I really, really was into the first half or so of Breaking Dawn, but did not like the second half at all. I read the first half or so immediately after Eclipse andabsolutely couldn’t put the book down until the end of the birth scene. I thought it was really intense and I was totally engrossed. Then, afterwards… what a let down. For starters, I actually was a little disappointed that she had to ‘cross over.’ I understand the reasons why, but it was so much more interesting to me before she did. And the way they told Charlie was totally hokey. I didn’t think that part was written well at all. Jacob’s new love interest seemed a little bizarre, but it did keep everyone in the same family so I guess I can live with it. And the vampire showdown? It went out with a whimper instead of a bang, didn’t it?
Oh, well, now it’s over, and I can feel great that once again this 40-ish woman is up on a small portion of pop culture. It’s difficult keeping up with the youngsters, but the Twilight series (at least most of it) made it a little more fun to do so. Now I’m just looking forward to the release of the movies!
2008, 754 pp
[Disclosure: This book was not received from the publisher. It's hard to admit, but I actually purchased a copy.]
Nothing here was part of her. It was false, empty…
Longlisted for The Man Booker Prize (though it did not make the shortlist), Colm Toibin’s book is about young Eislis Lacey’s journey from Ireland to Brooklyn and from girlhood to womanhood.
I did enjoy reading about Eislis’s immigrant experience and her struggles in her new surroundings, but the story was a bit slow moving. I normally don’t mind that at all in books, but the novel was perhaps a bit too muted. In some ways I do expect that that could have been Toibin’s intent, however, and perhaps was an indication of Eislis’s character.
I heartily sympathized for Eislis at the end, but I also felt that she made the right decision. If you’ve read the book as well, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
2009, 262 pp.
[Disclaimer: This book was obtained using my public library.]
I will keep this review short because I just didn’t like this book. At all. This book was just not my cup of tea. Plainly put, it was quite vulgar and crass and just not at all what I want in my reading. I’m not necessarily sorry that I read it, though, as I do have a commitment to reading all of the Pulitzers. I just wish the committee had chosen a different book.
There was a section in the middle that was quite interesting about the brutal reign of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. If not for that section, the book would have only received a 1 star rating. It did have quite a few literary references that were somewhat enjoyable as well, but no, that does not make up for the rest of it I did not enjoy. I am just glad that I can now mark this one off my tbr list.
(By the way, the finalists in 2008 were Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson and Shakespeare’s Kitchen by Lore Segal. If you’ve read Oscar and one or both of the finalists, how did they compare?)
2007, 339 pp.
[Disclaimer: This copy was obtained from my public library.]
“And where would we be in a world without the old Botswana morality? It would not work, in Mma Romatswe’s view, because it would mean that people could do as they wished without regard for what others thought. That would be a receipe for selfishness, a recipe as clear as if it were written out in a cookery book: Take one country, with all that the country means, with its kind people, and their smiles, and their habits of helping one another; ignore all this; shake about; add modern ideas; bake until ruined.”
It is clear from this series that Alexander McCall Smith loves Botswana and the people in it. His respect is such that with each book that I read, he makes me want to visit Botswana someday all the more.
In this installment, we have an advice columnist, a cook, a hornbill, high blood pressure, uncomfortable chairs, and questions about being ‘traditionally built’ and feminism. Good fun as always!
Did you know it was Jewish Book Month? I didn’t, but when I found out, I wanted to read a title from a Jewish author. Lara Vapnyar won the 2004 Goldberg Prize for Jewish Fiction by Emerging Writers forThere Are Jews in my House. She emigrated from Russia in 1994 when she was in her early twenties and now lives in New York.
“A Bunch of Broccoli on the Third Shelf” tells the story of Nina, a Russian immigrant who loves to shop for vegetables but rarely cooks them.
“Borscht” is a sad story about two people who come to the States to earn money for their families, but then their loved ones are indifferent to them going back home to Russia.
“Puffed Rice and Meatballs” is about Katya’s memory of a childhood incident that she refuses to share with her American boyfriend.
In “Salad Olivier,” a mother tries to find her daughter a boyfriend — but he must be Russian.
“Luda and Milena” was my favorite story. Two older women fighting over an older man with their cooking.
In “Slicing Sauteed Spinach,” Ruzena lets her lover choose her food for her. Until…
I really enjoyed this collection, but especially “Luda and Milena.” It was a pure gem. I now plan on reading There Are Jews in My House for the Jewish Literature Challenge.
There are times in life — not many — when you can see, with dizzying clarity, the fatal fork in the road represented by one small act, the catastrophe that lurks behind a trivial decision.
A few weeks ago I posted about the literature in translation I had read so far this year and was surprised to note that I hadn’t read any titles translated from Spanish. Even though I should have saved this book for the Latin American Challenge in 2009, I decided to go ahead and read it because I really wanted a Spanish title on my list for this year.
Guillermo Martinez is a writer I’ve been meaning to read for awhile now because he’s from Argentina (which I visited earlier this year) and he’s also a professor of mathematics (and I’m a geeky former engineer). I had known about his book The Oxford Murders and I plan on reading it in 2009. I really want to know how he combines math with murder in that one!
The Book of Murder isn’t about math, but it does take place in Argentina. It begins with the narrator (who is a novelist) receiving a desperate call from Luciana, a girl who had worked for him previously as a transcriptionist. She has had several tragedies in her life, but she doesn’t believe any of them are accidents. She believes another novelist, Kloster, is the one responsible, and she needs the narrator’s help to prove it. But is Luciana even sane? She has spent time in a mental hospital, after all…
I really enjoyed this book and Martinez’ writing. I’ll definitely be looking forward to The Oxford Murders in 2009.
