have listed as available, I'll be happy to send it to you.


This year I have not been keeping track of my books read...I wish I had, but I will try to keep a detailed list in 2010 - New Year's resolution!

What books do I enjoy...so many types: literary fiction, murder mysteries, poetry, biographies, and too much more to name. It would be easier to list what types I don't like...

But some of my favourite authors are: Michael Ondaatje, Charles Dickens, Ann Patchett, Umberto Eco, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Agatha Christie

and many more whom I have yet to discover.

Quotes I love...
this one is from the "Bookish Quotes" on the left sidebar, but it was too good not to copy down:

"Books to the ceiling Books to the sky. My pile of books Are a mile high. How I love them! How I need them! I'll have a long beard By the time I read them."
Arnold Lobel