Steig Larsson Novels

I've become a Stieg Larsson fan in the past few months. I had read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo last year and while I enjoyed it, the Swedish politics and economic details were a bit hard to slog through.

However, I liked it enough that when The Girl who Played with Fire came out in paperback I picked it up. I have to say, it was my favorite of the three books (yes, I'm giving it away - I've read the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest). Played with Fire has the quickest pace and the best plot and you learn answers to many of the questions about Lisbeth Salander you had from the first book.

Ending with a cliff hanger seemed so unfair, but it ensured that I was ready to buy the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest as soon as it came out - in hardcover - at the end of May.

Like the first novel, the Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest contains a lot of details on Swedish politics and the legal system, yet it's easier to get through as you are pulled along to find out the fate of Salander and Blomkvist.

What makes the novels even more interesting is the after life of Larsson who died before they were published and without a will. Now the only question that remains is, will a fourth novel ever be published.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/magazine/23Larsson-t.html?scp=1&sq=stieg%20larsson&st=cse

The Man in the Wooden Hat and Old Filth

I've been remiss in recapping my most recent reads. I wish I could say it was because I was reading too much, but really it's because I've had too much going on.

We read The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam for our May book club. I accidentally read Old Filth first, which features the same characters but is told from the perspective of the husband of the octogenarian couple. The Man in the Wooden Hat is told from the wife's perspective.

They were both well-written interesting books recapping the long marriage of Edward and Betty Feathers. They spent much of their lives in Hong Kong, returning to England for retirement. Neither Edward nor Betty are characters you feel deeply about, they are too reserved for that.

I was reminded of Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea while reading Old Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat. It had been a long time since I had read Murdoch's work, so I'm not sure if it was the elderly couple or the style I was reminded of.

In the end, I preferred The Man with the Wooden Hat over Old Filth probably because it was told from Betty's perspective which I was able to relate to a little more fully.

The Three Weissmans of Westport

I had read a good review of The Three Weissmans of Westport by Cathleen Schine and then it was recommended in a couple of other places, so I was excited to read it. I've read ~70 pages and I hate it. I can't even bring myself to finish the rest of the novel.

The three Weissmans of the title are an octogenarian mother and her two middle-aged daughters. They are whiny, self-centered and annoying.

I decided to take Nancy Pearl's advice and give myself permission to not finish the book. She says you should read at least 50 pages if you are under 50. Moving on to May's book club book "Old Filth" by Jane Gardam.

Half the Sky

I read Nicholas Kristof's columns in the New York Times every week, so when I heard he had published a new book with his wife (Sherry Wudunn), I knew I had to read it.

Half the Sky is about the struggles of women around the world, but unlike so many other books, it offers solutions. Ways to get involved. Things to do. And the authors realize that even though we can't all quit our jobs and work for the Peace Corps (as much as I'd like to!), that we can each have an impact in our own way.

Ever since I heard about the cutting of girls genitals in a college religion class, I have followed the efforts to curb this practice. It's interesting to read how it has gotten some attention, but not nearly enough. Kristof and Wudunn also write about sex trafficking, maternal mortality and other gender based violence. But they use individual stories of women who often have survived the crimes committed against them to bring the point home.

The only negative reaction that I had was a question that kept popping up in my head "where are the men in this? Do they not have a responsibility?" And I get that if you educate a woman, you help an entire village, but there was some acknowledgement I didn't get from the book. However, when I checked their website (to confirm the spelling of Sherry's last name) I noticed they have a headline "Women aren't the problem. They are the solution. Along with me." Maybe I wasn't the only one.

The Girl Who Played with Fire

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson finally came out in paperback and I bought it and quickly consumed it. The second novel in a series of three, was much better than the first one. It moved quickly, was much more suspenseful and intriguing.

You quickly find yourself siding and routing for Lisbeth Salander, even though all evidence suggests that she has murdered two innocent people and one not-so-innocent man. It ends with a cliff-hanger and the hardcover comes out in the US at the end of next month. How tempted am I to pre-order it from Amazon? VERY.

Weekends at Bellevue

I had heard Julie Holland on NPR and was interested enough in what she had to say, so picked up Weekends at Bellevue at the library. There were parts of the book that were interesting, particularly the stories about the clients, but the details about her personal life and the scheduling and personality issues at the hospital were boring.

I guess she was a better doctor than writer.

The Help

I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett for our April book club and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Often times, books that are hot best sellers and get lots of buzz from book clubs, popular media, etc don't live up to my expectations.

But The Help was a character rich, plot driven and entertaining read. I felt like I got to know these women and I felt like so many of the themes weren't necessarily limited to the South or the 1960s. The Junior League women ostracizing Skeeter when she doesn't agree with their racist points of view is familiar to any woman who has had a close group of girlfriends and then experiences a life change and finds those friends treating her as an outsider. Skeeter's mom wanting to shield her daughter from the fact that she is seriously ill and hell bent on beating itis another universal theme.

When we discussed this book at book club, one woman who had grown up in Louisiana and who's mother and grandmother had always had help took such offense to this book and the fact that it was riddled with stereotypes. It led to an interesting discussion, but never having any experience with domestic help I just couldn't relate. And no matter what job someone is doing, I have always tried to treat them with respect. Side thought: isn't that a tenant of Christianity? And isn't the South filled with lots of Christians?

In short, the book was a great read and good for lots of thought-provoking discussion.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I wish, wish, wish I had loved it. Junot Diaz is one of those writers I have followed and have found his short work interesting. I had such high hopes for his first novel, but I just didn't love it. I didn't even really like it. I read it, I finished. Done. Such a sad post.

Little Bee

I've had Little Bee by Chris Cleave on my "to read" list for a while - I think it was recommended from someone at Malaprop's (a fabulous bookstore in Asheville). It finally came out in paperback a few weeks ago and I read it in just a few days.

Little Bee, a teenager from a small Nigerian village, comes to Britain to find the couple she met on the beach when she was running from the men who had burned her village. Instead, she arrives on the day of the husband's funeral and continues a series of events that were set in motion on that beach.

Cleave rotates narrators between Little Bee and Sarah which brings more dimension to the story. In the end I was left wondering if we do enough as human beings to help others and where our need for self-preservation is outweighed by the need to help someone in more danger.

The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is one of those books that I looked at but never picked up. I'm glad I finally did for our March book club.

Set as a fable about a shepherd boy who believes he needs to travel to Egypt to find his personal legend in the pyramids it is really about bigger life lessons. That life is meant to be lived and that often what we have searched for has been right there with us all along.

I read the book and thought 'oh that was a lovely sentiment' and then thought I'd forget all about it, but my sub-conscious had other ideas. That night I had this beautiful dream about attending a wedding on an island that was somewhat dangerous. As we were focused focused on staying safe and doing what the staff were telling us, I looked up through a foggy morning and saw the most beautiful cliff side village. I turned to the person standing next to me and said, "thank you for making me come here. I would never have seen this if you weren't getting married here."

Who it was and where I was, I have no idea, but there was a feeling of overwhelming awe and at the same time a sense of being right where I belonged in the world and very much alive.

I wish I could find that feeling of awe and rightness in my everyday, waking life.

Passing Strange

As most of you know or have at least guessed by now, I am typically a fiction reader. I read non-fiction rarely and if I do it's usually memoirs, but after hearing a segment on NPR, I eagerly picked up Passing Strange by Martha Sandweiss.

