The Wasteland

Maine - J. Courtney Sullivan

2012-01-21T16:23:00.000-08:00

If you give me a book about several generations of women in the same family that is a relatively easy read - one that you could see yourself taking out at the beach or on any relaxing vacation, then chances are that I'm going to like it. Maine definitely fits the description. Shockingly, it takes place in Maine, at Alice's summer home. After the passing of her husband, she is left alone, except for the sporadic company of her three children - none of which she seems to particularly like, and none of which particularly like her. A series of events bring her daughter Katherine, her granddaughter Maggie, and her daughter-in-law Ann Marie to the house at the same time. As the family history unfolds so do the various conflicts among the family members - but though they all share a passive-aggressive gene, none of them seem much committed to resolving any of the family drama, acknowledging their own wrong-doing in anything, or making a commitment to living a life free of negativity. Even Katherine, who takes her AA quite seriously is the biggest offender of starting arguments for no particular reason. In this way, I found the book annoying and almost unbelievable - clearly there are unplesant people in the world, but are there any truly this unpleasant? Maggie, the only one not trying to start a fight, and actually attempting to build relationships with her relatives, is a pathetic doormat in her relationship with boyfriend in a way that makes all her interactions with anyone just seem desperate and sad. Yet, despite not liking a single character in this book, the overall story still worked for me. At base, it's just another story about a dysfunctional family (kind of reminded me of Weird Sisters, though not as clever), but it was filled with some pretty good gossip and secrets, and definitely an entertaining read at the end of a long day.

The Paris Wife - Paula McIain

2012-01-21T16:12:00.000-08:00

When I studied literature in college, my least favorite writers were the American ones from the '20s and '30s, and that definitely included Ernest Hemingway. I thought the topic of many of the novels from this period were boring, and the writing just never grabbed me - even if I was told over and over that it was sophisticated in its simplicty. But, I also know that I love a good backstory - and once I've learned something about someone, I suddenly become a little more interested in reading something about them that I previously couldn't stand. This definitely happened for me with Henry James, after reading Colm Toibin's fictional biography, The Master. The Paris Wife is the story of Hadley Richardson, Hemingway's first wife, and their tumultuous relationship in Paris, among the Lost Generation of Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and many others. It is fundamentally a story of a woman in love with a man in love with his fame and art. This was a difficult read just in terms of watching a woman give up so much, constantly standing in the background and making sacrifices, and then made to feel as if she was hampering her husband's career or, at times, intentionally sabotaging it. Given what many people know about Hemingway's life going in to this read, you know the relationship will end in betrayal, and that Hemingway's own life ends tragically. His treatment of Hadley throughout the novel is a function of what seems to be a tendency toward depression, extreme self-doubt and loathing, alcoholism, and unaddressed mental illness. In short, he is not painted in the most flattering light. But, the book brings his relationship with Hadley to life, and introduced the reader to the life and obsessions that became the basis for his famous novels. As a novel on its own, I thought this was fantastic - and yes, on my last trip to the library, I did check out a copy of The Sun Also Rises.

By Nightfall - Michael Cunningham

2012-01-21T16:03:00.000-08:00

I have a hard time getting into Michael Cunningham's writing - while he can tell a good story, he often tells it in a disjunctive lyrical way that I find distracting. By Nightfall is a definite melding of the inner stream-of-conscience of one character alongside a straightforward narrative about a strange family and their wayward youngest brother. The story takes place in New York and focuses on the artistic married couple of Peter and Rebecca. While they are not exactly madly in love with each other after years of marriage, they seem to have figured out their rhythm. That is, until Rebecca's much younger brother Ethan turns up and drags up family history and unresolved feelings. The book is short, so when I found myself irritated with how self-absorbed and manipulative each of the characters is, I had the push to keep reading to at least find out how it ended. Cunningham has a wonderful way with words, and this book was a reminder that I need to read another one of his, Specimen Days, that has been sitting on my shelves for years. But, despite his popularity, I don't think he'll ever be an author that I love.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - Mindy Kaling

2012-01-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately for Mindy Kaling, her book came out the same year as Tina Fey's Bossypants, and since both of them are women writing for television sit-coms, it's inevitable that the two books will be compared - and perhaps people will only read one, and it'll be Tina Fey's because she is more famous and people love that Sarah Palin impression. But, if that's the case, it is too bad, because Kaling's book is hilarious and amazing in its own right. I just can't get over the fact that she is an Indian woman, brought up by parents who hoped she would become a doctor. She went to Dartmouth and studied like a good Indian girl. But, all that time, she just loved comedy, and she studied that too, and somehow - in an industry that doesn't just favor males, but favors white males, she managed to become a writer for one of the most popular television shows, The Office. Or, perhaps she became a writer for a show, and she made it one of the most popular on television. Whatever the case, she is amazing. I recommend Bossypants, but I recommend this one too. If you are only going to read one humor book written by a woman though, I pick Kaling. She's different and unexpected, and perhaps even without meaning to be, she is quite inspirational.

We the Animals - Justin Torres

2011-12-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

Jake found a recommendation for this book in one of his magazines - and since I'm always eager to encourage his reading, I picked it up for him, and then stole it back for myself. I'm always (perhaps overly?) impressed by anyone who was a Stegner Fellow, so Torres started out ahead in my book from the start. The book (which seems perhaps autobiographical?) is about three-brothers growing up with their Puerto Rican mother and white father in a chaotic abusive household. It is a coming-of-age story of the youngest brother - and told in a stream-of-consciouness lyrical narrative, with each chapter its own vignette in the life of the boys' development. The book is angry and uncomfortable, and while I'm not usually a fan of this type of disjointed piecemeal storytelling, I found this book quite powerful. At times, it seems the author is trying too hard to create a new style, or to be a bit too literary in his presentation, but ultimately, this book worked for me. Because I like stories, I did finish the book wanting to know more about each brother and wishing it had followed a more traditional narrative. This is a book that stayed with me - and is short enough that I could go back and find the parts I wanted to re-read for clarity and emphasis. Seemed like a bit of an experiment of a novel to me, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Nightwoods - Charles Frazier

2011-12-24T10:39:00.000-08:00

Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain, while an amazing story, was a little slow-moving for my taste. So, I've been hesitant since to read any of his other novels. But this one looked short, so I thought I'd check it out. Then my friend Courtney told me she found it a bit slow, and I got scared again. But, I'm glad I read it. The subject matter is difficult and reminiscent of one of my favorite novels (in a visceral - wow - now this is the power of literature - kind of favorite), Bastard Out of Carolina. The main character, Luce, is on her own in the mountains (sound familiar?), but has recently been joined by the non-speaking twins of her murdered sister. As Luce adjusts to life with little ones to care for - in particular little ones who are not in an emotional space to give back in any loving kind of way, the story of her isolation unfolds. There were chapters or pages I read where my only reaction was, "what the hell is the point of this? Will this EVER end?" and there were others I read where my reaction was "what the hell is the point of this? Who cares, this is some amazing storytelling!" The overall narrative is tension-filled, and I feared a violent climax. I wouldn't say I found the book "enjoyable" - the subject matter is too raw and brutal. But this is a GOOD book. The writing is rich, the storytelling is gripping, and the characters are real. I'm a new believer in the power of Charles Frazier, and plan to go back and read his second novel, Thirteen Moons.

The City of Ember - Jeanne DuPrau (Ember Series #1)

2011-12-24T10:22:00.000-08:00

I'm always on the look out for a good YA novel. Even better if it's part of a series. This one was recommended to me by my friend Sara, a middle-school teacher who is always keeping a look-out for what the kids are reading. The main characters is Lina, a 12-year old girl who is being raised by her aging grandmother. Right off the bat, a female protagonist appeals to me - and you know any good YA hero can't have any parents in the picture. Lina lives in a place called Ember - and it's clear from the beginning that something is going wrong. The electricity keeps going out, and no one seems to know how to fix it. Supplies seem low, with food running out every day. Doon, a classmate of Lina's speaks out about the problems - he is quickly labeled as a troublemaker, but intent on figuring out how to solve the town's electrical issues. It is then that Lina stumbles upon a very old set of instructions - she can only partially read it (her infant sister Poppy found and ate the instructions first). No one will believe what's she found, and she herself is labeled a troublemaker. But together, she and Doon are determined to figure out the message and save their city from ruin. It's a YA novel, so of course it was a fast read, and it's a bit simplistic in plot and dialogue. In this sense, I feel like while the characters are 12 year olds, this could be read by someone a couple years younger. I always like messages that need to be decoded, and of course the ubiquitous plot device of children outsmarting the adults. There are currently 4 books in this series (and I guess it's also been made into a movie - with Lina played by the girl who played the lead in The Lovely Bones). It's not as gripping as something like The Hunger Games, but I'm sure I'll finish out the series in the new year.

The Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides

2011-12-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

I really liked Jeffrey Eugenides's first two novels, The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex, so I was definitely eager to check out his third - which has received wonderful reviews. The novel follows several characters after their graduation from Eugenides's alma mater, Brown University. It centers around Madeleine, an intelligent, but co-dependent young woman, and her relationship with her bi-polar boyfriend Leonard. Completing the triangle is her sometimes friend, Mitchell, who is traveling the world to find himself and forget about her. The book flashes back to college, and forward to their current lives positing the relationships as love stories in comparison and contrast to the great marriage plot novels of the 19th Century. This book reminded me of all the fiction I've read by Jonathan Franzen - clever and well-written, but with extremely self-absorbed and annoying characters that define the term "first-world problems." Other than Leonard who seems to come from a troubled background and clearly suffers from a real mental illness, the other characters seem to suffer from general malaise brought about by their privilege and lack of imagination. Madeleine's belief that she can "save" Leonard is such a tired cliche that I kept expecting Eugenides to come up with some kind of twist on the narrative, but it never came. As a portrait of living life with someone with mental illness, I thought Eugenides probably portrayed everything quite acurately - the highs and lows, the selfishness, the drama, the fear - and this is something I found valuable to read in terms of the work that I do. But in terms of literature I want to identify with, with characters I actually care about, The Marriage Plot, like so many endings to Victorian novels, was a sad disappointment.

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

2011-12-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

I am always trying to figure out what type of fantasy/science-fiction book I like. I am not really into space or time-travel per se (though I like the Ender's Game series and The Time Traveller's Wife). I like fantasy creatures (like elves and dragons), but not necessarily books where they completely take the place of humans. I like quests, but don't necessarily like battles (not into the Orcs from Lord of the Rings). I loved this book. And I realized, I think I just like magic. I like books where things are magical and where characters perform magic. And that is the basis of The Night Circus. Two master magician types place a bet that they can develop a protege to beat the other's protege. They don't specifically identify the time, place, or rules of the competition, but one day a circus arrives in town. It's been specially created to exhibit the most amazing and fantastcial talents - and it's not a circus of illusion, but of actual magic. This book gave me the same feeling I had reading Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked this Way Comesi - the feeling of something unknown and wonderful coming to town. And within the circus there is love and competition and wonder and amazement, and it's all just so fun and inviting - like living in a Cirque de Soleil production. The problem with magic is that it doesn't have to have any boundaries. So, ultimately, the ending of any book like this is going to veer off into the simply impossible - and it's hard to criticize that becuase all along you've been suspending disbelief and agreeing to a world created out of the impossible. And so I just absolutely loved this book - all the way up until about the last 20 pages when it went a little too crazy for me - but I didn't really see any way to avoid the ending it had. It made me want to go out and get my tarot cards read in a dark room, by a strange woman in a costume, burning incense, and whispering enigmatic secretes. At Christmastime, when I still listen late at night for Santa's reindoor on my roof, it's nice to just let go and believe.

Reversal - Michael Connelly (Mickey Haller Series #3)

2011-12-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

As much as I try to read Michael Connelly's books in order, things keep getting in my way. Like my father-in-law lending me this book before I'd read The Brass Verdict, which is the second book in the series. But, I figure my memory is so poor, I'll never know if I'm missing something because I'm reading the series out of order, or if I just forgot it from a prior book anyway. In The Reversal, Connelly's #1 homicide detective, Harry Bosch, teams up with his half-brother criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. But this time, Haller has switched sides and become a special prosecutor. I have no idea if this actually happens in real life, but as a plot-device, it allows Haller to also team up with his ex-wife, who happens to be a District Attorneys. Basically, a notorious murderer has obtained a reversal of his conviction due to DNA evidence that seemingly exonerates him, and Haller is brought over to the dark side to re-prosecute. Convinced that the man is guilty, Haller re-investigates the case with his defense-minded eye. Bosch is his usually curmudgeonly self - ostensibyl part of the trial team, but going rogue on every possible occasion. I did like having the two characters brought together (which happens initially in The Brass Verdict - but I haven't read that one yet!!). A fun mystery and good vacation read.

The LItigators - John Grisham

2011-12-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

When I go on vacation, I always like to bring a Grisham book along. With his formulaic plots, I feel at home no matter where my travels take me. With The Litigators, however, I really felt like he'd not just recycled general plot structure, but actual plots themselves. He never tires of having the main character start out at a prestigious law firm where his billable hours are through the roof and he's treated absolutely horribly by some managing partner. In this one, the main character has had enough of it, and simply decides one day that instead of going to the office, he'll just go drink at a bar instead. Once he's ruined his chances of making partner, he stumbles drunk in a cab and ends up at the law offices of two ambulance chasers. He decides to join their ranks, and from that point you know he's about the hit the jackpot. At this point, Grisham also recycles one of his favorite plots lines - that of the big-time plaintiff's attorney (featured prominently in The King of Torts). You want the former firm guy to succeed, but you don't want him to succeed in the slimy way of these plaintiffs' attorneys who just collect clients to increase their share of the attorneys' fees but don't actually care about the people they represent. And so Grisham's main guy has to walk a fine line. And he does it pretty well. I did find myself pulling for him and his pro bono representation of an immigrant family whose son is on life support after chewing on a lead-filled toy from Mexico. At this point in his career, it does seem like Grisham is just phoning it in, piecing together his past characters and plots, But, I still need the same kind of mindless reading when I'm on vacation, so I think I'll keep getting his latest release.

