What have I been reading?
I reread "The Big House" by George Howe Colt. It's kind of rambling - I'm not really interested in the ancient Roman beliefs about houses by the sea - and the author gets a bit twee from time to time. The book is about his family history so it can feel somewhat over indulgent. But I love it anyway because I sympathize with loving a special house by the water and seeing it through the eyes of many generations.
I am rereading "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything" by Janelle Brown and got her new book, "This is Where We Live." Good summery books.
I read "Life After Yes" by Aidan Donnelley Rowley and it had its moments. The main character had a weird dream and this is treated with as much gravity as if they were all ancient Greeks who believed dreams were portents. The plot had some surprising soapy machinations and bits of insight about grief, but it felt like it was for younger readers who are fascinated with weddings.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
people of the book
"People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks is dazzling and masterful and sublime. I loved it madly. She takes a historical Jewish book and imagines how it came to exist. The frame story is a rare book researcher examining the book and finding different marks on it - salt, an insect wing, wine stain. Then the story goes back into history and explains what happened - in a Jewish ghetto in Venice, a young girl during the Holocaust and a Muslim in a harem. The mystery compels the story forward while the historical aspects reveal a history of anti-Semitism. It's a great gift to readers and those who fully believe the secret of life is in a book.
I also read "The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance" by Elna Baker and found it quite a hoot. Yes, it's a memoir by someone in her mid-30s or so, but it's hilarious. My favorite part was the section about her job as an actor at FAO Schwartz pretending to be a nurse looking for adoptive homes for babies. Also there's a hilarious story of how her Halloween costume as a fortune cookie went awry. She finds a lot of humor in the fact that she's a believing Mormon in hedonic NYC and loves both worlds fully. She is involved in the Mormon social activities and works at Letterman and Nobu. She also was obese and lost 80 pounds.
I also read "The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance" by Elna Baker and found it quite a hoot. Yes, it's a memoir by someone in her mid-30s or so, but it's hilarious. My favorite part was the section about her job as an actor at FAO Schwartz pretending to be a nurse looking for adoptive homes for babies. Also there's a hilarious story of how her Halloween costume as a fortune cookie went awry. She finds a lot of humor in the fact that she's a believing Mormon in hedonic NYC and loves both worlds fully. She is involved in the Mormon social activities and works at Letterman and Nobu. She also was obese and lost 80 pounds.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
all over the map
I read "All Over the Map" by Laura Fraser after attending her book reading at Powell's. I totally adored "An Italian Affair" and was eager for her new book. I like her bemused take on things. She goes on all kinds of adventures - Outward Bound, a silent retreat, her college reunion, - and reports on stories in Rwanda and Samoa, where she is attacked. It's very upsetting. She struggles to find peace in the struggle to find peace (as Sarah McLaughlin would say). The ending clobbered me. I had just reread "An Italian Affair" so the Professor seemed very alive and sharp in my mind.
The structure feels kind of loose but her company is so charming, I enjoyed going along with her.
I also read "Life Would Be Perfect In That House" by Meghan Daum, which is extremely enjoyable. She's a hilarious writer. She recounts things in a deadpan way that makes me laugh - often describing mistakes she has made. She describes her passion for real estate and moving and I definitely related. There's a part in the end about a company called Soft Surroundings that makes me smile thinking about it.
I liked this passage - very apropro as we are moving soon.
"There are many dramas inherent to relocation via the highway: the tears triggered by a country song, the weird free fall of registering at a motel and not knowing your address, the exhilerating merger of open road and open future. But no one ever talks about those agonzing miles between your departure point and the point at which the interstate fades into a generic ribbbon of asphalt. No one ever talks about the suspension of disbelief required to pull out of a driveway that is no longer yours, coast through a neighborhood that will soon no longer be home, and pass - if not for the last time ever, at least for the last time before they become symbols of nostalgia - the landmarks that, while utterly prosaic, have long been the only thing standing between disorientation nad sweet familiarity."
The structure feels kind of loose but her company is so charming, I enjoyed going along with her.
I also read "Life Would Be Perfect In That House" by Meghan Daum, which is extremely enjoyable. She's a hilarious writer. She recounts things in a deadpan way that makes me laugh - often describing mistakes she has made. She describes her passion for real estate and moving and I definitely related. There's a part in the end about a company called Soft Surroundings that makes me smile thinking about it.