Passing Strange tells the story of Clarence King who was a successful geologist at the end of the 19th century but who eventually began to pass as a black man and married Ada Copeland, a black woman. Clarence took on the name James Todd and the profession of a Pullman porter (who were only black men) when he married Ada. Clarence/James never told any of his friends or close confidants of his marriage and subsequent marriage. Everyone assumed Clarence was a lifelong bachelor.

Sandweiss does a good job of retelling Clarence King's story - his success as a geologist, his travels West, his financial troubles and surmising how he managed to live a double life. Ada Copeland Todd was harder to construct. Most likely a child born into slavery, there is no historical record of her until her early 20s. Once she married Clarence King, there is evidence of her children and various homes.

Sandweiss weaves the two stories together effectively and it's clear that she is a dedicated researcher. Like with most non-fiction, I was left wanting to know more about the why and what they felt, but without historical evidence, there is no way to know how Clarence and Ada lived when they were together.

Divisadero

Michael Ondaatje is a genius. The English Patient and Anil's Ghost left me giddy to read his latest novel, Divisadero.

The story begins at a farm in Santa Rosa, CA with three children - Claire and Anna, raised as sisters and motherless and Coop, a boy who was left an orphan after a tragedy on his neighboring farm. The three of them grow up together and yet in one moment the lives they know become ripped apart through love and violence.

We follow Coop through a future of gambling and drifting. We find Anna in France writing about the life of a French poet whose story mirrors the truth of her own.

Ondaatje is a master of prose. I wanted to climb into his words like a hammock in order to be enveloped by their beauty. Lines like "lightning lit up the river like a path through history and she grabbed the boy to stop him from leaping into its brief beauty" and "the three of them, she had always believed, made up a three-panelled Japanese screen, each one self-sufficient, but revealing different qualities or tones when placed beside the others" affirm Ondaatje's magic with words.

Yet, the story left me wanting something more. Some more resolution with Coop, Claire and Anna. I am left with the story of Lucien through which I am supposed to read more deeply into to find the essence of Anna, Coop and Claire's story.

Half Broke Horses

Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls was our February book club selection. Now that we've had our meeting, I can post my review :)

I liked it. It was a quick read and interesting. It was one of those stories I found myself thinking of after it was finished. It is characterized as a "true-life novel" though I think of it more of a fictionalized memoir.

Walls writes the story of his grandmother, Lily, and her childhood growing up in the frontier west. She is a driven, tough as nails woman. Her story was compelling, yet there was something missing. I wanted a little more emotion, a little more feeling. Even though she had to be strong, there was still room for exploring some deeper thoughts, especially since Walls chose to write it in first person narrative and make it fiction.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice and Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

January was mystery month. It felt like all I wanted to read were mysteries, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I picked up the first of the Laurie Kings Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes book and think I'm hooked. The Beekeeper's Apprentice introduces us to Mary Russell, an orphaned teenager living with her Aunt and how she comes to meet a retired Sherlock Holmes. The pair end up great friends and eventual partners in solving crimes. Now I'm curious to learn how their relationship develops.

I also read the Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by C. Alan Bradley and recommended by Nancy Pearl (of Booklust fame). This was the first mystery adventure for pre-teen Flavia du Luce, a British Nancy Drew who makes lots of missteps making her sweet and endearing.

Gate at the Stairs

I had heard so much about Lorrie Moore when her first novel in 15 years came out last year. She has a devoted following and the reviews of Gate at the Stairs were good, so I requested it from the library.

I read it over the long weekend and while it was good, I think I just didn't get it. The main character, Tassie, is a college student who gets a job as a nanny/sitter for an eccentric couple thinking of adopting a child. Tassie goes with Sarah Thornbird-Brink, the potential adoptive mom, to meet a few of the birth mothers. And so begins the story of Tassie and the Brinks. All the characters feel self-involved and never concerned with more than what other people think.

The whole story came across as very sterile and more cerebral than emotional. There's so much about this book that could be emotional - a mixed race adoptive child, a cheating husband, a brother going off to join the Army - that I finished feeling like something was missing.

Much of the novel was beautifully written and there were witty, intellectual sections. I will try to read some of Lorrie Moore's short stories to see if I am missing something.

The Hour I First Believed

I have read Wally Lamb's previous two novels as well as the short-story collections he edited by the women in his writing workshop at the York Correction Facility, but I was reluctant to read The Hour I First Believed, mostly because it was marketed as dealing with the aftermath of Columbine.

I am reluctant to read stories dealing with recent tragedies (I still haven't read any that deal with 9/11 unless it's extremely cursory mentions), but after a recommendation from a friend (thanks Beth!) I decided to give it a try and am glad I did.

The novel is set in Littleton, CO as well as the fictional Three Rivers, CT and centers around Caelum Quirk and his third life, Maureen. Caelum and Maureen both worked at Columbine but only Maureen was at the school the day pf the shootings and was severely traumatized by what experienced. As Maureen struggles with PTSD and Caelum flounders to help her, they decide to leave CO and return to the Quirk family farm in Three Rivers, CT.

Once you get past the Columbine incident, there is almost a sense of relief to have the tragedy dealt with, but Lamb has much more in store for Caelum and Maureen. The story is told primarily from Caelum's perspective and because of that there are times you loathe him, times you want to smack some sense in him, but in the end I grew to love him. I cried when the book ended. It felt as if I was on the quest to be a better man and make sense of what happened throughout his life with him.

Lamb is a master storyteller and I hope we don't have to wait another seven or eight years for another book.

Amy and Isabelle

After seeing Elizabeth Strout at a reading of Olive Kitteridge this fall, I bought a copy of her earlier novel Amy and Isabelle.

The novel is about Isabelle and her daughter Amy, who is in high school. Strout explores the relationship between mother and daughter and the secrets between them.

It was an interesting book and Strout plays with the timeline, shifting from the oppressing heat of summer to the chill of the winter before, but Amy and Isabelle isn't as strong a work as Olive Kitteridge.

What Was Lost

I started reading What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn at the beginning of November but put it aside while I was doing NaNoWriMo. Side bar: I ended with ~22,000 words, so less than half way, but it was fun to write again - and I need to find closure for my characters. I worry that they are hanging out there lost.

But back to What Was Lost. It is the story of 10 year-old Kate Meaney who goes missing in 1984. Kate is a loner who pretends she is a private detective with her partner a stuffed monkey dressed in spats. With her vivid imagination and attention to detail, you often wonder how such a girl could go missing. Adrian, the 22 year old clerk at a newsstand and Kate's friend, is the last person to see her when he drops her off for a entrance exam for boarding school and becomes a prime suspect.

Fast forward twenty years later to Green Oaks Shopping Center, site of many of Kate's stake outs. There we meet Kurt, the security guard who thinks he sees Kate on surveillance video and Lisa, Adrian's sister, who has always believed in her brother's innocence, but has struggled since he left after the pressure of being a suspect. Together, they heal many wounds and solve the mystery of Kate's disappearance.

O'Flynn's story is part mystery and part exploration of loss and it leaves you saddened but hopeful.

Juliet, Naked

Nick Hornby's newest novel, Juliet, Naked, keeps with Hornby's style, but I just didn't love it. None of the characters were the least bit sympathetic and I really didn't care what happened to the aging rocker who quit performing 20 years ago and whose one positive attribute is fathering his youngest son after ignoring all his other children with various women nor did I care about the go-nowhere couple in a remote seaside town in England who spend much of their lives trying to find an answer to why the rocker quit.

