Books of the Month: November 2008

Dear readers,

I bet you thought I forgot to update my blog. Right you are. Having only read five books in November, I have very little to report (*=library book). But here it goes:

The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan
I want my historical fiction to feel historical. Did Brahmin men in early 20th century India really tell one another to "Butt out, man"? Really interesting concept--a look at social change in India through the life of one woman--but it read more like a rough draft than a final, polished novel.

The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller
Fairly interesting fiction about two marriages, with some fine Steinbeck and/or biblical allusions toward the end. I didn't think it was great as I was reading it, but I found myself thinking about it for a few days afterwards. Always a good sign.

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
A re-read. This was the only English-language book I took with me during my semester abroad. I remembered loving it. It is brilliant, but it felt less amazing to me on my second reading years later. The context in which I first read this really shaped my memory of it, and that ended up interesting me more than the book itself.

The Story of a Marriage* by Andrew Sean Greer
I cannot in good faith recommend this book to Sarah Palin. (Thank goodness she's stopped asking me for reader's advisory services.) Anyone who balks so openly at "gotcha journalism" must certainly loathe "gotcha fiction." Which is what this felt like. It was a kinda neat story, but the author went too far out of his way to invent surprises. Also there were black people and gay people in the book, too. Palin wouldn't have liked those either, I'm guessing.

The Hour I first Believed* by Wally Lamb
A mammoth work. I fully admit to loving Wally Lamb in college. His previous two novels amazed me when I read them, which probably says a lot more about me as a college-aged reader than it dos about Lamb's writing. So it was something of a guilty pleasure to pick up his latest decade-in-the-making massive tome. It was rich and emotional, easy to read and to get absorbed into. At first. Then it sprawled out of control. The only things missing? The kitchen sink and a heavy-handed editor. And yet, I couldn't stop reading.

Books of the Month: October 2008

Dear Readers,
Another month, another bunch of books. Some awesome, some okay, some not so awesome.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri: Awesome
The Last Town on Earth* by Thomas Mullen: Not so awesome
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery: Awesome
A Brief History of Anxiety...Yours and Mine* by Patricia Pearson: Okay
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Marriage: Stories by Alice Munro: Okay
Small Island by Andrea Levy: Okay
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga: Awesome
Three Junes by Julia Glass: Awesome
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon: Not so awesome

Books of the Month: September 2008

Dear Readers,
I'll bet you've been sitting around for days, patiently waiting for me to post my September book list. I imagine both of you are giddy beyond belief that I've finally remembered to do so. I bet this post really makes your weekend (*=library book). So with no further ado:

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
A family epic that neither successfully jerked my tears or tugged my heart strings. Oprah really liked it.

No One Belongs Here More Than You* by Miranda July
Quirky film maker July's short story collection is not for the squeamish. A little bit sexy, a lot weird. But enjoyable.

Niagra Falls All Over Again by Elizabeth McCracken
I really enjoyed McCracken's first novel, Giant's House, about a small town librarian's love for the world's tallest boy. It was a quirky romance that worked. This--a portrait of two vaudeville comedians' partnership and friendship--I liked considerably less.

Interpreter of Maladies* by Jhumpa Lahiri
Lahiri is a master of the short story. I thought this collection was more resonant and polished than her novel The Namesake. Her themes of immigration, exile, and cultural crossings are written with precision, subtletly, and emotion.

Lush Life* (Audiobook) by Richard Price
For official statistical purposes, I don't count this book. I listened to it, rather than read it. A gritty New York crime novel, Price leads you through the seemy underbelly of New York City and into the pyschology of a broad set of interesting characters. A good pick for a long drive.

Plainsong by Kent Haruf
A simple and lovely story of rural life and forming new, unusual familial bonds.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
A surprisingly engaging read, with strong characters (including Frank Lloyd Wright), strong plot, and a lot to think about. Historical fiction done well.

How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard
Having read this, I no longer feel qualified to talk about it. So I won't.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
A quick and utterly charming book about reading and readers.

