2008 books 165, 166, 167

Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
I had to reread the first one to fully appreciate the second, which features the same band of gifted children on a quest to save their benefactor. I really enjoy these characters, but if this series keeps on there's a real danger it'll get more and more outlandish. The sequel was just outlandish enough.

Charlaine Harris' Dead After Dark
I really can't believe HBO is doing a tv series based on this book and its sequels. It's kind of poorly written (the heroine is always saying things "tartly", sometimes on multiple pages in a row), for one thing, and for another, it's just really silly in a lot of ways. On the other hand, it's a great beach read--a psychic waitress starts dating a handsome and chivalrous vampire and they're trying to find a killer who may be after her. As always, I prefer the third corner of the requisite love triangle over the too-wonderful-to-be-believed vampire love, but at least this isn't nearly as chaste as the Twilight books. I'll read the sequel and see how it goes. (My mom brought both books for me as vacation reads.)

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My dad fed this gull some fishie crackers yesterday and now he's totally hanging around our family when we're at the beach, cawing at rival gulls to scare them away from our riches of pretzels.

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I laid out Lizard Ridge for my mom and our friend Charlene to see the other night . . . Mom has promised to have it all sewn together by Thanksgiving!

2008 book 164

Kathleen Kent's The Heretic's Daughter
This is one of those books where the backstory is almost more interesting than the novel--it's based on the true story of one of Kent's ancestors, who was tried as a witch during the Salem shenanigans. The book was pretty good--a fine beach read, though it's not particularly fluffy. B.

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I'm on vacation! Jimmy wanted to come too, but no cats allowed.

2008 book 163

Lois Lowry's The Willoughbys
Let me say first that I LOVE Lowry's books and have read everything from the Anastasia books to the Giver and its companions to Autumn Street (which gave me nightmares but I kept re-reading it anyway). But this book was kind of a disappointment. It's a parody of old-fashioned books (a la Lemony Snicket), but it's not really very humorous and most of the characters are lifeless, boring, and unlikable. Lowry did the little sketches at the start of each chapter, which are cute, but otherwise I didn't like this much.

anne's house of dreams discussion thread

Post comments here!

2008 books 161 and 162

M.E. Rabb's Missing Persons Series 3 and 4
The only problem with reading these on Yom Kippur is that the characters eat in like every scene! And the 4th one involves a cooking show. Sheesh!

2008 books 158, 159, 160

My cable went down last night, which meant no tv and no internet, which meant I was really at a loss for what the hell to do with myself! So, I read some books. However, I'm a little cranky at being woken up by the comcast guy before 9 am (though grateful to have cable and internet back) and also thirsty, so not really in the mood for book blogging.

Scarlett Thomas' The End of Mr Y
Reread this, it's still pretty good.

M.E. Rabb's Missing Persons Series 1 and 2
I reread the first two and probably will read the 3rd and 4th today. It's a fun series.

things to do on yom kippur to distract yourself from hunger

Or, what I'll be doing for the next 25ish hours!

1. Knit and watch Doctor Who.

2. Read. (The new Art Spiegelman book totally has Jewish content, even!)

3. Play DS. Luckily Harvest Moon crops don't really look appetizing. Will my brain age go down the hungrier I get?

4. Think holy thoughts and atone for stuff.

5. Try not to obsess over the pumpkin bread intended for the break-fast.

Hope everyone has an easy fast!

2008 book 157

Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time
Sometimes I read something somewhere that inspires me to put a book on my library hold list, but by the time it comes in, I can't remember why I wanted to read it! That was the case with this book, which was still a mildly enjoyable short novel about a bed-ridden man who decides to investigate the life of Richard the Third and whatever happened to his nephews in the tower.

2008 book 156

Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Yay, I finally managed to get this from the library and I read it all in one sitting. It's getting tons of buzz--huge international bestseller, finally translated into English, etc. It's so much more than a mystery though--it really delves into all the characters, especially the leads (a journalist embroiled in scandal and the titutal tattooed computer hacker). Things do get pretty grisly (and bad things happen to a cute animal, of course, as that's the trend in books I read these days) but the story and its wrap-up are really satisfying. A.

2008 book 155

Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn
This is probably my all-time favorite movie--I still have a worn VHS copy from when my dad taped it off of TMC for me in approximately 1986. He got me the DVD a couple of years ago and I watched it last night--and it was totally edited! (The "Damn you!" was edited out.) Anyway, it made me want to reread the book, which I actually never knew existed until I was in like college. The movie is actually really close to the book, since Beagle wrote the screenplay, but I can't read the dialogue without hearing Mia Farrow's anguished tones (that's b/c I know the movie almost by heart). Anyway, great book.

2008 book 154

L.M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle
This is my all-time favorite Montgomery book--the one that's moved with me from dorm room to apartment to other apartments--b/c I think I related to Valancy more than any other heroine. And I still love the end that wraps up everything in a perfect little bow!

political debates

You have to have a sense of humor in these turbulent times. Later this week, the College Democrats and College Republicans are holding a debate in the library. Luckily, our web guy has a pretty great sense of humor.

