Bookcase for Giants
We aren’t giants, but would you expect anything less than a 9′ tall bookcase in this house? There are still boxes of “lesser” books in the basement that we can’t bear to part with, like my treasured S.E. Hinton collection, and Jane Hamilton, who I always read but never really like. I wonder sometimes how I ended up with so many books about Russian history, but it isn’t really a mystery. They came from the intersection of a little bit o’ cash slinging puffballs at the Lion, access to good used books (the Red Cross booksale), and a peaking interest after my undergrad. Having a brother who lends/buys you books about Stalingrad and Prince Felix Youssoupov doesn’t hurt either. I love having my books out, and it finally completes the living room.
I can’t reach the Russia shelf without a ladder, but Tim made me the perfect bookcase for this house!
Home, books, family | Comments (2)Book List 2008
1. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
This is the first selection of the year for my teen book discussion group. And believe it or not, I have actually read this before, but picked it up again for a refresher. I am actually on the fence on whether or not I “like” this book. It is interesting, clever, smart, full of interesting characters and is probably a good book for young women to read. But really the other-worldness and mystery made me feel a little uneasy while I read it. I realize that maybe that is the point. When I read books for the teen book group (who happen to be all young women), I am much more aware of strong female characters, even when they are not. And Coraline is great, so I’ll give it that.
2. Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa
This book was recommended to me from an India studies major, and generally wacky coworker who had never heard of The Clash. I liked the characters, but felt that I missed out on a lot of the cultural, linguistic and historical details. There are parts though that even without historical context are unbearably sad and difficult. While I don’t enjoy gory-difficult, I do enjoy challenges, and a story that pushes my boundaries. This book isn’t groundbreaking. But I love novels that open new worlds to me, either through construct or content. I would have never picked this book up on my own, so I’m glad for the recommendation and opening of new horizons.
3. Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
I read this as the February choice for my teen book club. I’ve never read any Pratchett before, but he is beloved by Tim. I enjoyed this book, but didn’t love it. Tiffany accidently dances with winter, and he falls in love with her, acting the jealous boyfriend by making icebergs and snow flakes in her likeness. Tiffany is boring and sort of unrealistic 13 year old character, I found it sort of hard to root for her in any reasonable way. But I did enjoy some side characters, especially the Feegles. Fantastic creatures. And I liked Annagramma, Horace the cheese, poor Miss Treason, and of course the librarians who are freezing in the storm and won’t feed their books to the slowly dying fire! Might be a good recommendation for young teens.
4. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
I’m glad I’m not leading this book discussion this weekend, but I will be there for work. I read this several years ago, and reread it just to be prepared as I will be at the discussion. I don’t know if it is that I feel like I am often creating discussion guides, or what. But I’m glad I’m not. I am glad however, that I reread this book. This book is sexy. And has some of the most independent, strong and intelligent female characters who are also aware of their own sensuality. The nature of this book only enhances this sensuality, and really acts as another character in the book. What isn’t integral is the story, not in the way that it is in Poisonwood Bible, or even in the other Kingsolver books. One of the characters wishes for a female friend that thinks in the same way that she does about nature, not knowing how close that will be. This book is about women. This book is about me.
5. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Short and sweet. Well actually not very sweet at all. The end of this book reminds me of one of my favorite books from last year, Yes Man by Dan Wallace. On the surface, they could not be more different, but really they are both about chances left undone. Wallace argues that we most regret things we wish we had done, but just didn’t do. Including the possibility of grabbing someone who is about to walk away from you by the arm and stopping them. Saying what you mean to say. But standing there, doing nothing, can be the undoing of someone. It is hard to put yourself out there sometimes, to make that first move. I think we are often inclined to choose the option that suits us best for the moment, but not think about how that will effect us long term. I hear ya, Ian. I liked this book.
6. Run by Ann Patchett
I read Bel Canto several years ago in about a day and a half and ate it up. Somewhere in there I read the memoir about Patchett’s friendship with Lucy Grealy, Truth & Beauty. But I haven’t gone back and read any older Patchett like I always have meant to. I would be timid now to go back and read because I love Bel Canto and now this book, and they might not live up to my expectations. I also read this book in about a day and a half. Family, service, and duty are bundled up with wonderful (but not perfect) characters who are loyal to each other and the family without being unreasonable, unthinkable, or unnecessary. The story isn’t unusual, but rich with details and feeling. Recommended.
7. Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky
I don’t know anyone who read this that didn’t love it. Sad, insightful, and beautifully written it is a story about the complications of humanity during the invasion of France in 1940 and the occupation of a small town. It is amazing to think that this book was written as these events were happening, it has such a keen eye to the intricate relationships that one would think require distance. The stories are sad, but made all the sadder reading the appendix and the letters her husband wrote on the author’s behalf after her arrest and even death at Auschwitz. The family story of the girls waiting for their parents to come back is almost too sad for real life, and one wishes it part of the story, but again frames the story in a way that is unforgattable.
8. Forgive Me by Amanda Eyre Ward
A few years ago, I read Sleep Toward Heaven by the same author after receiving a free trade copy at a conference. I loved the book, and thought it to be a wonderfully written complex story with three flawed but still amazing female main characters. I even bought the book for Gina, someone without a lot of time to read, so you know I really liked it. So I thought I’d try another and was really disappointed. This book sucked. This book reads like the book I would have written as a 16 year old, filled with all the I’m-so-cool-cliches of a hard living female journalist who even survives a beating in Mexico (totally unrealistic scene) and then goes on to prove herself in South Africa (cuz she’s still down with the people of the earth and all that)! I finished it in part to see if it redeemed itself in the end. It didn’t.
9. The Deportees and Other Stories by Roddy Doyle
Roddy Doyle is one of my favorites, he has a great way with dialogue and characters, sort of like Nick Hornby. This is a book of short stories, I think his first. All the stories revolve around the theme of Irishness, and include characters that have recently moved to Ireland from places like Poland and Nigeria. Some of the stories revisit familiar characters from other books like Jimmy Rabbitte. Doyle can weave dialogue from three different time periods into one sort of coherent rhythm. It is a cool trick once or twice, but it reoccurs so often in these stories that I finally felt like it was a little over done, but overall an enjoyable read.
10. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
I had the flu the first time I read Great Gatsby and I remember sitting up all night to finish The Power of One with pneumonia in high school. I don’t often sit for long periods of time to read, there just isn’t time. But when sickness strikes, I would rather a book than tv, and a little stomach bug earlier this week gave me the perfect opportunity to dive into this book. Not that I am happy to be stricken, but this book might have benefited in reading because I sat for hours, getting totally immersed in the feeling of this book. It is hard to say that a book like this is good, because it is so difficult to read on a content level. You are reading about people dying, but also about struggle and perseverance. This book makes it more clear as to why people climb Mt. Everest (other than because it is there), and what it feels like to be there (other than cold). There were a lot of characters to keep straight, but for an adventure book, this one read well and was interesting. Like a car wreck is interesting.
