Sunshine by Robin McKinley
I thank my lucky stars all the time that I know Nancy Pearl! And she’s done it again by recommending a wonderfully diverting vampire novel! McKinley is most well known for her teen fiction, but this one is very adult, and so good! It starts out rather benignly, where we meet Rae/Sunshine who works in her step-father’s bakery in a sleepy town making cinnamon rolls as big as your head. But not far into the story you begin hearing about the Voodoo Wars and the Others—this is no ordinary, sleepy love story after all. I really loved this book—for its intelligent, grounded, and surprising main character and utterly beguiling, chillingly charming vampire.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Operating Instructions: a journal of my son’s first year by Anne Lamott
I must admit that I put off reading Lamott, even though I had heard this book is good and that she is good, because of her emphasis on Christianity in her work. I fully admit that I have a kneejerk reaction to Christian writings, and let’s be honest, Christianity in general. But I am so glad I read this book. For one, I am expecting so it was wonderful to read about another mother’s thoughts—on her terror at having a boy and her own conflicted experiences and perceptions of maleness and penises (I don’t know if I am having a boy or a girl, and I do have some concerns about having a boy, or a girl for that matter). Secondly, she wrote this book during the reign of Bush Senior and spends a lot of time railing against the evils of Republicanism—but it did break my heart to think here I am with a child being born into the 2nd Bush reign which is unarguably worse that the former. Lamott also explores her faith, and calls its craziness into question at times, in a truly refreshing way. I may not be able to handle her books which deal squarely with this topic, but I appreciated her candor and questioning in this one.
I must admit that I put off reading Lamott, even though I had heard this book is good and that she is good, because of her emphasis on Christianity in her work. I fully admit that I have a kneejerk reaction to Christian writings, and let’s be honest, Christianity in general. But I am so glad I read this book. For one, I am expecting so it was wonderful to read about another mother’s thoughts—on her terror at having a boy and her own conflicted experiences and perceptions of maleness and penises (I don’t know if I am having a boy or a girl, and I do have some concerns about having a boy, or a girl for that matter). Secondly, she wrote this book during the reign of Bush Senior and spends a lot of time railing against the evils of Republicanism—but it did break my heart to think here I am with a child being born into the 2nd Bush reign which is unarguably worse that the former. Lamott also explores her faith, and calls its craziness into question at times, in a truly refreshing way. I may not be able to handle her books which deal squarely with this topic, but I appreciated her candor and questioning in this one.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
City of Your Final Destination by Peter Cameron
Julia Glass recommended this book at her visit to the library, and I am so grateful! It was just what I was craving: well-drawn, intriguing characters, witty dialogue, and some academic satire thrown in for good measure. I hope to read more Cameron quite soon.
Julia Glass recommended this book at her visit to the library, and I am so grateful! It was just what I was craving: well-drawn, intriguing characters, witty dialogue, and some academic satire thrown in for good measure. I hope to read more Cameron quite soon.
Howards End by E. M. Forster
My book group didn’t love this book, and while it’s flawed, there are certain passages that I just loved:
“It is so easy for an Englishman to sneer at these chance collisions of human beings. To the insular cynic and the insular moralist they offer an equal opportunity. It is so easy to talk of ‘passing emotion,’ and to forget how vivid the emotion was ere it passed. Our impulse to sneer, to forget, is at root a good one. We recognize that emotion is not enough, and that men and women are personalities capable of sustained relationships, not mere opportunities for an electrical discharge. Yet we rate this impulse too highly. We do not admit that by collisions of this trivial sort the doors of heaven may be shaken open. To Helen, at all events, her life was to bring nothing more intense than the embrace of this boy who played no part in it.” (21)
“Was Mrs. Wilcox one of those unsatisfactory people-there are many of them—who dangle intimacy and then withdraw it? They evoke our interests and affections, and keep the life of the spirit dawdling round them. Then they withdraw. When physical passion is involved, there is a definite name for such behavior—flirting—and if carried far enough it is punishable by law. But no law—not public opinion even—punishes those who coquette with friendship, though the dull ache that they inflict, the sense of misdirected effort and exhaustion, may be as intolerable.” (67)
My book group didn’t love this book, and while it’s flawed, there are certain passages that I just loved:
“It is so easy for an Englishman to sneer at these chance collisions of human beings. To the insular cynic and the insular moralist they offer an equal opportunity. It is so easy to talk of ‘passing emotion,’ and to forget how vivid the emotion was ere it passed. Our impulse to sneer, to forget, is at root a good one. We recognize that emotion is not enough, and that men and women are personalities capable of sustained relationships, not mere opportunities for an electrical discharge. Yet we rate this impulse too highly. We do not admit that by collisions of this trivial sort the doors of heaven may be shaken open. To Helen, at all events, her life was to bring nothing more intense than the embrace of this boy who played no part in it.” (21)
“Was Mrs. Wilcox one of those unsatisfactory people-there are many of them—who dangle intimacy and then withdraw it? They evoke our interests and affections, and keep the life of the spirit dawdling round them. Then they withdraw. When physical passion is involved, there is a definite name for such behavior—flirting—and if carried far enough it is punishable by law. But no law—not public opinion even—punishes those who coquette with friendship, though the dull ache that they inflict, the sense of misdirected effort and exhaustion, may be as intolerable.” (67)
Friday, July 14, 2006
My Old Sweetheart by Susanna Moore
I am so glad that I gave this book a chance, because I hated In the Cut. This book is a marvelous novel set in Hawaii about a twisted, co-dependent mother/daughter relationship. A young woman looks at her childhood and her mother’s intoxicating beauty and suffocating need in the hopes of trying to understand the past and not duplicate the same unhealthy relationship with her own daughter.
