Thursday, January 18, 2007
another best books list
Library Journal recently put out their list of the best books of 2006 (including genre fiction and how-to books). I've only read four on the list (two of those I disliked, and one--The Echo Maker--even made my list of crappy books that keep getting critical acclaim for reasons I'll never fathom) but this may be a good place to look if, like me, you're saddened by the dearth of good books being published right now. Is it spring yet???
scarlett thomas
Here is a nice review of Scarlett Thomas' The End of Mr. Y, which was one of my favorite books of 2006. I recently read a negative review of this book in Bust (the reviewer was not really into all the discussion of Derrida), but it doesn't seem to be online, and anyway I obviously agree with the one in Salon. :)
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
2006 book 7
John Green's An Abundance of Katherines
Intially, I was reluctant to read this YA novel b/c it kept getting compared to King Dork, which I disliked. However, my friend Betsy, a fellow fan of YA books and hater of King Dork gave it her approval, so I immediately got it from the library. And it was really good! It's about Colin, a prodigy-type who just graduated high school and also just got dumped by his 19th girlfriend named Katherine. I realize that sentence sounds like it has a dangling modifier, but all of his girlfriends have been named Katherine. Anyway, he and his best (and only) friend head on a road trip and end up in a small town in Tennessee, where Colin attempts to create a theorem explaining his bad luck in love (there is actual math explained in an actual appendix, which I did not read), and where he and his friend meet all sorts of really great characters, learn about life, etc. But not in an annoying way, in a really interesting and sweet way. A.
Intially, I was reluctant to read this YA novel b/c it kept getting compared to King Dork, which I disliked. However, my friend Betsy, a fellow fan of YA books and hater of King Dork gave it her approval, so I immediately got it from the library. And it was really good! It's about Colin, a prodigy-type who just graduated high school and also just got dumped by his 19th girlfriend named Katherine. I realize that sentence sounds like it has a dangling modifier, but all of his girlfriends have been named Katherine. Anyway, he and his best (and only) friend head on a road trip and end up in a small town in Tennessee, where Colin attempts to create a theorem explaining his bad luck in love (there is actual math explained in an actual appendix, which I did not read), and where he and his friend meet all sorts of really great characters, learn about life, etc. But not in an annoying way, in a really interesting and sweet way. A.
2007 book 6
Charles H. Lippy's Being Religious, American Style
This is a pretty readable history of popular religion in America. It's (inevitably) Protestant-heavy, and definitely gives short shrift to Native American religions, but it does provide some nice comments on gender and on the supernatural elements of popular religion. He occasionally brings music into the mix, and clearly isn't a music scholar, and much of his material on Judaism came from an encyclopedia, so it wasn't perfect. Plus, it was written in '94 and shows it--I'd love to see an update for the last decade or so. However, for someone just looking for an overview, it's definitely helpful; I barely remembered anything from pre-1880s from all my college courses (except the Oneidas and the Shakers), so it was a good refresher.
I'm not going to grade the books I read for class, since the grades are generally based on my enjoyment of a particular book, and I'm not reading these for enjoyment, per se.
This is a pretty readable history of popular religion in America. It's (inevitably) Protestant-heavy, and definitely gives short shrift to Native American religions, but it does provide some nice comments on gender and on the supernatural elements of popular religion. He occasionally brings music into the mix, and clearly isn't a music scholar, and much of his material on Judaism came from an encyclopedia, so it wasn't perfect. Plus, it was written in '94 and shows it--I'd love to see an update for the last decade or so. However, for someone just looking for an overview, it's definitely helpful; I barely remembered anything from pre-1880s from all my college courses (except the Oneidas and the Shakers), so it was a good refresher.
I'm not going to grade the books I read for class, since the grades are generally based on my enjoyment of a particular book, and I'm not reading these for enjoyment, per se.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
2007 book 5
Uzodinma Iweala's Beasts of No Nation
Iweala--a Harvard grad who's like 24 or something--writes a powerful and troubling first novel about a young boy who's swept up into a guerilla army during some war in some unnamed African country. However, I'm taking points off for the writing style, which is faux-"I'm just learning English and can't get my tenses quite right". B+.
Iweala--a Harvard grad who's like 24 or something--writes a powerful and troubling first novel about a young boy who's swept up into a guerilla army during some war in some unnamed African country. However, I'm taking points off for the writing style, which is faux-"I'm just learning English and can't get my tenses quite right". B+.