I liked this passage - very apropro as we are moving soon.
"There are many dramas inherent to relocation via the highway: the tears triggered by a country song, the weird free fall of registering at a motel and not knowing your address, the exhilerating merger of open road and open future. But no one ever talks about those agonzing miles between your departure point and the point at which the interstate fades into a generic ribbbon of asphalt. No one ever talks about the suspension of disbelief required to pull out of a driveway that is no longer yours, coast through a neighborhood that will soon no longer be home, and pass - if not for the last time ever, at least for the last time before they become symbols of nostalgia - the landmarks that, while utterly prosaic, have long been the only thing standing between disorientation nad sweet familiarity."
Monday, June 7, 2010
the year of magical thinking
I tried to sell back those books yesterday - they only took about 1/3rd. So I'll either donate them to Goodwill or keep them. Hmm.
And I bought some books. I am so hopeless. So much for clearing off the shelves.
I read "James Herriot's Treasury for Children" upon recommendation of Catherine Newman, who I slavishly ape in every way. Adorable book of animal tales that made me cry with their gentle and sweet understanding of the world. I can't wait to share them with Little Mister. I also got James Herriot's memoir on CD to listen to as we drive the Alaska Highway. (And "Alphabet Juice" because we think Roy Blount Jr. is funny on NPR and some CD on sale about historical moments that changed the world.)
I also read "Trouble" by Kate Christensen and I love this book. It's heady with Mexico City atmosphere - it totally takes me back to our trip there. The grit and polluted air and flavors and music and streets... It's totally a fun read with a shocker of an ending.
"The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion is a reread. She analyzes her own heartbreak and grief after her husband died and daughter was seriously ill. Through this prism, we see her rich life and how much she lost.
"Shelter Me" by Juliette Fay was okay. Too talky and slow. A widow grieves and is rude to her Catholic priest and falls in love with her handyman building a porch. Not for me. The best part was the sermons - it was sort of wish fulfillment of a Catholic priest taking responsibility and condemning the molestation crisis in the church.
I also picked up an adorable board book for Little Mister. "Ten Little Babies" by Gyo Fujikawa is the cutest thing ever.
And I bought some books. I am so hopeless. So much for clearing off the shelves.
I read "James Herriot's Treasury for Children" upon recommendation of Catherine Newman, who I slavishly ape in every way. Adorable book of animal tales that made me cry with their gentle and sweet understanding of the world. I can't wait to share them with Little Mister. I also got James Herriot's memoir on CD to listen to as we drive the Alaska Highway. (And "Alphabet Juice" because we think Roy Blount Jr. is funny on NPR and some CD on sale about historical moments that changed the world.)
I also read "Trouble" by Kate Christensen and I love this book. It's heady with Mexico City atmosphere - it totally takes me back to our trip there. The grit and polluted air and flavors and music and streets... It's totally a fun read with a shocker of an ending.
"The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion is a reread. She analyzes her own heartbreak and grief after her husband died and daughter was seriously ill. Through this prism, we see her rich life and how much she lost.
"Shelter Me" by Juliette Fay was okay. Too talky and slow. A widow grieves and is rude to her Catholic priest and falls in love with her handyman building a porch. Not for me. The best part was the sermons - it was sort of wish fulfillment of a Catholic priest taking responsibility and condemning the molestation crisis in the church.
I also picked up an adorable board book for Little Mister. "Ten Little Babies" by Gyo Fujikawa is the cutest thing ever.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
clearing off the bookshelf
Oh, this is hard. I would like to hug each book to my chest and make it part of me forever. But we're moving and I need to clear out our stuff. We must make room for wonderful gifts of the future.
So here's a loving goodbye.
First I must note that Powell's has really enabled my book buying habit! I just can't resist an interesting title marked off. Who cares if I'll read it again? I just have to have it.
"Seven Loves" by Valerie Trueblood. Extremely beautiful, poetic language but not plotty enough for me.
"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. Loved this book, a brilliant marriage of action adventure and profound philosophical musings on religion. But will I read it again? No. Some books you read once, get the message, and you're done with it. Humans yearn to believe the better story and that's just the way we're built.
