March 01, 2010

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for February.

Bought:

• The First Rule; a Joe Pike Novel, by Robert Crais
  

Read:

• The First Rule; a Joe Pike Novel, by Robert Crais (iPhone/Kindle)
  
• Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth 1), by Terry Goodkind (re-read)
  
• The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (re-read)
  
• Black and White, by Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge (library)
  

Posted by Duff at 12:25 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Readin'

February 28, 2010

Sci Fi: Black and White, by Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge

A superhero novel. Reads like a comic book except, you know, there are no drawings and there's lots of text. Two young girls, schooled at the same superhero "academy", now diametrically opposed. Flashes back and forth between their current conflict and their school days.

Lots of fun. Go Jet! Go Iri! I want to be their #3.

Posted by Duff at 03:46 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

February 11, 2010

Fantasy: Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth 1), by Terry Goodkind

Re-read.

Wow, I had totally forgotten about the crazy masochistic torture stuff in this book. I also forgot about that whole whiney mcwhinerson section with Kahlan. I would like a clearer picture of how old Richard and Kahlan are supposed to be as this series begins.

Love the rules around magic in this book. All the use of webs. And Kahlan's power. ESPECIALLY in Con Dar.

Posted by Duff at 12:02 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

February 06, 2010

Mystery/Fiction: The First Rule; a Joe Pike Novel, by Robert Crais

I got too bored with Elvis Cole to read anymore of those* but good grief I love me some Joe Pike. It's possible I love Joe Pike more than Jack Reacher^ even because it just seems like while Jack Reacher would be my big brotherly uncle type, Joe Pike would be you know more interesting to me in the sack. Plus I TOTALLY want his tattoos. Totes.

He's hot, and also the coolest customer out there (never lets himself lose his temper which you do occasionally see from Reacher), the mystery is interesting, there's some lies/twists/turns but not so many that you want to hang yourself. And at the end, as in the first Joe Pike-centered book, there's that hint of more humanity than one would guess...

Oh, Joe.

p.s. I read this in bed on my iPhone when I couldn't sleep. :) Then I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop reading.

*Joe Pike was originally the sidekick in the Elvis Cole series. This is the second Joe Pike-focused book. I don't remember Elvis appearing in the first book (did he?) but in this one he gets to be Joe's sidekick instead.

^The Jack Reacher series is by a different author, Lee Child. If you type either of their names into that search box on the right, you'll get a few hits.)

Posted by Duff at 09:49 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde

If you think the Tuesday Next books are too gimmicky, then you're going to want to avoid this one as I believe it blows that series out of the water gimmick-wise.

While I did enjoy some of the events of the ending, I really had to force myself to get there, and honestly that's not something I really like to do when I read these days. Yes, I used to be a "have to finish everything I start" reader but now I'm an "hey I'm old and there isn't that much time and I don't want to die not having gotten to read as much GOOD stuff as possible so if it sucks, I'm stopping" reader.

This is a society based on color and the color that you can see is therefore the color that you "are" and the amount (percentage) of that color you are able to see determines your prestige, and both those items determine your EXACT position in society. What jobs you can have, who you can marry, etc. The world is ruled by a certain book of rules and infractions/demerits are cumulative. So what's the obvious thing right? Time for a revolution.

A lot of really obvious metaphor here. I remember I loved the first two Tuesday Nexts, didn't care for book 3, thought book 4 was OK...and just did not need to read more. (He could have stopped at one and had a really original book out there. Did he have to play it out?)

This series I am going to stop at book 1 as it's already boring me... In addition, at least the Tuesday Next books made you think about other great books, or google names that you couldn't place to figure out where in literature they were from. None of that extra in this one. (And it's definitely going to be a series, the names of the next two books were listed in the back.)

Posted by Duff at 09:39 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

YA/Fiction: Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Powerful book. Told in a long reveal, it takes a while to know what's truly going on, although as an adult I had a pretty good idea (would kids jump to the right conclusion? I don't know).

A lot of nice metaphorical work throughout the story, mirroring the evolution of the main character (particularly in the conception of the tree, and in the naming/recognition of a certain character).

I'm interested to check out her other books, looks like she's written a ton of stuff.

[Apparently there was a movie (Lifetime?) of this, but when I used this book for my media mini-study in my middle school curriculum class, the people in my small group who had seen it said it wasn't anywhere near as good as the book. Why had they seen it? Oh that class is chockfull of undergrads. Bunch of 22 year olds who apparently watch Lifetime teen movies! Heh.]

Posted by Duff at 09:31 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fantasy: The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

The first part of Book 12 of the Wheel of Time series, which will be split into three (I call it 12a). For however much these later books cover such small amounts of time, and how at least one main character always seems to vanish for a book (in this one, Elayne and Lan do not actually appear although they are of course talked about), and how much you fear that the ending won't live up to that great end of days that's been talked about the whole series long... I still really love a lot of these characters and still enjoy reading about them and thinking about their interrelationships. Still love the Aiel and their crazy ways. Enjoying Suian Sanche more than I would have thought. Mat! is all over this one. You know I love Mat! Some nutty Black Friend reveals! There's a lot to enjoy. Now 12b, hurry up.

p.s. I thought Sanderson did a fine job of writing both in his own and in Jordan's voice. There were a couple instances of "huh didn't he just use that exact phrase to describe someone a chapter ago" but other than that, I thought it flowed just fine and all the pivotal characters still felt "right."

Posted by Duff at 09:25 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

YA/Fantasy: The Prophecy of the Sisters, by Michelle Zink

Not badly written. The stuff with the little brother is poignantly told. Some of it is quite spooky.

On the other hand, this felt like a book in which very little happens other than the reveal of the ancient curse/prophecy...and it just...ENDS. Very much a "book 1" but even in a series, shouldn't each book have its own purpose? I felt like this one really tailed off at the end in setup for book 2.

There's something to be said for cliffhangers.

Posted by Duff at 09:22 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Man Walks Into a Room, by Nicole Krauss

I really had to force myself through this one. It's a bit cold and most of the characters I found extremely difficult to connect with (or even to want to).

However, I absolutely adore (ADORE!) her next book "The History of Love" and I would highly recommend you read that one (instead of this OR any other book!). (Search this page for the title or author to hear my enthusiasm. It was one of my very favorite reads of 2005.)

Posted by Duff at 09:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

February 01, 2010

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for January.

Bought:

• None!! (None other than school books, anyway.)
  

Read:

• Night Child, by Jes Battis (library)
  
• This Is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper (library)
  
• Lonely Werewolf Girl, by Martin Millar (library)
  
• A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle (re-read)
  
• The Prophecy of the Sisters, by Michelle Zink
  
• Man Walks Into a Room, by Nicole Krauss
  
• Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde (library)
  
• Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
  
• The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
  

Posted by Duff at 09:18 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Readin'

January 23, 2010

Fantasy: Lonely Werewolf Girl, by Martin Millar

This book is fantastic. The characters are hilarious and deep and interesting and quirky and the plot is both silly and serious and there's love stories and friendships and fights and just so much to love.

There were two small things that I felt were a bit surprisingly ... dropped off at the end (lacking sufficient explanation as to their closure). But that did not stop me at all from loving the ending the rest of the characters get.

Kalix is a fantastic character. I would be sorely tempted to use that name for my firstborn, were there going to be one (there isn't).

Highly recommended from me to you. (Recommended to me by someone on Flickr after they saw I had read and enjoyed The Good Fairies of New York.)

Posted by Duff at 10:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

January 22, 2010

Fiction: Undiscovered Country, by Lin Enger

Our challenge book for December. Dad skipped out on this one (after I skipped out on November). :)

I liked it but didn't entirely love it.

Liked the MN winter setting. Liked the kid and his inner thoughts. Found some of the mom / kid stuff handled a bit weird. Liked the little brother stuff. Hated the girlfriend's dad storyline and found it a bit distracting. Some unexpected twists. I liked it better at the beginning than the end.

I would be interested in reading what Enger does next.

Now all I can think about is how long it's been since I've been out on a frozen lake visiting the ice fisherman. You would NOT even believe how much shit some of them put in their icehouses. I mean we're talking electric generator-powered heaters and TVs and all kinds of crazy stuff. NO JOKE!

Posted by Duff at 11:45 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, Readin'

Fiction: The Flying Troutmans, by Miriam Toews

A roadtrip novel! You KNOW how I feel about roadtrips, right? (PRO.) I also bought this book while on a road trip!

Just as with her earlier novel "A Complicated Kindness" (at least I think it was earlier. It was earlier for me!), this book is full of really quirky and quirkily strong characters. Unusual, unexpected, unpretentious.

Fun but sometimes exasperating and sometimes worry-inducing. The frustrations of family.

Although: when I read the blurb in the back about another book of hers "Summer of My Amazing Luck" the plot seems eerily similar to this one. (And by eerily I don't mean eerie, I mean, is she writing the same book again?)

Posted by Duff at 11:37 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: City of Thieves, by David Benioff

Thanks to Cathy for the loaner!

Really funny in the worst of circumstances. Both the main characters, Lev and Kolya, are completely engaging. Witty dialogue. Recommended.

I didn't realize he had also written the book (and the screenplay) "The 25th Hour" which I liked as a movie (maybe I'll go back and read the original now).

Posted by Duff at 11:32 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Letters: Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant? by Preston Jones and Greg Graffin

subtitled: A professor and a punk rocker discuss science, religion, naturalism & christianity.

I found this book super annoying. While in many ways, I would agree more with Graffin's arguments, I thought he was being kind of a dick the whole time. You shouldn't agree to be in a CONVERSATION with someone if you aren't actually interested in conversing.

While Jones, the religous one, was coming at things from a "this is interesting to think about / it's interesting to hear other viewpoints and try reconciling them with my own and pondering" viewpoint, Graffin seemed to coming from a "what I think is right and you are wrong and I will just tell you YOU ARE WRONG over and over again" viewpoint.

Graffin seemed to only want to talk about THE EXACT FACTS and how anything else was RIDICULOUS; Jones was interested in exploring WHY do people believe, whether it's right or wrong. (It ain't all about the facts.) Most of the time, Graffin's response was basically "NO." Then why even respond? Why bother discussing it? It really didn't seem like he even heard the other point of view.

I mean, I understand. There's a reason I don't discuss politics with Republicans. I don't fucking care what they think. But I wouldn't bother writing back to their letters and saying "NOPE YOU'RE WRONG" everytime either.

Posted by Duff at 11:19 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short stories: Normal People Don't Live Like This, by Dylan Landis

Reminiscent of Betsy Crane's "All This Heavenly Glory" in that while these are short stories, they are all interrelated / they are all telling some bit of Leah's overall story.

An overall story about teenage-dom and cruelty and popularity and curiosity and loneliness and families.

Good. Bittersweet. Sometimes intense.

Posted by Duff at 11:14 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction/Mystery: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson

Read in October. Since I've been doing reviews in any old order...I'm almost caught up!! Yipee!!

Also known as Book 3 of the Millennium trilogy. I am SUCH a huge fan of this trilogy. I picked up book 1 on a whim. Blew through it like a crazy person. LOVE. Then I was so excited in Dublin last February to find book 2 already out there. Loved that one just as much. As SOON as book 3 was released in the UK, I ordered it from amazon.uk because HELLO I could NOT wait.

And it was completely worth it.

These are dark, nasty, sadistic books. They are also exquisitely plotted with seriously intelligent, persistent, strong and attractive (in more than one way) characters. They are entertaining and deep and completely fascinating and honestly it is so hard to get anything else done when you are reading them because you just do NOT want to put them down.

So bummed that there will be no more books by this dude (he died shortly after turning in all three manuscripts to his publisher) because they are some of the best books I've read in years.

Stieg Larsson and Tana French: revolutionizing the SMART mystery category. These are so far above genre books. Truly literature. Truly fantastic.

Posted by Duff at 11:04 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

YA/Fantasy: Liar, by Justine Larbalestier

Yay thanks to Stephanie for sending me this for my birthday, because she knew of my love for Larbalestier's Magic or Madness trilogy.

This was SOOOO different than those books. And SOOOO GOOD. Such deeply written characters. Tangible emotions. Poignant. Sometimes funny. Very affecting.

As you move from section to section in this book, you get absolutely turned around. Fantastic.

Posted by Duff at 10:56 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

YA/Fiction: The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean

Our challenge book for October. I can't remember what led us to pick this book; I know we (or I) read about it somewhere.

We both LOVED it. It doesn't hurt that we're both South Pole/Antarctic junkies and have already read lots of books on the topic/subject/area (including great books by Sara Wheeler! "Terra Incognita" and "Cherry").

Sym is so smart and fantastically imaginative. It's one of those books that, rather than having an unreliable narrator, it's a narrator who doesn't know everything but as she figures it out, the revelations start coming out fast and crazy and the whole world changes before your eyes. Her obsession with Captain Titus Oates is both humorous and touching.

There's some really sad stuff and some really amazing stuff and you are just ROOTING for certain things to happen...

Fantastic.

Posted by Duff at 10:46 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin', Recommending

YA/Fantasy: Midnighters (Books 1-3), by Scott Westerfeld

A(nother) series by the guy who writes Uglies, Pretties, whatevers. I had read his stand-alone Peeps (but not the Uglies, Pretties, whatevers).

1: The Secret Hour
2: Touching Darkness
3: Blue Noon

These books are great. Our world...but with an extra hour that happens at midnight that only a select few are "awake" in. A band of losers whose common ground is the midnight hour, when it turns out they have a few special skills of their own.

I really loved these. I loved the members of the group (particularly Dess). I LOVED all the wordplay (fantastic!). I loved how the slithers seemed related to something deeply dark and ancient. I loved the transformation of the group and how their relationships changed.

I am really going to regret that I read most of these from the library. Definitely buying up the set when I have income again!!

Posted by Duff at 10:34 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Memoir: Toast, the Story of a Boy's Hunger, by Nigel Slater

I read (and loved) The Kitchen Diaries. I've cooked from his books "Appetite" and "Nigel Slater's Real Food". (His "unctuous" potatoes are delicious.)

But I guess I wasn't really prepared for the tone of this memoir. The bits about food are great. But some of the anecdotes made me really sad. And some were kinda creepy. He just put it all out there.

The ball aways hits me in the face or brings a shower of sand with it. My father sighs one of those almost imperceptible sighs that only fragile boys who regularly disappoint their father can hear.

It was brutally honest. I didn't love it. But you might.

Posted by Duff at 10:21 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Even Money, by Dick Francis (and Felix Francis)

Let me just put it out there that I LOVE DICK FRANCIS. I do. I LOVE most of his books. I got completely addicted to them the summer I lived in the UK with my cousins and I've never stopped reading (and re-reading) them since. I know they're all horse centered and I know some of the main characters are really similar and sometimes you really get the sensation of this just being one long ongoing story and I know they can be cheesy.... but I love his writing and I particularly LOVELOVELOVE "Bolt" and "Break In" and they are two of my very, very favorite all-time books....

But this book? "Even Money"? SUCKED. Worst Dick Francis I've ever read. I was sorely disappointed.

Read "Bolt" or "Break In" and know the love. Avoid this book like the plague.

Posted by Duff at 10:18 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Thriller: Ravens, by George Dawes Green

CPL (Chicago Public Library) was recommending this on their web site one day when I was online reserving books, and then Steven King recommended it in one of his EW columns.

I did not think it was good. Seemed super predictable. And I didn't find any of the characters interesting enough to care about. :(

Posted by Duff at 10:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

SciFI: Mother of Storms, by John Barnes

A loaner from Anne, who's been borrowing all my books!!! ;) Hee hee just teasing. It came with the recommendation that it's one of her all-time faves so I was excited to delve in.

Totally wicked modern sci fi basically detailing a (slightly into the future but mostly "our") world falling into catastrophe set off by one tiny thing. It's so freaking BECAUSE IT SO COULD HAPPEN. I mean really the entire time you're reading it, you think "this is ENTIRELY plausible and it is FREAKING ME OUT!" Lots of characters in different storylines with loose connections; like the Robert Jordan books in that if you don't like certain characters, you just hang in there because the ones you like will have another chapter shortly...

Really entertaining. Really scarily plausible.

Posted by Duff at 10:13 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

YA/Fantasy: The Sweep Series (Books 1 - 15), by Cate Tiernan

Since I've already read the Twilight set (yup, this one also) and the Stackhouse books, it seemed I should read these also.

1: Book of Shadows
2; The Coven
3: Blood Witch
4: Dark Magick
5: Awakening
6: Spellbound
7: The Calling
8: Changeling
9: Strife
10: Seeker
11: Origins
12: Eclipse
13: Reckoning
14: Full Circle
15: Night's Child

This series is focused on wicca, with no vampires!, so there are good witches and bad witches and it's primarily about a teenager girl named Morgan who discovered she's a blood witch and then becomes entangled in the magical world through successive boyfriends.

These were certainly entertaining and I really enjoyed the first 10 or so / I didn't like some of the later ones as much, particularly the one from Hunter's point of view...

But they had some of those same problems that a "YA series rushed out" tends to have. Too repetitious / too much explaining or "reminding" the reader of things that the reader JUST read like 20 pages ago, or in the previous book. Do YA editors think kids can't remember things? Because if they explained about being each other's mùirn beatha dàn (soul mate) one more fucking time, I was going to scream. [I enjoyed reading them anyway, but some of those things were really glaring, especially when you are reading so many of them one after the other.]

If you like reading about magic, and you like having that "all caught up in your emotions" teenage feeling again, then you will probably enjoy these! And if you are sick of vampires - they are vampire-free!! :)

Posted by Duff at 10:05 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

January 17, 2010

Fiction: A Pair of Blue Eyes, by Thomas Hardy

Our September challenge book.

Dad really enjoyed it, I really did not.

It's an earlier Hardy (almost 20 years before Tess of the d'Urbervilles and more than that before Jude the Obscure) but its immaturities writing-wise really didn't bother me. And Dad's right, there is some really beautiful descriptive writing in it. (Some of the descriptions of the cliffs and the countryside would really take me away for a moment and I'd think "oh that sentence was lovely.")

But I found the characters, especially Elfride, and the plot and the ridiculous romantic contretemps -- all of which could have been avoided just by somebody opening up their mouth and being honest once in a while -- So. Fucking. ANNOYING! I mean, yes, I know, it's a thing of its time, and society was a very different animal and women had such a struggle to even be allowed to have opinions... YES I KNOW all that. That doesn't make me enjoy it any more or want to be more patient with it. I really never found anyone in the novel interesting enough or attractive enough to be more than irritated by their behavior and the events.

Dad on the other hand could find more sympathy for it. In his own words: I ended up liking it a lot--i think Hardy has the gift of life, always makes the characters live (for me, anyway). Did you notice he stopped being so maddeningly allusive as he got closer to the end--he started to trust his own tale and didn't need to refer to Hamlet, etc. And the way his poor people a) get stuck with carrying these torches of love beyond all reason and b) ALWAYS running into the wrong person or the wrong room or being seen in the wrong company. Poor Elfride!!!! Leaving that note for that ghastly woman!! What a schmuck Knight was. Also like Hardy's scenery, the way the places and landscapes become characters. Great cliff scene, no? And , for a Victorian, lots of erotic buzz.

Posted by Duff at 04:53 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

Fiction: The English American, by Alison Larkin

I'd have to put this one in the "chick lit" category; there were some times it seemed about to rise above that...but it never wholly did. Story of a Brit who finds out her birth mother was American... Lots of interesting family / adoption stuff.

But also really annoying "things that Brits say about us that I have never experienced once in my almost 42 years of life as an American" stereotypes or psuedo witticisms. So every time I was enjoying reading it there would suddenly be something that just ticked me off. For example, I've never once made tea by heating water in a microwave for 30 seconds and then using the same tea bag for three mugs. In fact, no one has ever made me tea that way either. I'm sure you see what I mean: ANNOYING. Makes you want to go around your apartment shouting out random insults at the British.

There were things I liked about it. But I thought there were things that could have been done better.

Posted by Duff at 04:38 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

SciFi/Fantasy: The Travelers, by John Twelve Hawks

A really interesting mix of old traditions and modern technology. Very unexpected. Travelers (those who can move between realms) and Harlequins (those who protect them) and Pathfinders (their teachers) and the society that's out to destroy them all. And Ninja moves and surveillance and swords and motorcycles and skyscrapers and primitive utopian farms in the middle of nowhere. Really intriguing. Just couldn't put it down.

And at the very bottom of the last page it says "Book One of the Fourth Realm"...so I guess there's going to be a sequel! Yippee!

Posted by Duff at 04:31 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

SciFi/Fantasy: Magic in the Shadows, by Devon Monk

The third in a series (one, two) that I am really...into. These are sexy books with great imagery and interesting ideas. You can read it just for the one level, or you can read deeper; your choice. Mmmmmm.

Posted by Duff at 04:23 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

January 12, 2010

Dad's and My Reading Challenge for 2010 [Updated]

We have decided to do re-reads this year (or each book will be a re-read for at least one of us).

January: "A Study in Scarlet" by Arthur Conan Doyle

February: "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

March: "Rebel Angels" by Robertson Davies

April: "Possession" by A.S. Byatt

May: "The Fool's Progress" by Edward Abbey (new to me)

June: "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger (new to Dad)

July: "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville

August & September: "His Dark Materials" (the trilogy) by Philip Pullman

October: "Sabbath's Theater" by Phillip Roth

November: "The Old Devils" by Kingsley Amis (new to me)

December: "King Hereafter" by Dorothy Dunnett (new to Dad)

Our 2009 and 2008 lists. (Our 2009 and 2008 reviews.) [Yes, I know I haven't finished posting 2009 yet. I will hopefully get all caught up this week!]

Posted by Duff at 01:57 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 10, DadReaction, Readin'

Mystery/Thriller: Evil at Heart, by Chelsea Cain

Third in the series (two,one).