The most interesting character was Jackson, the aging rockers son, who is sensitive and fears that his father will die and leave him - a valid concern considering his age and the way he has treated his other children.

I was happy when the book ended so I could send these cast of characters back to their sad, pathetic lives and out of mine.

The Believers

I was excited to find a discounted hardcover of Zoe Heller's latest novel, The Believers. Her previous novel, What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal was a smart, suprising story and I expected great things from her latest effort.

While The Believers had an interesting premise it just didn't go far enough for me. The story centers on the Litvinoff family. Joel, a radical New York Lawyer has a stroke and sends his children and wife into a reexamination of everything they thought was true.

Rosa explores Orthodox Judiasm which Heller handles beautifully, but in the end Rosa's reasons and faith never seem strong enough. Karla is in a dead end marriage and begins to explore a relationship with the man that runs the newspaper stand in the hospital where she works. And Lenny, the hard case adopted son struggles with various addictions.

Of course, it wouldn't be a family drama without the discovery of an illegitimate child from an affair which sends Joel's wife Audrey into a tailspin trying first to ignore it and then make it go away.

Are their lives better after the illness and eventual loss of Joel? It's hard to know but they are all changed including what they believe.

The Glass Castle

For a long time, I wasn't interested in reading The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. I think I had read too many memoirs and I was tired of all the "poor me" stories, but after hearing some interviews with the author about her new book, I decided I should listen to the people who recommended it and give it a shot.

Now I can't get it out of my mind. My work as a Guardian Ad Litem exposes me to the lives of people who struggle, but this book was something else all together. The life this child and her siblings experienced is unbelievable and the fact that her parents chose that life for them is even more amazing. But what is truly remarkable is the success Jeanette has experienced despite a childhood of constantly moving, of living in a house with no indoor plumbing and not always being enrolled in school. If you are going to have eccentric parents, it's best that they be voracious readers and encourage inquisitiveness.

Still, the book is well written and is definitely worth getting over an aversion to memoirs to experience.

Brooklyn

I had heard much about the novel, Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, so I requested it from the library. I was able to get it this week and as soon as I did, I devoured it.

Tobin's story is richly told, from the small town of Enniscorthy, Ireland to Brooklyn in the early 1950s. The story centers around Eilis Lacey who is a simple girl living with her mother and sister in Ireland. When the opportunity arises, Eilis heads off to America sponsored by a local priest. As she leaves, she thinks that it is her older sister, Rose, who should really be going, but it is not possible, so she sets of for the journey of a lifetime.

Eilis works in a department store on the sales floor and eventually begins night classes in bookkeeping. She lives in a rooming house, managed by the curious Mrs. Kehoe. Eilis meets an Italian boy, Tony, at a church dance and they begin a romance. Eilis life in Brooklyn is so very different and remote from the life she had in Ireland.

A crisis sends her back to Ireland for a visit and Eilis experiences a pull between the life she has in Brooklyn and the familiar life in Ireland. As she vacillates between which to choose, your heart aches for her - at least it will for anyone who has experienced making the choice of life in the familiar and an independent life where anything is possible.

In the end, I am not sure how I feel about Eilis' decision, but you finish the book hoping the best for her and hoping to see her again.

The Secret of Lost Things

The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay had great potential - it is a literary adventure after all - but, as a first novel, it stumbles a bit.

Eighteen year-old Rosemary arrives in New York from Tanzania naive and knowing no one. She finds a job at the used bookstore, The Arcade. The Arcade is full of all sorts of interesting characters - Mr. Geist, the storemanager and albino, Pearl, the presurgical transvestite, Oscar, Rosemary's reclusive crush.

Somehow, Rosemary gets involved in the mystery of a lost manuscript from Herman Melville. At times, Rosemary seems to be maturing, but often she remains unbelievably naive. I would have guessed the story was set in the 20s or maybe as recently as the 60s, but through clues, it is actually set in the 80s.

The story overall is good, it is just Rosemary's part in it that is sometimes unrealistic.

Goldengrove

For reasons I can't explain, I have never read a book by Francine Prose. I have read her short stories and articles, I have Reading Like a Writer but I had never read one of her novels. With that in mind, I picked up Goldengrove and after finishing it I am asking myself, what was I waiting for?

Prose is fabulous and Goldengrove is a wonderfully crafted story. The story explores what happens when a family loses a child. At 17, Margaret is the center of the family - she loves old movies, has a scholarship to study music - so when she dies tragically, her younger sister, Nico, and her parents struggle to deal with their grief and move on. However, the story isn't overly emotional or sentimental, it focuses more on the desire to hold on to the pieces of the person you have lost and how you live without them.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson had been on my reading list for a while, but I finally had a chance to read it after borrowing it from a friend.

The book was a little slow getting started, but once it did, it was a great read and a great mystery. The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo includes a decades old murder mystery, family drama, illegal financial dealings and a love story. It also pairs up ladies man Mikael Blomkvist with tatooed punk Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist and Salander are a great pair and I'm anxious to read the next mystery featuring the two of them, The Girl Who Played with Fire.

True Notebooks: A Writer's Year in Juvenile Hall

After making it about one-third of the way through Roddy Doyle's A Star Called Henry, I became too confused by the Irish history and gave up.

I needed something compelling to read, so I took out Mark Salzman's True Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall from the library. It was recommended to me because I enjoyed the two books Wally Lamb has edited from his work at the York Correctional Institute (thanks Kate).

It was told in a different style than Wally Lamb's two books, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Salzman narrates, explaining how he got involved in volunteering at a juvenile hall in LA and shares both good and bad experiences with the boys he works with. It raised so many questions about gangs, the juvenile justice system and the value of programs for kids who will spend their lives incarcerated.

I finished the book thankful for all that I have and all the opportunities I have been given.

The Flying Troutmans

The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews was such a fun book - in a kind of dysfunctional, watching a train wreck kind of way.

Hattie Troutman is living in Paris when she gets a call from her niece Thebes asking her to come help. Hattie arrives to find her sister, Min, in the midst of yet another mental breakdown and quickly finds herself in charge of Thebes and her older brother Logan.

After getting Min into a psychiatric hospital, Hattie decides to set off in the family van with the kids in search of their father who's last known whereabouts was South Dakota.

Throughout the road trip, Hattie, Thebes and Logan learn much about each other and develop a closeness that is touching.

A quick read that is over before you are ready for it to be.

A Border Passage

For September's book club, we read A Border Passage by Leila Ahmed. I only made it halfway through the book, as I found Ahmed's writing confusing and her not a very believable memoirist.

The rest of the club loved the book, so I feel like I missed something. I am going to hold onto the book and listen to an interview with Ahmed on "Speaking of Faith" and maybe it will make more sense.

I'll Fly Away

I am reading the new collection of stories from the women of York prison, I'll Fly Away, edited by Wally Lamb.

It is such an engrossing and compelling set of stories. The rawness of the women and the courage they show by sharing these stories is inspiring.

Telex from Cuba

Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner opened me up to a whole world I knew nothing about - American expats living in Cuba before the Castro era.

It's a well-written and engrossing book and I especially liked the two narrators who were children. There was just something so compelling about hearing what was going on from their point of view - free from bias and racism - though flawed by what they could not understand. The other two narrators are Rachel K, a cabaret dancer, and a french arms dealer. I found the adult narrators less believable and unsympathetic.

