Laurie's Book Rants

Author	Title	Comments
Shreve, Anita	All He Ever Wanted	I tend to love Anita Shreve's books, but this was not one of her best. It was more like an artistic experiment and as such felt strained and contrived. I hope she got it out of her system and that her next work will be more like what I've come to expect: rich, thoughtful descriptions and exquisite development of characters. 7/04
Ackmann, Martha	The Mercury 13. The Untold Story of Thirteen American Women and the Dream of Space Flight	I don't usually care much for non-fiction, but this was an easy informative read. As if we needed another example of men keeping women back... infuriating!! I am in awe of the strength and perseverance of these incredible women. Although they didn't reap the benefits of their hard work, they laid the groundwork for other women to fly. 7/04
Glass, Julia	Three Junes	Sweet, rich, melancholy. A wonderful read. A little clunky in parts, and perhaps slightly overstated, but all faults easily forgiven. Looking forward to reading more from this author. 8/04
Packer, Ann	The Dive from Clausen's Pier	I was hooked from the first chapter. I'm about 1/3 through now, and the hook is still in.  OK, done now.  Bogs down a little, but not too bad  Reminds me of Anthropology of an American Girl in parts, but much better (that book was a flinger).  What is it about hiding out in NYC anyway?    The author conveys the main character's struggle well, character growth, depth.  I'd read her again. 8/04
Nafisi, Azar	Reading Lolita in Tehran	Abort, abort!!  I already mentioned that I'm not that keen on non-fiction.  Maybe I'll try again at a later date - I think it's probably worth it..  Starting out, I thought it would be ok, but Nafisi's style is just too meandering for me.  Oh well.  Fling it, for now. 8/04
Lenard-Cook, Lisa	Dissonance	Wonderful.  I didn't want it to end, but I couldn't put it down until I finished.    Unexpected twists.  Beautifully written.  8/04
Hegi, Ursula	Floating in My Mother's Palm	Saw it in the used bookstore, had read Stones from the River so figured I'd try another of her works.  So far, so good.  The chapters stand alone as short vignettes or stories, but also work together as a whole.  Nice effect.  A pleaasant read.  8/04
Hegi, Ursula	The Vision of Emma Blau	Another good read by Hegi.  One of the characters from Floating... shows up in this work, kind of peripherally.  The book covers a long period of time.  I found myself forgetting who was in which generation every so often, but still enjoyed the journey.  Characters well-developed and usually quirky.  9/04
Salzman, Mark	Lying Awake	Interesting.  Hard to get past the idea of a man named "Salzman" writing from the point of view of a Carmelite nun...  I appear to have been sucked in, though.  Don't want to put it down.  If you've read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, there will be a familiar description of illness.  9/04
Santiago, Esmeralda	Almost a Woman	A wonderful read.  What a rich description of moving to NY from rural Puerto Rico and comnig of age.  Clash of cultures, clash of values.  Fears, hopes, pain.  An insight into a different world (for me).  Can't wait to read When I was Puerto Rican.  9/04
Satrapi, Marjane	Persepolis, the Story of a Childhood	Written in comic strips, a very interesting account of growing up in 70's/80s Iran.  The Shah, the Islamic revolution, war with Iraq.  All news to me.  What a great way to learn history!  What atrocities and oppression, though.  Satrapi has a sequel due out soon.    9/04
French, Nicci	Secret Smile	I was expecting a typical murder/mystery beach-reading type book, but NO!  I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  It was creepy in a believable way.  There really ARE people like that out there - I hope not to meet any!  The ending was a little less believable, but not so much as to detract from the whole. 9/04
Niffenegger, Audrey	The Time Traveler's Wife	This was a wonderful read and I highly recommend it. I can't believe it's her first book!  It might take a few pages to accept the unacceptable, but after that just sit back and enjoy the ride.  I was completely swept along.  Question:  if I won the lottery, would I still work?  Hmmm.  Tough one:  doubt it!  Minor detail.  10/04
Eugenides, Jeffrey	Middlesex	I am NOT thrilled... but I haven't flung it yet.  1 week later...  I take it back.  It's a flinger!!  Too cute, writing style is annoying.  Get over yourself, already.  Subject matter interesting.  Could be a good read, if done by a different author/different voice.  2/05
Reichs, Kathy	Monday Mourning	Needed a quick read and saw that Kathy Reichs had a new one out.  I like her stuff.  Good beach reading.  Bubblegum for the head.  A 2-day reading frenzy.  A little gruesome in parts.  Now that I've visited Montreal, some places are familiar.  I always like that. 2/05
Vreeland, Susan	The Forest Lover	I wasn't sure about this one when I started.  I had read The Girl in Hyacinth Blue and, although I don't remember much, don't recall being all that impressed.  This one was a bit of a sleeper at first, but totally sucked me in to the point of not being able to get the story out of my mind.  Her descriptions are great; both of the physical and emotional.  Native/nature vs. white settlers/Christianity.  The writing made me want to look up Emily Carr's actual work, and journey to the wild west of Canada, if it still exists.  The Emily Carr depicted in Vreeland's work is a very real human with all the strengths and weaknesses one would expect.  More strength, one assumes, than other women of her day.   2/05
Alvarez, Julia	In the Name of Salome	A nice read.  I recommend it, but won't rave about it.  It's refreshing that some things were left to the imagination.  Camila's romances, for instance, don't need to be spelled out.  Readers don't necessarily need to be hit over the head to figure out that people have sex!  So much I don't know about the D.R.   2/05
Bohjalian, Chris	Before You Know Kindness	I was a little let down by this one.  I really enjoyed Midwives and Buffalo Soldier, but this book was kind of a dud.  Not bad - definitely not fling-worthy - but I could have put it down and not felt too bad about it (of course I finished it, though).  The characters were real-seeming for the most part, if  somewhat over the top, as in the case of Spencer.  I guess there are people like him in real life, but I avoid those kind in reality.  Why should I read about one for enjoyment?!  Too pat, somewhat forced story flow.  Oh well.  3/05
