A good book and a bad book.

This week, I decided to step out of my typical genre and try some recommended books, both of which are kind of action/adventure/non-realistic. The first was Dan Brown's newest book, The Lost Symbol. I'm kind of so-so on Dan in general. I like the overarching themes of his books, that they get me thinking about stuff and I like that they're quick and snappy reads that keep the pages turning, but usually walk away thinking it was just okay, not like a life-altering experience. It is sort of funny though that some (er...most) chapters are like 2 pages long. So I can read 50 pages and be like, "OMG, I just read 30 chapters!" Like a 3rd grader.

So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this book was my favorite of the 3 Robert Langdon Dan Brown books. I really enjoyed the fact that it talked about American history and the Masons and took place in Washington. It was interesting, and honestly, made me appreciate the Masons a little more. I thought I'd come away thinking they were a weird secret society, but I feel like it was a pro-Masonic point of view. I mean, still a little odd, but you know, not like sacrificing virgins creepy or anything like that. Observation: the bad guy in this was WAAAY worse and WAAAY more creepy than the bad guy in the other books. Of course, like w/ all the Dan Brown books I've read it was very plot driven which is annoying at times, and the characters say the cheeeesiest lines sometimes, but it got the job done. 2 days, flew by. :)

The next book I picked up was One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. I give this one a thumbs down with a farting sound. I mean, I *guess* I can see how some ppl get sucked in to the series (there are a bunch of them now), but I just wasn't drawn in at all by the characters or writing. The writing was very mediocre, it felt like I could have done this (not saying I'm "that good" but saying the writing was "that not good"). And Stephanie Plum, the "heroine" was a giant moron who I had no positive feelings about. So, I finished it today and shrugged, oh well. In the process, I realized that Scott knows a song that uses the line One for the Money and I do not. This might be the first time that has ever happened... Weird.


And next I have a new book (well, new from paperbackswap) called The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. I hope I don't become a vegetarian after this...that would be inconvenient.

And I've now switched to Goodreads.com, instead of shelfari, for my online book reviewing and cataloging needs. It's an important decision every nerd mus make for herself, but I find this site to be way more kickass than shelfari. :)

Her Fearful Symmetry

The new Audrey Niffeneger book! It was so exciting, I totally love Time Traveler's Wife and was understandably excited to read here newest. And she took for-ever to write it so my hopes were a little on the high side

So, how would I describe it? I think I'll go w/ my sister's words on this... It was "effed up". It just WAS though. Not meaning it was necessarily awful or too weird, but it was just very different. And I'd say maybe a step further to the science fiction world than TTW was. But I still gave it 4 stars on Shelfari. I'm generous w/ stars though.

The plot follows these weird twins who are "mirror twins", meaning their insides and appearances were not identical but like reversed from each other. Apparently that's a real thing (though very rare.) They're kind of creepy. And their mom is a twin as well, and the beginning of the book is the mother's twin dying. Then the mother's twin, Elspeth, offers the younger twins, Julia and Valentina, her flat in London to come live for a year. Cool, free apartment, right? Except, oh yeah, she's haunting it. But apparently the creepy twins are cool with it.

There's way too much to overview much else ... and I know I'm making it sound lame. But it really was interesting and different from a normal genre I'd read. I love her writing, however weird the plot was. The characters were fully realized and the story moved along pretty well. I'd recommend it for sure, with the caveat that it's "effed up."

Can I still do book reviews on this thing?

*Testing*

Ahem. So, I just finished The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. It was a very up and down book - it started out AWESOME, and I was getting all ahead of myself, with "this is my favorite book" type thoughts. Then there was this long drawn out mid-section that just kept putting me to sleep (well, that or the baby... it's a toss up) and the ending was very good though!

