Hi!

Hi, I'm Darla, the new book blog member! Jodi (or should I say Jodith ;) and I interned together in Tulsa this summer. I am going to be a senior at Mizzou, but I'm from Colorado. I 'm studing journalism, specifically design, and geography. I love the color green, road trips, and house plants. Yeah.

A friend and I were going to try the 100-Book Challenge this year, but school got in the way, so I've only read 21 thus far. Maybe I can do 50? We'll see. I want to get back to the hardcore reading days of my youth, so hopefully this blog will give me some good suggestions. My all-time favorites include Harry Potter (of course) and the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon- long and a little romance-y but so much fun to read. I post the books I read for the challenge on my Xanga (pinkflamingodar), but here are some of my favorites from this year:

Lust for Life by Irving Stone- A big biographical novel about Vincent VanGogh. It is based based on letters to his brother, Theo, so the events and what he was thinking are fairly accurate, but the diologe leaves something to be desired. My only complaint is the author added in some (obviously, and admittedly) fictitious scenes that detracted from the storyline. Overall a very good portrait of his tortured, genius life. If you love his art and have some time on your hands, it's a good read.

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel- this book is amazing. It's about an Indian (like the country) boy who is Hindu, Muslim and Christian and who gets trapped in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger after the ship carrying his family and their zoo animals to Canada sinks. As if that wasn't enough of a premise... it has a point, and it's about life and philosophy and all that good stuff.

Home to Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani- this is the fourth (I think) in a series about a pharmacist who lives in Virginia but is really Italian. The books follow her life as she discovers her heritage, has a family, etc. The characters in this are all great, I always miss them after I finish one of the books. This is the best of Trigiani's stuff, I think. Quick and easy, but fun.

Edie: American Girl by Jean Stein- This book is a compilation of transcripts about the life of Edie Sedgwick, a socialite in the 60's who inspired lots of Andy Warhol's art. It's amazing! Even though her life is pretty messed-up and sad, it explains a lot about Warhol's pop art and that whole movement, and how it all sort of fell apart in the '70s... yeah, drugs.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote- I saw the movie Capote last year, and I had to read this. It was really good, even though I know he dramatized some of the story it didn't feel like it. He's an amazing writer and I couldn't put it down. It's about two men in Kansas who murder a whole family for no apparent reason, then are on the run for awhile. Sort of journalism, sort of not, but definitely a good read.

Nice to meet y'all! (Yes, I got that in Oklahoma...)