These books are so fucking horribly sick and twisted and yicky and soooooo fucking good. A twisted pleasure.

Posted by Duff at 01:43 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Short stores: White Time, by Margo Lanagan

If you use that search bar over on the right and type in Lanagan, you will find this is an author I adore, this book no less than the rest. Some of these take place in that middle ages/medieval-ish type fantasy land and some are very, very modern. And my very favorite was "Wealth" which I have read over and over both because it's fantastic and because it feels like it's part of the same world as Hunger Games.

Posted by Duff at 12:48 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Happy All the Time, by Laurie Colwin

I have a friend who refers to Laurie Colwin books as "tomato soup and grilled cheese." They are usually quiet and somewhat reserved but really quirky and funny when you get to know them. She writes great dialogue that feels refreshingly real. I think Misty was my favorite character but really I would love to be friends with any of these people.

Posted by Duff at 12:44 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Netherland, by Joseph O'Neill

Our challenge book for August.

I liked it more than Dad did (he reports having to flog himself through it) but overall, as time has passed, it didn't leave that much of an impression. It felt like there was an awful lot of that male midlife meandering (the way Philip Roth and David Hodges novels are getting to be)... The modern stuff was a lot sharper, the drooling down memory lane stuff (moonings over mama and cricket) bored us both. Dude's wife was a totally infuriating character; that relationship was nearly inexplicable. We both liked Chuck but his role is weirdly peripheral and pivotal at the same time.

It was a decent enough book but we have no idea why it got the hype it did. I guess the 9/11 references were probably what brought it to people's attention. Eh.

This is what I've learned on the subject of women: never delay. The more quickly you act, the greater the chance of success.

Posted by Duff at 12:20 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Lit Quotes, Readin'

As one does.

"It's funny," said Daniel. "A few weeks ago, I'd never have expected to be wrapping a werewolf in a quilt and giving her a hot water bottle. Now it's almost second nature."

I am reading Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar and it is fantastic.

Posted by Duff at 11:30 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

January 04, 2010

Fantasy: The Good Fairies of New York, by Martin Millar

Bought on a whim.

Really hilarious, irreverent, charming.

Posted by Duff at 01:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: This Is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper

Have looked at it in the bookstore a few times so picked it up when I saw it at the library the other day.

Three brothers, sister, insane mother all in different stages of romantic mess-ups sit shiva for their dad for a week and contretemps ensue.

Occasionally a bit crass but entertaining. Both funny and sad in parts, I liked the main character and I really loved Penny.

At some point you lose sight of your actual parents; you just see a basketful of history and unresolved issues. ...

Penny's honesty has always been like nudity in an action movie: gratuitous but no less welcome for it. ...

You can't let your dog crap on the sidewalk, but it's perfectly acceptable to blow carcinogens down other people's throats. Somewhere along the way, smokers exempted themselves from the social contract.

Posted by Duff at 01:12 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

SciFI/Fantasy: Night Child, by Jes Battis

A random library pickup.

Entertaining. Along the lines of "fantasy goes forensic".

But I thought some of the transitions were choppy / and seemed to have some editing issues / a character would seem to be replying to something that wasn't actually in the other character's dialogue.

Posted by Duff at 01:09 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

December 28, 2009

SciFi/Fantasy: Blue Diablo, by Ann Aguirre

By the author of the Sirantha Jax books (here and here), that's why I picked it up. Didn't like it as much. This is more a magical world rather than a sci fi world, so that may be part of it. Also: product placement in a fantasy novel? REALLY jumped out at me. Bizarre. I guess I just don't love this main character the way I love Sirantha.

Posted by Duff at 10:13 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

SciFi: Doubleblind, by Ann Aguirre

The third book in the Sirantha Jax series. I really love this character and this world but I felt a little disjointed for the first bit. I guess I didn't remember clearly enough what happened at the end of Book 2... And it's going to suck when Book 4 comes out and I can't go back and look at the end of this one again since I checked it out of the library! Oh woe is the unemployed student.

Love the action, love the world, love the Vel character. Really into this series.

Posted by Duff at 10:07 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

SciFi: Marcher, by Chris Beckett

Very cool sci fi that I picked up on a whim at the library. A little further ahead in a grimier version of our modern world, where the immigration problem has become "shifters", people who take a mysterious drug called "slip" that slips or shifts them into other, parallel universes. Charles is one of the immigration officers involved. Lots of cool thoughts about identity and choices and time and linearity. Very cool!

Posted by Duff at 09:51 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

December 27, 2009

Essays: A Plea for Eros, by Siri Hustvedt

I had read and really enjoyed Hustvedt's intense novel "What I Loved" (if you search for "Hustvedt" on this page you can hear more) and although I am not a big reader of nonfiction, one day in the bookstore this just insisted on coming home with me.

These are really interesting essays. My favorites were the literary ones - ponderings on The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald), The Bostonians (H. James) and Our Mutual Friend (Dickens) - and, as someone who was a New Yorker at the time, her essay on 9/11 from a NYer's point of view. The Minnesota stuff is all very familiar to me, I can picture those places not just from my own experiences in small towns there, and my undergrad experience at Gustavus (very similar to St. Olaf, where she went), but also from having been to many of the actual places.

She makes herself very vulnerable here. Way beyond anything I could ever commit to print. And at some points as similarly intense as in her fiction. Burning brightly.

Posted by Duff at 05:27 PM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

December 22, 2009

Fantasy: "Hunger Games" and "Catching Fire" both by Suzanne Collins

Another fantastic duo, I would recommend these just as highly as the Kristin Cashore books, but note that they are very, very different.

The dystopian universe here is almost Dickensian in its shadings (although with fewer of the finer details) and it definitely makes you, the reader, long for escape for these characters, for survival, for even just the littlest bit of hope.

Unexpectedly cruel with odd kindnesses. And, as in much YA, some growing up and self discovery along the way.

An adventure of endurance... You'll want to block off a day for these as you will find yourself unable to do anything else.

And if you've read the story "Wealth" in Margo Langan's "White Time" collection, it almost seems like they come from the same world. In fact, I drove myself insane for an entire afternoon trying to figure out where that story was from as they felt so much of a piece.

Posted by Duff at 07:37 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fantasy: "Graceling" and "Fire", both by Kristin Cashore

I absolutely loved these books; they sucked me right into their world and I didn't really ever want to leave. (A third book is being written.... Wahoo.)

A world where people have "talents" or "graces."

Graceling: a novel of growing up, of standing one's ground, of discovering the hidden layers, of coming to know oneself.

Fire: a different sort of animal, a story of someone already grown but not always allowed to grow, already knowing oneself, but coming to better know others.

Lyrically written, they both made me cry at points. They both made me yearn.

Note: Fire is a prequel but I'd say DEFINITELY read it second as it gives away something that you want to figure out more slowly as you read Graceling.

Posted by Duff at 07:23 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

October 18, 2009

Romance/Fantasy: "Sea Witch", "Sea Fever" and "Sea Lord", all by Virginia Kantra

A trilogy about "selkies" / shapechangers who are seals in the water and humans on land / with some demons and intrigue thrown in for good measure.

Sexy, sexy fantasy. Mmmmm.

Perfect for some bedtime readin' on the iphone/Kindle.

Posted by Duff at 12:44 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

October 08, 2009

Fiction: The Death of Sweet Mister, by Daniel Woodrell

Woodrell's later book "Winter's Bone" was one of my very favorite books read in 2007 and I've finally gotten around to reading one of his earlier works.

This novel has a similar focus on a downtrodden, lonely teen in a harsh poverty-struck landscape. But this book is a LOT creepier than Winter's Bone and you are not (at all) left with the same sense of hope. That's not a denigration / more of a gentle warning.

Lovely lyrical rhythm to his writing. But woah to come to that end...

Posted by Duff at 10:34 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Nonfiction: In Defense of Food; An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan

Some of this book is entertaining, some of it's really impassioned about things I have a hard time feeling much oomph about, and overall it just really, REALLY made me want to eat a crapload of sugar. Which was not the authorial intent. :)

It was interesting and thoughtful, on one hand. On the other, isn't it a little sickening how intensely we insist on (over)analyzing each and every choice we make in every aspect of our lives these days? Sometimes a girl's just gotta LIVE, ya know.

Posted by Duff at 10:30 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray

Our challenge book for July and what a behemoth it was. As DadReaction described it: "Some gremlin keeps adding chapters to this sucker, so no matter how much I read there's still more to go. and more, and more, and more..."

It's weird how what we all remember / socially think / this book to be about is Becky Sharp yet in fact she disappears for chapters at a time, as sometimes do Dobbin and Amelia as well. (You could easily abridge about several hundred pages out of this thing and lose nothing of the main plot lines.) There are passages about which members of society are at a party that read as thrillingly as the genealogical sections of the bible.

GirlReaction: The problem with most of the older (in terms of when they were published!) books we've read this year is insipid heroines. I just get bored by the helpless female (Amelia) and the crafty female (Becky) is just as one-dimensional in her own way (although a bit more entertaining). I sometimes feel that as you read "old classics" you can pick out a bit of WHY they were so renowned in their time (or shortly afterward) but it seems very old hat now (i.e., the things that were original about them don't seem original if you happen to have read their (many, and later) imitators first).

DadReaction: Reminded of what Samuel Johnson said of Paradise Lost: everyone can see its value, but no one ever wished it longer. Amen. Becky, the one live wire, keeps vanishing--didn't you think it would be more about her? And the old men--Sedley and Osborne--are just monsters!! It's like suddenly you're in a Eugene O'Neil play. Very much an 18th century feel to the book, though. More like Tom Jones than , say, Great Expectations. Names too are tres 18th siecle: e.g., Castlemouldy. Dobbin's a complete idiot.

Posted by Duff at 10:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

September 16, 2009

Fantasy/Mystery: "Cry Wolf" and "Hunting Ground", both by Patricia Briggs

I've talked a LOT about Patricia Briggs here, all of whose books I love, particularly the Mercy Thompson series.

These books take place within the same universe, concentrating on events in Bran's pack instead, particularly his son Charles. While I think they discussed the concept vaguely in the Mercy books, these books also focus on Anna, who is an "omega", a sort of "powerful submissive" who can stand up to alphas in a way no other wolves can.

Just as with the Mercy books, the action is great, the romance is great, they feel very real and believable and oh my god I cannot wait for her to write another one!!!!!

Posted by Duff at 11:01 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

July 17, 2009

Short stories: Emerald City, by Jennifer Egan.

I read Egan's (fairly) recent book "The Keep" right before I moved all my book thoughts over to this page (see it right at the top of the old readin page), but I think this collection was published well before that novel.

I thought these were great. Unexpected and tense. The main characters are often in moments of conflict or deception. Very different from each other. And all very finely detailed.

Posted by Duff at 06:02 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

SciFi: Old Man's War by John Scalzi

I've been reading his blog for awhile (have gotten some great recommendations from it) so I decided to try out his (from a while ago) debut.

It felt sooooo familiar that I kept checking my lists over and over to see if I had read it before and finally I realized that it was just really (REALLY) reminding me of Haldeman's The Forever War. The difference for me being that it doesn't have the strong underlying anti- (or "futility of") war message. i.e., This one is more about the surface story.

Decently written but the dialogue felt very stiff to me. One of the blurbs inside calls it "The Forever War with better sex."

I think I'll like sequel The Ghost Brigades better, when I get around to that one, as that's the part of this story that interested me the most.

Posted by Duff at 05:55 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn

In the end, I wound up liking this book. But if you had to choose only one of her books to read, Sharp Objects is by far the better.

It took me a while to really get involved in the story. And it didn't have the really intense (and awesome) imagery that Sharp Objects had, nor the inviting main character. The mystery seemed much more ordinary to me / not as creative.

However, at a certain point, I really couldn't put it down. And even the things about it I was disappointed in were still well-written. Similarly to Sharp Objects, however, there is a lot of really, really icky family stuff. So, you know, if you can't handle that, well, you may want to avoid this.

Posted by Duff at 05:49 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Motherless Brooklyn, by Jonathan Lethem

Our June challenge book.

We both just TOTALLY loved this book. So much fantastic word play. Great plot, nice details on the L.I.C./BQE area of NYC. A completely original take on this type of book, just takes it to another level.

As DadReaction put it: you know, I usually don't enjoy bizarre narrators but I really--EAT ME, MINNAWEED--like Lionel--and the unlocking of the Tourette's experience is just dazzling (like when he talks about the environments that calm him). Balmslim. Slamkill. Allmiss. Really good.

Also (GR here again) reminded me of the character Adah from Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible (a great book and to my mind by far the best Kingsolver book).

Posted by Duff at 05:37 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin', Recommending

SciFi/Fantasy: Magic in the Blood, by Devon Monk

The follow-up to Magic to the Bone.

I continue to really love the tattoo imagery in these books and the specifics of the magical world created here. There really wasn't enough Zayvion in this one though. I hope he has more to do in Book 3 (I hope there is a Book 3!)

Posted by Duff at 05:30 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Another Tournament of Books find.

Really fast read, the print in this sucker is HUGE. And it's got that "thick book / but huge print / too short" YA thing going on. That said, I pretty much totally loved it.

Smart college girl. Questionable boyfriend. Secret Society at pseudo-Ivy League school. Really a LOT of fun.

Posted by Duff at 05:26 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Dart League King, by Keith Lee Morris

As with City of Refuge, bought after reading about it at the Tournament of Books.

I really didn't have that much an idea of what to expect, and this book just got better and better as it went along. As each chapter unfolded, you realize the story is actually about something completely different than you were expecting. Expertly drawn small-town dramas, this all felt so familiar and so real.

It really takes talent to make you care about characters that are in many ways not very attractive people. Loved it!

Posted by Duff at 05:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

SciFi: "Wanderlust" and "Grimspace" both by Ann Aguiree

I can't remember now if I read about these somewhere or if I just came across them in the bookstore but I loved them! Ann Aguirre may be my next go-to sci fi writer (after Patricia Briggs and Elizabeth A. Lynn).

A female space pilot who navigates faster-than-light ships telepathically through "grimspace". An intergalactic corporation whose monopoly may be coming to an end. A hot mystery man. Mmmmmm.

These books were a lot of tightly plotted fun with sassy dialogue to boot. I really hope there's going to be another one in the series!!! (In the meantime, I have bought another book by Aguirre with a different setting/heroine.)

Posted by Duff at 05:15 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Dracula, by Bram Stoker

Dad's and my challenge book for May and a re-read for me from grad school (the first time around!).

It was really interesting to go back and re-read this now, when vampires are such a hot topic: between Twilight and True Blood, they're all over the place. But this? This is back when vampires weren't sexy, or intriguing, or sparkly, or helpful to humans, or any of the other modern twists. (You know how every new vampire series needs to put its own twist on the old legends. Which I find it a bit of an authorial conceit.)

They were scary and murderous and preyed on you and sometimes, if you were really unlucky, turned you to evil. There is menace and malice creeping out the seams of this book. It did get annoying (to both of us) how the men just fawn over the poor innocent women...it's definitely a novel "of its time" as they say.

Kept running into notes I had scrawled in the margins in whatever class I read this for (while getting a Literature MA): "This symbolizes the marriage ceremony" or "refers to King Lear". Heh. Funny to come across those although most of it is stuff that you could easily still enjoy the book without knowing.

Dad and I also talked about how similar it felt to Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde which you may remember us reading earlier this year. As Dad mentioned, the multiple points of view, groping for the story, etc.

Some additional comments from DadReaction: Didn't being AND becoming a vampire seem a LOT more complicated than the movies let on? To wit, Drac seems to be able to be out in daylight, he just has less power--and WAY less at sunrise and sunset. Then it seems like there are all sorts of transition stages to become one if you're a victim--but you DON'T want to predecease Drac! No way!! That's like a 'get out of jail free' card in monopoly, no? You skip the steps, even if the death is from natural causes--or, what?

Interesting, though, that it's IMPOSSIBLE to read without filling in the blanks from all the movies you've seen. I keep wanting to tell the characters: 'It's a vampire, you morons!!!" And how weird, that van Helsing talks like Yoda.

I did get tired--o Lord, weary, weary--of all the FAWNING over Mina, those long adulatory passages from Herr Yoda.

Posted by Duff at 04:59 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

Fiction: All Summer, by Claire Kilroy

Bought on the Dublin trip as well.

A story that kind of swirls around you, with bouts of amnesia, an unreliable narrator, and a mysterious crime (or two) that took place before the novel's start. Creepy and tense and really good.

Posted by Duff at 04:11 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

June 06, 2009

Fiction: Eureka Street, by Robert McLiam Wilson

Bought in Dublin.

Really liked this book. Set in Belfast. Two down-n-out friends. Chuckie Lurgan, protestant, and Jake Jackson, catholic. They're so scruffy and downtrodden, one would have to call them anti-heroes. It's sarcastic and crass and rough and funny and unexpected. Very enjoyable.

Posted by Duff at 11:36 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Mystery/Fantasy: The Sookie Stackhouse books (all of 'em so far), by Charlaine Harris

So, scattered throughout April and May, a few here, a few there, I have made my way through all the Sookie Stackhouse books published so far (the basis behind HBO's True Blood series).

1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas
3. Club Dead
4. Dead as a Doornail
5. Definitely Dead
6. All Together Dead
7. From Dead to Worse
8. Dead and Gone (read on my iPhone/Kindle app! instead of having to buy hardcover, yay!)

They are certainly entertaining although sometimes quite predictable. Harris puts her own twist on the vampire genre by outing vampires to the real world thanks to the Japanese development of a synthetic blood drink almost as good as the real thing.

I like Sookie, although I think sometimes she is painted more vapid than others, depending on the needs of that storyline. It cracks me up that OF COURSE she begins the series as a virgin (every vampire story needs a virgin) but (again OF COURSE) soon finds sex the Best. Thing. Ever (you KNOW how good vampires are at sex. come on!). I love that while finding her a new person to sleep with in quite a few of the books, Harris continues to really underline Sookie's naive, good-girl status.

I like the mysteries, I haven't found them as obvious as I feared, and there are some supporting characters I really enjoy. But at their best, these are "entertaining". And I need them to be a LOT longer.

There's a lot of discussion (in the 365 knitter/crafter world anyway!) as to whether they're better written than the Meyer books. I'd have to say they're differently written / not necessarily better or worse. In terms of actual well-writtenness, I'd recommend the Cassandra Clare books over either of these sets, really.*

But it IS nice to read the Sookie books which are all clearly, despite Sookie's protected innocent status, very much more adult comedies. Sometimes the teenybopper books can get toooo angsty. Sookie rarely keeps angst hanging around very long.

ETA: And Sookie, unlike Bella, is quite capable of taking care of herself. She is an unexpectedly self sufficient heroine, for someone so often pictured as naive in the ways of the world.

*But if you're looking for actual very well-written adult fantasy books, then you need to be reading Patricia Briggs. They are less vampire-focused but they're really "tight". The Mercedes books are modern-day but if you want "fantasy medieval feelin' worlds", she writes those too.

Posted by Duff at 10:55 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: The Three Evangelists, by Fred Vargas

Bought in Dublin, although Vargas is a French writer. Sil said her stuff can be hard to find.

This was almost a philosophical mystery. For a LOT of this book, very little is taking place but people are thinking and talking and wondering and hypothesizing. The characters are a real collection of oddballs, thrown together nearly by chance.

Quite enjoyable and quirky.

Posted by Duff at 10:52 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Tell No One, by Harlan Coben

I think this was loaned to me by Mariko. Or did I buy this? Can't remember.

A stand-alone mystery (not part of his Myron Bolitar series. You may remember I've sort of lost my patience with those.) I liked some of this, found some of it frustrating, and thought the plot ultimately suffered from too many twists of the very same moment. It was OK. Eggplant, do you want this book back?

Posted by Duff at 10:48 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy: Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson

Sanderson is the author picked to finish up Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and I thought I'd like to read something he'd written on his own before those start rolling out (the final book is being spilt into three with the first one coming out Nov 3. yay!).

This was his debut novel and also, somewhat unusually for fantasy, it's a stand-alone so a good one to read when you're not necessarily looking to get thrown into yet another fantasy series... :)

There's a city of magic that was mysteriously corroded; there's a new religion rising; there are politicians who've stopped caring about the body politic; and there's an arranged marriage that fell apart before it even started. Intrigue and magic and religious furor and HOPE really is the thing this book is about. Really enjoyed it.

Posted by Duff at 10:43 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Then We Came to the End, by Joshua Ferris

Our challenge book for April.

GirlReaction: We both came to really like it in the end, Dad perhaps a bit more than me, but it was a bit of a struggle to get into. There were times when I felt he played a little fast and loose with the third-person narrative: i.e., if "we over here" don't like "those people over there" they should be "they"s not also another set of "we"s. And I wonder if this book will have a lasting legacy; it's VERY much a book of its time: of a world with "Office Space" and "The Office" and layoffs and recession/depression (and bonus for me: set in Chicago!).

DadReaction, first: Weirdest response: read one paragraph and thought 'going to like this'. read two paragraphs and thought 'can't go on'--happens everytime I pick it up!! There seems to be an underlying suicidal depression about it--maybe it takes me back to when I was desperately job hunting when you guys were tiny. Tres traumatic.

GirlReaction: That may have been part of my struggle with the book as well: my current-day frustrations with the bureaucratic office environment and at the point we were reading this, I had not yet given notice and it did seem each day like I might just be there forever, until I eventually died there and why am I reading a book about people just as unhappy as me.... Arggghhhhhh. However, at some point I did find my way to enjoying the characters and all their many tics and nuances, and I thought it really picked up after a bit. Really enjoyed the Lynn-centric section and the way that really evolved the action.