Steingarten, Jeffrey	It Must've Been Something I Ate	A collection of food-related essays from the food critic of Vogue.  He seems like a pompous ass, and his descriptions are making me think again about the possibility of being vegetarian.  The essays ARE amusing, but best taken in small doses.  I think I'll leave this one at work to read when I don't have anything better to do1 3/05
Goodman, Carol	The Seduction of Water	I saw this book at the library book sale and, having read and enjoyed The Lake of Dead Languages, thought I'd try another one of her books.  I was not disappointed.  She has a very nice way of weaving a story.  It was somewhat predictable, but it didn't bother me.  I knew there would be a little twist, and there was.  It was well-executed and didn't just come out of nowhere to neatly wrap things up. 3/05
Hamilton, Jane	Disobedience	mid-way through, ok so far.  Well, I'm about half-way and, honestly, I'm not that impressed.  I'll probably finish it, but it's not really doing much for me.  The writing is fine - even very good in places - but it's just kind of boring as a whole.  The quirkiness of Elvira/Elvirnon has worn out - is there anything else to this character?  Dad is almost a non-entity, and the mom is not really fleshed out in a real way.  Granted it's from the point of view of the son, so maybe mom shouldn't be too real.  Hmm.  Or should I say "ho hum".  Not a flinger, but maybe not a finisher either.  3/05
Moody, Martha	Best Friends	I didn't actually fling this book, but I did leave it on a plane!  After I finished it, of course.  It wasn't horrible, but I can't say it was all that good.  It's not that is was poorly written, it was just kind of stupid.  Same old story:  two very different young women thrown together in a college dorm become fast friends, yada, yada, yada.  Live through various hopes, dreams, tragedies.   I generally don't mind the basic story, but this variation was boring and implausible.  3/05
Shields, Jody	The Fig Eater	Set in 1910 Vienna, richly described, slowly developed, exquisite detail - I'm ready to check out all the interesting desserts mentioned... A murder, inspector and wife have different ways of investigating what happened.  Old vs.  new, science vs. superstition.  Relationships:  husbands/wives, employers/employees, friends - all configurations.  Subtle but potent.   I thought it would be too slow at first, but the cadence of the writing is just fantastic.  I generally plow through books, but I wanted to savor this one and would force myself to stop reading to let everything sink in.  A great find at the library booksale!  4/05
Tyler, Anne	Ladder of Years	I think I ready this one already.  Seems vaguely familiar.  Cringe-worthy, but compelling at the same time.  Another woman running away from home.  She leaves her life because she doesn't feel appreciated and starts a new one where people show that she's liked and valued.  Then goes back to her old one which, as soon as she steps back into it, is practically just as it was - what did she accomplish?  Her husband doesn't even actually say the only thing she needs to hear, even when she lets him know what that thing is.  And what about the "new" life and people she befriended?   Delia, although only 41, seemed much older, in a frumpy, ditzy way except when she was recreating herself as the self-sufficient, frugal Miss Grinstead.  Why couldn't she go home with some of that newfound confidence?  4/05
Dubus III, Andre	House of Sand and Fog	Did someone tell me this was a good book? Well, it definitely drew me in; the writing is very nice and the different feel for the opposing groups involved helps transition back and forth. An interesting collision of lives. Can I just say "cringe-worthy", though? I mean, talk about bad choices and somersaulting, hurtling toward destruction. It's really hard to believe that a stiuation like the one described could happen. Engaging albeit implausible peak-through-your-fingers kind of reading. Just when I started to feel for one the characters, s/he did something incredibly stupid. The scenery is splendidly described, but the story is painful in a how-can-people-be-such-jerks way. I could have lived without reading this one. 5/05
Pearl, Matthew	The Dante Club	Slow but interesting. Very male. I never thought about reading The Divine Comedy before... Maybe this book is just propaganda to get more people interested in Dante!  I just can't go on, though, I'm kind of bored.  There are too many other books to waste time with this one.  I could see picking it up again at another time.  Not technically a flinger.  5/05
Moriarty, Laura	The Center of Everything	An easy read.
Irving, John	A Widow For One Year	Yuck.  Typical John Irving:  how quickly can he get his penis (or at least somebody's penis) into the story?  Well, it this casee, a record-breaking 2 pages! So what else is new?  Certainly not themes of sex and incest - quelle surprise.  And talk about boring.  I thought the book could have ended a few times already and I'm only 1/2-way through.  Too bad Irving isn't like the main character who writes kids books - very short ones.  Irving seems so taken with a few clever lines, that he's woven an almost 600-pg book around them.  Sex, sex, filler, filler, more gratuitous sex, etc.  Oh, and throw in some violence to keep readers interested.  I had every intention of finishing, but why bother?  5/05
Grafton, Sue	R is for Ricochet	Ok, so not a literary work of art, but some good fun.  Hey, it's summer (almost), and I had to clear out the foul taste of John Irving!  6/06
Cox, Lynne	Swimming to Antarctica	Wow.  It's hard to think of much else to say.  Sure, the writing is nothing spectacular, but this is non-fiction and the content is what is engrossing here.  Lynne Cox, long distance cold-water swimmer shares her amazing (some might say "insane") swimming experiences with us.  Inspiring.  Awesome in the truest sense of the word.  A must-read for serious athletes - or maybe more important for their families and friends to get a glimpse at the passion.  6/06
Danticat, Edwige	Breath, Eyes, Memory	I read it in a day.  Unfortunately, that was a little too quick to have it sink in.  Flowing, rich prose.  Life in Haiti, life in US.  Mother/daughter relationship.  6/05
Goodman, Allegra	Kaaterskill Falls	An enjoyable, informative read.  Interesting to learn more about the ultra-religious.  A view into a woman's subtle change from following blindly to questioning and the potential for growth and confusion that follows. 6/05
Willard, Katie	Raising Hope	Another quick read. Somewhat fluffy with a to-be-expected happy ending, but with some trials and growth along the way. 7/05