Though, I have to say, a large part of my enjoyment of this book was the fact that it was drawn from the story of Hamlet, which I knew going into it. I haven't read Hamlet in a good 10 years (yikes, really? Senior year was 10 years ago?) so I could not have told you the story prior to reading this. But random themes and events did come back to me and with the help of wikipedia I recalled ;). You know, madness, ghosts, poison. And it was kind of a good distance to have from it. I'm not a Shakespeare enthusiast, but I do enjoy those plays more than most. I could easily see that Claude was Claudius, and Trudy was Gertrude. Wow, I'm like a brainiac. Sign me up for mensa.

So, the summary would be this: The Sawtelles have this dog breeding business where they aim to breed dogs that aren't purebred or anything, but good companion dogs. I think that's kind of neat... and that part of the story was really interesting. The dogs were so central to the story (in fact, I'm pretty sure Almondine was Ophelia?), and were almost given a voice. The Sawtelles had one son, Edgar, who was mute, though he could still hear. That was another interesting angle. Edgar's dad, Gar, dies inexplicably and Gar's ghost appears to Edgar saying it was Claude (Gar's brother) who did it. Is your HS Shakespeare reading coming back to you at all? Drama and tragedy ensue.

The writing was awesome, the characters were really interesting. I liked that in this book we get some explanation into Trudy's thought process. I remember in Hamlet being totally let down by how lame the female characters were... all 2 of them.

I recommend it... I kind of wished I'd been holed up somewhere during that middle portion with nothing else to do so I could have just motored through. So if you find yourself holed up somewhere for a few days (snowstorm? IDK) this would be a good time!

When You Are Engulfed In Flames

Where to start... David Sedaris is just so amazingly awesome :) I feel like this book has been on my list for a long time now, and since I've pretty much cut out my book-buying habit (yay libraries!), I've had to wait my turn (booo libraries). But no worries, this one was worth the wait and, true to form, had me laughing out loud pretty often. I really enjoy his tone and style, one of those authors you feel like you could totally hang out with. It's also fun to read because it's basically a collection of loosely related short stories, so picking it up and putting it down randomly works. I like that freedom every now and then.

Up next is Emma, for the November Book Club book. I'm a tad intimidated... after Sedaris's witty and modern writing, how will I deal w/ Ms. Austen's formality? Also it looks long. If nothing else, I might actually get more school and housework done during the reading of this novel (which, let's be honest, wouldn't be a bad thing!)

Battle for America 2008 Review

So, I just finished this book, and I LOVED it! Thanks Mom :) While it's a little like "why would I want to read a book that I know how it ends?", there were just so many interesting behind the scenes interviews and storylines, I couldn't put it down. If you were also obsessed with the campaign, you'd enjoy this book. You know who you are. I also think it was cool because it wasn't overly partisan. It had a little MORE to the democratic story, simply because with the whole primary-lasting-till-June thing, there was a lot more to tell.

Loved it! :)

Random Updates with pictures

We were up in PA this past weekend for our niece Sophie's 1st birthday party and christening! She is too cute, and because of this overabundance of cuteness, we didn't take a picture of ANYTHING ELSE other than her. Oh well. you know kids. She's at such a cute age, so fun to be around. Though I will say, Scott and I came home exhausted. Note: all comments that read "Ohhhh, just wait" will be deleted. :) So, Happy Birthday (Tomorrow), Sophie Monster!


And this is me, mid 25 weeks. Fall has arrived in NC, and it's a freaking blast! It's almost noon and still not 70 degrees here. I'm LOVING it! So this morning I got all ambitious and decided to go for a little run, but remembered, oh yeah, it's cool out! What does one wear to run in 60 degree weather? And once I zipped up the jacket, I had to take a pic bc... my oh my, it was tight. Also, as soon as I went outside I ditched it and went with short sleeves and pants. And ran 1.5 miles. Cause I'm still a rock star.