2008 book 153

Tatiana De Rosnay's Sarah's Key
A journalist in Paris is writing a piece on the 60th anniversary of the Vel' D'Hiv roundup, when French police carted off thousands of Jews, mostly women and children. She soon discovers her husband's family has a secret that connects them to the event. Also central to the story is a little girl who hid her brother, thinking she'd be home for him soon. Some bits of this, especially the end, are a little overwrought, but it's a nice examination of the aftermath of such a tragedy, for Jews and non-Jews alike. B+.

2008 book 152

Miriam Toews' The Flying Troutmans
Toews is a reliably good author, especially with her endearing and eccentric characters, and this novel is no different. After her sister is sent to a psych ward, a young woman takes her niece and nephew on a crazy road trip to track down their father. A-.

2008 book 151

Kate Atkinson's When Will There e Good News?
I love love love Atkinson's Jackson Brodie mysteries--she writes such great characters that I always end up really caring about, and she's great at weaving all sorts of seemingly disparate narrative threads into a cohesive story. A.

2008 book 150

Philip Pullman's The Tin Princess
This is the most outlandish in the series--but actually very readable.

anne of windy poplars discussion

Discuss here!

great kids' books

This essay (via Metafilter) made me think about the books I loved growing up, and the books I'd love to pass on to hypothetical future children. What books make up the ideal bookshelf for a kid or pre-teen? There are some great ones mentioned in the essay--The Little House books, Charlotte's Web, Bridge to Terebithia, the Chronicles of Narnia, Little Prince . . . so what other books should I put on my ideal bookshelf?

Obviously the Harry Potter and Anne of Green Gables books (along with pretty much everything by Montgomery). The book about the immortal family and the little girl they befriend (I'm blanking on the title--it's a classic, and it always made me cry. Serious, you must know which book I mean--what is it called? The girl's name is Winnie, I think. Oh, never mind, I just remembered that Rory Gilmore starred in a terrible movie version and looked it up on imdb--Tuck Everlasting). More contemporary series, like Lemony Snicket and Kiki Strike. Contemporary fantasy books like Un Lun Dun, The Hunger Games, the Golden Compass and its sequels, Howl's Moving Castle, and Nation. Stargirl. Love that Dog. Guilty pleasure series like Twilight and the Traveling Pants books (maybe?). Definitely the Westing Game and other books by Ellen Raskin. I Am the Messenger and Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Variuos Lois Lowry books (Anastasia books, The Giver, etc). Judy Blume.

So what am I missing?

2008 book 149

Philip Pullman's The Tiger in the Well
This is my least favorite of the Sally Lockhart books--the main plot is really annoying and frustrating, as evil dudes plot to ruin Sally's live and business thanks to archaic sexist laws (yes, Pullman, we KNOW you're a feminist!). The book is slightly redeemed by the addition of a bunch of Jewish socialist characters to save the day.

more books women should read

Jezebel has completed their list of 75 books every woman should read (the original post was linked below).

I've read only 44 of them . . . clearly I have some work to do!

2008 book 148

Philip Pullman's The Shadow in the North
Sally Lockhart is back in this sequel, as headstrong and independent as ever. Of course she and her friends get caught up in another complicated mystery involving business fraud and murder. What was interesting to me on this re-read is how prominent Pullman's--I hesitate to say agenda--politics are. This book is all about feminism and democracy, and is really down on capitalism and government. Kind of the opposite of Ayn Rand (plus his characters are a lot more likable and funny than her strident sticks-in-the-mud).

links, books, etc

OK, this is awesome--Books for Barack (via Bookslut). I don't have $250, but if you have cash to spare, this is a great way to spend it.

It looks like L.M. Montgomery committed suicide.

What books should every woman read?

2008 book 147

Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke
I was excited to see that Masterpiece would be showing versions of this and its sequel, since I remember really liking the books--but last night's episode was really disappointing! For one thing, there was a little too much plot to cram into 90 minutes, and for another, they made Sally into a total wuss. I reread the book just to verify my memories that she was basically a bad-ass, and though in this first one she's just a kid caught up in a crazy mystery, she's still smart, capable, and self-assured. The move version is totally wishy-washy, wandering around waiting to be rescued. Ugh. At least she looked slightly more bad-ass in the previews for next week. I think I'll reread the whole trilogy and its companion while I wait!

2008 book 146

Kate Summerscale's The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
The problem is that I just think non-fiction books are super boring!--even when they're talking about a sensational murder case and the birth of detective fiction.

2008 book 145

Jennifer Haigh's The Condition
This excellent novel deals with a New England family and their various travails--most strikingly, the diagnosis of their daughter with Turner's Syndrome. One of the blurb-ers (Tom Perrotta, actually), notes that "the ailment at the center of this remarkable novel is the human condition itself" and I think that's pretty apt. Also, part of the story takes place in Pittsburgh and the Steelers are mentioned in passing several times, so I was even more inclined to like it. A.