Monday, January 15, 2007
2007 book 4
William Boyd's Restless
This riveting story focuses on a young British woman, Ruth, in the 70s whose mother reveals that she worked for the British Secret Service during World War II. The mother's story is interwoven with Ruth's own, as she tries to come to terms with her mother's secrets. The book's jacket description makes it seem more dramatic than it actually is, which worked for me. Although her mother's tale is full of intrigue, I liked that Ruth's was more of a normal life. It's a nice balance. Anyway, I really enjoyed this--A.
This riveting story focuses on a young British woman, Ruth, in the 70s whose mother reveals that she worked for the British Secret Service during World War II. The mother's story is interwoven with Ruth's own, as she tries to come to terms with her mother's secrets. The book's jacket description makes it seem more dramatic than it actually is, which worked for me. Although her mother's tale is full of intrigue, I liked that Ruth's was more of a normal life. It's a nice balance. Anyway, I really enjoyed this--A.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
2007 book 3
Vendela Vida's And Now You Can Go
It seemed like synchronicity--Jenny mentioned her, and then she turned up on Gawker's list of most annoying literary power couples (I guess she's married to Dave Eggers, whose writing is annoying enough for both of them [which is also how I feel about another member of the list, Jonathan Safran Foer]). Anyway, this book actually wasn't annoying at all, which isn't to say I was in love with it or anything. Let's say it was . . . pretty good. It's about a young girl grad student who gets held up at gunpoint, and she's sort of traumatized and deals with it with the help of various young men who love her or something, and then she and her mom go on a medical mission to the Philippines. It's nothing earth-shattering or revelatory (for me, or for the characters), but it was ok. B.
It seemed like synchronicity--Jenny mentioned her, and then she turned up on Gawker's list of most annoying literary power couples (I guess she's married to Dave Eggers, whose writing is annoying enough for both of them [which is also how I feel about another member of the list, Jonathan Safran Foer]). Anyway, this book actually wasn't annoying at all, which isn't to say I was in love with it or anything. Let's say it was . . . pretty good. It's about a young girl grad student who gets held up at gunpoint, and she's sort of traumatized and deals with it with the help of various young men who love her or something, and then she and her mom go on a medical mission to the Philippines. It's nothing earth-shattering or revelatory (for me, or for the characters), but it was ok. B.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
appliances
My dream house has appliances color-coordinated to match my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer. :)
Speaking of appliances, Amazon is still having a superduper clearance in the Kitchen and Housewares category. I scored a 3-cup food processor for 47 bucks! I also picked up one of those nonstick mat things you all have been raving about.
Speaking of appliances, Amazon is still having a superduper clearance in the Kitchen and Housewares category. I scored a 3-cup food processor for 47 bucks! I also picked up one of those nonstick mat things you all have been raving about.
partially read
Daniel Handler's Watch Your Mouth
As some of you may recall, Handler's work has always been hit or miss for me (looooved Basic 8, HAAAATED Adverbs) so I began this book with some trepidation. But page five was all about Pittsburgh, and you know I'm a sucker for books about my hometown! However, the Pittsburgh in this book is some sort of alternate version, where the Benedum Center is the Benedrum Center, and there are all sorts of landmarks that don't actually exist. Anyway, the narrator is a college student (who imagines his life as an opera) who's gone home with his girlfriend to Pittsburgh for the summer to be counselors at a Jewish day camp (just like the one I went to!). Unfortunately, her family turns out to be pretty crazy, and after 89 pages of people obsessively discussing incest (and apparently one incident of actual incest), I had to call it quits.
As some of you may recall, Handler's work has always been hit or miss for me (looooved Basic 8, HAAAATED Adverbs) so I began this book with some trepidation. But page five was all about Pittsburgh, and you know I'm a sucker for books about my hometown! However, the Pittsburgh in this book is some sort of alternate version, where the Benedum Center is the Benedrum Center, and there are all sorts of landmarks that don't actually exist. Anyway, the narrator is a college student (who imagines his life as an opera) who's gone home with his girlfriend to Pittsburgh for the summer to be counselors at a Jewish day camp (just like the one I went to!). Unfortunately, her family turns out to be pretty crazy, and after 89 pages of people obsessively discussing incest (and apparently one incident of actual incest), I had to call it quits.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
2007 book 2
Ann Brashares' Forever In Blue
Despite all the Brashares-related controversy, I had to find out what happened to those wacky and lovable traveling pants girls. Their story wrapped up satisfyingly (and of course predictably) and even featured a baby bunny. I'm in a good mood, so let's give it an A.
Despite all the Brashares-related controversy, I had to find out what happened to those wacky and lovable traveling pants girls. Their story wrapped up satisfyingly (and of course predictably) and even featured a baby bunny. I'm in a good mood, so let's give it an A.
baking gadgets
Here's a feature on some essentials for the home baker. I don't know that I really need a digital scale or a blowtorch, but I have been meaning to get most of these other items (except the stand mixer and the round cutters, which I am fortunate enough to own already).