KC Stites and Everly Lederer provide the children's point of view from the two American interests in the east of the island - the United Fruit Plant and the Nicaro Nickel Plant across the bay. KC was born on the island and has never known any other life. His brother Del has runaway from home to join the rebels in the mountains. A display of rebellion from the privileged life he has led amongst so much strife.

Everly Lederer comes with her family from the Midwest when she is eight. Gawky and socially awkward, Everly is inquisitive and accepting of the island and the people she meets.

Everyone's story culminates with the revolution. I was left with a wonderful postcard of life in Cuba in the 1950s.

About Alice

About Alice is Calvin Trillin’s homage to his late wife, Alice. I have not read much of Trillin’s other work, but Alice apparently plays a key role throughout his works. This one is certainly a loving remembrance of who she was and her impact on his life.

It is a very touching story and relationship - one most of us aspire to. It’s a short book (78 pages) and after completing it I was interested to read Alice’s famous work “Of Dragons and Garden Peas” about coping with serious illness, in her case lung cancer. She seemed to have been a remarkable woman married to a remarkable man.

Sarah's Key, And Then There Were None and By a Spider's Thread

Summer vacation reads

A successful week at the beach is, of course, measured in part by the number of books I read (along with my tan). This year was mystery themed (along with one WWII novel mixed in).

By a Spider's Thread, Laura Lippman
Sarah's Key, Tatiana de Rosnay
And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie

The Evening is the Whole Day

The Evening is the Whole Day by Preema Samarasan is a beautifully written book set in Malaysia in 1980. It centers around the Rajasekharan family and their many secrets.

Asha, the youngest of three children, is the central, and most relatable, character. She sees ghosts, feels very misunderstood by her family and scorned by her older sister’s cold shoulder.

In the end, the book sets up some huge secret which led to misunderstandings and life changing impacts, however when it is revealed, it doesn’t seem as dramatic as I expected. Still, it’s a gorgeous book and worth a read.

The Beach House

After reading the Camel Bookmobile, I started reading The Evening is the Whole Day which is a great book, but found I needed something quick and light. So I picked up The Beach House by Jane Green.

Set in Nantucket, The Beach House is a sweet tale of lives falling apart and then coming together again in the most unexpected ways. Nan Powell owns a gorgeous old house which she finds she can no longer afford, so she turns it into a B&B. She brings together a group of people, including her grown son, who quickly become entwined in each others lives and become a surrogate family.

Camel Bookmobile

The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton is our July selection for my book club - and it was my pick.

It was a lighter read than I expected, but was probably a good choice for a July/summer read.

The story centers around Fi Sweeney who leaves her job and life in NY to launch the Camel Bookmobile in Kenya. She's looking for something interesting and more exciting in her life than the stable, predictable boyfriend and job.

Since this is her purpose, along with making a difference in the lives of Africans living in the bush, it's not surprising that she has some interesting experiences and almost forces a meaningful adventure.

Fi visits many nomadic camps but she becomes drawn to Mididima and the people there - the teacher, his assistant, the young Kanika and Scar Boy. All have a stake in keeping the camel bookmobile coming to their village and eventually their desires and motivations come to a head and none of them will ever be the same.

But questions remain on the importance of "western" education in a nomadic village such as Mididima.

Olive Kitteridge

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout is a collection of short stories that are all connected through a small Maine town and the title character, Olive Kitteridge.

The stories tend to focus on people in their 50s through 80s, so while all are interesting and very well written I found them a bit depressing. None of the characters in their "twilight" years seems very happy and there are many examples of strife and loneliness in their relationships.

I still recommend it as it is a wonderfully written selection of stories, however be prepared for some potential melancholy feelings to arise.

A Separate Peace

Each summer I look through the Summer Reading selections at the local bookstores to see what is new to the list and to see if there is anything I have missed.

I realized a few years ago that I have never read A Separate Peace by John Knowles and I finally picked it up this year.

I don't know what I was expecting, but A Separate Peace was a bit disappointing. Maybe reading it at 34 in 2009 resulted in me missing the meaning. However, I was reminded a lot of Dead Poets Society which brought me back to the summer of my sophomore year when I watched it repeatedly and basically had it memorized.

I'm probably insulting many people with that comparison, so apologies in advance.

Mudbound

Mudbound by Hilary Jordan has been on my reading list for a while, so when I found a discounted hardcover I snatched it up.

Laura believes she is destined to be a spinster, teaching school and being aunt in Memphis in the 1940s. But when she meets Henry McAllan her plans change and they are quickly married. Laura is happy living in Memphis caring for her two girls and her husband until her husband comes home and tells her that he has purchased a farm in the Mississippi Delta.

Laura's life quickly changes at the farm, which she and the girls name "Mudbound" since it is always muddy and the bridge into town becomes impassable with every rain. The farm has no indoor plumbing or any other modern comforts.

Life at the farm is complicated by Pappy, Henry's racist, mean-spirited father; Jamie, Henry's brother who returns from the war with traumatizing memories; Hap and Florence Jackson the black share farmers on the land; Ronsel, the Jackson's son who has also returned from Europe where his race didn't matter like it does in the Delta.

Add in alcoholism, a love affair and the Klu Klux Klan and the story quickly speeds to the climax and a tragic outcome that leaves no one at Mudbound unchanged.

A great story and wonderfully written from the perspective of each of the major characters.

The Clothes on their Backs

The description on the back and the cover art of The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant led me to believe that this book would be very different than it turned out to be.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, because the book actually turned out to be better than I imagined it would be.

Vivien Kovacs is the bookish daughter of Hungarian-refugee parents in London. Her parents live a quiet, secluded life as if they are afraid that they will be found out. Vivien longs for more and goes off to college and has a short marriage, at which point she returns to her childhood bedroom.

Depressed and lost, Vivien remembers a tumultuous visit from an uncle who her father would not let into the house. He continued to refuse to talk about this mysterious Uncle even as he is all over the papers durning a high-profile trial where he is accused of being a slumlord.

Years later, Vivien sets out to meet Sandor but is not fully honest about who she is. Through her involvement with Sandor, she is exposed to new people and new experiences and she learns much more about her parents and their lives in Hungary.

A fine story, but nothing amazing.

The Archivists Story

The Archivists Story by Travis Holland is our book club read for June. It takes place in Moscow in 1939. It is a bleak time under Stalin's rule and with Hitler looming across the border.

Pavel is a former teacher who's wife was killed in a tragic train accident. As Pavel deals with his wife's death, his mother's dementia and worries about various friends being killed for their political belief, he worries about his own future.

His job as the archivist of Lubyanka prison requires him to incinerate the writing of both major and minor Russian writers who have been imprisoned there. When he comes across an unclaimed work from an author who's work he used to teach in his classroom, he suddenly risks everything to protect what he values most.

A compelling, tragic work of fiction.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

I originally picked up The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery in a bookstore when I was traveling in CA. I didn't buy it then, but I was intrigued by the first two chapters I had read and had it on my "to read" list.

I finally purchased it at the Brookline Booksmith a few weeks ago and finished it quickly.

The novel is set in a apartment building in Paris. Madame Michel (Renee) is the concierge for the building who pretends to be dumb and uncultured because that is what she believes her tenants expect from their concierge. However, beneath the facade lies an intelligent woman who loves books, movies and art. She is fond of Tolstoy, so much so that her cat is named Leo after the author.