Brashares, Ann	The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants	FUN!  My 10-yr old niece read it in a day and liked it, so I figured I'd check it out.  She went on to devour the sequel, but I think I get the picture.  Ahh, to be 15 again... oh, wait:  No thanks!  Brashares does a good job of describing the ups and downs and insecurities of adolescence.  7/05
Henderson, Lauren	Black Rubber Dress:  A Sam Jones Mystery	Quirky.  An easy summer read with a murder thrown in among the brit banter - I'd read another.  7/05
Kidder, Tracy	Home Town	Interesting, but might not hold my attention.  What can I say?  I just got the 6th Harry Potter book!  Harry didn't take too long to plow through, so I got back to Home Town.  It was ok, but a bit too precious toward the end.  I love Northampton, and this book IS interesting, but I can't praise it much more than that.  A travelogue.  8/05
Johnston, Tracy	Shooting the Boh	Thanks for the warning...  Both exciting and repulsive.  Scary - I don't know if I would have been able to read this if I didn't know that she gets out alive.  I can't imagine wanting to do something like this, but then again, there's a pull to be intensely challenged and I could feel the draw.  An outer as well as inner journey, although I find it hard to believe she was as ignorant about menopause as she claims.   C'mon!  She lived in the Bay Area in the early '90's - women were talking about this stuff by then!  I guess it's always a shock when it happens...  Yikes.  8/05
Sarno, John	The Mindbody Prescription:  healing the body, healing the pain	non-fiction.  Took me forever to read.  The idea is that most pain is caused by unconscious rage.  Makes sense.  Mind-body connection and all.  Not the best-written book, a little preachy and repetitive.  Reads like self-help.  8/05
Hiaasen, Carl	Skinny Dip	A very fun summer beach-read!  Not a literary work of art, but hey, what the heck:  life's too short to read too many serious dead white guys.  9/05
Hoag, Tami	Kill the Messenger	I thought this would be another fluffy beach book, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Again, not a literary masterpiece, but a step above the usual murder-mystery PI book.  Well constructed and gripping.  It's a big book, but I plowed through it.  Added attraction of having a bike messenger as the central character.  9/05
Grisham, John	The Last Juror	I had read a lot of Grisham's earlier works and basically got bored with his schtick, so hadn't read anything by him for many years.  This was a good one to come back to.  A page-turning mix of a small-town story and suspense.  Not extremely well-rounded characters, but then, not everyone is in reality anyway.  The main character does his share of developing and we meet all types of local personalitites along the way.  Good for a quick read.  9/05
Marinick, Richard	Boyos	Interesting read about South Boston's Irish mafia from one who knows.  Not as fast-moving or hard-hitting as a Parker or Lehane novel, but feels more "real". 10/05
Cokal, Susann	Breath and Bones	Starts out ok, slow, but engaging enough to keep reading.  Bogs down big time in the middle - traipsing around the West gets a little old.  Falls apart somewhat toward the end.  Not a flinger, but not the best either.  10/05
Took a break	didn't feel like reading for a bit	hope to find something good to read soon!
Lahiri, Jhumpa	Interpreter of Maladies	collection of short stories.  Amazing.  I wanted to read more, but read slowly and deeply at the same time.  These stories are so moving, so rich, that I felt I had to close the book and savour each one for a time before moving on to the next.  Beautifully written.  11/05
Lahiri, Jhumpa	The Namesake	See last entry...  Another beautifully written melancholy, SO REAL work by Lahiri.  A novel this time.  Probably shouldn't have read it at work, however:  not good form to have tears running down my face at the front desk of the library!  Don't get the wrong idea, though.  It's not a depressing book, just very moving and full.  I always enjoy books with familiar settings, so recognizing bits and pieces of Cambridge and environs was fun.   12/05
Haddon, Mark	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time	I had no idea what to expect when I started reading.  It's a bit odd to read from the perspective of a child.  Even more-so when that child, although obviously very intelligent, has some undefined mental health issue that impairs his ability to interact with others.  It becomes clear pretty quickly that Christopher is in a special school, but you never really know why.  No diagnosis is given, which is probably just as well.  Is the ending too neatly and hopefully tied up?  I didn't really mind.  I guess I was ready to be done and wish him well by then.  12/05
Sebold, Alice	Lucky	Brutally direct, disturbing.  Necessary?  Maybe so.  We see/read violence all the time.  Why was this so different?  Truth has a way of hitting so much harder than fiction, is my guess.  Also, I didn't know anything about the book prior to reading the first chapter.  I hadn't even looked at the back to read the reviews.    THIS REALLY HAPPENED kept screaming from the page.  OUTRAGE:  rape continues to occur.  I kept thinking that the author was raped as I was finishing my senior year in high school.  She was only a little older than I; a contemporary, how would I have felt if I knew her.  What would I have done in her place?  And the scarring that results.  I just can't imagine. Thank you, Alice Sebold, for writing about your rape.  For your healing, Ihope, and for my education.  12/05
Cooley, Martha	The Archivist	Can we say "pompous ass"?  Ok, so I'm only on page 10... All right, I'm pretty much into the book.  And I take back the "pompous ass" comment.  The main character has developed a bit beyond that by now!  What's the big deal about T.S. Eliot, though, and why is everyone in the book on the brink of (or past) craziness?!  Done now.  Depressing?  yeah I guess, but I really wasn't all that drawn in emotionally.  Meandering in parts, annoyingly ridiculous ending.  AS IF!  Unbelievable from what I know about archivists (granted not too much), but having tea right near documents, among other things.  I DON'T THINK SO.  12/05-1/06
Lynch, Jim	The Highest Tide	Thanks for the Christmas present!  Got this one on Christmas and basically devoured it.  Maybe a little precious, but still fun and worth reading.  Good first novel.  Plausible?  Er, maybe not.  But not so totally IMplausible that I needed to whip it across the room!  It IS time that we listened to the earth/sea, and who's to say that the message can't be brought to us by an adolescent boy just awakening to yearnings and responsibility?  Beautiful descriptions.  12/05 addendum:  the more I think about the book, the more I feel that maybe it was a bit heavy on MESSAGE.  Hit me over the head with it why don't you?!