Things are going well with the pregnancy, this past weekend was the first few days where I really *felt* pregnant... like I had a belly that was observable and I've started this thing where I can't get up out of a chair or sofa without saying "uuuuuuugh." It's adorable, really. Stuff like that. It just felt more real and different this weekend. (Again, comments saying "Just you wait, missy" will be deleted. I. Know.) :)

After a really long weekend, I was kind of irresponsible and put off a lot of schoolwork, which I'm catching up on this week. School is going pretty well, and surprisingly hard with only two classes this semester. I love what I'm studying though, I was just thinking this morning about what my *favorite* class has been within my program and I'm not really sure! I'd have to pick at least 4 or 5, and I've only taken 9. So yeah, good choice, good investment, good use of time.

I love this semester also because with two classes and no job, it does give me time to keep up with life... like keep the house generally cleaner than I've ever been able to do before, and read! I'm enjoying it while it lasts :) Cause, you know... juuuust wait. I just read The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb and, though it was long, I ended up LOVING it. Absolutely love and recommend it.

One more random thing - I am getting a seasonal flu shot on Friday and have already started dreaming/nightmaring about it. I'm such a shot wussy, I'm screwed.

A Freewheelin' Time

Appropriate words of wisdom from Jack Donaghy: Never follow a hippy to a second location.

So, this month's book club book was A Freewheelin' Time: A memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties by Suze Rotolo. I'll be honest, I was annoyed more often than not w/ the narrorator. She just seemed to have this air about her where she clearly thought she was awesome bc she used to date Bob Dylan. Which is cool, and I wouldn't necessarily write off someone w/ that description, she was just annoying. And also, he cheated on you, a lot. So don't get all high and mighty.

So, a synopsis. She was Bob's girlfriend then just good friend for much of the 60's, prior to his becoming famous and then when he got big. The book shares how he made it big and also some of the other stuff that was going on at the time. Also, did you know she invented bellbottoms? (rolls eyes) The most annoying thing was the name-dropping. I'm no 60's pop-culture scholar, ok? I pretty much know the names of the Beatles and Bob Dylan and .... mmmm, Elvis? So yeah, when you spend 5 pages talking about all the super awesome people you met at Gerde's night club, it means nothing to me and I'm not impressed. And I skip those pages.

But I didn't HATE the book. And at times I think she got caught up in telling the story of something big and THEN I really liked it. Like how she and some other badass college students thought the travel ban to Cuba was unconstitutional (our generation would call it "lame") so they decided to travel there anyway. That was pretty awesome. I've always thought the protesting and rebellion of the 60's was kind of interesting, and it was cool to hear it from one of the people who took part. Also, her parents were Communists, and that was an interesting perspective to hear on the whole McCarthyism stuff. It's perspectives like these that you don't get in your HS history class (if they even get to the lesson on the 60's before the end of the year... I know I never got a good education on some of this stuff!)

Time Traveler's Wife (Book & Movie)

The fun thing about re-re-reading a book is that each time (if it's a good book), something different will strike me. I'm always amazed by this - Catcher in the Rye is my favorite book to read over and over, but TTW is giving it a run for its money.

The theme that's really standing out to me this go-round on TTW is the difference between young and old Henry - as differentiated by long hair on the youthful, immature and selfish Henry and short hair on married, committed and loving Henry. The idea that Clare loves the older Henry more, misses him and can't wait for young Henry to become older Henry is kind of interesting. I don't really ponder it much, but do we all have a turning point at which we become a more perfect version of ourselves, before which we were a person we might not care to hangout with? Or that our spouse would spend a few hours with and miss the older version of us?

I also am completely obsessed with the idea of spending time with loved ones out of time. Henry would go back and watch is parents take care of him as a baby, and spend time with a younger version of himself. How *cool* would that be, to meet the people important to you in your life back before you knew them? Or yourself, before you really became the you you are now.

I finally finished the book last night, but after the Pillars of the Earth, I feel like I read this in a few hours. It is everything a book should be - totally absorbing and un-put-downable. EVEN knowing what happens and how and when, etc. It's just such an involved book that I could honestly read it again right now.