"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. Great cover, an exciting opening, lots of sweet animal - human moments, decadent atmosphere.
"What Do You Do All Day?" by Amy Scheibe. A funny book that gives you a sense of solidarity with SAHMs.
"A Wedding in December" by Anita Shreve. I really liked this book - reunion of friends, glamorous locale, secrets revealed, a wedding - all the elements I adore. Everyone is grappling with 9-11 in the book, which makes it seem kind of dated.
"The Girls" by Lori Lansens. This book is SO good. It made me cry. It's stunning. She takes a out-there premise of conjioned twins and tells a story of love, simple and complex.
"I Know This Much Is True" by Wally Lamb. I read this while pregnant. Such a good book. It's enormous and yet addicting, a whole world is created for you. It's about a man with a mentally ill twin brother.
"Goodnight Nobody" by Jennifer Weiner is a funny book about a SAHM solving a mystery. The description of suburban life is comic but the mystery is rather lame.
"Mail" by Mameve Medwed is a very enjoyable book about a Harvard woman falling for her mailman. It's clever and sweet and a good read.
"House & Home" by Kathleen McCleary is all about a woman's love for her home in Portland. This means a lot to me as I am preparing to leave beautiful Portland. But the plot aspects are kind of humdrum.
"The Brothers K" by David James Duncan is a big book about baseball, brothers, the
'60s. I confess my interest waned at times. But the ending was extremely powerful, an arrow to the heart.
"Dating Big Bird" by Laura Zigman is a chicklit book about the desire for a baby, not the desire for a man. It's bright and funny, set in the NYC fashion world, with a heartfelt yearning to be a mom.
"Happy All the Time" by Laurie Colwin is about two couples who are happy. They have no real conflicts. It killed me. I was reading page after page waiting for some tension and there was none. It annoyed the heck out of me. I love Laurie Colwin's books about cooking, I think she is a world-class charmer. I want to love her fiction. But I don't.
"The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean is a crazy story about orchids and then cult that surrounds them. She writes in the first person about reporting the story and takes it into many directions - the nature of passion, Florida's invasive species issues, botany. It's totally enjoyable to read b/c she takes you into all these unexpected and yet enthralling ideas.
"The Nanny Diaries" by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus is a peek into the rarified Park Avenue world from the eyes of the nanny. She is exposed to the high life but doesn't belong. She is intimately involved in raising their child but viewed as staff. The opening scene of the interview process is the best part. The plot is kind of weak with one-dimensional characters.
"Leave Me Alone, I'm reading" by Maureen Corrigan. I really like her insights and excitement for books! I am just as nutty for books as she is. She got me to reread "Gaudy Night" and "One True Thing" and Laurie Colwin's fiction. She also recommends MFK Fisher, which I need to read.
I did a big cleanout of my bookshelf before this move. I was very strict. Shopaholic, goodbye. Adios, Know It All. Only worthy books would come along. But then I ended up wanting to read them again and (don't tell) purchased the books again. (Damn you Powells!) Books are a story - and they are a connection to the past. I remember who I was when I reread a book. "The Thirteenth Tale" makes me feel neauseated b/c I read it in the first trimester.
I am searching for the secret of life and I know it's in a book. I feel that as a child, I found something in books that I want again. So I read and read, always looking for that secret.
So here's a loving goodbye.
First I must note that Powell's has really enabled my book buying habit! I just can't resist an interesting title marked off. Who cares if I'll read it again? I just have to have it.
"Seven Loves" by Valerie Trueblood. Extremely beautiful, poetic language but not plotty enough for me.
"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. Loved this book, a brilliant marriage of action adventure and profound philosophical musings on religion. But will I read it again? No. Some books you read once, get the message, and you're done with it. Humans yearn to believe the better story and that's just the way we're built.
"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. Great cover, an exciting opening, lots of sweet animal - human moments, decadent atmosphere.
"What Do You Do All Day?" by Amy Scheibe. A funny book that gives you a sense of solidarity with SAHMs.
"A Wedding in December" by Anita Shreve. I really liked this book - reunion of friends, glamorous locale, secrets revealed, a wedding - all the elements I adore. Everyone is grappling with 9-11 in the book, which makes it seem kind of dated.
