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September 2nd, 2009
10:38 pm - Getting there...
These are the top 110 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing's users (as of today). As usual, bold what you have read, italicise that you started but couldn't finish, and strike through what you couldn't stand. Underline those on your "To Read" pile.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Ulysses by James Joyce
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Odyssey by Homer
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Iliad by Homer
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Moby Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Emma by Jane Austen
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Love in The Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Inferno by Dante Alighieri
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Atonement by Ian McEwan
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Persuasion by Jane Austen
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
The Once and Future King by T. H. White
Dubliners by James Joyce
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Complete Works of Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Tess of the D'Urbervilles: a pure woman faithfully… by Thomas Hardy
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Watership Down by Richard Adams
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo
Sophie's World by Gaarder Jostein
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The Aeneid by Virgil
On the origin of species by Charles Darwin
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
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August 25th, 2009
10:04 pm - Knee - Again
I've been gradually going through my old posts and friends-locking most of them. It's amazing to see how much I wrote about my knee surgery and recovery. Seems so long ago, and the end seemed to always be yanked out of my reach whenever I got near.
Until today, that is. Today, I received the news that I've been waiting 2.5 years to hear: I'm allowed to play football again! Of course, I need to start very slowly** and wear a brace the first few times, but that's all I need!
So if anyone in Ottawa is on a team in a nice and gentle recreation league this fall and is looking for a spare...
** Actually, I won't just "start slowly", I'll probably always be a touch slower and less aggressive when I play. I doubt I'll ever jump up to head the ball ever again.
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May 21st, 2009
07:03 am - Whoever did this: Seek Help
The Question: What do you do if your two interests in life are futbol and the Sister Act movies with Whoopie Goldberg?
The Answer: You make this creepy, creepy video:
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May 3rd, 2009
11:25 am - Say It Ain't So
Don Newman, host of CBC's Politics, is set to retire.
Of course, you can relive the time-keeping magic with the DVD Box Set:
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March 28th, 2009
11:35 am - Soy Milk in Scrambled Eggs and Quiche Recipe
One of our guests isn't drinking cow's milk, so we had to try our recipes with soy milk. Last weekend, we tried making scrambled eggs with it and were very pleasantly surprised. When I initially added the dash of soy milk, the egg mixture didn't smell quite right. However, as they cooked in the pan, the soy smell disappeared...and the texture was amazing!
So, here's the quiche recipe (using soy milk). Dieters, avert your eyes. (Also, temperatures assume a glass pie plate; add about 25 F for non-glass).
Quiche Lorraine with Hash Brown "Crust"
Ingredients:
- 3 large potatoes
- 4 tbsp oil
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 and 1/4 cup soy milk
- pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 1 green onion, finely chopped
- Boil potatoes until partially cooked (about 12-15 minutes). Drain and slice thinly.
- Heat oil in large pan. Cook potatoes slices until slightly browned (not too much!), about 10 minutes.
- Mix browned potatoes with butter. Spread potato slices along bottom of 9.5 inch pie plate and compact with a fork. Cook in oven for 15 minutes at 400 F.
- While potatoes are in the oven, beat together eggs, soy milk, and pepper.
- Remove potatoes from oven and very lightly brush them with dijon (should be barely visible). Place filling (bacon, cheese, and onion) on top of potatoes, then pour egg mixture over top. Cook in oven at 350 F for 30 to 35 minutes. The quiche is done when a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Tomato and Leek Filling
- Follow above recipe for Quiche Lorraine, but skip dijon and substitute 284g (10oz) tomato concassé and 227g (8oz) leeks for the bacon and green onions.
- Sauté white and light green parts of leeks until translucent. Add tomatoes and cook until liquid evaporates. Add 2 tbsp minced basil.
Smoked Salmon and Dill Filling- Follow above recipe for Quiche Lorraine, but skip dijon and substitute 113g (4oz) diced smoked salmon for bacon and green onions, and 57g (2 oz) cream cheese (cut into small pieces) for Swiss cheese. Add 2 tbsp chopped dill and 1 tbsp snipped chives.
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March 10th, 2009
10:31 pm - The New Overheard at Western!
I was sad to see a "goodbye" message posted on the Overheard at Western blog this past February. It kept me sane at some points last year.
However, while compiling a post for my other blog about Western's MLIS program, I visited the site again and saw that a new blog has taken OAW's place: Eavesdrop Western!
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March 6th, 2009
09:42 am - Knopf on Cohen and Ticketmaster
Howard Knopf, intellectual property lawyer, has an excellent post about Leonard Cohen and the Ticketmaster fiasco:
"Cohen will see none of the obscene mark up of several hundred per cent. Even on the face value of a ticket, Cohen would see only a fraction of the proceeds after the concert hall, his management etc. are done with him. Once again, everyone profits on the back of the artist.
(...) The real tragedy here is that Leonard Cohen is the one who deserves to retire with some comfort and to retain a significant amount of what the public is willing to pay to see him perform. He is being cheated of that. Once again, the real creator and the general public are the victims of a corporate controlled system, over which Federal officials are reluctant to exercise even basic oversight."
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March 4th, 2009
09:07 am - Roll up the Rim
My entrepreneurship prof asked us a good question last week: "Why does Roll up the Rim begin around this time of year?" I honestly didn't know.
The answer: Lent. They don't want anyone giving up Tim Horton's for 40 days.
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February 11th, 2009
02:36 pm - Authors Guild: Reading out loud is a violation of copyright law
Amazon's new Kindle 2 can read out loud. The Authors Guild isn't impressed, and claims that this violates copyright law. They say that this creates "an unlawful derivative work."
Time for some new lawyers, guys (hint: copyright only exists for expressions that are fixed in a physical medium; sound waves certainly don't count).