Paloma is a 12-year-old tenant of the building who has decided that she will commit suicide because she is dismayed by the adults she is surrounded by and what life has to offer. She is too smart for her age and pretends, like Madame Michel, to be dumber than she is. She despises her pretentious older sister and her mentally unstable mother. But she sets out to record interesting things about the world in her journal before she dies.

Renee's and Paloma's worlds intersect with the arrival of Karkuru Ozu the new tenant in the building. Kakuru sees through the facades of both and draws them out.

At times the novel felt a bit clumsy with long soliloquies on philosophy, but by the end I was glad I had stuck with it to see the transformation of Renee and the change in Paloma's view on life.

In the end, this is a tragedy, so be prepared for the non-Hollywood ending.

A Story of a Marriage

You MUST read this....

They have a segment on NPR of this name, and I'm stealing it for the book I just finished. A Story of a Marriage by Adam Sean Greer is amazing.


It is one of the best books I have read in a long time and while I don't want to give too much away, I will say it is full of surprises. It is a wonderful story of Pearlie and Holland Cook shortly after World War II. It chronicles their marriage and is touching in so many ways.

The Women

TC Boyle is one of my favorite authors, so when his latest book was released, I had to read it.


The Women is Boyle's fictional account of Frank Lloyd Wright's three dramatic love affairs. Having read Nancy Horan's Loving Frank not long ago, I was a bit concerned that the subject matter would be repetitive, but Boyle is too good of a story-teller for that.

The Women starts with Wright's last partner, Oglivanna, and then works backward. Oglivanna is significantly younger than Frank and

Unfortunately, Wright's second mistress, Miriam who is characterized as unstable and vindictive is covered in the second chapter, so I found getting through the middle of the book the most challenging.

However, Boyle handles the chapter on Mamah Borthwick Cheney expertly, making it well worth getting through the Miriam sections.

I do think it would have been more pleasurable if organized in the true chronological order. Boyle's use of a Japanese apprentice to provide section introductions and footnotes, was a wonderful touch.

Overall, Boyle's latest effort didn't disappoint.

The Maytrees

The Maytrees by Annie Dillard reads like poetry with a love story or love stories woven in.

Annie Dillard captures you with the story of the Maytrees living in a very different from modern day Provincetown, MA. The beauty of the dunes and the descriptions of the night sky make me yearn to be there.

Toby Maytree tries to understand what love is by writing down quotes in a red speckled notebooks while never seeing what is in front of him. But patient loving, Lou, remains steadfastly committed to him. They have a handful of engaging and interesting friends. Deary who sleeps in the dunes. Reevadare an eccentric older woman.

They live cheaply and with great joy at the nature around them, but then things change. Toby Maytree moves to Maine and doesn't live quite so simply anymore.

In the end, he returns to the Cape and to the people and woman who still care for him after all he has done.

Strawberry Fields

Strawberry Fields by Marina Lewycka was a quick read . I think there I was supposed to get a deeper message but it just felt like a story about a group of transient workers who are shockingly clueless and are taken advantage of again and again.

The brief reviews on the back said it was funny, but I didn't really find anything humorous in the book at all. Maybe I read it at the wrong time.

Bird sWithout Wings

I finished Birds Without Wings by Louis De Bernieres with a few days to spare before book club.



It's a long book detailing the lives of the townspeople of Eskibahçe during the Ottoman empire. I found the stories of the townspeople, Iskander the potter, Ali the Snowbringer, Rustem Bey the landowner and Leyla most interesting.

The parts about Mustafa Kemel (future Ataturk) and the war scenes were much more difficult to slog through.


I found it sad when the town was ripped apart with all the Christians being sent to Greece and replaced with other Muslims who didn't speak Turkish. It seemed like suddenly the town became smaller and more insulated than what Mustafa was aiming for.

I See You Everywhere

Sadly, my book club selection has been putting me to sleep for the past few weeks, so when Julia Glass' I See You Everywhere was available from the library, I was happy to have a temporary interlude from Birds Without Wings.

Julia Glass' first novel, Three Junes, was a wonderful delight. Her second novel was a bit disappointing, but I was excited to see her third offering.

I See You Everywhere revolves around two sisters, Louisa and Clem, who are so very different, yet because of shared experience turn to each other in times of need. The book follows them throughout their 20s and 30s and my one complaint is that the sections sometimes read like short stories. Glass seems to want to reintroduce us to the characters and their relationship every 75 pages or so. I thought "I already know who your sister is and what happened..." a number of times.

But the writing is smooth and it was a quick read. It definitely filled the break I needed!

Booklove

I found this blog today and I'm having great fun exploring.

http://booklove.wordpress.com/

Booklove is the brainchild of Mary Gomez, Technical Services Librarian at Rockingham Community College, who has created a blog for people who love to read and discuss books. This is a very informal blog that operates like a book club in promoting discussions and ideas on both fiction and non-fiction works.

Moloka'i

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert is a terribly heart-wrenching story. At the age of 7, Rachel Kalama contracts leprosy and is sent into quarantine on the island of Moloka'i. She is separated from her family including her father whom she is very close to.

Rachel experiences many loses during her time on the island, each one heart-breaking for its own reasons. Yet she remains strong and steadfast in the belief that she will be "cured" and be able to leave Moloka'i.

While the story is compelling, the writing is weak in some places and over-wrought in others. And toward the end, you start to wonder how much one person can really take and remain positive. Maybe living with leprosy and surrounded by other lepers and death makes one more able to deal with it all, but I didn't want to be immune to it even if only in a novel.

Omnivore's Dilemma

I finished up Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan in time for book club next week and I don't think I will ever look at food the same.

I've always been a bit queasy about certain foods - poultry, eggs, beef - and this book reinforced that I was right to be cautious.

The first section is a bit dry as he follows the path of corn from field to table, but the second and third sections make up for muddling through the story of corn.

The second section, Pastoral/Grass, was the most interesting to me as it looked into mass organic operations and reassuringly educated me on the local, grass-feeding beef farmer.

The last section recounted Pollan's attempt to serve a meal made from ingredients he has gathered (mushrooms), killed (wild boar) or grown (various ingredients) by the author. Being a mycophobe, I found his search for mushrooms a little long and overly dramatic, but it was a short section.

Overall, Omnivore's Dilemma was in interesting, educating read. Warning: Once you pick this up, be prepared to start shopping for organic foods, grass fed beef, cage free eggs and joining a CSA.

2008 List of books

List of books - 2008

The Zookeeper's Wife, Diane Ackerman
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Loving Frank, Nancy Horan
Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri
When You Are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris
The Friday Night Knitting Club, Kate Jacobs
White Tiger, Arvind Adiga
Girls in Trucks, Katie Crouch
The Long Walk Home, Will North
How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life, Mameve Medwed
Run, Ann Patchett
A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson
No One Belongs Here More Than You, Miranda July
Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
The Beautiful Things Heaven Bears, Dinaw Mengestu
B-mother, Maureen O'Brien
Roomates Wanted, Lisa Jewell
Power of One, Bryce Courtney
Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl
Forgive Me, Amanda Eyre Ward
Away, Amy Bloom

When You are Engulfed in Flames

After saving David Sedaris' latest collection of essays, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, as my final book for 2008, I wasn't disappointed.

As always, Sedaris' is in rare form with essays about his various escapades in New York, London, France and Tokyo.