"The Girls" by Lori Lansens. This book is SO good. It made me cry. It's stunning. She takes a out-there premise of conjioned twins and tells a story of love, simple and complex.
"I Know This Much Is True" by Wally Lamb. I read this while pregnant. Such a good book. It's enormous and yet addicting, a whole world is created for you. It's about a man with a mentally ill twin brother.
"Goodnight Nobody" by Jennifer Weiner is a funny book about a SAHM solving a mystery. The description of suburban life is comic but the mystery is rather lame.
"Mail" by Mameve Medwed is a very enjoyable book about a Harvard woman falling for her mailman. It's clever and sweet and a good read.
"House & Home" by Kathleen McCleary is all about a woman's love for her home in Portland. This means a lot to me as I am preparing to leave beautiful Portland. But the plot aspects are kind of humdrum.
"The Brothers K" by David James Duncan is a big book about baseball, brothers, the
'60s. I confess my interest waned at times. But the ending was extremely powerful, an arrow to the heart.
"Dating Big Bird" by Laura Zigman is a chicklit book about the desire for a baby, not the desire for a man. It's bright and funny, set in the NYC fashion world, with a heartfelt yearning to be a mom.
"Happy All the Time" by Laurie Colwin is about two couples who are happy. They have no real conflicts. It killed me. I was reading page after page waiting for some tension and there was none. It annoyed the heck out of me. I love Laurie Colwin's books about cooking, I think she is a world-class charmer. I want to love her fiction. But I don't.
"The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean is a crazy story about orchids and then cult that surrounds them. She writes in the first person about reporting the story and takes it into many directions - the nature of passion, Florida's invasive species issues, botany. It's totally enjoyable to read b/c she takes you into all these unexpected and yet enthralling ideas.
"The Nanny Diaries" by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus is a peek into the rarified Park Avenue world from the eyes of the nanny. She is exposed to the high life but doesn't belong. She is intimately involved in raising their child but viewed as staff. The opening scene of the interview process is the best part. The plot is kind of weak with one-dimensional characters.
"Leave Me Alone, I'm reading" by Maureen Corrigan. I really like her insights and excitement for books! I am just as nutty for books as she is. She got me to reread "Gaudy Night" and "One True Thing" and Laurie Colwin's fiction. She also recommends MFK Fisher, which I need to read.
I did a big cleanout of my bookshelf before this move. I was very strict. Shopaholic, goodbye. Adios, Know It All. Only worthy books would come along. But then I ended up wanting to read them again and (don't tell) purchased the books again. (Damn you Powells!) Books are a story - and they are a connection to the past. I remember who I was when I reread a book. "The Thirteenth Tale" makes me feel neauseated b/c I read it in the first trimester.
I am searching for the secret of life and I know it's in a book. I feel that as a child, I found something in books that I want again. So I read and read, always looking for that secret.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
heart of the matter
So I've been reading a bunch of divorce memoirs. "An Italian Affair" by Laura Fraser is a reread - she has a new book out I'm excited about. The "Mennonite in a Little Black Dress" book. Then this morning I read "Falling Apart in One Piece" by Stacy Morrison. Other books in this genre include "Split" by Suzanne Finnamore and "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert and "Happens Every Day" by Isabel Gillies. I think I like these books because women are freed to speak out and tell the truth about their relationships. They go through awful turmoil and pain, but generally they find freedom. They have permission to do crazy things - have an affair ("An Italian Affair"), travel the world ("Eat, Pray, Love"), eat biscuits from KFC and do a lot of online shopping ("Split"). They break the rules and become interested in Zen wisdom and then find liberation.
So this book was "Falling Apart in One Piece" by Morrison, editor of Redbook. I felt great sympathy for her. Her husband left her after she had a baby and he really seems like a crummy, self-involved loser. She's working really hard at her intense magazine job and caring for the baby and dealing with a nightmare house situation and he says he's done with the marriage. Pretty harsh.
