The Scarlet Letter

TLC Book Tour: Elizabeth Winder, Pain, Parties, and Work: Sylvia Plath in New York, Summer 1953

2013-05-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the TLC Book Tour for Pain, Parties, and Work!


Click on the image to purchase from my affiliate account at Powell's

Yet Sylvia knew how finely the cold war culture had groomed her. On some level she even reveled in America's flawed excess. She wrote with inront about" our tender steak juicy butter creamy million dollar stupendous land" well aware of her own fondness for steaks, butter and superlatives and sauces like mayonnaise, bearnaise and hollandaise.

Elizabeth Winder's glimpse into the life of Sylvia Plath is focused on a moment, a whirlwind summer that Sylvia spent in New York as a guest editor for the college issue of Mademoiselle magazine. Although she occasionally telescopes out to view Sylvia as a young girl, or into the darkness of the suicidal Sylvia that most of us know, she mainly stays in the hot summer of 1953, in a New York filled with fashion and food and budding female friendships.

Winder's style is unique, if not always the easiest to read. She spatters the short chapters in her book with text boxes, with quotations and conversations, and with excerpts from Sylvia's journals. Her book is a collage, a scrapbook of the summer, including even a detailed description of the magazine that Sylvia co-edited that summer. The voices of the other co-editors (including the novelist Diane Johnson) are almost as prominent as the author's own voice. Winder also takes on some of Sylvia's poeticism, and many of the descriptive passages, especially of food, are lush and worthy of dwelling. Still, for this reader, the best parts of the book are the parts that Sylvia wrote, which outshine Winder's valiant attempts. In some portions of the book, there is a little too much fashion and frivolity for my taste as well. And although I understand the attempt to show another side of Sylvia, there is a lightness to several of the chapters that seems to ignore the seriousness of the life that is under examination. After all, Sylvia's first suicide attempt (as is covered at the end of the book) was just after her time in New York.

Although I have been a fan of Plath's poetry, I have never read The Bell Jar, and I imagine that this is a wonderful companion to that book. As a standalone, it left me wanting something a little more, which just might lead me into exploring more of Plath's own work.

Title:Pain, Parties, and Work: Sylvia Plath in New York, Summer 1953

Author: Elizabeth Winder
Publisher: Harper
Date: 2013
Genre:Biography

252 pages.
Where I got it: From the publisher and TLC BOOK TOURS

TTT: Light and Fun Reads!

2013-05-07T22:43:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I have done one of The Broke and the Bookish Top Ten Tuesdays. I have been pretty MIA on my blog recently, and I'm hoping to make a full return, but I was tempted, late in the evening, to dash out a quick post on the topic of light and fun reads. I can't wait to read the other lists this week, since I am in need of a light/fun read asap. Suggestions?

10. David Levithan, The Lover's Dictionary
9. Jane Green, Jemima J
8. Curtis Sittenfield, Prep
7. Tina Fey, Bossypants
6. Jenny Lawson, A Supposedly Fun Thing I Will Never Do Again
5. J. Courtney Sullivan, Commencement
4. Lucy Knisley, French Milk
3. Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts
2. David Sedaris, Naked
1. Maira Kalman, And the Pursuit of Happiness

TLC BOOK TOUR: Jenny Davidson, The Magic Circle

2013-04-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

This review is for TLC BOOK tours. Please visit the other blogs on the tour HERE.

Click to buy from my affiliate account at Powell's

Jenny Davidson's book has garnered comparisons to the excellent Donna Tartt book, The Secret History. The premise of the book is that three Columbia graduate and post-graduate students, working on game theory, get involved in creating a live-action role playing game (LARP), based on The Bacchae. The motivation for the comparisons to Tartt is clear, but the book didn't live up to them for me.

The first half of the book is slow, and a lot of the set up seems unnecessarily detailed in places, while glossing over other plot points. Also, the language seems unnatural and pretentious at times, especially in dialogue, and the academic voice really only works in some of the more reflective prose. The second half of the book picks up and becomes much more readable, and Davidson does do some interesting things with narrative in this section, which is told by the character Lucy, in the form of a police deposition. The end of the book is hasty, and there are many plot reveals in short succession without the care that is given to some seemingly insignificant details earlier in the narrative.

Overall, the book didn't work for me, although parts of it were almost there. I recommend it for people that are seriously interested in a literary representation of game theory.