I am so glad that I gave this book a chance, because I hated In the Cut. This book is a marvelous novel set in Hawaii about a twisted, co-dependent mother/daughter relationship. A young woman looks at her childhood and her mother’s intoxicating beauty and suffocating need in the hopes of trying to understand the past and not duplicate the same unhealthy relationship with her own daughter.
English Passengers by Matthew Kneale
My book group just loved this book and I was so terrified that they would hate me for choosing it! Several members told me that an hour just was not enough for discussing this book.
I really enjoyed it too, but it took me so long (two weeks) to read it, that I began to resent it a little. Or resent myself a little for being mostly incapable these days of reading more than one book at once. But it is right up my alley—a historical novel about Tasmania told from multiple characters’ perspectives detailing the colonization of the island and the destruction of the Aboriginal people and culture.
My book group just loved this book and I was so terrified that they would hate me for choosing it! Several members told me that an hour just was not enough for discussing this book.
I really enjoyed it too, but it took me so long (two weeks) to read it, that I began to resent it a little. Or resent myself a little for being mostly incapable these days of reading more than one book at once. But it is right up my alley—a historical novel about Tasmania told from multiple characters’ perspectives detailing the colonization of the island and the destruction of the Aboriginal people and culture.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Come Back: a mother and daughter’s journey through hell and back by Claire and Mia Fontaine
This mother-daughter memoir really packed an emotional wollop for me. For one, because my sister has been struggling with depression and substance abuse and is in a rehabilitation facility right now. Claire and Mia tell their stories about how at 15 Mia ran away from their Los Angeles home to live with street youth and ‘experience life.’ Mia had been hiding a dark, double life she had been leading—a darkness that led her to believe that she did not deserve a stable, comfortable life and could spare her parents pain if she ran away. Mia was abused by her biological father as a young child, and those emotional scars ran deep—something Claire was not wholly prepared for. When Mia was found in a skinhead’s van in Indiana, Claire decided to send her to a behavioral modification facility in the Czech Republic. Thus begins a year of hardship and emotional transformation for both Mia and Claire. The workshops and personal journeys that they undertake were the most powerful sections for me—for how honest they were, for the honesty the sessions demanded, and for what they learned about themselves and each other. I couldn’t put this book down, and was so thankful that they shared their stories.
This mother-daughter memoir really packed an emotional wollop for me. For one, because my sister has been struggling with depression and substance abuse and is in a rehabilitation facility right now. Claire and Mia tell their stories about how at 15 Mia ran away from their Los Angeles home to live with street youth and ‘experience life.’ Mia had been hiding a dark, double life she had been leading—a darkness that led her to believe that she did not deserve a stable, comfortable life and could spare her parents pain if she ran away. Mia was abused by her biological father as a young child, and those emotional scars ran deep—something Claire was not wholly prepared for. When Mia was found in a skinhead’s van in Indiana, Claire decided to send her to a behavioral modification facility in the Czech Republic. Thus begins a year of hardship and emotional transformation for both Mia and Claire. The workshops and personal journeys that they undertake were the most powerful sections for me—for how honest they were, for the honesty the sessions demanded, and for what they learned about themselves and each other. I couldn’t put this book down, and was so thankful that they shared their stories.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Morning, Noon and Night by Spalding Gray
Life Interrupted by Spalding Gray
Spalding Gray committed suicide in 2004 by jumping off the Staten Island ferry. I still remember being stunned by the news, being a casual admirer of his work and having no knowledge of the car accident in Ireland that left him in so much pain. Reading Morning, Noon and Night with the specter of his death was odd—because it’s ostensibly a celebration of family life at a point when Spalding was welcoming the arrival of his second son, Theo. Spalding never thought he’d have kids or become a family man, and he says at one point in the book that he thought that if he did have children it would be late in life so that he would die before they became teenagers. Sadly, he got his wish. But Spalding brought great wit, thought and energy to his life while he lived and was clearly a great father. Reading Life Interrupted afterwards just made me cry copiously—it includes the last monologues he was working on and the eulogies that were read at the services in New York and Rhode Island.
I need to go re-watch “Swimming to Cambodia” and “Monster in a Box” very soon.