The book is not as funny as the Mennonite book or as charming as "Eat, Pray, Love" or glamorous as "An Italian Affair." It's very honest and wrenching. I related to her struggles with a toddler. Parenting can be so hard, so draining and thankless. You need a break. And you don't get one when you're a single parent. The little things can be so overwhelming. She writes about coming home with a ruined vacation and her son's lip getting hurt. She goes to the ER and he has to have stitches in his lip. The stitches don't dissolve so she has to go back to the doctor and have them removed. Then she has to go back home, pack the diaper bag for daycare, find parking, get him to daycare and herself to work. She leaves her car double parked, thinking a ticket is the last of her troubles. She writes about going through such a arduous ordeal just to accomplish something small - getting out of the house. It's hard.
Ruined vacations, a house fire, and a basement flooded with sewage! It sounds utterly miserable. I'm glad she found some peace finally.
I also read "Heart of the Matter" by Emily Giffin. I really liked the concept - story of an affair from alternative viewpoints of the wife and the mistress. She does a good job at drawing believable characters. There are some lively observations about parenthood.
So this book was "Falling Apart in One Piece" by Morrison, editor of Redbook. I felt great sympathy for her. Her husband left her after she had a baby and he really seems like a crummy, self-involved loser. She's working really hard at her intense magazine job and caring for the baby and dealing with a nightmare house situation and he says he's done with the marriage. Pretty harsh.
The book is not as funny as the Mennonite book or as charming as "Eat, Pray, Love" or glamorous as "An Italian Affair." It's very honest and wrenching. I related to her struggles with a toddler. Parenting can be so hard, so draining and thankless. You need a break. And you don't get one when you're a single parent. The little things can be so overwhelming. She writes about coming home with a ruined vacation and her son's lip getting hurt. She goes to the ER and he has to have stitches in his lip. The stitches don't dissolve so she has to go back to the doctor and have them removed. Then she has to go back home, pack the diaper bag for daycare, find parking, get him to daycare and herself to work. She leaves her car double parked, thinking a ticket is the last of her troubles. She writes about going through such a arduous ordeal just to accomplish something small - getting out of the house. It's hard.
Ruined vacations, a house fire, and a basement flooded with sewage! It sounds utterly miserable. I'm glad she found some peace finally.
I also read "Heart of the Matter" by Emily Giffin. I really liked the concept - story of an affair from alternative viewpoints of the wife and the mistress. She does a good job at drawing believable characters. There are some lively observations about parenthood.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
summer at tiffany's
"Summer at Tiffany's" by Marjorie Hart is a super cute memoir of a summer at the end of WWII. Marjorie and her friend Marty got jobs as the first female pages at Tiffany's on 5th Avenue. They were wide-eyed college girls from Iowa and enjoyed a glimpse of glamourous nightclubs. They dated servicemen and saw Judy Garland and mourned the loss of a cousin in the war. Despite the sadness, it's an innocent time - they are super excited that their apartment has a toaster.
Kind of too bad she didn't go to Yale, though. (While in NY, she impressed someone with her cello-playing and they offered her admission to Yale. But she turned it down.)
"Mennonite in a Little Black Dress" by Rhoda Janzen is hilarious! The cover photo of a dress made me think it would be really cutesy, but the author is a professor. She went through a surgery gone bad, a car accident and her husband leaving her within a period of months and then returned to her parents' home who are Mennonites. The real attraction is her deadpan sense of humor - recognizing the ridiculousness of her train wreck situation and finding solace in the values of family and community. She is never sappy - she's honest about her bad marriage and her responsibiity for staying with him so long. She has so much clarity and appreciation, it's really uplifting to read.
I started "People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks and I already love it!
Kind of too bad she didn't go to Yale, though. (While in NY, she impressed someone with her cello-playing and they offered her admission to Yale. But she turned it down.)
"Mennonite in a Little Black Dress" by Rhoda Janzen is hilarious! The cover photo of a dress made me think it would be really cutesy, but the author is a professor. She went through a surgery gone bad, a car accident and her husband leaving her within a period of months and then returned to her parents' home who are Mennonites. The real attraction is her deadpan sense of humor - recognizing the ridiculousness of her train wreck situation and finding solace in the values of family and community. She is never sappy - she's honest about her bad marriage and her responsibiity for staying with him so long. She has so much clarity and appreciation, it's really uplifting to read.
I started "People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks and I already love it!
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