I had read or heard some of them before, but reading them as a collection is always fun.

Monster Mash about his experience at a medical examiners office and The Smoking Section about his attempts to quit smoking, were two of my favorites.

Zookeeper's Wife

I think that the Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman is going to be one of my favorite books for 2008. It is non-fiction, but written much more like fiction.

The story revolves mainly around Jan and Antonina Zabinski who managed the Warsaw Zoo at the start of WWII. Once Warsaw became occupied by the Germans and the zoo animals were removed, they used the zoo to save over 300 people from the Nazis. The code name for their house was the "The House Under the Crazy Star" because of all the characters that passed through.

So, it was a great mix of characters with interesting stories and history of the German occupation of Warsaw.

Friday Night Knitting Club

While I was on vacation, I finished White Tiger. It was a good story and an interesting portrayal of the people who live as servants in India.

I also read the Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs which tells the story of Walker and Daughter knitting shop including Georgia (the owner), Dakota (her teenage daughter), Anita (the elderly woman who works part time the shop and wise mother-figure) plus various other employees and customers who make up the Friday Night Knitting Club.

It's an easy read, kind of chick lit, but the knitting aspect is fun and made me wish I was a better knitter or that Walker and Daughter was down the street. The story has a sad ending, which I didn't necessarily like, especially because I finished it right before bed. So if you do pick it up, I suggest making sure you finish it before bedtime.

The White Tiger

I'm reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, winner of this year's Man Booker Prize. It's interesting so far, I just wish I had more time to read it.

Oh, guess what? I will!! In just two days, I'm off to Puerto Rico for vacation. I have a stack of books lined up, now it's just a matter of widdling it down to a few to take along. I'm not sure Scott is ready to see how many books I pack for a one week trip to the beach!

I can't wait to relax and read. Plus I get out of the icky rainy weather.

Hopefully I will come back with a long list of book recommendations and reviews.

I fear that I have been neglectful in chronicling the latest books I have been reading. And now I fear that I will forget what I've actually read.

I re-read most of The Namesake for a book club. Even knowing the story, it was still enjoyable. Every time I read anything of Jhumpa Lahiri's, I'm reminded about what a beautiful writer she is. It leaves me in awe.

I am now about two-thirds through The Omnivore's Dilemma. It has gotten much more interesting as it has progressed and I'm excited to finish it. I may hold off on the last section since book club is now scheduled to discuss it in January.

Meanwhile, I went to the bookstore today and used a gift card from my birthday (thanks Karen!) that was burning a hole in my pocket. I ended up with White Tiger (Winner of the Man Booker Prize) and The Zookeeper's Wife. I still want to read Molokai and am considering delving into a Philipa Gregory novel (I heard her on NPR and she was different than I expected).

If I recall any others that I've read since my last post, I will add them. In the meantime, I'm excited to start White Tiger.

Girls in Trucks

Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch has such a great cover that you think it'll be a great read. But sadly, it's just so so. The main character is hard to like and you want to reach in and shake her at time. Plus, in the end it feels like a big cliche.

The Long Walk Home

At first glance, The Long Walk Home by Will North has the possibility of being a sappy melodrama in the vein of Nicholas Sparks. Luckily, strong writing and a deep insight into the characters feelings and psyche make it a far cry from a Nicholas Sparks novel.

The story takes place in North Wales and the descriptions of the landscape made me want to plan a vacation. Fiona runs a B&B in a small village on the hill her husband has farmed for years. When a handsome stranger arrives at Fiona's B&B, she feels an instant connection and begins to examine her relationship with her husband.

I recommend The Long Walk Home if you are looking for a sweet, romantic story.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows was a great summer read. It's been all the buzz and I usually avoid reading those for fear that they aren't worth the hype

But this was a great surprise and a good book. It is set right after World War II in England. The book is actual letters between Juliet, a journalist, and the residents of Guernsey Island. It's well told and easy to read. Definitely a treat!

I know this will be made into a movie, so now I'm having fun figuring out which actors and actresses will play each of the roles.

Run

I finished Ann Patchett's Run just after getting home last night. I had less than 5 pages left when the plane landed...the first time a US Air flight is on time is when I'm reading a good book, figures!

I enjoyed Run a lot. It wasn't as compelling as Bel Canto, but it definitely made me think about nature vs nurture.

The story centers around the Doyle family. Tip and Teddy are both adopted, Sullivan is the Doyle's biological son. Bernadette Doyle dies when the boys are young and they are left in the care of their father, an aspiring politician.

The story examines family relationships, expectations as well as the idea of nature vs nurture. All of this takes place within 24 hours and though not exceptionally fast paced is filled with poetic paragraphs and great descriptions.

How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life

How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life by Mameve Medwed is a light book that I'd categorize as Smart Chick lit.

The plot is kind of frustrating. I kept worrying that nothing will ever go right for Abby Randolph or that she'll never get a backbone. Luckily, things turn out in true Disney/Chick lit fashion.

There are some clever references to NPR and other writers and it's a good summer read.

No One Belongs Here More Than You

I finished Miranda July's book of short stories No One Belongs Here More Than You. This was my first collection of July's stories I've read (I did see one of her short films on Wolphin) and it wasn't what I expected.

Her stories and characters are eclectic, almost bizarre.

One "Swim Coach" is about a woman who teaches a group of seniors how to swim...even though there's not a pool for miles. She lays out bowls of water and the "students" put their faces in the bowl and "swim" around the kitchen.

The last story "How to Tell Stories to Children" doesn't end the way I thought it would, but it is touching and thought-provoking.

A Walk in the Woods

I read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson very quickly and I've been quoting him ever since.

It is a great and funny book and I can't believe I didn't read it sooner. If you like hiking or being outdoors or just find humor in the idea of someone attempting to hike the Appalachian Trail, it's a must read.

I found myself alternating between laughing out loud and worrying about Bill and his hiking companion. Luckily, all ended well! Bryson also mixes in history and background on the trail and the environment which adds another level of interest.

Plus it gives you a true appreciation when you are hiking .7 miles of the trail. I don't think I'll ever hike as much of it as Bryson did, but I do want to hike more of the little bits I've accomplished so far.

The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears

I finished The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu this weekend. It's a very beautiful book and the language is gorgeous.

The story revolves around an Ethiopian refugee in Washington DC and two of his fellow refugees. Sheba owns a small store in a "transitional" neighborhood in DC and it's interesting to hear the perspective of an insider as the neighborhood moves from being mostly burned out buildings and prostitutes, to restored homes and a white influx and then shifts back again.

It's a quick read and easy to get caught up in the lyricism of Mengestu's words.

Infidel

I finished Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali this weekend. It was a very interesting book and definitely opened my eyes to different aspects of Islam. I feel like I learned a lot and can understand somethings about Muslims that I didn't understand before.

I thought the firs two-thirds of the book was better than the last third, because it focused on her childhood through her asylum in the Netherlands. The last third was about her political career and viewpoint and I found that more difficult to follow and it was obvious that she had more of an agenda in that portion of the book.

There were also some loose ends that she never tied up. It seems that as a refugee and someone who moved so much in her life, that she doesn't have many long-term friendships/relationships, but that may be a false assumption because she didn't tell us what happened to xx person.

I'm probably the only one who would notice that, so I think it's definitely worth reading.

