2006 Book List

1. Passion Is A Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash by by Pat Gilbert
Police and Thieves was the first Clash song that I remember hearing. Andrew had the Story of the Clash on two cassettes and I fell in love right away. I remember then getting The Clash on Broadway three CD set and listening to disc 2 especially over and over in my room. While I have always loved the music, I admit that I knew very little about the group before reading this book. Would I have liked as much if I didn’t love the music? Probably not. The book is a fascinating look at four very different people who came together in just the right time for their very different music styles and influences. Reading this book made me appreciate their music even more. There were many references to people and bands that I have never even heard of, so it made me feel a little un-music educated, but a great book to start the year.

2. On Beauty by Zadie Smith
I highly enjoyed this book. Similar to Middlesex and totally unlike The Corrections (for me), this book was filled with interesting, flawed, unique three dimensional characters that I truly cared about. I read White Teeth awhile ago, and thought it was ok. I skipped Smith’s second book, but would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good novel. It is long and there are many characters. Sometimes I felt I knew what the twists were going to be, but getting there was so much fun, I didn’t care that I had already figured it out. Another note, I listened to this book on CD and the reader was fabulous.

3. Stalin’s Folly: The Tragic First Ten Days of World War II on the Eastern Front by Constantine Pleshakov
Did I like this book? Yes. Was I confused half the time I was reading it? Yes. Would I recommend it? Only if you are a history dork like me. Really, not a bad reading of a very specific subject. I remembered a few details from some classes at IU, but it was interesting to see some of the reasoning (and I use that term loosely) behind the decisions and policies that determined what happened in the first 10 days. The author also has an interesting note at the end of the book regarding his sources which I think anyone who is interested in writing or reading non fiction would find fascinating.

4. About a Boy by Nick Hornby
This was exactly what I needed after slowly going throug two pretty dense non fiction books. I read this in about a day and a half and enjoyed it. I have always meant to read a Nick Hornby book, and came across this one at half price books recently, so decided to give it a go. The dialog was great, probably the best I’ve read in a long time and that itself is what made this an easy, interesting and fun read.

5. Three Junes by Julia Glass
This is one of those books I was desperate to get through and was sad once I finished it. I couldn’t put it down. I lived the world of Fenno, wanted him to laugh more, to have more fun and to come to terms with all the things he needed to term. I don’t usually mind books (or movies, really) that just drop off and don’t give you a complete lock on what happens after it is over. I don’t need a run down of what happens to everyone in the next 20 years, but I found myself wanting that so much with this book. I guess because I was so wrapped up in Fenno, Fern, the twins, all of it. All of them. I really loved how many things did come together though, what was revealed and what hidden really was wonderful. Highly recommended.

6. Vinegar Hill by A. Manette Ansay
Quick read, but as I’ve been thinking about this in the past day, I can’t decide if I would recommend this book or not. I wrote it on my list as it was mentioned in Patchett’s Truth and Beauty and realize that it has been an Oprah book. The writing was at time stunning, interesting and beautiful. The subject was hard at times to read and I was afraid it was going to pull a House of Sand and Fog on me (aka the most depressing book…ever). So I liked it, but didn’t like it and can’t decide on a recommendation or not. It is an interesting look at a certain time, place and mentality. But then again, it isn’t as narrow as that. See? I can’t make up my mind.

7. A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon Winchester
I love me some Simon Winchester. Completely a man after my own heart…history and geology. Just as good as history and art to me. This book is about the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fire in the San Fransisco region. Winchester spend a lot of time describing the science behind faults, plates and the earth before the quake even hits. How could I not enjoy this book? He also mentions at the end of the book that the NSGS (a pretty conservative group) has predicted a likelyhood of at least 60% that an earthquake of 6.2 or greater will hit SF before 2032. Earthquake prediction isn’t perfect, and is fairly complicated, but Winchester does a great job at taking the complicated and scientific and describing it for everyone.

8. Five Quarters Of The Orange by Joanne Harris
I read this for a book club, so maybe I was more critical for that reason than I normall would have been. I had several problems with this book, but it wasn’t terrible. Mostly I was trouble with the fact that a lot of people in this book do pretty risky and outlandish acts and it was a stretch for me that so many people in a small town would do those things with very little provoking. A lot of things happen in this book and I don’t think that we have a good character study to make their actions believeable, just have them do the things to get the story going. I also had a problem with the ages of the main character and the idea of memory. However, with all that said, it wasn’t horrible and I was excited last night to read the last couple of pages.