DadReaction, second: Finished the book of the month. Okay: officially declaring this the best book I've read this year. Amazing effects, some wallops. So weird that it was so hard to get into. But it did take off, as you PROMISED. More than that, though: really mesmerizing use of the 'we'--it gave the narration a real spaciousness, as though this stuff was always happening, the way you really do feel at work, when it seems like you've been telling the same jokes forever. Great comic moments, but a real dive into seriousness--esp. with the Lynn episode, but also when you really believe Tom Mota COULD be blowing people away.

Some very teasing character developments, with Joe Pope and Jim and Amber and Larry, who all seem kind of throw away when they first come round but then he keeps circling them and they all kind of come alive. Oh, and then it was cool that he would mention other people you never heard of, just the way you do when you're telling work tales.

What else? I'm starting to think we should declare a moratorium--wait, no, an outright, absolute BAN on all references to September 11, 2001--because, folks, there really have been worse disasters in history and it's only the infantile Americans who don't seem to realize that. Or realize that we have killed more people in its wake than we want to admit.

But that said, I loved the leap at the end with Hank's novel and the VERY nice touch that it wasn't this entire novel but only the part about Lynn. But the greatest part WAS the way the 'we' sort of surrounded you without ever becoming focussed and that wonderful, wonderful last line with just 'you and me' left. That's from the Muse her ownself.

Oh, and wasn't Janine sitting in the McDonald's play area just a crushing image--and those jerks staring at her, and Joe calling them on it, and then they really feel their primal jerkiness. I thought a lot of it was LIKE Kafka but more fetching than Kafka, less distant and more able to draw you in, but still the same strangeness. And how about Benny's totem pole?!! (Tres glad Marcia and Benny linked up.)

But now: ALL THAT SAID--why does it seem like IT REALLY DOES TAKE FOREVER TO READ!!!!!!?????????? I felt like I'd never get through it, even as I enjoyed each moment. (To be fair, my own exhaustion could have played a part in that.)

Posted by Duff at 10:26 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

YA/Fantasy: City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare

The third book of the Mortal Instruments trilogy (book 1 here and book 2 here).

I loaned this book out since finishing it so I can't flip through it to refresh my memory. I liked it; I was SO HAPPY to find out that the thing I thought was a lie throughout the first two books was indeed false. I thought it had some cool mythical fights and some touching moments. Maybe not quite as strong as book 1, but certainly a worthy end to the story. I'll be looking to read what Clare does next, certainly.

Posted by Duff at 10:23 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Little Bee, by Chris Cleave

LOVED it. My third favorite book so far this year (preceded by #1 and #2).

I thought his previous novel was good: intense and unexpected. But this book just went to an entirely higher level. Completely swept me away.

A British woman crosses paths with a young African girl. And then we hear how their story started. And nothing was ever the same again. Really lovely.

Posted by Duff at 10:12 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Memoir: The Pianist, by Wladyslaw Szpilman

Borrowed from Lauren & Peter. A Holocaust memoir. What a crazy combination of luck, intelligence, and kindness helped Szpilman to survive the devastation. Very moving.

Posted by Duff at 10:09 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: The Feminists Go Swimming, by Michael Collins

Bought in Dublin, Collins is a writer I've read in the past and often had a hard time finding his books in the US (I've occasionally ordered them from Amazon UK) so I was on the lookout for him.

These stories are such a unique combination of funny and harsh: you're sometimes embarrassed to be laughing at the funny parts, particularly as they're so quickly followed by the serious and dark.

Catholics dealing with the prophesised end of the world; the portioning out throughout the day as an alcoholic drinks himself to death... I think my favorite may have been "The Horses" where a man is a wildly accurate race picker to no benefit to himself.

Posted by Duff at 09:59 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Circle of the Dead, by Ingrid Black

Bought by Silvia on our trip to Dublin.

Entertaining enough; I enjoyed the brusque "what the author thinks is Americanness" of Saxon's character. But it was a bit convoluted and one of those mysteries with too many twists, to the point where it becomes not very believable.

Posted by Duff at 09:49 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: City of Refuge, by Tom Piazza

Bought after reading about it at the Tournament of Books (where it made it to the final round but lost to Toni Morrison's latest).

There are really three storylines here: Craig and his middle-class white family; SJ and his lower-class black family; and the historical facts of Hurricane Katrina. They pretty much trade off chapters throughout and in the beginning of the book, I definitely found the "fact" chapters a bit distracting; taking me away from the action to just recite numbers. But toward the end of the book, I found them a welcome emotional relief; a way to ground yourself in the reality of how many people this actually happened to.

I thought it was a great book, perhaps made more weighty by being woven in to such a recent past. The characters and their struggles with moving on vs turning back felt very real to me.

Clearly Piazza loves New Orleans, and continues to struggle with the thought of his city in destruction. Huffencoopers, have you read this yet? I think you'd love it.

Posted by Duff at 09:45 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

April 12, 2009

Fantasy: The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan

Soooooo good.

I bought this after reading about it on John Scalzi's blog.

Tactile and intense. Made me cry on the El train. I felt like I was in Mary's head. I could barely put it down.

Wow, what a book. Spring 2010 is tooooo long to wait for the next one! Too long!

Sure, you won't be able to read it without thinking of M. Night Shymalan's The Village (a movie most people hated but I loved mostly for Joaquin's quietly brooding performance. That scene where they're on the porch? Sigh.), but just put it out of your mind as the similarities are only circumstantial.

Posted by Duff at 01:47 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Poetry: Domestic Violence, by Eaven Boland

Another Dublin purchase/Irish author. My dad introduced me to Boland a few years ago.

As intense and personal as the work of Sharon Olds, these also have highly literary sensibilities and allusions, along the lines of Anne Carson (but perhaps more approachable for the lay person).

Not just because books of poetry tend to be slim, but also because poems reach further into you with each reading, I tend to not put a book of poetry on the list as "finished" until I've read it five or six times over a few days. These are poems I could read for months and not be done with.

From "Indoors":
Find me a word for love. Make it damp. Sinuous companion,
knowing how to enter, settle in wood, salt the sheets
with cold, saying by this that we could never be
anything but an island people.

From "Letters to the Dead":
How many daughters stood alone at a grave,
and thought this of their mothers' lives?
That they were young in a country that hated a woman's body.
That they grew old in a country that hated a woman's body.

Posted by Duff at 01:25 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Flesh and Bone, by Jefferson Bass

The first book of this forensic mystery series, of which I've already read the second. Since the second book is very contiguous, I already knew the outcome of this book. But it was well-written enough that it still felt suspenseful to me. The dialogue in the scenes between Jess and Brockton was really enjoyable.

Jess's mixture of scholarly erudition and quirky irreverence always caught me by surprise, like topspin on a serve in tennis or Ping-Pong.

Posted by Duff at 01:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Cookbook: A Homemade Life, Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, by Molly Wizenberg

Not every cookbook has more to read than recipes and pantry stocking ideas. So in a way this reminded me of Nigel Slater's Kitchen Dairies (love that book!) which also, in a different way, gives you context around the recipes. In this book, however, the context for each recipe is a memory.

It's a eulogy to her father, a memoir of her childhood, a record of courtship with her now husband, and a engaging testament to the importance certain meals can take one due to the events surrounding them.

Great quote (I'm sure you'll know why I like it):
I soon learned that Sam consumes books the way most of us consume food, which, though I do prefer to eat, is a quality I much admire.

A discussed, but not present recipe I hope is on her web site somewhere: the chocolate "rad" (cookie).

Recipes I have dog-eared to potentially try first: Bouchons au Thon, Rum Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust, Chana Masala, Custard-Filled Corn Bread, Pistachio Cake with Honeyed Apricots.

Place I need to go in Paris: L'As due Fallafel, "purveyor of some of the finest fried chickpea balls this side of Israel."

Posted by Duff at 01:07 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Food, Readin'

Fiction/Mystery: The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson

Very excited to find this for sale in Dublin in February (won't be released in U.S. until July 28), this is the followup to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, one of my favorite books from last year.

I really liked it. But there's a bit of a sadistic streak in these books that may not be palatable for everyone and there's a bit more of it in this book as Lisbeth's former life takes a much bigger role this time around.

Highly recommend both of these. They are really smart, really tightly plotted and interesting from many different angles.

Random quote I enjoyed (As Lisbeth reads some private police reports via computer hacking): It proved once again the theory that no security system is a match for a stupid employee.

Posted by Duff at 01:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy/Mystery: Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs

Book #4 in the Mercy Thompson series (see Book #3 here).

This series continues to get better and better. The Mercy/Adam relationship continues to evolve. The mysteries/dangers in these books are intriguing, well plotted and satisfying. There just isn't anything NOT to love.

You should be reading this series.

Posted by Duff at 12:53 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Short Stories: Antarctica, by Claire Keegan.

A Dublin purchase (Irish author) from my favorite Dublin bookstore: Hodges Figgis.

These stories were really good. But they're not happy go lucky. Intense moments. Sad lives. With unexpectedly large catalysts.

"Sisters" was my favorite. And "Passport Soup".

Posted by Duff at 12:40 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson

This was our March challenge book, technically a re-read for both of us and super short!

DadReaction: It WAS a shorty. Too short really--I actually remember it as being longer, but I liked the sense of being taken over by one ghastly part of yourself. It's one of those stories--Jekyll/Hyde one of those characters--that seem to live beyond the actual story itself, like Don Quixote or Sherlock Holmes. Also liked the oblique narration, getting the story at second and third hand from these peripheral figures. Also: the way stuff develops while some of the characters are just going on with their lives and they have to catch up. Kind of a tiny little gem. I remember really liking the Spencer Tracy movie of this; Michael Caine's in one, too--I think he actually impregnates somebody as Hyde and they spawn this grotesque child. Let's see--Hammer films had a Dr. Jekyll/SISTER Hyde teaser out and Jean Renoir, of all people, adapted the original--Stevenson's, not Hammer--for French tv.

What did you think? It actually ranks as a comfort book for me, since I read it in High School and can always pick it up again--like Treasure Island. Looking forward to the next one.....

GirlReaction: As you touched on, the thing that strikes me most is how it is such a dramatic story but told in a completely passive manner. Two dudes, going for a calm evening walk, one says to the other "So you see that door? Let me tell you a story about it..." Yet the story is smack full of drama. The events have all already happened off screen, yet even in the retelling they are gripping. All the hearsay and facts gathered from different sources give it a real urban legend feel. I also love the emphasis on the science of the experiments. First he just wants to explore the duality he already senses in himself...but eventually science fails to overcome the darker side of his personality. As he unwillingly becomes more Hyde than Jekyll, the story shifts to fantasy from science.

Posted by Duff at 12:20 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

March 30, 2009

Snappy Is as Snappy Does.

I always dressed up for deadline days. Heels, skirt, smart green jacket. Magazine publishing has its rhythms and if the editor won't dance to them, she can't expect her staff to. I don't float feature ideas in Fendi heels, and I don't close an issue in Pumas.

-from "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave, my new read that is totally sucking me in, in a dangerous "may not accomplish anything else this week" way.

Posted by Duff at 09:41 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

March 13, 2009

Wordplay

Pleased to meet you meat to please you
said the butcher's sign in the window in the village.

--from "Domestic Violence" (collected in Domestic Violence) by Eavan Boland.

Shyla Bruno was doing a review of Philip Roth's newest book, and Craig said, "You going with 'Goodbye, Portnoy' for the head?"

"No - listen to this - Allen came up with 'The Gripes of Roth.' "

Craig waited a moment and then issued one of his patented, arch, stagey chuckles. "Bingo," he said.

--from "City of Refuge" by Tom Piazza, which I bought after I read this (I myself am NOT much of a Lahiri fan) and am sooo enjoying. Enjoying in a tearful, maybe won't read in public because I might start bawlin', kind-of way.

Posted by Duff at 12:39 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

Poetry: For All We Know, by Ciaran Carson

Bought in Dublin, baby. An Irish poet my Dad introduced me to a few years ago when we were trading packages of "here's some of my books you should read" recommendations, and I read (and told you about) one of his translations when I was home for Christmas a year ago. I was so excited to go into Hodges & Figgis (a GREAT bookstore in Dublin), stroll over to the irish authors section, and find a HUGE selection of his stuff. It was hard to choose what to buy!!!

I chose this one and I think I did well. A collection in two parts, a man and a woman, a story told, and then retold, mirrored from one part to the next, intertwined with other events. I read it several times over several days, and still want to go back for more. Certain images and themes repeat over and over again, with different details ringing in your head. Little moments, expanded, then contracted, then expanded. These were lovely poems and my regret is I didn't buy another book of his when I had the chance. I'll be searching out more, you can count on it.

(For those of you poetry scares off, these were very accessible. Readable even without pondering of the deeper layers, and the repeat images, and then connections tethered and severed...)

Posted by Duff at 12:26 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Short Stories: Delicate Edible Birds, by Lauren Groff

I enjoyed her debut novel last year. Then I got one of the stories from this book in my One Story subscription (which I highly recommend you treat yourself to. It's cheap, it's good, and it's just one story. EVERYONE can make time for one story!!). I was so excited to see this collection come out and not one bit disappointed. Very, very good. Better even than her novel! My second favorite book of the year so far. Such an impressively wide range of characters and timeframes and situations and... And really, I cannot recommend these stories highly enough. They were all completely individual (sometimes a problem in short story collections), and completely engaging, and original, and UNEXPECTED. I'm in awe.

Posted by Duff at 12:22 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Mystery: Dark Hollow, by John Connolly

The second Charlie Bird book (here was the first). Bought in the Atlanta airport on the way home. No New Orleans this time, primarily set in the boonies of Maine (ha!). As with the first book, has an intense layer of psychology/mythology that somewhat overpowers (not necessarily in a bad way. mostly good, sometimes a little frustrating) what would otherwise be just your normal mystery novel. Makes everything creepier and ickier. Has some follow-up to the ending of book one, but I feel there is more to come with those relationships.

Posted by Duff at 12:17 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: SweetHeart, by Chelsea Cain

The follow-up to HeartSick, already out in paperback in Dublin, YAY! Just as totally fucking CREEPY and TWISTED and DARK as that one was. And just as damn good. Eeeeck!

Posted by Duff at 12:15 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Mystery: Every Dead Thing, by John Connolly

Bought and read in Dublin, yay. An Irish writer...who sets his mysteries in America; this one in New York City and New Orleans. If you, like me, have British relatives and friends who get completely BENT OUT OF SHAPE when some American writer sets their books 'cross the pond and gets little details wrong... Yeah, I kind of had to shake my head and laugh at seeing the opposite occur. (Not that he's "British" being "Irish" but the correlation is there regardless.)

In some way, it's a mystery series like any other: an ex-cop Charlie Bird, with a sad personal history of violence, winds up involved in a mystery, has some criminal friends and some not, there's really brutal murder and mayhem. The additional spin here is that this has far more than your average mystery's amount of psychology and mythology running under it. Bird's thoughts often go wandering off for a bit into an underlying sort of swirl of emotion and ESP like feelings. Sometimes it added interesting themes and I went with it; other times I wanted him to get back to solving the mystery already!

Dark, gruesome, brutal. Some horrible stuff happens to quite a few people. Pretty frakkin' intense. (In a good way. Obviously.)

Posted by Duff at 12:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery/Fiction: Lies of Silence, by Brian Moore

Bought and read in Dublin, yay. Belfast, the IRA, having the wrong job (but right for them), politics vs. personal safety, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and intertwined relationships convoluting things, as they do. Something a bit desperate and sad about the train of the events. The ending shouldn't have been a surprise, but somehow it was.

Posted by Duff at 12:07 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: The Devil's Bones, by Jefferson Bass

Layover in the Atlanta airport. I claim to hate reading mystery series(es?) out of order...but somehow that seems to be how I always start them. In airports, desperate for something, hmm, this sounds good, book three (or whatever), ah well.

A forensics mystery. A male version of "Bones" with a creepy dead body farm. Creepy cool, I mean. Very entertaining.

Posted by Duff at 12:04 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: L.A. Outlaws, by T. Jefferson Parker

Just a little airport readin' as the trip began. It was entertaining. I dug the main character. I need to be tougher. Like her. :)

Posted by Duff at 12:03 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Broom of the System, by David Foster Wallace

Our February challenge book (we are alternating between 19th-century and contemporary novels this year).

I liked a lot of this book. But there were things I could've done without. Since we already reviewed it in sort of rambling fashion on Flickr, I'll just paste in what we had to say there:

GirlReaction: I liked a lot of it but there were annoying things. some chapters where you couldn't figure out who was speaking until WELL into them (must EVERYONE be first person?) or dialogue where it took some figurin out who the conversation was between and who was saying which lines. and then at the end of the book, it just...ENDS. midsentence even. eh? I prefer a bit more of a finale, even if you have a cliffhanger.

But it was really funny and clever and felt very much like Vonnegut to me. Vonnegut but with more details, longer sentences / paragraphs, and if Vonnegut wrote females as the main character (or important characters really). Vonnegut is easier to get through (generally both shorter and less literarily dense), but I felt like they shared some sensibilities.

I liked it more than Dad though. He eventually got kinda of annoyed with it and I think it's tweeness. Like sometimes the reader shouldn't have to work QUITE that hard. "Cleverness for the sake of clever". Although now maybe I am being harsher than he was. Dad?

DadReaction: Yes--your summary of my assessment was pretty accurate. I thought all the guesswork was unnecessary and didn't like the non-ending. He actually got you involved with his goofy people and then sort of sold them short. Still, still, VERY clever-- e.g., Vigorous' son living out the news, being Nixon, etc. The Vigorous-Lenore storytelling duo was super--but you miss her reactions when it's just his story. I wanted to complete the grandmother saga. To be honest, I probably would have loved this book when I was reading the first Pynchon books, Tom Robbins, Edward Whittemore (WHAT? You've never heard of Whittemore? Shame! Go, go, get Sinai Tapestry, Jerusalem Poker.). Then Again, I LOVED the last Pynchon--Against the Day--and I pick up Vonnegut effortlessly. This one, I kind of had to force myself through. Okay, but, once more, STILL, still, Lenore herself always drew me back. And Lang sort of grew on me--okay, so I really wanted to know how their story came out, and was denied that by a much too clever author. So I like much of the creation, but I was not drawn to the creator. Telling fact that maybe sums it all up: haven't recommended it to anyone and not really eager to read another by same author.

Posted by Duff at 11:55 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

Poetry: Satan Says, by Sharon Olds

This was a re-read. I was near a used bookstore and (apparently) in the mood for the kind of visceral, tear your heart and innards out, poetry Olds excels at. She was at NYU the same time I was (her as faculty, me as grad student) so I've seen her a read a few times (including poems from this book). I don't know that I can recommend that: these are the kind of very intense, super personal, definitely biographic FEELING whether they are or not (along the lines of "diary exposing"), poems that...well, you have to be prepared for it. I'd rather read this kind of poetry alone! :)

Posted by Duff at 11:51 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang

Very unusual stories. Heavily science- and math-based sci fi (Dad, I think you're going to want to borrow this) that in some stories felt a bit beyond my grasp, theoretically. (Fortunately the characters keep you involved, even when their minds are on a different plane than yours.) Not necessarily futuristic, although sometimes a touch of it. But not fantastical (along the lines of, say George Saunders); even the wildest ones feel like they COULD be happening.

Posted by Duff at 11:45 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Essays: The Partly Cloudy Patriot, by Sarah Vowell

I remain blissfully unaware of radio in general and NPR in particular so although I had heard vague murmurings about Vowell, I had no personal experience with her prior to reading this book.

Very entertaining, packed full of pop culture references, and prescient in its political discussions. But you already knew that didn't you? I am always behind the times. ;)

Posted by Duff at 11:43 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery/Fiction: Tethered, by Amy MacKinnon

An undertaker, and a detective, and an unidentified body, and a young lost girl coming around. While there is murder and mayhem around, this book has a very, very calm feel. A heavy outer calm lying over turbulent feelings and actions and a thick, almost humid layer of emotion. Clara, I'm rooting for you.

I thought it was a very impressive first novel.

Posted by Duff at 11:39 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

YA/Fantasy: City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare

The follow-up to City of Bones. The kickin-ass part of the action expands a bit here and more characters come into play. The lie I'm perturbed by from the first book continues; I'm even MORE sure it's a lie now. WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE COMING OUT? I'm not sure I can wait! :)

Posted by Duff at 11:35 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Sci Fi/Fantasy: Magic to the Bone, by Devon Monk

A non-vampire book about a world where magic exists all 'round. I really loved the imagery, particularly the "tattoos" Allie gets with the power. It had a bit more romance than some of your typical magic genre books /fans face/ and I'll probably seek out the follow-ups. But it didn't engage me quite as much as the Cassandra Clare book (one of which I've told you about so far (about to tell you about another one!)).

Posted by Duff at 11:32 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Sci Fi/Fantasy: Mainspring, by Jay Lake

Reminiscent of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. A clockmaker's apprentice is visited by an angel and told the planet is winding down unless he can rewind the "Mainspring". And off on adventures he winds up going. There's a flying Navy (reminiscent of the Naomi Novik books but without dragons), and a lot of watch/clock imagery going on. I liked it, but I felt it wandered about and here, a month and a half later, when I flip through the end pages, I can't quite recall some of the characters in the final chapters.

Posted by Duff at 11:25 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

The January pick for Dad's and my challenge this year. Somehow...I didn't realize I'd read this before (it was a re-read for him, but he knew it!). I KNOW. The thing is, I bought a complete Dickens a million years ago when I lived in NYC (and definitely when I couldn't afford it!) and one summer I read a TON of them on my daily commute. But that was...a long time ago. So when I first started reading this, I *thought* it was something I hadn't read before. Then I kept finding turned over pages, and about halfway through it all came back to me.