Title: The Magic Circle

Author: Jenny Davidson
Publisher: Houghton MIfflin Harcourt
Date: 2013
Genre:Literary Fiction, Thriller

191 pages.
Where I got it: From the publisher and TLC BOOK TOURS

Dewey's Read-a-thon Wrap-up

2013-04-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

I am a little late to the party for wrapping up the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, but I still want to do my end of event survey. I had a great time participating yesterday. Here's what I read:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
I always think that afternoon is the hardest. It is a good time to read outside the house I think- go to a coffee shop, or hit the gym.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I love YA, graphic novels, and short short stories. The last few books I've read in one sitting? Emma Donoghue, Room; John Green, The Fault in Our Stars; and Maira Kalman, And the Pursuit of Happiness
3.Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope, I think it is awesome. I loved the posts leading up in preparation this year.
4.What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
See above. I also love the Twitter presence.
5.How many books did you read? What were the names of the books you read?
I read three and they are above.
6.Which book did you enjoy most? Which did you enjoy least?
My favorite was Eleanor and Park, and my least favorite was the Lasdun. It is short, but not really suited to the read-a-thon, especially late in the day.
7. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I wasn't a cheerleader.
8.How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? I will definitely be participating as long as I don't have other plans. This is my favorite bloggish event.
9.What role would you be likely to take next time?Definitely reader, maybe cheerleader, and there is a very small possibility I might try to host a mini-challenge.

Dewey's 24 - Hour Read-a-Thon post!!!!

2013-04-27T07:34:00.001-07:00

Today is the readathon!!!!

I am starting a little late...around hour 2.5. I do not have sufficient snacks, because I didn't quite make it to the grocery store last night, but I'm ready to go. I am going to keep this page as my home base for mini-challenges and page read and the such. I think I am going to start out with Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor and Park, which I am about halfway through.

I will start with the intro questions, even though it is past due:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I am in lovely Prescott, Arizona and I will soon have an off-road bike race zipping past my house.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I've been wanting to read Maus for a long time, but mostly I'm just excited to finish some things. It has been a slow reading year for me so far.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I had some kettle corn pop chips, but I ate most of them yesterday. There are a few crumbs left in the bag:(
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! My favorite food in the world in Kraft mac and cheese, which I probably haven't eaten for at least the past three years.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? I'm hoping to read a little longer this time. I didn't really hang in there much last time, and I think that this might be the first read-a-thon where I don't have any other plans for the day.

Hour Five (!!) Update: 9:08 a.m.

Pages Read: 111
Books Read: Eleanor and Park
Foods Consumed: One bowl of Kashi Go Lean cereal with almond milk and one cup of coffee.

E & P was so cute!!! Loved it! It was a great start to the morning.

And because I want to think about it for a bit longer, I am going to do the Book Appetit! challenge from Sheila at Book Journey.

1. Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor and Park
2. If I were hosting an E and P book club, we would definitely have a tater tot casserole (like Park's mom makes), Tostinos pizzas (like Eleanor's mom makes), and risalamande (Danish Christmas pudding) for dessert. Since music is so incredibly important in the book, we would listen to a soundtrack of The Smiths, Elvis Costello, The Cure, and all the other amazing bands mentioned in the book.
3. My drink would be called The Flats, after the part of Omaha where Eleanor and Park live. It would be, flat ginger ale, cherry Koolaid, and vodka. Yum yum.

Hour Seven Update: 11:37 a.m.
Total Pages Read: 246
Books Read: E and P and The Last Girlfriend on Earth
Foods Consumed: Some crumbs from a bag of Katy's Kettle Corn Pop Chips, a cup of peppermint tea and a spoon full of sunflower butter.

I had some excitement at my house when a bunch of mountain bikers went past about an hour ago, and then I took a nap. I wanted to be finished with Simon Rich's, TLGonE before I posted, but I think my husband and I are going to go get some brunch, so I'll be sure to bring my books with me, and I'll see ya'll soon!

Hour Ten Update: 2:06 p.m.

Total Pages Read: 320
Books Read: E and P and The Last Girlfriend on Earth
Foods Consumed: Huevos rancheros and two diet cokes

I am soooo sleepy! So, I'm going to do me some #readathonyoga, maybe do a bit of commenting, and then more onto the next book...James Lasdun, Give Me Everything You Have, which I am about halfway through already.

So, yoga on...

Hour Thirteen Update: 5:11 p.m.
Total Pages Read: 362
Books Read: EP, TLGonE. Give Me Everything You Have
Food Consumed: Trader Joe's Bread and Butter Pickles, Coconut Chai Tea

It's (a little past) time for the Mid-Event Survey!

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired? I've had a headache all day, which makes it good that I'm lying around, but a little hard for reading. I am sleepy, but I just had a nap and some tea, so I'm ready to get back to it.
2) What have you finished reading? Eleanor and Park and The Last Girlfriend on Earth
3) What is your favorite read so far? I actually really liked them both, but the stories in TLGonE were more hit and miss. E and P was wonderful!!!
4) What about your favorite snacks? I never buy any good snacks, but I went out for some tasty huevos rancheros for lunch.
5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love! I haven't really looked for new blogs, although I have been trying to visit some of the blogs that I follow each time I log in for a checkin.

The Lasdun book that I am reading is slower going, although it is short, so I am determined to finish it. Anyhoot...I'll see you soon!