Life Interrupted by Spalding Gray
Spalding Gray committed suicide in 2004 by jumping off the Staten Island ferry. I still remember being stunned by the news, being a casual admirer of his work and having no knowledge of the car accident in Ireland that left him in so much pain. Reading Morning, Noon and Night with the specter of his death was odd—because it’s ostensibly a celebration of family life at a point when Spalding was welcoming the arrival of his second son, Theo. Spalding never thought he’d have kids or become a family man, and he says at one point in the book that he thought that if he did have children it would be late in life so that he would die before they became teenagers. Sadly, he got his wish. But Spalding brought great wit, thought and energy to his life while he lived and was clearly a great father. Reading Life Interrupted afterwards just made me cry copiously—it includes the last monologues he was working on and the eulogies that were read at the services in New York and Rhode Island.
I need to go re-watch “Swimming to Cambodia” and “Monster in a Box” very soon.
The Whole World Over by Julia Glass
I am soooooooooo behind on writing for this blog and sharing what I’m reading that I am going to force myself to be brief. Julia Glass writes character so well and I was utterly absorbed from the first chapter. It’s a novel about love, marriage, and how past decisions and choices have to be reckoned with in ways we perhaps never imagined. People’s paths intersect in mysterious and portentous ways in Glass’ books, which she explores with tender possibility. While it ties up a bit too nicely in the end, you just can’t help but accept it because you really want the best for the characters you have grown to love.
I am soooooooooo behind on writing for this blog and sharing what I’m reading that I am going to force myself to be brief. Julia Glass writes character so well and I was utterly absorbed from the first chapter. It’s a novel about love, marriage, and how past decisions and choices have to be reckoned with in ways we perhaps never imagined. People’s paths intersect in mysterious and portentous ways in Glass’ books, which she explores with tender possibility. While it ties up a bit too nicely in the end, you just can’t help but accept it because you really want the best for the characters you have grown to love.
Cooking with Fernet Branca by James Hamilton-Paterson
If you’ve ever had a love-hate relationship with your neighbor, if you ever thought that Frances Mayes’ vision of expatriate Italy was a little too precious, if you enjoy novels with unusual recipes, and you enjoy Odd Couple comedies then this is the book for you! Gerald Sampson, who buys a villa in Tuscany, is a snobby Brit who ghostwrites books for sports stars and fancies himself an experimental cook—and he does experiment—with cat, otter and like the title says, lots of the herbal spirit, fernet branca! He even whips up a concoction called Alien Pie—but you’ll just have to discover that for yourself! His neighbor Marta is from the fictitious ex-Soviet country of Voynovia where her father is a Mob boss and is in Italy to work on a film score. Gerald and Marta get on each other’s nerves from day one—but the real comedy is in the fact that you get the story from both of them, and they each have a different version to tell! This is an oddball comedy that is a real send-up of running off the Italy for the good life!
If you’ve ever had a love-hate relationship with your neighbor, if you ever thought that Frances Mayes’ vision of expatriate Italy was a little too precious, if you enjoy novels with unusual recipes, and you enjoy Odd Couple comedies then this is the book for you! Gerald Sampson, who buys a villa in Tuscany, is a snobby Brit who ghostwrites books for sports stars and fancies himself an experimental cook—and he does experiment—with cat, otter and like the title says, lots of the herbal spirit, fernet branca! He even whips up a concoction called Alien Pie—but you’ll just have to discover that for yourself! His neighbor Marta is from the fictitious ex-Soviet country of Voynovia where her father is a Mob boss and is in Italy to work on a film score. Gerald and Marta get on each other’s nerves from day one—but the real comedy is in the fact that you get the story from both of them, and they each have a different version to tell! This is an oddball comedy that is a real send-up of running off the Italy for the good life!
Saturday, June 10, 2006
The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue
This is a ghost story that takes a while to unfold. It’s also a love story—in the past and the present. Raziela Nolan died in the 1920’s in New Orleans—a vivacious, opinionated woman ahead of her time, dedicated to women’s reproductive rights, and in love with a promising young man, Andrew. Seventy years later, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Razi haunts a young couple who are experiencing some martial troubles. But why is Razi haunting them? The truth comes out late in the book, but what really makes this book worth reading are the scenes of Razi’s youth and the relationship between Andrew and Razi. You just can’t believe that these vibrant, three-dimensional characters don’t still exist, and that their love was interrupted.
This is a ghost story that takes a while to unfold. It’s also a love story—in the past and the present. Raziela Nolan died in the 1920’s in New Orleans—a vivacious, opinionated woman ahead of her time, dedicated to women’s reproductive rights, and in love with a promising young man, Andrew. Seventy years later, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Razi haunts a young couple who are experiencing some martial troubles. But why is Razi haunting them? The truth comes out late in the book, but what really makes this book worth reading are the scenes of Razi’s youth and the relationship between Andrew and Razi. You just can’t believe that these vibrant, three-dimensional characters don’t still exist, and that their love was interrupted.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
MISHA’S TOP 50 ALBUMS
Okay, I know this is a book blog, and maybe a music list doesn't belong here. But I can't help but merge my loves now and again. They do oftentimes go hand in hand. Some novels remind me of the albums I was listening to over and over again while I read them. (Here's a sample: Tears For Fears' Songs from the Big Chair and Jesus & Mary Chain's Barbed Wire Kisses while reading the many tawdry "Flowers in the Attic" books; The Cure's Faith while reading Wolitzer's Sleepwalking; P J Harvey while reading Jane Austen in college, etc., etc.)