The main thing Dad and I talked about with this one is how cinematic Dickens was in his details. Moments like describing a wine cask spilled on the cobbled street that then leads the reader's "eye" to the door of the wineship, and in...and then the plot comes in again. One can really see the details around the edges of the action, as a (good) cinematographer would do, to give you a little moment of breath while still keeping you involved in the moment. Really lovely. Not SO descriptive as to lose your focus on the events at hand (as sometimes Proust can do), just enough to paint a fuller picture.

Posted by Duff at 11:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

Mystery/Thriller: HeartSick, by Chelsea Cain

So incredibly creepy and gross and horrible and UNPUTDOWNABLE. Do not read this at home, alone, at night, in the dark, in a creeky house. I warned you.

Really horrible and icky and TOTALLY ENTRANCING.

If you like Hannibal Lector-type stuff, well, this kept me entertained even moreso than those. Freaky!!!

Posted by Duff at 11:16 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Essays: Shakespeare Wrote for Money, by Nick Hornby

Another collection of his "what I read vs. what I bought" essays for The Believer (yes, the very essays I refer to every month when I show you my lists! albeit without commentary).

I always find these fun (see here for one I read last year). I also find they are dangerous because I always wind up adding to my "something I should read" someday lists, which are dangerous things for a person with my shall we call them "spending propensities" when she walks by a million bookstores every day. Dangerous!

Just a little reminder to myself to go pick up "Skellig" by David Almond, apparently voted the third greatest children's book of the last seventy years. Here's what Hornby had to say: "I can tell you that it's one of the best novels published in the last decade, and I'd never heard of it. Have you?"

Posted by Duff at 11:10 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This book was just outright fantastic. FANTASTIC!!! Highly recommended.

An epistolary novel (sigh. I have such a weakness for those!) relating the story of young writer who finds herself corresponding with a group of Guernsey natives, learning of their experiences during the German occupation. Charming, poignant, moving. It's romantic and sad and just really really lovely.

Best book I've read this year, hands down (and although I read it in January, I still think that now in March when I'm finally telling you about it).

Posted by Duff at 11:06 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

YA/Fantasy: City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare

More vampire fantasy. Takes place in modern day NYC so you know I'm lovin that. I would say it's better written than the Meyer books. Also a female main character. Not quite as emotional. And more "good guys"; girl is not as much of a loner. But still feels very true to "teendom".

If you like reading vampire fantasy type stuff, I can't think of a reason you wouldn't want to read this(these).

Although there's one twist that I'm pretty sure is a lie; i.e., the characters all believe it, but I definitely don't. I'll be interested to see how that plays out as the trilogy continues.

Posted by Duff at 11:01 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

March 08, 2009

Wrapping It Up: Favorite Books 2008

My Favorite Ten Books of 2008 Were:
(in chronological order of my reading, with links to my Snip reviews)

• Native Guard, by Natasha Thretheway (poetry) Unlike any poetry I've read before.
  
• The Complete Stories, by David Malouf (stories) My fave Aussie writer. He can write from ANY viewpoint.
  
• The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff An excellent first novel.
  
• Lush Life, by Richard Price This guy can write dialogue like no one else.
  
• Dark Roots, by Cate Kennedy (stories) Another Aussie. Succinct but intense.
  
• The Likeness, by Tana French Follow-up to one of my favorite books from last year. So.Damn.Good.
  
• Dead Boys, by Richard Lange (stories) Engaging, unexpected and truly original.
  
• Iodine, by Haven Kimmel Possibly her least accessible book. Dark.
  
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson Spooky pasts. Dark and twisted.
  
• Tender Morsels, by Margo Langan So good. Poignant and brutal at the same time.
  

And if you'd like to hear more ruminations on things I read last year, you can check out the full year-end wrap-up post over here.

Posted by Duff at 05:22 PM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Lists, Readin', Recommending

March 02, 2009

Heh.

I could have asked him what was wrong, pointed out the obvious, but why do that? That might lead to an open, frank discussion about our future, and who wants that with a man you're about to marry?
-Clare O'Donohue "The Lover's Knot.

Or with any man, really.

Posted by Duff at 12:08 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

February 07, 2009

Fantasy: The Scarecrow and His Servant, by Philip Pullman

A sweet little story by the author of the amazing His Dark Materials series (for which my love knows no bounds).

It doesn't have the deep mythology those do, but it has a pretty sharp social message nonetheless.

Posted by Duff at 10:09 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Novella: Disquiet, by Julia Leigh

A teensy little novel (three bus rides tops) recommended by EW. My friend GirlDetective talked about it here. Creepy and weird and certainly full of the Disquiet of the title. Lots of little details that hit home.

Posted by Duff at 09:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Silver Wings for Vicki, by Helen Wells

It's possible you remember me going to my parents' house for Christmas 2005 and re-reading all my mom's Cherry Ames books, '50s novels about a girl who becomes a nurse and inadvertently solves little mysteries. (See the end of the 2005 reading list or the beginning of 2006 or search for Cherry Ames on this page.) And then I got back to Chicago and went a little crazy on eBay buying up copies for myself. And then I found that the women who wrote Cherry Ames also wrote books about a flight attendant named Vicki Barr.

I don't find them quite as enthralling as the Cherry Ames series (I say this one book in), but it could be because when I read Cherry Ames I am enthralled with all this childhood nostalgia and that's just not present reading the Vicki books for the first time. But they're still fun. Full of totally non-PC sexist garbage that can either make you mad (eh, why bother) or make you laugh (that's my response), they're almost pedantic. Were they written to be pseudo instructional books for girls on possible careers? Be a Nurse (in Ames' case) / Flight Attendant (Barr) and Solve Mysteries! YAY! :) Ha!

Posted by Duff at 09:06 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Stories: If the River Was Whiskey, by T. Coraghessan Boyle

Gifted to me by Ginger. A lot of people in these stories have reached their limit and the story concentrates on them at their last efforts, their last decisive actions. The woman in Sinking House, Zoltan in The Human Fly, Anthony in King Bee. More based in reality (or "our" reality) than say the Greenman stories I read earlier in the month, but that just makes the unexpected even more jolting when it happens.

Really good, I'll definitely be seeking out more T.C. Boyle.

Posted by Duff at 08:54 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Black & White, by Dani Shapiro

A very intense book about a messed-up mother/daughter relationship with lots of cool photography stuff to boot. I doubt anyone with knowledge of 20th century photography can read this without thinking of Sally Mann's photographs. (However, while Mann shot all three of her children, the photographer in the book concentrates only on the one daughter.) It was sometimes a tough read (my overly enhanced Piscean empathy gets me way too involved in fictional conflicts!), but I thought it was completely engaging and I may have stayed up until 3 a.m. finishing it. Really loved it.

Posted by Duff at 08:48 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Mystery/Fiction: A Spy in the Family, by Alec Waugh

Alec Waugh = Evelyn's brother. I read about his books in Slightly Foxed and then sought some out on my most recent trip to Myopic (conveniently located down the block from my haircut so I'm there quite often). This is subtitled "an erotic comedy" and I remember wondering for the first, oh say, 40 pages or so when exactly that was going to kick in. (But it does, no worries. Hee hee.) Apparently (per the book jacket), this is a spoof on "Anonymous Underground Victorian Novels" and I did find it quite silly at times. Silly mingled with a lil "Eyes Wide Shut" wannabe action.

Posted by Duff at 08:43 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Stories: A Circle Is a Balloon and Compass Both, by Ben Greenman

I've read more short stories in the past few years than ever before (I mostly blame Elizabeth Crane for that. "Blame" being a good thing in this scenario), and still I thought these were really unusual. But now that two months have gone by... I can't pinpoint exactly why that was. I will say that they were all really truly individuals. I'm sure you've come across short story collections that as you read through them, the narrators and/or subjects tend to blur together (when they weren't intended to, although there are collection that intend that) and it seems you've just read a novel with some bits that don't seem to fit together. No question of that happening here. I think my favorite was "Oh Lord Why Not" where everyone has a hit pop song in them.

Pretty short collection though. Big print, small pages. Not a book that takes long to get through.

Posted by Duff at 08:37 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy: Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan

Soooooo good. I've recommended short stories by Lanagan to you before (here or here), and I believe this is her first novel. I will be eternally in Marrije's debt for introducing me to such a great author.

This is earthy, dark, bitter, spiky, sexy and tactile. It's also sweet and loving and tender at times. The bad is often quite brutal, often in metaphor, and the good is quite poignant.

I was a little surprised it was classed as YA. Certainly the fairy tales of our/my youth flirted with just as much danger. But I don't remember them being as powerful. Perhaps if I re-read them today, I would find myself gripping the book like an anchor and crying through chapters as I did here. But I doubt it.

So Good!!!

Posted by Duff at 08:31 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: The Trial, by Franz Kafka

This was our challenge book for December. So much fun!!! Dad had read it back in high school and been totally traumatized. Then at some point watched the Orson Welles film of it and found it equally traumatizing. But somehow, to both of us, this time around it was just soooo farcical. Might make a good companion for a book we read earlier in the year "The Good Soldier Svejk".

The end is a bit of a shocker just because the narrator has, for the most part, taken things so lightly until then that you sort of expect it to just keep going on forever. It was a lot of fun to read.

Posted by Duff at 08:26 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin'

Fiction: Deaf Sentence, by David Lodge

So good. So sad. With Lodge, as with Philip Roth, as he gets older, more infirm and perhaps crankier, so do his characters. I loved the diary-style writing. I loved the tone.

Really only one thing rang false to me and that was an extensive description of a pair of breasts (and how the narrator could tell they were natural) on page 5 (only the third page of actual text). I actually called my dad and asked if that paragraph stuck out like a sore thumb to him as well. AND IT DID. So it wasn't just a girlreaction, yo.

It was interesting in reading this to think about how there never stops being a time in life when you can inadvertently make bad decisions, or make so-so decisions that cascade into much worse events. Something I think most of us assume will cease to happen as we age.

Really good, but I think I would read other Lodge before this one, if I were to try him for the first time. "Small World" and "Changing Places" are both really great.

In my library this is classified as somewhat academic function. Good companions would be "Straight Man" by Richard Russo or "Foolscap" by Michael Malone (or see the "academic foibles" list on this page).

Posted by Duff at 08:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: The Lover's Knot, by Clare O'Donohue

This was OK / fine for light reading. But the attempt at misdirection seemed way too obvious to me and it drove me nuts the entire time I was reading it that the quilt on the cover of the book was a sampler and not a Lover's Knot, one of the main metaphors. Dear publishing house: when you're publishing a book for the crafty market, these types of things WILL be noticed. Idiots.

Posted by Duff at 08:16 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

January 07, 2009

Dad's and My Reading Challenge for 2009 [Updated]

Alternating 19th century and/versus contemporary novels.

January: "Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens

February: "The Broom of the System" by David Foster Wallace

March: "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson

April: "Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris

May: "Dracula" by Bram Stoker [this is a re-read for me]

June: TBD/Contemporary "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem

July: "Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray

August: TBD/Contemporary "Netherland" by Joseph O'Neill

September: "A Pair of Blue Eyes" by Thomas Hardy

October: TBD/Contemporary "The White Darkness" by Geraldine McCaughrean

November: "Nostromo" by Joseph Conrad

December: TBD/Contemporary "Undiscovered Country" by Lin Enger

Posted by Duff at 10:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Lists, Readin'

December 28, 2008

Fantasy: The Way of Shadows, by Brent Weeks

You know that old joke about "why wasn't anybody poor in their "past lives"?" How in our past lives, we were all Cleopatras and Queen Elizabeth's and nobody was "the servant girl". (Speaking to the females in the audience, obviously.) I often feel that way about fantasty novels, they are always taking place in the world one would WANT to be in, where your special magical talents bring you into interaction with the best crowds, the higher bits of "society" and generally, of course, fighting against evils/evil magics.

This book, on the other hand, is set firmly in the lower dregs. The world of "guild rats", i.e., abandoned homeless "ghetto" children and, for Azoth/Kylar, the way out is to become an assassin, a "wet boy", sometimes using those evil magics the heros of your typical fantasy are usually working against. There will be of course times when the "bad assassin" will turn out to be working on the side of the morally good, but for the most part, the focuses of this book are on the other side of things, in the back alleys, in the prostitution houses, on the outskirts. "Under the stairs", so to speak.

It's violent, brutal and cutthroat. And very engaging.

Posted by Duff at 12:11 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: The Oxford Book of Short Stories, by V.S. Pritchett

Our November challenge book. Admittedly many of these stories are drawn from older/earlier writers, but a big chunk of them felt dated to me moreso in their style than anything else. This is just a random, not researched or well thought out, theory but modern short stories seem to have stronger plots, better drawn (and perhaps intenser) situations, more things happen, and people have stronger reactions to the happenings, while many of the stories from earlier times seem more passive: one character "telling the story" to another, i.e., stories told at a remove (via third person, epistolary, storytelling or other device). Stories where almost nothing happens, or the sense that something "might" happen (sometimes a very specific thing) turns out...not. And then the story just...ends.

Although the Byatt-edited collection we read earlier in the year had stated that it picked "scary" stories purposely, we both found a lot of those icky, or super sad, but not scary. This collection however had some real creep-you-outers.

My favorite was "The Demon Lover" by Elizabeth Bowen.

p.s. yes you're right it's sad that it has taken me so long to get to writing about anything I read in October or November that I don't have the DadReactions to these challenges in my head anymore. But you'll live without them, I'm sure.

Posted by Duff at 12:01 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, Readin'

Fantasy: His Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik

Unusual fantasy taking dragons and plopping them into our historical world (as opposed to planting them in a more fantasy-bound world a la Anne McCaffery, who I dearly love and whose first six or so dragon books will never be equaled*). Dragons as an essential part of aerial battle strategy as the Brits (and others) war against Napoleon. Really entertaining but what made this book for me was the dragon, whose voice I thought was better written (and more engaging to the reader) than those of the humans.

Temeraire, you are awesome.

*More on that soon. SRSLY.

Posted by Duff at 11:56 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Conversations at Curlow Creek, by David Malouf

I've read and enjoyed quite a bit of Malouf in the last several years and this book was no exception. An officer talking to a convict in the wilds of Australia, feeling a possible connection to something from his past, and reminiscing on the choices he's made, and his childhood loves, and how his life has taken him away from them, and opportunities to find them again. A quiet slim book that packs quite a punch.

...he had long since given up the belief that the forces that move us have anything to do either with nature or reason, or that the heart moves in anything but the most crooked way.

Posted by Duff at 11:53 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

Short Stories: The New Granta Book of the American Short Story, edited by Richard Ford

What a behemoth of a book for us to have picked for our challenge. As you may remember, we wound out spreading this one out and reading it in both July AND October and even then it was touch and go whether we'd finish this one as it's just too darn big for me to carry around (and I do apparently almost all my reading in transit).

There were a few oldies thrown in at the beginning, where I thought "what is this one doing here?" (i.e., given the composition of the rest of the choices), but for the most part I thought these were good stories. My favorites were "The Pugilist at Rest" by Thom Jones, "Firelight" by Tobias Wolff, "Blue Boy" by Kevin Canty, "Anthropology" by Andrea Lee and "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline" by George Saunders. And my least favorite was the Mary Gaitskill next to which I wrote just "Ick."

Posted by Duff at 11:47 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, Readin'

Fiction/Mystery: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

Really entertaining. In the beginning the focus is split and I started to wonder when the two stories would come together, but the payoff when they did was pretty great. Dark and twisted, totally intense mystery. Loved how it was finally figured out. So many well-drawn characters and spooky pasts to think about. Very cool.

The title is a bit of a misnomer. That person exists, but the tattoo is very little to the point. But that may have been picked by the publisher as apparently Larsson died shortly after turning in this manuscript (and two others).

Posted by Duff at 11:42 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

October 12, 2008

Fiction: Iodine, by Haven Kimmel

If there is one author I would want to be, if I were an author, it would be Haven Kimmel. I've read and loved her previous novels (here and posts from June 26, 2004 and April 13, 2004 on this page) AND her nonfiction/memoirs (here and the post from April 24, 2005 on this page). When I saw a new Kimmel in the window of the bookstore on the way home, there was no question I was stopping to buy it, regardless of my many grocery bags.

This one is a bit darker than you may be expecting. While her lead characters are often girls in crisis...generally they are girls finding a way out of it. This book is about a girl who may not even know she's in it. But we the reader certainly do.

While Trace and her haphazard life sucked me in just as powerfully as Kimmel's other characters have in the past, this was a more distressing read and a very intense one. Academically somewhat dense, with rampant literary "nods", and mentally unsettling.

If you liked Sharp Objects or My Sister's Continent (April 16, 2006 on this page), I think you will find a way in to this book. But it may be a tough read for the faint of heart.

Posted by Duff at 02:33 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Sway, by Zachary Lazar

A fictionalized account of a number of non-fiction events. There's a) the Rolling Stones in their drug heydays, with Brian Jones falling off the deep end, a fan getting murdered at Altmont, and a trip to Marrakech; b) Charles Manson and his groupies beginning their swath of murders; and c) Kenneth Anger, whose psychedelic filmmaking forces the groups to intersect and ties the two stories together.

Really creative premise. Very effective blend of fact and fiction. I didn't love all of it. I liked the Stones-centric chapters a lot better than the others. And I particularly enjoyed Lazar's handling of Anita and Keith's "characters", and the vivid candlelit interactions as the group circles 'round each other during the trip to Morocco.

A very interesting read.

Posted by Duff at 02:24 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: Dead Boys, by Richard Lange

This was our September challenge book and it was so nice to be reading short stories again after slogging through the Musil in August.

These are not happy times stories. Someone in every story is lost (physically, mentally or emotionally), or lonely, or angry, or ... or they've come to the end of what they can handle or find their way around.

For some characters, their searching leaves them in a better place than where they began, but never the perfect place. But for some, the story's end is further down a road they never should have been on in the first place.

Really engaging. Unexpected. True and original. Unlike stories you've read before. In a very gritty down to earth way.

Posted by Duff at 02:17 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: The Man Without Qualities, Volume I, by Robert Musil

Tthis was our August challenge book. And we did not enjoy it.

The reason it made our list was Dad had bought it years ago and always meant to read it, particularly after the Wilkins/Pike translation came out and it was lauded everywhere as "the third member of the trinity in 20th-century literature, complementing Ulysses and Remembrance of Things Past" (Wall Street Journal).

In the beginning, I found it sardonic and was open to it. As it went on, it dragged and felt very pedantic and, as I put it, "kinda prissy." Dad's more adult reaction was "It's very arch."

We can sort of understand the reaction, originally. A big book trying to touch on a million different European themes right as the War is sneaking up on everyone...

But to compare it to Joyce? or Proust? No. Not in the same league. Not experimental, not groundbreaking, not even truly entertaining. And not worth our time to read Volume II so we've scratched that from our plan.

Posted by Duff at 02:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin'

Challenge '08 Update.

We are tweaking our challenge slightly.

In July, we both only got through the first half (it was THICK). And in August, we finished (eventually. Or I did, a few days into September, can't remember if Dad actually did or not) but we did NOT enjoy the book and have no interest in reading part II (which was the book for October).

So we are scratching October's choice and reading the second half of the July book this month.

In case you were wondering.

October: "The Man Without Qualities, Vol 2" by Robert MusilSecond half of "The New Granta Book of the American Short Story" edited by Richard Ford

November: "The Oxford Book of Short Stories" edited by V.S. Pritchett

December: "The Trial" by Kafka

Posted by Duff at 02:05 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin'

August 21, 2008

Fantasy: The Hob's Bargain, by Patricia Briggs

Another - typically as you might expect from who the author is - completely entertaining, engrossing fantasy novel.

Dear Ms. Briggs,
Every book of yours I read just breaks my heart a little bit more than the last one. The characters are so enticing; smart and funny and strong and so many other things that you wish people were in your real life. I just want their stories to go on and on and on...
Seriously,
I want to marry Kith, do you know a real him for me?,
Duff.

Posted by Duff at 12:38 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Letters, Readin', Recommending

August 17, 2008

YA/Fantasy: Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer

The fourth in the sparkly vampire series, I really struggled to get through this one. Not that I didn't finish it the same day I started, but that I found myself very annoyed with it early on and really pushed through only because I just HAD to know how it ended.

The first three I whipped through in a weekend and found them exhilarating and entertaining DESPITE the sloppy writing. So perhaps I had a harder time with this one because I wasn't already on Bella's emotional rollercoaster when I started. Whatever the reason, there were a number of things I just found too ludicrous here to really enjoy. But I sort of wondered going in if that would be the case.

As an adult, I can see all the weaknesses. As a teenager, I'm sure I would have [purposely] completely overlooked them and been swept right along.

Posted by Duff at 03:05 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery/Fiction: The Likeness, by Tana French

Wow. Soooooo good.

A follow-up of sorts to her debut "In the Woods", taking the #2 character from that book and putting the focus on them (and I hear an auxiliary character in this book will be the focus of her third).

Really intriguing mystery, characters that become sooooo real... The descriptions are rich and thick, and the emotions are layered and tangled.

French has just written two of the most interesting, and unusual, mysteries out there.

Posted by Duff at 03:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

August 03, 2008

Poetry: Unmentionables, by Beth Ann Fennelly

Funny, wry and matter of fact. Cow tipping, Berthe Morisot, Kudzu (vine) creep, and John Berryman: her subjects are flung far and wide but always treated with the same intense gaze.

You can feel the Mississippi humidity seeping off the pages. These poems are fresh, verdant and fecund.

Similar to Billy Collins, she writes simply, but deeply.

Posted by Duff at 06:44 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Sci Fi/Fantasy: Peeps, by Scott Westerfeld

Very, very different than the other YA vampire fiction out there these days.