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February 6th, 2009
01:23 pm - Thursday
I had my cultural studies class yesterday morning and then drove back to Ottawa all afternoon.
Quote of the day: "I teach an undergraduate class of 300 seventeen-year olds. It provides a good cross-section of Western's blondest and wealthiest." (My cultural studies prof)
Only interesting license plate I saw on the road: "DON82CNIB" (When I passed that car, I gave it a wide berth, just in case).
Only interesting bumper sticker I saw on the road: "Jesus is coming. LOOK BUSY!"
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February 1st, 2009
January 26th, 2009
08:31 pm - Confirmation: The Canadian DMCA is Back
Howard Knopf noticed a piece in the Hill Times today, in which Conservative lobbyist Jeff Norquay claims that: “the copyright lobby will be in full force when the House returns and he expects a draft legislation to be tabled within months. The government introduced copyright legislation in the last Parliament, but it died on the Order Paper when the election was called.“
So the Canadian DMCA will be tabled before Parliament once more. Hopefully the new crop of MPs are savvy enough to drop it…yet again.
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02:33 pm - Yep, the Canadian DMCA is still in play
Although the term "copyright reform" wasn't included in today's Speech from the Throne, it is still considered to be part of the legislative agenda.
From the G&M (I would have linked to the Speech on parl.gc.ca but it's not up yet - argh!):
While Monday's Throne Speech does not repeat the non-economic pledges of the Nov. 19 speech, it does say the government will also “attend to the other important priorities that it set out” in its earlier Throne Speech.
So anything mentioned in the previous Speech is fair game...including the Canadian DMCA.
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January 25th, 2009
03:12 pm - Speech from the Throne Tomorrow
Tomorrow, a new Parliamentary session will open for Canada’s 40th government. The Speech from the Throne that will kick things off will be mostly about the state of the economy and what the government plans to do about it. Among the billions of dollars of promised spending, I’ll be looking to see if this Speech from the Throne will repeat the previous promise to introduce DMCA-like legislation in Canada. Hopefully the Harper government has got the message and will drop its planned changes to the Copyright Act. For one thing, the changing of the guard in Washington last week will likely lessen the foreign pressure to adopt such legislation.
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January 24th, 2009
04:14 pm - Hunting Ground
If I was sure that I had correctly heard this snippet of conversation, I would submit it to Overheard at Western.
One Standard-Issue Western Girl to another: "Now grade six, that's when I realized that I was sin-GLE and I started going On. The. Prowl!"
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December 19th, 2008
08:04 am - Hero
Mark Felt has passed away.
Would that someone had followed his example in the last 8 years.
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December 9th, 2008
11:35 pm - Reading Update
Finished Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How It Threatens Creativity.
I have now picked up The Canterbury Tales, which had been on The Pile for a while. With the 4 hours that I spent waiting for or riding on buses today to get to and from work, I managed to get a good start on it.
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November 30th, 2008
10:22 pm - Fun Times!
From CBC, just now: "A deal has been negotiated between NDP Leader Jack Layton and Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion that would see them form a coalition government for two and a half years, the CBC's Keith Boag reported, citing sources. "The NDP would be invited into cabinet and get 25 per cent of seats, Boag said, adding that the party wouldn't get the position of the finance chair or the deputy prime minister's post."
I'm so glad I'm back in Ottawa for these few months. First, there was a federal election...and now something even more exciting!
Sidenote: As a disgruntled Green, I have to say that Elizabeth May's decision to run against Peter McKay is looking dumber and dumber by the minute (and it was pretty dumb to begin with). Had she run in an easier riding, she would likely have a cabinet post in such a coalition and the Green Party would still be on the political map.
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November 25th, 2008
04:05 pm - House of Commons
This is an interesting little application.
From the House of Commons map, you can see which MPs are from which province and even select them by gender.
It's interesting to see the largest group of Conservative female MPs are all lined up directly behind the PM. After that row, it gets a bit sparse.
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November 24th, 2008
08:35 pm - Two longshots...
I play this game on the Sportsnet website called Premiership Predictor. Essentially, they list the upcoming weekend's English football games and you have to go down the list and pick the winning team of every game, or if it will end in a draw. For each correct winner you pick, you get 2 points. If you correctly pick a draw, you get 3.
Last year, I did poorly, but then I missed the first few weeks due to our honeymoon and then my knee surgery. This year, I have been steadily climbing until, now, I'm ranked #2. Number two! Out of thousands and thousands of people! One of the co-anchors is ranked in the 1700s! If I'm 1st on December 28th, I will win the first half of the contest and get a 16GB iPod.
Of course, last week's #2 dropped to #18 this week, so I can't get my hopes up too much. It's a volatile thing, this Premiership Predictor.
Another surprising thing occurred over the past few weeks. I was late for the bus one day and I saw it reach the corner ahead of me. I immediately started running, my heavy laptop bag and moderately heavy shoulder bag weighing me down quite a bit.
It was only after I had sat down on the bus that I realized that I haven't been able to run since last July. Somehow, something got better with my knee in the last few weeks.
I had actually been really depressed about it since it got too cold for me to cycle to work. I didn't go to the gym anymore and I was feeling pretty resigned to remaining a football spectator only, never again a (recreational) player. After that run for the bus, I started going to the gym.
It's not 100%, of course. It cracks if I try to do open-chain exercises, so I don't do those. But it can take more than it could even just one month ago. I haven't tried running again - I don't want to jinx it - but I'm encouraged and hopeful enough to get back to the exercise routine that I've been following for a year now. As my surgeon said, it is possible for this type of problem to fix itself over time. I just need to keep up my exercises.
And some music from a new iPod could help keep me motivated...
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