One more rationalization--I like many of the bands on this list for the same reasons I chose the books on the other top 50 list--for an amazing turn of phrase, for the mood they set or transport me to, for the naked truth of the emotion expressed.
So anyway--my husband, Stuart, and I made lists independent of one another, so I can't help but share his too. Lots of overlap (he influenced me, I influenced him, and we have simply long been fans of indie rock) between us--much like you know you've met a kindred spirit when you share a love for the same books or authors.
1. Fiona Apple: When The Pawn…
2. Arcade Fire: Funeral
3. The Bats: Daddy’s Highway
4. The Beautiful South: Welcome to the Beautiful South
5. Belle & Sebastian: If You’re Feeling Sinister
6. The Boo Radleys: Kingsize
7. David Bowie: Hunky Dory
8. Billy Bragg: Must I Paint You a Picture: The Essential Billy Bragg
9. John Cale: Paris 1919
10. Neko Case: Blacklisted
11. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: The Boatman’s Call
12. The Church: Starfish
13. The Cure: The Head on the Door
14. Nick Drake: Bryter Layter
15. Echo & the Bunnymen: Ocean Rain
16. The Go-Betweens: 16 Lover’s Lane
17. David Gray: The Century Ends
18. PJ Harvey: Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
19. Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
20. Robyn Hitchcock: Eye
21. Ida: I Know About You
22. The Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs
23. Paul & Linda McCartney: Ram
24. Modest Mouse: The Moon & Antarctica
25. Mojave 3: Ask Me Tomorrow
26. Moloko: Statues
27. Sinead O’Connor: I do not want what I haven’t got
28. The Pogues: If I Should Fall From Grace With God
29. Pulp: We Love Life
30. Radiohead: Kid A
31. REM: Life’s Rich Pageant
32. Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed
33. Saint Etienne: Good Humor
34. Seam: The problem with me
35. The Smiths: Louder Than Bombs
36. Elliott Smith: Roman Candle
37. Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation
38. Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros: Global A Go-Go
39. The Sundays: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic
40. Tears for Fears: Songs From the Big Chair
41. The The: Mind Bomb
42. Tompaulin: Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt
43. Trembling Blue Stars: Her Handwriting
44. U2: Joshua Tree
45. Unrest: Imperial
46. The Waterboys: Fisherman’s Blues
47. The Wedding Present: Sea Monsters
48. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
49. XTC: Skylarking
50. Yo La Tengo: And the Nothing Turned Itself Inside
STUART'S TOP 50 ALBUMS
1. Beach Boys Pet Sounds
2. Beck Sea Change
3. Beautiful South Welcome the Beautiful South
4. Belle & Sebastian If You’re Feeling Sinister
5. David Bowie Ziggy Stardust
6. Neko Case Blacklisted
7. Nick Cave The Boatman’s Call
8. The Charalambides Market Square
9. Leonard Cohen Songs of Leonard Cohen
10. Cornershop Woman’s Gotta Have It
11. Bob Dylan Desire
12. Echo & the Bunnymen Heaven Up Here
13. The Fall Grotesque
14. Felt Me, a Monkey & the Moon
15. Gang of Four Entertainment
16. The Go-Betweens 16 Lovers Lane
17. PJ Harvey To Bring You My Love
18. Husker Du New Day Rising
19. Ida I Know About You
20. It’s Jo and Danny Lank Haired Girl to Bearded Boy
21. The Jesus & Mary Chain Psychocandy
22. Low Christmas
23. Mark Kozelek Rock N Roll Singer
24. Marvin Gaye What’s Goin’ On
25. Massive Attack Blue Lines
26. Moloko Statues
27. My Bloody Valentine Loveless
28. New Order Power Corruption & Lies
29. Sinead O’Connor I Do Not Want What I Have Not
30. Prolapse Pointless Walks to Dismal Places
31. Pulp This Is Hardcore
32. REM Automatic for the People
33. The Replacements Let It Be
34. Saint Etienne Good Humor
35. Sleater-Kinney One Beat
36. Slowdive Pygmalion
37. Elliot Smith Figure 8
38. Sonic Youth Sister
39. Spacemen 3 The Perfect Prescription
40. Dusty Springfield Dusty in Memphis
41. Stereolab Peng! 33
42. The Stone Roses The Stone Roses
43. Throwing Muses Throwing Muses
44. Unrest Imperial FFRR
45. Rufus Wainwright Want One
46. The Waterboys Fisherman’s Blues
47. The Wedding Present Sea Monsters
48. Whale We Care
49. The Wolfhounds Attitude
50. Young Marble Giants Colossal Youth
Okay, I know this is a book blog, and maybe a music list doesn't belong here. But I can't help but merge my loves now and again. They do oftentimes go hand in hand. Some novels remind me of the albums I was listening to over and over again while I read them. (Here's a sample: Tears For Fears' Songs from the Big Chair and Jesus & Mary Chain's Barbed Wire Kisses while reading the many tawdry "Flowers in the Attic" books; The Cure's Faith while reading Wolitzer's Sleepwalking; P J Harvey while reading Jane Austen in college, etc., etc.)