2008 book 144

Donna Milner's After River
I was eager to read this--it's the book I lost at the airport on my way home from Midwinter--and my library finally got it. Anyway, it's the story of what happens to a Canadian farm family when a Vietnam War resister comes to stay with them. There's a little too much overdramatic foreshadowing, and it's fairly predictable, but most of the characters are great and it's a perfectly serviceable story. B.

2008 book 143

Nicole Krauss' The History of Love
I finished this in the nick of time--the library book group is discussing it tomorrow. It was really a pleasure to reread. Here's what I thought of it last time I read it. (Humorous side note on reading that old entry--I was SURE I owned a copy of this, and couldn't find it when I was looking the other day, so figured I'd given it away in the Great Book Purge of '07, but didn't know why I'd give away a book I liked so much . . . and it turns out I never owned it. Heh.)

2008 book 142

E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
This was a pretty funny book about a teen girl at a boarding school who secretly infiltrates her boyfriend's all-male secret society in a bid to prove her greater intelligence. I loved the character and hope there will be a sequel. A/A-.

2008 book 141

Louis Bayard's The Black Tower
In this historical mystery, a prominent Parisian detective enlists a young medical student to help solve a murder; soon, the two are embroiled in a larger mystery--what did happen to the son of Louis XI and Marie-Antoinette? Is it possible that he escaped the tower and didn't die at age ten? Definitely an entertaining read. A-/B+.

2008 book 140

Hannah Tinti's The Good Thief
Yay, my library finally got this and I read it all in one sitting. It's just as good as I hoped! It's the story of a young one-handed boy in an orphanage; soon, a man comes to take him, claiming to be his long-lost brother, but the boy soon discovers he's a thief and a con man. Comparisons to Dickens are apt, in terms of the story and the memorable and lovable scoundrels of characters. A.

anne of the island discussion

Post comments on Anne of the Island here!

2008 book 139

Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes
I was home sick today and, between naps, watched the 2007 movie of Ballet Shoes, starring Emma Watson from Harry Potter (and some other familiar faces), which is based on one of my favorite books from childhood. Unfortunately it was a really awful version, with lots of stupid subplots shoehorned in for the adults, and much elss focus on the children--and I always think the children and their relationships are the point of the book. So of course I had to reread it! I loved Streatfeild's books when I was younger (and still do) and think it's a shame so many are out of print. Luckily I still have my old copies (though this one is actually falling apart) and can keep enjoying them. For those who haven't read it, it's the story of three adopted girls in 1930s London who get involved in the theater, partially for love of it, and partially to earn money for their family, since their paleontologist breadwinner has been gone for years. Totally a classic.

2008 book 138

Andrew Sean Greer's Story of a Marriage
As the title notes, this is the story of a marriage, particularly one in the early 1950s. There were several surprises--Greer crafted his story well--so I'm glad I didn't read the jacket or blurbs too closely. A-.

2008 book 137

Chelsea Cain's Sweetheart
EW didn't like this much, but I thought it was a pretty good follow-up to Heartsick. Scrappy blue-haired reporter Susan Ward is back, trying to break a story about a Senator who slept with his kids' babysitter, when she gets caught up once again with detective Archie Sheridan and the serial killer he caught, who has escaped from prison. Cain fills in some of the holes from the last book, and I thought the ending was fitting. B/B+.

2008 book 136

Emily Perkins' Novel About My Wife
A man and his pregnant wife seem to have the perfect lie, except that he's struggling with job issues and she's convinced there's a man stalking her. I did like the end, but wish some questions had been answered more explicitly. B.

2008 book 135

Steve Toltz's A Fraction of the Whole
An imprisoned man narrates his family history, starting with his outlaw uncle and paranoid father. A surprisingly engrossing story. B+.

fall book preview! (aka "what books i have on hold at the library")

So fall book season is upon us once again, and I for one could not be more excited. I've already read several awesome books that are due out soon (thanks to ALA advance copies) that I can highly recommend, but there are also several coming that I'm eagerly awaiting. And for your book-list pleasure, here they are!

The five I've read that I totally loved (some may already be out, even!):

--Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games totally blew my mind. It's a future dystopian thing where teens battle to the death on must-watch reality tv. The heroine is totally compelling and there's even some unexpected friendship and romance. I'm already dying for the sequel to come out.

--On a slightly similar note is Terry Prachett's Nation, which I also enjoyed, and which involves a couple of teenagers trying to rebuild civilization on a destroyed island (not related to the Discworld series).

--Randa Jarrar's A Map of Home about a Muslim girl trying to find her place in the world was also a great read.

--Things go awry for a pair of headstrong newlyweds in 1920s North Carolina in Ron Rash's Serena, which was a pretty intense but great story.

--Goldengrove by Francine Prose is getting lots of deserved buzz.

And finally--the many books I'm psyched for! Lots of notable authors, mysteries, and other fun books are coming down the pike.