Before You Know Kindness - Chris Bohjalian

2011-11-30T21:38:00.000-08:00

No matter how many Chris Bohjalian books I read, he always seems to have more. Like his most famous book, Midwives, this one concerns a single tragic incident (here the shooting of a father by his own daughter), and then builds a story around the question of intent (did the daughter shoot her father accidentally or did she knowingly pull the trigger?). The question is never definitively answered, but the way each character in the book decides to view the situation affects their interactions with everyone else, and crucial decisions they make about each other and their own futures. Unlike Midwives and some of Bohjalian's other novels (Trans-Sister Radio and Buffalo Soldier, for example), I didn't find this one as compelling. I found the behavior of the daughter - while perhaps realisitc - incredibly annoying as she attempts to hide crucial information about the night of the shooting. The father is also a vegan animal rights activist who is portrayed as a borderline psychotic because of his beliefs - which don't actually seem all that crazy. So much of what threatens to tear the family apart post-shooting seems focused on this group he belongs to. While I appreciate a story that points out the ills of working too hard at the expense of one's home life - I thought the negative treatment of vegetarianism and veganism in the book completely odd. Perhaps this is a result of living in a part of the country where non-meat-eaters are basically mainstream, but I just didn't see it as creating as much conflict in life as this man's choices seemed to. I feel like most of Bohjalian's books could serve as excellent springboards for discussions among high school students about the difference between right and wrong, and all the gray areas in between. This one is definitely no different, but certainly not as complex or riveting as others he has written.

Blue Nights - Joan Didion

2011-11-30T09:50:00.000-08:00

Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking, was written about the loss of her long-time husband. I thoroughly identified with the book (not in terms of losing a spouse, but in the grief that comes with losing someone very close). It is a book I feel everyone who has lost a loved one should read at some point - perhaps not right after a loss, but after some time has past and you wonder why the pain is still so real. In that book, the reader also learns that Didion also lost her daughter, Quintana Roo, to a sudden and mysterious illness. Blue Nights is the story of that loss, and of Didion's journey to motherhood. As a new mother who has anxiety about all the possible dangers of the world and of losing my own child, I was reluctant to read this. And as I write about it on my blog after not quite loving it, I think - how can I possibly critique a book about a mother's loss of her child - clearly it is powerful and raw and absolutely haunting. Didion is a beautiful writer, but her use of repetition throughout the book - while I'm sure symbolic of the fact that she goes over everything in her mind again and again and again - became tedious for me at points. It read at times more like a stream-of-consiousness poem than a book (and that's fine if that's what it was meant to be, but I think I wanted more of a memoir-like book). And I felt like there was a lot of name-dropping and near bragging of how much of a jet-setter lifestyle she and her husband lived with her daughter learning to order off room service menus before age of five. Perhaps in a time of the 99% and Occupy movements, I found it all a bit obnoxious. There are some great lines, however - it actually caused me to use the "highlight" feature on my Kindle for the first time. The one I read over and over was, "Once she was born I was never not afraid." So simple and clear, but wholly encapsulating of how I feel about motherhood - and then the subsequent need to live and allow your child to live despite that fear. And then, for Didion's greatest fear to be realized- to actually lose her daughter is truly heartbreaking. For me this book was more about what it made me reflect on in my life than it was about understanding Didion's loss - mostly I think I am in awe of Didion for using her writing to help cope with such substantial loss and being able to share that pain with the world.

State of Wonder - Ann Patchett

2011-11-30T09:38:00.000-08:00

Ann Patchett has written some pretty good books - I consider Bel Canto one of my favorites and I keep meaning to go back and re-read it, but I worry it won't be as good the second time around. But, she is one of those writers that I am excited about, and eager to read her latest as soon as it comes out. My mother-in-law let me borrow her hard-back copy, but it took me months to get to it. The premise of this one seemed a little odd to me. Marina Singh, a research scientist, is sent to the Amazon to track down the elusive Dr. Swenson who is working on a valuable new drug. Marina reluctantly goes down, hoping the trip will be a quick one (and we all know it won't be)...once found, Marina still has to take on the awesome task of convincing Dr. Swenson to tell her about the progress of the research, and plans for finalizing the drug for market. As always, Patchett's writing is immediately engaging and while I found some of the dialogue frustrating and Dr. Swenson in general infuriating (as does almost everyone else in the novel), I enjoyed the story which reminded me a great deal of Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible - not in terms of subject matter per se, but just in terms of the way the story was told. The ending came a bit to quick and required a great deal of suspension of disbelief, but overall a worthwhile read.

The Magician King - Lev Grossman

2011-11-30T08:59:00.001-08:00

The sequel to The Magicians read for me quite similarly to the first. I started out increadibly excited. Quentin and his crew are the kings and queens of Fillory - and all seems to be going well - until a strange interaction sends Quentin and Julia on a quest to the outer islands of their kingdom. Along the way we learn more about Julia and how she came to be the great magician that she is, despite having failed the entrance exam to Brakebills. I found the first thre-quarters of the book riveting and the excellent blend of Harry Potter and Narnia. But then I seemed to lose interest, and I couldn't quite bring myself to care that much about how it would all end. Part of it could just have been my mindset at the time I was reading the book, but I didn't feel as if Grossman carried everything through to the end, and I was left a bit disappointed.

Damned - Chuck Palahniuk

2011-11-30T08:56:00.000-08:00

Fool me once Mr. Palahniuk...but seriously, you've basically fooled me five times with your latest few. You have written some of my favorite books and short stories, and then, well, you just haven't. This book takes place in hell, narrated by a spoiled and annoying 11-year old who presumably died from a marijuana overdose. Along with a few other choice characters, she makes her way through the underworld to confront Satan, and perhaps find out why she has been sent to live out an eternity of banality. While there are some clever lines and ideas (I kind of liked the idea that the English Patient plays on repeat in hell), for the most part, the story itself seemed like an exercise in banality. Definitely could have done without this one.

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life - Karen Armstrong

2011-11-30T08:52:00.000-08:00

In my mediocre attempts at self-improvement this year, I have read quite a number of books about veganism and living a compassionate life with respect to animals. Of course, idea of compassion should also be extended to fellow human beings, as well as oneself. So, I thought perhaps this book would give me some goods ways to think about doing that on a more meaningful level. Like any good self-help guide, this book is broken down into twelve steps - some more difficult and time-consuming than others. The author doesn't intend the reader to simply skim through the steps and be done, but rather to take the time to master each step before moving on to the next. The steps include mindfulness, self-love, sympathetic joy, and concern for others. While I didn't always agree with the way that Armstrong suggested going about mastering these steps, or incorporating them into everyday life, I am completely on board with the idea that it's not enough to just want to be a good person, or to try sometimes to be a good person. But, that compassion is a purposeful act, and that it is worth working hard at. Of course, this book is frustrating in that it is a reminder that I have a long way to go to becoming a better person, but I like the idea of it and am trying my best to implement some of the ideas in it daily.

Every Last One - Anna Quindlen

2011-10-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

This book was a little too creepy for me to recommend. Mary Beth is the mother of three teenagers. Her precocious daughter is a senior in high school - a fabulous writer with her eye set firmly on the future. Her son Alex is a popular athlete, but his twin brother is reserved and on the verge of a clinical depression diagnosis. The family appears fairly normal, though when her daughter breaks up with a long-time boyfriend who seems a little too obsessed for his own good, you know things are going to get bad quickly. The dramatic act doesn't happen until about half-way through the book - and while I anticipated it, it seems too extreme. And then there were some strange elements thrown in but never fully explored - in particular a past affair by Mary Beth and the mental illness issues surrounding the mother of the former boyfriend. Perhaps like real life, it just seemed like there was too much going on - and nothing really fit together. Of course part of the point of the book is the seeming randomness of life, while still maintaining the illusion that everything is preventable and knowable, that in the most tragic of circumstnaces, when no one is at fault, we are still all a bit to blame. In general, I like Quindlen's writing - she is a good story-teller, and while her subject matter is often difficult, she's still an easy read. This one may have hit too close to home in terms of the work I do - made me overly critical. It did make me think -and was a reminder to me to appreciate my son and pay attention to him more closely. But, ultimatley, it was quite a downer and not exactly what I'm looking for in my books these days.

This Burns My Heart - Samuel Park

2011-10-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

This book was written by a friend from my freshmen dorm - I previously read and enjoyed his book Shakespeare's Sonnets, and I was eaget to read his new one set in Korea and based loosely on the life of his mother. The heroine of the novel, Soo-Ja Choi, is eager to move to Seoul and become a diplomat. But her family and tradition expect her to get married and have a family. In the hopes of tricking a man into making her dream come true, Soo-Ja marries the first option that comes along - a weak individual she is sure she can bend to her will. Instead, Soo-Ja finds herself at the mercy of cruel in-laws, and pining after the man she believes she should have married. Much of this book was painful to read. Soo-Jais trapped by decisions she makes as a very naive young woman - decisions made out of obligation and incomplete information, and they are decisions that end up affecting her entire family - financially and emotionally. But, throughout the story, I kept pulling for Soo-Ja, hoping that she would find a way to happiness - and finally change her fate, rather than simply enduring what she thinks life has thrust upon her. Of course, the fact that I know the author impacts my view of the novel - I loved it and am so impressed by Sam's writing and his courage in sharing it with the world. But, I think that my review would be the same even if I didn't know him. This Burns My Heart is filled with so many of the fears, anxieties, and hopes that I believe all women who long for independence hold in their hearts - and I am impressed that a male author was able to access those feelings so accurately. A definitely favorite for the year.

The Family Fang - Kevin Wilson

2011-10-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

As the result of a facebook post requesting book recommendations, my friend Lucy recommended this little gem. The Fangs are a family of performance artists - the parents setting up scenarios at local malls to see how the public reacts, all in the name of art. Kind of like an espisode of Punk'd or Candid Camera. The two Fang children, Buster and Annie are caught in the middle of it all - forced unwillingly by their parents to be characters in these strange and wacky plays. As adults, Annie and Buster have become artists of their own, but continue to rebel against their parents' way. When their parents try to pull-off their ultimate masterpiece, Buster and Annie are left to determine the meaning of their art, whether it has any value at all, and the price they have paid to be a part of this very strange family. Plot-wise, this was very different than anything I've read in a long time. It reminded me of something Chuck Palahniuk would have come up with - with everything so twisted and confused, it was sometimes difficult (for the reader and the characters) to figure out what was real and which way was up. The writing is clever and the dialogue witty. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, but I found it all very worthwhile. A definite thumbs-up for Wilson's performance.

Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse #10)

2011-10-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

I'm back on the Sookie Stackhouse series - I think after this one, there are only two left (though I assume she is still writing?)...it was nice to get back into the lives of literature's most famous telepath. Not much happens plot-wise in this book,but Sookie does learn that there is a dead body on her property, and she goes through her usual death-defying shenanigans to avoid being blamed for the murder and becoming a victim herself. Typical banal conversations - but some fun interactions between characters, in particular Sookie and her 5-year old cousin, himself a budding telepath.

Let's Take the Long Way Home - Gail Caldwell

2011-10-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

Dealing with loss is such a tricky business. But, I have found in the past that reading books about it from people wiser than I has given me perspective, and helped me better learn how to grive my lose, while still honoring the wonderful memories I have of the people I wish were still here. Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking is probably the best example of a book I think everyone who has lost a loved one should read (though of course it does not cover all manner of loss). Gail Caldwell's memoir deals with the loss of a best friend. It took me awhile to get into this book. I had trouble identifying with the friendship between Caldwell and fellow writer, Caroline Knapp. They bond over their relationships with their dogs - and I think this is where couldn't connect- I don't have a pet, and while I recognize the importance of this bond, I have never experienced it. But, it is central to the friendship between these two women. Mostly, I found the first two-thirds of this book boring and tedious, and of course given the weighty subject matter, I felt guilty for thinking that - but because I couldn't identify with the relationship, I think I had a difficult time connecting with the obvious loss. Once Caroline dies (and obviously, you know she's going to from the get-go), it was then that I started to see Caldwell more as a human being with understandable emotions - her pain was real and her ability to express her attempts to cope with the loss became seemingly tangible.

The Weird Sisters - Eleanor Brown

2011-10-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

This sort of book is right up my alley - it's a story about family with a pretty happy ending - three sisters (who don't actually seem that weird to me), each different in personality: there's Rosalind, the oldest responsible one; Bianca, the middle sophisticated one; and Cordelia, the youngest vagabond dreamer. Named after some of Shakespeare's most notable women, they strive to resemble and at times defy their namesakes. Their father is a Shakespearean scholar in a small town, and all the sisters flock home when their mother is diagnosed with cancer. They each have troubles of their own, but not quite ready to share them with each other. The book is narrated in the first person plural - as if written by the sisters as a collective whole. It annoyed me at first, but as I got used to it, I really settled into the storytelling, and I thought it worked well. I found the Shakespeare metaphors and lines a bit forced, but overall it did give the people personality, and made the book more than just another one about a dysfunctional family.

Twelve Angry Men - Reginald Rose

2011-10-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

This appears to be the first play I have reviewed for my blog...I don't often read plays because I find it difficult to keep all the characters straight, and I find that my interpretation of how to read the lines never makes the play as funny or poignant as the performance on the stage. That being said, being able to take the time to read and re-read lines and passages sometimes (often in the case of Shakespeare) makes me better understand what the characters are trying to do. Twelve Angry Men is not a complicated play at all, but the characters are referred to by their Juror numbers, not by their names, so I did have to pay particular attention to keep them straight. The basic plot of this famous story is that 12 jurors have just sat through the trial of a 16-year old boy accused of stabbing his own father to death. The boy faces a mandatory death sentence and the jurors are deliberating his fate. The initial vote is 11-1 in favor of a conviction, and the rest of the play features the lone hold-out positing reasonable doubt in various aspects of the trial - from the boy's alibi to the eyewitnesses to the uniqueness of the weapon. While frustrating at time - particularly given the lack of seriousness with which some of the jurors take their jobs (one guy just wants to get out to see the baseball game) - it is a fascinating play by play of the problems with our so-called justice system and with evidence and burdens of proof. I like this play for anyone who thinks criminal cases are cut-and-dry - or that a single person doesn't have the power to persuade many. I first read this play back in high school when I wrote a paper for my Civics class on the right to a jury trial. I don't think the possible death sentence ever played into my observations about the play. Now given the work that I do, the play has taken on more complex meaning for me, and it was definitely an interesting read - very impressive that so many ideas could be crammed into so few pages.