11. Bitten: True Medical Stories of Bites and Stings by Pamela Nagami
Sometimes strange and gripping, sometimes boring, this book is about the things that can bite you and what god awful things that can happen from those bites. Things I learned? Bacteria is bad and teems in the mouths of cats, humans, komodo dragons, dogs, etc. Can give you nasty infections. I guess I was under the assumption that antibiotics were general, but the author says here that some antibiotics aren’t effective at all against some strains of bacteria. Also? Rabies is uncurable. If you are bitten by a rabid something, get shots immediately. Once you start showing symptoms, you are dead. And while spiders and snakes are scary, the mosquito is what we should all be most afraid of.
12. One for the Money: A Stephanie Plum Mystery by Janet Evanovich
Some co-workers have told me that this super popular series doesn’t get good until about the 6th book, but I’ll never know because I hope I never have to read another one. The main character did grow on me a little bit (as promised), but not that much. The writing style was juvenile, cliched, tacky and unimaginative. I found the book sexually crass, and for me that might be a first. I can’t imagine recommending this to someone’s grandma. Or to anyone with a brain.
13. Winter Birds by Jamie Langston Turner
A coworker and I talked about reading the same genre books to be able to discuss them and further enrich our Reader’s Advisory knowledge. This book won a Christy Award, and therefore counts as inspirational or Christian fiction. I didn’t have high hopes, but it was actually worse than I expected. The writing was horrible. It was written from a first person perspective, and every other sentence started with “I think…” and then usually followed by some snotty remark. The book is about a grouchy old woman who goes to live with her very Christian nephew and niece. They nephew and niece are nice people, but the main character is so ugly to them for the whole book, that the Christian transformation at the end wasn’t that inspiring. I hated her by then. This book also has both Shakespeare and bird themes running througout, both used in a very heavy handed way. I am happy to be done with this one.
14. Devotion by Howard Norman
Currently reading….
15. The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea
Urrea came to our Friends of the Library event this fall and I met him and saw him speak. He is incredible likeable, funny, smart, interesting and interested. He writes poetry, fiction, non-fiction and essays and may be close to a real break through. His fiction work, The Hummingbird’s Daughter is going to be a movie and this non-fiction work was nominated for a Pulitzer. This book is about the Yuma 14, a group of men who died in the desert of Arizona attempting to cross the border to work in the United States for a year, a season, forever. Some of the group did survive, and from them and the border enforcement team, we learn about their stories. Not to judge, but to understand all sides. This book was really sad, but also important. The economics of body movement, immigration and death of poor men from Veracruz is astonishing, and the tender side of the green pants is heartbreaking. Recommended to anyone interested in international politics, current events, the southwest, and humanity.
16. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
I’m not sure that any rereading of this book will compare with the magic of reading it for the first time. I am always looking out for unusual, but readable fiction and this fits the bill perfectly. Sweet, interesting, thought provoking, at times difficult, frustrating and inspiring all at the same time, Haddon gives us a character that we love even though he couldn’t ever love us. While the math in the book puts me over the edge, the universal appeal of conquering the proverbial mountain is approachable and universal. Put yourself out there, you’ll never know what you can do, even if it means you have to wee yourself a little bit to accomplish your goal. I love love love this book. I’ll be interested to see what my teen book discussion group thinks of it.
17. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Quick read, fairly funny and Hornby again scores with fun snappy dialogue. The main character in this book is a bit of a loser and I didn’t find him totally sympathetic. But I didn’t completely dislike him either. The lists are great and I loved all the references to mix tapes (remember those?), bands and songs. I hate to say it, but this may be a better read for a man, as two great readers (my brother and Jer) both really liked this book. This is my second Hornby, and I am willing to try again. I liked About a Boy a little bit better than this one. Maybe Long Way Down next?
18. Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 by Antony Beevor
This book was more from the 6th Army/German perspective, which wasn’t what I was expecting. But seeing as my background on this event comes more from the Russian perspective, so it was an interesting read. This book covers a lot of ground, starting with Operation Barbarossa (well, really even a little bit before that) and follows through some prison camps that extended into the 1950s! There is a part in this book that describes a German officer who gets flown out of the 6th Army encirclement (late in the battle) describing the desperate situation to Hitler. This officer realizes as he is describing events how out of touch Hitler is, he thinks that Hitler can only think of flags and maps and not people and reality. Which looking back is pretty obvious, but I wonder why other people didn’t just stop the maddness. How crazy do you have to be to send your fellow countrymen to their certain deaths. But how much crazier do you have to be really to just stand by while that happens? The Russian losses are incredible, but to their tiny bit of credit, they were invaded and spent all they could defending. What they did after was indefensible, but here in the early parts of the war I can cut them a little slack. This is a pretty dense and often hard to read book (not technically, but on an emotional level) and would only recommend to history buffs.
19. Religious Literacy by Stephen Prothero
Currently reading…slowly
20. Dragon’s Keep by Janet Lee Carey
So cheesy! I read this because it was unanimously chosen by the teens in my book group. It is about dragons and far far away places where they say things like “whilst” and “abide my time drinking mead”. The princess is cursed with a dragon claw b/c her mom is possibly crazy and a heroin addict (poppy potion!) and she has to reunite the kingdom. The main character is the dimmest girl on the planet and while sort of perky, pales in comparison to say, Coraline. I will be interested in what the group thinks of this, it would not be something I would recommend, maybe only to the most dire dragon fans.
21. Tsotsi by Athol Fugard
I finally got around to reading this. I did a project in my honors history/english class in high school on South African literature, which still holds a near and dear place in my heart. I haven’t kept up that much either in fiction or non-fiction lately but reading this was familiar and different all at the same time. I have seen the movie, but this gave so much more introspection into the character it was worth reading just for the crippled beggar scene and Tsotsi’s change of heart. Interesting look at the origin of a souless character and how it should concern us all.
22. Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Eee.ee….I loved this. Must remain clam and gather thoughts….
23. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
One of the subtitles of this book is: ‘Eat Food. Not a lot. Mostly Plants.” Which seems sane, but in reality is broken at almost every meal, even by sort of conscientiousness eaters (including myself!). Two things stick out about this book, and one is that nutritional science is inherently flawed. We can isolate some major nutrients that our bodies require, but isolating them and supplementing them with artificial means doesn’t work the way we think it should. Micronutrients found in fruits, vegetables (plants), but also in animals help us process those major nutrients and we haven’t even named or figured them out. So when you eat fruit, there may be thousands of micronutrients that help you process that C or A. Also, dietary sugar (often in the form of high fructose corn syrup) can possibly lead to more heart disease than we previously thought. Oh, and thirdly, that fruits and vegetables today contain about 1/3 of the nutrients that they did 50 years ago. Major corporations have breed species to ship and ship and ship. These companies don’t breed to protect for certain pests, because they also make the spray that you have to use for those certain pests. His solution is to eat local when possible. Making and eating food should be important and even I forget that. Highly recommended.
