Ratings Retrospective (TSS)

I started keeping track of my reading in September of 2006. This past week as I was thinking about what to write today, I thought it would be fun to start a monthly ‘Ratings Retrospective’ that would look back on the books I read two years ago and reflect on the ratings I gave them and what, if anything, I’d have to say about the books today.  So, this is the inaugural post!

Here were the books I read in September and October of 2006, the ratings I gave them at the time, and my comments:

Books Read Sept ’06

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell 4

• This book was very different and quite shocking to me.  It was my most thought-provoking book of 2006.  Missionaries in space.  Terrible (!) things happen.  It definitely asks the question of why God would allow atrocities to happen to his children.  And if he does, how do we deal with it?  Do we turn our backs on God or completely lose faith?  I would probably rate this book the same today, but it is one that will definitely stick with me forever.

Clay’s Quilt by Silas House Rating: 3.5
Parchment of Leaves by Silas House (bookclub pick) 3.5

• I read both of these when my bookclub chose Parchment of Leaves.  Silas House is a Kentucky author who writes about the state and its people.  I enjoyed these more than the ratings reflect, but not enough to change them to a 4.  These books gave a great sense of place and of time.  My husband’s family is from Kentucky, so I also felt that I better understood the people of the region after reading House’s books.  These two books are about the same family, and there is a third one that I hope to get to in 2009 called The Coal Tattoo.

O Artful Death by Sarah Stewart Taylor 3

• A murder mystery involving gravestone art.  A standard mystery that I really enjoyed at first, but I remember being let down by the ending.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield 4

• I read this the month it came out.  It was just a little too dark for my tastes to rate it much higher than a 4.  I did like it, just not as much as most people did.  I felt dirty and gross after reading some parts of it.  I don’t like feeling that way.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 4

• I loved this book and cannot wait for the movie to come out.  Clare and Henry were also one of my favorite literary couples I posted about last week.  So why did I rate it a 4 instead of a 4.5?  Language, too much s*x, etc.  The story is so good.  It didn’t need any of the junk I found objectionable.  I know most people don’t care about that stuff, but I do.

Red Leaves by Thomas H. Cook 3.5

• I’ve read some books from Thomas H. Cook that I’ve absolutely loved.  Two being The Chatham School Affair and Breakheart Hill.  I’ve been a little disappointed with the last two that I’ve read by him.  Some people loved this one, though.

Plainsong by Kent Haruf Rating: 0.5

• Wow, that’s a low rating, right?!  I was a little too close to this book, thus the harsh rating.  It’s set in extreme northeastern Colorado where I grew up.  I was so excited to read it.  At the time, I wasn’t used to the ‘experimental’ writing that some authors do.  Haruf’s book is chock full of run-on sentences and fragments and he doesn’t use any quotation marks, either.  Ugh.  I hated it.  Reviewers kept saying how Haruf really captured the people of the area, blah, blah, blah.  Trust me, I grew up there, and most of my family lives there now, and I don’t agree with these reviewers at all.  How could they know when they haven’t lived there themselves?  Haruf did live in the area for a few years, but perhaps he had a skewed perspective or something.  Anyway, the two farmer brothers did capture some characteristics of a few older bachelors I know, but that was about it.  I still plan on reading Eventide, the sequel to Plainsong.  I do love the cover of that book and am pretty sure I know which small town in the area that it is.

Books Read Oct ’06

Children of God by Mary Doria Russell 4

• After reading The Sparrow, I absolutely had to find out the entire story!  I didn’t think this one was quite as good as the first book, but I still enjoyed it.

The Rebel Bookseller – Andrew Laties 3.5
The King’s English – Betsy Burton 4

• These two are/were booksellers talking about their trades.  The King’s English has some great book lists in the back.

Evening Class – Maeve Binchy 4

• This was my first Binchy, and I loved it!  I definitely need to read another of her books in 2009.

O is for Outlaw – Sue Grafton (bookclub pick) 3

• I wouldn’t have read this except that it was for my bookclub.  I hadn’t read any of the other books in the series, so I hadn’t a clue about the main character, though I did find her to be a spunky chick.  Nothing great, but not horrible.

Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafón 3.5

• I’m probably going to get skewered for this, but did  anyone else see the misogyny in this book?!  I thought I was going to love it after reading the first chapter.  I still liked the basic story of it, but the women haters in the book made me rate it lower.

Case Histories – Kate Atkinson 3

• To be honest, I don’t remember much about this book.  I plan on reading her latest When Will There Be Good News? soon, and I’ve heard it is really good, so I’m hopeful I’ll like that one better.

Gilead – Marilynne Robinson 5

• Marilynne Robinson’s writing is absolutely beautiful.  I have Home and cannot wait to get to it — hopefully this month.  This is what I wanted Plainsong to be.  These are the people I recognize.  A beautiful, beautiful book.

Well, there you have it!  I don’t think I’d change any of the ratings I gave.  I might give Plainsong a 1 star rating instead of only a 1/2 star.  I was pretty harsh, but like I said, perhaps I was too close to it to be objective.

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