Home Game - Michael Lewis

2011-09-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

My husband is a fan of Michael Lewis's books, in particular Moneyball and The Blind Side, so when I saw that Lewis had a book about fatherhood, I figured it would be a good one for Jake to check out. I think I was right. As Jake read in bed next to me, he laughed out loud and even read me a couple passages (usually one of my annoying habits that I really appreciate seeing in others). He finished the book quickly, and mostly took away from it that Ferberizing is out of date, and that having more than one kid might require a little more thought. I then decided to read it for myself...and I didn't find it quite so amusing. Michael Lewis might be a brilliant writer and asutte investigative journalist type, but he is a class A doofus when it comes to raising his children. Of course, that's part of the point of the book - to get a laugh at his own expense and to heap credit on to his wife (former MTV news anchor, Tabitha Soren), but I don't find it endearing when fathers pretend then can't figure out how to dress their children or pack a lunch. But, despite Lewis's at-times seeming indifference to parenting, he did have some good insight on rolling with the punches (I especially liked the stories about his oldest daughter heaping contempt on his following the arrival of her younger sister), and his efforts to be with his kids even when the experiences weren't exactly fun (like camping overnight in Fairyland - which is just down the street from us). This book can be read in one sitting - and while it may infuriate the parents who are the ones keeping track of all the doctor's appointments and waking up multiple times in the night for feedings, I think it's a good book for those other parents - the ones who might not always feel like their kids necessarily need them, or like they might have missed the day when they were supposed to have developed a deep-seated bond with their child - it will help them realize that kids always need more people in their lives that just love them and appreciate them for who they are, and that your love for a child will come, maybe when you least expect it, but always when they need it most.

A Stolen Life - Jaycee Degard

2011-09-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

Going in, I knew this was going to be horrific - this is Jaycee Dugard's memoir of her life - kidnapped off the street while walking to school at age 11, and kept in a room as a sex-slave for 18 years. Everything about this book is truly unimaginable. Dugard tries to write the book as she lived her experiences, and then includes "Reflection" paragraphs where she looks back on everything from present day. Because she was taken while so young, and put through such traumatic events, the recollections are often piece-meal and incomplete. For anyone who has read "Room" - a fictionalized account based on similar events, much of this book seems old hat (which is grotesque in and of itself). I find it amazing that Dugard was able to write this book relatively soon after her escape, and to be so coherent and together. Despite that, I think I am interested in reading a book from a more neutral perspective (which obviously isn't the point of a memoir). Perhaps this book, plus a book about the wife of her captor, plus a book that discusses the lives of Jaycee's two children, raised until their teenage years in this limited environment. Of course, no one would want to put those children through any more than they've already been through, but there was still so much about the story that could not be told because it was solely from Dugard's perspective and knowledge. And, again, that's obviously not the point - not to get a complete picture of what happened, but to give a voice to the survivor. But, regardless, this book is haunting. It's one of those books I would never recommend reading because it is so truly terrible and shows the worst of the worst our world has to offer. At the same time, it is a story of incredible survival, strength, and courage and a necessary read to confront some of our greatest fears - it's amazing to me that Dugard is where she is today, and I hope writing this book has helped with her healing process.

City of Bones - Michael Connelly (City of Bones #8)

2011-09-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

I've read these books a bit out of order, so it's difficult for me to keep track of the underlying "Life of Detective Bosch" narrative - he always seems to be retiring from the force and coming back, and I definitely can't keep track of all his love interests. So, I'm basically just focused on the murder narrative at this point. City of Bones opens with a man walking his dog in the woods. The dog runs off and returns with a bone. A human bone. And so opens a cold case that has been on the books for decades. As usual, Bosch takes on a little too much - sleeps with someone he probably shouldn't, follows a lead without telling his partner, and in general manages to piss off all of his superiors. In all the books, he seems to take a wrong turn (not necessarily always his fault) that leads to the death of a semi-innocent character. But, in the end, he always gets his man. Not sure what Connelly's commentary on it all seems to be - by any means necessary? Or, a cautionary tale that sometimes things buried in the past were meant to be left there.

Shakespeare's Sonnets - Samuel Park

2011-09-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

A college dorm-mate of mine recently came out with a new novel...but before I started in on that one, I went back and discovered his first novel - Shakespeare's Sonnets. Set at Harvard in 1948, this is a love story between two men - one who denies his sexuality to conform to society, and the other who thumbs his nose at convention and embraces that which could get him expelled. The two meet in a class on Shakespeare, and together explore the Bard's professions of love in his sonnets. While many scholars opined that Shakespeare wrote the poems to a mysterious lady, one of the men controversially argues that Shakespeare's muse was actually a young man. The illicit nature of the romance had me holding my breath as I read the book - on the one hand afraid of what would happen if they were discovered, and on the other hand hoping that they would find happiness in the truth. I was incredibly surprised by the ending - it wasn't one that I think would have actually happened in real life, but it was the ending that I wanted. As an English major, I really enjoyed the exploration of the ideas behind Shakespeare's sonnets - and it made me want to do some independent research of my own to find out how much of the ideas in this book were based on fact vs. fiction. It's been awhile since I've read a book that I would characterize as "literature" - but this one fit the bill. I started it on a bus ride into work, and had to stop off in a park to keep reading. It made me late to the office, but I just found the love story so compelling that I needed to keep reading. I am excited for Sam's latest book, This Burns My Heart, which is set in the vastly different location of post-war South Korea, but is certain to be just as painfully beautiful.

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk

2011-09-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

I read this book months ago, but have been so delinquent in keeping track of things that I'm just getting to review it now...which means that I have nearly forgotten what it was all about. But, this collections reads like a demented Aesop's fables (which I loved as a kid). Each story features anthropomorphised animals taking on the traits of our most annoying humans. In typical Sedaris fashion, they are cynical and observant, wildly hilarious, and irritating. I can see reading each story here and there - while waiting in line for lunch or for the bus. They aren't particularly insightful, but if you like Sedaris, they will probably bring you a little chuckle.

Zen Attitude - Sujata Massey (Rei Shimura Series #2)

2011-09-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

I need to start doing these updates in a more timely fashion - I keep forgetting what these books are about!! But, this is the second in the Rei Shimura series...at this point, Rei has semi-established herself as a high-end antiques dealer in Toyko. When she is sent to find a tansu (cabinet) for a wealthy client, she finds herself swindled by a fake. The salesperson mysteriously dies, and Rei is once again simultaneously investigating a murder, and attempting to avoid her own demise. Her relationship with the Scotsman, hits a rocky patch and I'm hoping that it will be over and done with by the next installment, as I find their interactions annoying and childish. I continue, however, to enjoy Rei's immersion into Japanese society, and her attempts to navigate it as an outsider who looks and speaks like an insider. The descriptions and dialogue are sufficiently straight-forward to keep my sleep-deprived attention, but the story complex enough to remain interesting. I mostly love anything set in Japan, so this is a series I will definitely keep coming back to, even if probably couldn't stomach too many in a row.

Getting In: Bill Paul

2011-08-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

My mom shared this book with me many years ago, a couple years after I'd gone through the college admissions process. Through high school, I always viewed getting in to college as a very important game. I knew what "winning" meant to me, and I had a pretty good idea of what I needed to do to ensure I got the admissions letters I wanted. I strategized from the beginning of my freshmen year - I knew what classes I needed to take, what sports I wanted to play, and what other activities I would enjoy, but would also make the biggest impact on my application. Getting In follows four similarly driven high-school students who dream of going to Princeton. The author also interviews the Dean of Admissions at Princeton, Fred Hargadon, at length. I am fascinated by the admissions process, and the grueling hours the admissions officers put in to review and re-review applications. While I'm sure they sometimes make "mistakes," this book makes clear that they are meticulous in their duties, and that while certain types of people (legacies and athletes in particular) may receive preferential treatment in the process to some extent, it is most certainly a game - and you need to play your cards right to win.

The Closers - Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch #11)

2011-08-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I read a Harry Bosch novel...and I'm glad I took the break. I'm not sure if The Closers is the best one so far (though I did skip a couple given library availability), but I found myself tied to it more strongly than the previous novels in the series. Part of it is that my attention span isn't what it used to be - and this one was pretty easy to follow. Connelly didn't get carried away with too many false leads or crazy side stories. The beginning of this one finds Bosch back on the force after a short retirement. He's assigned to a cold-case unit with his old partner and they're given a case in which a DNA match has been made potentially solving the murder of a bi-racial high school girl. Of course, the match can't possibly be the killer - that would be too easy - but finding the match will possibly lead them to the right guy. But, not without complications and sinister police department involvement. As usual, Bosch is irreverant and can't quite bring himself to be a complete team player with his partner, but post-retirement, he did seem a bit more Zen, and a lot more likeable.

The Reading Promise - Alice Ozma

2011-08-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

Alice Ozma's school librarian father always read to her. She can't remember a time when he didn't. But, things do sometimes get in the way, and so there were, of course, nights when the were too tired to read. Or Alice was sick. Or they just got caught up in other things. But, when Alice is 8 or 9 years old, father and daughter made a promise to each other that they would read together every single night, without fail. And so The Streak began. As Alice grew older, her mother left the house. Her sister went off to college. Alice entered high school, where it wasn't exactly "cool" to read with your father every evening. But, still The Streak continued. I like the concept of this memoir - Alice's recollection of how things were with her father, and the important of reading out loud, even after she was clearly old enough to read to herself. But there is much in this book that goes without explanation. Her mother moves out, and there is a hint that mental illness played a role, but there is no real exploration of how that impacted Alice's upbringing. Her father seems to have some odd intimacy issues, and despite being a clearly devoted father, can't quite seem to hold real conversations with his youngest child. While this is hinted at - in particular in a chapter in which her father reads Dicey's Song to her, again, there's no explanation of how this truly affected the relationship. It's as if there is so much distance and discomfort between the two - but that it is erased for those minutes and hours during the day when they're reading together. I'm not sure if I feel like that is a wonderful thing, or a charade. Eventually, of course, The Streak has to end, but it is amazing in its endurance - and Alice and her father do have an amazing relationship that made me both laugh and cry. There were times when the book definitely got off course, and Alice spoke more about her own thoughts and self than about the books themselves. I get that it's not really about the books, but I still would have liked a little more reflection about why they chose the books they did and what they meant to her at the time. Despite my reservations about the actual book itself, I did still find it inspiring, and have made a committment to read every day to my son - something that I hope will turn into a tradition of our own and hopefully help him develop a love of books himself.

The Widow Clicquot - Tilar Mazzeo

2011-08-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

My favorite cocktail is a kir royale. I can't say I'm sophisticated enough to have a preference in the champagne or sparkling wine that is used to make it - but I know that there is something special about that bottle in the simple orange box. I also don't much care for stories about how any type of alcohol is made. It's kind of why I'm not hugely impressed by tours of wineries (unless the buildings are architecturally interesting or the vineyards are particularly beautiful). My enjoyment comes from the drinking of the drink itself, not really knowing where it's from. But, for some reason, I thought a book about the widow who cultivated the Veuve Clicquot empire might be interesting. It wasn't really, except for the general story about a woman growing up in the shadow of the French Revolution becoming a rich and powerful businesswoman. An accomplishment almost unheard of today (well obviously the French Revolution part), but even more rare centuries ago. The book is a good balance between the life of the widow, Barbe-Nicole, and the making of the champagne that made her famous. It's clear the book was meticulously research, but as might be expected, this can make for dry reading. The author attempts to add suspense to the story by ending each chapter with a foreshadowing cliffhanger - along the lines of "but that wouldn't be the last time Barbe-Nicole found herself on the bring of financial failure." I kept hearing an overly dramatic voice-over in my head and the whole thing came across a little cheesy. But, clearly, she was an amazing woman, and even though a bottle of her bubbly will run me quite a bit more than Prosecco, knowing her background and being the feminist that I am, I think this probably will encourage me to continue to support the on-going success of her empire.

A Widow's Story - Joyce Carol Oates

2011-07-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Last week my aunt lost her husband. I attended the funeral, and as funerals always do, it made me think about my own life, but more importantly about what the lives of those around me mean. What would I do if I lost my husband? How would I feel? How would I move on? My uncle had been sick for awhile - but does that really matter? Does having the chance to say good-bye truly mean that the processing and coping with grief will be any easier than if someone is taken away suddenly and without warning? Joyce Carol Oates explores all these ideas, and more, in her extremely personal memoir, A Widow's Story, in which her 77-year old husband and partner for over 30 years dies unexpectedly from complications stemming from pneumonia. Though her husband was relatively old, and though she took him to the hospital, Oates is blindsided by his death. Though a woman with devoted and supportive friends, incredible intelligence, and an outlet through her writing - Oates finds herself completely undone and lost in her new world and new position as a widow. Oates recalls the events of her husband's death and the years that follow with honesty - while also looking back with some perspective on what she now believes she was going through. I was particularly taken, and impressed, with her vivid discussion of her thoughts on suicide, and saddened by her constant feelings that she no longer deserved to be alive, and that with her husband gone, she was nothing but garbarge that needed to be taken out and thrown away. Of course, given Oates's famous writer status, and the subject of the book, there is much to compare to Joan Didion's Year of Magical Thinking, and Oates references the book without name several times. But, Oates's book stands on its own as a testament to the love she had for her husband and the incredible impact people can make on our lives. At the end of the book (it might be the last line), she says something like, the best a widow can say on the one-year anniversary of her husband's death is that she is still living - meaning, of course, that dealing with grief is a tough business. People want us to "get over it" or to preoocupy ourselves with other tasks, and certainly not to show emotion that would make others uncomfortable. In the end, while we all need support, we also need to continue to live in our own way and on our own terms. I hope writing this book helped Oates understand her loss, and served as a way to keep her incredible memories of her husband alive. For herself and others.

Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me - Chelsea Handler & Friends

2011-07-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

When I found out that this book wasn't actually written by Chelsea Handler, but by her friends and family, I was a bit disappointed. I figured it wouldn't be that funny, and would instead be filled with annoying sycophantic anecdotes. Well, I was right with respect to the anecdotes, but the stories were actually pretty funny (at times). As with all of Handler-related comedy, it sometimes crosses the line into extremely inappropriate, gross, or quite simply, annoying. But, this book was a great view into Handler's life - and the incredible generosity she has toward her friends and family, even if it comes with a huge price tag of needing to be constantly on your toes ready for yet another practical joke. I would think having a friend like this in your life would become tiresome quickly, but it also sounds like she regularly takes her friends on all expense paid trips to Cabo, so I suppose that might be worth putting up with all the shenanigans.