24. Animal Vegetable Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
I enjoyed this on the whole, though I can see how some people might get bogged down in some annoying, preachy or elitist points. The idea of small scale farming is actually quite interesting to me, and I am so not a gardener. But just as I love making food for people, I can see also loving growing food. You know that people will actually eat. I am not sure that I really learned anything from this book that I didn’t know, but it was an interesting account of one family who tries to do what they think is right from a self producing food sustainable perspective. Do we all have quaint little farms in Virginia? And almost everything seemed to go right, and I thought that part of this was written during a drought that isn’t mentioned in the book (though in fairness, that could have been the next year). I found Lily, the youngest daughter and her egg/chicken operation to be the sweetest parts of the book. It is also easy to see exactly where Prodigal Summer came from. If you like Kingsolver, or food, give it a try.
25. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
This is my second Krakauer book this spring, but probably only picked this up because my teen book discussion group picked this unanimously, and that almost never happens. A short account of a young man who picks up and heads to Alaska where, months later he is dead. What would cause somebody to just walk away into the west, abandoning their family and previous life? I can’t say that I am any more informed as to how somebody could make that decision, but it was informative on some of these wandering lifestyles that do happen often in the west. And reading simultaneously with the above title, I can certainly see how someone would want to live off the land, or even to test their intelluctal, spiritual and physical strength. But McCandless seemed to want to take it to such an extreme. That is what I still have a hard time getting. It makes me a bit sad to think about someone so smart wasting it on this experiment and not having much to show for it. I will be curious as to what the group thinks.
26. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Hmmmm…I don’t get it. This is the first of a series of YA books that have been HUGELY popular all over the country. Basically a Mary Sue/Plain Jane moves to a new town and everyone not only really likes her, but she falls for the most beautiful boy. He is a vampire…a glittery vampire! But he, like his family, have sworn off human blood and so therefore are you know, nice glittery vampires. And really I don’t have a problem with vampires, even glittery ones, but I found this book poorly written and lacking any real character or plot development. It is a gushy love story where Belle Swan, who is sorta boring, gives herself over 100% to Edward, who is also sort of boring even though he has been around for about a hundred years. He doesn’t really seem to use her, but his acceptance of her devotion is pretty creepy. Also? Why don’t the vampire kids graduate and actually go to college? Or do anything useful? Their “dad” is a doctor, so why don’t any of them seem concerned with that? They even fake going to college. What’s the point of that? They could just go. I have the second book on hold, and will give that a try too. I am discussing this with two teen book groups in July, and I know other YA librarians who’ve read and enjoyed this, so I am anxious to hear a case for the book! Maybe I would have liked it more if I read it when I was 16.
27. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Wow wow wow. I loved loved loved this book. Its been awhile since I’ve read a fiction book that pulled me in and took me along with every word in some time. Reading the book jacket alone, I’m not sure that I would have picked this up, but it came at the recommendation of my mom, also a librarian and someone who has similar tastes in books as me. The main character is 9, but not a cutesy book/movie/fiction 9. But a hard 9, as he’s lost his father in the World Trade attacks. He invents things, to soothe himself, but also in a panicky way. Most of his inventions involve safety nets, improvements to ambulances and protective bubbles, which is so sweetly sad. There is also Oskar’s mother and grandparents, who survived the bombing of Dresden. We learn the grandparent’s story as a parallel to Oskar’s, and also meet some people with the last name Black. The story is a mystery, a riddle, a love story, a family saga, and a contemporary post modern drama. It made me laugh out loud and also gave me some heavy boots. I don’t know what to say. Contemporary literature at its best.
28. Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library by Don Borchert
Fun and quick. There wasn’t much that surprised me by reading this book, and it really reminded me of working in library branches in San Antonio, Memorial Library especially as that was also across the street from a pretty tough and quite large middle school. I can’t imagine recommending this to someone who isn’t a librarian, because they would be the ones to most identify with it, but then it might be interesting for someone to read who hadn’t a clue what goes on. But then, that person probably wouldn’t be coming into the library anyway so I wouldn’t have a chance to recommend this book to them. Sigh. Anyway, fairly good read, but not really that memorable.
29. Into Thick Air: Biking to the Bellybutton of Six Continents by Jim Malusa
Blah. This has so much promise. The author cycled to the lowest point on 6 continents. It was a recipe for success…cycling, travel…wackiness. But it left me feeling a little bit flat. There was no time references (was this 6 months ago, or 16 years ago?) and the dialogue, which I know would be impossible to actually recreate was done in a style that left me feeling cold. I didn’t feel like I could picture what was going on, or had any real sense of the trip, the author, the places he went, or the people he met. And without those things, there isn’t any point of reading a travel book.
30. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
I don’t know what to say about this series. The books are terrible. I’m not seeing much improvement in the author’s writing or character development but I can’t stop reading them. I’m not usually one for trash reading, but apparently cheezy vampire romances are right up my summer reading alley. I can’t wait for the third one to come in from the holds list at the library. I am still disbelieving of the romance, mostly because I think Edward is such a tool, but I am enjoying Jacob and hope that Bella can realize soon.
31. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
This is one of those books that when you talk about it, it can never match up with the actual book itself. Like it should exist on a higher plane and the only way to really get it is to read it all the way through. But a warning! Nothing very much happens. Inman walks. Ada grows. Ruby softens. That is about it. But the combination of those three characters is enough to fill more than the written 400 pages because they will live on with you. None are perfect, but are all just right, flawed, injured, lacking, too much, not enough. I knew how this book would end more or less having seen the movie (it is very close), but it still caught me, finishing it up in the lunch room at work, I was over taken. The language which was so beautiful combined with the characters built up perfectly. I’m not sure this is something I would want to read again soon because it touched me so deeply, but I highly recommend it, as it came highly recommended by my mom.
32. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Dear Lord, only one more to go. I am still enjoying this series, but it continues to be flat, repetative and poorly written. Even though Jacob does some stupid things, I am still in the Jacob camp and think Edward is somewhat manipulative, scary and downright mean. He can just fake it better. The end could have been spiced up with a little gratuitous sex, but noooooo….everyone has to be so good. I am anxious to read the next book (on pre-order from Amazon), but will be happy to be done with it too.
33. King Dork by Frank Portman
Funny, interesting, shocking and sad. This YA book has received a lot of good press, and even my mom really liked it. Catcher in the Rye for the new generation? Not quite, but there were brillant elements to this book, but over all it wasn’t one of my favorites. The end pretty much screwed it up for me, and I am not sure how to recommed this book to teens. This is a YA book that is more for adults, who would be the ones to get the music and literary references.