9. Never Let Me Go by Kauzo Ishiguro
I listened to this book, and was ready for it to be over, but really really enjoyed it. The reader was excellent and the writing was so wonderful. The topic was difficult, interesting and maddening all at the same time. I kept waiting for something really awful to happen, some horrible violent or rage filled incident. And when there wasn’t, I felt like what did actually happen was just as horrific. The nothingness. Nothing happened, because nothing was supposed to happen. And I kept wondering why they didn’t just run away. Everything was just accepted, and the mention of running away never even came up. This book isn’t for everybody, but it is so well written and just pretty different than most things you will pick up that I would recommend it to most. I might have to check out Remains of the Day.

10. Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books by Maureen Corrigan
This book is written by the book reviewer for Fresh Air on NPR, which sounded great on the flap. Little did I know, I should have stopped at the introduction. The intro was great, talking about developing and retaining a love of books throughtout a lifetime. The author discusses reading as a way of searching for authenticity among books as the basis for her passion for fiction. Being out of school and understanding this is important to her ongoing development and learning, something to which I can completely relate. The author may her gotten her love of literature from her dad, but relishes describing, talking, and reviewing of books to the audience of people like her mother, who is a non reader. I like that idea and always believed that people who don’t like reading are just reading the wrong thing, or have been described great books in a way that sounds unappealing. Intro? Great. The remaining chapters deal with three types of books that the Corrigan loves, the female action-adventure (giving away all the secrets of Jayne Eyre, which I have not read yet), the mystery (which I dislike, but understand why they are appealing to many) and the Catholic fiction (no comment). These chapters are mingled with the author’s autobiography which seemed unnecessairly long and detailed. These remaining chapters, edited properly, would have make a great literary article, but are too drawn out for a whole book. Read the intro, and her book lists at the back and call it a day.

11. Teacher Man: A Memoir by Frank McCourt
I liked listening to this, but felt that there should have been more. First of all, McCourt reads this edition and while I love the sound of his voice, most of it came off as pretty stilted or stiff. I have heard him interviewed and is a great storyteller and talker, but reading this is not the same. Secondly, I enjoyed many of the stories about life in the classroom, and the theme of finding your voice was interesting. But I felt that something was missing. I am no closer to understanding what it is really like to stand in front of so many teens every day in a classroom, and nothing is mentioned about education in general. Why are we constantly ranking lowest in academic scores? Why are generations becoming non-readers (shudder)? This book tells what it is like to be Frank McCourt in a classroom, but gives no greater perspective or insight. Even just a stab here and there might have sufficed.

12. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
I read this for my April book club. Honestly, I don’t think I would have ever picked this book up on my own based on the back cover description, but it wasn’t horrible. I do have some major problems with the characters and events and admit that I got tricked (as I guess you are supposed to) regarding who exactly is refered to in the first chapter. This book deals with different kinds of loves, jealous love, possessive love, childish love, and love for a house that I just can’t quite connect with. I loved the social details, the relationships between the main character and some of the other smaller characters, but in the end just don’t really enjoy the whole murder/mystery aspect of the story. One of the books that was on the “possibility list” for next month was my very favorite A Prayer for Owen Meany, and I realize that has a mystery as one of its main threads, but that isn’t what I love about the book. It is all the other details. I guess that is sort of how I felt about Rebecca.

13. The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester
There is nothing better for me to get my mind off traffic, work, life, etc than listening to Simon Winchester read. I could listed to him read the phone book and would still find it relaxing (though if I listened to him read the phone book, then I would miss out on his pronounciation of controversial…). The problem that I had with this book, and the last one to a smaller degree, is that while I am not thinking of those other things, I am not really listening very closely to the story. And maybe this book didn’t grab me like Krakatoa did (which, by the way I also listened to, read by Winchester). This story was interesting, but for the first time sort of felt, unlike his other books, that this would have made a great National Geographic (or Economist or similar) article…but a book? Maybe just went on a little too long. I think there is one more Winchester book out there…something about China. Hmm….