Marilynne Robinson and Toni Morrison both have new works coming out, both long-awaited. Julia Glass, author of Three Junes and the totally underrated 9/11 novel The Whole World Over also has a new one due.

Hannah Tinti's The Good Thief is getting TONS of buzz (I even considered actually buying it), as is The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer, a novel which conflates the Cain and Abel story with Superman's creator. Novel about my Wife technically came out in August, but I haven't read it yet and it looks promising.

There's a couple of cool-looking mysteries coming out too--Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a bestseller in Europe, is coming out in translation, and Chelsea Cain has written a sequel to Heartsick (which I liked), called Sweetheart.

For more fall books (including non-fiction, which I rarely read and know little about), check out USA Today's fall books calendar. (They also have a list of ten fall books that are sure to be topics of discussion.)

um . . .

I don't usually post about politics (despite my generally strident views), but this screen grab of the cnn.com homepage needed to go up. I mean, does that look like a freaking Nazi salute, or what? Totally disturbing.

And speaking of Palin, I shared this link via Google a few days ago, and it's been making the librarian rounds, but for non-librarians who might be interested: when she was mayor of her tiny Alaska town, Sarah Palin tried to ban books and then tried to fire the librarian who refused to allow it.

animals

OK, enough already with media bombarding me with images of cruelty and neglect toward animals! And I'm not even talking about those Animal Cops shows on Animal Planet. I was already feeling sad enough about animals after reading Rilla of Ingleside today, in which a beloved kitten is drowned and a wonderful dog spends the entirety of WWI waiting at the train station for his master to come home*. It's a trend I've seen in some more recent literature as well. Mad Men tonight was really the last straw. I demand recommendations for books and tv shows and movies where dogs and cats are petted and loved and nothing bad happens to them.


__
*Just like the episode of Futurama about Fry's dog. I saw it once and cried for about ten minutes afterward. Whenever that episode is on, I quickly change the channel.

the middleman

OK, so the season finale (and I'm hoping not the series finale) of The Middleman airs tomorrow (Monday, Labor Day) on ABC Family at 10. And I'm encouraging you all to watch it--I always mean to mention it more, but I haven't talked about it at all since it first aired, mainly b/c I'm lazy and forgetful. But--it really is a GREAT show and I think anyone I'm friends with would love it! As I said last time I talked about it, it's like a cross between Buffy and Get Smart, with hilarious pop culture references and really great characters. It makes me crazy that it doesn't get more media attention or promotion (I'm watching Sound of Music on ABS Fam right now, and every commercial break has featured an ad for their really terrible show about the pregnant teen--no really, I watched it twice, and it's terrible--and not ONE for the Middleman! And I think there would be some audience overlap b/w ppl like me who enjoy watching a family of singers trick and flee from the Nazis and those like me who enjoy watching snarky characters save the world from other various forms of evil). The point is, the show is really good, so please watch it while you can, or watch it on the show's website, or download it from itunes, b/c it really needs some love to get a renewal and I really want it to get renewed.

Thank you for your time.

2008 books 130, 131, 132, 133, and 134

L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, Anne of Ingleside, Rainbow Valley, and Rilla of Ingleside
Yes, I have read the rest of the series over the past couple of days--perfect for a holiday weekend and I can't wait to discuss!

2008 book 129

L.M. Montgomery's Anne of the Island
I've been trying to hold off on reading these so I won't get too far ahead of the discussions, but it's not working! And I can't WAIT to talk about this one! It's two weeks away, though, so for now let's keep talking about Anne of Avonlea (below). :)

Anne of Avonlea discussion!

Post your thoughts on Anne of Avonlea here!

recently shared links

Great piece about how Quail Ridge bookstore created a phenomenon. (Though I personally didn't love the book.)

Cutest camera EVERRRRRR. I want it in baby blue. I've been thinking about replacing my digital camera (which still works great at 4 years old, but which I accidentally close almost every time I try to take a picture, which makes me crazy) and this one, besides being highly attractive, has some great features.

In other tech-I-lust-for news, it looks like a new version of the Kindle is heading down the pipeline--and it's (slightly) more affordable! Hanukkah present maybe? ;)

And finally--how excited am I for the Merge Records 20th anniversary box set? (Um, VERY!) No worries, Triangle denizens, I will most definitely be in town for the 20th anniversary festivities.

Ooh, wait, tangentially related--long piece on Scharpling and Wurster in the AV Club. That's for all the Friends of Tom out there. (Or for their wives, who actually read this blog.)

2008 book 128

Danit Brown's Ask for a Convertible
A series of interconnected stories centering on an Israeli girl who moves with her family to Michigan, this book is surprisingly powerful and even funny. It deals with ome of the usual themes of stories dealing with immigration to America, but protagonist Osnat continually feels in search of a home. Interestingly, the two stories told in first person aren't Osnat's--one narrator is an Israeli man in Michigan, and the other is Osnat's mother. It's great how all of these characters and their stories are intertwined--A. On an unrelated note, the book has blurbs from Julianna Baggott (who I generally love) and Hannah Tinti (whose new novel I am dying to read, but the public library hasn't ordered it!! WTF! It got a huge review in Entertainment Wekly).