One more rationalization--I like many of the bands on this list for the same reasons I chose the books on the other top 50 list--for an amazing turn of phrase, for the mood they set or transport me to, for the naked truth of the emotion expressed.
So anyway--my husband, Stuart, and I made lists independent of one another, so I can't help but share his too. Lots of overlap (he influenced me, I influenced him, and we have simply long been fans of indie rock) between us--much like you know you've met a kindred spirit when you share a love for the same books or authors.
1. Fiona Apple: When The Pawn…
2. Arcade Fire: Funeral
3. The Bats: Daddy’s Highway
4. The Beautiful South: Welcome to the Beautiful South
5. Belle & Sebastian: If You’re Feeling Sinister
6. The Boo Radleys: Kingsize
7. David Bowie: Hunky Dory
8. Billy Bragg: Must I Paint You a Picture: The Essential Billy Bragg
9. John Cale: Paris 1919
10. Neko Case: Blacklisted
11. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: The Boatman’s Call
12. The Church: Starfish
13. The Cure: The Head on the Door
14. Nick Drake: Bryter Layter
15. Echo & the Bunnymen: Ocean Rain
16. The Go-Betweens: 16 Lover’s Lane
17. David Gray: The Century Ends
18. PJ Harvey: Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
19. Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
20. Robyn Hitchcock: Eye
21. Ida: I Know About You
22. The Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs
23. Paul & Linda McCartney: Ram
24. Modest Mouse: The Moon & Antarctica
25. Mojave 3: Ask Me Tomorrow
26. Moloko: Statues
27. Sinead O’Connor: I do not want what I haven’t got
28. The Pogues: If I Should Fall From Grace With God
29. Pulp: We Love Life
30. Radiohead: Kid A
31. REM: Life’s Rich Pageant
32. Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed
33. Saint Etienne: Good Humor
34. Seam: The problem with me
35. The Smiths: Louder Than Bombs
36. Elliott Smith: Roman Candle
37. Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation
38. Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros: Global A Go-Go
39. The Sundays: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic
40. Tears for Fears: Songs From the Big Chair
41. The The: Mind Bomb
42. Tompaulin: Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt
43. Trembling Blue Stars: Her Handwriting
44. U2: Joshua Tree
45. Unrest: Imperial
46. The Waterboys: Fisherman’s Blues
47. The Wedding Present: Sea Monsters
48. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
49. XTC: Skylarking
50. Yo La Tengo: And the Nothing Turned Itself Inside
STUART'S TOP 50 ALBUMS
1. Beach Boys Pet Sounds
2. Beck Sea Change
3. Beautiful South Welcome the Beautiful South
4. Belle & Sebastian If You’re Feeling Sinister
5. David Bowie Ziggy Stardust
6. Neko Case Blacklisted
7. Nick Cave The Boatman’s Call
8. The Charalambides Market Square
9. Leonard Cohen Songs of Leonard Cohen
10. Cornershop Woman’s Gotta Have It
11. Bob Dylan Desire
12. Echo & the Bunnymen Heaven Up Here
13. The Fall Grotesque
14. Felt Me, a Monkey & the Moon
15. Gang of Four Entertainment
16. The Go-Betweens 16 Lovers Lane
17. PJ Harvey To Bring You My Love
18. Husker Du New Day Rising
19. Ida I Know About You
20. It’s Jo and Danny Lank Haired Girl to Bearded Boy
21. The Jesus & Mary Chain Psychocandy
22. Low Christmas
23. Mark Kozelek Rock N Roll Singer
24. Marvin Gaye What’s Goin’ On
25. Massive Attack Blue Lines
26. Moloko Statues
27. My Bloody Valentine Loveless
28. New Order Power Corruption & Lies
29. Sinead O’Connor I Do Not Want What I Have Not
30. Prolapse Pointless Walks to Dismal Places
31. Pulp This Is Hardcore
32. REM Automatic for the People
33. The Replacements Let It Be
34. Saint Etienne Good Humor
35. Sleater-Kinney One Beat
36. Slowdive Pygmalion
37. Elliot Smith Figure 8
38. Sonic Youth Sister
39. Spacemen 3 The Perfect Prescription
40. Dusty Springfield Dusty in Memphis
41. Stereolab Peng! 33
42. The Stone Roses The Stone Roses
43. Throwing Muses Throwing Muses
44. Unrest Imperial FFRR
45. Rufus Wainwright Want One
46. The Waterboys Fisherman’s Blues
47. The Wedding Present Sea Monsters
48. Whale We Care
49. The Wolfhounds Attitude
50. Young Marble Giants Colossal Youth
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
FIFTY FAVORITE BOOKS
I got this idea from a Kevin Brockmeier reading--apparently he hands out his top 50 (which he explains includes few classics because he's being entirely honest) books to the audience. Which is just brilliant, really. How many times are authors asked to cite their influences?
Not that anyone's asking, but here are mine. This month, week, moment, anyway. But I will refrain from changing and adapting it for at least 24 hours.