NPR's Summer Books 2008

I'm about two-thirds of the way through Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and really enjoying it. Hopefully, I'll have a full review by the weekend, but in the meantime I wanted to share a list of Summer Books for 2008 from NPR.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90995424

B-Mother

I also finished B-Mother by Maureen O'Brien. I don't usually read books about birthmothers, but this one was recommended and I borrowed it from the library, so the commitment was low.

It was actually a really good and compelling story of a teenager giving up her child for adoption and the intervening years until they reunite. There were bits of it that was a bit trite and the author throws a whole lot at the main character.

But the emotions are right on and it was a quick read.

Unaccustomed Earth

I just finished Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri and it was another excellent collection of stories by one of my favorite authors. Definitely 5 stars!

I had read some of them before but it was fun to read them as a collection.

Three stories about Hema and Kashuik that were published together in this collection and while I had already read two of them, it was great to read them in order. The third one was new and the ending was kind of crushing. But still worth reading.

Lahiri is at her best in her short stories and while the themes are the same or similar, each has a different spin to make it memorable.

Only Goodness

This is how the short story Only Goodness from Jhumpa Lahiri's new collection begins:
"It was Sudha who'd introduced Rahul to alcohol, one weekend he came to visit her at Penn - to his first drink from a keg and then, the next morning in the dining hall, his first cup of coffee."

Such a great start to a really good story. And, without giving too much away, what you think happens does.

Unaccustomed Earth - Part 1

I started reading Jhumpa Lahiri's new collection of short stories, Unaccustomed Earth.

I've read three of the stories so far and they were fabulous. I'm trying to read this slowly and savor each story!

Chidren's Book Week Bookmark

Just in time for Children's Book Week, here's a cute bookmark. And it reinforces Mrs. Sherman's teaching.

http://www.cbcbooks.org/cbweek/teachers/gramatky.html

Moving = No Time for Reading

Ugh! Moving has left me with no time for reading! I was able to finish "Water for Elephants" which was a really sweet, good read.

I should be starting Then We Came to the End for book club, but we pushed back the date and my friend is going to lend me her copy. So what to read next?? Decisions. Decisions.

I'll let you know :)

Water for Elephants

I just started reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and have only read a couple of chapters. But I thought this was great...

"When you're five, you know your age down to the month. Even in your twenties you know how old you are. I'm twenty-three, you say, or maybe twenty-seven. But then in your thirties something strange starts to happen. It's a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. How old are you? Oh, I'm -- you start to say confidently, but then you stop. You were going to say thirty-three, but you're not. You're thirty-five. And then you're bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. It is, of course, but it's decades before you admit it."

Isn't that so true??

Roomates Wanted

I read Roommates Wanted by Lisa Jewell. It's completely chick lit, but in my opinion it's smarter and more creative than Candace Bushnell or the like.

In her latest novel, Jewell follows the story of Toby and his house full of random "roommates". Toby's father bought him the huge old house 15 years earlier and after his wife left him, he opened it up to creative people in need of a free/cheap place to live. After 15 years, the sitting tenant dies and Toby finally decides to grow up.

Leah, lives across the street and is intrigued by the odd assortment of tenants in the house across the street. After 3 years, she finally has a chance to talk to Toby and joins his plan to fix up the place, kick out all the tenants and sell the house. Of course everyone ends up happy and either in love or on the way there, but that's to be expected - it is chick lit after all.

Power of One

I FINALLY finished Power of One by Bryce Courtney. It ended up being a really good read and I'm glad I stuck with it.

It's the story of a young boy in South Africa and recounts his dreams of being the welterweight champion. It's touching and interesting to watch him mature.

Now I'm on to a much lighter read - Roomates Wanted by Lisa Jewell (as far as I go into chicklit) but I'm still trying to read Profiles in Courage and the Robert Kennedy, Jr book about the environment (he came to speak in Charlotte and I was fired up to know more)

Profiles in Courage and Power of One

I'm reading two books (well really 3 or 4, but who's really counting) - Profiles in Courage and Power of One.

Profiles in Courage isn't what I thought it would be, but I'm sticking with it.

Power of One is a novel set in South Africa. It's interesting but a long read. I'm only about a hundred or so pages in. I don't have anything too enticing on the horizon, so I'm trying to keep going. I hope it'll pick up soon.

Happy Reading....

Forgive Me

Forgive Me by Amanda Eyre Ward

All of Amanda Eyre Ward's books are the kind that keep you up all night because you can't put them down. Forgive Me is no exception.

Part of the appeal is the story, but another is the quick sentences and staccato of her stories.

Forgive Me is about Nadine Morgan, an foreign correspondent who has gotten caught up in the nomad lifestyle of a journalist. After being beat up in Mexico, she returns to her hometown in Cape Cod and is forced to confront who she is and who she wants to be. She makes one last trip to South Africa to complete a story that has been following her, her entire career.

I stayed up until 2:30 reading this last night, so be forewarned. Once you start, it's hard to put down.

Loving Frank

I finished Loving Frank. It was an interesting and engrossing story, but possibly because it also described the history of Frank Lloyd Wright and was set around the Women's Movement (you know I prefer historical fiction to nonfiction).

What was interesting was that Mamah left her husband and two very young children as well as her sister to pursue this relationship. And while she talks about missing them, there almost seems something unnatural about it. The character, Mamah, seems to use the writings of a swedish feminist and her ideas of following your passion a little too literally.

The ending was shocking because I didn't realize that there was a murder and fire at Taliesin in 1914. But I do want to go visit Taliesin in Wisconsin now.

Loving Frank - Part One

What I'm reading now....

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

This is the much talked about fictionalized story of Frank Lloyd Wright's lover, Mamah Borthwick Cheney. It was a very scandalous story especially for the early 20th century.

It's made me interested to look and learn more about Wright's homes (esp Taliesin which is a big part of the 3rd part of the book). But I may wish I hadn't been so curious...I just learned about Mamah's fate!!!

I'll write a full review after I finish.

I bought "Profiles in Courage" at the bookstore today. Why haven't I read it before now?

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl is such a smart book! Sarah was reading it over the holidays and gave it a good review, so we picked it for my book club.

Unfortunately, we haven't had our meeting yet, so I was holding off posting so I wouldn't give away my thoughts on the book, but I figured I'd better post something.

Blue is a high school student - but definitely not your average teenager. Her mother was killed in a car accident when she was young and since then she and her father don't stay any place for very long. For her senior year in high school, they settle in the NC mountains where she will attend St. Gallways. There she becomes part of an elite group of students, the blue bloods, who have a close relationship with one teacher, Hannah Schnieder (sometimes distrubingly close).

In that year, Blue gets the chance to be more of a "typical" teenager but also learns more about her life, her mother's death as she recounts the tale of Hannah Schneider's death.

At times, I thought the voice of Blue was a little too mature for a teenager, but then by the end it all made perfect sense.

Complete Jane Auten on PBS

Here's one benefit of the writer's strike - I've been channel surfing and found that Masterpiece Theatre on PBS is running the "Complete Jane Austen" series every Sunday night.

Tonight was Mansfield Park and next week is "Miss Austen Regrets" (a biopic) followed by "Pride and Prejudice" (3 weeks), "Emma" and "Sense and Sensibility" (A Room with A View follows the Jane Austen Series).

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/schedule/index.html

The Keep

My book club didn't select The Keep by Jennifer Egan (we read Look at Me instead), so I decided to read it myself.