Diamant, Anita	Good Harbor	As a massage therapist, I'm already annoyed.  First of all, a 2-hour massage?  Please.  And the author makes a point of describing an appropriate draping technique during the rolling over part, but then the MT walks in before the client is dressed?!   It sounds as though the mt used WAY too much oil, yuck.  Is this a preview of things to come?  Oh help me.  Okay, so I've only ready 9 pages so far... LAME.  Anita Diamant, LITE!  I remember reading The Red Tent, and I think I thought it was good.  This one is an easy quick read, but a bit too fluffy, pat, trite even.  C'mon Anita, what happened?! 1/06
Hoffman, Alice	The Ice Queen	Don't bother me when I'm immersed in an Alice Hoffman novel.  The rest of the world doesn't exist.
Kurson, Robert	Shadow Divers:  The True Adventure of Two Americans Who...	This was just amazing.  I got drawn in immediately.  I didn't expect to be all that impressed since I really don't care about diving, and U-boats, gee, how interesting.  But the writing was good and the story unfolded wonderfully.  There are a couple spots where it drags, but hey, it's non-fiction.  Could be MUCH worse!  Actually, even the slow parts were interesting.  The main characters are so driven it's scary.  So vitally alive in their (almost) quest for death.  I, obviously am NOT into diving.  Love to swim, but I'll stay on top of the water, blissfully ignorant of what lies below.  1/06
Hosseini, Khaled	The Kite Runner	I found this to be an interesting read.  Difficult at times, a little repetitive, but overall good.  There were some cringe-worthymoments, but since there were children and adolescents involved, not unbelievable.  Kids don't always make the best choices, but they DO end up living with their decisions.  2/06
Eichenwald, Kurt	The Informant	Oh, so THAT'S why ADM is evil.  Or should I say "another way in which ADM is evil"?  They already modify our food (and not all of us want to eat the gmo way).  Interesting report of whistle-blowing, extortion, corporate greed, and mental illness.  Oh, and our government's ability to screw things up by getting too many departments involved.  ...or was that the idea?  3/06
Lethem, Jonathan	Motherless Brooklyn	Umm.  What can I say?  It was odd, but engaging.  Not a lot of character development.  Mostly a view of someone with Tourette's - I'm not even sure how accurate the portrayal is, but I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt.  I'm assuming he did his research.  Kind of a feel-good version of the disorder.  We don't find out much else about the main tic-ridden character.  Somewhat kind-hearted thug loyal to his master, a two-bit petty NY hustler who lands himself on the wrong side of a couple "clients".  There's some meandering story that goes on, bringing all the characters together.  A little confusing and hard to follow at times.  3/06
Robinson, Marilynne	Housekeeping	I could put it down...  but I'll finish it eventually.  Nice turn of phrase here and there, but ho-hum:  bored now.  I lied:  turns out I couldn't finish it.  I started skimming and skipping and then figured, what's the point?  NEXT!  4/06
Kirino, Natsuo	Out	Not your run of the mill murder/mystery/suspence novel.  A little slow to get going, but, without overstating it, worth reading.  Life on the edge - but an edge close to many...  I hope not with the same outcome, however.  5/06
Robbins, Tom	Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates	Tom Robbins at his best, or worst, depending on what you think of him.  Although his writing is fun, he DOES get a bit tiresome.  And his obsession with young girls is somewhat disturbing.  A mid-30s male really shouldn't act on his impulses toward 16-and-under girls.  Maybe when I was 16 reading TR I would have thought this exciting... no, even then (or especially then) I would've thought "GROSS!"  Oh well, I do like his druggy style but I think I have to take him in small doses now.  Not sure I'll finish this one.  5/06
Robbins, Tom	Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas	Ok, I know I at least started this, but can't for the life of me remember a thing about it.  It must have been in May, and now it's August - '06.  No more Tom Robbins for me.
Various crap	Various authors, some more embarrassing than others	No comment - can't remember - took some time off... June - August '06
Jones, Edward P.	The Known World	Very interesting.  Beautifully written, if one can say that about a book depicting slavery in the old South.  The author was able to describe the institution of slavery and all its faces and forms while weaving a complete engrossing story about the lives of people just living and trying to get by with the hand they were dealt.  Powerful. 7/06
Almond, Steve	Candyfreak	I've wanted to read this book since I heard an interview w/the author on NPR.  What a fun read.  Unfortunately it made me want to try all sorts of obscure candybars - how to get my hands on them... A mix of history, nostalgia, psychological angst all rolled up in a wonderfully rich, creamy nougat.   OK, don't go overboard now.  Although apparently written during a pretty dark depression, the author does a great job of talking/writing through the pain.  I thoroughly enjoyed the day it took me to plow through this book.  I probably should have gone a little slower to savor the flavor, but I couldn't help myself.  At times, a bit over the top, but in such a way as to be excusable. It works, and I really like his conversational writing style.  I look forward to reading other books by Almond.  8/06
Baggott, Julianna	The Miss America Family	I pretty much enjoyed this book, but it took a little while for me to believe the Ezra part.  I had to keep reminding myself that Baggott was writing from the point of view of a boy - Ezra is a boy - it just didn't ring true at first.  It got more convincing, or I got sucked in, as I read.  Funny coincidence:  Baggott has a collaborative effort with Steve Almond coming out.  I'll have to keep an eye out for it. 8/06