Hour Seventeen Update: 9:37 p.m.
Total Pages Read: 452
Books Read: Same as last time, but I finished GMEYH

This may be the longest that I've ever read for a readathon, and, guess what, it isn't even that late here, so I'm doing this:

HOUR THE END UPDATE: 11:26 p.m

I was feeling really hardcore about an hour ago, but now I'm feeling super sleepy. One of my pugs just curled up in my lap, and I got real tired, and I always go to bed before midnight. Like, always.

So, this is my last update until tomorrow morning, although hopefully I will get a few more pages read before drifting off to sleep. It's been fun!

TLC Book Tour: Lionel Shriver, The New Republic

2013-04-09T09:45:00.002-07:00

This review is for TLC Book Tours. Please visit the link to see more reviews of the book on tour.

Click on this link to buy from my Powell's affiliate account

Eeek! This review should have gone up yesterday! We had quite the wind storm and my internet went down, but no excuses, because I am also only halfway through the book. These are my impressions so far:

Lionel Shriver's, The New Republic, is an older Shriver, passed on by publishers initially, but accepted after the success of her other books like We Need to Talk about Kevin. The story begins with Edgar Kellogg, a former lawyer, embarking on a new career in journalism. His first assignment for a newspaper, The New Republic, sends him to Barba- a Portuguese city controlled by a terrorist organization known as the SOB. However, Edgar's job there is less about investigating terrorism, and more about investigating the disappearance of his predecessor, the charismatic and widely adored Barrington Saddler.

The first part of the book was slow going for me. There is a lot of setup before Edgar's arrival in Barba, which is where the story picks up. At about 100 pages in, I really started to engage with the plot and the characters. The other roadblock for me was in Shriver's writing itself. Her writing is complex and the language is rich and often fascinating. Sometimes, though, passages can feel overwritten, which is perhaps the result of this being an earlier work. For example:

While the sun set through his own morning, Edgar discovered several bulbs out, maybe from having been left on when Barrington beat a hasty retreat. Vigorously finding spares and replacing the bulbs helped to offset the mesmerizing idleness that exuded from the plague of cushions. Unpacking took if anything too little time, though limping next to Saddler's tick, satinate wardrobe Edgar's wrinkled short-sleeves looked insipid.

Vigorously? Insipid? Plague? However, this passage is on the same page as many wonderful descriptions and comparisons: Edgar's night has the "anarchic atmosphere of a school snow day," and the on the inside of Barrington's refrigerator, "the smoked salmon was swimming, the caviar had hatched."

So, for me, the verdict is out. I still have some pages to go, and my ultimate opinion is undetermined. What I do know now, that I didn't know fifty pages ago, is that I want to continue on the journey.

Title: The New Republic

Author: Lionel Shriver
Publisher: Harper
Date: 2012
Genre:Literary Fiction

373 pages.
Where I got it: From the publisher and TLC BOOK TOURS

Please excuse...

2013-04-01T12:33:00.002-07:00

...the interruption in the regularly scheduled programming.

I do want to write on my blog. But, I don't want to write on it now.

I hope you stick around.

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR

2013-03-12T12:27:00.002-07:00

This has been the saddest reading year for me in recent memory. I haven't been around on my blog, although I think about it fondly sometimes. I suffered a head injury in December, which made me kind of fuzzy over Christmas break, which is usually a heavy reading time for me. Then I caught a cold, which became a sinus infection, which still persists after nearly two months. So, my energy and focus has been mainly on work. However, I just attended the Tucson Festival of Books, which got me excited to read again, so I'll start with this week's topic at The Broke and The Bookish- Top Ten Books on my Spring TBR.

10. Karen Russell, Vampires in the Lemon Grove
9. Edward St. Aubyn, The Patrick Melrose Novels
8. Adam Mansbach, Rage is Back

7. Andrew Solomon, Far from the Tree
6. J. Courtney Sullivan, The Engagements
5.Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

4. Chuck Klosterman, Eating the Dinosaur
3.Bejamin Percy, Red Moon
2. Mary Roach, Gulp
1.Meg Wolitzer, The Interestings

TLC Book Tours Review: Jamie M. Saul, The First Warm Evening of the Year

2013-02-27T09:51:00.003-07:00


Click on the image to buy it from Powell's

I'm not sure what to say about this book. The experience of reading it was often pleasurable, but not because of any characteristics that I usually find appealing in a book. I couldn't really relate to the characters, the pacing was slow and plodding, and the language was not spectacular, and yet, I didn't ever want to abandon it.

The book tells the story of a man who has been asked to be the executor of an old friend's estate. He hasn't seen his friend in years, but agrees to go to her small town to take care of her few things, and while he is there, he meets a woman named Marian, a friend of his old friend. He is taken with Marian, although meeting her stands to disrupt his careful and quiet life that he has built for himself in New York City.

