Posts Tagged ‘reading list’

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Book Club

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow recommends reading as an inexpensive pastime during the short, dull days of winter.  As inspiration, Paltrow asked several of her “best and most literary-minded girlfriends to share their top picks” which she’s posted on her web site Goop.com.

Paltrow says, ” I always like knowing the literary preferences of people. I think it gives a better understanding of their inner life.”

Friends who’ve shared their top book picks include Madonna, who Paltrow states, “rules the world, is a loyal friend and a terrific mother” and super model Christy Turlington, “an amazing friend, mother, and an activist who is pursuing her masters in Public Health at Columbia University”.

Gwyneth’s picks:

Madonna’s Choices:

Christy Turlington’s Selections:

Don’t forget that Madonna has several books of her own published. Gwyneth Paltrow co-authored Spain…A Culinary Road Trip the companion book to the prime-time public television series Spain…On The Road Again while Christy Turlington published Living Yoga: Creating a Life Practice in 2002.

(In the pictures Paltrow is seen carrying children’s book Thank You Bear by Greg Foley and Maddonna is holding Armistead Maupin’s The Night Listener.)

Bookmark and Share

Lost the TV Series - ABC Promotes the Show and Reading

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

Fans of the TV series Lost are eagerly anticipating tonight’s 2-hour season premiere. I, on the other hand, am disgracefully behind (although frantically trying to catch up) so am avoiding anything to do with the premiere including closing my eyes, plugging my ears and chanting “La-la-la-la-la-la” any time advertisements come on.  With the popularity of the show, it’s a tough job avoiding anything that could be a Lost spoiler.

Lost is a TV show that is full of literary references.  In fact, within the first 4 seasons there are more than 40 books weaved Sawyer of Lost reading Lancelot by Walker Percythroughout the episodes. The incorporation of the books is done in several ways; 1) Books read by the characters, 2) Books on shelves seen in the show, and 3) Connection to themes of the series.

If you’d like to catch up on some Lost reading, I’ll get you started with a slightly shorter “to read” pile than the 40 books and list only those connected with the island’s most avid reader, Sawyer. (It still offers an incredible variety!)

James ‘Sawyer’ Ford’s Books

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Bad Twin by Gary Troup

Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Lancelot by Walker Percy

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Watership Down by Richard Adams

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

Bookmark and Share

Britain’s Richard & Judy Add Canadian Novels to Book Club List

Monday, December 29th, 2008

Two of ten novels chosen by  Richard and Judy for their 2009 reading list are written by Canadian authors.Richard and Judy, the popular talk-show duo and one of the greatest  influences on Briton’s reading habits, have selected Andrew Davidson’s The Gargoyle and Steven Galloway’s The Cellist of Sarajevo as part of their book club reads in 2009.

Books featured by Richard and Judy ofter become bestsellers in the UK as exemplified by Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth which after being chosen for the book club in 2006, became Britain’s fastest-selling paperback  of all time.

Richard & Judy’s 2009 Book List

Bookmark and Share