Elizabeth Kostova on Writers on the Record With Victoria Lautman

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Victoria Lautman & Elizabeth Kostova, Magnificent Mile, Chicago

Since I’d had so much fun when Frank McCourt was on Writers on the Record with Victoria Lautman, I decided to see this month’s guest, Elizabeth Kostova. She’s the author of The Historian, one of my favorite books last year. Kostova took 10 years to write this book and it was interesting to hear how it came about and all the work she put into it. Also, I’ve emailled with Victoria Lautman but I hadn’t met her in person. I saw her hanging around the lobby before the show began and took the opportunity to introduce myself. Totally cool.

Books of 2005

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The Office, East Ukrainian Village, Chicago

In 2005 I set my hands on 33 books and finished 24 of them. It’s disappointing that my numbers are down from 2004, but I think I was busier so I’m still proud that I finished a couple dozen. My favorite books from the year were:

Nonfiction:

Fiction:

Here’s a complete list of the books I’ve read this year:

  • Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell finished 12.26.05
  • The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling finished 12.09.05
  • Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving finished 11.23.05
  • The Columnist by Jeffrey Frank finished 11.08.05
  • The Road to Wellville by T. C. Boyle finished 10.30.05
  • The Alienist by Caleb Carr finished 10.09.05
  • Book of Ages 30 by Lockhart Steele, Joshua Albertson, Jonathan Van Gieson
  • The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova finished 09.30.05
  • Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire finished 09.11.05
  • The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon finished 08.14.05
  • The Kaua’i Movie Book by Chris Cook, David Boynton
  • Pupus to Da Max by Douglas Simonson, Pat Sasaki, Ken Sakata
  • A Concise History of the Hawaiian Islands by Phil Barnes finished 07.17.05
  • The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Kidd finished 07.17.05
  • Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner finished 07.17.05
  • The Time Traveler’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger finished 07.08.05
  • Pidgin to Da Max by Douglas Simonson, Pat Sasaki, Ken Sakata
  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain finished 06.26.05
  • Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom finished 06.13.05
  • The East of Eden by John Steinbeck finished 06.07.05
  • The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark finished 05.21.05
  • Tales From The Scale by Erin J. Shea
  • The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell finished 04.25.05
  • The Quince Seed Potion by Morteza Baharloo finished 04.21.05
  • The Little Black Book Of Sushi by Day Zschock finished 04.14.05
  • The Broker by John Grisham finished 04.07.05
  • Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres finished 03.20.05
  • The Namesake: A Novel by Jhumpa Lahiri finished 02.04.05
  • Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver
  • The Perfect Storm : A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger finished 01.22.05