34. Atonement by Ian McEwan
I have read this book before, but not really until this second reading did I realize how brilliant this book is. The settings, the descriptions, the characters, motivations, the story within the story, are all wonderful. There is so much there that I do think that a second reading was worthwhile. The movie is decent, but the set up in the early part of the book didn’t transfer well in the movie and is genius in the book. I know I sound like a broken record sometimes, but the construction of a story, of a novel is truly interesting to me. Atonement takes an unusual twist and does so without leaving the reader feeling manipulated, but only adds to the story. Highly recommended.
35. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Ok, so this book didn’t have the initial emotional impact that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close had on me, but it was still moving, funny, sad, interesting and different. Harder to get into and with the two narrators and three story lines it was diffiult sometimes to get stories and characters straight. I found Sasha’s letters to be my favorite part of the story, as he was my favorite character too. The pulling together of all the story lines worked well for the most part. There were parts of this book that I loved, but also parts that I felt could have been skipped too. This is JSF’s first book, with EL&IC as his second. I’ll be interested in what else he writes in the future for sure.
36. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Currently reading…
37. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Ug. I read this very popular YA book for my teen book discussion group next week. I’ll be interested in seeing what they think. On the positive side, the main character is a young woman who is trying to find her own way, think for herself, support her friends and likes to have some fun too. On the negative side, they hoverboard. Over and over and explained in minute detail to the point of extreme tediousness. Well, for me. This is a sci fi book (in that it is set in the future) and also a little bit of romance thrown in. But mostly it was an action book. Personal preference is that I like dialogue and characters. I don’t care if anything happens. But similar to my reaction to reading Twilight, I wonder what I would have thought if I were 16 and reading this book. It wasn’t terrible, but it really didn’t blow me away either.
38. A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot
Phew. I am very glad that I read this, but I am also glad that it is over. On one hand there are fantastic characters, an interesting setting, a mystery, history, and beautiful writing. On the other hand there are A LOT of characters and the mystery sometimes purposely moves you in false directions. This would probably be a great book to really delve into on vacation or something. I read it in pieces and often got distracted, which I think hurt my reading experience of it. I would recommend it to readers who don’t mind layers, complexity and are willing to work for a beautifully written story in the end.
39. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Dear Lord, I am glad that I am done with this series. This may have been my least favorite of the series, which Tim says is due to the fact that I didn’t read it right away, but I think because I was just done. Done before I had to pick up a 750 page book to finish the series. Major editing may have helped. Steph spiced it up a little bit with some sex (MARRIED sex though), but the end was pretty anti-climatic. I can’t believe I am going to say this, but a little gore might have helped. I am still a fan of Jacob and though Edward grew on me, seems pretty boring.
40. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
Short YA book, I read in about a day. Cute, funny and creative, I liked this book a lot. I think that a lot of teens (or even those of us who remember those years) would relate to the break ups/heartbreak and the excitement and trepidation of meeting someone new. However, the setting of an all night punk club setting of NYC might not really appeal to a lot of smallish town midwestern teens. I don’t know. Like King Dork, I liked this book, think teens would like it, but not really sure who to recommend it to. It was on a lot of lists, and is now coming out as a movie, so it may move on its own.
41. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
I read this book for the Teen Book Group for October. The main character is a werewolf and after the Twilight series, I was prepared for the worst. Quite surpisingly, I really enjoyed this book. It was well written with interesting characters and didn’t drag on for 700 pages. I love a good female character, and the main charcater, Vivian, is strong, sexy, confident and brave. There aren’t a lot of suprises in this book, but it was a fun read. The author is a Children’s Librarian in Maryland! There was some discussion of awakening sexuality in the reviews I read, but found it to all be very tasteful and done in an empowering way, rather than negatively. Recommended to all teen girls (and those of us a little older too!)
42. Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Holy cow, I loved this book. A YA book narrated by D.J. who is having a tough summer on the dairy farm as the primary worker. She is also training the rival high school’s quarterback when she decides herself to go out for football. D.J. is one of my favorite characters in awhile. She is funny, interesting and insightful, if not really smart and realible in a conventional sense. There are some parts of this book that are so well written and so funny that I was making coworkers read paragraphs. But at the same time, the voice rang true for a teenager as well. The sports scenes are dramatic, but the story doesn’t always take the easy route and was totally refreshing in the end. There is a sequel, but I’m not sure I want to read it, I don’t want to ruin this one. This book would be perfect for girls intersted in sports that might be feeling like they are having trouble with all the other things like family, relationships and even friendships.
43. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
I liked this book, but didn’t love it. There were parts and characters that were funny, scary and interesting but at times it almost seemed like Gaiman was over doing it. Why do there have to be the dead brothers of Stronghold? And the witches? Really? I guess you just don’t go out to Faerie and not encounter danger, but at the same time it seemed a little like following every fairy tale plot device all in one book. It is possible that my viewing of the movie right before reading this book colored some of my reading experience. I should have read first, then watched the movie. I know many people who love this book, and again while I liked it, it wasn’t love at first sight.
44. Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
I enjoyed this book, not as much as either Bel Canto or Run, but still a good read. I want to be sympathetic with main characters of a book. Now, that doesn’t mean that I have to love the character or that they even have to be likeable. The main character of this book was on that border line. She is difficult, makes hard choices that aren’t really popular. But I almost don’t want to be sympathetic to her. And once she grows on you, bam! The end happens. Crazy. This is Patchett’s first book and I think its clear that she has grown as an author. Skip this for her more recent two. This did however make me want to re-read The Cider House Rules.
45. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This has sort of been on my radar, but when it was short listed for the One Book, One Bloomington title, I decided that now is the time. This book is sort of a YA book, narrated by Death, that follows some tough years of a young woman, Liesel as she moves into her foster home in Germany during World War II. Liesel isn’t perfect, she is rough around the edges and sometimes is difficult to love. Her stepmother likes to curse at people and beat about with a wooden spoon. Liesel’s best friend is Rudy who only wants to kiss Liesel (some of the sadest parts of the book revolve around this theme) but also paints himself black like his hero Jesse Owens. Liesel wants to read, and so steals books from an emotionally damaged wife of the small town’s mayor. The Jewish man hiding in their basement feels like a burden. Even her sweet stepfather has holes in his heart, but these characters, despite their flaws, shortcomings and smells are truly lovely. While major world events play out around them and determine their lives, this books is really about Liesel growing up, discovering herself and her place in the world.
46. The Cider House Rules by John Irving
I read this years ago, but it had been quite a long time. What a great book. In typical fashion, the story takes awhile to get where it is going, but the characters are so fun that you don’t care. And every part of the story takes you somewhere, not story line is introduced without a purpose. And an purpose is something very central to this story. A week or so after I read this book I was thinking about whether or not Homer was manipulated by Larch. Usefulness aside, I wonder if Homer will ever resent Larch’s actions. While Owen Meany might still be my favorite Irving, this one is pretty close.
47. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Freaky. A coworker promised that this book wouldn’t be scary or horror-filled, and while it isn’t in the traditional sense it still gave me a night of fitful sleep. An agent goes to an island in the middle of a hurricane to investigate the disappearance of an inmate at a hospital for the criminally insane. The agent however starts to sort of lose it too until…there is a big twist at the end. The ideas of who is crazy and being locked away against your will and such at really the stuff of nightmares. This isn’t the type of book I usually read, and while I like breaking out of my routine every now and then I can’t say I will be picking up something similar in the future.
48. Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway
This book written several years ago has always been one of my mom’s favorites. This memoir follows Jill Ker as she grows up on an isolated sheep farm in NSW Australia in the 30s and 40s. Her childhood is so unusual, filled with a large amount of responsibility, lonliness, hard work and despair over a lenghty drought. When Jill ends up at an elementary school in Sydney after they move, she doesn’t know how to play and is totally confused about the idea of physical education. She has never had any friends her age. Jill ends up as the first female President of Smith College, and the second half of the book are about her academic, and ultimately (as they are so closely intertwined) self realization at university and through travel. Parts of this book are tragically sad (starving sheep during the drought, her father’s death, the untimely death of another family member) but an interesting snapshot of growing up as a intellectual female during a hard time in an unforgiving country. Very interesting.
49. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Currently reading…
Book Awards 2007
I know you are waiting with baited breath…more “awards”!
What with moving across country and a few 700-850 pagers, I didn’t make it to my 52 books per year goal, but shall we say that quality is more important than quantity? I read some great books in the past year, but a few stick out above and beyond. Remember, these aren’t the best books of 2007, but the best books I read in 2007.
Most favorite book read:
What is the What by Dave Eggers - read it today.
Honorable mentions (in no particular order):
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, Inheritance of Loss by Keran Desai, Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, Sula by Toni Morrison, and Yes Man by Danny Wallace. What an odd bunch that is.
Here is to reading in 2008! 52, I’m ready!
book lists, books | Comments (2)100% Wool Felt Burrito
I barely have a minute, for I have about 200 pages of David Copperfield left to read by 6:00 pm tomorrow. Which would be fine and all, if it weren’t for pesky work to get in the way. But then, if it weren’t for work, I wouldn’t be reading David Copperfield. It was the first book chosen by my teen book discussion group. Crazy girls.
Wool felt arrived today, now I just need some more embroidery floss and I am ready for a new hand project. Just in time for football season.
books, crafts, fabric | Comment (0)Open Birdcage
I meant to post something about Kurt Vonnegut, but often words fail me. I remember what it was like to be introduced to his books (probably from AJ) as a teenager, and reading his essays as an adult. However, despite being an avid reader, I don’t think I am a very good writer and I often struggle to put down exactly what I want to convey.
Then I read something that says what I wanted to say without knowing it. And I am humbled as a writer.
I have no personal connection with Virginia Tech, but I am troubled and deeply saddened by what happened there. And again words fail me.
books | Comment (0)8 Days
I’ve got two days left of an 8 day stretch at work, so not too much free time (hence the random gratuitous picture). There has been painting, quilting and knitting, but not time to take pictures! Just looking forward to Tuesday.
Of course tomorrow after work is the Super Bowl and betcha can’t guess who we are cheering for? Ha! Supplies were purchased this evening…beer and nachos. Yes, we are so original.
I did update the book post as it was sorely out of date. I thought Cloud Atlas (clocking in at almost 700 pages) would slow me down, but I am currently on schedule for 52 books so far! It is just February though, but it would be fun to see if I can do it one year.
books, family | Comment (0)2007 Book List
1. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Wow, I finished this awhile ago and don’t really know what to say. I picked this book up many times while browsing my books for something to read and always put it back down. Even though it was recommended by the esteemed M. Pendleton, it didn’t seem like something that I would like. But? I loved it. I got into it on a flight home from FL and was immediately sucked into the interwoven stories. This novel is different, ambitious, strange, funny, smart and yet totally readable, which was unexpected. I liked some of the stories better than others, but one of the better novels I’ve read in a long time.
2. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Especially juxtaposed with the above novel, this one just falls flat. This book tracks a “regular girl” who enrolls in a fancy East coast boarding school. Should be great? Or at least made-for-tv? But instead it is tedious and boring. It certainly could use some lighter moments and a good editor. This book got a lot of good press, but I was ready for it to be over 1/2 way through.
3. A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
I read this for a book group at my local branch this week that was canceled due to the ice storm, but glad that I reread this book. The same book group read Remains of the Day last time and we discussed the whether or not people found it funny or not. I found parts of RotD very funny indeed. The back cover of this book also mentions that this book is funny at times. I would have been interested to see what the book group ladies thought of that, because I didn’t find this very funny at all. It is sad. Very sad and yet not all that far away. I’m sure I read this in high school and found the whole premise completely alien, something that would never happen and now rereading it as an adult, I am not so sure that this is something that couldn’t happen in my lifetime. I have read some other more recent Atwood, but find this character one of my favorites of hers.
4. A Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
This is my second Berg book, and probably my last. I know that many people don’t give her credit for being very literary but I have also heard a lot of good things about her and now I’ve tried two (last year I disliked Open House). The characters are all so loveable-quirky in a not very real way. Everything ends up. So. Perfect. Perfect in a 1.5 hour movie kind of way, or a paper doll way. Her writing reminds me of Anne Tyler (some of which I love), but she seems to do quirky characters just one notch better. This is a quick mindless read, if that is what you are looking for, but it left me feeling flat.
5. Sula by Toni Morrison
Confusing, challenging, funny and sad. I love this book. Sula doesn’t have much of a plot (my favorite books usually don’t) but follows the relationship between Sula and Nel. It is also about relationships, self, community, loss, love and pain. Some very shocking things happen and people suffer and survive. And maybe are the better for it. Maybe they aren’t. The story is simple, but elegantly told; not a word is wasted and though it isn’t very long, feels deep in its meaning and emotions. These are quirky characters that don’t feel like caricatures. If you’ve never read any Toni Morrison, this is a great one to start with.
6. Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
Larson took the same premise that made Devil in the White City such a hit and applied it to another situation. This time he recounts a murder in London at the same time following Marconi’s struggles to successfully transmit messages via wireless over the Atlantic. The Marconi story was interesting, if possibly too detailed. Many parts seemed repetitave, a few times I was actually wondering if I was reading the same part. And while the wireless invention was pretty impressive (especially since they didn’t seem to know what they were doing), it isn’t anything compared to the unknown amazingness of creating the White City in the previous book. I am still interested in reading Isaac’s Storm (one of Larson’s earlier books) but was disappointed in this one.
7. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
I try to stay pretty up on the press about up and coming general contemporary literature, and this book seemed to be getting tons of press. I didn’t know anybody personally who ready it, but it fit the bill of something that I would love. I feel let down. I enjoyed this book, but didn’t love it like I expected. Maybe that is the problem, it could never live up to the hype, but I felt the characters fall flat and the author’s over description blanch the story. The author insisted (beyond all reason) to bring the story full circle and is completely unnecessary and even tedious. I would have been happier with a hanging ending much earlier. I would recommend this book to some big readers, but is by no means a must read. I think that if you like Jodi Picoult, you would like this book.
8. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Recommended to me by some women in my reading group, I plowed though this book. It wasn’t all that special, but it was a quick and fun read. Not entirely stimulating, it was a book I didn’t want to put down at night. This is the second book I’ve read recently about a secret Chinese language for women, and the book centers around women friends which is something I am intersted in and think is often a subject ignored over romantic love. The book would make a good book discussion book as it brings up a lot of women’s issues concerning loyalty, friendship, status, worth and love.
9. When Madeline Was Young by Jane Hamilton
I am still moved and intrigued by Hamilton’s Book of Ruth, but several of her other books have been pretty forgettable to me (and I think I’ve read them all). This book tracks the story of a family who takes care of the dad’s first wife who becomes brain damaged after a bicycle fall. The family relations are interesting, but I didn’t really ever get completely engaged. I enjoyed this read, but it will gloss over in the coming months and eventually become forgettable.
10. Night Watch by Sarah Waters
This story told by Waters tracks several interlocking characters after and during World War II in London. The story starts at the end, and moves backward to unravel how each character came to be in the place he or she ended up at the beginning. Confusing? A little. The story was well done and the characters were excellent, that I couldn’t help feeling like the backward telling was a little too much, more of a gimmick. I found that some parts that were supposed to be highly meaningful (like the ring) got lost in the time continum. The historical aspects of this novel were well done and interesting, despite my dislike for historical fiction. While I enjoyed this book, and it was well written I’m not sure that I would jump into another Waters book again in the near future.
11. The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain
On the whole I love me some Tony Bourdain. This book is a collections of previously published pieces he has written about restaurants, travel and food. Some of the pieces were fantastic, some others, not so much. I totally skipped the fiction part at the end after a few boring pages. I also thought it was interesting that at the end he has disclaimers for each essay, saying where it was published and under what circumstances. Often in these disclaimers, he sort of takes back the snark. He all of a sudden becomes very self depreciating and almost apologizes for the venom of some of the essays which I found disconcerting. I love Tony for being a little shit sometimes and here he was feeling bad for it? I wonder if he is feeling some of the pressure to clean up his act for tv, as he makes fun of some other celebrity chefs for doing.
12. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
I am trying to pick books for my book group that might appeal to a large group of people and that are fairly easy reads. This probably isn’t a book that I would have read on my own, but thought the group might like it. I was wrong. Wrong. Wrong. The book was flat, dull and uninspired. I thought the best part was the weaving in of the food…the recipes and food metaphors were fun and different. But the love story was lame and the mystical realism seemed distracting. More background on the Mexican Revolution couldn’t have hurt either. The movie follows the book pretty much to the letter, so I would just watch that instead as I think the movie is even a little bit better!
13. The Gates of the Alamo Stephen Harrigan
I would have never read this book if it weren’t for the One Book One San Antonio initiative. Am I glad I read it? Not really. Did I hate it? Not really. There were many parts of this book that I enjoyed much more than I thought I would. Clocking in at over 700 pages, it did slow down my reading time table and it will never make a best of list, but I maybe learned a little bit. I could have done without the parts where people’s faces were blown straight out the back of their heads, and I wouldn’t recommend to anyone who isn’t a historical fiction buff or someone exceptionally interested in Texas history, but really it wasn’t as horrible as I though. Well written and interesting details kept me going, but I am glad I am done!
14. What is the What by Dave Eggers
Wow. I loved this book. It has been a long time since I’ve read a novel that grabbed me, held me and made me wanting more. This book is written as an autobiography in the voice of a Sudanese Lost Boy, a young man now living in Atlanta. His story goes back and forth between the present day and his journey across southern Sudan to his years at living in refugee camps for almost 15 years. While fictionalized, it is based on a real person and the narration is clear and true. I was really touched by this book without feeling manipulated or beaten over the head. I am amazed at the human spirit, kindness and evil. This book was a gutsy move by Eggers, and it pays off in spades. While there are some very difficult parts of this book, it is not without hope. Highly recommended.
15. Whole World Over by Julia Glass
Phew. I picked up this book because I read The Three Junes last year and loved it. While Fenno makes an apperance in this book, we are introduced to many new characters, none of whom are as interesting as Fenno and his family. Greenie is married to a jerk, takes a job for the governer of NM, and developes a friendship with Walter. The jerk husband meets a partially amnesiatic woman named Saga, who is also friends with Fenno. The story is too long, and really not that interesting. I am interested to see what else Julia Glass puts out, but this wasn’t one of my favorite. Also? The reader (I listened to it on CD) was ridiculous. She read the whole book with her voice almost breaking into? an upward? tilting? laugh? at all? times?.
16. The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
A truly fascinating non-fiction book about the Dust Bowl during the mid 1930s in the American Plains. This book won several awards, but what really motivated me to read it was hearing Egan on NPR, he was so personable and interesting. This book is a pretty quick read, and truly amazing. What concerns me is that it seems like most everyone has concluded that the Dust Bowl was created by man. But there seems to be a lot of though in Washington that man doesn’t have much impact on the environment and ecology. We seem headed for a greater disaster than this, directly influenced by our activities and no one seems to be able to draw any parallels. The plains are still being planted with crops that need an endless supply of irrigation. I wish Egan had clearly stated a little more at the end that there needs to be a long range environmental and ecological plan for this country or else we may also be eating dirt at some point in the future.
17. How To Make an American Quilt by Whitney Otto
I look at a lot of book lists to prepare for my book discussion at my library and this one often comes up as a good book to discuss. Which sort of makes me wonder. This is a strange little book with many short sentences. Maybe. To think. There were endless interchangeable characters and I never felt connected. Some of the book is written in second person which instead of making me feel drawn into the story, left me feeling a little bit more disconnected. Watch the movie instead.
18. The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
I read this for a book club that in the end I couldn’t make. I’m sure that I’ve read this book before, but kept getting it confused with another Tan book. Maybe Joy Luck Club. I kept waiting for the part where she leaves the twin girls at the side of the road, but then realized much later into the book that wasn’t going to happen. Really though I think that these stories are pretty interchangeable. I enjoyed reading it, but one Tan read would be enough.
19. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
When you come across a phrase like ‘the muscle of the river’, and you think that is exactly what it feels like you know you are on to something. Desai has written a beautiful book with unlikely phrasing that works beautifully. This is like eating up words and letting them dribble down your chin for the sheer pleasure they give you. The setting is equally amazing, but the characters are a tad flat and the ending not quite up to the first 7/8 of the book. I still heartily recommend and will be intrigued with what she puts out next.
20. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
I chose this for the Carver book club that I ended up cancelling, but finished the book anyway. This is a well written memoir, and an interesting look at certain parts of America at a certain point. Angelou spends considerable time in her early childhood, and then not as much when she was a teenager which I found more interesting. Her time in San Francisco was filled with small insights to her characer, the time, the setting that I found very interesting and could have read more of. I guess I am glad that I read this, but didn’t find it impressive.
21. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Fascinating! I read the revised and expanded version and found it very interesting and thought provoking while being a good fun read at the same time. Having the facts and figures presented by not the economist, but by a journalist is a stroke of genius as this reads like you are sitting around with them over happy hour. I must claim that I am one of those people who has never really been interested in economics, but the idea of the hidden cost of everything is interesting to me from a historical or sociological standpoint. And as a librarian the idea of being able to look at information in different ways to answer questions is really cool, as shown in the cheating teacher/cheating sumo wrestler chapter. Not very long, and highly recommended.
22. If I Die in a Combat Zone by Tim O’Brien
This book is considered O’Brien’s true account of his time spent as a foot soldier in Vietnam. I have read two of his novels of his also dealing with Vietnam and found them much better. Not just that the stories were richer, but I thought the writing better. I am glad that I read this, as I really enjoyed The Things They Carried, and Going After Cacciato and knowing that O’Brien is obsessed with a true war story. With that in mind, it is a little hard to take this true account, well, truthfully. I do think that the lead up to his departure is very interesting as he tries (sometimes not very successfully) to explain why he went and how he felt about it. Read one of the above mentioned novels instead to really see the wonderful writing and obsess, at least for a little bit, about a true war story.
23. Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler
I feel like I read this forever. I liked it, but it did seem a little all over the place at times. I enjoyed the parts about the follow up of his students from River Town (which I loved), and I enjoyed the parts about the ancient writing and Chinese Linguistics in general but while connected may have been a little more powerful in separate books. I will continue to be interested in what Hessler puts out as I feel that he is one of the most self-aware writers out there who happens to also be really good. Recommended for people who are interested in recent Chinese history.
24. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga
I am not working with a teen reading group at work and felt that I should pick up a YA book…so went against my librarian grain to actually do any research on this topic and just went to the shelf and grabbed one. Not bad, but not great either. I kept wondering if I would love this when I was 14, but I’m not sure. Should it matter? It seemed a little far fetched and overly dramatic. But maybe that is the point. The side characters (including Goth Girl really) are a little one dimensional, but I really enjoyed the main character. I would probably recommend this to teens.
25. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
I read this in about two days at my sublet. While often darkly depressing, I can see why this book was so popular. I didn’t however love it, but liked it. The characters are a little bit black and white (so good! so bad! so cowardly!) that it often rings a little untrue. But the setting was very interesting and it covers some interesting moral ground. At what point can we let go of childhood mistakes? How can we rectify some of those misdeeds? And what if we try to rectify and that doesn’t work out? Or at least not the way we planned. I don’t know. Enjoyable airplane read, but not a life changer for me.
26. Aspirin: The Remarkable Story of a Wonder Drug by Diarmuid Jeffreys
I sometimes wonder why I read books like this. I slogged through the first part of this book very slowly, and often forgot names and dates. The book did get more interesting while talking about Bayer’s connections with IG Farben and the Nazis. Without the lucrative asprin sales that spiked after WWI, IG Farben wouldn’t have had the huge sums of money to donate to the Nazi party and things may have turned out differently. An IG Farben lead “scientist” was also convicted of war crimes for some pretty despicable things during the holocaust, and upon his release from jail went on to become the head of Bayer. It is an interesting look at the pharmaticutical world, branding, generics, and marketing. You may not look at the rows and rows of OTC drugs in the same way again. I know I won’t.
27. You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
This may be the first vampire book I’ve ever read. Really. I picked this up because I know that Christopher Moore is very popular and considered pretty funny. There were parts of this book that I liked, but mostly was ready to be done with it. I couldn’t keep all the characters straight (like The Animals) and really in the end didn’t care what happened to whom. I did sort of like Abby and wouldn’t mind reading a spin off on her character. Really this just isn’t the type of book that I enjoy.
28. The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
Confusing and sometimes heavy handed, I highly enjoyed this beautifully written book. It is meant to pull you along a winding path, not always sure of where it is going or how it is going to there there. This book isn’t about the Vietnamese cook for Tolklas and Stein in Paris, it is about memory, longing, and home. There isn’t really a plot, but an interesting character whose befuddling memory, lapses, and beliefs are confusing but seem more realistic than straighforward recollections you find in most novels. I would be interested in what else this author puts out. Beautiful and well written? I really recommend this book.
29. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
I absolutely loved this book. I asked each of my teen book group members to assign me a book to read that they had liked. The only boy in the group recommended this YA novel and it was wonderful. The characters were interesting, fun, flawed, strange and loveable. The story was paced just right and brought me along for the ride. I knew what was going to be revealed at the end, but how it was revealed was genius. This is a book about loss, but also about family, friendship and how to heal. A very beautiful book that I would recommend to anyone.
30. Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner, and a Gentlemen Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail by Stephen Bown
Short and interesting for those of you interested in medical and or sailing history. Unfortunately not very much to do with pirates, but an interesting (and often gross) account of what happens to your body upon developing scurvy and why it was so slippery to figure out. Many sailors and physicians had written about lemons helping, but the information got vague over the years, and then often lost. Without any real understanding of nutrition, it is easy to see that it is more convienent to blame scurvy on just about anything else other than a bad diet. Also disturbing is that the first full push for curing the disease came when armys were losing ships, not sailors. Dead sailors don’t cost the British Navy any money. However scurvy may have saved Britian twice, once from the Spanish Armada and then again as Napoleon set his sights on the little island.
31. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
I did it! After a major 2 day final push, I finished this book and you know what? I really enjoyed it. John Irving (whom we all know I adore) always mentions Charles Dickens as one of his favorite authors, so I have tried to read Great Expectations before but could never get into it. But now I get it. One of the reasons I love Irving so much is for his great characters, and great characters abound in David Copperfield. The main character is wonderful, funny, thoughtful and shows his development in a very real way. But I think my favorite character (though hard to pick over Mr. Dick and Miss Trotwood) is Traddles. Partly because you don’t expect him to do much when you first meet him, but he proves himself over and over again to be a true friend, loyally, but not unreasonably so. I hated Dora, but maybe done so you just like Agnes all the much more. I discussed this book with my teen book group (all girls) and we all found that there were some strong female characters which pleased me all the more. This book probably deserves two readings, but clocking in at over 850 pages, I’m not sure that will hapeen anytime soon. Recommended!
32. Redemption Song: The Definitive Biography of Joe Strummer by Chris Salewicz
Reading this book, especially at the end, sad. I missed my chance to ever see Joe. He toured quite a bit near the end with the Mescaleros and often played a heavy rotation of Clash songs and I never saw him. It was particularly interesting to read about the later parts of his life, as I have read other Clash bios before. But to get an idea of the man he became was quite interesting. I am of the opinion that Joe was much more articulate, funny and interesting in his lyrics than he often was in real life. This book did drag a little bit though and slowed me down!
33. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Tim read this a year or so ago and loved it. I have picked it up a few times, but probably wouldn’t have read it if it weren’t picked by my teen book group at work. The book is about magic, or specifically the return of magic to early 19th century England. As I was finishing this book, I thought to myself that while there are a lot of characters and they are interesting, this isn’t a character driven book that I usually enjoy. It is much more story based, and even with the magic element, I enjoyed it. Despite the fun and unusual twists and turns, the best part of this book was the writing. Clarke took a chance with a really different style in which to write and completely committed to that style for almost 800 pages. In the end, it didn’t get old or feel contrived. The writing style was fresh, challenging and in the end really worked. While I can’t say that I loved this book, I love reading novels that push the boundaries of the idea of a novel in different directions like Time Traveler’s Wife or Cloud Atlas. This book might also appeal to more sci-fi fans and mature young adults (even though all the characters are older).
34. Sound Bites by Alex Kapranos
This book is a compilation of articles that Kapranos wrote while on tour as the lead singer for Franz Ferdinand. The articles were published in real time in the Guardian, and I heard about the book on NPR, where Kapranos was interviewed and it peaked my interest. As someone who has cooked in a real kitchen, I feel a kinship with others who have gone through the highs and lows. And that experience will forever color how I think about food, and how I eat out, as it has also done for Kapranos. Some of his articles here are really short, and might be more interesting if they were longer, more indepth. The writing is unusual and often inspired and often reads zen like (almost like a good hiku), but a few times was a little too cutsey as well. Nice quick read for anyone interested in eating around the world.
35. Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
Hmm. This has been well reviewed from some pretty reliable sources, and I loved Cloud Atlas, so I had high hopes. Maybe too high. Maybe if I had never heard of this book or David Mitchell, I would have loved it. But probably not. Don’t get me wrong, there are parts of this book that are genius. There are lines in this book that describe a feeling, thought, motion that is completely off the wall, completely unique, strange and unusual. But dead on. And those parts are wonderful. I also loved the Crommelynk character reappearing from Cloud Atlas, the parts with her was my favorite of the book. But despite the sometimes amazing prose, this book left me feeling flat.
36. Yes Man by Danny Wallace
What is it like to say yes to every question pointed in your general direction? This was recommended to me from a coworker, who promised funny. Sometimes when people recommend funny, you never know (unless that someone is Andrew, who gets funny). But this book had me laughing out loud many times. Though I think this dragged a little long about 3/4 of the way through, this was a great read. At times it reminded me of Round Ireland With a Fridge, and was surprisingly touching at the end. Near the end, the author is ruminating on whether or not people regret saying no or yes. “Take the stupidest thing you’ve ever done. At least it’s done. It’s over. It’s gone. We can all learn from our mistakes and heal and move on. But it’s harder to learn or heal or move on from something that hasn’t happened; something we don’t know and is therefore indefinable; something which could very easily have been the best thing in our lives, if only we’d taken the plunge, if only we’d held our breath and stood up and done it, if only we’d said yes.”
37. Redwall by Brian Jacques
Ok, so there is this abbey full of peace loving mice. Well, except for Mattias who is sure that he is destined for greatness, warrior style. Good for him that the evil rat, Cluny prepares to attack the abbey and ruin the idyll lifestyle of the mice, and assorted woodland creatures that live within or nearby. I read this for my teen book group, and they loved it. I am glad that I read it from a reader’s advisory perspective, but am not really interested in picking up any of the other books in this series (and there are like, thousands). I think this would be a good recommendation for a young boy. Oh, and I also recommended it to Tim after his finals. 
38. Articles of War by Nick Arvin
This short novel is selected as the One Denver, One Book title, and was given to me earlier this year from my mom. This book tells the story of a single man during World War II. We don’t get much more insight into other soldiers, the war, or any grande scheme. But after reading it, you may have more insight as to what one soldier may have gone through, and not knowing the big picture helps that. And learning one solider’s story may give you more insight into many. I’m not sure that this would be the recommendation for everyone, but it is short and an interesting read for anyone who has read and enjoyed other war fiction.
39. The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf
This book is about growing up Muslim in Indiana in the 1970s. I think that there was a lot that I didn’t get from the first reading, lacking the cultural references, but overall I found this book enjoyable. Really the main character as she develops into a woman is searching her spiritual, cultural, feminist, intellectual and religious identity. And while all her cues were different than mine, I felt that it was still identifiable. Her parents are fundamentalist Islam, but I liked them. And Kahdja self awareness moments were soft and seemed real. I will have to read this book again, but look forward to taking my time with it the second time around, as I think there is a lot to uncover. Or cover. Depending.
2006 Book Awards
I thought I could do it this year, but didn’t make it. I sort of planned to try to read 52 books last year…one a week. Some I know I read in a few days, but others (and life) slow me down. I read some great books last year and it was hard picking one that was really the best. But I love awards, so….
The best book I read in 2006:
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Flawed and critiqued as it is, this book pushed the traditional novel boundries, and really made me think about the characters, relationships and self. I have found myself at times doing things like brushing my teeth and thinking about parts in this book. Yes, its messy, but everyone who likes reading should read this book.
There are also many honorable mentions including: On Beauty by Zadie Smith, Three Junes by Julia Glass, Never Let Me Go by Kauzo Ishiguro, Going After Cacciato by Tim O’Brien, Sleep Toward Heaven : A Novel by Amanda Eyre Ward and Regeneration by Pat Barker.
Here’s to reading in 2007!
Holy 2007 Batman
Happy 2007 everyone! I returned last night from Florida, so didn’t exactly have a rockin new year, but am very excited for the changes that might be taking place over the next year. I wish all my family and friends the best for 2007.
Spent most of today doing the usual getting home things, laundry, grocery, etc. I talked to Regina today who reminded me to get out my black eyed peas, so made a quick salad. How can I afford to neglect something that will bring me good luck and financial well being in the new year (along with some leafy greens).
Between working on Ashley’s quilt and reading a suggestion from Mitch, I will be putting up pictures of Florida and working on my book list for 2006. Soon, very soon, I promise.
Beir bua agus beannacht!
Best Wishes!
Unlikely Hero
Despite the traffic, despite the day, despite the week, I smiled and laughed almost the whole way home yesterday in the car listening to Tom Waits on NPR. I usually listen to books on CD, but am waiting for one to come in on hold, and I would have missed it. I also heard Kiran Desai on Monday and now must go and read The Inheritance of Loss. She sounds lovely.
Looking at a four day weekend, potential unfurling, but not many plans. Tim and I are going to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner of side dishes for ourselves. Including persimmon pudding, one of our favorites.
This year I am thankful for many things, but always topping the list is family and friends. Some are close, some are far, but without all of you I couldn’t do any of it. Emails, phone calls, hugs, random text messages…they all keep me going and make every day sparkle a little bit. Thank you.
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