no(te)s

This is a pile of things that I saved out for myself after last year's PNBA in Tacoma.  At this exact moment next week, I will be nearly home from this year's PNBA in Portland (and I'm presenting!)

In light of the fact that, over the course of a full year, I have tried to pick up each of these multiple times, I think it's time to give up.

Slip of the Tongue: Talking about Language by Katie Heagele.  Theoretically I really liked this book, but I only got to page 39.  It's conglomeration of reflect-y/memoir-y essays and not focused enough for me.  Next!

The Upstairs Wife: An Intimate History of Pakistan by Rafia Zakaria.  Didn't get very far on this one-- only the prologue and little piece of the first chapter.  Too many topics are covered just in that little space-- what is the thrust of this book?  What is the main focus?  Which parts of what's being told will turn out to be important? 

Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy.  I think I tried to start this on a few occasions.  The premise seems cool and the author was pretty awesome in person, but it's in present tense, which is always distasteful to me, and it's just weird enough that even I'm not sure where it will go.

The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan by Jenny Nordberg.  This is a very awesome nonfiction, and I actually made it halfway through.  I think I put it down to read something light on vacation, and the author/researcher is following more than one family and it made it difficult for me to pick back up.

Language Arts by Stephanie Kallos.  Heard great things about it, read great reviews, never cracked it.

The Carry Home:Lessons from the American Wilderness by Gary Ferguson.  If you're looking for an author to come talk for a program, may I suggest this guy.  I was really wanting to read this, despite the melancholy topic-- plus it's memoir/nf-- but didn't get to it, but I think that's just because it was toward the bottom of the pile.  I'll actually keep this on my shelf; it sounds like a great one to cuddle up with this winter. 

Across a Green Ocean by Wendy Lee.  Why did I save this for myself?  I don't know.