Take 2

FYI friends,

To make it easier for people to remember, I renamed my other blog- The Joy of Literacy

Check it out here:
http://thejoyofliteracy.blogspot.com/

My mom thought Bedfellows and Pocketbook Companions would make a good title for a memoir....ahhhh, someday mom.

XOXO,
Rebecca

Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

     =        

Kindle you have been wonderful, but really, The Hangman's Daughter? Overall, it was pretty bad. And now I am spending precious minutes commenting on this poor novel with the hope that you too will not squander your life away.

When you have a Kindle, or probably any other e-reader, you can view the top rated downloads and instantly (but, of course!) read reviews. This book was #1 for Kindle downloads, only $3.99, and it had gotten one rave review after another.  After reading most of the book, I checked the reviews again, and the negative comments had multiplied. I came across a review that said the plot reminded him of Scooby-Doo-- The evil guy is after those pesky kids. That put the nail on the head.

The general gist of the book: A hangman from a long line of hangmen in a small Bavarian town has to execute someone he knows is innocent. In order to make peace with his conscience, he tries to find out who is guilty. The crime? Murdering small children and practicing witchcraft.

The plot plods on and on. The characters are 2-dimensional. The writing is unsophisticated- it felt like a middle school novel. But i did finish it (what if it got better?).

In the end I decided 2 things:

1. The book was translated, and it could have been well written in German. If the writing was elevated, it would have made the book a lot better. So it may be the fault of the translation.
2. It was a mostly true story about the author's family (which I didn't find out until after i finished it)...this makes it a lot more interesting in hindsight.

Sorry Germany, you'll have to wait a bit more for your Steig Larrson...but it may happen some day. On Goodreads I gave it 2/5 stars. I did finish it.

Now on to a (hopefully) better novel- Cutting the Stone. It's probably a good sign that this one didn't turn up on Kindle's most downloaded list.

xoxo,

Rebecca

Books: Goodreads + Faithful Place by Tana French

I just got hooked to Goodreads over the holidays (see side bar). It's a really fun way to connect with family and friends over books- a book lover's facebook. I love getting to peek at books my friends love (or didn't love so much). Books can be a highly personal- what you read says so much about your personality and interests, so looking at friends' personal book shelves almost feels like reading their journal. It's so fun! And, it's a great way to find new authors/books to read. (My glowing review should encourage you to try it out!)

Anyhow--

This year I set a personal challenge to read at least 20 books (and this list won't include any professional reading I do). I think 20 is completely doable (I'm hoping), especially with the new Kindle I got from my hubby for xmas. I'll keep you updated on what I've read/am reading.

This week I finished Tana French's Faithful Place. It was my first Kindle read- who hoo! This is the 3rd book in her Dublin (not CA) murder squad series. I've read all three. I thought I found an author that I alone adored, but apparently she's on a lot of folks' Kindle nowadays- and for a good reason. I've enjoyed reading everyone of her murder-mystery books. She follows a different murder/under cover detective as he/she slueths to find the murderer. Each detective always has a personal connection to the case in some way, so that adds a different element to her books.

Faithful Place follows an under cover detective, Frank Mackey, back to his family's home, which he's managed to successfully avoid his entire adult life. Frank's sister calls her cop brother when a suitcase is found in an abandoned building. The suitcase belongs to a girl that went missing in the 80's, a girl that Frank Mackey was dating at the time she went missing. So- the plot thickens! And, like I mentioned, French likes to add in this personal connection between the detective and the case. It definitely makes the plot more enthralling. The detectives have a lot more at stake in solving the mystery. The book is entangled with dysfunctional family drama, nostalgic childhood romance, complicated adult romance, and good ol' sleuthing.

I recommend it.

See the NY Times Book Review here.

Now I'm reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. If you know the Kindle- I started today and am at 12%- it's really interesting so far.


Read on!

Fatal Paris

These are my most recent reads. My sister suggested I read Sarah's Key, a historical fiction novel set in the 1940's in France. In a series of events largely ignored by the French people, the French police, in collaboration with the German Nazis, locked up French Jews and sent them off to the gas chambers. Families were separated from each other early on in France and then taken to other concentration camps.This book tells of a young girl's journey to the camps, and what life was like after her escape. I loved the historical aspect of this novel. A whole new moment in history was opened up to me. This was a fast read too, which always makes a book enjoyable. The last 1/3 or so of the book seemed unnecessary-- the author trying to connect the past to the present with a feeble love story. Great novel, sans the romance. Just give us the real hard grit (with a little redemption at the end), please!

The Paul Auster book I picked up at the library. I read the book jacket and was hooked. Being a bit of a design aficionado- I was also intrigued by the pretty cover. I loved this book. It's a hard book to explain. It starts in 1967 when a Columbia college student meets a professor at a party. You get the sense from the beginning that this professor has a dark side, and is possibly up to no good. This eery relationship is central to the plot of the book. And, like Sarah's Key, Paris plays a starring role in this novel as well. The story ends in the present day, and you're left wondering, even as you read the final page. I don't want to say too much--but it's an oddly enjoyable book.

Read on!

Really Sweden? That's all you got?

I've been devouring the 2nd book of the Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson, "The Girl Who Played with Fire"(see NY Times review here). I have about 30 pages left to go, and I decided to make dinner and put the conclusion on hold until bed time. There has to be something to look forward to when I hop into my big empty bed tonight (Mark's gone on a over night school field trip).

But it has to be said-- What is with Sweden and Pippi Longstocking? I feel sad that this children's book series is really their only national claim to fame. And let me tell you, Larsson milks the popularity of the Pippi books for all it's worth. The main character in The Millennium Series is nicknamed Kalle Blomkist, a prominent character/boy detective in Pippi books. And the other main character Lisbeth (such a great kick butt character!!! Love her!), names her expansive apartment V. Vulla, after Pippi's home. Lisbeth has some Pippi-esque qualities, now that I think about it. But it just cracks me up how these Pippi books keep being referenced in Larsson's Millennium books; they couldn't be more different.