And now... the movie. I'm disappointed, which I knew I would be as I've acknowledged multiple times that my expectations were pretty unrealistic. I was disappointed that they left SO much out. Yes, it's a movie and they're never going to include it all, and some things were included but kind of modified which I was ok with, but it was such an intricate and interconnected book and I was disappointed they didn't really do much w/ that in the movie. It seemed like there were NO characters but Henry and Clare. Gomez was just a passing role, which sucked bc Rob Livingston was great in the role! I think the overarching worst thing about the movie in my opinion was the melodrama. I felt like the whole time it was either *sad* acting or *we're so in love, let's talk about how in love we are*. Not very realistic, sorry. Also not how the book is. I will say the ending was MUCH sadder to watch than it was to read. I originally really liked the casting of Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana as Clare and Henry, but now I'm kind of lukewarm about it. The movie was mediocre at best, and I don't think I'll ever feel the need to watch it again. Which makes me sad, but I do have the book forever and will most likely read it again and again. :)

Pillars of the Earth

I. Finally. Finished. I have no words for how freaking long that book was - 973 pages. It's the longest book I've ever read. I'm not quite sure what compelled me to want to take that on, maybe just a personal goal or something. But I did it, and I'm so excited to be done.

Ok, so first off. The title and length makes it sound SOO BORING, doesn't it? Well, it's actually quite readable and moves along really well. It's about building a cathedral, back in the 1100's. I can't remember anything I've ever read from that time period so it was educational and cool in that way. There were a few really great characters too. And all kinds of multiple storylines and interconnectedness. I mean, when you have 973 pages to play with, there better be some depth, right?

I gave it 3 stars on Shelfari... I probably would have liked to give it 3 1/2 if that were possible. It was great, but here's my main beef with it: too graphic. I may never hear the words "rape and pillage" the same again... which I guess in a way might be good, I don't want to get desensitized to the way things were and the struggles of former eras, blah blah. But yeah, a little graphic. And I guess at times the writing got a little tedious, so that's the extra half a star off. :)

I think part of why I was so antsy to finish is I am re-re-reading the Time Traveler's Wife this week - under the deadline of the movie release. I'm So. Excited to go see it and cry my eyes out reading the book. I can't really explain it. I get so happy just thinking about it.

Revolutionary Road, etc.

So, reading this summer hasn't been what I hoped it'd be. I hate how *life* gets in the way of reading, it's just not fair. Anyway, I am currently reading The Pillars of the Earth. If you've never seen this book in person, just envision 3 or 4 inches. Got that? Ok, that's what the spine width is. It's 936 pages. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome and I certainly couldn't deal with that many pages of a book I wasn't loving. But sometimes I just get so physically TIRED of holding it. And I wonder if it's too heavy to set on my stomach? And if I can skip the gym that day bc of the arm workout I'm getting while reading. And then I have to reread that page bc I am daydreaming.



But my GOAL is to finish that book up in the coming week, and then revisit Time Traveler's Wife. And then go cry my eyes out at the movie. I get SO excited when I see a preview, and Scott makes fun of me so much because whenever it is on TV, I make him stop talking and I drop everything and watch. I don't even do that when the TV show we're watching comes back on. I have seriously unrealistic expectations for this movie adaptation.

Now... Revolutionary Road (by Richard Yates). I finished this about a month ago and have so many mixed feelings I don't know where to start. First off... a lot of messed up and just generally ugly people in this book. BUT, that's life, right? Not everyone is worth hanging out with. That said, Frank and April Wheeler? No thanks, I would not spend any amount of time w/ them.

I will say, I think my new favorite time period is the late 50's and the 60's. I think it is a totally interesting time period with all of the changes going on in the country culturally. And the generation of folks that were raising kids at the time are even more interesting to me (hi Nanny, Nana and Pop-Pop!) And this is the reason this book (and Mad Men - Season Premiere on Aug 16 - AMC! Woohoo) interested me so much. It was such a convergence of changing times and traditional expectations. And I like the clothes and hairstyles. And it's funny how they smoked like...everywhere.