100 Books

Dear Readers,
I started reading a lot shortly after getting married last summer. I like to think it's because I was finally done with grad school, secured a mere 40 hour a week job, faced no daunting job hunt, and thus had a bounty of previously unknown leisure time on my hands. It didn't hurt that the television writers went on strike during the fall, that Jacob and I spent a long November weekend in a Kansas condo with no television, and no overhead lighting (just little reading lamps), and that it gets dark in Seattle at about 2 pm in the winter. Jacob worries the list I keep by my bed titled "Books I've read since getting married" is an indication that I'm an unhappy and bored wife. Not so, I'm happy and boring. And it just so happens that my wedding day is a nicer, more memorable, yet arbitrary (for reading list purposes) date in my life than just about anything.

And so it happened that yesterday, 1 year, 2 months, 28 days after getting married, I read my 100th book. That's 1 book every 4.56 days. It all started with the not-so-great Wedding in December by Anita Shreve. (Oddly enough, both my friend Johanna and I chose to take this book along on our honeymoons.) And The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett marked my 100th just yesterday afternoon. (This book is small and British, not unlike Johanna.)

Thanks to the handy export feature on Goodreads, I was able to draw up some bookish stats. 100 is an easy number to do stats with, by the way.

For your statistical pleasure:
Average number of books per month: 6.66 (devilish, no?)
Most bookish month: January 2008, with 13 titles
Least bookish month: July and September 2007, with only 2 books each
Modal number of books a month: 8 (March, July, August, and September 2008)
Average number of pages per book: 314.65
My average rating (on a scale of 1-5 stars): 3.51
Number of authors read: 78
Most read author: Ann Patchett (7 books)
Second most read author: Ian McEwan (4 books)

My darling husband promises to throw me a 100 book pizza bash, a la the 4th grade reading celebrations we used to enjoy at Pizza Hut. You in?

Books of the Month: August 2008

Dear Readers,
Inspired by Stoppard's 15 Minute Hamlet and Book-A-Minute, I offer you August's book reviews in 10 words or less. Notice any themes? (*= checked out from the library.)

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Prep school really sucks. Rich kids are snobs.

The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer
Iran in the early 1980s really sucks. Escaping is good.

Breath, Eyes, Memory* by Edwidge Danticat
Being a Haitian immigrant really sucks. Mothers and daughters disagree.

The Double Bind* by Chris Bohjalian
Being crazy and homeless sucks. The Great Gatsby is good!

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Evangelical Christians suck. Africa is exploited and misunderstood.

What Is the What by Dave Eggers
Civil War in Sudan sucks. Being a refugee really sucks.

Last Night at the Lobster* by Stewart O’Nan
The Red Lobster kinda sucks, but not really. Life? Hard.

How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets by Garth Stein
Having epilepsy sucks. Meeting your teen son doesn't always suck.

Books of the Month: July 2008

Dear Readers,
In late June I started a wondrous new job. Now I work at a library! I see books everyday and get to read them each morning and each evening on my long bus commute. The great library scientist Ranganathan once said, "Every book its reader." And as such, I now present my July book reviews to match each book with its proper bus rider reader. (* = checked out from the library.)

The World According to Garp by John Irving
This, Irving's fourth novel, is considered one of his best. I thought it was annoying, self-indulgent, and way too long. Recommended bus reader: the annoying gum-flapping, cell phone-yammering hootchie who, like Irving and Garp, just won't shut up. (Readers, if you've read this or other Irving novels, I'd like to hear your thoughts. I really wanted to like this book. I did, I really did. But it totally rubbed me the wrong way.)

The Maytrees by Annie Dillard
A sparse, poetic meditation on love, service, friendship, and forgiveness. Recommended for the quiet, pensive, and patient bus rider-reader.

The End of East by Jen Sookfong Lee
Recommended for Canadian bus riders or riders of Canadian buses. Set in Vancouver's Chinatown, this intergenerational family drama probably has a deeper impact on those familiar with one of the book's main characters, Vancouver itself. (As far as Asian-Canadian fiction goes, I hear Jade Peony is better.)

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Recommended for anyone who's ever ridden a bus and for anyone who hasn't. One of the best books I've read all year. And readers, I read a lot. This is smart, edgy, and timely and deserves to be read attentively, not on a bus. I'm not generally a re-reader, but this is one I see myself easily returning to sometime soon.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel *
An excellent bus read! Why? Pictures! This graphic novel is a coming of age and coming out memoir and an exploration of a tenuous father-daughter bond. The first half was stronger, the earlier narrative tighter and more compelling. Recommended bus reader: someone whose route has frequent stops and distractions; they don't matter quite as much in this work.

