I love to read a great deal, and I usually have dozens of books scattered about my floor, dresser, desk, bedside table and even tucked under my pillow.

My favorite authors vary from time to time, but I really enjoy reading Jane Austen, Connie Willis, Charles de Lint, Kim Stanley Robinson, Tom Robbins, Robert Anton Wilson, Robert Heinlein, and Maya Angelou. I also really like reading folklore, mythology and fairy tales. I'm going to try to keep track of what I've been reading here, inspired by my friend meriko's reading page (though I don't read nearly as much as she does). You might also like Heidi's books page on Astrarium. I'm keeping a list of books & authors I'd like to read [or re-read] on my shelved page.

I'm always open to new recommendations. Just drop me a line at alice@wonderland.com and let me know what you recommend.

On my nightstand currently (09/09/2001):

Textbooks (I'll be reading these through December for my classes):

The New Sewing Essentials (Singer Sewing Reference Library)

Fabulous Fit, Judith A. Rasband

Principles of Flat Pattern Design, Nora M. MacDonald

For Fun:

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Harold McGee

The Costume Technician's Handbook: A Complete Guide for Amateur and Professional Costume Technicians, Rosemary Ingham and Liz Covey

The Rum Diary, Hunter S. Thompson

These are purchased/borrowed/gifted to me, and waiting for some space on the nighttable so I can dig into them. Next up!

Angels and Insects: Two Novellas, A. S. Byatt

Visual History of Costume: The Sixteenth Century, Jane Ashelford

Lettuce in Your Kitchen: Where Salad Gets a Whole New Spin and Dressings Do Double Duty, John Willoughby

Bridal Couture : Fine Sewing Techniques for Wedding Gowns and Evening Wear, Susan Khalje

Shiny Adidas Tracksuits and the Death of Camp, Might Magazine

P.G. Wodehouse: Five Complete Novels (The Return of Jeeves, Bertie Wooster Sees It Through, Spring Fever, The Butler Did It, The Old Reliable), P. G. Wodehouse

Franny & Zooey, J. D. Salinger

Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future, Jennifer Baumgardner, Amy Richards

September, 2001 Reading:

The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkein

I hadn't heard or read this story since I was a kid; my dad read it outloud to my brother and me when I was five as our bedtime story. I remember being very scared of it then, and certainly there are lots of terrifying-to-a-child creatures lurking in it. I, like most American geeks, am reading it in anticipation of the Peter Jackson movies.

August, 2001 Reading:

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Gregory Maguire

Fire Watch, Connie Willis

This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald

American Gods, Neil Gaiman

Yellow Fever, Black Goddess : The Coevolution of People and Plagues, Christopher Wills

July, 2001 Reading:

Sex and the City, Candace Bushnell

Girl With a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon

South of the Border, West of the Sun, Haruki Murakami

June 2001 Reading:

The Virgin in the Garden, A. S. Byatt

Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books, Francesca Lia Block

Slut!: Growing Up Female With a Bad Reputation, Leora Tanenbaum

In the Drink, Kate Christensen

Somewhere in here I re-read most of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, as well.

May, 2001 Reading:

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream, Hunter S. Thompson

The Technology of Orgasm: 'Hysteria,' the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction, Rachel P. Maines

A Wild Sheep Chase, by Haruki Murakami, Alfred Birnbaum (translator)

I certainly wish I'd read this book before Dance, Dance, Dance... I wasn't aware it was a sequel when I purchased it. I have learned from Haruki Murakami that all Japanese men are nameless, like jazz and whiskey, and drink good strong coffee. And are subject to life in a dreamlike fugue if they are not careful.

Bellwether, Connie Willis

I continue to join and re-join Connie Willis' fan club. I am just continually charmed by her screwball antics, painful shakespearean plots, and dorky lead characters. I read this one in a short afternoon. Good bathtub book.

April, 2001 Reading:

Best Food Writing 2000, by Holly Hughes (Editor)

I had to read this one only on a full stomach. It was salivating -- this collection of writers managed to make food funny and symbolic and sweet -- and one even made the process of making blood sausage sound appetizing to a vegetarian like me.

In the Garden of Iden (A Novel of the Company, Book 1), Kage Baker

Science fiction novel with a similar scenario as Connie Willis's Doomsday Book. I've been meaning to read this one since it was published, since the author works and teaches at the local Renaissance Faire. It was a darker tale than Doomsday was, it wasn't instantly a favorite of mine, but I did enjoy reading it. I hope Ms. Baker writes a few sequels; I'd like to see where she goes with the universe.

Cunt: A Declaration of Independence, Inga Muscio

Muscio's personal anecdotes and physical advice are quite charming, and I was really able to identify with her. I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book, but the last bit was full of a few too many generalizations for my comfort. I didn't expect to be "comfortable" with a book named Cunt though, so I think she did her job. I'd love to meet her, or hear her read sometime.

March, 2001 Reading:

Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters

Novel about an oyster shucking Victorian lesbian. Need I say more? A good transition from the Victoriana I was reading earlier, and Cunt in April. Cute, funny, and occasionally pretty hot. Ms. Waters seems to know what she's talking about - she's got a postgraduate degree in gay & lesbian history. I read it in two afternoons, and giggled a lot.

The Design of Everyday Things, Donald A. Norman

This book made me feel Smart. Don Norman points out how common items are designed.. and how common items are often not designed. I always thought I was the only one who always turned on the wrong burner, or pushed a "pull" door! I'd been meaning to read this for years, and now that I have, I can't walk through a doorway or enter a new building without taking it apart mentally.

The Clitoral Truth: The Secret World at Your Fingertips, Rebecca Chalker

This book had a very 70's feminist perspective, which I'm rather "over", but I still really got a lot of out. The premise is redefining the clitoris, and examining female genitalia from an anatomical and historical perspective. The drawings by tattoo artist Fish were the best anatomical drawings I've ever seen of a woman's body. Very very clear. The historical perspective, from Galen through modern day, was very interesting as well. I've always had a lot of medical/anatomical knowledge, but I was quite surprised to read this book and realize just how much I didn't know. I'm sure I'll pass this one around a lot, and read a bit of the bibliography as well.

Possession: A Romance, A.S. Byatt

Absolutely one of the best books I've read in years. I was spellbound, and utterly moved. The story of two literary scholars persuing secrets about two Victorian Poets, and all that they uncover. Byatt tells the story from numerous viewpoints, and I was most impressed by how distinctive each's characters voice was. Read this book!

To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis

This was an adorable read. Connie Willis pays a science fiction tribute to P.G. Wodehouse and Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog with a screwball comedy. You know just how it will end... but getting there is so much fun. Snappy dialogue. Perfect for my Victoriana mood recently.

February, 2001 Reading:

Ender's Shadow, Orson Scott Card

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki Marukami

Dance, Dance, Dance, Haruki Marukami

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4), J. K. Rowling

January, 2001 Reading:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3), J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2), J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1), J. K. Rowling

Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man, Dan Anderson, Maggie Berman

Vegetarian Express, Rose Elliot

The Martians, Kim Stanley Robinson

Lilith's Brood, Octavia Butler (trilogy of Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago)

Gnarl!, Rudy Rucker