2008 book 127

Poppy Adams' Sister
This is a little Whatever happened to Baby Jane? as a recluse welcomes home her sister after nearly fifty years. Their backstory starts to emerge (and is easy to figure out despite the unreliable narrator), but things take a turn for the totally ridiculous at the end. C.

2008 books 125 and 126

Hey, I'm totally stranded in Charlotte right now, thanks to Tropical Storm Fay, so I might as well blog the two books I've read this weekend.

Jincy Willett's The Writing Class
I love this trend of more literary mysteries--here, a has-been novelist is teaching a writing class and one student is terrorizing the others anonymously and to an increasingly creepy extent. Willett is a funny writer and this book has some great moments. A.

Linn Ullmann's A Blessed Child
Random House sent me an advance copy of this (they think it will be a hit with book groups, and I can see why), and it seemed interesting enough to make it onto my book pile, and generally did not disappoint. Basically, it's about three half-sisters who decide to visit their elderly father at his home on an island, as they flash back to their childhood summers and the one summer where things went awry. Here's the NY Times review--I hadn't realized that Ullman was Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman's daughter, but that does mean there's some added interest in this tale of the relationship between fathers and daughters. B+.

some library-related links

Lego Batgirl! (Batgirl is a librarian.)

A library has banned a children's knitting group. Seriously, WTF. (Via Ravelry and Unshelved)

This new book collecting Stan and Jan Berenstain's cartoons is notable for the one that takes place in a library (see the link). I love how horrified the librarian is that someone would ask for comic books.

2008 book 124

L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Avonlea
I love these books--it's going to take all my willpower not to read them all at once! Don't forget that we're still discussing the first Anne book below. :)

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OMG awesome! I won a contest on Evan Dorkin's blog and he drew me this pencil sketch of the devil puppet and sent me all his books, signed. (I owned a couple of his books already, since I am a fangirl, but now I have lots more!) I am SO getting this framed!

In other comics news, check out this new comic by Bryan Lee O'Malley and Hope Larson. It's adorable AND hilarious.

Anne of Green Gables discussion!!

I meant to post this last night but didn't get the chance--the Anne of Green Gables book discussion thread is now open! Post any and all comments on the first book here.

2008 book 123

Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go
I was glad to reread this, since it's been a few ears and the details were hazy. It's the freshman reading book this year, a big departure from last year's, but I'm looking forward to discussing it at the first library book discussion meeting.

2008 book 122

Karin Fossum's Black Seconds
This Norwegian mystery centers on a little girl who disappears and the police detective trying to solve the case. I figured out (mostly) what had happened before the end, but still liked the way it wrapped up. B+.

2008 book 121

Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop's December
A slightly troubled little girl hasn't spoken in nine months, and as her parents grow increasingly frazzled, her school threatens to kick her out. I wasn't really that moved by the story or the characters--B/B-.

2008 book 120

Haven Kimmel's Iodine
I loved Kimmel's early novels, but was a little disappointed with her last one, and was hoping this would make up for it. But, no, it's just totally weird and depressing, told alternating in third person and ramblig stream-of-consciousness first person, about a girl who's a star college student under a fake name b/c she had a traumatic childhood, but she's just totally off her rocker. Not fun to read, at all. Plus there's sad stuff where she neglects her dog. The end attempts to explain these things but it just made it all more annoying. D.

2008 book 119

L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables
I always forget how truly great this book is and I'm looking forward to discussing it on Friday! (I'll probably put an entry up on Thursday night so it'll be ready for the 15th.)

hp7 discussion/2008 book 118

I did reread book 7 while home sick today, just in time for the discussion! Post comments about the final HP books (and any other HP-related comments) here.

2008 book 117

Eileen Favorite's The Heroines
Considering that this book had a fascinating premise--the heroines of literature, frm Ophelia to Emma Bovary to Franny Glass, come and stay at a bed and breakfast owned by a woman and her thirteen year old daughter--this story turned out to be kind of lame. Really poor execution. B-.

puppies!!

For those who, like myself, would rather watch puppies frolic than watch televised sporting events, Animal Planet is following up on the amazing Puppy Bowl with the Puppy Games!! I am SO watching this on Friday. The Olympics are super boring and I love puppies.

2008 book 117

Stephenie Meyers' Breaking Dawn
I went into this prepared to think it would be cheesy and satisfying. The first part was all Bella and Edward, and they're both a little annoying, so I was like, meh. And the second part was the werewolves, which I liked quite a bit--their group dynamics are fascinating. And then there was the third part--and I was so ready to write a scathing review of how ridiculous so many things were (one minor thing made me crazy! I'll hint at it in the comments)--except that I did, actually, find the end satisfying. And cheesy. B/B-.


PS to Christina--be sure to read the acknowledgements!

THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS. DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED FOR SERIOUS SPOILERS.

2008 book 116

Terry Pratchett's Nation
I can't believe how many really, really good books I managed to pick up at ALA. This was another one--it's about the aftermath of I believe a tsunami that wipes out entire villages on several small islands. A young man, the only survivor of his village, encounters a young British girl who is the only survivor of a shipwreck. For a minute I was worried that things were going to go all Blue Lagoon (I don't know why--Pratchett is a reliably good author), but instead various strangers make their way to the island and they all try to rebuild civilization together. It's not as flat-out funny as most of Prachett's novels, but there are some nice tongue-in-cheek moments. Either way, it's a really compelling story. Things do take a slightly unreal turn toward the end, but I liked it. The back of the book claims that Pratchett is coming to seven cities (including Raleigh, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh) but I don't know if that's still the case due to his Alzheimer's diagnosis. Anyway, A.

twilight

Breaking Dawn is being released right now all over the east coast, but this review makes me second-guess my enjoyment of the series. Maybe the last volume redeems things?

Anywya, I'm in Athens at the moment for Team Clermont summer camp (I made a lanyard!) so I won't be reading it for a few days. I'll let you know my thoguhts now that I'm reading it for more than the vampire vs werewolf drama.

even more awesome

J.K. Rowling is publishing an edition of Tales of Beedle the Bard that commoners like myself can purchase! No seriously, that's awesome. I've read the summaries on Amazon but of course it'll be nice to actually own it. I am an HP completist, more or less. I'm not going to, like, buy the $100 leather-bound version. Leatherbound books are creepy anyway, especially as they get older.

omg awesome

Check out this Metafilter post. It's all about libraries that check out CAKE PANS! That is awesome, in the literal sense of the word.

2008 book 115

Ellen Litman's The Last Chicken in America
I knew I was going to like this nove in stories about Russian Jews who have immigrated to Pittsburgh b/c on the first page it described a trip to the exact supermarket my parents go to! Yup, the whole thing takes place in my neighborhood, Squirrel Hill, and it's full of lots of great late-90s Pittsburgh details. I assume some of this is autobigraphical--the author emigrated from Russia to America as a teenager. Anyway, it made me all nostalgic for home, so it gets an A-.

2008 book 114

Tana French's The Likeness
This is a sequel to In the Wood, which I generally liked. It didn't have nearly the same amount of intensity, though the story sounds pretty promising--the young detective from the previous book is called in to go undercover as a murder victim who looks just like her and was using a name from the detective's years undercover. She inflitrates the murder victim's insular group of friends and housemates to attempt to fid a suspect. Anyway, it moved a little slowly and there was one decision she made that made absolutely no sense, and though I was interested enough in the outcome to keep reading, it didn't really grab me. B.

2008 book 113

Wesley Stace's By George
Stace, aka John Wesley Harding is the author of Misfortune, which I read and enjoyed a couple of years ago. Now he's back with a novel that's slightly more modern but no less full of twists and turns. It's narrated alternately by a boy about to enter boarding school in the 1970s and by his grandfather's ventriloquist's dummy, who was built in the 1930s. The story of their amazing family emerges as the two narratives begin to collide, and the end (though somewhat predictable) was quite satisfying. A-.

hp6 discussion

Post comments about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince here!

2008 book 112

Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games
This is another book I picked up at ALA--a YA dystopian sort of thing that I picked up tonight on a whim. But, oh my GOD, it was really, really good! I'm not going to try and explain the whole world's backstory but basically there's an annual event--the titular hunger games--where twelve boys and twelve girls from across their nation have to battle to the death. The protaganist is a surprisingly adept teen girl and I was rooting for her from the get-go. Seriously, this was riveting. I actually was so into it that I forgot to watch Project Runway. The only bummer is that it's the first book in a trilogy and I'm dying to know what happens next. A.

on bookish girls

Rereading the Twilight books last night, I found myself wondering if part of their appeal isn't just the romantic vampires and adorable werewolves, but Bella's characterization as a clumsy, inexperienced, well, word nerd. Especially in the first book, she clearly loves books and wants to go to the big city just to find a bookstore. Even when this is lessened in the second two books, each draws themes paralleled to great romantic works--Romeo and Juliet pops up often in the second, Wuthering Heights in the third (though I personally have always thought both Romeo and Heathcliff are shmoes, they do have appeal for a certain type of teenage girl, embodied in Bella). Anyway, the point is that I wonder if part of Bella's appeal isn't just her romantic foibles or her dangerous adventures, but the fact that other shy, bookish girls can really relate to her. Don't all shy, bookish girls hope that some romantic hero will inexplicably fall in love with them (based on the smell of their blood? Or whatever).

It does seem to be a trope in literature aimed at girls--think of all the classic books about girls who like books, like Anne of Green Gables and her romantic poetry, or even Roald Dahl's Matilda, whose initial goal in the book is just to be able to read library books. (Matilda came out when I was in elementary school and I fell in love with her for that.) Anne even grows up to be a writer, as do many, many other girl characters--like Laura Ingalls or Betsy (of Betsy-Tacy)--who never seemed to show any great inclination toward reading. I'm sure there are others I'm just not thinking of at the moment.