So the book. Right. I can't honestly recommend it to anyone, bc when you recommend something , someone will think of you if they hate it. And I think a lot of ppl might not like this book. It's not *pleasant* at all. It's a dark, dark book about a couple (Leo & Kate) who are kind of jerks to each other. They are conniving and mean to one another and unrealistic in their expectations. But again, to my original point, some ppl are like that. And there's no reason not to write a book about them. The book takes off when April pitches the idea of them dropping everything in their traditional suburban lives and moving to Paris as a family. Drama ensues.

I have the movie in my Netflix cue. Scott, I know you don't read the blog, but you probably will hate it. :)

Book Binge

I had a week off in between my old job and the end of the semester and the beginning of my internship (this past Monday) in which my only goal was to read fun books. And I did... a lot. It was positively blissful, and as I sit here at work I'm a little sad that week is behind me. Here's the scoop:

Election - Tom Perrotta. I'd read this in freshman year of college and remembered really liking it. I still do. The writing is really interesting to me, he was a very "writer-ish" way of describing stuff and I found that pretty cool. The synopsis is this: A teacher, Mr M, is in charge of a school election where is looks like Tracy Flick is going to win. He doesn't like her so he plants another kid in the election and drama ensues. It's kind of messed up at times, but I think it's written in a very real way. IDK. I gave it 4 stars on shelfari. Oh, and you can read it in like 3 hours, it's a very quick read.

American Wife

Curtis Sittenfeld (who might be a woman? IDK)

This book was a fabulous surprise... my friend Amy mentioned it to me and it was pretty great (an NPR recommendation, turns out). It's a fictional account of Laura Bush's life. It takes the main "events" of her life, starting with a fatal accident in high school which kills her would be love interest, and ends up with her in the White House. It's obviously very fabricated in parts, but a fun imaginative journey since we know so little about our most recent first lady. The character of Charlie Blackwell, a thinly-veiled George W was at once hilarious and appalling. But I will say I was a tad nervous to read this, not having much affection in my heart for the Bushes. I liked it anyway. It was well written and passed the Jamie test there. Cause we all know I don't read crap.

And lastly, The Reader by Bernard Schlink

This book was REALLY good. It was very "literary," which for me is a nice way to say not everyone will think it's good. Sometimes the writing is very thick. It also took me a while to get into it but as soon as you kind of "get" where it's going it's a really adeptly told story and kept me thinking long after I finished the book. I really want to see the movie too, I think Kate Winslet was a great choice for the main character. But part of me is sad I don't get to watch it as a surprise, since I already know what happens in the book.

I started The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon last week and it started a little slow, but I might be getting into it now. Hopefully I can put a dent in it this weekend.

This Summer

Great news - officially! I got another internship at IBM for this summer. It's with a different group, and I'm excited to have exposure to a different product...and continue to have IBM on my resume. I start 5/11...woohoo! Is it sad that I'm *most* excited to have the week before I start completely OFF? No work, no school... nothing.

And also, I'm about 1 week from being done with this semester, which is pretty awesome. I will have one more full time semester this fall and then my last class next spring. Next year at this time, I'll be Master Jamie (or nearly...) Very exciting indeed.

As usual, I have totally fallen off of reading during the semester, with so much school reading, working, moving, ETC... but all that will change this summer. You'll be glad to know I spent a good portion of last night's class composing a summer reading list:

1. Memoirs of a Geisha (reread, it's our JUNE book club book)
2. Revolutionary Road (JULY Book Club book)
3. The Reader
4. Pillars of the Earth (gulp...it's a big one...)
5. Grapes of Wrath (Kel got me thinking about this one... hopefully it's not too rough)
6. American Wife (I'm reading it right now actually, totally jumping the gun on the end of the semester... oh well)
7. Bridge of Sighs
8. Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion

... and I'm sure some more. Any other suggestions would be fab... woohoo!

