Eschewed Obfuscation

As of January 1st, 2009.
- denotes incomplete readings.
* denotes flocked review.


1. Amberlight by Sylvia Kelso
2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (reread)
3. Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools You Should Know about Even If You're Not a Straight-A Student by Loren Pope (reread)
4. The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality by André Comte-Sponville
5. The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
6. The Duchess, Her Maid, the Groom & Their Lover by Victoria Janssen
- Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology by Nick Gevers (ed.)
7. Fat Envelope Frenzy: One Year, Five Promising Students, and the Pursuit of the Ivy League Prize by Joie Jager-Hyman
8. Fruits Basket vol. 21 by Natsuki Takaya
9. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
- Looking beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That's Right for You by Loren Pope
10. The Price of Admission: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates by Daniel Golden
- Worlds Apart?: Dualism and Transgression in Contemporary Female Dystopias by Dunja M. Mohr
11. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
12. Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
13. Chalice by Robin McKinley
14. Westmark by Lloyd Alexander
15. Forever Princess by Meg Cabot
16. *Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater
- Perspectives on American Politics by William Lasser
- Rugg's Recommendations on the Colleges (2008) by Frederick E. Rugg
17. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
18. Interfictions: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing by Delia Sherman and Theodora Goss (eds.)
19. *Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert
20. The Kestrel by Lloyd Alexander
21. *Midwinter by Matthew Sturges
22. Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly
23. Questions and Admissions: Reflections on 100,000 Admissions Decisions at Stanford by Jean H. Fetter
24. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
25. Natural Law by Joey W. Hill
- Creative Colleges: A Guide for Student Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians and Writers by Elaina Loveland
26. Rock Hard Apps: How to Write a Killer College Application by Katherine Cohen
27. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
- The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy by Nicholas Lemann
28. *Wildfire by Sarah Micklem (ARC)
29. *The Betrayal by Pati Nagle
30. His Lady Mistress by Elizabeth Rolls
31. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
32. What Colleges Don't Tell You (and Other Parents Don't Want You to Know): 272 Secrets for Getting Your Kid into the Top Schools by Elizabeth Wissner-Gross
- The Shape of the River: Long-term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions by William G. Bowen & Derek Bok
33. Diamond Star by Catherine Asaro
34. Acing the College Application: How to Maximize Your Chances for Admission to the College of Your Choice by Michele A. Hernandez
- Documentary Expression and Thirties America by Bill Stott
35. Rosa Lee: A Mother and Her Family in Urban America by Leon Dash
36. Stranded with a Spy by Merline Lovelace
37. The Black Jewels Trilogy: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop
- The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm
38. Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton
39. Acceptance: A Legendary Guidance Counselor Helps Seven Kids Find the Right Colleges--and Find Themselves by David L. Marcus
40. *When the Tide Rises by David Drake
41. *In the Stormy Red Sky by David Drake
42. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
43. The Dark Reaches by Kristin Landon
44. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
45. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
46. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
47. Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua
48. L'etranger (The Stranger) by Albert Camus
49. Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
50. Beloved Vampire by Joey W. Hill
51. Rhinocéros (The Rhinoceros) by Eugene Ionesco
52. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
53. Maigret et la vieille dame (Maigret and the Old Lady) by George Simenon
54. The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids by Alexandra Robbins
55. Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter
- Jhegaala by Steven Brust
56. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
57. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
58. Dreams Made Flesh by Anne Bishop
59. Le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid) by Molière
60. Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks
61. The Family Trade by Charles Stross
62. Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett
63. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
64. Riversend by Sylvia Kelso
- Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton (reread)
65. Mort by Terry Pratchett

As of January 1st, 2008.
- denotes unfinished.