Too bad none of their links actually work. :) (The Sur la Table site is always worth browsing, though.)
Too bad none of their links actually work. :) (The Sur la Table site is always worth browsing, though.)
Monday, January 08, 2007
2007 book 1
Oh man, it feels so weird to be back at the beginning!
Annie Dillard's The Maytrees
My awesome boxx picked up an advance copy for me at MLA; despite my Dillard fandom, I've actually never read any of her fiction before. This novel definitely scores high on literary merit--symbolism, especially involving the sea, and meditations on aging and dying abound. Basically it's the story of a married couple (the titular Maytrees), and tells their story in flashes back and forth in time. The thing is, I think I'm too young for this book. It's like the first time I read An American Childhood, when my mom got it for me b/c Dillard went to the same school I did--I just didn't quite get the point of it all. I was too young to understand how beautiful those sorts of ruminations can be. It's the same thing here (and it's one of the reasons I tend to avoid books being narrated by very old very horny men--I just don't get the aging thing yet, plus EW, stop writing books where 80 year olds get with 20 year olds already! It doesn't happen unless they're Hef, you know?)--it's a lovely book, and the characters are pretty interesting (though not all are entirely fleshed out), but I'm 27 and I can't relate to 60 year olds with all this history, really. I mean, basically it's a very quiet book except for one thing I don't want to spoil, so it's hard for me to explain. Um, ok. B+.
Annie Dillard's The Maytrees
My awesome boxx picked up an advance copy for me at MLA; despite my Dillard fandom, I've actually never read any of her fiction before. This novel definitely scores high on literary merit--symbolism, especially involving the sea, and meditations on aging and dying abound. Basically it's the story of a married couple (the titular Maytrees), and tells their story in flashes back and forth in time. The thing is, I think I'm too young for this book. It's like the first time I read An American Childhood, when my mom got it for me b/c Dillard went to the same school I did--I just didn't quite get the point of it all. I was too young to understand how beautiful those sorts of ruminations can be. It's the same thing here (and it's one of the reasons I tend to avoid books being narrated by very old very horny men--I just don't get the aging thing yet, plus EW, stop writing books where 80 year olds get with 20 year olds already! It doesn't happen unless they're Hef, you know?)--it's a lovely book, and the characters are pretty interesting (though not all are entirely fleshed out), but I'm 27 and I can't relate to 60 year olds with all this history, really. I mean, basically it's a very quiet book except for one thing I don't want to spoil, so it's hard for me to explain. Um, ok. B+.
weekend updates
OK, I know it's been 2007 for a whole week, so really you all must be expecting some book reviews by now. I'm currently halfway through two different books, both of which are just OK, which is making it hard to care enough to finish either.
I saw "Children of Men" this weekend, and it was profoundly depressing. The trailers and reviews sort of point toward its grimness, but it's a lot more violent and terrifying than any of those had led me to believe. Just a warning in case any of you see it!
In other news, I think I accidentally exposed the roll currently in my Holga (the back of the camera fell off), which totally sucks as it had what I hoped were some cool pictures on it.
Also, my dad has turned my bedroom into a brewery!
I saw "Children of Men" this weekend, and it was profoundly depressing. The trailers and reviews sort of point toward its grimness, but it's a lot more violent and terrifying than any of those had led me to believe. Just a warning in case any of you see it!
In other news, I think I accidentally exposed the roll currently in my Holga (the back of the camera fell off), which totally sucks as it had what I hoped were some cool pictures on it.
Also, my dad has turned my bedroom into a brewery!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
damn you, gawker!
Great! Now I'm going to feel all guilty when I buy and immediately read the final book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. (It comes out on Tuesday!)
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
action figures
Via The Beat: new Supergirl and Wonder Woman figures! Way too expensive for my blood, but is it wrong that I secretly covet Wonder Woman's "Office Savvy" ensemble? I'd totally wear those shoes (even though I never wear heels).
2007 books
Here's a look at some of the books coming our way in 2007 . . . Some of my favorite authors (like Michael Chabon, Haruki Murakami, and A.L. Kennedy, not to mention two authors that made my best-books list in 2005, James Meek and Marina Lewycka) have books coming out!
I won't be reading the new Norman Mailer, though. Ugh.
I won't be reading the new Norman Mailer, though. Ugh.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Vanilla Ice!
Happy 2007! My baby sister Jamie (on the right) and her friend Heather rang in the new year with Vanilla Ice.
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