Grafton, Sue	S is for Silence	I just couldn't help myself - it was $5 for the hard cover!  A fun, quick read as usual.  What's 'T' for?  Guess I'll have to wait.   8/06
Winspear, Jacqueline	Maisie Dobbs	old timey and british.  still reading.  Done.  Slow but steady.  I really liked it.  Not for the ADHD set, however.  It's a nice change from having to have everything happen really quick and edgy with sparky banter! 8/06
Blum, Jenna	Those Who Save Us	Engaging from the first page.  Slowly unfolding.  You just KNOW that she's going to find out her history, but how and when?  And the dificult path to get there.  Thus the journey for Trudy AND reader.  Mother/daughter anguish.  Delicately developed.  Shame, guilt.  Beautiful, painful, rich.  8/06
Picoult, Jodi	My Sister's Keeper	Very compelling.  Maybe too heartwrenching, but I was definitely open to being wrenched.  What happens to a family when there's a very sick member.  Who gets forgotten, who acts out.  How do the various members pay the price demanded?  Ouch.  Picoult weaves the story very well.  8/06
Almond, Steve	My Life in Heavy Metal	A lot of fun!  A series of short stories with very similar themes.  Sex, relationships, growing up, young adulthood angst... but humorously dealt with.  I really like the way he writes.  9/06
Reichs, Kathy	Cross Bones	Not as good as her others.  A little too formulaic - and a blatant attempt to profit off the Da Vinci hype.  Some good bits; the flow is ok but not roaring.  Not a bad read if you've never read her stuff, but disappointing, and I'd suggest her earlier works.  Done with her.  9/06
Choan, Dan	You Remind Me of Me	Somewhat cringey in a suspensful, something's-about-to-happen kind of way.  The story slowly unfolds through the different characters' chapters, adding up to a whole.  People in different places tied together through the search for a 1/2 brother.  Nobody is quite whole.  9/06
Foer, Jonathan Safran	Everything is Illuminated	Feels contrived, but somehow I've been sucked in - I'm more than halfway through.  Still, though, I think I might fling it! FLING IT!!  Just too annoyingly gimmicky.  10/06
Shreve, Anita	Where or When	Ahh.  Another wonderful read from Anita Shreve.  I'm in the middle and loving it.  Quick.  Painful.  "Don't do it" running through my head once I could see where it was going.  Ends badly, of course.  A message there?  A little rough.  Not one of her best - an early work?  But still good.  10/06
Gamble, Terry	The Water Dancers	An old story:  rich boy poor girl, but with some twists.  A smooth, gliding read.  10/06
Greenlaw, Linda	The Lobster Chronicles	Not quite as engaging as The Hungry Ocean, but still interesting.  10/06
O'Brien, Tim	The Things They Carried	Heard about this one on NPR.  Coincidentally saw it at my in-laws the following week.  Maybe I was meant to read it?  It's not easy.  What I should say is the writing style is VERY easy to read, but the subject matter is tough.  Hard-hitting, no BS, war sucks UGLY.  Vietnam, but could be any shitty ill-conceived "conflict".  Like we're in now, perhaps?  I'm a little young to have been affected by Vietnam, so this book is like a social-psych history lesson.  Too bad our fearless (or is that "fearful") leaders didn't learn a lesson or two.  Not a book to plow through in a single session, but hard to put down...  Just finished.  Wow, what an ending.  Superb.  10/06
Marshall, Megan	The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism	This was a BIG book.  And non-fiction.  I read it for a book group, but won't actually be able to go to the discussion...  Oh well.  It was very interesting.  It made Boston area history come alive for me in a way that has never happened before.  And what a great view into the plight of women of the mid-1800s, as well as a look at the big name intellectuals of the time.  11/06
Krakauer, Jon	Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith	I started this one, but after the tome that was the Peabody Sisters, I think I need a lighter, less real, read.  I'm not sure I'm ready to learn about creepy killer Mormons right now.  And polygamy...  do I care if someone has multiple wives?  I care if the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. doesn't WANT to be a wife.  But I'd rather not have my tax money go to support all these supposedly single moms and kids.  I'll come back to this one.  11/06 Got back to it:  interesting, scary Mormons.  I know they're not all like the fundamentalists, but the whole basis of the religion is a little suspect.  Of course, main stream religion is too, just older!  1/07
Edwards, Kim	The Memory Keeper's Daughter	Poignant, touching, painful.  So much raw emotion just under the surface, and all the attempts at making connections, some successful, many not.  And some real joy and hope shining through. 12/06
Stewart, Rory	The Places In Between	Just started.  What is it with all this non-fiction?!
Trillin, Calvin	Tepper Isn't Going Out	A really fun read!  The main character is just so perfect.  Very NY.  Anyone who has ever lived, or tried to park, in a city should be able to relate.  Great commentary on different personality types, too.  2/07
Hoffman, Alice	Skylight Confessions	I didn't want it to end.  I kept trying to put it aside, but couldn't put it down.  At first I wasn't sure this one was going to live up to how great I think Alice Hoffman is, but it did.  2/07
Danticat, Edwige	The Dew Breaker	Another beautifully written book by Danticat. A life of secrets. Do we ever really know anyone? Are we allowed to reinvent ourselves and get away with it?