You'll Never Blue Ball in This Town Again - Heather McDonald

2011-07-20T19:45:00.001-07:00

Leave it to Loana to lend me a book with such an inappropriate title. And leave it to me in my sleep-deprived state to think it was a good idea to bring such a book on an airplane. I wanted something quick and funny to read. Written by one of Chelsea Handler's TV-show writers, I figured this would be just the thing. And content-wise, it was. I just had to keep hiding the cover from everyone around me, and hope no one asked what I was reading. The basis premise of this book is that the author waited until she was 27 years old to lose her virginity. So, she spends chapter after chapter talking about her various boyfriends and hook-ups and the effects of telling the guy you're dating that you're still a virgin after all these years. I found the author a bit self-absorbed (though I say that about most people who write memoirs). She described herself a few too many times as "cute" and "attractive" and loved going on and on about her time in her sorority. Of course, she poked fun at herself while making such comments, but it's clear that this woman thinks she is pretty darn special. It wasn't until the end of the book that I read a laugh-out-loud funny line, but I still found the book enjoyable - a good way to pass the time in the Denver airport as I waited for my very delayed flight.

The Salaryman's Wife - Sujata Massey (Rei Shimura Series #1)

2011-07-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

After finishing the John Rain series, I was eager to find another murder-mystery series featuring a Japanese-American. Rei Shimura, a 27-year-old female English teacher in Tokyo isn't quite the assasin that John Rain is, but she's doing pretty well for herself. A kind of Miss Marple, Shimura has no training in solving crimes, but while on vacation in the Japanese countryside, she stumbles across a dead body in the snow, and finds herself immediately immersed in the mystery. The book itself is fairly straight-forward and simply written, but for the ride to and from work, it held my attention. I enjoyed the descriptions of Tokyo and life in Japan, including the delicious fods and seemingly odd customs. With 10 books already in the series, I'm excited to have found a new heroine to keep up with.

Cinderella Ate My Daughter - Peggy Orenstein

2011-07-18T10:17:00.001-07:00

After reading Orenstein's riveting views on women in the workplace, I wondered after Waiting for Daisy, how she would go about raising her own daughter. This book sort-of answers the question. In Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Orenstein explores the "princess" phenomenon - the concept that no matter how hard a parent may fight against it, their 3-year old child simply must have the latest Disney princess doll - and all the pink costumes it comes with. Orenstein challenges herself to overcome her own sterotypes about what it must mean to allow her daughter to dress in a tutu and play with Barbies. She looks at the marketing, and she explores nature vs. nuture arguments. In the end, she doesn't come up with many answers, just more questions about whether we, as parents, are doing more harm than good when we try to get girls to play with trucks and boys to bottle-feed their stuffed animals. But, since this is a subject area that I am fascinated with, I found the book quite enjoyable, and found myself repeating anecdotes to my husband and mother. Where our gendered identity comes from - and how we learn to feel comfortable in our own skin - is a question that is answered differently for each one of us. My hope is that by reading books like this one, and discussing them with our friends and partners, that we will raise children who feel unconstrained by streotype, and free to express themselves in the way they find best - and in a world that doesn't judge or ridicule them for doing so.

The Miserable Mill - Lemony Snicket (Series of Unfortunate Events #4)

2011-07-09T08:34:00.000-07:00

I decided to read these out of order when I couldn't find #3 immediately on the shelf at the library...amazingly, I got the gist of what was going on...the Baudelaire children once again found themselves in a dire situation with their evil Uncle Olaf attempting to steal their family fortune. This time, they are sent to live at what at first purports to be a home for children. But, in actuality it's not a place for children at all, but a mill where they are immediately put to work. Shortly after, Klaus experiences some strange behavioral changes, and the girls suspect he has fallen under Olaf's hypnotic spell. While I do like these little kids, they have already become quite predictable, and I don't think I'll pick up another one any time soon. Again, I'm sure this "negative" (as perceived by a 34 year old reader) is because these books are meant for 8-10 year olds (that's my guess at the appropriate age) and knowing what characters will say and do at that age can be a bit comforting. Especially when wrapped in the package of such sinister strangeness.

The Sweet Life in Paris - David Lebovitz

2011-07-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

Books written by former Chez Panisse chefs are ubiquitous. And while part of me finds this annoying, the other part of me keeps reading them. In my recent quest for new recipes, and my sadness that I haven't lately been able to travel much, David Lebovitz's book seemed exactly what I needed. A pastry chef, Lebovitz (like so many others) traveled to France and fell in love with Paris. But, instead of pining away from afar, he actually packed up all his belongings and moved there. The Sweet Life in Paris is an account of his new life - all the tricks he learns about settling in among the natives, and the favorite recipes that keep him sane while doing so. Levovitz's observations are ones I've often read before in other memoirs about the American life in Paris - most notably (for me) the idea that the French are appearance obsessed and particular about dressing up and looking their best always - even to take out the trash in their own apartment building. This, among other reasons, is why I could never live in France. But, I did appreciate Lebovitz's observations about French women and their love of chocolate, as well as how not to offend the French when you only speak English. He is quite funny and doesn't take himself too seriously - though he clearly places a great deal of importance on fine cooking and dining. Each of his chapters includes several recipes that go with the story he's telling - few of which actually consist of French food. I tried out a couple recipes that turned out really well - and were not at all difficult to make for an amateur cook like myself. I loved the tomato-bread salad and chicken tangine with apricots. I also made a very easy recipe for chocolate yogurt snack cakes, which turned out a bit dry, but were quite tasty with some vanilla ice cream and strawberries. I do like Paris, but what I really love is this encouragement to savor friends, food, and life. I will remember this lesson every time I return to one of Lebovitz's recipes.

The Happiest Mom - Meagan Francis

2011-06-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

I hate martyrs. So, a book attemptin to convince mothers (and all parents) to stop being martyrs is right up my alley. Francis's thesis is that motherhood has swung from something we were all supposed to pretend was the most fulfilling thing in the world (resulting in The Yellow Wallpaper) to something now that everyone complains on blogs about as contributing to their need to imbibe multiple glasses of wine each evening. Francis believes there has to be something in the middle - a place where we love and cherish our children, but where we also have time to go to the movies with our friends, read, and do everything we did in our pre-children lives. She encourages mothers to put their own needs first, and to cut back on overscheduling their children - because often less really is more. I have no idea what Francis's background is - other than the fact that she is a parent - so she doesn't offer any kind of deep psychological analysis or purport to be an expert on anything - but she does have some great ideas. Mostly, this book serves as a good reminder that even though children change our lives, they don't necessarily have to ruin them - and those who choose to see the world that way have no one to blame but themselves.

Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat - Naomi Moriyama

2011-06-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

In the past couple months, my husband, mother, and I have vowed to start eating better. To that end, we've tried to cut down on meat - and explored many vegetarian and vegan options. This new world has also awakened in me my desire to cook more often. I've looked high and low for inspiration, and while browsing the cook books at the library, I came across this book. I don't particularly like the title, but it appeared to be about a Japanese woman in America who returned to Japan to learn to cook from her mother - in the hopes of regaining her health. The book is about the Japanese love of food - but their ability to enjoy the best and freshest ingredients, appease their hunger, remain thin, and live long and happy lives. Moriyama was a bit repetitive in her writing - using the same phrases and anecdotes multiple times throughout the book, but I did appreciate her inclusion of various recipes that can be made fairly easily. One night, she inspired me to cook spicy beans and tofu, along with a ground beef and egg recipe. Both were delicious, and gave me something new and relatively healthy to serve my family. While there was nothing earth-shattering in this book, it was a good reminder that to enjoy food doesn't necessarily mean to be a glutton, and that everything in moderation is a good thing to remember.

Bossypants - Tina Fey

2011-06-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on updating this blog that I've nearly forgotten what the last few books I've read are about - but perhaps this will be a good test, and we'll see just how memorable the books actually were...I think Tina Fey is quite funny - I enjoyed her on SNL and I regularly watch her on 30 Rock. But, I do find her jokes a bit hit or miss - I'm either rewinding and laughing over and over, or I'm shaking my head because I just don't get it (I suppose fans of her would say that I'm probably not intellectually savvy enough to understand all the nuances of her humor). Whatever the case, I felt about her book the same way I feel about her television - there were chapters here I found hilarious, and others made me think that she needed a better editor. All in all, Bossypants is a book I've recommended to a number of people as good plane reading. But, I will say there is a good deal of politics in this book - and Fey isn't just trying to be funny in it - she is sending a message about the power of women - how they are viewed in the entertainment/comedy world, and how they should be viewed. She has some great things to say about parenthood too. Mostly, this book reinforced the respect I have for her - for being such a fabulous success (not just "for a woman") and for still coming across as real. Funny and thought-provoking - just what you'd expect from a good clean liberal.

Three Cups of Deceit - John Krakauer

2011-05-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

As I've gushed previously on this blog, I have been enamored and inspired by Greg Mortenson and his work starting schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His two books made me think about life in a different way - and strive for the idea of volunteer work as a whole way of life rather than something that is just done on the side. While I clearly knew that he wrote the books himself, the nature of his work just seemed so pure. Well, in this book, John Krakauer blows the lid right off the idea of Mortenson as selfless humanitarian. Three Cups of Deceit is a picking apart of Mortenson's book and an exposure of the lies and exaggerations contained within. So many of the stories seem as if they were created out of whole cloth and they undermind completely the work Mortenson claims to have done in the area. Krakauer talks about the ghost schools that have been built but unhoused by teachers and students. He questions where all the large donations have gone. Krakauer normally crafts his in-depth investigations into books that are compelling and almost suspenseful in their telling. This one, on the other hand, picks apart passage after passage of Mortenson's book, seemingly in an attempt to thoroughly embarrass Mortenson. For anyone who was inspired by Mortenson's books to go out and do great works of their own, I wouldn't recommend this book - it's too cynical and negative. But, for anyone thinking of donating their own money to Mortenson's organization, I would definitely suggest reading this so you truly understand where your money is going.

Where You Once Belonged - Kent Haruf

2011-05-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

Kent Haruf always managed to tell a great big story in a short succinct way. This one is a take on the old saying - you can't go home again. Jack Burdette was a small town football hero who fled under suspicious circumstances. His return brings back old memories and unearths long simmering animosity. Told by a narrator who stayed behind and married Burdette's ex-wife, this is a story about redemption and revenge. While I didn't find the actual end particularly satisfying, the characters and storytelling are typical Haruf fantastic.

The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snickett (Series of Unfortunate Events #1)

2011-05-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

Reading this series of 13 books is just my attempt to get to my 75 book goal for the year as quickly as possible...perhaps I need to have a rule about what kind of books actually count toward my goal. After all, I did read Goodnight Moon to my son five times yesterday...But, I do think that childrens' literature counts, if the books are in chapter form. So here I go with Lemony Snickett's tales about the three Baudelaire children who lost their parents in a fire. Finding themselves orphaned, they are shipped off to Count Olaf, an unknown relative, whose only desire is to somehow cheat the children out of their inherited fortune. These books are filled with the dark and negative, and Snickett gives fair warning. Though they don't inspire smiles and laughter (except of the cynical kind), I think I would have loved these books when I was a child. Looking forward to more mishaps in the adventures of these unfortunate children.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - Amy Chu

2011-05-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

This book has received so much press, of course I had to read it. Amy Chua is presented in the media as a somewhat abusive and overly driven mother. While the examples she gives for how she raised her children (not allowing sleepovers for one) seem harsh, there are some fundamental principles in her "Chinese" parenting techniques that I was raised with, and that I definitely agree with. This book, however, was very difficult to read. While Chua seems to have some reflection on what her parenting did to her two daughters, she seems to revel in the meanness of it all. While I applaud the general notion that parents are there to push their children and set boundaries, not to be their best friends, she seems entirely deaf to her childrens' wishes and their need to have friends of their own and to be happy. Chua has definitely sacrificed for her children - spending hours upon hours standing over them while they practice the piano and violin and driving them to all kinds of auditions. But, I fear that all that sacrifice has only served to make them all truly miserable. Chua's oldest daughter was just admitted to Harvard. While many see this as a ringing endorsement that her methods "work," I'm still not sure that achieving this type of "success" is really for every one. People joke about Tiger Moms now, but I do think they have a lot to teach other parents - who these days seem overly indulgent with children who take advantage of them, or are too lazy to ever truly work for anything. At the same time, I think Chua could take a lesson or two from the Western parents she criticizes, and listen to her children instead of always thinking she knows what is best. This book sparked a lot of positive discussion in my home about how I hope to raise my son, and I think there is great value in this book if you look beyond the crazy and get to the heart of the Tiger Mom's philosophy.

Getting to Happy - Terry McMillan

2011-05-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

Getting to Happy is McMillan's perhaps long-awaited sequel to her bestselling novel Waiting to Exhale. I read the first book back in college and really enjoyed the story of four African-American women trying to make it in the world leaning on each other through the hard times. While it was a fast beach-type read, I thought it said a lot about the value and power of female friendships. Getting to Happy, however, is a lot more fluff, and not too much insight. The four women are back, and while it could be my slee-deprivation, I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters. They each have an ex-husband or boyfriend, a child or two, and several random friends. For me, it was sa bit distracting. I did appreciate the idea that each woman went on to have her own separate life, but that the foud remainder true friends. Yet, every time the four of them came together in a scene, the dialogue was irritating, and they didn't ever really seem to actually like each other. McMillan has some strong novels, including my favorite from her, Disappearing Acts, but this one seems to hope to rely on the success of Waiting to Exhale, and left me a long way from happy.

The Magicians - Lev Grossman

2011-03-31T15:40:00.000-07:00

This is another wonderful book given to me by my friend Eleanor. It's one of those books that sat on my shelf for a few months and when I finally read it, I was just amazed that this gem had been there for so long without my understanding of what a great story it contained. The Magicians is part-Harry Potter and part-Narnia. I've also heard it referred to as part Brett Easton Ellis, which sounds about right. It's the story of a misfit who suddenly finds himself at a secret school learning magic. The kids around him are misfits - often depressed and self-harming individuals. Quentin, the main character is also obsessed with a science-fiction fantasy from his childhood that told the story of a made-up world, that perhaps wasn't as made up as he thought it might be. Subject matter wise, this book seems like it is for the Harry Potter age-group, but the language is strong, the alcohol flows freely, and the kids are a little too disillusioned with the world for me to recommend this to any kid younger than 16. The kids take such liberties with the imbibing that part of me wondered whether the entire book was supposed to just be Quentin's fantasy world concocted in a drunked stupor. I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book which takes place at the school of magic - I found the characters ineresting and I was interested in where everything was headed. The final third, however, went a little overboard in the science-fiction realm, and I found it difficult to follow - not because it was particularly confusing, but just because I don't like it when things get too magic and warlocks. Despite being semi-depressed reading about these kids who felt their lives were so boring that they had to get wasted each night, this was a book that made me happy to be reading - and just a reminder of why I keep turning the pages day after day.