The book is about desire, and builds desire quite effectively in the reader. There is also something slow and sensual about the prose itself, which is what I think is what makes the actual experience of reading the book so pleasant. Although I didn't really feel compelled by the story, I felt compelled by the prose itself, which achieves extraordinary flow. Although the book wasn't for me, I think the story might appeal to many readers. It is a love story in the purest sense.

Check out the other reviews for the tour at the TLC website. Thank you to TLC and the publisher for letting me read the book!

Title: The First Warm Evening of the Year

Author: Jamie M. Saul
Publisher: William Morrow
Date: 2012
Genre:Literary Fiction/ Romance

297 pages.
Where I got it: From the publisher and TLC BOOK TOURS
Challenges: None

Mini Reviews: Wayne, Moran, Marion and Smith

2013-02-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

1. Teddy Wayne, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine: I really enjoyed this book. It is written in the voice of a Justin Bieber-esque child pop star, on tour, searching for his biological father while dealing with his overbearing momager (mom who is also his manager for those of you who don't watch anything with the Kardashians) and coming to terms with the beginnings of puberty and the sudden increase in his desire to break the rules. The voice is funny and young (although matured by the experience of being in the limelight) and Wayne's cunning observations concerning the lives of the rich and famous (or not-so-famous), along with his parodic portraits of real musicians, make this worth a fun, lighthearted, but clever read.

2013/Free Press/ 285 pages/ I received a copy from the publisher and another from the library.

2. Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies: I had this book on my shelves for a while and was compelled to read it since the movie was coming out (which I also saw). The young zombie R is the narrator of the story, and the book is a zombie romance, riffing on the bard's Romeo and Juliet. The voice in this book is definitely unique, but the story isn't, and it is a little cheesy at times, although I would recommend it for fans of both zombies and traditional YA romance (which is a pretty big audience).

2011/ Atria Books/ 239 pages/ I bought my copy.

3. Ali Smith, The Accidental: This one was for my book club. We waited a really long time between reading the book and talking about it, but eventually it came back to us. It is an experimental novel about a family on holiday, whose lives are interrupted (as the narrative is interrupted) by a stranger named Amber who becomes enmeshed with each of the characters. The novel told in third person limited point of view, with a section for each of the four members of the family and interjecting chapters for Amber. In the end, we had a lot to talk about with the book, but one of the members summed it up as, "We thought the book was weird, don't know what the point was, but we liked it." I find myself wanting to read it again.

2005/ Anchor Books/ 306 pages/ I bought my copy.

4. Caitlin Moran, Moranthology: I haven't read How to be a Woman yet, although bloggers that I love rave about it; however, I was pretty excited to get a galley of Moran's book of essays (previously published columns from the London Times), Moranthology. My favorites were about musicians: a day spent with Lady Gaga, and an interview with Keith Richards which sparked my interest in My Life. If you are a fan of funny writers and newspaper columns, I can't think of any reason you wouldn't read this.

2012/ Harper Perennial/ 256 pages/ I received a copy from the publisher and then purchased it for Kindle.

My Woefully Late CoS Post

2013-02-04T20:46:00.001-07:00

I am late with my post on for the HP Readalong (ALL THE GIFS!!!), hosted by Alice at Reading Rambo. I was visiting Mississippi, doing some AWESOME, work related things, and in the meantime finishing HP, but finding no time to post.

But, not to fear, I am hear now. And CoS really picked up for me in the second half. I just needing to get past the NOTHING HAPPENING, with a little bit of creepy sprinkled throughout. And don't get me wrong, I like creepy. Creepy spiders, creepy 50 Shades of Dobby scenes (stop beating that house elf and making him iron his hands!), creepy SSSSSSSSSnake scenes.

I totally know what happens in this book, but I still felt kind of surprised whenever there was a twist or turn. For instance, I spent a lot of time thinking to myself...Is Harry Potter Slytherin's heir? and OMG...TOM RIDDLE IS VOLDEMORT (which isn't really even a twist, because you find out about three seconds after meeting Tom Riddle).

http://beardedspidey.tumblr.com/

I may have even spent a minute being suspicious of Percy the Prefect. So, well played JK, well played.

I am still pretty excited to be moving on to the next though.


Where pretty much everyone but me has gone before...

I did check out the first two movies from the Public Library today though, super excited to re-watch them! I'm on it.

HP Readalong: Chamber of Secrets, Part Uno

2013-01-25T17:25:00.002-07:00

We are now on Book Two (Chamber of Secrets) for the HP Readalong hosted by Alice at Reading Rambo. I really wanted to be on time for the posting , even though I'm only on page 111 of the book (EEKS). I was relieved however when I read the other posts today and many a readalonger claimed that this is her least favorite of the Potter books. Because reading, it I'm a little bit like:

Which is okay, because there are parts that I do like. For instance, floo powder, absolutely everything about the super duper awesome burrow (which reminds me a little bit of The Secret Garden, or, you know, that one kind of hippie friend's house growing up [did you guys have one of those?]), and then there are these little creeps:

http://ruthwilson.tumblr.com/

There is also a lot of repetition, just to remind you of what you read in the previous book, which probably makes sense if you are twelve and have been waiting like a year for the new book to come out, but I just want to yell: "YES, I AM AWARE THAT HARRY IS THE SEEKER FOR THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM! I JUST READ THAT! AND NO REALLY, GRINGOTTS IS A GOBLIN BANK?" Grrrr on re-exposition.

