Bluestocking

One day, I will have an internet site which allows people to view what others from different countries are reading.

I can't believe there isn't a site like that already, not even in the haut-monde of French intelligentsia -- or New York, a close second. I'll add other touches, like top plays of the year, film as well, obviously, and "urban conversation" -- what townies are obsessing over in their (our) self-important worlds.

Until then, here is a list of books I am reading, and a sample of the Top Books around the world, in an on-going series I will call "Bluestocking". Please note, I am mostly a non-fiction reader, because I have to do something with that History B.A.:

My List of Best Books of 2004

• 1) At the tomb of the inflatable pig : travels through Paraguay, Gimlette, John
  
• 2) Snow, Pamuk, Orhan
  
• 3) Spice : the history of a temptation, Turner, Jack
  
• 4) Washington's crossing, Fischer, David Hackett
  
• 5) Rats : observations on the history and habitat of the city's mostunwanted inhabitants, Sullivan, Robert
  
• 6) 1912 : Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft & Debs-- the election that changedthe country, Chace, James
  
• 7) Brazil red, Rufin, Jean-Christophe
  
• 8) HIP : THE HISTORY, Leland, John
• 9) The Italian boy : a tale of murder and body snatching in 1830sLondon, Wise, Sarah
• 10) Soul made flesh : the discovery of the brain-- and how it changedthe world, Zimmer, Carl

NYT Best Seller List Non-Fiction

• 1. AMERICA (THE BOOK), by Jon Stewart, Ben Karlin and David Javerbaum ¤
• 2. CHRONICLES: VOLUME ONE, by Bob Dylan ¤
• 3. HIS EXCELLENCY: GEORGE WASHINGTON, by Joseph J. Ellis ¤
• 4. WHEN WILL JESUS BRING THE PORK CHOPS? by George Carlin ¤
• 5. EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES, by Lynne Truss ¤

NYT Best Seller List Fiction

• 1. THE DA VINCI CODE, by Dan Brown ¤
• 2. STATE OF FEAR, by Michael Crichton
• 3. THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN, by Mitch Albom ¤
• 4. LIFE EXPECTANCY, by Dean Koontz
• 5. NIGHT FALL, by Nelson DeMille

(Read ¤)

Amazon Germany Top Sellers Combined

• 1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) von J.K. Rowling
• 2. Der Schwarm von Frank Schätzing
• 3. Illuminati, 6 Audio-CDs
• 4. Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod von Bastian Sick
• 5. Langenscheidt Deutsch-Frau / Frau-Deutsch von Mario Barth
• 6. Sakrileg von Dan Brown, Piet van Poll
• 7. The Da Vinci Code von Dan Brown
• 8. Die GLYX-Diät. Abnehmen mit Glückgefühlen. von Marion Grillparzer
• 9. Der kleine Prinz, 2 Audio-CDs in Geschenkbox aus Metall von Antoine de Saint-Exupery, u.a.
• 10. Illuminati von Dan Brown

Amazon France Meilleurs Ventes Combined

• 1. Se faire obéir sans crier Barbara Unell, Jerry Wyckoff
• 2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) J.K. Rowling
• 3. Da Vinci Code Dan Brown, Daniel Roche(Traduction)
• 4. Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part Anna Gavalda
• 5. Histoire des codes secrets Simon Singh, Catherine Coqueret(Traduction)
• 6. Calendrier 2005 : Dieux du Stade Collectif, Carter Smith(Photographies)
• 7. Je l'aimais Anna Gavalda
• 8. Les Tuniques Bleues, Tome 48 : Arabesque Willy Lambil, Raoul Cauvin
• 9. Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong: Why We Love France but Not the French Jean-Benoit Nadeau, Julie Barlow
• 10. Le fabuleux héritage de l'Egypte Christiane Desroches Noblecourt

Amazon Japan Top Sellers Combined

• 1.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) (US) J.K. Rowling
  2.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) (UK) J.K. Rowling
  3.Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones
  4.An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists Fritz Schider
  5.The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown

And from a fellow blogger , this Top 10 of all Time from Brazil.

• 1) Crime e Castigo, Dostoiévski - 163 - Russo [Crime And Punishment]
• 2) Cem Anos de Solidão, Garcia Marquez -147 - Espanhol [100 Years of Solitude]
• 3) Dom Quixote, Cervantes - 120 - Espanhol
• 4) O Processo, Kafka - 113 - Alemão [The Trial]
• 5) Dom Casmurro, Machado de Assis - 98 - Português
• 6) Hamlet, Shakespeare - 96 - Inglês
• 7) O Senhor dos Anéis, Tolkien - 91 - Inglês [Lord of the Rings Trilogy]
• 8) Grande Sertão: Veredas, Guimarães Rosa - 83 - Português
• 9) Metamorfose, Kafka - 64 - Alemão [Metamorphosis]
• 10) O Nome da Rosa, Eco - 50 - Italiano [Name of the Rose]

Someone said there are few pleasures as good as reading a book in bed with an apple. I agree. Only I'd substitute a cup of tea and make it a dark and blustery night.