I got this idea from a Kevin Brockmeier reading--apparently he hands out his top 50 (which he explains includes few classics because he's being entirely honest) books to the audience. Which is just brilliant, really. How many times are authors asked to cite their influences?
Not that anyone's asking, but here are mine. This month, week, moment, anyway. But I will refrain from changing and adapting it for at least 24 hours.
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes
Possession by A.S. Byatt
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey
The Ramona books by Beverly Cleary
Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin
The Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
Break It Down by Lydia Davis
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Anything by George Eliot, Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda in particular
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles
The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer
China To Me by Emily Hahn
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom by Amy Hempel
Oyster by Janette Turner Hospital
The Bone People by Keri Hulme
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Obasan by Joy Kogawa
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Time Will Darken It by William Maxwell
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Sisters by Mary S. Lovell
The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
Hopeful Monsters by Nicholas Mosley
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Iris Murdoch (everything I’ve read so far, which isn’t much considering how prolific she was)
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman
The Fact of a Doorframe: Poems Selected and New by Adrienne Rich
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
The Way It Is: Poems by William Stafford
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Waterland by Graham Swift
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Slaughter-house 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
Sleepwalking by Meg Wolitzer
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
Monday, May 22, 2006
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
I read this one really fast, but with much less enthusiasm and wonder than with My Sister’s Keeper. It’s about the Stone family in Maine: father Daniel is a stay-at-home dad who pens graphic novels, mother Laura is a college professor who specializes in Dante’s Inferno, and 14-year-old daughter Trixie is nursing a broken heart after her popular, older boyfriend Jason breaks up with her. We learn early on that Laura is cheating in her husband with a student, Daniel has a dark, violent past, and Trixie isn’t as sweet and innocent as her parents think she is. Everthing is up-ended when Trixie is raped by Jason at a party. The party also involves a lot of shock-value teen sex-play—the kind of stuff that may or may not actually be happening—“rainbow” and “daisy chain”—which felt like an of-the-moment, Oprah-session type of choice. The town blames Trixie and her family, because Jason is a beloved hockey star. While this isn’t as devastating as Joyce Carol Oates’ We Were the Mulvaneys, a novel in which a raped girl finds her family and the entire world turned against her (I wanted to throw this bleak, bleak book out the window), it’s also not as powerful. There are some graphic novel sections in here, which are fun if a little hokey. If you want to see what Picoult can do, read My Sister’s Keeper.
I read this one really fast, but with much less enthusiasm and wonder than with My Sister’s Keeper. It’s about the Stone family in Maine: father Daniel is a stay-at-home dad who pens graphic novels, mother Laura is a college professor who specializes in Dante’s Inferno, and 14-year-old daughter Trixie is nursing a broken heart after her popular, older boyfriend Jason breaks up with her. We learn early on that Laura is cheating in her husband with a student, Daniel has a dark, violent past, and Trixie isn’t as sweet and innocent as her parents think she is. Everthing is up-ended when Trixie is raped by Jason at a party. The party also involves a lot of shock-value teen sex-play—the kind of stuff that may or may not actually be happening—“rainbow” and “daisy chain”—which felt like an of-the-moment, Oprah-session type of choice. The town blames Trixie and her family, because Jason is a beloved hockey star. While this isn’t as devastating as Joyce Carol Oates’ We Were the Mulvaneys, a novel in which a raped girl finds her family and the entire world turned against her (I wanted to throw this bleak, bleak book out the window), it’s also not as powerful. There are some graphic novel sections in here, which are fun if a little hokey. If you want to see what Picoult can do, read My Sister’s Keeper.
Drew Barrymore: The Biography by Lucy Ellis and Bryony Sutherland
I don’t generally read movie star biographies. Generally I get my fill from inane Entertainment Tonight-type programs and People magazine (well, and US Weekly and Entertainment Weekly). But Stuart’s Dad was in town and he always stops into Cinema Books, which is this amazing little store crammed to the gills with film related books, magazines and photo glossies. The woman who runs it also has an encyclopedic knowledge of film and her own organization scheme for the layers and stacks of books in the entire place. Cinema Books is a veritable treasure trove and it’s right down the street from Scarecrow Video. So when Stuart found the script for “The Apartment,” I felt we should buy one other thing, and I picked up the Drew bio. I can’t help but mention that I absolutely adore her; I can’t help it. I buy nearly every magazine she appears in, and Stuart often kids that he wonders where the shrine is hidden. The biography was an exquisite guilty pleasure. I’m not sure how good it is, but I did enjoy it.
I don’t generally read movie star biographies. Generally I get my fill from inane Entertainment Tonight-type programs and People magazine (well, and US Weekly and Entertainment Weekly). But Stuart’s Dad was in town and he always stops into Cinema Books, which is this amazing little store crammed to the gills with film related books, magazines and photo glossies. The woman who runs it also has an encyclopedic knowledge of film and her own organization scheme for the layers and stacks of books in the entire place. Cinema Books is a veritable treasure trove and it’s right down the street from Scarecrow Video. So when Stuart found the script for “The Apartment,” I felt we should buy one other thing, and I picked up the Drew bio. I can’t help but mention that I absolutely adore her; I can’t help it. I buy nearly every magazine she appears in, and Stuart often kids that he wonders where the shrine is hidden. The biography was an exquisite guilty pleasure. I’m not sure how good it is, but I did enjoy it.