The Unbearable Lighness of Scones - Alexander McCall Smith (44 Scotland Street #5)

2011-03-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

I always compare this series to Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. I read in the prologue to this book that Smith actually consulted with Maupin before he began this series -which originally appeared as a serial in a local publication. So, that explains that - and makes me feel like I'm not so crazy in having sensed the similarities. The Scottish melodrama continues in this one, and with each passing book, I realize that my main interest in this series is 6-year old Bertie and his exasperating relationship with this controlling mother. I've grown a bt tired of self-centered Bruce and the couple older characters...but this may be a function of the fact that I need to space the books out and read them at the pace they were intended to be read.

The Mind's Eye - Oliver Sacks

2011-03-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

I am fascinated by neurological disorders - and the idea that because they are often so difficult to diagnose, people often think other things are going on, like failing eyesight or general insanity. Alas, I am not a very scientificly minded person (brain disorder, I guess), so I really appreciate the accessible way that Sacks writes his books - with colorful characters and interesting anecdotes. The Mind's Eye presents individuals who have suffered the loss of one of their senses - from the seemingly straightforward loss of sight to the strange loss of the ability to read (while maintaining the ability to write) and the sense of three dimensional space. Sacks spends a good portion of the book writing about his own struggle with the inability to recognize faces. This I found incredible, and gave a whole new understanding to people who consider themselves "bad with faces" and provides an excuse for that person you've met 10 times but still doesn't seem to recognize you when you run into them on the street. As with his other books, the mind's ability to adapt and compensate for loss is explored. This book also raises the fear in me that one of these incomprehensible afflictions could strike me at any time...but also gives me hope that there are brilliant minds like Dr. Sacks out there studying the brain and hopefully finding solutions to these crazy problems.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much - Allison Hoover Bartlett

2011-03-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

The synopsis for this book reminded me of Edward Dolnick's books about art theft. Though this time, with books as the object of desire, I figured it was even more up my alley. This book focuses on John Gilkey, a man obsessed with books - not necessarily for their stories, but for their value. He fancies himself a sort of aristocrat who deserves the life and respect he believes comes with owning rare first editions and other highly sought after collectors items. He makes his way through book shows and used bookstores swindling owners left and right. The author meets with him in prison in an effort to understand why he steals. In addition she meets with the man who hunted Gilkey down, as well as various booksellers to understand the world of bookselling, and to uncover how such a wide-spread deception could occur. While the fundamental premise of this book is fascinating to me - unfortunately, I did not feel completely satisfied with the execution. I thought that the author touched on the psychological problems Gilkey suffered from and made an effort to speak to his family hoping to uncover more. In the end, however, I thought the book posed more questions than answers. This did, however, open my eyes to an entirely new world with respect to book loving. I don't really understand the value in old books - I just like them for their stories - though I do appreciate some good cover art. I'm not a collector of objects, so paying large sums for books that will never actually be touched or read is foreign to me. I thought the author explored this well - why Gilkey would become enamored with such a world, and how the various players in this world interact. I think so much more could have been done with the book, but it is an interesting story about a very strange character.

City of Thieves - David Benioff

2011-03-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

I normally like to write my blog posts within a day or two of finishing a book, so I can be really true to how I felt upon finishing- instead of after having too much time to reflect on it - though sometimes that reflection is a marker of how "good" I thought a book was. Unfortunately, my schedule lately had preventing me from keeping up to date on my posts...so hopefully I'll be able to report reletively honestly about what I've been reading. City of Thieves was given to my by my friend Eleanor - and it was a perfect book to read with a newborn in the house - not because of the subject matter, but because of the ease with which the book is written. I thought perhaps this was Young Adult novel (and maybe it is), but it's a bit graphic in its discussion of violence and sex. The book is set during the German siege of Leningrad during WWII. The story is narrated by Lev, a young Jew who is imprisoned for looting a dead German paratrooper. While locked up, he meets Kolya, a charismatic soldier imprisoned for desertion. The two of them are promised their freedom and ration cards if they can somehow locate a dozen eggs to bake a cake for the wedding of a colonel's daughter. The impossible quest takes the two men through Leningrad and the countryside, as the encounter the best and worst of humanity brought out by the war. The story is filled with hilarious moments - as a reader I almost felt guilty laughing given the setting of the book. It reminded me of the movie Life is Beautiful in this way - a mix between gallows humor and trying to make the best of a truly bad situation. A real gem in the midst of tremendous tragedy.

Slam - Nick Hornby

2011-03-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

I always read Nick Hornby's books - even when they are about soccer, which I have little to no interest in. I bought this one for Jake when it first came out - excited that not only was it a Nick Hornby book, but that it was also a Young Adult book. Two great favorites together! I had only a vague idea of what the book was about - a teenage kid who is in to skating (a.k.a. skateboarding!). And boy, was I in for a surprise. Sure, this kid loves skaring - and has a very weird relationship with his poster of Tony Hawk. But, this book is mostly about the boy's intense relationship with his girlfriend and the worst mistake he could make as a 16 year old. Given the subject matter of the book, I can't say that I found it "enjoyable" - and the cynical humor that is Hornby's trademark, while hilarious when spouted by jaded adults, is just uncomfortable when coming from a teenager. The plot of this book is an enormous train wreck - you can't stop reading, are in disbelief that whole time, and in the end everything is just tragic and depressing. Not at all what I was looking for from Hornby or from Young Adult fiction.

Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse #9)

2011-02-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

I took a break from reading this series which I think was a good idea. Coming back to it, I was reminded of how fun it is - and it made me excited for the next season of True Blood to get started. As you can imagine, by the time you get to book 10 in a series about vampires and werewolves, things are bound to get a little nonsensical and crazy. And so in this installment, things focus a bit more on the faeries, Sookie's connection to them, and a was among them that leads a faction of the faeries to want to harm Sookie. In this book, also, the wereanimals/shifters finally come out to the population in general - leading to some violence as a result of discrimination agains the half-man/half-beasts. As usual, Sookie finds herself in the middle of the supernatural beings' wars, and while she'll never be my favorite character out there, I am still managing to have fun with this series.

Ape House - Sara Gruen

2011-02-17T17:02:00.001-08:00

I enjoyed Gruen's previous book Water for Elephants. I wouldn't say I loved it as much as book clubs across the country seem to have, but I did enjoy her writing style, the ease of her characters and plot, and generally found it to be the kind of book I enjoy relaxing with in a cafe with a nice hot latte. When I read the jacket cover for Ape House the subject matter did not appeal to me at all. It's about a researcher studying the behavior of bonobo apes - and their facility with sign language and ability to communicate with humans and others. It wasn't something I thought I would be particularly interested in. But, I decided to pick it up anyway. I was hooked after the first chapter. The plot goes a little haywire as the research facility is bombed and the apes escape and are then captured and televised in their own reality show. But, it was the relationship between the main researcher and the bonobos that I found truly endearing. Their conversations (apparently based on real conversations) were so touching, not to mention fascinating. It made me want to read more non-fiction on this subject- and I was just recommended a book by Ashley's mom called Bonobo Handshake which I have requested from the library. This was a fast good coffee-shop read, though some of the characters were annoying and their relationships with each other seemed superficial (strangely, perhaps more so in comparison with the relationships they had with the apes). This was one I liked more for the big picture story than for the details of the actual narrative.

The Old Capital - Yasunari Kawabata

2011-02-17T16:51:00.000-08:00

Kawabata won the 1968 Nobel Prize for Literature - and this was one of three of his novels cited by the Nobel committee. It tells the story of Chieko, the only child of a kimono designed in Kyoto. According to her parents, they kidnapped her when she was a small child and raised her as their own. As their stories never quite match-up, Chieko knows there is more to it. As the story unfolds, Chieko slowly learns more about the reality of her past. Simultaneously, she is faced with her role in her role as a daughter and a woman in Japanese society and the choices she has to make, as well as those that are foisted upon her. The plot itself moves slowly and was not that interesting to me. What I did love was the lyrical language of the story - I've said this before on my blog, but I am always fascinated by books that have been translated from another language - I wonder how much is lost in translation and how the translators manage to convey the feelings and emotions of the book in its original language. However it's done, it worked in this case. A perfect book to read in the last couple days of rainy weather, sitting by my window and looking out at the falling white blossoms from my plus tree.

Sh*t My Dad Says - Justin Halpern

2011-02-16T16:28:00.000-08:00

This guy is really milking quotes from his father for all that they're worth - first a twitter account, then this book, and now a TV sit-com (which I've seen and is terrible). But, I'd read a few of his twitter posts and thought they were pretty funny, so I figured I might as well check out this book - which is pretty short. Each chapter of the book is a little anedcdote about the author's relationship with his father - followed by a series of quotations on a variety of topics. I actually found most of the stories pretty funny - but what I really enjoyed about this book was what the stories told about the relationship between these two men. I loved that the father, while crass and seemingly dismissive in his words actually displays so much love for his son through his straight-forward advice and actions. I actually found myself tearing up amidst my laughter. Surprisingly, this is a really touching book and definitely worth a quick read on a day when you need a little uplifting.

A Wild Sheep Chase - Haruki Murakami

2011-02-15T03:12:00.001-08:00

Reading a Murakami novel is always a bit of an adventure. You know it'll be a bit weird, but for some reason I'm never quite prepared for it. I started reading this book just after I was admitted to the hospital to monitor my pregnancy. I ended up being induced that night and the whole experience was surreal and out-of-body for me - reading this book while I waited only made everything all the more strange. As the title suggests, the plot involves a search for a special sheep. A young Japanese ad executive receives a postcard featuring a sheep with a star on his back. As a result, he is approached by a man demanding that he find the sheep or face negative consequences. The book then follows the young man on his trek through Tokyo and the Japanese countryside as he encounters strange characters and mystical sheep. Some parts mystery and most parts weird, I enjoyed the escapism of the book, but didn't ultimately feel that drawn in by the quest. The plot was not as intricate as other books by Murakami that I've enjoyed (Kafka on the Shore and Wind-Up Bird Chronicles), but for a taste of the different, it did the trick.

A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder - Shamini Flint (Inspector Singh #1)

2011-02-15T03:03:00.000-08:00

In my quest to "visit" as many countries as possible this year through reading, I discovered this mystery series set in Malaysia, and staring Inspector Singh - sent to KL from Singapore to solve the murder of a wealthy businessman. The obvious suspect is the man's wife, but Singh feels immediately that she could not have accomplished the deed. When the dead man's brother confesses to the crime under suspicious circumstances, the Malaysian police think their case is closed, but Singh has other ideas. I found the style to be a bit like Agatha Christie set in Southeast Asia. The dialogue and plot were relatively simple, but the action kept moving and there were twists and new suspects in nearly every chapter. This is the first in a series that looks to have at least two other books. In this initial installment, there is a small window into Singh's personal life, and I look forward to learning more in the subsequent books about this strange little problem solver.

Hello Kitty Must Die - Angela Choi

2011-02-14T14:53:00.001-08:00

I love everything Hello Kitty, so when I saw the cover of this book, I had to read it - even though I had no idea what it was about. Half way through, I realized this is actually a young adult novel, though I have no idea why as the subject matter seemed a little adult. Then again, kids are pretty advanced these days. Fiona Yu is corporate lawyer in San Francisco, working hard to shed the "Hello Kitty" stereotype of Asian woman as docile and subservient. She lives with her parents who are constantly trying marry her off to Chinese men she has no interest in and nothing in common with. She meets up with an old friend, Sean, now a plastic surgeon of sorts. As he helps her shed her Sanrio image, Fiona is dragged into his bizarre-Dexter like world. The subject matter and writing of this book reminded me of Christopher Moore - (A Dirty Job and Bloodsucking Fiends without the vampires) It was a mindless quick read, and I always enjoy books that take place in San Francisco.

Me - Ricky Martin

2011-02-12T16:51:00.001-08:00

My friend Loana handed me this book with this ringing endorsement, "This book sucks. Read it and tell me if you agree." Given the number of books on my to-read list, I don't usually waste my time reading books that others think so poorly of, but there is just something about Ricky Martin...plus, I assumed it would be a quick read. Martin wrote this autobiography as a sort of coming out - while written after his annoucement that he is gay, the introduction to the book seemed to suggest that the rest of the book would be an exploration of how his ability to finally open up affected his life and reflected the experiences he had had up to that point. But, I didn't find this to be the case. Even though he kept telling the reader that it was hard to keep this secret, and that finally coming out was a huge relief, there wasn't much in the actual story that portrayed the difficulties he faced and felt. To the contrary, he spoke about being in a meaningful relationship with a woman - in such a way that it suggested that he is actually bisexual, or that his decision to finally live life as a homosexual was actually a choice instead of fundamental to who he is. Most of the story of Martin's life was incredibly boring to me. He went through his beginnings in Menudo and how difficult it was for him to be separated from his family - but again, I had a hard time actually feeling what he was talking about. Later in the book, Martin talks about his philanthropic work again human trafficking. This was the first time I felt I actually got a glimpse into who he is as a person and something that truly touched him and that he felt was worth fighting for. It seems that Martin has done tremendous work in this area and really shed light on a problem that plagues millions of women and children around the world. He also spent a couple chapters writing about his journey to fatherhood which was also endearing. Throughout, however, the writing (as expected) is terrible. He uses way too many exclamation points, and has trouble using actually anecdotes to make his point rather than just telling the reader that something was "amazing" or "life-changing". Martin is no Pulitzer Prize winner, but it does sound like he has truly gone on a person journey and is now in a space that is wholly positive and productive - particularly in comparison to the person he was. Hopefully, writing this book was therapeutic for him. But, I don't see too many people picking it up and identifying with it, or being inspired by his story. I'm not a Ricky Martin fan by any means, but I did finish this book finding him a bit more likeable as a person - I won't rush out to read anything else he might write in the future, but I probably won't change the station the next time the radio plays Livin' La Vida Loca either.

Happy - Alex Lemon

2011-02-12T16:37:00.000-08:00

This is a book I think Oprah's book club would love in terms of the subject matter. Alex Lemon is a student at Macalester College, playing baseball and getting drunk with his friends when he begins to suffer from seizures that require brain surgery. If this trauma weren't enough, it becomes evident that the author is also a sexual abuse survivor and has a somewhat unique relationship with his mother. In terms of writing-style, however, I'm not sure Oprah and her club would approve. Lemon is vulgar - and obsessed with drinking, drugs, and sex. In short, I suppose, he is a college male - understandably angry and frustrated given his circumstance in life. The narrative is pieced together in a fashion that is somewhat difficult to follow - I found it irritating, though I suppose it probably also reflects Lemon's own view of the world in fragments given his condition. Despite being so young, Lemon has clearly lived a full life and had much to talk about in his memoir. For me, however, the presentation left a lot more questions than it did answers, and I found it to be a promising, but ultimately unsatisfying read.