14. Going After Cacciato by Tim O’Brien
Tim O’Brien writes often about the Vietnam War, in fact I think that most of his books deal with it to some degree. But Tim O’Brien isn’t obsessed with Vietnam, he is obsessed with telling a war story. A True War Story. And what does that mean? Even he doesn’t know, but through thousands of words is trying to work it out. I read and liked The Things They Carried, but I loved this book. I have picked it up several times, and put it back down based on the description, but then saw it at Half Price Books and who could resist? This book is about a war story within a war story. And the beauty of this book is in its language and construction. After I finished this book, I flipped back through to go back, to keep going, to remember and revisit. If you want to learn about The True War Story, this is a great book. If you want to learn how to write a novel, this is a great book. If you want to read a book that is beautifully constructed and takes you along at just the right speed, this is a great book. This is a perfectly constructed story…but is it the True War Story? Yes. And no.

15. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
Very interesting. I finished this book a few days ago and have been stewing about what to think…what to write. I liked it based on its originality, cleverness, characters, and readability. Yet, I don’t know if I will pick up any of the others that he has written in the same vein and I can’t put my finger exactly on why not. Admittedly it has been a really long time since I’ve seen the Wizard of Oz, and maybe I would have enjoyed it more upon a re-viewing of the movie. I have been thinking a lot lately about the construction of a novel (Going After Cacciato, Never Let Me Go, Saturday…) and how I like it when authors push the bounds. Try new things, and this book does that, and yet? Something was missing. I keep going back to the genre…I am not a fan of fantasy, of “other” worlds, so maybe that is it. Things I do know: it was at least 100 pages too long, and I would love to see the play now that I’ve read the book. Just how would they do it?

16. Saturday by Ian McEwan
This book covers exactly one very long day in the life of a 40 something neurosurgeon in London. I love the concept, and was mostly drawn into the details of every minute. There where however, parts that had excessive detail that I felt unnecessary (the squash strategies, the surgery details…). I also thought that there was way too much reflection at the end. He is tired after a long day filled with very troublesome events, I don’t think he would go into extended dialogues. I like the format of the book, and mostly enjoyed it, but do think that it could have benefited from a tiny bit of editing.

17. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Told from the perspective of a young teen who was recently murdered. There is a flash back to the events that lead up to the murder and the killing itself (though not tooo graphic) and how she watches her family deal (or not deal) with her disappearance (her body isn’t found). There were parts at the end that I just couldn’t really go along with, too much of a stretch for me. This book was an easy read, even with the sometimes difficult subject matter, and was interesting but not great. This would make good airport reading but not something that will challenge you. It could have been taken to a next level, but doesn’t, but now that I think about it, it is probably why it was so popular.

18. Open House by Elizabeth Berg
I read this Elizabeth Berg book because a)I know they’ve been popular and b) because Augusten Burroughs always mentions her as one of his favorite authors. Writers that other writers suggest sounded like a great idea! However this book was only ok. I liked the quick style and the interior dialogues, but the story was unbelieveable (the two! most! perfect! roommates! ever!), the characters pretty flat, and the ending sort of ridiculously cliched. Would make a good beach read, whatever that means.

19. Julie and Romeo: A Novel by Jeanne Ray
So cheesy. I read this for my May book club, and gave it a chance b/c I know its been popular (though almost never a surefire indicator), and the author is Ann Patchet’s mother. The book is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet with 60-somethings playing the leads. It wasn’t the age of the characters that bothered me so much, as the cliches, tired descriptions and over the top romance. I love a good love story, but “romance” isn’t really my genre and this proved to be no exception.

20. March: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks
I really liked this book. Written from the perspective of the dad in Little Women. The March Father recounts his time spent as a chaplin in the Union army, and then as a tutor for freed slaves before he becomes ill and is sent to the hospital in DC where Marmee has to leave her Little Women to go and tend him. His relationships between a former slave, Marmee (mainly via letters and recollections) are interesting, and become even more so during the two chapters where the book switches to Marmee’s perspective. To see the same incident as told by their two perspectives gives so much more meaning than if it had been directly spelled out, and spoke volumes of their relationship and personalities. I recommended this to our book club to read, but there is some violence and other unsavory parts that are unsettling. A good story, interesting characters make for a good recommendation.