The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer
Recommended bus reader: the awkward, mismatched couple that's always nuzzling and smooching on the bus. Nobody can figure out what you see in each other or why you're together, canoodling so gratuitously on the bus. You'll appreciate the quirkiness of this love story. Be prepared to suspend your disbelief. Don't ask too many questions.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Recommended bus reader: high school kids on the yellow school bus. This is a perennially-assigned classic, one that I skimmed in high school and liked substantially more the second go-round.

Falling Man by Don DeLillo
Not recommended for anyone riding around on a New York City bus. DeLillo's portrayal of 9/11 and the aftermath in the lives of a New York City family is a bit too intense. The terse and choppy style matches the stop-and-go rhythm of confusion of an average city bus ride, so it is thus recommended for your average city bus rider.

Books of the Month: June 2008

Dear Readers,
Let me delight you with book review haiku for books I read in the month of June. I accept all blame for any syllabic miscounts. And by "book review," I really mean "book report."

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (John Le Carre)
Classic spy fiction
Driven by logic and twists
Berlin is so cold

Gilead (Marilynne Robinson)
Biblical old man
Writes long letter to young son
Full of pithy prose

The Gravedigger's Daughter (Joyce Carol Oates)
Woman runs from past
In epic family saga
Set in New York State

Mister Pip (Lloyd Jones)
White man teaches girl
To love Great Expectations
Even during war

The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
Murder and mayhem
At a New England college
What does "evil" mean?

Books of the Month: May 2008

Dear Readers,
The sun came out a few days in May and the thermometer even got above 60 now and then. Needless to say, I didn’t read as much this past month as I do during Seattle’s rainy season. But I managed to squeeze in some non-fiction and a couple of Man-Booker Prize winners. It’s not like I wasn’t reading, I just wasn’t reading as much (*= checked out from the library).

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life* (Barbara Kingsolver)
I admit it. I’ve never read Kingsolver’s fiction, but I’m planning to now. This is a wonderful book. Whereas Michael Pollan’s much-hyped Omnivore’s Dilemma has a very strong anti-hero (corn), Kingsolver’s work has several minor heroes (asparagus, heirloom tomatoes, homemade yogurt, family farmers, etc.). Both books encourage readers to think more critically about the food industry and become more ethical eaters. But Kingsolver’s message was a little easier to swallow and much more inspirational. And the asparagus and mushroom bread pudding recipe? Delightful!

The Remains of the Day* (Kazuo Ishiguro)
This was my second Ishiguro experience. The setting, characters, and theme were completely different than Never Let Me Go. But while reading this, it became quickly apparent that Ishiguro is the true master of the sad, slow reveal. He has an amazing, heartbreaking formula behind his writing. And I’ll never look at butlers the same way again.

Brother, I’m Dying (Edwidge Danticat)
For the second time in one month, I found myself reading a writer’s nonfiction without having previously read her fiction. After reading Mountains Beyond Mountains in March, I wanted to continue learning and thinking about Haiti. Danticat’s memoir–a story of her father and the uncle who helped raise her–is a powerful, political, and deeply-wrought emotional experience. A nice meditation on themes of immigration, exile, and family.

The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)
Why didn’t I read this book sooner? Complex characters and difficult themes, together with beautiful prose, make this a highly-compelling book. I was simultaneously drawn in and revulsed by the story of Indian twins Estha and Rahel, and their family struggles and secrets. Roy tackles a lot of hard issues regarding race, caste, family, love, and sexuality. I probably shouldn’t have read it on the bus; this book deserves a close, attentive reader.

What Now?* (Ann Patchett)
Having read all of Patchett’s other books (fiction and non), I was curious to read this piece. It’s an extended version of a graduation speech Patchett gave at her alma mater, Sarah Lawrence College. I’m glad I got it from the library rather than shelling out 15 bucks for this quick read. The text is padded out with random photos and the content, though lovely, is pretty standard college graduation speech material. Fun fact: the vice president’s mansion in Bel Canto (my favorite Patchett book and also my favorite book about opera and/or hostage situations) is modeled off of Sarah Lawrence College’s president’s home.