Crow Lake

We're actually discussing this book tonight at book club, and I have no idea what I'm going to say, honestly. Did I like it? Not really. But the thing I'm struggling with is articulating WHY I didn't enjoy it or feel it had value at all. I can't figure out how to approach it...

As a writer, and one who studies writing in school, I think the writing was baaaaad. We actually talked about "voice" in one of my classes this past week, and what makes an author's voice, what differentiates authors from one another, etc. Maybe that was a bad talk to have before picking up this book, because I felt like the storyteller and main character, Kate's, voice was just impossible to nail down. She was all over the place. She's a college professor (at...27 I think it was? Really? How easy is grad school in Canada?) yet she randomly slips into some sort of backwoodsy sentence constructions. But only sometimes. And not in such a way that you'd be all like "Oh, the inconsistencies tell you something about her character." In the way that made me think "Who edited this crap?" (Oh, I hope school has not ruined me forever...)

As a reader and a lover of books, in some ways it felt like a waste of time. It wasn't *boring* per se (though I will say I took 2 naps - something I NEVER do - on Friday and Saturday while trying to get through this book. It could have been the dreary weather and Spring Break fatigue... but Crow Lake certainly played a role in it!!!) Since there wasn't much interesting ON the paper to ponder, I guess I just let my critical mind wander and started wondering why the author didn't go anywhere new and interesting with the plot. It felt like there were a bunch of interesting and potentially conflicting roads she could go down, but she just didn't. The ending brought it all together, but I still was a little mad bc I wish the author had told me some of that stuff sooner so I could have been interested in the book before page 270!! I also happen to believe the ending was kind of an easy and unbelievable ending... the character's realizations are good, but the plot was just sophomoric. :)

Maybe I'll think of some positive things to say about it. I love books, I love reading, and I don't get to do much of it during the semester. I SO wanted to like this book, and I only say that because when I feel so negative about a book I question my attitude - like did I really give this book a chance? I TRIED... but oh well. Not every book can be awesome, and I'll try to think of it like cleansing my palate.

2 books to kick off 09

Welp, school started up Thursday... so my reading vacation is officially over. I'm quite happy w/ the amount I was able to cram in, and with any luck I'll be able to keep some of it up throughout the semester this year. Right now I'm reading The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman and it's really good, but almost too "like school" for me right now, so I think I might dive into a fiction book today. You know, while I still have free time and no homework.


The first of my 2009 reads is Black & White, by Lewis Shiner. I recommend this book for a bunch of reasons. Firstly because I feel cool bc I know the author, and worked with him at IBM this summer. He's a cool guy. And secondly, it takes place in Durham, and I would even call Durham a character in the book, as it plays a very key role in the plot. It's about some "urban renewal" that went on in the late 60's and early 70's in which a prosperous and vibrant black community in Durham, Hayti, was basically destroyed to build what is now the Durham Freeway. I found it interesting since I live so close to it, and most of those parts of the book were accurate. And it's pretty appalling what was allowed to go on in Durham, and in many cities across the country at that time. I didn't realize the building of the Durham freeway was so closely tied to the establishment of RTP and all the businesses that moved there, ultimately making this area grow and thrive.

Besides the historical aspect, the basic synopsis of the book is this: A guy (Michael) who grew up in Texas comes back to Durham as his father is dying. His father was a highway engineer in the late 60's and played a key role in the destruction of Hayti and never really talked about it. The book follows Michael's investigation and revelations as to what really went on. At times it read like a Dan Brown book, but so much more substantial! I'll loan it out to anyone who wants it.

If you're into multi-media - here's the audio of when Lew was on the local NPR show talking about the book.