Monday, May 15, 2006
The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice
This book was exactly what I was looking for—a combination of two of my favorite novels, Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle and Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love. What I love about many British novels, like those by Smith and Mitford, is that everyone’s just so proper—properly eccentric, that is. Rice’s American debut is also host to many eccentric, witty, and intriguing characters.
It’s 1954 in England, war rationing is still a reality, and life has yet to fully return to ‘normal.’ Penelope Wallace, whose father died in the war, lives at Milton Magna Hall, a once-grand mansion home that was requisitioned by soldiers during the war, with her beautiful mother and music-obsessed younger brother, Inigo. Penelope has lived a quiet, uneventful life in Magna until she meets a girl at the bus stop who invites her to hop in a cab with her and come to tea at her Aunt Clare’s. Charlotte is a spark, a girl with “a great gift for circumnavigating normal behavior,” with a winsome humor and style. Penelope has no idea why she has been called out: “She was the sort of person one reads about in novels yet rarely meets in real life, and if this was the beginning of the novel—well!” Charlotte brings Penelope out of her shell and opens her up to new experiences. Penelope and Charlotte form a real bond from their chance encounter, and Charlotte begins to bring Penelope out of her shell. As a result, Penelope gets quite mixed up with Aunt Clare’s aspiring magician son, Harry. Harry is in love with a wealthy American and he ropes Penelope into his attempts to break off the engagement. Penelope just might be falling for Harry in the process, but her real heartthrob is American singer, Johnnie Ray. This is a delightful, utterly charming coming-of-age novel that’s pure enjoyment. A perfect summer read.
This book was exactly what I was looking for—a combination of two of my favorite novels, Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle and Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love. What I love about many British novels, like those by Smith and Mitford, is that everyone’s just so proper—properly eccentric, that is. Rice’s American debut is also host to many eccentric, witty, and intriguing characters.
It’s 1954 in England, war rationing is still a reality, and life has yet to fully return to ‘normal.’ Penelope Wallace, whose father died in the war, lives at Milton Magna Hall, a once-grand mansion home that was requisitioned by soldiers during the war, with her beautiful mother and music-obsessed younger brother, Inigo. Penelope has lived a quiet, uneventful life in Magna until she meets a girl at the bus stop who invites her to hop in a cab with her and come to tea at her Aunt Clare’s. Charlotte is a spark, a girl with “a great gift for circumnavigating normal behavior,” with a winsome humor and style. Penelope has no idea why she has been called out: “She was the sort of person one reads about in novels yet rarely meets in real life, and if this was the beginning of the novel—well!” Charlotte brings Penelope out of her shell and opens her up to new experiences. Penelope and Charlotte form a real bond from their chance encounter, and Charlotte begins to bring Penelope out of her shell. As a result, Penelope gets quite mixed up with Aunt Clare’s aspiring magician son, Harry. Harry is in love with a wealthy American and he ropes Penelope into his attempts to break off the engagement. Penelope just might be falling for Harry in the process, but her real heartthrob is American singer, Johnnie Ray. This is a delightful, utterly charming coming-of-age novel that’s pure enjoyment. A perfect summer read.
Friday, May 12, 2006
The Town That Forgot How to Breathe by Kenneth J. Harvey
This book starts out with the promise of John Crowley’s Little, Big: a woman who could once commune with spirits walks down a path, gathering lilacs, talking with her townspeople, telling stories and strange asides. It begins with a rich sense of magic and foreboding. Set in Newfoundland in the small fishing village of Bareneed, it is about a town that has all but lost its main industry—fishing cod has been outlawed because of they have started to die off. A fisheries officer and recent divorcee, Joseph Blackwood, and his young daughter, Robin, come to Bareneed for a summer break. But things get strange and spooky straight away. A young woman living next door’s dead daughter appears and disappears in windows and starts talking with and influencing Robin. And soon people of Bareneed become stricken with an illness that causes them to become violent and then stop breathing. And dead bodies from past generations start being pulled intact from the sea. Mythological sea creatures also start to appear.
I wanted to like this book, for its exquisite creepiness and for its writing—which is quite lush at times—but the story just got increasingly long and the premise just seemed too flimsy. It took me far too long to read and I was glad to be done with it when I finished. Somehow it can be more frustrating when you can see how much better a book could have been with some editing or more thought.
This book starts out with the promise of John Crowley’s Little, Big: a woman who could once commune with spirits walks down a path, gathering lilacs, talking with her townspeople, telling stories and strange asides. It begins with a rich sense of magic and foreboding. Set in Newfoundland in the small fishing village of Bareneed, it is about a town that has all but lost its main industry—fishing cod has been outlawed because of they have started to die off. A fisheries officer and recent divorcee, Joseph Blackwood, and his young daughter, Robin, come to Bareneed for a summer break. But things get strange and spooky straight away. A young woman living next door’s dead daughter appears and disappears in windows and starts talking with and influencing Robin. And soon people of Bareneed become stricken with an illness that causes them to become violent and then stop breathing. And dead bodies from past generations start being pulled intact from the sea. Mythological sea creatures also start to appear.