Male protagonist, certainly interested in romance/sex but not consumed by it the way Bella (of the other books) is. A more realistic/scientific look at the phenomenon, if you will, despite the fictionalness of it all. Lots of cool Manhattan stuff: underground, bureaucratical, conspiratorial.

Certainly pulls you right along. Enjoyable easy reading. I mean, other than the bug stuff. If you are bug, insect and gross-phobic the way I am...well, let's just say it was hard for me to even let my fingers touch the pages of the Parasite chapters as a) soooooo nasty and b) some of my worst nightmares CONFIRMED!!!

But on a separate note, as I said with the other: It kinda cracks me up how every "new" installment to vampire lore needs to put their own tweak on the legends. This rewrites a different part of the legend, but I still fail to understand the reason to need to make those tweaks to what are centuries old "beliefs" (if you can call them that). Your writing should stand out as something special, even without that tweaking; if you feel you have to tweak aspects of the overall Vampire legends in order to stand out, maybe you're concentrating on the wrong thing. I'm not saying that's Westerfeld's problem (I think this book is certainly well written, which I can't say about the other series, which is much more superficial and really only works on an emotional level), but why the need to change the mirror bit of the mythos? Yeah, in YA speak, I don't "get" that urge.

Posted by Duff at 11:31 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Absurdistan, by Gary Shteyngart

Mindblowingly fucking hilarous. Truly comedic. Completely non-PC, an equal opportunity satirist taking on everyone/thing. Smart and sarcastic, yet willing to show a softer side on occasion. Brilliant.

In the tradition of "Confederacy of Dunces", but I enjoyed this more. Takes it a few steps further, less bitter, more fun. And in addition to the narrator and (anti-)hero Misha Vainberg, the author himself plays a bit part in this book (from afar), the emigre writer "Jerry Shteynfarb" author of "Russian Arriviste's Hand Job" [Shteyngart wrote "The Russian Debutante's Handbook"]. Poking fun at yourself equally as to others = always fertile ground for hilarity.

This is in no way one of the funniest quotes in the book, but it's emblematic of the general tone: "We give these American schmendricks a map of the world and say, 'Point to the general area where you think Congo is located.' Nineteen percent point to the continent of Africa. Another twenty-three percent point to either India or South America. We count those as correct answers, because Africa, India and South America all start out wide and then taper off at the bottom. So, for our purposes, forty-two percent of respondents sort of know where Congo is."

So the book. Yeah. It's really crude, and often gross, and TOTALLY AWESOME.

Posted by Duff at 11:18 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Trespass, by Valerie Martin

Family tension, even in other people's families, can really set me on edge. This book had me anxious from page 1, just waiting for Bad Shit to Happen as the tension and anxiety of each character grows and grows. Definitely had me on the edge of the seat.

Really neat characterization and very finely detailed: the mom's art (so cool), the dad's writing. The intricacies of the familial relationships were so well plotted; you love someone, but you see their weakness; you hate when they act a certain way, but you know how to handle them when that's the case; etc.

When the moment of crisis comes, it was not at all what I expected, and that includes the follow-up events.

But I have to wonder what the blurb writer was thinking. Because the last sentence on the front flap blurb? Yeah, that's NOT what I got out of this at all.

Posted by Duff at 11:13 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

July 08, 2008

Mystery: "Nothing to Lose" by Lee Child

The latest Jack Reacher. You know how I feel about Jack Reacher.

I liked the little bits of the mystery that made this very modern day / the connections to the current global conflict. Definitely enjoyed it overall. Another solid addition to the series.

But I wasn't loving the (yet another) dead-end relationship and I thought the way they made the relationship "connect" to the main mystery (the husband) was a bit contrived. Also, hello, there is no way a smart guy like Reacher takes THAT LONG to figure out what's going on with the husband. Come on.

Posted by Duff at 09:55 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: "Dark Roots" by Cate Kennedy

Very intense little stories. Succinct but centered around the moment of conflict. Very in medias res. People caught by surprise, sometimes by their own actions. Questioning themselves, questioning you, what would you do. People in unconventional situations. All different points of view: men, women, old, young.

Really good. (And very fast read. BIG print, less than 200 pgs.)

I must not have read the blurb beforehand though because I was somewhere in the mdidle when I thought "This girl MUST be Australian." Yeah, dork, says so right on the back cover. Doh.

Posted by Duff at 09:46 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

July 07, 2008

Fiction: Lush Life, by Richard Price

A bday present from Carla who must've seen me mention it here. ;)

Price does such a good job of sucking you into each character's point of view. I kept changing who I was rooting for / who I thought was guilty / who deserved a serious smackdown. He is also just brilliant at maintaining the main plotline while also delving into all the little conflicts going on in the substories around it. Every character, every story, every little grouping of people is fully fleshed out and palpably human.

And the dialogue? Holy crap, no wonder they make this guy's books into movies. The dialogue is just spot-on in every scene.

Combine this great book with Minty's recent Coney Island and Mermaid Parade photos and I was missing NYC something fierce for a week there.

Posted by Duff at 05:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Life Class, by Pat Barker

I really, really canNOT understand the reviews for this book: all of which seem to compare it unfavorably to her earlier Regeneration trilogy and some of which I just find ludicrous ("Tellingly, many critics mentioned as their favorite character one with little more than a walk-on—the real-life artist, teacher, and surgeon Henry Tonks, whom they hope to see more of in a sequel". What? NO.).

I didn't think the first half of the book was "slow" as so many have said / I thought the first half was about a bunch of very unhappy people, some of whom are actually happier when the war comes (second half) because it gives their life some direction they hadn't seemed to be able to find before it. Life does move slower when you're unhappy, don't you know.

I loved the descriptions of the art in this book; I could *almost* see the paintings in my mind and I really wish most of them existed. (Similar to how I felt about the paintings in Siri Hustvedt's "What I Loved".)

I found it moving and insightful and while it does continue to crack me up that so many contemporary British writers are often to be found writing about WWI and II (because there just haven't been any conflicts in the world since then, right?) in a way you don't find quite as often on this side of the pond, I think Pat Barker is (and continues to be) one of the best.

Posted by Duff at 05:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

June 23, 2008

Fantasy: Raven's Shadow and Raven's Strike, by Patricia Briggs

Yes, I'm on a bit of a Patricia Briggs kick (first the Mercy Thompson books, then the dragon books I read last month (known together as "the Hurog books"); these are known as "the Raven duology."

Reminiscent of Robert Jordan with the magic and the travelers and the sense of class/caste between magic(al) and not... As with the Hurog books, the characters in these books are so real and so easy to engage with, and the story becomes even more believable as it evolves.

The first book establishes the relationship that the second book gives you the payoff for. The enlargement of the magic world in book two is done just so, so well. Jess is my favorite (not just Jess, but the Guardian as well) but all the "orders" have their attractions.

If you like fantasy, you should be reading these. (And if you like "good literature" but haven't been reading fantasy because you didn't know which ones to read, this is a good place for you to start.)

Posted by Duff at 05:31 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Farther Shore, by Matthew Eck

I'll go back to my initial reaction: Welcome to the new generation of war novelists. Tactile and gritty and completely engrossing.

A bombed-out Middle Eastern city. An isolated military unit. Sand and desert winds and sweat and dehydration and confusion. The byplay between fear and confidence.

While it is what every good war novel is...it is also something of its own. Highly recommended.

Posted by Duff at 05:24 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

June 09, 2008

Fiction: War with the Newts, by Karel Capek

Our June challenge book.

Really sharp political/societal commentary. First section is really rollicking fun. Second and third, a bit darker. Sometimes very sad.

Poignantly predictable, in a way, given world history now in 2008, but probably less predictable and more predictive in its time (first published in 1936).

Loved it.

By the way, Capek is the dude who came up with (created? originated? whateva!) the word "Robot" (in his play R.U.R.). This is also the first book to cause some random stranger to come up and talk to me on public transportation IN MY LIFE and given that I have 5 yrs in Chitown and 13 yrs in NYC reading on public transit every work day, that's saying something.

Posted by Duff at 04:37 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, Readin', Recommending

Short Stories: The Collected Stories, by Isaac Bashevis Singer

The May challenge book. I had the '96 Farrar Straus edition so we went off its TOC for what we read (Dad has the Complete vs. the Collected).

Very entertaining, really liked a lot of them. Intensely detailed, plotted down to the last moment (even when there's not much of a plot), really great dialogue, and lots and lots of crazy neurotics ("The Admirer", for example. nuts!).

That said, they were arranged (way) too thematically. I mean four or five stories into dybbuks and devils tormenting innocent jews (I really didn't realize there were that many devils in Judaic tradition) and they all start to seem a little too much the same (and you've still got another 20 on that topic to go). Then at the other end of the book, all the NYC stories were lumped together as well. Mixing the disparate types together might have made it an more enjoyable read (or I could have instituted my own mix and read out of order, but how was I to know they were grouped by type?) -- not that it wasn't enjoyable, but there were definitely stories where I thought "another one of these? just like the last four? really?".

When you get to the NYC stories, there are quite a few where you suddenly see the influence he's had on Philip Roth. "Old Love" for example shares so many of Roth's current themes and similar personal details on the part of the protagonist. Dad thinks Singer (rather than Malamud) is really the model for Roth's E.I. Lonoff (an elder writer who appears in some of Roth's Zuckerman books).

Posted by Duff at 04:14 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, Readin'

May 24, 2008

Mystery: One False Move, by Harlan Coben

Burning through mysteries in the offhours while reading this month's challenge book.

The next in the Myron Bolitar series (after these). Still enjoying these, but not quite as much thanks to throwaway paragraphs with pedantic tones like this one:

"Win waited by Myron's car. He was bent slightly at the waist, practicing his golf swing. He did not have a club or a ball, of course. Remember blasting rock music and jumping on your bed and playing air guitar? Golfers do the same thing. They hear some internal sounds of nature, step on imaginary first tees, and swing air clubs. Air woods usually. Sometimes, when they want more control, they take air irons out of the air bags. And like teens with air guitars, golfers like to watch themselves in mirrors..."

Seriously? Do tell. Who is the audience for that? Or, better yet, who does the writer think his audience is that he needs to write that? You can, indeed, take dumbing down a bit too far.

Dear Harlan Coben,
There aren't that many Myron Bolitar books after this one. So I'm sure I'll keep reading them up until the end. Because I like Myron. And I love Win, despite the fact that he's a raving psychopath. (He makes Joe Pike look well adjusted.) But seriously? You can do better than that.
Sincerely,
who would've thought golf could be made more boring than it actually is,
CMS

Posted by Duff at 05:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Letters, Readin'

Fantasy: Dragon Blood, by Patricia Briggs

Burning through fantasy in the offhours while reading this month's challenge book.

The follow-up to Dragon Bones. Equally rewarding, if not more so for getting to spend more time with these characters.

She's currently my favorite fantasy writer and I cannot recommend these (and the Mercy Thompson books) enough.

Posted by Duff at 05:17 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fantasy: Dragon Bones, by Patricia Briggs

Burning through fantasy in the offhours while reading this month's challenge book.

I've recommended her modern day fantasy to you before. Now I can highly recommend her more traditionally set (you know that whole medieval-type, middle age-sort of world that so much fantasy is set in; similar to the worlds of Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, among others) fantasy as well.

LOVED this book. Absolutely loved. In love with Ward, with Oreg, completely sucked in by the myth and the magic. Beautiful. Some kinda icky torture (physical and psychological), that just makes you care even more deeply about these characters. Wow.

Posted by Duff at 05:14 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Mystery: The Devil of Nanking, by Mo Hayder

Burning through mysteries in the offhours while reading this month's challenge book.

Really erotic and sexy...but sometimes in a very icky way. Spooky premise, creepy surroundings, and a very messed up girl. Not for the faint of heart. Not to be read at night alone in the dark.

Posted by Duff at 05:12 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Slam, by Nick Hornby

A younger version of the main characters from "About a Boy" and "High Fidelity" (two very beloved books 'round here. Although you may remember, I do NOT love some of his others; and I only love the movie of ONE of those).

Easy, honest, open...with a wee little bit of fantasy future thrown in. Liked it, but didn't always love it, sometimes frustrated by it. As with all teenage boys, right?

Posted by Duff at 05:08 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child

Reading mysteries in the offhours while burning through this month's challenge book.

The latest Jack Reacher (or latest in paperback at least). Jack Reacher is my dream...everything he is in the books with Tahmoh Penikett's body, looks, voice, etc. Perfect!

Posted by Duff at 05:04 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Just One Look, by Harlan Coben

Since this month's challenge is back to short stories, I find myself breaking it up a bit with short&sweet mystery novels. I know, right? Bizarre.

Anyways....I was reading for the next Myron Bolitar book but couldn't find it on my way to the airport, so had to settle for a non-Myron Bolitar, the first stand-alone Coben I've read.

I liked some of the characters, I liked the "figuring it out" stuff. But I thought the main mystery was both too convoluted and too improbable to really work. Too many moving parts. Still kept you intrigued...but like an badly plotted action movie that wows you while you're IN IT, but is too easy to pick apart afterward.

Posted by Duff at 05:01 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Fade Away and Back Spin, both by Harlan Coben

Books 3 and 4 in the Myron Bolitar series (1, 2). Still enjoying these.

In some ways, Win's character makes these much more violent than your average mystery (is that why I like them?). And the ongoing confusion of the Jessica situation also adds an intensity. But I'm not sure why temptation always has to be a part of it. The come-back scenario in Fade Away was really bittersweet.

Posted by Duff at 04:53 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Death of Virgil, by Hermann Broch

The April challenge book. Certainly the toughest read so far, for both Dad and me.

The language is rich, gorgeous and elegaic; much like reading Virgil himself (or Homer. or Ovid). It's dreamy and powerful and image-full. But...

Part 1: Interesting. Lovely imagery and prose. Nice.

Part 2: Interminable. Almost the death of ME, let alone Virgil. Sentences so long, you can't remember where they began or if anything has even happened in them. And what? Did he just suggest burning the Aeneid? WHAT?!?!

Part 3: Hey, there's some stuff happening again! Still a very high-toned literary experience, but now the drama with Octavian really pulls things along. Some very neat imagery, the landscape arising out of nothing (much easier to do in film than in prose). His yearning is so strong, you can really feel it. [According to Dad the slave boy and Plotia play a very similar role here to that of Jessica Lange in "All That Jazz." I was then castigated for not having seen that recently enough to be able to agree (or not). p.s. just between you, world wide web, and me, I'm not even sure I've ever seen it all the way through!] Really enjoyable.

Part 4: Ugh, we're back to part 2-like process again. Dad: "It's like 2001 the Space Odyssey. At first it's kinda cool and then after a while you just get really, really bored." Me: Hard to know what's happening here, when he's actually dead, what is dream sequence vs. reality vs. post-mortem? (And in this part, hard to care. If this was written like Part 3, I'd be all over it!)

Glad to have read it, but certainly never going to need to read it again. Definitely a challenge.

Posted by Duff at 04:41 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin'

Fiction: The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff

Bought this one in an airport due at least partly to its paper-cut-out looking cover (Yo, Chicken, you would LOVE it, have you seen it????) and its Stephen King blurb.

Definitely fits into that "damaged girl comes home, solves mystery" genre (like Sharp Objects but a little less dark).

I have some misgivings: some of the characters made me a little crazy; I'm not sure the historical stuff ever really found its way IN to the story / didn't quite coalesce; and there's at least one character who I, and I would assume many readers feel this way, still have outstanding concerns about as the book ends.

But I liked the tone, I liked the focus on academia, the almost, but not quite, high-browed literariness of it. And I loved the contrast between the unmonstrousness of the actual monster and the metaphoricness of the Monsters of the title. Some stuff really well done. Very textured and tactile.

Posted by Duff at 04:33 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Belong to Me, by Marisa de los Santos

The second in a (somewhat loose) series about Cornelia (and, now, Teo). I liked the first book, but didn't love it. I LOVED this one.

Less Claire in this book, although still importantly part of it. Dev was a great character, scenes with him really shone.

Easy, natural conversational tone that just sucked me right in, I could barely put it down. Laughed with it, cried with it. Ouch. Friendships, families, what makes them, what breaks them. Many similar themes to the earlier book. But, in my opinion, much better written and handled. Definitely a step up.

Recommended.

Posted by Duff at 04:29 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

April 13, 2008

Mystery: "Drop Shot" by Harlan Coben

And another little break...

The second in the Myron Bolitar series. The fact that Myron is a sports agent and lawyer rather than your more typical PI or retired cop/military just soooo works for me in these books. But of course Win is my favorite character (Joe Pike but without conscience? Or questionable conscience?). I did figure out one part of the mystery a lot earlier than Myron, and not sure if I like being the one to figure it out, I am happy when the book fools me to the end sometimes. Still very enjoyable.

Posted by Duff at 03:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "The Watchman" by Robert Crais

Taking a little break from the "big" book I am reading [I'll do a "currently" post soon]...

Subtitled "A Joe Pike Novel" which makes me hope (HOPEHOPE) that implies an entire series focused on Pike.

I thought the Elvis Cole books were draggin' a little, getting too caught up in Elvis' personal life and not enough focus on the mysteries. This was a refreshing change; Pike is such an engimatic dude. The only comparable character for me is Jack Reacher and I would actually run off with Pike first if given the choice.

He's fierce and fearless and smart and determined and crazy ass cool. I keep warning my dad I am soooo tempted to get matching deltoid arrows...

Posted by Duff at 03:07 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy: "The Tourmaline" by Paul Park

Second in the series I started in March.

Some really dark and twisted stuff in here, in such a cool way. All spicy and bitter with emotion and imagination. I am enjoying them a great deal. [Another one already bought and in the TBR pile!]

Posted by Duff at 03:05 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "The Murder at the Vicarage" by Agatha Christie

Another English language pickup in Kyoto, I was really getting desperate for reading material there at the end. (And you know I had to save something for the plane!)

The first Miss Marple, when she's just annoying as hell and only one person in the story even seems to realize that although annoying, she's probably right. (You know, versus later on, when she's still as annoying but people heed her advice because of her track record.)

Posted by Duff at 03:01 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Nonfiction: "Let's Talk About Love; A Journey to the End of Taste" by Carl Wilson

Part of the 33 1/3 series (details here or here).

There is much more to this book than you might think. Truly a philosophical treatise on not just Celine and her music (and importance or not); but on personal taste, crowd reaction, social commentary... The level of research was pretty impressive and the combination of sarcasm and thoughtfulness had a nice smooth tone. Doesn't make me anymore interested in listening to Dion's music, but that's not really the point.

Posted by Duff at 02:57 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "The Naming of the Dead" by Ian Rankin

Not really sure where I am in this series, I may have skipped ahead a few books to read this one, but I was out of reading material and this was the only thing in the "english books" section of that particular store in Kyoto that I wanted to read.

Rebus is still the same disreputable mess as always, but the byplay between him and Siobhan here is great, felt very refreshing and upbeat from the last one I read. And the ins and outs of the mystery here were really well done.

Posted by Duff at 02:55 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" by Winifred Watson

Charming, fun, lively, light. Great dialogue. Engaging.

Posted by Duff at 02:54 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "The Hunt Ball" and "The Hounds and the Fury" by Rita Mae Brown

Two more in the Sister Jane Hall/Jefferson Hunt Club series (got started a few years ago with an Xmas present).

I liked both of these for the things I've liked before: the intrigue and details of the mystery, the awesome dogs and horses and the foxes (I love the foxes) and their reactions and relations and really vital role in the story. Man I love reading the scenes with Cora and Dasher. The hunt scenes are really wonderful and atmospheric, take you right into the thick of things.

And I didn't like the same stuff that bugs me in each of these books: Sister Jane's incredible self-satisifed-ness and the "how to be upstanding and moral" lessons that crop up throughout. Often has a very pedantic feel. Too preachy and often those paragraphs aren't even in any particular character's voice so they really throw you right out of the action.

Posted by Duff at 02:50 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: The Complete Stories by David Malouf

The March selection in Dad's and my reading challenge. I had read a few Malouf novels so this was one of my suggestions.

LOVED it. [Both of us did.] Had no idea going in, but the dude is a MASTER of the technique and these are certainly some of the best stories I've ever read, and probably the best overall collection. [Dad might not be QUITE as nutty about them as I am.]

Seems he can write from any angle, any point of view: young boy, middle-aged woman, loner, popularity queen, happy, sad, criminal, just. The atmosphere is rich and vivid (and reeks of Australia, I could feel myself there again). The language is thick and layered and sensual [reminded Dad of D.H. Lawrence stories]. Really beautiful. In many stories, a BIG event has taken place "offscreen" (never to be known), with the focus on the human reactions and following chain of effects.

My favorite stories were: "Every Move You Make", "The Domestic Cantata", "Sally's Story", "Great Day", and "A Traveller's Tale".

Highly recommended.

Posted by Duff at 02:42 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin', Recommending

March 05, 2008

Mystery/Suspense: "The Faithful Spy" by Alex Berenson

Cool setup/scenario. Nice spy/action stuff. But reads more like a screenplay than a "novel" really; when's the movie coming out??? :) Good airport book!

Posted by Duff at 10:43 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Essays: "The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist" by Richard P. Feynman

Science reading for non scientists. Great conversational tone / these are "transcribed" from three lectures he gave; there were a few spots that in person/out loud were probably very funny although a bit dry on the page.

Really, really enjoyed the first two sections / the third is (as he announces at the outset) a bit of a ramble and it lost my attention a few times. But worth reading nonetheless.

Thoughtful and concise and ready to converse. Written in '63 (if I recall, book's not next to me) but still very relevant today.

Posted by Duff at 10:39 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "The Good Soldier Svejk" by Jaroslav Hasek

The February book in Dad's and my reading challenge.