And the second book I read this week (I'm a MACHINE!!) was also kind of depressing but SOOO good. It's called A Long Way Gone, a Memiors of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah. I gave it 5 stars on my shelfari shelf, it was an amazing book. I came close to putting it down bc I wasn't "in the mood" for a depressing read, but it kind of grabbed me by the brain and I couldn't put it down. The most poignant detail in my mind the whole time was that this isn't some ancient history - this boy is my age. MY AGE. (Well, actually he's a year older, but you know... close enough). And his life was so different - while I was at middle school dances he was trying not to get killed in the forests of Africa. While I was whining about one thing or another in high school he was a freaking boy soldier and addicted to drugs and brainwashed into indiscriminate killing and violence.

It's just an amazing story of redemption and (as corny as this sounds) triumph of the human spirit. I can't imagine going through what he went through... and it's sad to me to think that people ARE still going through what he went through. It definitely put some perspective on the life I live. It changes the way I look at news coming out of Africa. A GREAT book.

The Other Queen & Atonement

Good Book and Better Book!

Ok, so The Other Queen is the latest in the Tudor series by Philippa Gregory. It's told from three perspectives and mainly about Mary Queen of Scots and all the stuff she went through. She had a pretty tragic life... I guess I never really knew! It was really interesting, with the different storytellers and stuff. I don't have a whole heck of a lot to say about this book... as usual with the Tudor books it makes me thankful to be a woman in modern times and not one who had to be subservient to men at all times, back in the late 1500s. No thanks. Sometimes when I read I just like to be transported to a different world, and P-Gregg does that. I do adore the Tudor series... and while this one wasn't the best, it was definitely a great read and stacks up well to the others!


Now...for the GREAT book (I said "better" above, but I'm upgrading it after having just reflected on The Other Queen!) Atonement... oh, why did it take me so long to warm to this book!? I tried to read it years ago and wrote it off as boring and hard to get into. Oh, Jamie from a few years ago, you ignorant twit. I finished it not an hour ago and closed it and clapped (as I usually do... for good books at least) and immediately added it to my short list of favorite all time books. It's SO good.
While I was reading it, since it was kind of about a writer, I kept reflecting on how the novel was put together and it just seemed impeccable, like I was taking a class on "how to write a novel" and this was required reading. Everything about it just seemed like a work of art - the writing was very literature-y, and I guess I can see how maybe if you're not into that kind of thing you might think it's "boring and hard to get into." But you'll be missing a great book, just sayin.

I am not going to go into a ton of depth on the plot. It spans I guess about 60 years, and covers family relationships, war, forgiveness (aka atonement) and how one night can change 3 lives. I was stunned by how wonderful the writing was. However you say this dude's name, he's the real deal, and I'll be searching for more books by him in 09! And I'm kind of excited to see the movie... I think the cast looks well chosen and it was up for all kinds of awards last year. Maybe it'll be a good representation :)

Here's a quote I really liked, from the introspective young writer, Briony (p38):
"It wasn't only wickedness and scheming that made people unhappy, it was confusion and misunderstanding; above all, it was the failure to grasp the simple truth that other people are as real as you. And only in a story could you enter these different minds and show how they had an equal value That was the only moral a story need have."

Ok, I think I'm going lighthearted next. Skipping Christmas, John Grisham :)

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons

Ok, so let me start off by doing some PR for the book, since it seems that is its biggest problem. If you judge books by their covers (who doesn't?), you might never read this one. In my opinion, the title is lame... and while it does play into the book, it misrepresents the nature of the book and probably turns a lot of people off of it who might really enjoy it! After reading the summary, my first thought was, oh, it's like Ya-Ya Sisterhood. It's so not the same... and I'm gonna go w/ it's better than that! Oh, and all the quotes on my book from magazines and other authors made it sound like chick lit. I'm not sure the official definition of chick lit, but I personally wouldn't consider this it. It had a dynamic plot, character development, big words.... it's just *about* women.

It's about a group of 5 women who live on the same street and start up a book club. It kind of chronicles all of the stuff they go through in raising their kids, life with their husbands and various other issues... it's a huge book. I read it super quickly because the writing was awesome, and the characters were great. I really wished they were real, and I'm sad to be done with the book! I think I'll read it again someday... there are a lot of sections that might read really differently after you've had and raised kids. So, note to self: In 30 years, read this book.