Well, I look forward to end book 2 tonight. Book three can wait until my summer vacation officially starts on Thursday, on the other hand, maybe it can't!

But I do have to admit, Pippi rocks.

Read 'em and Weep

Okay, I think I can finally admit that I like page turners. My husband has been reading Light in August by William Faulkner. I am impressed by this attempt (I say attempt because he's been reading it for 2 months). He is relentless, and I know I would have given up if I were him. I however, have been drifting towards quick reads. Not as impressive. Not as challenging intellectually. But darn good fun! And, Oprah would be proud of me. I see that I tend toward the heart-wrenching novel.

I know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb: 916 pages of high drama. I really liked this book. It deals with the complexities of being a twin. The main character is so invested in looking after his schizophrenic (yes, I spell checked that!) twin brother, so much so that he neglected taking care of his own emotional well-being. Wally Lamb's books are not light, and they deal with serious issues, and they usually take you on a long, well-worth-it journey.

Yiyun Li is an Oakland author (woot!woot!). Her first full-length novel, The Vagrants, deals with a group of interrelated characters in post cultural revolution China.  Some of these characters were very compelling, but I don't think the plot came together as well as I wanted it to in the end. I did like getting to know China during this era.

See a good review of this at a blog I like, The Best Little Bookshelf, here.

This book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was a good fun read (oh yeah, and a little sadistic too!). I am a big sucker for mysteries. PD James and Tara French are two of my favorite mystery writers. This book was unputdownable (yes, that's a word I made up).  Larsson's writing is smart, and the plot moves quickly from the onset of the book. You must read this. I am at my wits end trying to get the second book in the series into my hot little hands. Okay, so I've been thinking... why do mysteries not only deal with murder, but always have some weird sexual subplot? Even with 80-year-old kick a** James you get these twisted characters with odd sexual habits. Just saying... 

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, by M.T Anderson and White Noise, by Don Delillo

I promised myself that I would do a review of every book I read this year, and I'm a bit behind.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, by M.T. Anderson was a unique read and brought lively discussion to our book club last month. Set in Boston and thereabouts in the 1760's, the narrator, Octavian, and his mother, Cassiopeia, have been bought as slaves to live in an academy of experimentation. At this academy, The Novanglian College of Lucidity, Octavian and his mother are part of a grand scientific experiment to discover the capabilities of peoples of African descent. As a specimen, Octavian measures his feces, masters the violin, and learns latin. His mother, a supposed queen from Africa, entertains guests of the academy with her beauty. The unspoken question of the experiment is: Is the African able to accomplish what the white man can accomplish with comparable training? The world the characters inhabit feels surreal, yet it is based on schools of thought that Jefferson and Hume themselves adopted. As Octavian becomes more and more educated and capable, his freedoms become stripped away.  The results of the experimentation are used against him to limit his learning. Everyone at our book club was eager to read the sequel to find out what happens to Octavian after an attempted escape. Check out the NY Times Book Review here. I would definitely recommend reading this book. 

                                               

This is now a modern classic, White Noise by Don Delillo (Mr. Post-modern himself). Set in the 1980's a American family experiences a toxic event that forces them to flee town. Everything in this book screams 1980's: pill addiction, references to Diet Coke, broken families with multiple marriages, and the novelty of the microwave. It does give you a glimpse of the decade, but to me it felt blah. I read it because it is supposed to be good, and I thought it was just okay. You don't love the characters, probably because you get a sense that the characters only care about themselves and the fear they're wrapped up in. It's quintessentially post-modern-- not my cup of tea. 

A Little While, by Edwidge Danicat

I was just reading The New Yorker: The Talk of the Town while I ate breakfast. Danicat, a Haitian and well-known author, shares family stories and reflects on the earthquake. I like what she has to say.

An Excerpt from... A Little While, by Edwidge Danicat

The day that Maxo’s remains were found, the call came with some degree of excitement. At least he would not rest permanently in the rubble. At least he would not go into a mass grave. Somehow, though, I sense that he would not have minded. Everyone is being robbed of rituals, he might have said, why not me?
By the time Maxo’s body was uncovered, cell phones were finally working again, bringing a flurry of desperate voices. One cousin had an open gash in her head that was still bleeding. Another had a broken back and had gone to three field hospitals trying to get it X-rayed. Another was sleeping outside her house and was terribly thirsty. One child had been so traumatized that she lost her voice. An in-law had no blood-pressure medicine. Most had not eaten for days. There were friends and family members whose entire towns had been destroyed, and dozens from whom we have had no word at all.
Everyone sounded eerily calm on the phone. No one was screaming. No one was crying. No one said “Why me?” or “We’re cursed.” Even as the aftershocks kept coming, they’d say, “The ground is shaking again,” as though this had become a normal occurrence. They inquired about family members outside Haiti: an elderly relative, a baby, my one-year-old daughter.
I cried and apologized. “I’m sorry I can’t be with you,” I said. “If not for the baby—”
My nearly six-foot-tall twenty-two-year-old cousin—the beauty queen we nicknamed Naomi Campbell—who says that she is hungry and has been sleeping in bushes with dead bodies nearby, stops me.
“Don’t cry,” she says. “That’s life.”
“No, it’s not life,” I say. “Or it should not be.”
“It is,” she insists. “That’s what it is. And life, like death, lasts only yon ti moman.” Only a little while.


Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2010/02/01/100201taco_talk_danticat#ixzz0eIwkpbO8