Is this just b/c the authors of these books were themselves bookish girls (or boys)? Is there some authorial assumption that girls who like to read like to read books about girls who like to read? I know I do, but is it very common?

Oddly, I can't think of any books about boys who like to read, other than the kids in Edward Eager's Seven Day Magic (a co-ed group). Is this strictly something aimed at girls? Or is the bookish girl just another literary archetype?

2008 book 111

Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse
These books are really pretty silly and even a little moralistic if you think about them too much, which is why I don't! Team Jacob!

2008 book 110

Stephenie Meyer's New Moon
Yes, I AM reading the entire series in one sitting! As noted before, I am strongly on Team Jacob--his character has way more personality than Edward, who is basically just really pretty. I mean, think of it this way--Buffy fans, would you rather date Oz or Angel? Oz is way more cute and fun than Angel, who's always going on about souls and things.

2008 book 109

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight
Yes, I did just read this series, but the last book* comes out in a couple weeks and I needed to catch up! Plus, this was the perfect read for my post-second-root-canal, numbed mouth afternoon.

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*In which the infamous Team Edwrd vs. Team Jacob debate will finally come to an end! (Obviously Edward will win, but I still am a strong believer in Team Jacob.)

2008 book 108

Ron Rash's Serena
All weekend long I was bored with my books--everything from the library seemed dull and unappealing. Feeling nostalgic for NC, I decided to try this advance copy from ALA, about a young married couple running a huge timber company in western NC in 1929 (note for NC denizens--one of the bookseller blurbs in the front is from someone at Quail Ridge). Things quickly take a turn for the darker side, but this novel is entirely compelling. A.

2008 book 107

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Yeah, my willpower really didn't last. It's ok, we're not discussing it till August 8th--I'll maybe even read it again before then. :)

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Originally uploaded by wordnerdy

I had a few inches cut off my hair today! I love it.

2008 book 106

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I've been trying to wait till closer to the 25th (when we discuss it) to reread it, but I couldn't! I started it last night and finished it today as a present for surviving my root canal this afternoon (my mouth is still hilariously numb and swollen). It's going to take all my willpower to resist reading the 7th right now . . . but I have very little willpower when it comes to Harry Potter.

Now . . . finally watching Act I and II of Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog! I love you, Neil Patrick Harris!

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Originally uploaded by wordnerdy

New JB video! He kept meowing but I don't know what the matter was.

2008 book 105

Randa Jarrar's A Map of Home
This book, due out in September, has already been getting some buzz so I was psyched to pick up an advance copy at ALA. It's a classic coming-of-age novel about a girl who's the product of a Palestinian father and an Egyptian-Greek mother. She's born in America and raised in Kuwait--at least until Iraq invades. I think it's got to be slightly autobiographical based on the brief author bio on the back cover, which lends the story great strength and great details. Seriously, this was really good. A.

2008 book 104

Kirsten Miller's Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb
Seriously, WHY is Kiki Strike not a household name?? I love these books.

Speaking of YA books . . . I was totally looking forward to getting the current issue of EW (with Twilight on the cover) but it never arrived! Now how will I get my teen vampire fix??

2008 book 103

Lisa Unger's Black Out
A young wife and mother in Florida is haunted by her traumatic past when she thinks someone from that past is coming for her. I don't want to give too much of the story away--I'll just say it's pretty creepy and has lots of exciting twists and turns. A more solid effort than the other books by Unger I've read--A-/B+.

2008 book 102

Sebastian Barry's A Secret Scripture
This story of a dr trying to figure out the life story of an institutionalized woman (who is penning her own memoirs as well) would have been awesome if the jacket hadn't given the end away. SO LAME!!!!!

PS My internet has been going down a LOT this weekend, so forgive slow responses etc.

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Originally uploaded by wordnerdy

I always forget to blog about what comics I've been reading--so here's a photo of the shipment from Chapel Hill Comics that arrived on my doorstep today. Yay comics!

2008 book 101

Peter Abrahams' Down the Rabbit Hole
This YA mystery involves an eighth-grade girl who gets caught up in solving a murder. Unfortunately, I really couldn't suspend my disbelief and think a pre-teen would act the way she does, and the end was completely predictable. C-.

summer reading

Here's a few book-related links I've shared on Google recently:

The AV Club gave Edgar Sawtelle a rave that I totally agreed with. And here's an NY Times piece on the author.

Lost book club?

The chick who does the Fine Lines feature at Jezebel got a book deal, which rocks. (Jezebel has lots of good book coverage, like this story about Jane Austen-themed weekends, and this piece about the new Curtis Sittenfeld book based on Laura Bush. I still can't get past that. For more on that book, check out this wrap-up of some coverage and this post.)

And of course, don't forget the Anne of Green Gables book group, sure to be a summer sensation!

harry potter 5 book discussion!

Post comments about HP and the Order of the Phoenix here!

Remember, the next discussion will take place on July 25th.

2008 book 100

Mary Gaitskill, ed. Best New American Voices 2009
This is the best book I've reviewed for Library Journal in a while--there are some really stellar stories in here. Also one where a dude kills a dog, which made me like the book a little less.

anne of green gables book group?

Anne of Green Gables turns 100 this year* and is generally awesome, so Christina and I are starting an AoGG book group! We're going to re-read the whole series!! The box set is on sale on Amazon for those who want to join in and can't find all their copies (like me, and mine are all in Pittsburgh anyway). Anyway, let us know if any of you would like to join in the book group fun!


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*link via Christina

tv on dvd

As many of you know, there are few things I enjoy more than watching tv shows on dvd (while I knit), especially when there's nothing else good on. Lately I've expanded this to include BBC miniseries (Cranford and Bleak House were both awesome), but to my delight, last year's shows are finally coming out on dvd so there's even more goodness in my Netflix queue! I finally caught up with Mad Men and it is SO GOOD! Though it's weird to see all the characters smoking all the time, even around their small children. What a different a few decades make.

So what awesome BBC dramas should I catch up on? What show(s) from last year should I catch on DVD? (Last's season's shows are an interesting dilemma; usually I buy all my faves and watch them over and over, but the only ones I'm buying for sure are Pushing Daisies and 30 Rock. MAYBE I'll get The Office, My Name is Earl, and HIMYM, but they were all less than stellar after the writers' strike.)

2008 book 99

David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames
I've been reading this off and on for a couple of weeks--maybe I wasn't in a Sedaris mood, maybe his stuff is jsut better heard live, maybe it's that I've read or heard about half of these in the past few years (I heard the boil story twice in 2005 and it still kind of grossed me out!). Anyway, it's typical Sedaris, entertaining if you like him (which I generally do).

2008 book 98

Catherine O'Flynn's What Was Lost
A little girl--a wannabe detective--goes missing in the 1980s, and twenty years later the sister of the main suspect in the disappearance and a security guard--both employees of a local mall--get caught up in the mystery. It's not a serious thriller, but there's some good narrative tension and all the characters--especially the little girl--are great. This book won the Costa award and was on the Booker and Orange longlists--very deservedly. A.

2008 book 97

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
This isn't my favorite HP book, but it makes me want to reread books 6 and 7 right now!! Our discussion for HP5 will be on Friday, so check back!

2008 book 96

David Wroblewski's The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
It took me a few days to read this book, and not just b/c of its length, but b/c as engaging and moving as it was, it just kept getting darker and darker and I needed respite. Part of the problem is that the jacket talks about things that don't happen till close to 400 pages in, which ruins some of the suspense. Also, it's jut a sad story, basically Hamlet meets White Fang. I think I'll give it an A b/c it was so tremendous, but I'm definitely reading one of the Harry Potter books next to cheer myself up.

2008 book 95

Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife
OK, so this really could have been a great novel about a woman who becomes first lady somewhat begrudgingly . . . if it wasn't a thinly veiled (well, not really veiled at all) fictionalization of Laura Bush. I mean, it's well written and whatnot, but then young Laura meets young Bush and there are sex scenes and I'm right out of the story. I try not to think about Bush at all, let alone in a sexy way. I don't even know what to think about this book. What on earth possessed Sittenfeld to write this?

2008 books 93 and 94

Francine Prose's Goldengrove
Prose, author of A Changed Man (about a neo-Nazi who claims to be reformed and wants to work for an organization founded by a Holocaust survivor) takes a really different tack with her new novel. It's about a young girl who's older sister suddenly dies one summer. It's really moving, though the ending felt a little rushed. A-.

Deborah Copaken Kogan's Between Here and April
I had mixed feelings about this book--which centers on a journalist who suddenly remembers the disappearance of her best friend when they were six and investigates the story--though it did come together for me toward the end. The subject matter is even darker than Goldengrove, as it deals with depressed mothers hurting their children in various ways. B/B+.

2008 books 91 and 92

A.D. Byatt's Possession
Of course I've read this before, a few times, but it's been several years and it seemed like a good airplane book. I didn't finish it till yesterday though. It's still a really compelling literary mystery.

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book
Hell yes I got an advance copy of this!! It's about a little boy raised by ghosts in a graveyard and it was pretty awesome!

Sorry to be so brief, ALA has me exhausted!

2008 book 90

Forgot to post this yesterday--ALA's been pretty busy! I only read one book on the plane--I mostly napped and watched Venture Bros. on my ipod. BTW, first class is SO worth it. I have no idea how I'll go back to coach on Tuesday!

Anywya, I read Michele Martinez's Most Wanted, which is the first book in he series about federal prosecutor Melanie Vargas. I like this series a lot and this was no exception, as Melanie tries to figure out how a fellow prosecutor was tortured and murdered.