Pollan, Michael	The Omnivore's Dilemma	Pretty dense.  This one might take me a while to get through.  Already I don't want to eat processed corn, which is in everything.  No more HFCS.  Straight sugar from now on.  But how am I to know about the meat/poultry/pork?  Will reading this book change my relationship to food?  We'll see.  At least I might think about it more.  Oops, I'm sure I already blew it by having a Starbuck's Caramel macchiato.  Something has to sweeten that caramel...  COULD be sugar.  Check out this link for a very interesting talk by Michael Pollan and CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey.   http://webcast.berkeley.edu/event_details.php?webcastid=19147&p=1&ipp=15&category Finally finished.  Wow.  I could have done without the last third of the book, but I plowed/scanned my way through.  Worth reading, at least the beginning.  1st step is to increase awareness...  and we can choose where to go from there. 5/07
Baggott, Julianna	Girl Talk	Like chewing gum - vaguely worth the effort.  There are some good bits, but mostly "reading lite".  Moderate cringe factor.  The flash-backs are much better than the "present".  Maybe all that self-awareness could have been put to use making better decisions?!  Oh, please!  2/07
Hood, Ann	The Knitting Circle	Alice Hoffman mentioned Ann Hood at a booksigning recently, so when I saw The Knitting Circle at work (Schlesinger Library), I started reading it and realized I had to buy it. What a well-written novel. A beautiful handling of grief, growth, recovery, connection. A group of women (and the occasional man) brought together to knit through their pain. Slowly stories unravel as scarves and sweaters and socks take shape. Hope emerges where none had been. I highly recommend this one. Oh, did I mention that I couldn't put it down and read it in a day, er, make that a night! 3/07
Walsh, Marissa	Girl with Glasses:  My Optic History	Fun, quick read.  I thought there'd be a little more substance to it, however.  I expected it to be smarter, somehow.  Part pep-talk, part (mostly) memoir.  Of course, since the author is really young, she doesn't have a whole lot to write about yet!  3/07
Shaffer, Louise	The Ladies of Garrison Gardens and The Three Miss Margarets	I guess I read these in reverse order by reading The Ladies before The Three Miss Margarets.  I didn't know.  It works ok to read the backstory 2nd, luckily.  I thought The Ladies would be just light beach reading when I borrowed it from my mother last month, and it was.  But it was actually very engaging with some twists and turns.  And then I wanted to know more, so I read The Margarets.  The characters are pretty well fleshed out, and the descriptions are rich enough that you can picture sitting on the front porch with a cool drink, chatting with best friends.  Yes, it's pretty chick-litty, but so what!  3/07
Trillin, Calvin	About Alice	Oh to be loved so well.  This is a beautifully written book about an incredible love that death does nothing to diminish.  Sad, made me cry, but not depressing.  Almost joyful/hopeful for the rest of us?  ...to know that such depth of feeling is possible.  I read it in two sittings, but probably about an hour total.  I wanted to save and savor it, but just couldn't stop myself.  3/07
Guterson, David	Our Lady of the Forest	I can't seem to get into this one.  Guterson's style is a little different, but that's not necessarily bad.  It has kind of a dreamy quality to it.  What is it about authors not using quotation marks that makes me feel like the dialogue is all by way of telepathy?!  Oops, maybe that's more about me than the author.  Too much information?  Anyway, I sort of remember having some trouble with Snow Falling on Cedars - a little slow to start - but I ended up liking that one.  And I enjoyed East of the Mountains, too.  I think this one is getting flung, though.  3/07  FLUNG!!
Patchett, Ann	The Magician's Assistant	I was swept away, and then I was kind of bored and annoyed.  The writing is lovely, but she seems to run off a cliff about 2/3 of the way through.  And the point is...?  Probably could have been edited a bit - somewhat rambling.  An interesting treatment of love and relationships, though, with twists.  3/07
I'm sure I read SOMETHING in April...	umm, but I did take a little break.	I think I read some trashy stuff that I won't admit to, and hey, I've actually had work to do at work - really cuts into my reading time.
Astley, Thea	Drylands	A little hard to get into, but I'm glad I pushed past the first part.  I wasn't sure what was going on, maybe in part due to some of the Aussieisms (how's that for a word!).  I didn't get a lot of the Australian slang or allusions.  Oh well.  Not the best book I've read, but it did draw me in.  Kind of cold, though, which might be part of the point.  5/07
Shreve, Anita	Body Surfing	Another great Anita Shreve book.  I wonder, though, why all of her women end up hurt.  It's as though if they do something even slightly wrong they PAY and pay.  Still, her writing is beautifully descriptive and the locations are familiar.  5/07
Gibbons, Kaye	A Cure for Dreams	This one took me all of a day to read, if that.  It was fast.  An easy conversational feel.  Fluff.  I'll probably forget it just as quickly as I read it.  More reason to write it down here, so I don't bother to pick it up in the future!  A fun beach book except that it doesn't last long enough.  I was left thinking:  "and the point of that was...?" 5/07
Desai, Kiran	The Inheritance of Loss	I have this book with me at work, and many people have commented that they have it or have read it, but I can't seem to get into it.  Maybe I should bring it home where I can just dive into it.  It demands more attention than some of the other novels I have read.  Could be a good thing. ...or not.  I haven't gotten around to finishing this one and it's been a month.  Odd for me.  I'll give it another try at some point in the future.  7/07
Petrini, Carlo	Slow Food Nation	Zzzz.  I really wanted to get into this book.  I wanted (and want) to know more about the Slow Food Movement which holds that we should be eating clean, fresh food, fairly produced, etc.  But - what a snoozer.  I was going to NW Italy, the home of Slow Food, so I thought it would be good to read up a little on the philosophy and beginnings.  (see  http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/0707/italy-piedmont.html) Anyway, I returned the book.  Just couldn't plod through it.  Oh well.   6/07
Picoult, Jodi	Nineteen Minutes	After traveling and writing the article on Italy mentioned above, I was starved for some reading material.  Wow.  Jodi outdid herself in this one.  What a painful, thought-provoking work.  The characters, for the most part, are exquisitely drawn out.  I think Patrick could have been fleshed out a little more, perhaps, but it was already a long book, so probably just as well.  Now I keep thinking back on High School:  was I mean?  Who got the brunt of the popular kids' abuse?  Have I just conveniently wiped out the whole horrible experience that was high school?! 7/07