21. Missing Mom: A Novel by Joyce Carol Oates
This book follows the year after the death of the main character’s mother. How does such an event effect someone in their thirties? How can the missing relationship effect others still surviving? Why do things change after such an event? Oates tries to answer some of these questions, but I still felt something was missing from the picture. I don’t understand turning into your mom helps with the missing part. This wasn’t a bad novel, it just didn’t push it for me. The hard questions, the why part isn’t addressed, and I think if they had, it might have been a fuller story.

22. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
I don’t know where to start. I liked this book a lot, and yet had some major problems. I read a lot of novels, and am generally having a hard time becoming bored with just a simple A to Z type story (see #21 above). It takes more than just a good story lately to really get me. This book pushes the limits on different, and I liked that. I am not sure the logic always worked and I had a hard time sometimes trying to figure out the pattern, but I like active reading. In some ways I liked the characters, but in some ways I had a hard time with them. Clare is an artist, but only because the book says and the author has an interst in paper making. The book make a big deal out of how events of Clare’s childhood shaped her as an adult, so I would have liked to see some of that artistic development come out of her friendship with the time traveling Henry as a girl. And Henry is a nerdy librarian. Huh? Why isn’t he a medical librarian? Most librarians I know (80% of the people I know are librarians), spend a considerable amount of time researching personal things…why does Henry spend no time really doing any of his own research? His work as a librarian feels as tacked on as Clare’s art. Clare also never actively comes to terms with Henry’s violence. I realize that he is often forced into violent acts, but at least once is only provoked with words. Clare never mentions this as an issue. This book also took a gruesome turn at the end (which I don’t have a problem with), but then it just kind of dropped it. I hate to give anything away to someone who hasn’t read this, but it involves some frostbite. I can see how this affected the one time in the Meadow, but is that it? I guess overall, I like books that raise moral, logigal and psychological questions and make me think. It was a good story with decent characters and I often didn’t want to put it down which is a good sign. I am looking forward to another book by this author.

23. Polio : An American Story by David M. Oshinsky
This year I have read both the fiction and non-fiction winner of the Pulitzer award and really enjoyed them both. This book discusses the history of polio, and the vaccine race and debate that continues to this day. As someone who grew up in the 80s, I knew very little about polio before I read this book and found some of it incredible. While the 1950s weren’t really that long ago, there is some startling information about live human testing and you can see how the government and media can shape our fears and hopes by either what they say or don’t say. Only a few pages are devoted at the end to what is happening in the world of polio today, some of which I would have like more information. But overall, this was a good historical account.

24. Sleep Toward Heaven : A Novel by Amanda Eyre Ward
A pretty decent, interesting first novel intertwining the lives of three women, a young doctor, a death row prisoner and the widow of the man she killed. It sounds like it could be sappy and chick lit-y. But it isn’t, and the characters stay pretty grounded and even at the big finish doesn’t get carried away. Looks like she has a newer book out…might be worth a shot.

25. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Well written? Yes. Interesting? Not really. I was drawn in early with beautiful descriptions, and intriguing self exploration, but quickly bored with the repetitiveness and boorishness of the story and main character. Lolita is the standard teenager, moody, irritable, and certainly not worth the complete devotion of HH. I guess in the end, I am glad that I read this book, as it is considered a classic, but wouldn’t read it again or even really recommend it to most readers.

26. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Finally read my sci-fi book! Recommended by Tim, this book was for the most part interesting and kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen, but there was something missing. The story was pretty good, and the twist near the end was fantastic, but the descriptions and most of the characters were pretty bland for me (and quite unrealistic as they are children). I know there are other books in this series, and I don’t think that I will pick any of them up, but glad that I read this for a different perspective from the regularly scheduled reading program.

27. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Blah. Note to self: Do not read any more “historical” fiction. It will drive you insane, thanks. Really? This “novel” is nothing more than a 700 page bodice ripper. I know people say that historical fiction (and also movies) are just that, fiction. So there is no reason to get all worked up over it, but really there is. Because many people don’t just take it as fiction…just spend 5 minutes reading reviews on Amazon of this book (or not, because people rave about this book, and you’ll never get those 5 minutes back). “People” say things like: Wow! I learned so much about Anne Boleyn. Or: Cool! The facts were great! Um, no. The “facts” presented in this book were taken with HUGE liberties, and not just little tweaks. It presents a one sided view of “history” and many people take that for fact, and won’t read anything else about the era and are now going to have a pretty twisted view of the actual story of Anne Boleyn. The faux feminism also irritated me, and often I felt like I was being beaten over the head about certain points the author wanted to make regarding status of women, the Howard family, etc. And where was the editor? Seriously 200-300 pages of Anne chasing Henry in the middle could be cut and we would still get it. She wants him, he wants her, he is still married to Katherine, she is married, repeat for 300 pages. We would have gotten it after 50. Really.

28. The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry
In second grade, I had strep throat once a month for a year. At that time the main drug for treatment was penicillin, to which I am allergic. So instead I was given one of the few alternatives, anti-cillin. Anti-cillin upset my stomach, so I had to take these huge horse pills of chalk and dust and rat droppings to help the original medicine go down. I can picture both these pills, and almost remember the taste of the anti-queasy medication, and this was 20 something years ago! These days there are loads of antibiotics on the market, and if you react to one, they just perscribe another one. Anyway, it made me really think while I read this book, about the advancement of medical science. When I was getting sick, it was the late 70s, early 80s. Really the history of modern medicine is quite short, and you would be amazed at how much things have changed, in a short amount of time. At least I wasn’t treated with leeches! The beginning of this book covers the overhaul of American medical education and science in the early 20th century, which was pretty fascination. There are also long passages about the life cycle of viruses and how they interact in the body. While I think I understand influenza a little more after reading this, it hasn’t made me feel any better about the reality of another world wide endemic. This wasn’t an easy read, took me longer than I thought it would, but I am glad I read it.

29. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
It was the last book he ever wrote. He needed them to die after 5 years on death row to finish the book. He developed a relationship with Smith. He was in Holcomb for much of the investigation, trial and sentencing. All these facts that I know about the writing of this book made reading it much richer. Well written? Yes. It is hard to understand and always appreciate the perfection of Capote’s sentences and word choice throughout. Enjoyable? Hard to say. I think that maybe it was different when the book was published in 1965, but true crime is now its own genre. And not really one of my interests. Like Lolita, I am glad that I read this book, but probably won’t ever pick it up again and would only recommend with reservations to select people.

30. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
I was worried about reading this again, since I read it for my book group. I’ve read this book many many times, but haven’t for a few years. I was worried that I wouldn’t like it reading with a critical eye that I tend to do when I read for the group. I was also worried that I wouldn’t be able to stand people in the book group saying that they didn’t like it. Turns out, I enjoyed reading it just as much as ever (even though I skip the parts when John is in Canada as an adult), and felt that some people bringing up negatives about the book almost had valid points and helped me think about why I like this book so much. Irving is great at details, but never feels bogged down in them, and they often all add up to something, and the payoff is usually pretty great. I love the characters and even the pacing of the book. I also love the Irving humor, but as a woman pointed out to me last night, that isn’t for everyone. I find it hilarious, and while being blackly funny, stays true to the human condition. I would recommend the middle books of Irving, this one, Cider House Rules, Garp and even Hotel New Hampshire (if you don’t get grossed out easily).

31. The Secrets of Jin-shei by Alma Alexander
I liked this book, but also didn’t. There were A LOT of characters…something like 10 main characters is a wee bit too many. Certainly a few could be cut. The remaining 7 or so characters were great and I enjoyed their growth and relationships between each other. What I didn’t like was the hocus-pocus ghost crap. It wasn’t necessary! It was a great story of friendship and being bound to tradition and a culture. I could have also done without the last chapter. I read the book, I don’t need a refresher as to what happened earlier. I was actually paying attention. Also? I don’t need to know what happened to every single character to the very end. Cut the last chapter and the ghostie mystical stuff, and it would be the appropriate length, as it is too long with them in. Even with these faults, it was pretty much an enjoyable book that did suck me in and kept me turning the pages.