Bee Season (Myla Goldberg)
I didn’t realize that I was reading Bee Season during the real bee season until today. This started out as a freakishly charming portrait of a spelling bee champion and her family, but I felt the second half a little outlandish and out of place. Nevertheless, I’m reminded of my own spelling bee foibles. It was fourth grade. It was the final round. And in my excitement and haste, I spelled recipe with an S, thus losing the biggest contest of my young life to Tiffany W. Readers, what’s your spelling Achille’s heel?

Books of the Month: April 2008

Dear Readers,
It's the last day of the month. I've read just enough these past thirty days to qualify for a free personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut. Or I would if they still had that greasy incentive and if I were still nine years old. Although I've been on a book-buying binge for several months, it seems like I've really kept the library in business in April. Here's the list of what I've read (*= library book). They're all winners in their own way.

Love in the Time of Cholera

The film Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), directed by Mike Newell, is an accomplished and faithful screen adaptation of the modern classic, CliffNotes on Love in the Time of Cholera. This film brilliantly hits all the major plot points whilst successfully avoiding Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez's arrestingly beautiful language, complex themes, and challenging character development. Missing is Garcia Marquez's consideration of the multiple types of love -- filial, marital, or what have you. Instead, the film's viewer is exposed to only the obsessive and sexual variety of amour. Viewers needn't bother themselves with metaphor or struggle with complex characters and themes. I highly recommend this film to any high school student who must turn in a term paper or take a quiz on Gabriel Garcia Marquez's challenging work tomorrow. Indeed, high school boys will surely appreciate the abundant nipple shots placed at regular intervals throughout the film. To most anyone else, skip the movie. Read the book.

Library Economics Revealed

To follow up on my previous posts about the Friends of the Seattle Public Library book sale and Freakonomics, I'd like to offer you, dear readers, some inside tips on the seedy underbelly of library economics.

This morning's sale represents one of the very few times when the public library offers a fair deal on books to the local community. Books! All the books you want! Only one dollar (each)! It's a great deal, and it's unfortunate that the library has chosen to be hospitable and affordable only twice a year.

Normally, the library lures readers in with its vast array of fiction and non-fiction titles, not to mention magazines and newspapers. Patrons' eyes glaze over and they fail to read the fine print on the price tag. I have simply been taken in by this no-money-down deal one too many times. Sure, life is great with your new book during that first three week grace period. For houses and La-Z-Boy recliners, a no-money-down purchase is always and unambiguously the best. Not so with books.

Book Binge

Dear Readers,
I spent the morning with my friend Julia at the semi-annual Friends of the Seattle Public Library book sale. (If you missed out today, you can still go tomorrow. Failing that, mark your calendar for September 28-29, 2008.) I maniacally grabbed then lugged nearly two dozen books around the drafty hangar in Magnuson Park for hours. (How could I not, at just $1 each?)

My bookish behavior this morning made me think fondly of Seattle's own librarian-turned-action-figure, Nancy Pearl. Ms. Pearl is the author of Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason, More Book Lust and Book Crush: For Kids and Teens - Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Interest. This lady knows her books. And she wants you, dear readers, to know them too.

But why hasn't she penned Book Binge, the definitive guide to buying and hoarding books, many of which you may never even read? Or its sequel, Book Purge, a guide to weeding your home collection and making room for more books on your shelves? Are not these important reading skills, crucial to keeping the used book economy robust?

Perhaps Ms. Pearl is under contract for these very titles right now. If not, I think I may just write them myself. After this morning, I'm confident in my abilities in this area. Dear readers, do you want all my book binge secrets? Just send $9.95 plus shipping and handling to me and they can be all yours.

Freakonomics

Of all the interesting books I've read lately (and I've read a lot), Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (HarperCollins 2005) is one of the more fascinating.

I have both a retirement fund a savings account with more than $50 in them and I'm nearly 30. So I figured it was time to start caring about economics. In school, I always found economics to be a freakishly boring subject. Freakonomics is an excellent, intellectually gentle, thought-provoking, and feather-ruffling entrée into this unsexy social science.