Eastern European classic, Dad bought it years ago based on a Kundera recommendation. Total farce, hilarious comic novel. Bumbling anti-hero, a miserable idiot...or is he? Really a lot of fun to read. The never-ending "Well that reminds me of" stories and the contretemps...just indescribable. We both loved it. Humbly report, sir...

Somewhat in the tradition of Don Quixote or Tristram Shandy, although Svejk is a bit more self aware than DQ.

Posted by Duff at 10:35 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin', Recommending

Fantasy: "A Princess of Roumania" by Paul Park

Bitter, dark, magical and mysterious. Couldn't put it down!

Fans of Justine Larbalestier or Margo Lanagan would like this, I would think, although Marrije said she couldn't get into it the first time around.

Posted by Duff at 10:13 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

February 14, 2008

Fantasy/Mystery: "Iron Kissed" by Patricia Briggs

This is book #3 in the Mercy Thompson (mechanic, shape shifter) series and I am just LOVING these books. Loving, I tell you. (I told about the first and second ones last year.)

The mystery is a little bit closer to home. The relationship situation comes to more of a head. Things are fiercer and gentler all at the same time (the mutual realization in the car was just handled so so right) and I'm just chomping at the bit to read more, more, more about these characters. Not a false note anywhere. Now where will the final decision take her? Write the next book soon please, Ms. Briggs, because these three are going to be threadbare by the time that one comes out and I'm ready for it now!

Posted by Duff at 08:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Short Stories: "You Must Be This Happy to Enter" by Elizabeth Crane

I've told you about this author before. She was in my favorite books of 2006 and you'll find brief reviews of her two previous collections if you search for "crane" on this page.

This collection shares some qualities with the previous two (her writing is still "breathless" and "exhilarating" as I mentioned there). Some of the stories still feel like they take an experience and just pinpoint EXACTLY how it feels: as if she reached right into your life and wrote down for everyone what you were thinking but couldn't put into words.

But I think there's an evolution here as well (and I mean that in a good way). They're less in a girls' world (or one girl's world in the case of the second collection) but more "a girl out in the world" if you know what I'm sayin. There's some spot-on societal criticism (the reality show digs are priceless!). There's a bit more fantastical-ness than there was before (I'm thinking of "Manny" and "Blue Girl", they feel imaginative in a different way). There's a letter that is, indeed, all the best things you would want to say to an yet to be born and/or adopted child. And there are relationshps that, while being just as insightful as in her previous collections, have some sense of growth, some sense of "who you are, even while in a relationship, that is not defined by that relationship" in a way I didn't notice before.

When you're reading someone who's published 30 novels and been well chronicled and gone through their different paths to the road they're on, it's a different feeling. You know "oh now I'm reading from THIS time in her writing" or "oh yes this is when she tried out THIS". It's not quite as revelatory as when you're reading someone who's early on in their writing career, still somehow fresh and new, and you start thinking "hey, wait this feels....different. this feels....further on." Years from now, I think I'll look back and say "oh yes, the third book. That was a different place. A new path." Or, an evolution. For this reader, anyway.

I particularly LOVED "Donovan's Closet." And "Blue Girl." And "Promise" just leaves me completely heartbroken with the beauty of it. But again, in the good way.

Posted by Duff at 07:40 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

February 09, 2008

Fiction: "Tree of Smoke" by Denis Johnson

A big whopper of a book, for which the reviews are either enthustiastically postive (almost anywhere you look, and it also won the National Book Award) or soo soooo negative as to be completely comical.

I fall somewhere between. Not the best book I'll read this year: it's sprawling and sloppy and segues awkwardly. Not the worst book I'll read: it's descriptive and evocative and critical and inquiring.

I thought the beginning was kinda confusing, as one event in the 1963 chapter flashes forward to 1967, and a lot of characters get introduced in offhand ways, leading me to create a flowchart (that I stopped needing after a bit) of who knew who and who was related to who. But once you get going, that all went away.

I thought it was sort of a rough-and-tumble "boy" book. If you've read any W.B. Griffin, you might know what I mean. Crudely descriptive, rude when it doesn't have to be, but the way you imagine things in the military often are. Some things that the bad review mentions, I realized I had kind of chalked up to the "boy" ness of it. Maybe that's me being kind? Maybe that's not really acceptable in a book acclaimed to be of 'such' caliber? But it didn't bother me the way it did that reviewer.

On the other hand, I can agree (with the bad review) that some of the writing isn't great. (Although there were certainly chapters where I felt he hit his stride.) But I would say that wasn't really The Point here. Isn't the convoluted confusion of a messy mixed up war what the reading experience of this was like? Isn't the disconnected rambling way in which these characters make decisions and relate to one another part of what war does to you? Doesn't The Colonel and all his ridiculousness serve as a macrocosm for U.S. foreign policy and procedures of the time?

It's certainly one of very few Vietnam novels to have fairly major Vietnamese characters, (as pointed out by fridaysixpm, one of the reasons I decided to read it), some of whom are fleshed out more than others, yes.

I didn't like the end. I thought the "big event" of the end happened so weirdly that I felt sort of detached from it, and I really didn't see the point in having a) the character who ended the book be the one to end it or b) those particular sentiments at the end as they are really in opposition to what I think the real feeling of it was.

But I certainly thought it was worth reading: intense, rambling, yet strikingly evocative. If "knowing the Vietnam canon", so to speak, is one of your reading goals/needs, then I don't see how you can pass this up. It certainly adds another view, and one I haven't quite seen done before. And the ultimate truth of the experience relayed emotionally here is one I think agrees with other, perhaps more easily readable, of the famed Vietnam books (O'Brien, Caputo, and others).

Posted by Duff at 02:15 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Poetry: "Native Guard" by Natasha Trethewey

LOVED this book, a Christmas gift from my Dad who saw her read once at the UND Writer's Conference.

The first section is poems about her mother. They're elegaic and beautiful. There's love mixed with frustrating memories. There's grief. Really wonderful.

There's a section of poems that imagine things from the point of view of the (unfortunate) black soldiers in the Civil War. They're unexpected and insightful. A history you or I could never experience, fully come to life. Wow.

And in the last section she explores her own history, mixed in to her parents' lives, as a child of two races in a disapproving world. Returning home, both physically and emotionally. Remembering, and now understanding in a different way.

Really, really lovely. Highly recommended.

Posted by Duff at 01:39 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: "Fortunate Son" by Walter Mosley

I didn't like this. He describes it as a "parable" but that was part of what made it feel one-dimensional (or two-dimensional. some dimensional flatter than three) to me.

Posted by Duff at 01:30 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Stories: "The Oxford Book of English Short Stories" edited by A.S. Byatt

The January book for me and Dad's 2008 reading challenge. We picked this b/c Dad had (recently) so enjoyed V.S. Pritchett's Oxford short story collection.

However, the selection of stories in this book felt very bizarre to both of us. Byatt's particular idea of "what makes an English short story" was a very specific type and some of the things she claimed were "very particularly Britishly funny" in her introduction were things we either found a) not funny or b) not very British feeling (to us, both non Brits, of course).

So while there were some stories we really loved (some we both loved), there were a lot of stories that we didn't like / I wouldn't recommend the collection as a whole.

There were a lot of stories that were supposed to be (per her intro) scary = but weren't. Or stories that would be scary if they were written differently, but a LOT of stories in this book were very distant / the heavy presence of a "storyteller" telling the story (a very passive voice relating the action) on top of the writer made what was happening in the story seem very far away and hard to connect with. There were a lot of stories I call "afterschool specials" = you know, "message" or "lesson" stories.

And there were a lot of stories that seemed very atypical of their authors. In other words, my dad said, "if the story in this book were the first A.E. Coppard story I read, I would never have been interested in reading him again." Same goes for Dickens, Hardy, D.H. Lawrence and T.H. White. All great writers, all represented here by bad stories.

While we had different faves, these are eight we both liked.

Dad's faves were: ""Wireless" by Rudyard Kipling, ""At Hiruharama" by Penelope Fitzgerald, and "An Englishman's Home" by Evelyn Waugh.

Mine were: "The Tremendous Adventures of Major Brown" by G.K. Chesteron, "Solid Objects" by Virginia Woolf, "A Widow's Quilt" by Silvia Townsend Warner (and not because of the quilting), "A Dream of Winter" by Rosamond Lehmann, and "Telephone" by John Fuller.

We'd both recommend those (and some others), but not this particular collection. And we both thought "The Destructors" by Graham Greene was a really good story but had an incredibly devastating (and not funny at all) ending.

Given our experience with this collection, and his previous love for the Pritchett, we've added that one to our challenge for our last set of stories (even though he's read it already).

Posted by Duff at 01:12 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin'

February 06, 2008

Essays: "Housekeeping vs. the Dirt" by Nick Hornby

Hornby's second "anthology" of his monthly book review essays in The Believer (the first was "The Polysyllabic Spree" which I commented on briefly back in 2005).

While I don't always agree with his reviews, or I might not be interested in a particular book that he's reading, I usually enjoy the tone of these write ups. The random associations that come about between books you didn't expect to resonate with each other; the twists and turns that lead you off in a random direction, far from your original plans; and the pure joy when a book hits you in just the perfect moment for you and that book to collide.

Thanks to his comments, adding to my possibly to be read list (as opposed to the actual to be read pile of things already purchased or borrowed):

• "Every Secret Thing" Laura Lippman (fiction)
  
• "Blood Done Sign My Name" Timothy B. Tyson (memoir)
  
• "Oh the Glory of It All" Sean Wilsey (memoir)
  
• "What Good Are the Arts?" John Carey (nonfiction)
  
• "Death and the Penguin" Andrey Kurkov (fiction)
  
• Joshua Ferris "Then We Came to the End" (fiction) (this one's been reviewed all over in the past year, but this is the first review to make me think Hmmmmm)

Posted by Duff at 05:59 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Dad's and My Reading Challenge for 2008 [Updated]

Alternating short stories & Eastern European novels.

January: "The Oxford Book of English Short Stories" edited by A.S. Byatt

February: "The Good Soldier Svejk" by Jaroslav Hasek

March: Complete Short Stories, David Malouf

April: "The Death of Virgil" by Hermann Brach

May: Collected Short Stories, Isaac Baschevis Singer

June: "War with the Newts" by Karel Capek

July: Stories TBD"The New Granta Book of the American Short Story" edited by Richard Ford

August: "The Man Without Qualities, Vol 1" by Robert Musil

September: Stories TBD"Dead Boys: Stories" by Richard Lange

October: "The Man Without Qualities, Vol 2" by Robert Musil

November: Stories TBD"The Oxford Book of Short Stories" edited by V.S. Pritchett

December: "The Trial" by Kafka

Posted by Duff at 09:35 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Lists, Readin'

January 08, 2008

Wrapping It Up: Best Books 2007.

My Favorite Six Books of 2007 were:

• "Winter's Bone" by Daniel Woodrell (fiction)
  
• "Love Is a Mix Tape" by Rob Sheffield (memoir/music)
  
• "The Used World" by Haven Kimmel (fiction)
  
• "Why the Devil Chose New England for His Work" by Jason Brown (short stories)
  
• "Remainder" by Tom McCarthy (fiction)
  
• "Freddy and Fredericka" by Mark Helprin (fiction / really, really funny)

But there were lots of other books I enjoyed as well, and you can read more about that here.

Posted by Duff at 07:53 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Lists, Readin', Recommending

January 03, 2008

Fiction: "Exit Ghost" by Philip Roth

A return to Nathan Zuckerman, hero of old. Just as neurotic, but now bitter, old, despairing, and at the end of things. Impotent in more ways than (the literal) one.

Interesting juxtaposition between the defeated Zuckerman being written by a Roth at the top of his game.

If you had read the previous Zuckerman books, I don't see how you can pass this one up. It's not a smash hit the way other recent Roth books have been (American Pastoral, I Married a Communist, Plot Against America = all great) -- and it's no Sabbath's Theater -- but it's got some nice closure on the NZ story.

Posted by Duff at 12:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Poetry: "The Midnight Court" translated by Ciaran Carson

a.k.a. "Cuirt an Mhean Oiche" by Brian Merriman.

A bawdy Irish poem. Lots of fun.

(By the way, Ciaran Carson is an accomplished poet in his own right, as well.)

Posted by Duff at 11:10 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Sci Fi/Fantasy: "A Feast for Crows" by George R.R. Martin

Book 4 of "A Song for Fire and Ice".

I had forgotten how great this series is (let's see, I read Book 3 in...2003, woah). As with other fantasy series of similiar ilk, there are many, many storylines with a whole cacophony of important players. There's sure to be at least one or two characters you're interested in following. I am loving Arya's storyline the most, although I do have a soft spot for the Kingslayer. (Don't you picture him as a strapping gent, like Mads Mikkelsen or Heath Ledger...)

My other mainstay fantasy series has hit a rough patch given that Robert Jordan died recently without completing it... I'm sure there are bereft readers all over the world on that one! I hope there are no worries on that count here!

Posted by Duff at 11:05 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "Ludmilla's Broken English" by DBC Pierre

Two divergent storylines that eventually come together: a) conjoined twins (now separated) experiencing freedom from institutions for the first time and b) a Russian peasant girl at sea in a world of poverty and war.

Slapstick and comedic. I continue to be impressed by Pierre's ability to write for ANY voice: this is a complete departure from his previous (Booker-prize winning), and very dialectic, Vernon God Little. Not a departure, however, in its brusque, harsh humor. I enjoyed it.

Posted by Duff at 11:00 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

December 19, 2007

Fiction: "Incendiary" by Chris Cleave

Very intense! A stream-of-consciousness letter to Osama (yes the Bin-Laden one) from a (lower?) middle class wife who lost her son & police officer (bomb defuser) husband to a terrorist bomb blowing up an Arsenal/Chelsea match...which she feels even the worse about as she was having sex on their couch with someone she met in a bar (on a "my husband is off defusing a bomb and I am insanely nervous and when I am insanely nervous I go have sex with strangers" evening) when the bomb went off. She winds up going a little crazy and getting involved in some messed up situations, some beyond her control, and throughout it she continues her commentary, directed to Osama.

She starts the novel thinking if she tells him about her sweet, sweet boy that he killed, maybe he'll just stop bombing things...and ends it in a very different place.

The sentences are long and breathless and meandering (they felt like something Elizabeth Crane or Megan Stielstra would write), the emotions are hot and present and flustered, and it all feels very, very real.

Blew me away, in more ways than one. Wow.

I think some of the social class commentary was perhaps lost on a non-Brit reader; there are a few places where I thought "and I bet THAT adjective is explaining to someone EXACTLY what position she's found herself in but it's not something we say here so it's not really doing that for me." But that did not denigrate my enjoyment or the content at all.

Posted by Duff at 06:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: "Gentlemen of the Road" by Michael Chabon

I already told you last week about its exuberant use of adjectives and other writerly choices that lend to its fairy-tale adventure-story feel.

Very entertaining. Somewhat silly but a lot of fun.

"War creates opportunities too."

"In the short term," Joseph said, and spat again. "Good in the short term is always bad in the long term."

Posted by Duff at 06:12 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories/Fantasy: "Red Spikes" by Margo Lanagan

As I mentioned when I read another collection of Lanagan's in March, her stories are really unusual. They take you to other worlds and other times; to unexpected voices and unusual resolutions. They're violent and sudden; sometimes a nightmare, sometimes a dream. I particluarly loved "Winkie", "A Feather in the Breast of God" and "Hero Vale" but really there wasn't a single story I felt I could have done without.

Posted by Duff at 06:09 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "The Uncommon Reader" by Alan Bennett

The Queen (of England) comes upon a lending library...and starts reading..and it changes her entire life.

This book was an absolute delight. Clever, funny and thoughtful. An excellent treatise on the many things reading brings one.

Slim book, huge margins, huge print. It's a quickie. Really enjoyable.

She'd never taken much interest in reading. She read, of course, as one did, but liking books was something she left to other people. (emphasis = mine)

Posted by Duff at 04:31 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

December 10, 2007

(Fictional?) Memoir: "The Life of Hunger" by Amelie Nothomb

An somewhat philosophical memoir of hunger, being hungry, (at some points, actually anorexic), but also of being sated, in all of their various meanings: not just physically, but also emotionally, intellectually, etc. Also a book about "home", going there, leaving, about living places that aren't that. A book about feeling lost and alone even within the midst of your own family, let alone a strange city, school, country etc.

Very good. A very slim, quick read. But weighty in thought.

I thought I knew the meaning of the word 'big'. You have to have driven across the United States before you can have any idea of what that means: whole days of straight road without seeing a single human being.

My parents were forty, the age at which you pull up your sleeves and put your responsibility to the test of work. [Really? Uh oh! Danger ahead!]

Is it not enough to have some very good chocolate in your mouth, not only to believe in God, but also to feel that one is in his presence? God isn't chocolate, he's the encounter between chocolate and a palate capable of appreciating it.

Posted by Duff at 08:15 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

December 03, 2007

Mystery: "True Evil" by Greg Iles

You know when something in a book can just creep you out so much because you don't know whether it's something the author just dreamed up out of nowhere or if he's read about it and the ability to do that horrible thing is actually out there right now in the real world and could be happening to people? And I'm not talking "horrible thing" like something in a crazy horror/ slasher/ murder flick. I'm talking subtly yicky yicky mentally-disturbing "what if people are really doing that?" horrible. And it's not the part about hiring someone to kill off your spouse instead of you going through a divorce. I've still kinda got the skeeves. But that's really why you read a book like this one: to get your scary kicks.

Posted by Duff at 08:21 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "Deal Breaker" by Harlan Coben

Not your typical genre piece in that the main character is a sports agent rather than a PI, or retired cop, or former FBI agent or whathaveyou. Yet your typical genre piece with the "tougher than the main dude" sidekick (think Joe Pike in the Elvis Cole books). Some really yicky aspects to the mystery. Still: very enjoyable, lots of sarcastic witty humor. Already bought the second one.

Posted by Duff at 08:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: "Why the Devil Chose New England for His Work" by Jason Brown

Very intense set of stories; it took me a while to realize they were all taking place in the same town, with some recurring characters in the background (references to the same basketball coach, for example).

Subtle and quiet feeling, but the quiet before the storm. Emotionally brutal, sometimes breathtakingly so. Really, really good.

Posted by Duff at 08:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

November 12, 2007

Mystery/Fiction: "He Kills Coppers" by Jake Arnott

Loosely a follow-up to The Long Firm, although the connection is more tenuous than in your average "series".

Again follows a variety of characters with many different narrators, different motivations. All warped or twisted, all involved in something unsavory despite their best intentions. There's a little trick at the end I really liked.

The scenes with Billy in the forest, digging out a bunker, meeting up with the gypsy-types, really really reminded me of another book I dug -- I know it's one of the John Madden mysteries by Rennie Airth although I'm not sure which one.

The previous book was a lot more "social commentary" and "criminal biography" in feel. This one's focus is slightly different, feels more like a combination of "police procedural" and "investigative reporting".

One more to go (in this trilogy)! Glad I decided to rescue these off the TBR shelf. Enjoying them.

Posted by Duff at 12:31 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Nonfiction: "A Field Guide to Getting Lost" by Rebecca Solnit.

Hard to know how to classify this book. Not really 'travel' although she does go a few places. Not really 'memoir' although there are memories discussed Maybe: Philosophical musings from a personal viewpoint?

Regardless, I loved it. Completely engaging. Calm, yet intense underneath. Asking tough questions. Pondering, considering, studying.

The important thing is not that Elijah might show up someday. The important thing is that the doors are left open to the dark every year.

Not a book about religion, although that quote uses it. But certainly a book about personal belief, personal musings. I really don't lead this kind of contemplative life. But it was an inspiring read.

The chapter "Abandon" about her friend Marine really reminded me of "Truth and Beauty" by Ann Patchett, a memoir about Patchett's friend Lucy, another soul in trouble.

Don't be surprised to see me reading a LOT more Solnit in the days ahead.

Posted by Duff at 12:17 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

YA/Fantasy: "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

As a teenager, I think I would have LOVED these books. All fate and destiny and romance and ever burning passion and undying love. Isn't that always the dream of a 17-year-old romantic. To be declaring "I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER."

As an adult, they were still very entertaining, although there are many facile aspects to them. They look big but the print is HUGE and the margins are WIDE and really you can just whip right through these on a crazy emotional rollercoaster.

Which is my way of saying, yes, I then read the follow-ups New Moon and Eclipse to round out that weekend.

Stephanie and I had a long chat about these. She's right, there are so many things wrong with the 2nd and 3rd installments, including BAD BAD messages to send to teens and what is likely a bowing to the weight of the author's fellow mormons' critiques.

On the other hand, if you just give in and go with Bella's emotions, they seem to "make sense" emotionally, if that sentence itself makes any sense. Basically: the things they do WRONG didn't make them unreadable to me.

As a child, I was often obsessed with books that my mom just did NOT like the overall messages underneath the themes that were what pulled me in. (Elsie Dinsmore, case in point. Talk about a restrictive horrible view of religion. Not that I want anything to do with even the nonrestrictive kind but that's another story. I also had an obsession with books about cults and books about people being "debriefed" after they had been rescued from a cult. Too funny, to me now.) But I think she got comfortable with the fact that I was able to really feel the emotional pull of something without necessarily having it change my rational mind.

However, again, Steph is right, you can't count on a young reader necessarily being able to do that. I found these entertaining in a whirlwind romance, vampire love, perfect soulmate kind of way. But they weren't great literature. They were an escape.

It kinda cracks me up how every "new" installment to vampire lore needs to put their own tweak on the legends. Oh no, no, it's not that we burn up and die in the sun, it's that when we're in the sun, we're just SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL. Oh, OK. Sure. :)

Posted by Duff at 11:53 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "A Complicated Kindness" by Miriam Toews

The story of a Mennonite family in the midst of falling apart. Nomi was a great narrator, brave and bold and honest, questioning not just for the sake of the questions. Not a long book, not a hard read. Very emotionally engaging.