Medium Raw - Anthony Bourdain

2011-02-02T20:02:00.001-08:00

The good thing is that having a newborn in the house hasn't slowed down my reading too much. The bad thing is it hasn't left me much time to update the blog...so I anticipate that in order to keep up, my posts may be a bit short for awhile. Ever since Kitchen Confidential, I have been a big fan of Anthony Bourdain...I've enjoyed some of his other books and really like his Travel Channel show, No Reservations. But, as Bourdain's popularity and fame have increased, his edginess has definitely taken a dive. Luckily, however, Bourdain recognizes, and seems to despise this, about himself. Medium Raw is a collection of unconnected essays about Bourdan's various experiences in the food industry. My favorites included his lengthy description of his best meal at French Laundry and his reverence for its chef, Thomas Keller. I also appreciate Bourdain's willingness to be straight-forward, even at the expense of offending iconic figures such as Alice Waters. My impression is that Bourdain may not be a favorite among his peers, but there is no question that his humor and honesty will make him a favorite among readers for a long time to come. While this collection does not represent Bourdain as his finest, there are still gems of entertainment, and it's worth skimming through to hit on some of the best in travel and food writing around.

Mary Ann in Autumn - Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City #8) (CALIFORNIA)

2011-01-29T15:05:00.000-08:00

This book marks the first in my armchair travels within the states. Maupin's series takes place in San Francisco, and features loveable couples and characters from North Beach to Noe Valley and all the neighborhoods in between. In his latest, Mary Ann returns to SF after fleeing a terrible marriage in NY, and to face the reality of cancer. She moves in with her old friend Michael Tolliver, and his husband Ben. Surrounding them are the matriarch transvestite (and former landlady) Anna Madrigal and her protege in waiting, Jake. Mary Ann's daughter Shawna plays prominently in the story, finding herself obsessed with the identity of a lone homeless woman. With a couple major story arcs, Maupin brings back the soap opera that is the Tales of the City, presenting unorthodox relationships in an an everyday way, and mixing the macabre with the sublime. I can't get enough of this series and hope that Maupin keeps providing us more adventures with all our favorite characters.

Baby Laughs - Jenny McCarthy

2011-01-29T10:13:00.000-08:00

This book is absolutely terrible. While there are some nuggets of potentially helpful information for new moms and maybe a line or two that brought a little chuckle, for the most part McCarthy seems to be trying to hard to be glib in the hopes of getting a laugh or two at her own expense. This quick read is McCarthy's perspective on being a new mom to her little boy, Evan. She goes on and on about his development, labasting competitive moms (which I did appreciate) and speaking frequently about the "next time" she has a child with her husband, the love of her life. As I suppose is the case with any memoir type book written before the end of one's life, knowing how things turn out made me cringe. Since the publication of this book McCarthy has been a outspoken about her son's difficulties with autism. And, her marriage ended in a divorce before she had any additional children. Of course, given who McCarthy is as a celebrity, I doubt that any one would come to this book thinking that they should actually follow any serious advice she might give. The purpose of the book, I suppose, is to remind new parents to have a sense of humor - that this is a difficult new road they are going down, and if you're going to survive, you need a little perspective and a lot of laughter. While I didn't find McCarthy herself very funny, I do think she succeeded in bringing her positive message through to the reader.

36 Views of Mount Fuji - Cathy Davidson (JAPAN)

2011-01-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

I first read this book when I was in high school and had never been to Japan. Davidson, an American professor participates in a teacher exchange and moves with her husband to Japan on several occasions for extended periods of time. During her visits, she truly makes an effort to immerse herself in Japanese culture, and dedicates herself to learning the language, as well as Japanese traditions - and is committed to getting to know the real Japanese. I recently decided to re-read this book - partially after my truly negative experience with Dave Barry's book. I worried that the years that had passed since I first read the book would affect my view of it. But, all it did was make me better appreciate Davidson's ability to honestly report her experiences and to better understand how the Japanese are so different from Americans. Davidson has a love affair with Japan, but she is realistic. She knows she cannot move there permanently for a number of reasons, but she still makes an effort to incorporate the best parts of Japan into her life. Rather than write off the Japanese as weird or different, she really digs to understand why. The results are fascinating. I particularly enjoyed her observations about the Japanese education system - the pressure on mothers to produce perfect children, and the ever-mounting pressure on children to study to the point of exhaustion, just so they can later get all-consuming jobs. Davidson is meticulous in her observations and study of Japanese traditions, their interactions with each other and with foreigners. My husband has done a lot of work with a Japanese client over the past several years, and I think for him reading this book would be invaluable to understanding the people he interacts with on a daily basis - and for recognizing when and why their motives and behaviors are so different from the ones we assume of others in the United States. About the second half of this book focuses more on Davidson's personal life - her personal struggles with reconciling her need to be in the United States with her desire to be in Japan. I did not find this as compelling as the first half, but by the time she got to it, I trusted her opinions and thoughts a bit more than I would have if she'd started out focused on herself from the beginning. While this book can't possibly answer every question about the Japanese, and is clearly dated in many ways with Japan's ever-changing youth culture, I still found it immensely intriguing and worthy of lengthy discussion.

The Finkler Question - Howard Jacobsen

2011-01-16T16:51:00.001-08:00

I think I've just been a bad mood lately or something because nothing that I've been reading has quite bit sitting well with me. I'm finding myself irritated by characters, unable to focus on the plot of a given story, and generally feeling bored. I certainly hope this is not reading burn-out and that I just need to find the right book to re-ignite myself! I have noted before that I don't have the best luck with Booker Prize Winners, but every year I do find myself wanting to give the winner a shot, and so that's how I found myself picking this one up. The Finkler Question tells the story of three old acquaintances: Julian Treslove (a celebrity double strangely obsessed with Judaism), Sam Finkler (Julian's rival and anti-Zionist scholar), and Libor Zevcik (their elderly professor). After the death of Finkler and Zevcik's wives, Treslove is mugged in what he believes to be an anti-Semitic-motivated attack. The assault causes Treslove to question everything about his own identity, as he examines his life, his former and current loves, and what it means to be or not to be Jewish in today's world. While I found much of the friendship and interaction among the three men interesting, Treslove as a main character was so obsessive and tedious that about half-way through the book I simply could not stand his musings anymore. He was so self-obsessed - and had no ability for self-reflection - despite his friends and family members being pretty blunt with him about his short-comings. Again, as with most of the Booker winners, while I did appreciate the writing, I just couldn't get into the story.

It Sucked and then I Cried - Heather B. Armstrong

2011-01-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

Humor is a strange thing...what some people absolutely love, I've found I just can't stand. The author of this book is apparently one of the most popular, if not the most popular blogger on the internet (I have no idea how such things are measured). This is her semi-serious book about giving birth, the miracles of motherhood, and how she dealt with it all given her history of depression. I found most of the things she joked about to be tiresome, and her effusive emotions about her love for everything having to do with her child were just annoying. The book came across as a love letter to her kid - which while very sweet in the abstract isn't something I'm particularly interested in reading. What I was interested in reading about was her experience with post-partum depression - but she doesn't get to this until nearly the end of the book. I think many people think of post-partum depression as "the blues" or general crying and mopiness. Armstrong was quite honest about how her depression utterly debilitated her - how it prevented her from sleeping, and caused her not to just lie around as many people assume, but actually to do the opposite - to cause her such anxiety and stress that she was physically incapable of slowing down. Armstrong credits her husband and some of her family for getting her through her most difficult time - and this seems much deserved - but I did feel like the solution was mostly time and medical intervention - and maybe that is the real solution. I think I was looking for more in terms of how to better recognize this problem in oneself and others, how one can be a support for a family member going through this, and how one can ask for help if they recognize the symptoms in themselves. While billed as a book about getting through mental illness, this was more just a memoir of one woman's experience with childbirth and the first year or raising a first child - not my cup of tea, but certainly something (given her popularity) that apparently a lot of people are in the market for.

The Coroner's Lunch - Colin Cotterill (Dr. Siri #1) (LAOS)

2011-01-16T16:31:00.000-08:00

In 2006, I traveled to a number of countries in Southeast Asia. My favorite, by far, was Laos. Given how small the country is, I guess it never occurred to me that someone might think to set an entire series of detective stories there. But, it really is a perfect location - it's beautiful and unassuming. The people are polite and perfect for hiding secrets. It is a place that is all at one time straighforward and shrouded in mystery. The Coroner's Lunch is the first in a series that currently features 7 books. Dr. Siri, the coroner in the title, is a 70+ former physician who found his retirement derailed when the communist government forced him to earn his keep while he was still able. Completely untrained as a coroner, it's clear that the powers that be would prefer that he simply rubber-stamp the bodies coming through his morgue. Instead, with the help of his two assistants, one female and the other who is mildly mentally retarded, Dr. Siri is committed to going against authority and exposing the truth. As a character, I grew very found of Dr. Siri - he doesn't care what anyone thinks of him, and he without even trying to be, he is charming and quite endearing. The murders he investigated were not in and of themselves particularly intriguing, but they were interesting enough, and I thought the author did a great job setting up the various characters who I assume will continue to make appearances throughout the series. While I am not planning to rush out and get the rest of the books in the series, I do look forward to returning to Laos to visit Dr. Siri in the near future.

Earth - Jon Stewart (THE WHOLE WORLD!)

2011-01-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed Jon Stewart's previous book, America (the Book), so I was looking forward to reading this one - a guide to aliens about our world. Of course, America lent itself more readily to Stewart's political humor - while this one takes on a far wider scope. With chapters ranging from religion to science to culture, I found that it was pretty hit or miss. There were definitely some laugh out loud lines and clever turns of phrases (particularly in the religion section), in general, I felt like this book was trying too hard. Definitely an entertaining coffee-table read to pick up now and again and leaf through, but as a book to sit down and read from cover to cover, I found it a bit underwhelming.

The Godfather of Kathmandu - John Burdett (Sonchai Jitplecheep #4) (THAILAND/NEPAL)

2011-01-16T16:19:00.001-08:00

The fourth installment featuring Bangkok's finest Buddhist detective features Sonchai at the crossroads of his career and his own personal tragedy. As the corrupt Colonel Vikorn convinces Sonchai to become his own personal consigliere, Sonchai sets out to solve the murder of a famous Hollywood director, while at the same time, traveling to Kathmandu to broker a drug sale of immense political importance. While in Nepal, Sonchai finds himself under the spell of Tietsen, an exiled Tibetan lama. As in his past adventures, Sonchai's ethics are tested - though this time, given his incredible need to escape the physical world, he is more often than not under the influence of marijuana or other drugs made readily available to him by his superiors, as well as the prostitutes he often finds himself in bed with (literally and figuratively). Burdett went a little off the deep end with this one, but I still found myself rooting for old Sonchai, even when he let his material carnal self get the better of him.

Dave Barry Does Japan - Dave Barry (JAPAN)

2011-01-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

Back when I was in middle school, I remember thinking that Dave Barry was a pretty funny writer. I haven't read him in quite some time, but in my mind liken him to Bill Bryson. So, when I saw he had a book about his travels to Japan, I thought it would be a perfect fit for my armchair travel goals for the year. Looking at the cover alone, however, should have tipped me off as to what I was in store for. To be fair, this book was written in 1992, which must have been a very different time in the world. Barry and his family take a three week trip to Japan and he writes all about it - in the most offensive, ignorant, sterotypically rude self-centered white American way possible. Needless to say, I did not find a line of this book funny. I have been to Japan, and I will admit that I too found that there are some weird things about that culture - but for the most part, Japan is a highly efficient, incredibly beautiful country with amazingly delicious food and sophisticated technology. Barry seemed to have no appreciation whatsoever for any of it. He just thought it was all gross and strange and seemed to revel in his closed-minded approach to their culture. Given my background, perhaps I am overly sensitive to anything remotely critical of the Japanese, but I think I still have a decent sense of humor. Perhaps it's just changed since I was 12, and Dave Barry just simply isn't funny to me anymore.

Room - Emma Donoghue

2011-01-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

This book has been all over "Best of 2010" lists - I requested it months ago at the library and it finally came in for me. I had no idea what it was about - though I anticipate that by now most readers will. The author has indicated that this book is based on the real-life horror story of Josef Fritzl who sexually abused his daughter and kept her locked in a room for 24 years, fathering 7 children before she finally escaped. In Room, the victim was kidnapped at the age of 17 and kept for about 8 years. She is raising her 5-year old son, Jack, in the room. While they have access to a television, she chooses to raise him to believe that their room is the world, and that everything on television is make-believe. The book is written from Jack's perspective - in general, while I am impressed by authors who try to get into the head of a child or a mentally disturbed person, or someone other than the "average" or "reasonable" person, I think this is incredibly difficult to pull off without getting annoying. The difficulty here is magnified by the fact that not only is the narrator a 5-year old, but a 5-year old who has not been exposed to so much that the rest of us take for granted. Contrasting Jack's better than average knowledge of language, math, and other skills - with his social retardation also presents an added challenge. Given the subject matter of this book, it made my skin crawl and I can't say that I found it at all enjoyable. I wouldn't recommend this book because it's just too depressing and unnecessary in so many ways. At the same time, I think Donoghue accomplished what she set out to do - which is to thoroughly and honestly explore this strange phenomenon and the effects of isolation.

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro (ENGLAND)

2011-01-11T17:23:00.000-08:00

I read this book years ago and absolutely loved it (along with all other Ishiguro books I've read). I recently joined a book group - and we decided we would pick our reading selections from prior Booker Prize Finalists. And this was the first selection which we will discuss this upcoming weekend. I was eager to pick it up again and see if I loved it as much the second time around. Never Let Me Go is told by the first-person narrator, Kathy, as she looks back on her years at Halisham - a boarding school in the English countryside. She focuses her story on her two closest friends, Tommy and Ruth, telling the story in pieces as she recalls small details and tries to piece together what she knew when. Throughout the book it is clear that there is something sinister or different going on with the children at Halisham - they are special in some way that is at first unclear - to both the reader and the students. Slowly, the story comes together, and while plot-wise the book is decently interesting - I think what I particularly enjoyed is the idea of memory and recollection. As Kathy remembers pieces and shares them with her friends, their memories don't always match up - though it's unclear whether they simply don't want to remember. I had the added twist to this reading experience of remembering parts of the story, but not others and seeing it unfold a second time was definitely well worth it. I believe I have one Ishiguro book on my shelves at home that I have not yet read (The Unconsoled). I've been saving it for a special occassion, but the time to fish it out might be sooner rather than later.