This is actually why I stopped reading here last time, but it isn't going to get me this time. I am going to charge through, stop being so grumpy, focus on the positive, and get to the good stuff, right? And, in the meantime, because I remember it so well, I'm going to think about how I really loved the second half of the first book. And on that note, this:


http://bellsbeautifulbooks.tumblr.com

Some miniature audiobook reviews...

2013-01-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

**Click on any of the images in this post to purchase these books through my Powell's affiliate account.

Earlier this year I listened to the backlist of Malcolm Gladwell on audio. Gladwell is such a pervasive cultural figure; I was a little ashamed that I hadn't read him. I saw him speak last year, and really, really enjoyed it, plus I am a fan of pop sociology. I listened to the books in the order they were published: Tipping Point, Blink and then Outliers. Gladwell reads his own books on all of the audio recordings, and although he is a great reader, it did sort of homogenize the experience. I felt like the books got better in chronological order, but Blink ended up being my favorite. Gladwell uses anecdote to illustrate his points, and the ones in that book stuck with me.

I like all of these books, but I'm not sure it was the best idea to do them all at once, since it did make them sort of blend together. I plan to reread Outliers this year though, so maybe I will get to the others as well...this time with some distance between them.

The other audio book that I listened to towards the end of 2012 was Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton. I really wanted to like this book, and there were things that I did like, a lot. There were also things that I really didn't like.

I'll start with the likes: Hamilton's descriptions of food are pretty amazing. I am a foodie, and I was seduced by the descriptions in this book. It made me wish that I was a better cook. As Hamilton travels the world, I really did wish that I could have her experience and appreciated being able to, just a little bit, through her words.

But what I didn't like was the whining. Hamilton lives a pretty awesome sounding life, but she complains about it and it isn't easy -- for me at least -- to sympathize. And it is wearing. I started out in love with the book, and ended being glad I was done.

Harry Potter Readalong: Post the Second

2013-01-18T19:47:00.002-07:00

Or, if you are me, this is the first post, because you forgot to post last Friday and you were pretty sad about it.

For this post we are talking about the second half of HP and the Sorcerer's Stone, but I will be talking about the whole book, since I suck at posting as mentioned above. This is the only one of these books that I have read in its entirety prior to this readalong. I had definitely forgotten just how magical the world is, especially in the transition from the Muggle world to the magic world. Harry is stuck with the awful Dursleys for kind of a large portion of the book, so when Hagrid show up, I felt like this:


http://johnkrasinski.tumblr.com/

The other thing that I had forgotten about the book was how much Hermione is like this:

http://hermionegrangergifs.tumblr.com/

And not so much of this:


From Vanity Fair

By the end though, I totally fell in love with her, because she is a total bad ass with her brain, and especially when she solves the logic problem set up by Snape, which is exactly the type of thing that I liked to do when I was about her age. Remember those Dell Logic Problem books with the big charts, that you filled in based on clues? Yep, loved those.

Other things I love: Hagrid. Dumbledore. You know, the obvious things. Rowling is really great at connecting the reader with the characters just like everybody says, and there are actually some lines that are real doozies; for instance, "Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself." Well said, Dumbledore, well said.

The action at the end is short-lived, and I was kind of wondering as I got to the end whether I had misremembered and nothing happened in the first book, not that just hearing about feasts and Quidditch wasn't enough, but I was waiting for the creepiness under the turban, and there were only a few pages left in the chapter, so I didn't think it could possibly still be coming, and then it did.

I can't wait to get on to the ones I haven't read. In particular, I am looking forward to more Snape, who is just a floating ominous presence in this one.

On to the next...

Top Ten of 2012 and 2013 Goals.

2013-01-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

I realized that I never did a TOP BOOKS OF 2012 this year. I read 63 books total, and wasn't super careful about keeping my stats. I did read a lot of stuff that I really really liked this year though, so I"m going to do a top ten now:

10. The Odds by Stewart O'Nan: This a novella about a couple taking one last trip on the eve of their divorce.
9.The Bee Loud Glade by Steve Himmer: This is an indie title about a man who is hired to tend the garden of a very rich man, and his descent into hermit-dom.
8. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: Everybody already knows what this is about, right? If not, I'm not giving it away.
7. The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson: This story of an everyman in North Korea was moving and got me interested in researching North Korea.

6. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer: This book was a beautiful object, and the story of a young boy on a treasure hunt after the death of his father on 9/11 was a tear jerker for sure.
5. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides: Some people were let down by this book, and I was a little bit too, but the story of three college friends in the ecstatic years after graduation was still one of my favorites of the year.
4. Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon: Chabon's writing is masterful, and I loved every dancing sentence in his new book- even the one that lasts twelve pages.

3.The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: Although this isn't my favorite John Green (that would be Will Grayson Will Grayson), John Green is still my favorite YA author.
2. Wonder by R. J. Palacio: This is probably the biggest surprise of the year for me. I really enjoyed the voice of the main character in this middle grade novel.
1. The Secret History by Donna Tartt: This is my favorite of the year: ridiculous, compelling, tons of fun campus novel/mystery.

I also want to set a few goals for this year. I didn't join any challenges this year, so these goals are all my own.

1. Continue to work on reading from my shelves. To do this, I am not going to buy more than one book per month. The exceptions are the book subscription services I belong to (Indiespensible and Melville House) or if anyone buys me a gift certificate. I can also buy Kindle books if they are a deal, although I'm trying to cut back on that as well.
2. Read more classics.
3. Read the review books that I already have before requesting more.

I'm keeping it simple this year. How about you?

Readathon Update and HP READALONG!

2013-01-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't done much reading. I've mostly done sniffling and watching Jeopardy. I have read about 50 pages of IJ, and I started a notebook to keep track of the different plotlines, and I only took one nap. So, some success? I guess.

In other news, I've decided to join Alice at Reading Rambo and a bunch of other awesome bloggers doing this:

The intro post was supposed to be up yesterday, but I'm just going to go ahead and be behind. I also haven't been saving up the gifs for months, but I'm sure I'll find something. My history with HP is, I really don't have one. I did read the first book, but - I'm ashamed to admit - I was kind of like:

http://harrypottergif.tumblr.com/

But I loved the movies, and I feel like I'm the last person on the planet to read the books. So, I'm going to read them, and love them, and hopefully feel like this about them:

I am going to download the first book for my Ipad now, and hopefully get started on it, since the cold + DFW isn't going super well.

Classics Club Readathon!

2013-01-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning pretty early to get started on the readathon, and then promptly fell asleep on the couch. I have a pretty bad head cold which really came to fruition this morning, so I'm not sure how well I'm going to be able to stay awake, but I'm going to give it a shot. I will be reading:

..Although I might have switch to something lighter at some point.

Here is my starting line questionnaire:

Name and Blog: Laura @The Scarlet Letter
Snacks and Beverages of Choice: I have some pistachios and olives.
Where are you reading from today? Prescott, Arizona
What are your goals for the Readathon? I just want to get some reading done and not fall asleep:)
What book(s) are you planning on reading? Infinite Jest, and probably something else.
Are you excited? I have been super excited for this, but then I got sick. So, now, I'm just glad to have something to force me away from the marathon of Doomsday Preppers that I've had on all morning.

I will come back and update later. Are you are reading today? What will you be picking up?

My Thoughts on Jami Attenberg, The Middlesteins

2013-01-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to buy it at Powell's

I had a bunch of awesome quotes from the Middlesteins marked in my e-galley, but unfortunately, I took too long to write my review, and the galley expired. So, I am beginning without a quote from which to launch. The Middlesteins is getting much love from around the blogosphere, and basically, I am just adding my voice to the chorus. The book was a lot of fun. I was always excited to pick it up, and the pages flew by.

This is a family tragicomic, at the center of which is Edie Middlestein, a woman in late middle age, with two grown children, whose husband of thirty years has just left her. Edie is also morbidly obese. There are a number of point of view narrators in the book, which also zigzags back and forth in time. There is Edie, of course, her soon-to-be-ex-husband Richard, their son and daughter and daughter-in-law (Benny, Robin and Rachelle) and a surprise voice at the end. The action of the novel takes place mostly as the family prepares for Benny and Rachelle's twin son and daughter's b'nai mitzvah, as Edie prepares for a bypass surgery in her leg, and as Richard and Edie's thirty year union dissolves.

There are a few dramatic moments throughout the book, but mostly it is about the characters and how the interact with one another during a time that is difficult, maddening and delicate. Attenberg has a sense of humor and many moments in the book have a tone-lightening effect in a story that is, otherwise, quite serious. My main criticism of the book is that it may not be quite serious enough. I don't usually say things like this, but I wanted the book to have a stronger moral center, to delve deeper into the ethics of Richard's decision to leave Edie and to show the reader more of the reactions from the other characters. The book could have been twice the length that it is, which is both compliment and critique. I think that means that I fall somewhere in the middle as far as my recommendation goes.