Posted by Duff at 11:48 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

October 31, 2007

Short Stories: "Beware of God" by Shalom Auslander

With his new book getting reviewed all over the place and Bookslut wholeheartedly recommending him, thought it was time I checked out Auslander.

Really funny, sarcastic, biting religious humor. Some of the stories were really really hilarious, particularly if you know anything about Judaism. If you don't, some of the specifics might just go over your head. Some weren't quite as funny, or perhaps it's better read not all in a row as it's a little one-note. If you're not into mocking religion, then you wouldn't be interested.

Posted by Duff at 09:59 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "The Myth of You and Me" by Leah Stewart

As I may have mentioned, a somewhat philosophical story about a girlhood friendship gone wrong. Cameron is extremely guarded and close with her secrets; she's also honest and heartbroken and afraid it will happen again. Sonia is exactly the kind of best friend who drives you nuts and makes you crazy while also making you treasure her. As with so many relationships, things get tangled up in insecurities and secrets and lies.

Really inviting tone, easy to get emotionally involved here. I wouldn't call it chick lit, and I was surprised to see one reviewer on Amazon say "Teens will appreciate..." Teens? I don't see Teens being interested in this kind of brutal honesty about how things fall apart (it would have hurt too much to read then and think 'oh no this might happen to my friendship with x or x'), or understand the little lies going on here that turn out to not matter so much in the end. This is a book for adults, if you ask me.

Posted by Duff at 09:49 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

October 23, 2007

Mystery/Fiction: "In the Woods" by Tana French

It would be a big surprise to me if this novel isn't in my Top 10 at the end of the year. LOVED IT. Really good. Sucks you right in, keeps you spellbound, and I stayed up way way way past my bedtime finishing it as I was close enough to the end I just couldn't go to sleep without finding out what happened!

Two murder detectives, close friends, draw a chilling case with very few reliable leads. And it seems it may be related to a case from years past, of three children disappeared into the wood, two gone forever, one returned with no memory of the events. That returnee being one of the two aforementioned detectives.

Told first person from Rob (Adam)'s point of view, extremely seductive stream of consciousness. As the case becomes more and more personal, his life gets more tipsy turvy...

Everytime I picked this up, I just wanted to sit and read for hours on end. Excellent!

(p.s. When I saw this in the bookstore, I couldn't remember where I'd heard of it. Then I realized it was in Jessica Jernigan's "recommended" column. )

Posted by Duff at 09:43 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Romantic/Historical Fiction: "The Privilege of the Sword" by Ellen Kusher

Picked this up based on Marrije's recommendation. Completely agree with her review. It's charming and fun and has its racy moments (hello romance novel), but insightful and thoughtful and, more than anything else, it's a story of a little girl gradually becoming in a woman, in a most unusual way. Really enjoyable, I'm definitely going to seek out more of her stuff!

Posted by Duff at 09:40 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "The Rain Before It Falls" by Jonathan Coe

Really touching, slowly moving story. Told by a great-aunt, recording memories into a tape recorder, centered around pictures of relevant events. A really strong sense of time and place. A story about family and generations and what a child takes with them, even if unwillingly, from their parents. A story of cousins, become friends, and then estranged. A story of loves and jealousies and anguish and (some) joy. Really lovely.

Posted by Duff at 09:37 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

October 19, 2007

Fiction: "The Long Firm" by Jake Arnott

This is a re-read from 2004 as I've got the two follow-up books on my To Be Read shelves and wanted a refresher...

'60s mob scene in London. Swanky mobsters. Truly evocative, full of noir. Similar in setup to, say, a David Mitchell book, each section is narrated by a different character, all of whom are somewhere on the outskirts of Harry Swank's life, a gay gangster, unusual particularly for his time, who always has a boy-toy hanger-on, is obsessed with Liza Minnelli and other cabaret style singers, and seeks legitimacy in odd ways.

Really still enjoyed it, second time around, although I found the last chapter a bit wearing, didn't care for that narrator as much as the others.

Posted by Duff at 08:37 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

October 08, 2007

Fiction: "Tolstoy Lied" by Rachel Kadish

A love story about an academic, sort of a shoo-in to my book pile, don't you think. The narrator has a very similar tone and feel to the narrator of Love Walked In, but a few years older, wiser, and more jaded. It's literate and witty, and the compare-and-contrast overlap between problems with the boy and problems with work colleagues is done really well.

Nice friendship moments, nice relationship moments, good realizations.

I didn't like some of the choices at the end, however. Doesn't stop me from thinking it was very well-written and worth reading. But I'm a little irked with at least one character. Shows you how involving it was, eh? ;)

Posted by Duff at 10:05 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "The Used World" by Haven Kimmel

Just as insightful and heartbreaking and tender and comic and genius as you should expect from a Haven Kimmel book. A story of three woman, connected and disconnected in ways only known to one of them. Spirituality, and friendship, and family, and love. And pain, and guilt, and when can one forgive, and when is forgiveness off the table. Small-town America, with all its aches and pains. And particularly the pangs of those more worldly who live in it.

Quite, quite lovely. Kimmel is an automatic "buy in hardback" for me at this point.

Posted by Duff at 10:01 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

October 02, 2007

Fiction: Love Walked In, by Marisa de los Santos

At first it appears to be telling two different stories: Cornelia, 30-something, single, waiting for romance; and Clare, 11 and in danger of abandonment... Eventually of course, they coincide and it becomes not just a story of Cornelia looking for love and Clare trying to survive her mother, but a story of Cornelia and Clare coming together and how we connect and what makes a family and how does love come and when do you stay and fight and when do you have to walk away...

I really enjoyed this, more than I expected. But it was hard to think of Clare as 11 -- she felt more like a 15 year old at least 90% of the time. I'm not often bothered by the "is this person older than they're supposed to be feel in novels" (or not as much as my friend GirlDetective who I kept thinking of whenever I thought that here [note to GD, I really did!!]), but in this case it kept nagging at me.

And you know, Cornelia can be a bit twee at times. Apparently Sarah Jessica Parker will play her in the movie. Unlike many books, this one is concise enough, I don't see there being the need to cut much of the plot.

Posted by Duff at 08:46 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

September 24, 2007

Nonfiction: "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer

subtitle: "A Story of Violent Faith". KC gave me this for Christmas and it's proably something I would not have bought on my own. But daaaammmmmn is it good. Following several crimes committed by Mormon "Fundamentalists" (those who have broken away from the "mainstream" LDS Mormon church), it goes through the history of Mormonism itself, the philosophy of many of the breakaway sects, interviews with current members of regular Mormonism, fundamental Mormonism, as well as "apostates" (excommunicated members), and members who ran away from it all (Run! RUN FAR!!!!!).

It is incredibly researched and extremely well written and I could barely put it down long enough to go to sleep at night. Completely compelling reading about crazy, scary people. Extra kudos to Krakauer for including the rebuttal from the LDS Mormons (who aren't really the FOCUS of the book anyway) and going through it point by point to either acknowledge errors or alternately say "Nope, I am right on that."

Extremism in any area of life (religion, adventure, etc.) is not necessarily something I'm interested in, but it's so well written, it was well worth reading.

Posted by Duff at 11:54 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: "Don't Make a Scene" by Valerie Block

Diane Kurasik, 40 years old, single, manager of the Beford Street cinema, finds herself in a summer of unexpected change. Evicted as her building is bought, romantically uninvolved but searching, searching, searching, expanding her theater... She continually compares her life to the movies and finds it lacking (who doesn't, right?). And then the last third of the book unexpectedly (to me) turns into a May-September story (is that what you call it? a younger/ older romance?).

I really enjoyed this but I wasn't very interested in the character of Vladimir and found it hard to believe Diane was either. Javier, on the other hand, I could understand.

Loved the movie references and the bits of history (wow, I will never look at Cary Grant the same way ever again). It's referential the way the "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" was...except this is both better written and better edited. (Completely different type of plot, however.)

Posted by Duff at 11:48 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

September 17, 2007

Memoir: "A Three Dog Life" by Abigail Thomas

This would be a tear-jerker on a good day so maybe not the best choice when you're super tired and feeling lonely anyway.

Author's husband suffered traumatic brain injury; basically becomes a different person. This is her story of coming to live with that. It's very sad in some places. But it's also hopeful. She always chooses the route of hope. Quite touching.

Loved her writing style. Conversational, easy tone, concise yet not lacking in details (something I used to get compliments on in grad school -- although you don't see much evidence of it, here do you?!?! -- so I tend to like that in others as well).

Posted by Duff at 09:18 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy/Mystery: "Storm Front" (Bk 1 Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden = the only wizard in the Chicago phone book. Thought it dragged a bit in the middle, but the last third of the book really picked up. Intriguing mystery, very tricky how it all came together. I'm interested enough to read the next one in the series.

Posted by Duff at 09:16 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

September 11, 2007

Fiction: "Day" by A.L. Kennedy

A war veteran finds himself acting as an extra in a film about the war...and finally finds himself back in a place he understands. A place where he can finally come to terms with his war experiences, his regrets, his hopes...

What an amazing book. Just as Kennedy's last novel "Paradise" took me so much into the mind of the alcoholic main character that I could practically taste the alcohol on my tongue, this book brings you into a completely different world, yet just as fully. Alfred's experiences in the war (WWII, by the way), and the bonds he formed then, and the emptiness he's felt since...

I found it extremely powerful and moving. It's the third Kennedy I've read, the third I've loved. To think that the same author could write so movingly on such different themes...truly awe-inspiring. She ranks right up there with Pat Barker and Ann Patchett for me -- three of the greatest living authors of our time.

Posted by Duff at 09:32 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

September 01, 2007

Mystery: "Indemnity Only" by Sara Paretsky

Wow you really feel the "age" of a detective novel when there aren't any cell phones in it so everytime she needs to call someone she either needs to go to her home, office or a payphone. Crazy! How did we live!?! (Hahahahaha.)

Set in Chicago, and I (like my dad, and probably the reason he recommended it) really enjoyed tracking the plot through my neighborhood and near my office and around lots of places I've been. Fun.

Posted by Duff at 04:04 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "Rain Fall" by Barry Eisler

A half-American, half-Japanese Vietnam vet working as an assassin in Tokyo, falls in love with the daughter of his latest victim...

This was quite entertaining. Not your standard detective novel; reminded me a little of "Bangkok 8" although it's not as quirky as that.

And according to a note in the back, all the Tokyo stuff in it is real except two things. So there are a few places I might have to do add to my Tokyo notes (Japan is a possibility for next spring)....

Posted by Duff at 04:01 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

August 29, 2007

Fantasy: "Witchery: A Ghosts of Albion novel" by Amber Benson & Christopher Golden

The sequel to Accursed. Things continue to get harder for Tamara and William; the more magic in their lives, the harder all their relationships, even with each other, become. Some really neat stuff. I knew Sophia was asking for trouble, but DAMN I had no idea THAT would happen.... Yay. Can't wait for another.

And p.s. there is one super super sexy scene that really took my breath away. So you know, there's that. As well.

Posted by Duff at 08:41 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "Run" by Ann Patchett

Since this book doesn't come out until October in the US, I was very excited to stumble upon it in Belgium. It's not that long of a read (it didn't even last me the entire plane ride from Brussels to Philadelphia), but it was a really rich, satisfying read that has stayed with me since.

One of my favorite reading "things" is when unrelated books you read in short periods turn out to be thematically linked; they become a matched set to me / a good "pair." As with "The Buffalo Soldier" which I read a week earlier, this is a story of racially-mixed adoption (white parents/black child(ren).

What truly makes a family? What makes a mother? How important are the physical links? Do the emotional ones replace them? Can your hopes and dreams for other people ever STOP hindering them / stop hindering your relationship with them when they don't work out?

This was just really lovely. I think I've now read all Patchett's books. I'm on the bandwagon. Leading the parade. They're all really different than each other; they've all got at least one breathtaking, beautiful moment. This book had several. Run, Kenya, run...

Posted by Duff at 08:34 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: "Seven Types of Ambiguity" by Elliot Perlman

Technically this was my vacation reading but since I didn't want to carry it on the plane with me on the way back, I didn't finish the last few pages until a few days after I got back thanks to the luggage screwup.

Ginger loves this book and had recommended it to me several times. Finally she just sent me a copy. Wow. Somewhat like another book I read recently, or a movie like "Memento", as each chapter unfurls, something takes you by surprise. Yet UNLIKE say the current show "Damages", the things that happen unexpectedly MAKE SENSE and are not blindsiding you. You weren't expecting them, or you might not have predicted them, but it's one of those books where things unfold in such a neat way... You have to keep reinterpreting your previous conclusions as you go.

Carrying the torch of a love long lost can lead one to do things you wouldn't expect. Yes? No?

It's a big, thick one. It takes a bit of time. But it's worth it.

Posted by Duff at 08:29 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: "The Buffalo Soldier" by Chris Bohjalian

Although I found some parts of this book weren't quite where I wanted them to be (didn't use the Buffalo Soldier analogy enough, touched on it too lightly), I found myself very emotionally attached to Alfred and I had a hard time not crying during the last few chapters. I mean, even the THOUGHT of foster kids could put me on tear's edge some days, so reading an entire book about one... well. He felt very, very real to me. Particularly enjoyed his relationship with the neighbor, Paul.

Posted by Duff at 08:27 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

August 09, 2007

Fiction: "Taft" by Ann Patchett

I think this was the only Patchett book I hadn't read yet. What the hell was I waiting for? (Woman needs to write me something new!) I LOVED it. The lead character's voice totally sucked me in. His longings and his fears and his reality... It all rang true. His tenderness and his sometimes hesitations... The atmosphere at Muddy's. The rain. Palpable.

A great book. I think she's one of the best writers out there right now, and in terms of female writers, she's right up there with Pat Barker and A.L. Kennedy. Would love to see something new. Just talked to my pops, she DOES have a new book out!! "Run". Heading to the bookstore now!!

Posted by Duff at 06:01 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: "Inglorious" by Joanna Kavenna

I didn't love this. The lead character's downward spiral...never really ends but it never really takes off either. I guess I needed things to either get better or get worse, but there was sort of a sameness to it all. And when it ends, it.just.ends. No resolution either way really.

But there were two things I really really loved about it. I loved her to-do lists. SO funny. (Lists where things like "Read all of Western Philosophy" receive the same weight as things like "vacuum".) And I loved her "letters" (or pretend letters as most are things you presume she did NOT send). And I thought they were so well-written and so comedic in a very bleak way...and I thought the rest of the book SHOULD have had that tone as well. Or if it would have, then it would probably have been a book I really loved. There was a distance to the rest / sort of a bubble around the character I found inpenetrable, that totally disappeared in those moments. They were what was most engaging about the character and perhaps were used too sparingly. They almost felt like they were written by a different person.

Posted by Duff at 05:54 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "Risk" by Dick Francis (reread)

This was my company on the blanket at Lollapalooza on Sunday. Dick Francis is like comfort food to me. The mac'n'cheese of mysteries. The tomato soup in my readin' week. I can (and have) read some of these over and over.

He rarely repeats a character, but two books of his that I have read a zillion times over are "Bolt" and "Break In" both featuring Kit Fielding. If you like mysteries, and you like horses, and jockeys, and racing, and the occasional princess, then high thee to a bookstore. You won't be disappointed.

Posted by Duff at 05:51 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "The Hard Way" by Lee Child

Think I'm almost all caught up now, with only one Jack Reacher novel out there I haven't read. (Mariko and I started these in Australia, with book 10 we randomly picked up in an airport. Came home to the States and started from Book 1. This was Book 11.)

There's just not one damn thing I don't love about Jack Reacher.

Posted by Duff at 05:48 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "Remainder" by Tom McCarthy

Very cool and mysterious book. Really takes you a place you're not expecting. Man severely injured in an accident he can't even remember receives an 8 million pound settlement. The way he sets about spending the money...is not anything you could ever dream up. Wow. Intricate and extremely plotted, the general evolution of his plan was quite spell-binding. I really didn't want to put this book down.

Ultimately I felt this was a book about control, with the main character the boy version of the girls from, say, "An Invisible Sign of My Own" or "Sharp Objects".

Posted by Duff at 05:43 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fantasy/Mystery: "Blood Price" and "Blood Trail" by Tanya Huff.

So it took me about 30 pages to think "This book feels really comfortable and familiar." And another 50 to think "Weird, I totally know what's going to happen next." And then it started to dawn on me... Yes, turns out I've read these before. About 15 years ago is my guess, during a poverty period in my NYC days when I was actually going to the library twice a week... Too funny.

Still really enjoyed them second time around. :)

Posted by Duff at 05:40 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "Landor's Tower" by Iain Sinclair

Don't know how much business I have blogging about a book I didn't finish... But I got farther than I did the first time I tried to read it! Very Joyce-ean in its rhythms. I just kinda lost interest when it got to a point in the plot where it became unclear who was real, who wasjust a dream or fantasy, what situations had atually happened, which were made up in the character's mind... Enjoyed it up until that point...and then kept finding myself AVOIDING reading. I mean, given that reading is the thing I'd almost always rather be doing than anything else, if I'm on the bus thinking "well, maybe I'll just stare out the window instead", then you've got to figure this book maybe isn't really for me, you know? :)

Posted by Duff at 05:37 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

July 08, 2007

Fiction: "The Interloper" by Antoine Wilson

Sort of an odd duck. I don't think it was ALL due to me just having seen "Evening" before I started reading this, but the time it takes place in felt confused. It FEELS like it's the '50s or '60s, very formal, the wife part of a "society" family, the way the murder took place, the writing of letters, the lingering on of CJ's spirit: all felt very "old," belonging to the time of Capote and "In Cold Blood." But then there are references to snowboarding, and photo shop and Mailboxes, etc. = so it's supposed to be contemporary. I never really got over this tonal imbalance and really felt much of the plot and the characters would have worked better in THAT time rather than THIS one.

Did enjoy the epistolary drama, the lead's plan to break the murderer's heart. The ending reminded me of a very specific part of "Evening," but I don't want to give anything away. If you've seen that and read this, shoot me an email (link below "Say What"?), I'd love to know if anyone else noticed this particular resonance.

Posted by Duff at 12:21 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy/Mysery: "Blood Bound" by Patricia Briggs

Second in the series (#1 here).

Still involved with the werewolves but the mystery here centers around the local vampires and their seethe. Very spooky stuff!

Some neat religious imagery with Mercy insisting on wearing a lamb necklace instead of a cross: "I don't wear a cross. As a child, I'd had a bad experience with one. Besides, a crucifix was the instrument of Our Lord's death -- I don't know why people think a torture device should be a symbol of Christ. Christ was a willing sacrifice, a lamb, not a cross for us to hang ourselves on; or at least that's my interpretation."

Posted by Duff at 12:12 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

Fantasy/Mystery: "Moon Called" by Patricia Briggs

So I was in a bookstore to pick up the second Kim Harrison book and they didn't have it, but I found this book instead.

Mercy Thompson = mechanic AND "walker" (can shape shift into a coyote), brought up in a pack of werewolves and involved with another one in her current locale. Has to enlist the help of a local vampire and a local witch to solve this mystery.

Whipped right through it, couldn't put it down. So with the Harrison books, and the Terry Goodkinds I started earlier, somehow I have now gotten myself involved in THREE fantasy series. And then there's Proust where I'm ready to read Book 4, and the Vidal novels of Empire where I'm ready for #2... I just don't have the kind of reading time I want!!

Posted by Duff at 12:07 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "Freddy and Fredericka" by Mark Helprin

I bought this book some time ago and found that I had three Helprin novels on the shelf and had yet to read anything by the man. I'm so glad I finally did as this novel was really lots of fun. Tale of two bumbling oafs in the Royal Family sent off to "conquer America" and stop embarrassing themselves. In the tradition of comedies of manners, or Tristam Shandy. While the subjects, and many of the periphery characters, are soundly mocked, there are also beautiful, poetic, descriptive passages as they make their way through America...very hard to resist a road trip after this one!

There are so many funny moments, and there is also a very tender love story as the Prince and his wife finally come to know each other. There are also a lot of really funny "Who's on first?" moments, particularly when they meet up with politician Don Knott. "Are you x(whatever)x?" "No, I"m not." "No, I'M Knott."

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Posted by Duff at 12:01 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fantasy/Mystery: "Dead Witch Walking" by Kim Harrison

A bounty hunter witch quits her job to go solo, in cahoots with a vampire and a pixie, and winds up on the run for her life. Gotta love it when the heroine is flawed enough for you to be worried about her at the same time you're rooting for her. Very enjoyable start to a series: really liked the pixies vs. fairies bits, and the old shaman across the street...

Posted by Duff at 11:58 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

June 25, 2007

Fantasy: "Ghosts of Albion: Accursed" by Amber Benson & Christopher Golden

So apparently there was an online BBC series that began the story of these characters; however I did not find that you needed to have read it to understand and enjoy what goes on here. Two siblings find that on their grandfather's death they have been appointed the "Protectors of Albion," mystical defenders of England. 19th century London, feels very Dickensian in its descriptions, but set in Jane Austen's society world. Ghosts of some of England's historical heroes (Lord Admiral Nelson, Lord Byron) are their helpers, as well as a vampire (yay!), and Protectors from other lands. Very engaging and personable. So many well-rounded characters, you're sure to find someone you want to root for. I've already got the next in the series waiting in my pile!

(Yes, it's THAT Amber Benson.)

Posted by Duff at 10:04 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "An Invisible Sign of My Own" by Aimee Bender

I really haven't read many people Aimee Bender can be compared to. As when I read some of her short stories in 2005, her writing is not so much "fantasy" as "writing set in the normal world with fantastical elements." This novel has less of those elements than her short stories do, yet it has the same overall feeling to me.