I wanted to like this book, for its exquisite creepiness and for its writing—which is quite lush at times—but the story just got increasingly long and the premise just seemed too flimsy. It took me far too long to read and I was glad to be done with it when I finished. Somehow it can be more frustrating when you can see how much better a book could have been with some editing or more thought.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The Girls by Lori Lansens
Rose and Ruby were born during a tornado in Canada in 1974. They were also born joined at the head, craniopagus twins. The nurse who assisted with their birth, Aunt Lovey, took them in as her own when their mother skipped town. Rose and Ruby are joined in such a way that they have never seen one another except through mirrors, but Rose says: “I know Ruby’s gestures as my own, through the movement of her muscles and bone> I love my sister as I love myself. I hate her that way too.”
Rose wants to be a writer and begins penning her memoir before their 30th birthday, with her sister, Ruby, adding her own chapters, when they are told they may not have long to live. Aunt Lovey and her husband, Uncle Stash, have always insisted that the girls have as normal a life as anyone else—Aunt Lovey never let anyone or anything stand in their way and made them both work through any physical limitations. She was also honest with Ruby and Rose about life and didn’t over-protect—I really found her a compelling figure in the novel for her strength and her love. Alternating between Rose and Ruby’s voices, in which they tell stories of their shared life, you realize how much they love each other and how very different they both are.
I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book—I thought the girls might be sheltered wallflowers or that a novel about two girls joined at the head might be a mere curiosity or exercise is sheer voyeurism. But Lansens brings real depth and emotion to all of her characters in this surprising, touching novel.
Rose and Ruby were born during a tornado in Canada in 1974. They were also born joined at the head, craniopagus twins. The nurse who assisted with their birth, Aunt Lovey, took them in as her own when their mother skipped town. Rose and Ruby are joined in such a way that they have never seen one another except through mirrors, but Rose says: “I know Ruby’s gestures as my own, through the movement of her muscles and bone> I love my sister as I love myself. I hate her that way too.”
Rose wants to be a writer and begins penning her memoir before their 30th birthday, with her sister, Ruby, adding her own chapters, when they are told they may not have long to live. Aunt Lovey and her husband, Uncle Stash, have always insisted that the girls have as normal a life as anyone else—Aunt Lovey never let anyone or anything stand in their way and made them both work through any physical limitations. She was also honest with Ruby and Rose about life and didn’t over-protect—I really found her a compelling figure in the novel for her strength and her love. Alternating between Rose and Ruby’s voices, in which they tell stories of their shared life, you realize how much they love each other and how very different they both are.
I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book—I thought the girls might be sheltered wallflowers or that a novel about two girls joined at the head might be a mere curiosity or exercise is sheer voyeurism. But Lansens brings real depth and emotion to all of her characters in this surprising, touching novel.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes
Twelve-year-old Martha Boyle’s life changes the moment she is given a page from Olive Barstow’s diary before summer vacation. Martha didn’t get to know Olive before she died, but it turns out they shared a secret: they both wanted to be writers. Martha’s family head to the Cape to visit her grandmother, Godbee, but Martha just can’t stop thinking about Olive, a girl she hardly knew. Martha and Godbee also have an agreement that they share something new about one another every day. (Godbee is such a cool grandma, too—I could have listened to her stories forever!) It’s a summer filled with pondering life, death, friendship and love. This sweet, subtle book was recommended to me by a girl who likes “sad books” (I wanted to squeeze her when she said that—so sweet). While it’s a little bit sad, it’s also a find--like a ocean-washed glass in your pocket.
Twelve-year-old Martha Boyle’s life changes the moment she is given a page from Olive Barstow’s diary before summer vacation. Martha didn’t get to know Olive before she died, but it turns out they shared a secret: they both wanted to be writers. Martha’s family head to the Cape to visit her grandmother, Godbee, but Martha just can’t stop thinking about Olive, a girl she hardly knew. Martha and Godbee also have an agreement that they share something new about one another every day. (Godbee is such a cool grandma, too—I could have listened to her stories forever!) It’s a summer filled with pondering life, death, friendship and love. This sweet, subtle book was recommended to me by a girl who likes “sad books” (I wanted to squeeze her when she said that—so sweet). While it’s a little bit sad, it’s also a find--like a ocean-washed glass in your pocket.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
I keep thinking about this book. It's coming out in June and I want more people to read it so I can check and see if it's really as good as I think. Bechdel even started appearing in some dreams of mine. Very weird.
It's just so moving and powerful and packed full of intriguing questions and gaps. I want to do this with a book group.
Okay, I will move on. Really, I will.
I keep thinking about this book. It's coming out in June and I want more people to read it so I can check and see if it's really as good as I think. Bechdel even started appearing in some dreams of mine. Very weird.
It's just so moving and powerful and packed full of intriguing questions and gaps. I want to do this with a book group.
Okay, I will move on. Really, I will.
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