Title: The Middlesteins

Author: Jami Attenberg
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Date: 2012
Genre:Literary Fiction

288 pages.
Where I got it: From the publisher via Netgalley
Challenges: None

My Thoughts on Donna Tartt, The Secret History

2012-12-30T06:00:00.000-07:00


Click to buy from Powell's

Our language is a language of the intricate, the peculiar, the home of pumpkins and ragamuffins and bodkins and beer, the tongue of Ahab and Falstaff and Mrs. Gamp; and while I find it entirely suitable for reflections such as these, it fails me utterly when I attempt to describe it what I love about Greek, that language innocent of all quirks and cranks; a language obsessed with action, and with the joy of seeing action multiply from action, action marching relentlessly ahead and with yet more actions sailing in from either side to fall into neat step at the rear, in a long straight rank of cause and effect toward what will be inevitable, the only possible end.

This quote is the only one that I marked in all of Donna Tartt's The Secret History, and I think it is safe to say that it is because I was enjoying the book too much to bother picking up a pen. I effusively loved this book. Of course, the quote is fitting, because what Tartt does is write a Greek tragedy in an English tradition (the Gothic), and she does it marvelously. The story begins in media res, and so the reader knows for the start that there is only one "possible end." From the first page, we know that Bunny Corcoran will die, and yet Tartt so masterfully builds suspense, piles so many actions upon actions, that we -- or at least I -- was willing to suspend all disbelief.

This is a campus novel, which is already a point on my score chart. It centers on a group of students studying ancient Greek letters in an unconventional arrangement, with an outdated professor. The narrator, Richard Papen, literary brethren of the naive and less than reliable Nick Carraway of Gatsby fame, comes along and wedges himself into the study group and into a series of strange events that will change his life, but of which he is, at first, completely unaware. Things get pretty dark in the second half of the book as we veer into the territory of the truly Greek tragic, and if I had to offer a criticism, the book does wander, sometimes at length, into a land of the fantastical. But, I have very little criticism, because I was willing to go where Tartt wanted to take me. The language is superb; although I would be loathe to say I loved them, I was certainly fascinated by the characters; and, finally, over 500 pages seemed not long enough. Please, please Donna Tartt, write another book.

Title:The Secret History

Author: Donna Tartt
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date: 1992
Genre: Literary Fiction, mystery-ish

559 delicious pages.
Where I got it: Bought it
Challenges: Chunkster, Smooth Criminals

My Thoughts on Lily Tuck, I Married You For Happiness

2012-12-26T21:20:00.001-07:00


Click on the image to buy from Powell's

"Imagine a teacup falling on the floor and smashing into random pieces," Philip tells his class. "If you were to film this, you could run the film backward and see all the pieces jump back together. Obviously, you cannot do this in ordinary life -- believe me, I've tried although my wife complains that, soon, we won't have any china left." No one laughs. "The explanation for this," he continues, "is that disorder or entropy within a closed system always increases with time -- in other words, left alone, everything will decay. The teacup, which looks like such a delicate object is, in fact, a highly ordered thing. It took energy to make it that way and when the teacup breaks, some of that energy is lost and the teacup is in a disordered state" [...] "However" should the universe stop expanding and start to contract," Philip continues,"disorder or entropy would decrease and, then, like in the film played backward that I mentioned earlier, we would see broken teacups everywhere coming back together. We would also be able to remember events in the future but not remember events in the past."

I couldn't help but to quote at length from this passage about 2/3 the way through Lily Tuck's small, but powerful novel. I couldn't help it because these few pages encompassed, for this reader, what the book was about. When Nina, the narrator's, husband Philip dies, suddenly but peacefully, before dinner one night, she spends the hours before the sun comes up sitting by his side reminiscing about their marriage, the good times and the bad. As unexpected disorder interrupts an otherwise normal evening, Nina sits, putting the pieces of the fallen teacup together again. She assembles for the reader her rush of memories from the early days of their marriage to the quiet time its final days. There is everything from sensual descriptions of warm days abroad in France, and fond musings on Philip, a mathematician's, theoretical suppositions.

The book is quiet and unsentimental. Neither Nina, nor Philip, is without fault; they are both victims and perpetrators of infidelities and cruelties. And yet, the narrative is so loving, and sometimes so heart-wrenching, that there were times when I had to put down the book. When I finished, I'm not sure that I felt satisfied, or improved, or entertained, but I did feel like I had experienced something very private and very beautiful.

Title:I Married You for Happiness

Author: Lily Tuck
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Date: 2011
Genre:Literary Fiction

190 pages.
Where I got it: Library
Challenges: None

I'll Be Back...

2012-12-21T20:32:00.002-07:00

I can't believe how long it has been since I've posted! The end of the semester was crazy, then I went on vacation, hit my head and got a concussion (serious bummer), and now I am trying (kind of fuzzily) to finish my portfolio for continuing contract at work. I have been reading though, and have a backlog to review. I'm even trying to tackle Infinite Jest over the break (we'll see about that).

See you soon:) Happy holidays to all!

Books in the Club: Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending

2012-12-09T17:45:00.002-07:00

Click on the image to buy the book from Powell's

Yes, of course we were pretentious -- what else is youth for? We used terms like 'Weltanschauung' and 'Strum and Drang', enjoyed saying, "That's philosophically self-evident', and assured one another that the imagination's first duty was to be transgressive.