32. Juno & Juliet by Julian Gough
Interesting first book. Recommended by a fellow librarian, this book is set in Galway during the main characters’ first year at college. I love smart characters. Characters who aren’t afraid to think aloud and work out problems in an intellectual as well as emotional way. I love the discussions of books, reading, authors and such. I was however a little disturbed by the climax of the book and the characters’ reaction, which seemed a little empty and callous. I would be interested in other books this author writes.

33. Regeneration by Pat Barker
I bought this book ages ago at Tattered Cover in Denver and it has sat on my shelf untouched for years. And I have no idea why. I think I bought it because it is the first in a trilogy, the last of which won the Booker, and y’all know how I feel about Booker books. Anyway, this book was also selected by the NYTimes as one of the 4 best novels of 1994. And? It was excellent! It is about British officers during WWI who are ordered a stay in a hosptial, where they can address their emotional problems and go back to the front. Doesn’t sound exactly like a page turner, and the content was difficult at times, but I love the characters and felt that some of the issues were still timely today. While I might read something else next, I will certainly read the other two books in this series.

34. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
This book won the Booker Prize two years ago, and I do have a tendency to read Booker books and enjoy them. However a book like this (see also: Gilead) reminds me that just because it won an award, I don’t always enjoy it. Like with movies, I am sort of a book snot. I admit that. There are just too many good ones out there and not that many hours in a day. So I don’t like wasting my time. I also usually finish movies that I am not enjoying, and finish books I don’t really like. There were some parts of this book that were exceptionally well written and interesting. But on the whole, the characters were so shallow and empty that I didn’t really care about all the drama at the climax of the book. I did finish listening to this book, but it never made me feel fulfilled like a good (or even a mediocre) book can make me feel.

35. The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden
I read this book after seeing a preview of the movie coming out soon. Hey…I like Scotland, and I like African history, should have been a great mix. This was a novel about Idi Amin’s Scottish doctor and while it wasn’t great, it reminds me that I shouldn’t completely write off historical fiction. I just put this down and can’t exactly put my finger on what I didn’t like about this book, but it didn’t completely hold me through the end. I loved the beginning, but my interest seemed to fade and I don’t know why. Certainly well written, and I am glad I read it. Interesting note, I read that the main character was loosely based on a real Scot but is it the European digested view of what happened more accessible to a western audience? I have read quite a bit of African history, but I am curious (and again, don’t have the answers) as to the fact that I picked it up based on some identification with the narrator (of which I actually had little) that I might not have done so with an African narrator?

36. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
Fairly quick read, and somewhat more interesting than the other book I read by her this year. In this book she tackles the question of what is it like to live on a wage you would earn at Denny’s or Wal-Mart? The interview process and day to day life at these jobs is some times funny, but also pretty depressing. Her conclusion is that while wages haven’t risen very much, affordable safe housing has. And when someone is paying more than 3/4 of their salary to rent, child care, health issues and general quality of life decline. Ehrenreich has now looked at the lower tiers of workers, and the underemployed managers, but I would like to invite her to come and work at the library for a month.

37. Digging to America by Anne Tyler
While I think her books are sort of fluffy, I tend to enjoy most of her stuff. I can’t say how much I liked Saint Maybe, and think that the look into middle America is both fascinating and can produce some introspection on your own part. What that said, I really enjoyed this book, and was a quick fun read. While I think that she gets bogged down in some events to the most minute and unnecessary detail, she mostly creates characters that I enjoy and find interesting. Her themes almost always revolve around family, but in this case fitting in too. How do we perceive ourselves and others (often incorrectly) colors every relationship, both good and bad and the character of Maryam may have more in common with all of us than we think. I loved the end when the realization of this perception finally shatters.

38. Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
While exceptionally beautifully written, this book didn’t grab me until about 2/3 of the way though. I had a hard time keeping some of the characters straight, and was often confused about who was at what event or what we were supposed to remember about their past but I think that might be part of her style. Then the tenderness of the love story surprises you, and doesn’t seem to fit with the other part of the book, but it all works and is worthwhile in the end. I would be interested to read the book Hazzard is most famous for, The Transit of Venus. The woman can use a semi colon like no other author I’ve read.