Greenlaw, Linda	All Fishermen are Liars	Linda Greenlaw's tales are always fun, and this book does not disappoint.  7/07
Almond, Steve and Baggott, Julianna	Which Brings Me to You	I know I wrote ealier that I like the way Steve Almond writes.  And I do.  BUT  his obsession with sex and himself gets a little old.  I have the same problem with Julianna Baggott, so I can truthfully say that this book seems to work pretty well.  I think it's just geared toward a younger audience.  I haven't finished it yet, and I'm not sure that I will - depends on how busy I am at work.  I finished it.  It was OK.  I would have liked it better 10 years ago.  7/07
Lende, Heather	If you Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name	I picked this one up because I used to know someone in Haines, AK and was wondering if his name would be mentioned.  It wasn't.  I'm not that surprised, given how precious this book is (and how rough he was!).  There's a fair amount of religion snuck into her stories - sometimes it was appropriate, other times it felt like she was trying to get God in wherever she could.  It was a sweet read.  Too sweet for me.  Gag.  7/07
Hoffman, Alice	Incantation	An Alice Hoffman book for teens.  I don't think it is as good as her adult books.  It starts off a little slow, but definitely picks up and is engaging.  Religious intolerance, blending in, fear of discovery, ignorance, hatred.  Difficult subjects to deal with.  Hoffman does it well.  7/07
Frank, Jeffrey	The Columnist	I really could have done without reading this one.  Who recommended it and why?!  Was it an NPR segment.  Ptooi (or however that's spelled).  It left a bad taste in my mouth.  A completely unlikable, shallow, self-absorbed CLUELESS main character.  Hey, but that's DC, I guess.  7/07
Rowling, J.K.	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows	Well of course I had to read this one.  Yes, I read all the previous HP books.  Boy is Harry really annoying, but he IS a teenager - the author sure portrayed him well.  As far as I'm concerned, anything that gets people reading is a good thing - so while not the best of literature, the HP books are a lot of fun and pretty engaging.  I can't say I'm upset that there won't (?) be more installments. 7/07
Goodman, Allegra	Intuition	An interesting look into the world of science research.  Very well-written (no surprise, considering it's Allegra Goodman).  A little slow, but not necessarily in a bad way.  It grows smoothly throughout.  Steady with some suspense.  Added plus:  familiar setting of Cambridge, MA.  8/07
Gardam, Jane	Old Filth	Rich treatment of a long life.  She works the back and forth through history amazingly well.  Smooth, fluid transitions.  A window on another time and place.  Little glimpses of pain, longing, happiness (?)  8/07
Various	maybe a few books	nothing I feel I need to comment on 8/07
Tan, Amy	Saving Fish from Drowning	Not one of her better works.  Felt forced.  I almost flung it, but had to find out what happened! 8/07
Bohjalian, Chris	The Double Bind	I was completely drawn in.  I thought this novel was much better than his last one (Before You Know Kindness).  It didn't hurt that the main character swam and rode a bike! 9/07
Agee, Jonis	The River Wife	Hmm.  I actually didn't finish this book.  I got really close, but I had already renewed it once (it was a 7-day library book), and didn't see the point of doing it again for what I had left to read.  It was interesting.  For a while.  But then just got kind of old and less compelling.  The author did a good job with the historical descriptions of time and place.  Go West, pioneering spirit, rough/tough environment.  A little too meandering, though. 10/07
Goldstein, Yael	Overture	I didn't realize this was The Mind-Body Problem author's daughter.  Not that that should affect how I feel about Yael's work, though - especially since I didn't think much of M-B Problem.  First thought - wow, she's so young!  Second thought - wow, she can write!  Such intensity.  I don't know much about the inner workings/fears/dreams of classical musicians, but through her writing I felt I understood.  She really gets relationships, too; mother-daughter/lovers gut-wrenching highs and lows, mess and all.  Overture is only her first novel.  I definitely look forward to more. 10/07
Heller, Peter	The Whale Warriors:  the Battle at the Bottom of the World to Save the Planet's Largest Mammals	What a gig.  Did the author have all the information he needed to make an informed decision before setting off with the Sea Shepherd folks?!  Work is work, but it's nice to come home in one piece.  Obviously Heller survives, but it couldn't have been a comfortable sea voyage for a while there (if not for the whole trip!).  More to follow. How whaling can still exist is beyond me.  OK, so I'm a convert.  I guess since it's not on page 1 all the time, I was oblivious to the fact that whaling is still done on such a large scale.  So the Japanese (to name the biggest offender) and other countries are killing large numbers of endangered whales for meat that nobody really likes, wants or needs.  What the f**k?!!  And due to political concerns, international communities are focusing more on the questionable tactics of fringe groups like Sea Shepherd and to a much less extent, Greenpeace which comes off as being prissy by comparison.  Come on, people!  Put the focus on the assholes brutally killing endangered species in a "Whale Sanctuary". (misnomer, perhaps?  what's with that, Australia?  You're supposed to be protecting the area) .                                    I'll put  my personal reactions aside for now.  Whale Warriors is really well-written.  Heller manages to objectively describe the mission and personalities involved for most of the book.  As the author tells the story, the reader gets a feel for the increasing frustration, unease, real fear, extreme determination, and even playfulness of the crew.  These people are real, out there perhaps, but real and with a pure sense of doing the right thing (for whales, anyway).  Near the end, a sense of bone-tiredness permeates and Heller lets down his guard slightly.  This is not in any way a detraction, rather it makes the author more present.  Read it.   Question:  if I send my yearly donation (through Harvard's annual giving program) to Sea Shepherd, will I end up on some watch list?  Hmmm.  10/07
Alvarez, Julia	Once Upon a Quinceanera:  Coming of Age in the USA	I've read some of her other works, and enjoyed them.  This one is part research, part lament, part autobiography.  Interesting and well-written (of course - she's a wonderful writer). 12/07
Various authors	Three Cups of Tea ***** In the Gloaming ***** Snow Island **** Water Witches **** The Third Angel *** The Tenth Circle ****	I was going to use GoodReads to list what I was reading, but didn't feel like it, so I'll try to remember what I read during the last few months to note here.
