BookTalk.org

Hello from Pennsylvania! My name is Sarah and I am 25. Of course I love to read books, books of all kinds. Recently I realized that since college I've been making less and less time for reading good books. So I thought a community like this might inspire me to make a better effort and help me find some good reading suggestions.

Authors I like include Kurt Vonnegut, George Orwell, Kafka and Camus. Books I have read relatively recently include Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. Currently I am reading Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I have a soft spot for science fiction and humor.

In school I studied studio art and philosophy. I love photography and sculpture and tinkering in photoshop. I have a special affinity for lomography, which is basically photography with inexpensive plastic cameras.

Look forward to seeing you all on the forums!

Hi Sarah_squash,

Welcome to BookTalk!

Since joining this site, I have spent more time reading, just because of the sheer volume of great book suggestions. My 'to read' list just keeps growing.

I read Nickel and Dimed last year, and found it very thought provoking.
The situation is similar, but I don't think quite as dire, here in Canada.

Nickel and Dimed led me to read Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping http://www.amazon.com/Not-Buying-Year-W ... 688&sr=8-1

I finished that book resolved to not spend as much, and to not buy as many disposable or limited use items. I'm not near where I would like to be in that respect, but have made some improvement. It was well-written and not at all preachy.

I also read a Million Little Pieces - before the controversy. There were a few too many throw-up scenes for me, but it was interesting to learn what life in drug rehabilitation is like.

Having never heard of lomography, I checked it out on Wikipedia. Sounds like a fun and relaxed approach ot photography. Do you display any of your photos online?

Jan.

Nice to Meet you, Sarah. Welcome to the community.

The two of you have me wanting to get a copy of Nickel and Dimed soon. This is a book that we considered for discussion here on BookTalk a while back. Perhaps it will resurface as a suggestion one day.

Thanks for the welcome! Nickel and Dimed is certainly a book worthy of discussion. I would recommend it. Also, thanks for the recommendation of Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping. I think I need to start that "To Read" list ASAP.

As for photography I have a page at Deviantart.com. You can visit it here http://alltheantics.deviantart.com. Unfortunately it is in dire need of an update, but there are a few nice photos to be found.

Sarah

Hi Sarah_squash,

I just checked out your photos - I really like "Wear Your Winter Hat".

Jan.

Hullo Ms. Squash!

I am a newbie, like yourself, but welcome anyway!

I read Snow Crash a while ago, and I really loved it. Probably in my top twenty favourite novels. Really, "Hiro Protagonist"? That's just too precious. I know a lot of people who loved the book until the end, but then couldn't stand the ending. Personally, I had heard such dire things about the end that whatever happened couldn't possibly be as bad as they said. As a result, I was pleasantly surprised (though I admit the ending wasn't super... it's just nothing could be as bad as I was told.) So, I do hope you enjoy it. Please let me know how it goes!

Hi Sarah. welcome to booktalk.

I'm pretty new to booktalk as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have been.

Theomatic, I've got about 70 pages left in Snow Crash. Perhaps I'll find time to finish it over the weekend. I'll be sure to let you know what I think of the ending. So far I think the book is pretty interesting, although there are some parts I need to go back and reread to understand the whole plot.