Around the World in 2011

2011-01-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

I anticipate that I will not be doing too much traveling in this new year. But, I don't want to give up the ability to discover new places. So, my goal is to read books set in as many different countries (as well as the 50 states) over the next 12 months. At first, I thought I'd devote one month to a given country or region, but then I decided that would prevent me from visiting more than 12 or so places, and I find that if I read to many books in a row set in similar places that I start to get bored. So, I figure I will take advantage of the cost-efficiency of armchair travel and allow myself to skip from Botswana to Thailand to Mexico without a thought about what it would cost me in air travel. I have a lot of books on my shelves set in various locations that I'm looking forward to reading, but I also look forward to discovering new authors and series and countries. Book Lust To Go is going to come in very handy, and I hope that I will also receive many recommendations from friends and family as the year progresses - fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, travel narratives - I'll take them all. Bon Voyage!!

Favorite Reads of 2010

2011-01-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

I ended up reading 140 books this year - 10 shy of my yearly 150 goal. I definitely slowed down in August-October because of work projects, but for the most part felt like this was a good reading year. Below are my favorites of the year (meaning I read them in 2010, not that they were necessarily published in 2010).

Fiction:
Supreme Courtship - Christopher Buckley (satire about a television judge nominated to the Supreme Court)
The Passage - Justin Cronin (post-apocalyptic Vampire novel)
The Help - Kathryn Stockett (life of three women in Mississippi in 1962)
The Geographer's Library - Jon Fasman (an intellectual Dan Brown, steeped in alchemy)
Faithful Place - Tana French (murder mystery set in Dublin amidst a dysfunctional family)

Non-fiction:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (memoir masked as juvenile fiction tells the life of a kid trying to get of the reservation)
Stuff - Randy Frost & Gail Steketee (in-depth look at the phenomenon of hoarding)
Committed - Elizaebeth Gilbert (skeptic's look at the institution of marriage)
Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran Foer (vegetarian's manifesto of the origins of eating traditions)
Play Their Hearts Out - George Dohrmann (critique of AAU basketball leagues)

Skipping Christmas - John Grisham

2011-01-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

This little holiday stocking-stuffer has been sitting on my shelves for years. I decided it an appropriate choice to round out my 2010 reading. This is the story of the Kranks. Every year they are caught up in the Christmas hype. They go to office parties and buy gifts no one really wants. Like everyone else on their street, they string lights on their house and mount a 7-ft. Frosty on their roof. And every Christmas Eve, they throw a huge party with wonderful food. But, this year, their daughter is off in the Peace Corps, and they decide to take their money and spend it on a cruise instead. As they turn down invitations and decide not to send out holiday cards, the news of their blasphemous Scrooge-like behavior spreads through the neighborhood. Faced with animosity from all those around them, the Kranks become more and more motivated to stick to their guns. The book got a bit repetitive with each interaction the Kranks had - from the Boy Scouts selling Christmas trees to the police officers selling fruit cake. I got tired of hearing their anti-Christmas speech, and just didn't believe that so many people would actually care. I knew there had to be some kind of feel good ending, and Grisham did a decent job tying up the loose ends - but not before thoroughly irritating me and making me wish I were on a Caribbean cruise myself instead of reading this book.

Astrid & Veronika - Linda Olsson

2011-01-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

Set in a small village in Sweden, Astrid & Veronika is the story of a young woman (Veronika) fleeing a tragic relationship, and an older woman (Astrid) dealing with the mistakes of her past. The two develop a friendship and eventually discover the healing power of sharing their secrets. The book is told in the present - as the relationship between the two women grows - as well as in flashbacks, as they each share the details of their prior lives. This book is beautifully written, and because parts of it take place against a snowy Scandinavian backdrop, it was a perfect read for the winter season. While sad and desperate at times, ultimately, I found this to be a very satisfying testament to the power of female friendships.

Play Their Hearts Out - George Dohrmann

2010-12-30T21:29:00.000-08:00

I love most everything about basketball. I love playing; I love watching; I just love the game. But what this book made me realize is that what I really love are the memories I have of amazingly supportive coaches, fabulous teammates, and everything I learned about being a team player, working hard, and who I wanted to be as a person. Dohrmann's book focuses on the grassroot AAU leagues that feature the allegedly most talented young players in the country. In particular, Dohrmann follows one coach (and opportunist), Joe Keller, as he scouts out talented 10 and 11 years old before focusing on one boy to coach onto greatness. But, instead of truly looking out for the boy's well-being and coaching him to became a better player and teammate, Keller seems to know absolutely nothing about basketball strategy or kids. Instead, he's all about marketing hype, getting Nike and Adidas sponsorships, and using young boys to pay his mortgage. What this book also demonstrates is that raw talent will only take a player so far - without discipline, hard-work, and dedication to the game, even the fastest strongest players will flame out in the face of true competition and adversity. The saddest part of this book was seeing how Keller could lure so many kids (mostly from poor backgrounds) to his team, and how quickly he could destroy their self-confidence and their potential. Dohrmann's book highlights the disservice so many coaches are doing to these children that they view solely as their own mealtickets. It's not a symbiotic relationship in which a coach provides potential NBA exposure to a player in exchange for some financial rewards. Instead, it's the financial rewards in exchange for false praise and ultimately no growth in skills. I liked Dohrmann's in-depth analysis (he's not a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist for nothing) and his focus on the various kids in the story. It reminded me a lot of Warren St. John's Outcasts United in this respect. But ultimately, it was disappointing to think that an experience that should be filled with so many positives - particularly for these ultra-talented kids - could result in so much corruption and betrayal. An amazing book for opening your eyes to the shady underworld of AAU basketball, but not one filled with much hope or inspiration.

Book Lust To Go - Nancy Pearl

2010-12-29T04:23:00.000-08:00

Nancy Pearl, a librarian in Seattle, has two prior books in this "series" - Book Lust and More Book Lust. All three are filled with her recommendations of books to read in various categories. Book Lust To Go focuses on travel - with Pearl breaking up the book into sections based on countries, cities, or type of travel (long train rides, for example). Pearl acknowledges in her introduction that she is not much of an actual traveler, but that she enjoys seeing new places through the pages of books in the comfort of her own home. And so she put togehter these lists filled with non-fiction, travel narratives, and fiction - all of which give the reader a real sense of the flavor of a given destination. Given that I predict limited ability to travel in the upcoming year - I was thinking of doing some armchair traveling of my own in 2011 - picking a country or region a month and focusing my reading on that area. Pearl has provided a lot of inspiration and suggestion for this project of mine. My only hesitation is that I want to be sure I'm reading books that are really true to a given place, and by Pearl's own admission, she hasn't herself been to many of these place. Though, it does sound like she sought out recommendations from people who had been...so I take some of her suggestions with a grain of salt. But, as with her prior two books, her lists have given me a wonderful jumping off point, and I look forward to traveling around the world with her help for the next 12 months!

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer - John Grisham

2010-12-29T04:08:00.000-08:00

When I was about 8 years old, one of my favorite characters was Encyclopedia Brown. He was a kid detective who charged a nominal fee to help out those in his neighborhood with various conundrums - small and large. Theodore Boone is a bit more sophisticated, but reminded me of a modern day version of Encyclopedia. Theodore is the 13-year old son of a family law attorney and a real estate attorney. He is a legal junkie, fascinated by the courtroom, and forever dispensing advice to his peers. While I fear he will shortly be prosecuted for practicing law without a license, I found his enthusiasm for the law and his interest in justice both absurd and endearing. I anticipate that Grisham will turn this into a series for young readers - which I think will be great. This one focused on the murder trial of a man accused of killing his own wife. Due to the skillful lawyering of the town's aggressive defense attorney, the defendant appears to be looking at an acquittal. Theodore then discovers a secret witness who could call into question everything the defense has put forward. Theodore has to deal with the ethical dilemma of revealing the confidential source of his information or potentially allowing a guilty man to walk free. Throughout the book, I thought Grisham did a great job of explaning the legal system in a way that would make sense and appeal to young readers - many of whom might be unfamiliar with many of the concepts. In addition to the murder trial, he threw in smaller cases - such as Theo's appearance in animal court to rescue the impounded dog of a girl he has a crush on at school and he difficulties endured by a close friend who had to testify at her own custody proceedings. In one short book, Grisham managed to showcase a wide array of legal issues and scenarios. I wasn't always on board with the direction the story took (I prefer presumed guilty man found to be actually innocent), but for my tastes, Theodore Boone is a wonderful, if not sometimes pretentious, protagonist, and I look forward to his future cases and adventures.

Bangkok Haunts - John Burdett (Sonchai Jipplecheep Series #3)

2010-12-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

I downloaded this book to my kindle while I was on vacation in Bali...and read all the way up to the last chapter. Then when I returned home, I also returned to my paper books. The other day, I decided I needed to finish this up, so I could move on to Book 4 in the series...and alas, I discovered the biggest drawback for me and the kindle: I simply could not remember where I'd put the charger and the thing was out of battery life! Eventually, after tearing apart my bedroom and office, I finally remembered that I'd left it in the suitcase I'd taken with me to Asia. Happy to return to Detective Sonchai and the streets of Bangkok - and lesson learned to keep better track of my electronics. In this third installment, Sonchai finds himself even more enmeshed than usual in the superstitions of his Buddhist breatheren. A popular prostitute (and one of Sonchai's own personal obsessions) is found murdered in her apartment - and a snuff film is sent to Sonchai, making him face the fact that not only has he lost someone important to him, but the murder was somehow personal. He finds himself haunted by the spirit of the young woman, as well as haunted by his inability to find her killer. As with all the books in this series, Bangkok Haunts is filled with police corruption, sex, and humor. Sonchai is a complicated man, but despite his many vices, his pure heart always leads to a most satisfying outcome.

The Cookbook Collector - Allegra Goodman

2010-12-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

This book has so many of the elements that I love in a good story - it's about family - in particular two very different sisters, Emily and Jess. It's set locally - in the Silicon Valley and in Berkeley. It features books prominently - Jess works in a used bookstore owned by a wealthy eccentric named George. And, it's just about their lives together and interacting with the people around them. Despite this, there were times when I felt like the book was trying to do too much. Emily works for a start-up during the dot.com to dot-bust era - and her long-distance boyfriend does the same. There are chapters devoted to the development of their technologies and the questionable sharing of proprietary information within the confines of their relationship. With a Jewish mother who passed away when the girls were quite young, Jess flirts with the idea of returning to temple and has various odds-and-ends encounters with rabbis near and far. Then there is how the girls deal with the absence of their mother, how the interact with their father and his new family, their various relationships with men, life in a post-9/11 world, etc. I often read books and love the characters so much that I wish the author could just write about their day-to-day lives. Well, in some way I got what I asked for in this book (though I can't say I loved any of these characters- though I would have liked to know more about George) - Goodman follows the day-to-day lives of these women - no matter where it takes us, even if completely random, off topic, and seemingly irrelevant. And my reaction was not positive. So, I suppose, be careful what you wish for. This is a good way to pass an afternoon or evening, but nothing I would go out of my way to recommend.

In a Strange Room - Damon Galgut

2010-12-20T16:03:00.001-08:00

Because of the unique writing style. I think this is one of those books people will either love or hate. I definitely fall into the "hated it" category. Plot-wise, it's pretty interesting - a young man travels around Africa, Europe, and India meeting various other travelers he shares experiences with in varying types of relationships. The book is divided into three parts - the first two with the narrator switching from first-person to third-person and written in a disjointed hodge-podge of thoughts and ideas. This is definitely one of those books that I wanted to read slowly - to appreciate the writing, but found myself skimming through because I just wanted it to be over or to get to something good. The third section is a bit more concrete, and involves the narrator's trip through India with the suicidal girlfriend of his best friend. While tragic, it was a bit easier to follow and for me to care about. I keep coming back to these Man Booker winners and finalists because I know the writing will always be different and inspiring, but for those of us who generally like good stories that are easy to follow, they don't always make for the easiest reading experience (and once in awhile, that's probably a good thing).

Bicycle Diaries - David Byrne

2010-12-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

I admit I am kind of annoyed when a given individual has more than one talent. I don't really have any, so it just seems incredibly unfair. Nevermind that maybe they've worked hard to cultivate their talent or particular interest...so, I don't usually like to read books by people who are already famous musicians or artists, yet have something even more interesting that they want to write about. But, I couldn't resist David Byrne's book about life on his bike in various cities around the world. While the underlying premise of the book is Byrne's bike - this isn't really a book about biking. Byrne simply uses his bike to get around - from his art showings to his interesting friends to his inspiration for architectual designs. In other words - as a vehicle for exploration of his millions of talents. For someone who is an avid biker and wants to read a book about biking, this might not quite be the right one. But, for anyone who likes a good travel narrative, Byrne definitely has a unique perspective on life - and lots of crazy and wonderful ideas and stories to share.

Farm City - Novella Carpenter

2010-12-20T15:34:00.000-08:00

Over the past couple years, there has been an obsession in the Bay Area (and perhaps all over the country) with locally grown food, farmer's market, and eating responsbily. Michael Pollen and Barbara Kingsolver have definitely contributed to this movement and encouraged a lot of people to think differently about where their food comes from. As part of this, I feel like not only do I know a lot of people who only buy organic and local, but I also know more people who have taken to growing and raising their own produce and poultry. I attribute some of this also to people wanting to feel more connected to work - and feeling like what they do has tangible consequences - something that doesn't exist for many people these days (as opposed to in the days of farmers). Farm City is the non-fiction account of a woman in Oakland who has taken to heart the desire to be closer to her food - not only does she start her own vegetable garden in the heart of Oakland's toughest neighborhood, but she raises turkeys for Thanksgiving, and a pig that brings her into contact with one of Oakland's most famous chefs - and her future teacher of how to make her own salumi. Carpenter's experimenting is interesting to me - mostly because I live in Oakland, and cannot imagine attempting to create such a rural environment in such an urban setting. She didn't make me want to go out and buy my own chicks to raise, or to commit to growing my dinner - mostly because everything she did seemed so hard! But, she did engender an appreciation in me for the work that farmers and ranchers are engaged in - and it's always good to remember to be a bit more mindful of what we put in our bodies, and what we often sacrifice in the name of convenience.