Mona is a numbers person. Obsessive compulsive, but not in the typical way, and perhaps beyond that. Tender and moving, sad and sometimes scary. Yet ultimately hopeful. Your heart breaks for this girl, with her worries and her need for control and her unwillingness to accept the happy... I would have happily kept reading about her long after the last page.

Posted by Duff at 09:54 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

June 13, 2007

Fiction: "Single Wife" by Nina Solomon

Pretty intriguing premise: Grace's husband vanishes on what she assumes is one of his regular "missing for 3 days, returns like he's never been gone" jaunts. So she keeps up appearances, pretends he's at work, or traveling, messes up his clothes to fool the cleaning lady, lies to her/his parents, etc. Yet this time, it's not three days or three weeks or...

Yet not only does her deception seem to be working incredibly well, others report citings of Laz, or emails. Is he really gone for good, or...

A lot of good stuff in here -- plus it's a good New York/Chicago book with lots of landmarks and reminders from both cities.

Posted by Duff at 09:59 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

June 05, 2007

Fiction: "Kaaterskill Falls" by Allegra Goodman

I think I picked up this paperback after Goodman's more recent book "Intuition" started being reviewed all over the place. And as to why I decided to read it now, I guess Michael Chabon's latest got me in the mood for random outbursts of Yiddish (and/or Hebrew) and explications of Talmudic law!

The plot was somewhat meandering (no big climax at the end) and predictable -- surely all intelligent people must struggle at one time or another with belief and the irrationality of restrictive religions -- but the intelligence and integrity of the writing kept me interested.

Elizabeth was a wonderfully written character, I really enjoyed thinking through her thoughts.

And if you yourself are now in the mood for some yiddish, how about a list of ways to incorporate Yiddish into bedroom talk, via Josh Berg, a friend of a friend.

Posted by Duff at 05:23 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "Pippa Passes" by Rumer Godden

Un petit roman about a young ballerina who goes to Venice and blossoms. Sweet and light. But pretty inconsequential.

If you are interested in reading Rumer Godden, an author of some renown although you don't hear much about her these days, I highly (HIGHLY!!) recommend instead both "In This House of Brede" and "China Court" both of which are easy to obtain, in my experience, at any decent-sized used bookstore.

I've told you this before, but FYI the author is the namesake of Bruce & Demi's child.

Posted by Duff at 05:18 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

June 02, 2007

History: "Killing Pablo" by Mark Bowden

I am becoming quite the Mark Bowden groupie, eh?

This book reveals the secrets of US government/military involvement in the hunt for and eventual murder of Pablo Escobar, former head of the Colombian cocaine cartel, and quite the terrorist. Bowden manages to take all these people's memories and turn them into quite a page turner, it feels like you're reading a story of what happened rather than a journalist's report.

Good. Intriguing. But I would recommend both Black Hawk Down (love that book) and Guests of the Ayatollah over this one. This one feels a little stiff in comparison.

Posted by Duff at 08:24 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" by Michael Chabon

One of those detective stories where the detective is such a slack-ass drunken messed-up dude that you spend half the time worrying about him rather than the mystery (think John Rebus/Ian Rankin).

Takes place in an alternate US where the Jewish refugees from WWII were all settled in Alaska but the district is about to revert to Alaskan control and they will be homeless.

There's rabbi-led Jewish mobsters, chess games, long-standing friendships and broken-up relationships, and bad fathers, and unhappy sons. It's a detective novel with a philosophical treatise buried in the heart of it. Once I got past the first chapter, I really couldn't put it down.

If you loved The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (and how could you not? That's a GREAT book!), you will surely find this book wonderful as well.

Posted by Duff at 08:14 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Music/Memoir: "Love Is a Mix Tape" by Rob Sheffield

This book sounded so much up my alley that I was wary of it at first. Then I read this review and I KNEW I didn't have to worry about being disappointed.

An elegy to his dead wife. An elegy to the music they discovered and loved together. A tribute to so many bands, some disbanded, some moved on. A foundation for his future. A hopeful look ahead.

The writing is lovely, the music discussions are wonderful. I'm now obsessed with checking out bands I never listened to at the time (Big Star, Pavement), and revisiting ones I did listen to but haven't in ages. I'm replaying mix tapes from high school and college and thinking about old friends and breakup songs and drinking songs and roadtrip songs....

I loved it. LOVED it.

This joins "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby and "The Wishbones" by Tom Perrotta as my favorite music books.

Posted by Duff at 07:57 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending, Tunes

May 22, 2007

Memoirs: "When I Was a Loser; Trust Stories of (Barely) Surviving High School" edited by John McNally

Lots of reasons to pick up this book. Great contemporary writers (Elizabeth Crane, Tod Goldberg, Julianna Baggott, the editor John McNally, among others) you may already be reading, great introduction to others you haven't read (my list of books to check out just grew exponentially. no joke.). High school humiliations: so preciously painful when thinking of your own, so histerically hilarious when reading of other people's. What's not to love?

Posted by Duff at 09:45 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "The Submerged Cathedral" by Charlotte Wood

An intense love story written in very sparse prose. Love found, love interrupted*, love tortured, love regained. *Thanks to twisted family relationship dynamics, but of course.

One of the pile of books I bought in Australia A YEAR AGO. Holy crap, it's been over a year. How is that possible?

Really enjoyed the imagery in this book. Characters with deep imaginations: priceless.

Posted by Duff at 09:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

May 14, 2007

Fiction(al philosophy): "The End of Mr. Y" by Scarlett Thomas

This came highly recommended by Jessa Crispin on the Bookslut blog, and Bookslut also did an interview with the author here and a review of the book here.

I'm not sure what to say about this book. It's good and icky and brutal and interesting and a TOTAL MIND FUCK. All philosophy and quantum physics and time bending and universe bursting and Heidegger and Einstein and faith and doubt... It's a wild ride.

Ariel isn't an easy narrator to love but at the same time, completely easy to connect with. She felt like an A.L.Kennedy character: completely self abusive in such a tangible way that you can really FEEL it. There was a point at the beginning where I put this aside for a week's break of fantasy and travel (ugh, too much travel in April/May!!), but once I got past that point, I could barely put it down.

Posted by Duff at 11:15 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy: "Wizard's First Rule" by Terry Goodkind

Book 1 of the Sword of Truth series that I earlier read Book 10 of (doh!). Also the debut novel by the author.

Really like some of the characters, but felt some, Richard in particular, were a bit stiff at the beginning. Having read Book 10 already, I think it's stiffness on the part of a first-time author, and he will loosen up as the series goes on.

Loved learning more about the Mord-Sith (awesome!) Samuel creeps me out and totally reminds me of Golom or whatever his name is in lord of the rings (precious! my precious!). Looking forward to more.

Posted by Duff at 11:08 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy: "Chainfire" by Terry Goodkind

You've got to love how I am always picking up series mid-way (or more than mid-) through. But I swear to you, I bought this in the airport, and there was NOTHING on it to indicate that it was...Book TEN of a series (and Book 1 of a within-series trilogy). Um Hello Publishers, thanks a bunch!

However, due to a wicked spell, everyone but Richard has completely forgotten Kahlan's existence...so not having read any of the previous books really put me right in the same boat with most of the characters! Lots of great magic and spells, and vast expanses going on here. Warriors and fighting and mysteries and betrayals. Wow!

Loved this and it's been awhile since I found a new fantasy series to get involved in. Time to get Book 1 and find out who these people really are.

Posted by Duff at 10:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "Death of a Writer" by Michael Collins

Bought because I enjoyed an earlier book of his, "The Keepers of Truth."

As to this one: A novel set in academia, involving a lost manuscript, an unsolved murder, suicide, jealousy, ambition, and the lack of it. A side story with the lead detective's messed up life.

I thought the beginning with Pendleton was dragging on a bit...but once he became incapacitated things really took off. The backstory on the detective however seemed dragged in a bit. Eventually it found its place, but I was never sure it was really necessary that it be there.

Posted by Duff at 10:43 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

April 22, 2007

Fantasy: "Magic's Child" by Justine Larbalestier

The third (presumably final, but perhaps there will be a subsidiary trilogy that follows?) in the Magic or Madness trilogy. As with much "Young Adult" fiction, the brevity ultimately disappoints: I wasn't ready to stop reading these characters when book 2 ended, nor am I ready now. Some things in this book that felt ickier than in the previous ones / but maybe I had just forgotten those feelings, I can't be sure. Tom's refusal to give up magic really stuck with me. The way he infuses the clothes he makes is one of my favorite images from the books.

Good, most of the storylines came full circle, but ultimately too short. Not enough. (Then again, I pretty much ALWAYS feel that way about kids' books. Are kids really satisfied by them? Do they not want more? I wish I could remember....)

If you search on this page, you can find what I said about the previous two (in the April 16 and May 13, 2006 entries).

Posted by Duff at 09:21 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Elegy: "Tea on the Blue Sofa" by Natasha IllumBerg

I picked this up at Foyle's on the January trip to London after the blurbs on the back intrigued me: "story of a passionate love affair", "heart-breaking true account of mad, intemperate love", "filled with a searing emotion that burns off the page." First person narrative; talking to the lover lost (murdered); remembering the moments, each one as they came; gathering memories; filling in the blanks. Thinking of the what-might-have-beens. Recalling what was.

Sad but moving. Occasionally awkward. Concise. Very quick read.

It wasn't until after I read the notes in the back of the book and googled the author's name that I learned the details -- a true story. But questions remain. Was Tonio murdered as a message to quiet his mother's research into a previous love triangle murder? Was he simply at the wrong place at the wrong time? Intriguing.

Posted by Duff at 09:09 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Sci Fi: "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman

Considered a seminal release by many, I heard about this from my Dad. Probably everyone serious about military history and war (or anti-war) that was his age when this was published read this book. The story of an anti-hero, who fights in every war Earth carries on over hundreds of years. Haldeman touches on many issues, not just war related, but genetics, prejudice, the whole nine yards. And the message comes through loud and clear. I think Vonnegut would approve.

Worst of all was the feeling that perhaps my actions weren't all that inhuman. Ancestors only a few generations back would have done the same thing, even to their fellow men, without any hypnotic conditioning.

Posted by Duff at 09:03 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Memoirs: "She Got Up Off the Couch, and Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana" by Haven Kimmel

A worthy follow-up to her early memoir "A Girl Named Zippy." My favorite chapter was: "A Short List of Records My Father Threatened to Break Over My Head If I Played Them One More Time." My favorite moment may have been when another student in her class got up and recited a John Denver song, pretending it was his original poem, and Kimmel was so angry she was determined to turn him in for committing a crime. Or when her mom tells her to go wash her hands for dinner, and "I considered saying "Mom, I eat rocks, for heaven's sake."

Really hilarious stuff and great slices of smalltown life. But here's my question: how in the holy fucking hell does she REMEMBER all this stuff? If I tried to write a book of childhood memories, there'd be maybe two pages of what I remember, then five to six pages of "shit my parents have told me so many times, I kinda THINK I remember it, except really I don't." And the other 292 pages would be BLANK because I.Do.Not.Remember.Anything and I'm so not joking about that. She remembers so much she's gotten two books out of it. She remembers exact conversations she had in sixth grade. Or before. Did she keep a diary? Is that how? I am baffled by this. When I finally get a superpower, maybe it'll be MEMORY because I am surely lacking it.

Posted by Duff at 08:56 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

April 02, 2007

Fiction: "Winter's Bone" by Daniel Woodrell

Wow. When Tod Goldberg and Bookslut both recommend the same book, I figure it must be good. I had no idea it would be THIS good. Blown away.

Ree Dolly searches for her father, raises her brothers, protects her mother, takes a beatin'...

Powerfully sad. Powerfully hopeful. Amazing. Soooooo good.

Posted by Duff at 12:30 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: "The Post-Birthday World" by Lionel Shriver.

The EW review that made this sound like a literary version of "Sliding Doors" may have gotten my expectations up too high as I expected to just outright adore this book. I did like some of it. But there were certainly points where the plot (either plot, sometimes both at once) just wasn't going where I wanted it to and thus I found myself a little disappointed. And there were also times when I found myself frustrated with the decision making process of the characters and (some of them's) incredible slowness at doing so.

Great descriptions of Irina's artwork: to the point where you can almost picture it in your mind and really wish you could actually go buy these books for kids you know!!! (Similar to the descriptions of Bill's paintings in Siri Hustvedt's "What I Loved". They seem so intensely "real".) Liked the subplot with Irina's family.

But afraid my expectations were not quite met.

Also I found the tenuous 9/11 connection a bit annoying, as I did with Ian McEwan's "Saturday" as well. Don't think either book really made that work in their favour.

Posted by Duff at 12:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

March 21, 2007

Poetry: "Late Wife" by Claudia Emerson

Since most books of poetry are so slim, and can sometimes take a few readings to really absorb all the imagery, I read them a few times over a week or so, before I actually consider them "read."

These poems span the gap between a relationship falling apart/ending up in divorce, and a new relationship beginning/moving in together. They are calm and point blank; the honesty of hindsight. They are sparse and stripped, as one's emotions would be. Not outwardly exclamatory or emotional, but quite powerful nonetheless.

Posted by Duff at 10:45 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Stories: "Black Juice" by Margo Lanagan.

Short stories by an Aussie but sent to me by Marrije since I couldn't find it when I went to Oz.

Some of the most unusual stories I've ever read; one is first-person narrative from the viewpoint of an elephant! All take place in one of those "kinda middle ages/or medieval" fantasy worlds but seem more real than sci fi/fantasy. Reminded me a little of Aimee Bender and how her stories can seem perfectly normal with one random fantastical element (the dude's head is an iron! or, her potatoes grow into babies!).

Really loved these.

Posted by Duff at 10:41 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

March 12, 2007

Fiction: "The Quarry" by Damon Galgut

Africa. Summer. A murder, a fire, a circus. Dark and brooding. Slim, concise. Lots of solitude and alone-ness, some chosen, some not. Identities stolen, crimes misattributed, things concealed, things admitted. Some longer chapters broken up by many short and choppy others. Lots of dust and heat and listlessness.

Sometimes confusing pronoun usage (purposely I think). Often left to the reader's interpretation which he "he" is. At one point, something happened to a "he" that, I thought, had to be one of three certain "he" people. Yet if I interpreted later chapters correctly, it couldn't have been any of those three it happened to. So to whom? (And at one point, the book said "Ho" when I'm pretty sure it meant "He". Otherwise, one of the "he" characters was named "Ho" but, if you ignore that, we don't ever find out that particular dude's name (we do know the others) and pretty sure we're not meant to so I think it must have been a misprint.)

Had read a previous Galgut "The Good Doctor" from the Booker short list a few years back and if you search this page for "Galgut" you can see my brief comments.

Posted by Duff at 07:08 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

March 11, 2007

Mystery: "Who Killed the Curate?" by Joan Coggin

My parents gave me this for Christmas (along with this) both selections from The Rue Morgue Press, a small publishing house in Colorado that's reprinting old mysteries from the 30s and 40s. (I've now got an entire list I need to order!!)

A completely ditzy-blonde society deb-type marries a vicar, moves to his small-town, and finds herself embroiled in mystery when his curate is murdered on Christmas Eve. There's illegitimate children and blackmail and poison and a secret service agent...and so much more.

Quick easy read. Lots of fun! If you like old mysteries (Agatha Christie?) or new mysteries written like those of old (Jacqueline Winspear or the Laurie King Russell/Holmes series) then you need to check out the offerings from The Rue Morgue!!

Posted by Duff at 03:07 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "Black Cat" by Martyn Bedford

Bedford wrote one of my very, very favorite books "The Houdini Girl" which for a long time I thought was his only book; as it turns out, he's very hard to find in the US and in fact I bought this one in the UK.

Mysterious and spooky. A "dowser" (which I would have called a "diviner" but not sure if that's a UK vs. US thing or just a "depends where you heard about it" thing). A myth hunter. A climber. A reporter. A strange quest. A connection made, and then broken.

Really entrancing and beautiful. Some brutal bits. Lovely.

Posted by Duff at 02:58 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Marcel Proust Bk 3 of Remembrance... titled "The Guermantes Way" in this translation.

Finally finished this, after (supposedly) slogging through it all of February. Probably my slowest reading month in years, but I just had a lot going on, wasn't on the El very much (my prime reading time!!), and didn't ever get the energy to pick anything else up so if I wasn't in the mood for this, then I just didn't read.

I liked that in this book Marcel stays an identifiable (and seemingly) same age the whole book (vs. book 2 when sometimes the narrative tone seemed to change ages/decades intermittently). He drives you nuts though (in every book) with his obsessions. He's so consumed with people that he doesn't even really like but yet is completely attracted to/consumed by. So focused on those slightly above him in society. Trying to find meaning in their (in reality meaningless) aristocratic mannerisms and customs. Finding fault while at the same time trying to emulate.

I've said similar things before -- so yes I'm repeating myself -- but I continue to think the reason these books have maintained their high profile for so many years is because Marcel represents that worst part of all of us. The neurotic, obsessive, self destructive part of us that we don't show very many people, if any. Yet reading about it is quite fascinating.

Posted by Duff at 02:34 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

February 01, 2007

Fiction: "The Eternal Footman" by James Morrow

The third in the trilogy of God's demise that I have told you about several times now.

Not as funny as the previous two / a lot more doom&gloom (appropriately so). Darker, nastier, but more hopeful, in the end? Tough call. Black and sarcastic. And while not as funny as the first two, still pretty damn funny.

Morrow's a genius. And there are still more books of his to read, oh happy day. And here's an interview just chockful of information.

Posted by Duff at 08:06 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

January 23, 2007

Fiction: "Beasts of No Nation" by Uzodinma Iweala

Gifted to me for Christmas; probably not something I would have bought myself. That said, I agree with the blurb that it's written in "a powerful, strikingly original voice." It certainly took me to a place I've never been and am unlikely to ever be, and that's really about the MOST you can ask out of a piece of art isn't it.

I liked: the intensity, the descriptions, the "beat" or rhythm of the book. The despair and confusion and misery and longing of the narrator are made palpable.

I didn't like two things: 1) The "dialect." The author states in the interview in back that he purposely used this "pidgin english" but I felt it distanced me from the character, rather than giving me insight into him. 2) The fact that his precise age was never really clear; he felt "older" and "younger" in different parts, but the novel was consecutive. How old is a "child soldier"? 8? 15? There's a big difference between those ages but couldn't really tell from the text (but maybe you weren't supposed to be able to?).

It's a very short book / quick read, but not likely to leave your mind that fast.

Posted by Duff at 02:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

January 19, 2007

Nonfiction: "They Call Me Naughty Lolita"

The London Review of Books Personal Ads, edited by David Rose

Hilarious. Totally hilarious. The opposite of the traditional "i'm pretty, i'm sensitive, you want to date me" ads. Rather, things like this: Bald, fat and ugly seeks modelesque beauty to save him from living at home with mother.

Laughed so hard at some points I had tears rolling down my face. Definitely a "read out loud to friends" book.

Posted by Duff at 02:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

January 13, 2007

Mystery: "Great Black Kanba" by Constance & Gweynth Little

A 1944 murder mystery gifted to me for Christmas. A comedy of errors -- you can imagine this somewhat like Woody Allen's (great) film "Manhattan Murder Mystery" -- where a young woman's amnesia means she doesn't know whether she's the killer, a victim, a fiance, or a member of the family she's traveling with...

Short and sweet, a quick read. Fun!

Posted by Duff at 02:45 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "Blameless in Abaddon" by James Morrow

One of the funniest books I have ever read in my life. If I had underlined every phrase I thought was funny, there would be ink on every page, in almost every paragraph.

The second part of a trilogy that began with "Towing Jehovah." Exploring a world where God's dead body is the hot topic. Incredibly funny, culturally aware, poking fun at every race, age, religion, and stance.

Particularly loved the bits written from the Devil's point of view: The one thing he got wrong was my age. While poets commonly produce their best work in their thirties, and mathematicians typically tend to burn out in their twenties, miscreants tend to be late bloomers. Hitler didn't get around to invading Poland until he was fifty. Ceausescu got the hang of atrocity only after turning sixty-four. I am an eternal seventy-two.

Highly recommended.

Posted by Duff at 02:41 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Memoirs: "12 Edmonton Street" by David Malouf

A memoir anchored by place: his childhood home, a vacation home in Italy, travels in India and Australia.

I first read Malouf last year in Australia where I picked up some of his fiction. This book is nonfiction but the tone and voice are cohesive with his novels. I think he's a great writer.

Calm, thoughful. Sometimes pensive. Redolent of time and place.

Posted by Duff at 02:36 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

January 04, 2007

Fiction: "The Zero" by Jess Walter

"A Novel of September 12" (per the dust jacket). Good to know, going in.

Paranoia. Distrust. Confusion. Gaps in time, in meaning, in understanding, and between people.

Maybe every couple lived in the gaps between conversations, unable to say the important things for fear they had already been said, or couldn't be said; maybe every relationship started over every time two people came together.

Not really sure how I felt about it. Sometimes I was as confused as Remy. Other times I felt the answer was obvious.

Posted by Duff at 06:53 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

November 17, 2006

Currently Recommended Reading.

Towing Jehovah, by James Morrow. Sci fi with a religious focus (but you don't have to BE religious to understand the references/jokes/etc.).

Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn. A murder mystery and psychological thriller-type novel, but very much literature rather than "just genre fiction" as some would pejoratively say (probably including me).

To hear more, you can check today's entry on my readin' page. I guess at some point I should move book reviews over here, or post separately after each read, or something, but who knows when/if that will happen. And because I want to "Be Like Jen", I am also posting pictures of recently read book piles on Flickr when I update the readin' page. And yes, I am clearly insane and do way too much stuff in way too many places on the Web. Indeed.

Posted by Duff at 04:31 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending