Return to the Hundred Acre Wood - David Benedictus

Growing up, I loved the adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh and all his Friends and Relatives in the Hundred Acre Wood. Eeyore was always my favorite, even though I can't recall any of the actual stories. I hesitated to pick this one up given that it's written by an author other than A.A. Milne, but though it would be fun to see some of those little critters on a new adventure. And it definitely was. I have read some criticism of the book - perhaps some of the characters are not as likeable as in the original and there is a new character - an otter who wears pearls. It's also almost sad to see Christopher Robin nearly outgrowing his childhood companions. But, mostly, I laughed at the clever mix-ups and all the outlandish plans the animals concoct. It did make me want to go back and read the originals, and just in general I think it would be so fun to share these characters with children now. I read the book in one sitting - smiling the entire time. So happy to return to the Hundred Acre Woods, even while nervously on the look-out with Piglet for those Heffalumps.

Dexter by Design - Jeff Lindsay (Dexter Series #4)

As I've written on this blog many times, I'm a sucker for books in a series. Even when the books become formulaic, or I find that I just don't like the main character, out of some sort of twisted loyalty, I just keep reading the next one after the next one. So, it makes me quite happy when I find an author who is able to make his characters more fascinating with each installment. I've found this particularly true with Barry Eisler's John Rain series, and Jeff Lindsay has done it here with his fourth in the series of Dexter Morgan - Miami's serial killer who purports to only kill the really really bad guys. In this one, Dexter has just returned from his honeymoon in Paris, and is well on his way to establishing the appearance of a prefect life. But, there is what appears to be a killer on the loose in Miami - targeting the tourism board. Dexter takes a few missteps and the bad guy gets personal. Along the way, Dexter continues his relationship with his two step-children who are also on their way to for-the-greater-good homicide, and his police officer sister Deborah finds herself in a conundrum of her own. And of course, there is no shortage of blood spatter and gruesome torture along the way. In some ways, as I write out this vague plot I think - hmmm...perhaps these Dexter books are getting a big formulaic, but still Lindsay does move the overall story along. There's also no denying (for me) Dexter's amazing sense of humor - and even the alliteration, once annoying, has emerged as one of Dexter's signature OCD traits. I was thrilled to discover that Lindsay has a fifth Dexter novel forthcoming (Dexter is Delicious). In the meantime, I'm going to get around to renting the first season of the television series inspired by these books.

Good in Bed - Jennifer Weiner

Jennifer Weiner is the poster author for chick-lit. For that reason, I think I've put off reading her novels - even though I clearly read a lot of chick lit...but I thought I'd go to the source and see what this author who kind of started it all had to say for herself. Good in Bed is the story of Cannie, a 28-year old journalist, who has a penchant for food, but for the most part seems relatively happy in her own body. When an ex-boyfriend that she was never that into starts publishing a column in a popular magazine about their relationship, Cannie goes somewhat off the deep end. She finds herself convinced that they should get back together, and despite her common sense and better judgment, turns into one of those annoyingly whiny charicatures of a self-absorbed and pathetic woman. Cannie then hits upon a stroke of good luck, interviewing a famous actress with whom she develops an unlikely but fortuitous friendship. I had to admit that the story while irritating at times and far-fetched at others, was a pretty well-written almost fairy-tale. I was turned off by Cannie's ability to move on from bad relationships and to recognize good ones - though there is an explanation for it that revolved around her broken relationship with her father - and I thought Weiner did a decent job of being real with her characters even when the plot sometimes took a turn for the absurd. This was perfect mindless/entertaining airplane reading for me (though I did find myself a little embarrassed carrying this around in public) - I'm happy that Weiner has continued to publish and see her books appearing on this blog in the future.

The Liar's Club - Mary Karr

Mary Karr's memoir Lit received huge amounts of praise last year - and shot to the top of my to-read list. But, I discovered that she wrote this memoir back in 1995, so I thought I would check it out first. It was very reminiscent of The Glass Castle, given the main theme of surviving childhood with mental unstable parents. Reading this book was kind of like watching Citizen Kane for the first time in the year 2000. While I know that back in 1995, the memoir genre was not as well exploited (see Angela's Ashes), but now, it seems like everyone with checkered past has written about it. In some ways, it dilutes the impact of the trauma suffered and the importance of the chaos survived. Nevertheless, Karr's story is compelling and one worth learning from. Raised in East Texas, she is the child of a nearly psychotic mother and an abusive father. While she and her sister hang on for dear life, they are forced to grow up too quickly and subjected to abuses of all kind. Given the large number of memoirs out now that recount traumatic lives of neglect and abuse - I sometimes feel like the stories lose their impact and that readers are becoming numb to the horrific realities of the lives of the children depicted in these books. But perhaps it also educated more people on the fact that there are so many children living these lives and that we need to do more to ensure that they receive the protection they need. I did not find anything about Karr's book that made this one a stand-out in the genre, but for those interested in trauma, poverty, and mental illness, it is worth checking out.

Girl Sleuth - Melanie Rehak

Despite the fact that I have loved reading for as long as I can remember, I don't think I've ever read a Nancy Drew mystery. According to the author of this book about the cultural phenomenon that is this girl detective, such a thing is absolutely unheard of. Nancy Drew, created in 1930, has helped sell 80 million books and has taken the country by storm. Changing her personality, her appearance, and her approach to crime to suit our changing views of women and feminism, Nancy Drew has always been an icon with universal appeal. Through this book, Rehak tells the story of Drew's creation and the journalists that brought her to life. While not a Nancy Drew fan myself, I am interested in anyone and anything that has adapted to withstand the test of time, and that can get a little kid interested in picking up a book. Part of this book explores the ubiquity of Nancy Drew - which I never noticed until after I read this - and I realized that the next couple books I picked up all referenced her. I'm tempted to go back and read a few of these - though I wonder if the magic would still apply to an adult who didn't meet Nancy when she was still a child. Whatever the case, it's clear that Nancy Drew has made a lasting impact - not only with respect to literary mysteries, but on our collective consciousness world wide.

Fault Line - Barry Eisler

I am a huge fan of Eisler's John Rain series. When I heard he had a stand-alone book out, I was excited, but also worried that it just wouldn't be as good and I'd wish for the return of John Rain. Fault Line takes place in the Silicon Valley, and features estranged brothers - Alex, a hard-working associate as a cut-throat law firm, and Ben - a military assassin. When one of Alex's potential cash-cow clients is murdered and he suspects that his own life is in danger, he calls upon his brother to come save the day. Eisler delves into the family drama surrounding the brothers - at times a bit more tragic than believable, but a nice attempt by Eisler to develop his characters - something he didn't start to do until the tail-end of the Rain series. Alex comes across as a spoiled whiny brat, with absolutely no perspective and no forgiveness. Ben, on the other hand, is the misunderstood tough guy who has turned to killing foreigners in an obvious attempt to mask his real pain. In some ways it's all just a bit too cliched. But, I have to admit, this story grabbed me. Maybe I was just in the right mood - but I couldn't put this one down and stayed up past midnight alone in my hotel room to finish it. Part of the appeal is that the story took place in Palo Alto and San Francisco, and I think it's fun to read about places you know (though I don't consider the Four Seasons, which is located ON Market Street in SF to be "South of Market")...I mostly appreciated the nod to Vesuvio in North Beach. At the risk of becoming disloyal to Rain, I did fall in love with Ben's character. At times the dialogue and constant bickering between the two brothers got old, but the story tracked well, and while there are a couple assassination/murder scenes, they weren't as drawn out as they sometimes are in the Rain series, and there's less of the surveillance/counter-surveillance showing off that Eisler often gets carried away with. I very much appreciated the indirect reference in the book to John Rain, and look forward to more of Ben, or even a couple more stand-alone books by Eisler - before he eventually writes another John Rain book, of course.

Brother, I'm Dying - Edwidge Danticat

I've been having trouble keeping up with my blog - with an increased work load and more travel, it has been difficult to find time to sit down and reflect on the books I've been reading. Luckily, though, I've still had time to read. With everything going on in Haiti recently, I've found myself wanting to learn more about the country. Since I'm not very good with reading news reports or history books, I turned to one of my favorite novelists, Edwidge Danticat. I picked this one up from the library, having no idea what it was about. This is Danticat's own story - of her childhood in Haiti - growing up with her brother, away from her parents who had made their way to the United States in hopes of setting up a better life for the entire family. It is a story of Danticat's hard-working and proud father, as well as her uncle, the man she knew as her father for all those years back in Haiti. As Danticat finds herself unwittingly torn between her loyalties for the two men, she also finds herself torn between her two countries - at a time when finding herself and understanding life take on a whole new meaning. At times it seemed like Danticat was trying to do too much - give a historical perspective on Haiti, come to terms with her childhood and her relationship with her family, understanding what it meant to have two families, dealing with the illness and potential deaths of her father and brother, understanding the relationship between the brothers, addressing the issue of immigration...each time I felt myself drawn to a character of part of her story, she moved on to something else. But, each piece is told with compasion and beauty - and it was worth it to learn something about Danticat's amazing life, as well as to get a flavor of the country she so clearly loves.