A Dead Hand - Paul Theroux

2010-12-14T19:00:00.000-08:00

I enjoy Paul Theroux's non-fiction travel books, and I have a tendency to like everything about India for reasons I cannot explain. Recently, I've been on a mystery kick. So, when I saw this book - a fictional murder mystery set in Calcutta by Theroux, I had to check it out. This is a strange little story about a writer, suffering from writer's block (a dead hand), who receives a letter from a philanthropist asking for his help solving a possible crime. Unable to resist, the writer follows up and finds himself obsessed with the woman who sent him the note - a pretentious and bossy woman, who runs a foundation in Calcutta and is a master in all things tantric. Eager to please her, the writer begins to investigate the strange crime, but can make little headway and finds himself more deeply confused and disoriented the harder he tries. Theroux himself makes an appearance in the book, and a witty yet seemingly irrelevant dialogue between the two writers takes place. Ultimately, there isn't much mystery here in terms of a typical murder detective story - and that's kind of what I was looking for. But, the writing is good - and given the India setting, Theroux was able to show off his travel writing expertise.

Methland - Nick Reding

2010-12-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

Given the time of year, I feel like I should be reading books that will get me into the holiday spirit. This is not that book. Methland is a non-fiction account of the growing epidemic of methamphetamine use in the United States, in particular in small town America. Reding focuses primarily on the town of Oelwein, Iowa, population 6,000. Over roughly four years, Reding gets to know several residents of the town, including drug traffickers and addicts, local law enforcement, and politicians. Through these various individuals, Reding tells the story of a destitute town caught up in the horrors of meth, and what their residents have done and continue to fight to do to clean up their community. Reding is a great story-teller and his accounts of the various lives of every day people were particularly compelling - but he is also a journalist, and backed up his anecdotes with statistics and facts that paint a stark picture of reality, and our nation's losing battle - often because of ignorance or simple ignoring of the issues - with this incredible drug.

A Body in the Library - Agatha Christie

2010-12-13T09:22:00.001-08:00

I enjoy finding an author I like who has written a ton of books. This way whenever I'm in the mood for something familiar, there will always be a new book to turn to. Agatha Christie has written over 30 novels featuring her beloved sleuth Hercule Poirot - and these are the ones I first started reading. This time, however, I turned to Miss Marple - featured in 12 of Christie's novels and a few short story collections. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster with no apparent criminal or detective background. Yet, using logic and a folksy reading of people's behavior, she is able to outsmart the local police to solve local homicides. Very reminiscient of Angela Landsbury's character in "Murder, She Wrote." In this one - Christie's second novel featuring Marple, a young woman is found strangled in the home of an elderly sophisticated couple. Suspicion immediately turns to the man of the house, suggesting that she is one of his mistresses. Miss Marple is called in by the distraught wife, and along with the police and a young boy connected to a family of potential suspects, the investigation proceeds to a nearby dance club, and a wealthy invalid who had taken the murdered girl under is wing. Though the book is short (less than 200 pages), there are more twists and turns than a Law & Order episode - some of them predictable, and others coming out of left field. A suspenseful mystery, best enjoyed on a rainy night by the fire with a hot cup of tea.

Digging to America - Anne Tyler

2010-12-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

I often think of Anne Tyler as mindless entertainment - she's an author I turn to when I want a good story, but don't necessarily want to think too hard when I'm reading it. To some extent, Digging to America fit the bill. This is the story of two families- The Dickinson-Donaldsons who are white American through and through, and the Yazdans, Iranian-Americans who while fairly assimilated still hang on to traditions from their old country. The families find themselves intertwined when their adopted daughters from Korea arrive in the United States on the same day. Initially, this is a story about how different families create homes for their new children. But, it is also the story of Maryam, the Iranian born grandmother of one of the girls, and Dave, the grandfather of the other. It is about how they find their places in their grandchildrens' lives, how they navigate getting older, and how they find ways to fit in while still retaining their individuality. In this way, I felt that Digging to America had so much more going on than just a "good story." Part-way through the book, Tyler's shifted from a focus on the little girls to the grandparents - and I wished there was a way to follow both stories throughout. She also changes the first-person narrative, and has a chapter or two from the perspective of one of the girls. At times it felt like she was trying to do too much - in others, I wish she had written an extra 200 pages so she could have accomplished it all in a more thorough fashion. But, as is, this book is a great entertaining story, as well as one that, I believe, would start a rich discussion in book clubs across the country.

Inside Out - Barry Eisler (Ben Treven Series #2)

2010-12-05T21:42:00.000-08:00

I didn't think Barry Eisler could top John Rain as the leading former-CIA special ops turned private assassin. But, Ben Treven might just be moving into my top spot. Eisler first introduced Treven in Fault Line, a thriller set in the Silicon Valley. This time around, Treven finds himself in a Manila prison, sprung by his former commander on the condition that he hunt down a rogue operator who has stolen over 90 torture tapes from the CIA and is threatening to release them all unless his outrageous conditions are met. Treven unwillingly teams up with an FBI agent to track down Daniel Larison, a man who faked his own death and may be one of the most lethal men on the planet (next to Rain and Dox, of course!!). There's lots of travel and backstabbing and political intrigue and blood and guts and death in this one. I loved it. And it looks like Eisler may have future plans to unite Rain and Treven in one book (just as exciting as Michael Connelly finally bringing Harry Bosch and Micky Haller together!!) I simply cannot wait.

Supreme Courtship - Christopher Buckley

2010-12-01T09:43:00.000-08:00

In life in general, I'm not a huge fan of politics or politicians, so I always think that I won't like Buckley's novels which focus so heavily on those subjects. But, each time I've picked one up, I've found myself chuckling quietly to myself and eager to read more. And of course this makes sense. Buckley's stories poke fun at all the things I find so irritating about the democratic process. In Supreme Courtship, a President with a plummeting approval rating finds himself in the position of appointing a new Supreme Court justice. After his first two overly qualified nominations are jettisoned by his opponents in the Republican party for trivial reasons, he decides to nominate the publicly-popular television judge, Pepper Cartwright.

The novel follows Cartwright's confirmation hearings and her eventual elevation to the highest Court in the land. Bordering on the ridiculous at times, I just found this book incredibly fun and entertaining. I'll be adding more of Buckley's novels to my library queue shortly.

Freedom - Jonathan Franzen

2010-12-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

This book was chosen as one of Oprah's Book Club picks. I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be funny - since Franzen created all that controversy when she picked his first novel The Corrections so many years ago. But, while I hated The Corrections and found the characters' self-obsessionn and clueless suburban angst quite trying, I decided to give Franzen's new one a shot because I have recently thoroughly enjoyed his fiction. Other than the fact that Freedom is about 200 pages too long, it definitely had its moments. It's difficult to describe exactly what this book is about - though there is definitely a lot more suburban angst going on. The book basically centers around a middle-aged couple in Minnesota named Patty and Walter Berglund. Patty, a former college basketball star turned stay-at-home mom, is an annoyingly smug know-it-all. Her husband, who seems to genuinely love her for reasons I can't quite discern, is consumed with his college best friend/famous musician. Later in the book Walter also becomes obsessed with preventing overpopulation and his young Southeast Asian assistant. Amidst all this chaos, the Berglunds kids also have problems of their own. There are times when I read books with characters I love so much that I wish the author would just delve into their every day mundane lives and I could just follow them for pages - as if they were in their own television series for year after year. Franzen has kind of done this with his characters - just given us their lives, reaching back to their experiences growing so the reader can better understand their motivations and actions, and then presenting their present day story. Yet, none of his character evoked any sympathy in me and I just found them all to be hopelessly flawed bad people. Certainly, they had their moments - and reasons for their negative actions, but mostly I just hoped they'd all get their just deserts in the end. All that being said about the characters themselves, this is a really well written book and given the length, Franzen does manage to make it all basically relevant and necesary to the overall message and purpose of the book (or what I took away as the overall message!)

The Red Queen - Philippa Gregory (Cousins' War #2)

2010-11-24T16:42:00.001-08:00

I've been trying to read Gregory's historical novels in chronological order (not necessarily publication order), but when I saw her latest on the new release shelf at the library, I couldn't help myself. The Red Queen is the story of Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of Edward III, and in line for the throne. She is born in the 1400s, in the midst of the War of the Roses, which pit the Lancasters against the Yorks. Since she was a young child, Margaret considered herself extremely devout, and idolized Joan of Arc. She longs to be a nun, but is instead married off to better the family. From her first vows, she focuses her energy on proving her superiority to others, and ensuring that she has a son and protects him until he becomes the King of England. Like many of Gregory's novels, this one is filled with treasonous plots, and calculating strategy to figure out who will win which battles and which side to align with to avoid the Tower and eventual execution. Margaret's character is absolutely infuriating. She is incredibly self-absorbed and selfish and sees things in black-and-white, with no understanding of politics - except those that seem to benefit her. I felt this novel was more simply written than some of the others I've read by Gregory - as if she's sucuumbed to her popularity and is now just pumping out books as quickly as possible without as much attention to their literary quality.

The Confession - John Grisham

2010-11-18T18:08:00.000-08:00

I reaped the ultimate benefit of the kindle when I was able to download the latest Grisham novel the day it came out - from my lounge chair beside a pool in Bali. Fans of Grisham know that he is no supporter of capital punishment. In 2006, he published his first non-fiction book, The Innocent Man, the story of two men wrongly convicted of murder. They both sat on Oklahoma's death row for 11 years before they were exonerated by DNA evidence and released in 1999. The Confession is fiction, but deals with many of the same issues. Donte Drumm, a local black high school football celebrity, is tried for raping and murdering a white cheerleader. He is convicted and sent to Texas's death row, despite the fact that no body was ever found. Days before his scheduled execution, Travis Boyette confesses to the crime. Drumm's lawyers race to the courthouse, to the governor, and to the media, with last minute pleas for Drumm's life. Throughout the story, Grisham explores the various ways in which an innocent man could possibly be convicted of such a heinous crime. There is an eyewitness who seeks to recant his testimony, there is racial tension, there is prosecutorial misconduct in the form of a relationship with the trial judge, and of course, there is a coerced confession. As Grisham lays out the erroneous evidence piece by piece, his explanations almost seem as if he is writing a treatise against the death penalty. There were more than a few occasions where I felt like he had used this fictionalized account as a platform for lambasting the entire capital system - and he did so with a lot of telling, and not always a lot of showing. That being said, Grisham's portrayal of the deterioration, mentally and physically, of Drumm is chilling in its realism, and the reaction of the public and the courts to the 11th hour appeals is all too real. There were times when Grisham's anger with the process hit a little too close to home and I found it difficult to continue reading. The fear, of course, is that people unfamiliar with the system will read this novel and assume that Grisham has exaggerated and created a lovely story that is divorced from reality. But, to the extent people actually realize that these improprieties are occuring, not just once in awhile, but on a regular basis in police interrogation rooms and courtrooms across the nation, I applaud Grisham for his courage in sounding the alarm.

Jewel - Bret Lott

2010-11-11T17:28:00.003-08:00

When you pick up a typical Oprah Book Club pick (and by "typical" I mean not when she's trying to get people to buy the classics), you know you're in for an emotionally heart-wrenching ride. You also know that just when you think things can't get any worse for the downtrodden main character, it definitely will. While Jewel is not filled with the physical and sexual abuse common in many of Oprah's picks, it is the story of an abandoned and unloved woman trying to find meaning in her life. Jewel, already a mother of five, finds herself pregnant again in her late 30s. Thrilled at the prospect of yet another baby, she finds that this time around, she will be challenged more than at any other time in her life. Her new baby requires all her time and attention - and she does everything she can for the child - to the detriment, it seems, of her marriage and her other children. Throughout the book, she expects everyone else to put their lives on hold for her daughter, and becomes resentful when this doesn't happen. I wasn't exactly sure what message the author was trying to send, as Jewel never seems to come to any realization as to what she has lost in her blind sacrifice for her youngest child. While I didn't expect much more from this book than a good, easy to read story (which I basically got), I did find myself consistently annoyed by Jewel's selfishness in her selflessness. I expected more from the ending, and felt unfulfilled when I finally got there. Good for a rainy afternoon by the fire, but not much more.

The Geographer's Library - Jon Fasman

2010-11-11T17:10:00.000-08:00

There are still seven good reading weeks left before the end of the year, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is my favorite read of 2010. This book has been sitting on my shelf since my brother bought it for me for Christmas at least two years ago - and it just kills me that such a gem could be waiting around right in front of my face and I had no idea. But, I am so happy to have found it. This is a strange mystery about a collection of objects all pertaining to alchemy, and collected hundreds of years ago, only to be stolen, sold-off, or otherwise lost to history. Fasman gives some historical background of the objects and then intersperses tales throughout the book of each individual piece, it's use, value, and known whereabouts. The rest of the book takes place in present day where a reclusive college professor has just died, seemingly under mysterious circumstances. Paul Tomm, a young cub reporter for a small Connecticut newspaper is assigned to write an obituary. But, instead of the usual straightforward story, he finds himself on a wild goose-chase to figure out who this professor really was and why anyone would want him dead. Given the alchemy angle, there's definitely a little mumbo-jumbo thrown into the mix, but mostly it was just good old-fashioned suspense. Paul does find himself in a little romance that is incredibly suspicious, and he behaves a bit too naively at times. But, all in all, I thought this was an incredibly well-written and fun mystery. One of those books that got me excited about reading all over again.

The World According to Bertie - Alexander McCall Smith (44 Scotland Street #4)

2010-11-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite Alexander McCall Smith's series. As I've mentioned before, my favorite character from 44 Scotland Street is 6-year old Bertie who just wants to be a normal little boy, while his mother Irene is convinced that he must be cultivated through classes in music, yoga, and Italian. As Smith explains in his preface, I am apparently not the only one enamored with Bertie, and this installment focuses even more on him. He also points out that while the other characters grow and move from relationship to relationship, visit foreign countries, have babies (in the case of Bertie's mother), and generally grow old, Bertie has stayed the same age. It is, after all, the biggest part of his charm. In addition to Bertie, this book focuses on Matthew's never-ending quest for love in his strawberry crushed denim, and Angus Lordie's attempt to vindicate Cyril who has been taken away by the authorities after being accused of biting someone. As usual, light and entertaining, and leaving me excited for the next one.