Julian Barnes won the Man Booker prize in 2011 for The Sense of and Ending, a very slight, very British novella, which I very much enjoyed reading. The plot centers on an event in young Tony Webster, narrator's, life, involving a friend from his school days. As Tony ages, divorces, and spends his days in rumination, the past comes back to him in the form of an ex-girlfriend and her mother's will. Through a series of events that unfold, Tony is forced to look more deeply into his own life, and to rewrite his the narrative of his youth.

The scenes from Tony's youth are a joy to read. He and his friends are lively and likeable, albeit a little pretentious (see above). Clearly, the elder Tony romanticizes his youth, making it read like any great campus novel. The first person narration in the book, is, as first person narration is wont to be, unreliable. I even thought that in parts it was unclear whether Tony's memory was reliable at all, or if maybe the thing with which he was most obsessed was beginning to fail him.

I won't spoil it, but the end of this book is a bit of a puzzle, and it is controversial I suppose. When my book club selected this book, I wasn't sure what we were going to talk about as I read it. It is a slight book, and it is a pleasant, thoughtful read, but it wasn't until the end that I knew we would have a fruitful discussion. And we did. And I recommend the book, to individual readers and book clubs alike.

Title: The Sense of an Ending

Author: Julian Barnes
Publisher: Vintage Books
Date: 2011
Genre:Literary Fiction

150 pages.
Where I got it: Bought It
Challenges: Back to the Classics (Prize Winner)

Top Ten Tuesday: Looking Forward to 2013

2012-11-27T19:31:00.001-07:00

Although I am a little shocked that 2012 is also coming to its end, I am still looking forward to a few books from 2013. So, good thing that is the topic this week at The Broke and the Bookish.

Here are my Top Ten Books that I'm Pining For in 2013

10. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (February)
9. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer (April)
8. Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell (February)

7. A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee (March)
6. Electrico W by Herve Le Telier (June)
5. Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders (January)

4. The Love Song of Jonny Valentine by Teddy Wayne (February)
3. The House at Belle Fontaine by Lily Tuck (April)
2. The Woman Upstairs by Cliare Messud (April)
1. We Live in Water by Jess Walter (April)

I'm sure there will be big fall releases that we don't know about yet. If I had my wish there would be a new Donna Tartt. It has been 10 years since The Little Friend, so it is about time.

Holiday Book Swap! FYI!

2012-11-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

I'm part of the

This is a great opportunity to give some books to people who share your interests, and GET some books to add to your library! But it only works if lots of people sign. Up. You can sign up either at Emily's blog or Enna's blog. Sign ups are open until November 22nd.

My Thoughts on David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

2012-11-13T18:27:00.002-07:00

Click on the image to buy from Powell's

Oh, more gear, more food, faster speeds, longer lifes, easier lifes, more power, yay. Now the Hole World is big, but it weren't big 'nuff for that hunger what made Old Uns rip out the skies an' boil up the seas an' poison soil with crazed atoms an' donkey 'bout with rotted seeds so new plagues was borned an' babbits was freak-birthed. Fin'ly, bit'ly, then quicksharp, states busted into bar'bric tribes an' the Civ'lize Days ended, 'cept for a few folds'n'pokets' here'n'there, where its last embers glimmer.

It took me quite a while to read Cloud Atlas, and I almost wish that I had devoted my full attention to it, all the way through the first time. The reason I say this is, I know I will read it again. In fact, I wanted to start as soon as I finished.

There isn't really much point in trying to summarize the book. I could say that it is a set of interlocking stories, but it isn't really that. To me, it is a novel in sections. Each section is about a friendship, more or less. But it is a beautiful palimpsest, piling texts on top of texts. The book is also about all of history and the destiny of our species, if that is broad enough. It is about how we create knowledge through storytelling, and how texts pass on the past. It is about race, and the environment, and cloning, and cannibalism, amongst innumerable other things.

What I can most certainly say about David Mitchell's work is that it is a feat of technical mastery. Each of the six stories in the book is written in a distinct voice, some capturing the dialect and verbiage of a time passed, and others inventing the language of the future. Mitchell, incredibly enough, does this without being off-putting. The vocabulary in "The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing" is a little fearsome at first, and "Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After" was slow going, but I was always compelled by the prose. Other books that amaze me stylistically - Ulysses, Moby Dick, Tristram Shandy- aren't nearly as readable at the level of plot.

Thematically, the book can be a little clunky, the connections fun, but a little obvious. This of course, is forgiven, because the book is absolute brilliance. Highly recommended.

Title: Cloud Atlas

Author: David Mitchell
Publisher: Random House
Date: 2004
Genre:Literary Fiction

509 pages.
Where I got it: Bought It
Challenges: Chunkster Challenge