In the end it was a little bizarre but it was fun to read this story about a billionare turning an old castle somewhere in eastern Europe into a hotel/retreat (yes, I did have visions of the castle I stayed at in Gloggnitz, Austria in my mind.

Great Book Club Books

Great book club books:

Are you looking for a book for your next book club? Or just want to read something juicy that you can discuss with friends? Here's my list of great book club books and what my book club is reading next.

Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
Bel Canto, Ann Pachett
Notes on a Scandal, Zoe Heller
The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai
The Distant Land of My Father, Bo Caldwell
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel, Lisa Murphy
The History of Love, Nicole Krauss
The Known World, Edward P. Jones

What my book club is reading next:
Special Topics in Calamity Physics, Marisha Pessl

Away

The bookstore near my office was having their yearly 40% after holiday sale, so I picked up a couple of books that I've been wanting to read but was waiting for the paperbacks. Luckily, I didn't have to wait until spring to read Away by Amy Bloom.

I'm only half way through the book, but it's great so far. It's easy to get caught up in this book -which is great during a "snowy" weekend!

After Lillian's entire family was brutally murdered in Russia, she ends up in New York living as a seamstress and mistress. She is told that her daughter, Sophie, isn't actually dead so she heads to Siberia to find her. Lillian has just made her journey across the US and is in Seattle, trying to get back the money that was stolen from her so that she can continue her journey....I'm hooked :)

Gift from the Sea

I've been meaning to write about Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Linbergh for a while now. It is such an amazing gift of a novel. It was written many years ago but it is filled with timeless wisdom. A different chapter will probably resonate with you with each reading, which is what makes it so breathtakingly beautiful. I want to read it everyday to remind myself of the beauty of words and to be reassured that I am not alone in my feelings or fears.

2007 List of Books

2007 books (my favorites are at the top):

The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
The Distant Land of My Father, Bo Caldwell
Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel, Lisa Murphy
Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseni
On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan
Suite Francaise, Irene Nemirovsky
Intuition, Allegra Goodman
View from Castle Rock, Alice Munro
Not on Our Watch, Don Cheadle/John Prendergast
The Keep, Jennifer Egan
Talk, Talk, TC Boyle
Passage to India, EM Forrester
A Breath of Fresh Air, Amulya Malladi
Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
Sisters Keeper, Jodi Picoult
People's Act of Love, James Meek
Little Children, Tom Perrota
Look at Me, Jennifer Egan
Bastard of Istanbul, Elif Shafak
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling
Love Walked In, Marisa de los Santos
Monique & the Mango rains, Kris Halloway
A Hole in the Universe, Mary McGarry Morris
Accidental Tourist, Anne Tyler
Amateur Marriage, Anne Tyler
Digging to America, Anne Tyler
Something Borrowed, Emily Griffin
Blue Shoes & Happiness, Alexander McCall Smith
The Almost Moon, Alice Sebold
Missing Joseph, Elizabeth George
Playing for Ashes, Elizabeth George
A Place of Hiding, Elizabeth George
The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets,

Distant Land of My Father, The True Story of Hansel and Gretel, Suite Francaise

Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything and that means it's doubtful that anyone is reading, since no one noticed.

Some great books I've read lately and would highly recommend:
The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Lisa Murphy
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

I've had to pick up some books with lighter subject matter after all these stories of strife and struggle, but they are all amazingly told.

2006 List of Books

Books I read in 2006

I realized I don't have my list of 2006 books on here.
I tried to start a "staring" system of my recommendations but everything was ending up with 2 or 3 stars, so I only highlighted my highly recommended books.

Julie and Julia, Julie Powell
Hotel due Lac, Anita Brooker
The Space Between Us, Thrity Umrigar
Truth and Beauty, Ann Patchett
A Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
On Beauty, Zadie Smith
Snow, Orhan Pamuk
Rapture of Canaan, Sheri Reynolds
Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner
Dogs of Babel, Carolyn Parkhurst
The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien
Haunted, Chuck Palachiuk
The History of Love, Nicole Krause
Halfway House, Katherine Noel
The Sea, John Banville
Brokeback Mountain, Annie Proux
Vince & Joy, Lisa Jewell
Spot of Bother, Mark Haddon
Keys to the Kingdom, AJ Cronin
The Last Days of Dogtown, Anita Diamant
Alejento Blue, Monica Ali
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
Bloody Shame, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, Alexander McCall Smith
For the Sake of Elena, Elizabeth George
Lipstick Jungle, Candace Bushnell
The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards
Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs
In the Cut, Susanna Moore
The Girls Who Went Away, Ann Fessler

2005 List of Books

Full list of books I read in 2005:

Great Failure, Natalie Goldberg

All the Fishers Come Home to Roost, Rachel Brown

The Fourth Hand, John Irving

Blindness, Jose Saramgo

The Optimisist's Daughter, Eudora Welty

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey

Wild Mind, Natalie Goldberg

Mermaid Chair, Sue Monk Kidd

Devil in the White City, Erik Larsen

The Bee Season, Myla Goldberg

Matilda, Roald Dahl

Writer's Life, Ellen Gilchrist

Forever, Pete Hamill

What Was She Thinking, Zoe Heller

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, JK Rowling

A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby

The Drowning Tree, Carol Goldman

Diary of Anne Frank

The Jane Austen Book Club, Karen Joy Fowler

Crossing California, Adam Leger

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

Mr Maybe, Jane Green

Portuguese Irregular Verbs, Alexander McCall Smith

Stiff, Mary Roach

A Suitable Vengence, Elizabeth George

Sleep Toward Heaven, Amanda Eyre Ward

Emperor of Scent, Chandler Burr (AWFUL)

Blink, Malcolm Gladwell

How to Be Lost, Amanda Eyre Ward

The Ha-Ha, Dave King

The Reader, Bernard Schlink

Early Leaving, Judy Goldman

The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell

Rebecca, Daphne DuMaurier

The Mango Season, Amulya Malladi

I am Charlotte Simmons, Tom Wolffe

Inner Circle, TC Boyle

Favorite Books of 2005

Favorite books from 2005:

Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseni: I can't say enough about this book. It rips your heart open and touches you to the core. I read this on a plane and had to finish before we arrived because I knew I couldn't put it down.

Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon : A great story that is dramatic, mysterious and adventurous. For anyone who loves books, it is a great ride into the world of fiction.

Bee Season, Myla Goldberg: This book had been recommended to me many times and I finally had the opportunity to pick it up. Goldberg crafts an amazing story about the dysfunctional Naumann family -- Eliza's success in spelling bees, her brother Aaron's religious search and their mother's kleptomania. In the end, you get a peek inside each characters thoughts and fears.

The Ha-Ha, Dave King: The story of Howie, a Vietnam vet who can't speak, write or read and Ryan, the 9 year old son of an ex-girlfriend, who ends up in Howie's care when Ryan's mother goes into rehab. It's a touching and engrossing story, making you laugh and cry.

Sleep Toward Heaven and How to be Lost, Amanda Eyre Ward: Both of Ward's books suck you in and you don't want to put them down. Both center around 3 main characters and how their lives intersect. Ward focuses on the relationships between women and family and touches you deeply.

Inner Circle, TC Boyle: A fictional account of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey's work and world. A great example of Boyle's work, though Drop City is still my favorite.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach: Exactly what the title says, Mary Roach entertainingly follows the different routes human cadavers can take. It may seem surprising that this subject matter can be called "entertaining" but Roach provides color commentary that is laugh out loud funny.