Ugh. I thought this was about a teen boy surfing in Australia. I wanted it to be about a teen boy surfing in Australia. And it was, for about 150 pages, then it goes off into a weird and extreme area that I will not mention here. I feel ripped off because I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book, but then to have to be subjected to…blech.
Pikelet and Loonie are two teenage boys obsessed with surfing. They meet up with Sando, a guy in his mid 30’s who coaches them in the sport and sometimes encourages them to go a little too far with it. Sando’s wife, Eva, was an extreme skier but now has a blown knee. Consequently, she’s bitter because her husband still gets to do what he loves and because he’s not spending any time with her. Breath is about pushing everything in life to the extreme to see how far one can go.
I’m giving it 2 stars because Tim Winton is a good writer and I enjoyed all but the last fourth (which totally ruined the whole thing for me.)
Here’s an example of a passage I did enjoy:
I will always remember my first wave that morning. The smells of paraffin wax and brine and peppy scrub. The way the swell rose beneath me like a body drawing in air. How the wave drew me forward and I sprang to my feet, skating with the wind of momentum in my ears. I leant across the wall of upstanding water and the board came with me as though it was part of my body and mind. The blur of spray. The billion shards of light. I remember the solitary watching figure on the beach and the flash of Loonie’s smile as I flew by; I was intoxicated. And though I’ve lived to be an old man with my own share of happiness for all the mess I made, I still judge every joyous moment, every victory and revelation against those few seconds of living.
I only vaguely knew the story of Lizzie Borden, so this little graphic novel was really an engrossing look at this true crime. Geary’s drawings are great, and he presents cases both for Lizzie Borden’s guilt and for her innocence. The back of the book also has reproductions of the actual newspaper clippings. Fascinating story!
This book is part of the Treasury of Victorian Murder series that I will have to look into!
I was first introduced to Clyde Edgerton when I read and enjoyed Walking Across Egypt (4 stars) last year, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. Henry Dampier is a young man determined to make his fortune by door-to-door Bible selling; although, truth be told, he gets the Bibles for free. Still, quite a few customers (especially ladies) do buy his product, but it is not until con man Preston Clearwater invites him to work for the FBI that his income really starts improving. Henry is quite naive and soon gets caught up in more than he bargained for — in both work and love.
One of the reasons I enjoy Edgerton’s work is that he captures the southern character very well. I lived 17 years in the south, and I felt like the characters in the novel were very authentic. I really enjoyed the first half of the book. The second half, not so much. The charm and plot of the story broke down a bit, and I ended up a little disappointed in the end. Still, I’d like to read another book by Edgerton, perhaps for next year’s Southern Reading Challenge.
There is a lot going on in Craig Thompson’s autobiographical graphic novel Blankets. With a deeply personal touch, Thompson draws and writes about his childhood and teenage years and their hardships, joys, and discoveries. Writing about his brother, family, church camps, and first love, Thompson lays it all bare. He truly had some difficult things to deal with in his childhood that no child should have to face, and we see him struggle with his faith and family relationships as a result.
While I admire the book’s artwork, story, and the author himself, it is difficult for me to write this review as I disagree with (but am mostly sad about) the book’s conclusion. As I was reading the book, I was hoping for it to end a certain way when in fact it went the 180 degree opposite direction. Of course, this is the author’s life so he has every right to write about and illustrate how he really feels, but… I was still very sad at the end. There’s no denying he has a gift for writing and illustration, though, and I would definitely pick up another one of Thompson’s graphic novels in the future.
The picture below is one of the illustrations dealing with the first night that he and his brother finally get their own rooms. After waiting so long for them after sharing a room for many years, it’s not hard to imagine what happens that first night. I’ll save that for you to read on your own, though! (This book has mature themes and I wouldn’t recommend it for those under 16 or 17.)
Nothing here was part of her. It was false, empty…
I will keep this review short because I just didn’t like this book. At all. This book was just not my cup of tea. Plainly put, it was quite vulgar and crass and just not at all what I want in my reading. I’m not necessarily sorry that I read it, though, as I do have a commitment to reading all of the Pulitzers. I just wish the committee had chosen a different book.
Ugh. I thought this was about a teen boy surfing in Australia. I wanted it to be about a teen boy surfing in Australia. And it was, for about 150 pages, then it goes off into a weird and extreme area that I will not mention here. I feel ripped off because I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book, but then to have to be subjected to…blech.
The Borden Tragedy
I was first introduced to Clyde Edgerton when I read and enjoyed Walking Across Egypt (4 stars) last year, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. Henry Dampier is a young man determined to make his fortune by door-to-door Bible selling; although, truth be told, he gets the Bibles for free. Still, quite a few customers (especially ladies) do buy his product, but it is not until con man Preston Clearwater invites him to work for the FBI that his income really starts improving. Henry is quite naive and soon gets caught up in more than he bargained for — in both work and love.
There is a lot going on in Craig Thompson’s autobiographical graphic novel Blankets. With a deeply personal touch, Thompson draws and writes about his childhood and teenage years and their hardships, joys, and discoveries. Writing about his brother, family, church camps, and first love, Thompson lays it all bare. He truly had some difficult things to deal with in his childhood that no child should have to face, and we see him struggle with his faith and family relationships as a result.