Almond, Steve	(not that you asked)	I really enjoy his writing - funny, self-deprecating, sometims self-loathing.  Coming of age in the '80s stuff.  Very insightful political musing and rants.  Thought-provoking. 8/08
Danticat, Edwidge	The Farming of Bones	Powerful and painful treatment of the lives and deaths of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic in the 1930s, 8/08
Yan, Geling	The Lost Daughter of Happiness	SF in late 1800s.  A portrayal of a Chinese prostitute.  Interesting read.  Liked it, didn't love it. 8/08
Almond, Steve	The Evil B.B. Chow and Other Stories	This is a really good book of stories.  Deeper, more emotional, richer than some of his other work.  I highly recommend it. 8/08
Patchett, Ann	Run	only on page 18, but I'm already hooked.  OK, So that took all of 2 days to read.  Maybe.  I got completely drawn in. It has flaws, in hindsight, but I enjoyed the ride.  8/08
Mankell, Henning	The White Lioness	I really like the Kurt Wallander series.  It almost makes me want to visit small town Sweden.  Almost. 9/08
Kirino, Natsuo	Grotesque	I thought "Out" was really good, so I figured I'd see how she follows it up. 9/08 Twisted.  A little slow to get going, then somewhat on the prurient side, but engaging in a I can't look, but can't help it kind of way.  Almost 1/2way through.  Ended up not liking this book much at all. 9/08
Mankell, Henning	Sidetracked	Another good Swedish detective book from Mankell. 9/08
Obama, Barack	Dreams from My Father	Bandwagon?  I'm on it.  But I didn't finish the book.  Not that it wasn't well-written, I just wanted to read fun fiction for a bit instead.  10/08
Coomer, Joe	Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God	I really enjoyed this book.  I kept having to remind myself that it was written by a guy.  The relationships between/among the 3 women were so well described.  Deceptively simple prose.  10/08
Moore, Christopher	Fluke	What a riot!  The first part is just a blast to read.  Reminds me of Dave Barry, but set in Hawaii.  I was afraid it was going over a cliff, though, when it got a bit more sci-fi-y, but it was still fun.  Almost threw it across the room at that point, but it was still fun, if a huge stretch coming from nowhere.  10/08
Fadiman, Anne	Ex Libris	too smart for me.  I might try again, but I don't really want to work that hard.  And I didn't find what I read all that interesting.  Too bad 'cause the other book of hers that I read was fantastic.  (The Spirit Catches You...) 10/08
Greenlaw, Linda	Slipknot	I like her non-fiction much more.  The main character comes off as pretty weak for being an ex-cop.  Hard to believe.  It was still a fun read,  just not as good as I expected. 10/08
Meyer, Stephanie	Twilight	Oh, please.  THIS is what everyone has been gaga about?  Of course I read the whole book, and there were some engaging bits, but I can't say I was all that impressed.  Actually I was pretty annoyed by Bella.  How can a woman be so LAME?!  She's hapless.  And do we really want to encourage young women to seek out wrong lovers?  Oh, he's so mysterious and dreamy.  AKA non-communicative and controlling.  Talk about a potentially abusive relationship.  I don't think I'll read more in the series.  12/08
Gregory, Phillipa	The Other Bolyn Girl	This is a seriously l-ooo-ng book.  I wasn't sure I'd get into it, but I did.  The Tudors have always fascinated me, and it was fun to read a fictionalized account of real events told from the point of view of Mary, the beheaded queen's sister.  12/08
Parker, Robert B.	Cold Service Bad Business	Guilty as charged.  What can I say?  I needed some light crime while I was on break! I've got 2 more to read when I need a diversion. 12/08-1/09
Sey, Jennifer	Chalked Up	Not all that well-written, but a really good look into the twisted world of elite women's gynmastics.  Made me glad to be a mediocre slacker swimmer! 12/08
Sparks, Nicholas	A Walk to Remember	Oops, I think I read this already.  I didn't realize it 'til about 2/3 of the way through, though.  No, not extremely memorable, but not a bad read.  I only wasted a couple days on it, luckily.  1/09
Yates, Richard	Revolutionary Road	Next up!  Let's see if it lives up to the hype. YUCK!  I wanted to fling it after about 10 pages, but decided to give it a little longer.  At page 214, I just couldn't take anymore!  There are no redeeming qualities in any of the characters.  They are all full of shit and themselves.  They fight WAY too much.  I was getting far too anxious.  Oddly enough, I was getting bored, too.  Wierd.  1/09
Chabon, Michael	The Mysteries of Pittsburgh	Interesting read.  Interesting "good", not "strange"!  Coming of age, sexual confusion, family loyalties and clashes.  1/09
Coetzee, J.M.	Disgrace	Wow.  Not a happy read.  Moving, deep, multifaceted.  I need to let this one sink in for a bit.  1/09
Shreve, Anita	Testimony	Some similarities to Picoult's The Tenth Circle, and reminiscent of the Milton prep school scandal.  Adolecents and sex.  Adults and sex.  Getting caught, ruining lives... Infidelity, and maybe sex outside of adult marriage, never goes unpunished in an Anita Shreve novel!  2/09
Lahiri, Jhumpa	Unaccustomed Earth	Another amazing work.  Longer stories than in Interpreter of Maladies, and just as exquisitely told.  2/09
Coelho, Paulo	The Zahir	Couldn't get into it.  Flung it.  Didn't buy what he was selling:  the main character did not ring true for me.  2/09
Dempsey, Luke	A Supremely Bad Idea:  Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All	Got most of the way through.  Started out good, but his schtick got old.  I think other birders would find it a fun read as long as they're able to take being teased.  Not awful by any means, just not worth finishing, in my opinion.  2/09
Thomspon, Christina	Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All	Interesting - I knew nothing about the Maori's of New Zealand.  Now I know slightly more.  A back and forth of history and the author's present from the start of her relationship, then marriage, to a Maori man.  Kind of "history light" meets "tales of youth and young parenthood", but a good read.  3/09
Becker, Suzy	I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse?	I heard the author interviewed on NPR a few years ago, but didn't realize that when I picked this book up at the SL book sale.  The author is really good at making the journey through brain surgery and recovery understandable and engaging without invoking a pity or gross-out response. Suzy Becker sounds like an amazing woman, but at the same time, approachable and real.  3/09
Bohjalian, Chris	Skeletons at the Feast	I haven't been disappointed by Bohjalian yet.  This book is excellent.  The subject matter - end of WWII Germany, death, haulocaust, brutality - is not light or easy, but Bohjalian handles it well and makes the read rewarding.  3/09