39. 1984 by George Orwell
I suppose I should have something deep and profound to say about this book. I only read this as a selection for my book club at my local library, and while I am glad I read it, I don’t think I’ll read it again and found it a hard to read. It also took me a long time to get through it. It did make me think about the evolution and change in history (including written records) and how that is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing. We don’t realize how much our current frame of mind shapes our view of history. It also reminds me not just as a librarian, how important archiving and maintenance of past sources. I was also disappointed in the Julia character, she was so shallow and empty. Even her sexuality, which at first seemed like it might take a different turn was equally empty. I suppose dystopian literature shouldn’t be where I look for strong female characters, but why not?

40. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
I thought I would like this. I thought that I may have missed a YA gem and didn’t want to regret it. I disliked this book. or maybe it just wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I was shocked at the violence and how the violence was an acceptable solution to all problems. I wanted the main character to be bigger than that, more like most people I knew in highschool. It all seemed overly macho.

41. Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford
I worked at the Lion for two years as a prep and line cook after college. I could write a book about the experience, some good, some bad, some bloody, some hilarious. But reading this book makes me remember some of the little things…the moments where you feel perfectly in sync and what you were doing was making food. For people to eat and enjoy. And doing that can be amazing. Early in the mornings, I often made breakfast for the prep crew. In the afternoons, I made dinner for the night crew. While it wasn’t the family meals, I got to make things off the menu…to use the ingredients to create something that was, well, yummy. I made early winter morning grilled cheeses for the keg guys off the records. Seeing these people eat something that I made while sitting on the back table with pots hanging over their heads was a great feeling and you forget that over time. That was the lesson that Buford learns in this book. He goes to work at Babbo, Mario Batali’s restaurant. And through the blood, sweat and tears, there are bright spots. And while working the line is pretty insane, it is a rush to push your body and mind. I wouldn’t want to go back and do it today, but I am glad I got the experience, and I think Buford is too. He takes it a step further and goes to work as an apprentice butcher in Italy, which I could have sort of skipped. But most of this book is fun and interesting if you are interested in food and eating.

42. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Stevens takes a mini-break from his duties as head butler from a large English house and motors to meet the one time house keeper. During his trip, he thinks back to his previous employer and what it means to be the best at your profession. I liked this book, but also found it hard to digest. Stevens mulls over loyalty and dignity, and when he finally feels he has come to a conclusion about it (that his previous employer was not a great man), Stevens is able to work it out that he has still made a difference in the world. The romance lost, the years lost, the inability to focus on family doesn’t seem to shake him in a way that you would want him to feel, but I guess that is the point. Despite the not so happy ending, there are many funny parts in this book, and that humor saves it. The bantering argument (completely within Stevens’ head) and the talk about the birds and the bees with young Mr. Cardinal are wonderful.

43. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
I picked this as the first book for my book group at my new library that probably no one will come to. This was an amazingly popular book, and while it was decent, it doesn’t make me want to read any more of the series. Maybe I just don’t like mysteries, but I liked the parts where the main character is learning how to be a detective. But some of her methods seemed pretty unrealistic and harsh. I never got a feel for the characters and didn’t get the love story. I will have to talk to somebody who loved this book to see what they thought. Me? Eh.

44. Slow Man by J.M. Coetzee
I realize now that there is a previous book called Elizabeth Costello that maybe I should have read before I read this one…may have explained some parts there in the middle that weren’t always totally clear. I enjoyed this book, though maybe not as much as Disgrace, which won Coetzee the Booker. While I didn’t love love this book, it was (much like Remains of the Day for me) beautifully written and makes me want to read other things by him.

45. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
I am leading a discussion on this book next week, which will be interesting to hear what other people thought. I know this has been a hugely popular book, but I didn’t feel I could quite connect. Maybe my age has something to do with it, but it all seemed a step removed. While the five people you meet seem sort of random, I did like what the different people considered their “heavens”.

46. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
I suppose I was set up to be let down by this book considering how much I loved A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by the same author. Like the book previous, the main character in this book belongs to my parent’s generation, and while I liked the older characters, it was the couple of younger ones that I really got into. The book is told from several viewpoints of a family leading up to the daughter’s wedding. Each character was difficult, but also interesting and sympathetic, even when they were making silly decisions. I will continue to be interested in what Haddon writes, and would recommend this book to most people.

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