1. Singer in the Snow by Louise Marley
2. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
3. Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine 30th Anniversary Anthology by Sheila Williams (ed.)
4. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
5. The Ruby Dice by Catherine Asaro
6. The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
7. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
8. Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer
9. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay (reread)
- Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell
10. A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo
11. Grimspace by Ann Aguirre (ARC)
- Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah
12. The Shamer's Daughter by Lene Kaaberbol
13. Princess on the Brink by Meg Cabot
14. The Mark of the Vampire Queen by Joey W. Hill
15. The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce (reread)
- The Undecided Voter's Guide to the Next President by Mark Halperin
16. Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell
17. Fruits Basket vol. 18 by Natsuki Takaya
18. Beyond This Dark House by Guy Gavriel Kay
19. The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne
- Notes from a Minor Key: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Healing by Dawn Bailiff
20. Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas (ARC)
- The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality by André Comte-Sponville
21. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
- The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber
22. Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton
23. Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton
24. Cool Colleges for the Hyper-intelligent, Self-directed, Late Blooming, and Just Plain Different by Donald Asher
- Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth about America's Top Schools
25. Fruits Basket vol. 19 by Natsuki Takaya
26. Micah by Laurell K. Hamilton
- Fiske Guide to Colleges 2007 by Edward B. Fiske
27. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
28. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
29. Princess Mia by Meg Cabot
30. Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories by John Klima (ed.)
- The Insider's Guide to the Colleges 2003 by The Yale Daily News (eds.)
31. Binge: Campus Life in an Age of Disconnection and Excess by Barrett Seaman
32. Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett
- Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker
33. What Life Was Like in the Land of the Dragon: Imperial China, A.D. 960-1368 by Time-Life Books (Denise Dersin, ed.)
34. Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton
35. Thud! by Terry Pratchett
36. The Heart of the Dragon by Alasdair Clayre
37. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
38. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakaeur
39. House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
- The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Ninth Annual Collection by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (eds.)
40. Sex as a Second Language by Alisa Kwitney
41. Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges by Loren Pope
42. Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight against Imperialism by Cornel West
43. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
44. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay (reread)
45. The Elements of Style: Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White (reread)
46. The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College by Jacques Steinberg
47. A Is for Admission: The Insider's Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges by Michele A. Hernández
48. All Girls: Single-sex Education and Why It Matters by Karen Stabiner
49. Apocrypha by Catherynne M. Valente
50. Fruits Basket vol. 20 by Natsuki Takaya
51. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
52. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
53. The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite by Christopher Avery, Andrew Fairbanks, and Richard Zeckhauser
54. My Name Is Sei Shōnagon by Jan Blensdorf
55. College Unranked: Ending the College Admissions Frenzy by Lloyd Thacker (ed.)
56. Wyvernhail by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
57. The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi
58. Admissions Confidential: An Insider's Account of the Elite College Selection Process by Rachel Toor
59. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
60. The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente
61. The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America by Jonathan Kozol
62. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
63. Ever by Gail Carson Levine
64. Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
65. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
66. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
67. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
68. Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton
69. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
70. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay (reread)

This post may be edited at any later time; I intend it to be an overarching statement of my current religious beliefs.


I am what is commonly termed a "weak atheist"--I do not believe in the existence of a higher deity because I have found no satisfactory reason to believe otherwise. However, I am also a "militant atheist," being quite adamant about my faith or lack thereof. Atheism is as important to my sense of self as being Christian is to an evangelicist. I am drawn to the serenity of Buddhism, but I find that personal meditation achieves that quite well without the need for organized religion.

This post will mainly reference Christianity, and I am not tactful. If you're easily offended, don't click the cut.

( Why I am atheist )

Relevant Links

( cut for length )

I'm so behind on my essay, but let's channel-surf the internet anyway!

Via StumbleUpon: "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." Can anyone read the attribution in that image? --Cheris Kramarae and Paula Treichler, thanks to roter_terror for pointing out the obvious (aka magical power of Google).

I haven't figured out my stance on this yet, and there are too many good links to collect, but here are two that I find indispensable.

erestor's Meta: LJ - it's not about the kids - it's about us.
I quote: "'Obscenity' is the perfect tool to weed out everything that doesn't fit in a nice, clean, straight, male-dominated and preferably white world."

jupiter_star's An open letter to Livejournal.
On contradictory statements by LJ/6A, and legality issues.

"The Blank Page" by Isak Dinesen

Referenced in Virgin.