I highly recommend this book - it's a quick and engaging read and well worth it.

Poisonwood Bible (Finally!)

I finished it on Friday! Yay!

Can I just say I loved this book? It definitely had some rough spots where it was a little hard to read...and in retrospect it probably wasn't the best "easy" book for me to read intermittently through the semester, but I made it work. It's about a family of 4 daughters whose father is a crazy Baptist minister (not implying all Baptists are crazy, this guy was Crazy, capital C!!). They go on a mission to Africa and in doing so, he tries to convert the village to Christianity... (non-spoiler)...it doesn't go well. It's a really interesting glimpse into African life, how different it is from American life, and what the experience does to the family. I really liked how the story was told - through the voices of the daughters. It was surprisingly real and relate-able, even though it was a pretty "out there" story. It took me forever to get to it, and even longer to finish it, but I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Now, I'm reading Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons (my Dec Book Club book)... I love it so far, from what I can tell it's just a book that needs a better title. It's fabulous, but sounds a little weird/scary if you judge books by their covers & titles.

So many pictures!

If ever there was a captionable picture, this is it!! Scott and I are in love w/ our gorgeous and sweet niece, Sophie. We had a fabulous Thanksgiving trip to PA, and for real, I have more pictures than I can handle. I'm trying to figure out a way to share them online that will allow me to post them all... picasa and flickr make you "upgrade" to have more storage.

Those of you waiting on pictures, do you have any preferences on how I upload them? I've been using photobucket, but sometimes that gets annoying, and I'm not sure you can see them if you don't have a login set up there. Any thoughts?

Oh, and I'm *almost* done w/ my last paper, then I get to START READING again! Here's my reading list for December:

Poisonwood Bible (yes, still reading it from like October... skool...)
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Black & White (by Lewis Shiner) - about Durham, and was written by a coworker from IBM, it sounds cool.
Eats, Shoots and Leaves
The World is Flat - Thomas Friedman

Ok...that feels like a lot... we'll see :)

Blergh.

So, as you know I'm Fall Breakin', and I decided I'd take a break from boring school reading and read a fun book. I had been eyeing up Poisonwood Bible on my shelf for a while, and gave it a go. I'm not even joking, JUST as I was getting "into" it, 30 pages are missing from the book!!! It's odd, bc it's not like there's a chunk out... it just casually is on page 82, then you turn the page and it's 117. I got it off of Paperbackswap a while ago, so I think it's too late to take any action on that. What I'm really annoyed about is that I have time, interest and motivation to fun read at the moment and NO Poisonwood Bible. Blergh.

So, Scott's going to watch Penn State and I'm going to start Jodi Picoult's Plain Truth. But only bc it's about Amish ppl.

Ode to Time Traveler's Wife

Yes, you remain my favorite book...if it's possible, I think I love this book even more than I thought I did previously when I read it a year and a half ago. I think it is positively exquisite. It's books like this that make me positive that I could never write one - the way that it's intricately put together and draws out emotions in me that I didn't know I had. Confession: I cried pretty much solid for the last 40 pages! I think it was sadder/happier the second time around, having a better understanding of the characters and knowing the ultimate ending, etc.

First off, it's NOT science fiction. Let me be very clear about that up front! My definition of SF is if it's "grounded" in reality (ie - if people teleport and it's not considered weird or abnormal, it's not SF. In this book, Clare is very much reprentative of "normal" people, and seeing the time traveling through her eyes enhances our understanding. Not SF.) :)

It's about Henry DeTamble, a time traveler and Clare Abshire, his wife. She meets him when he's in his 30's, after they're already married in the present, and Clare is a child. Henry meets Clare when Clare is in her early 20's and he's nearing 30. Are you confused? It makes sense when you read it. It's truly the most amazing love story, I am so sad that I'm done with the book, and definitely can't wait to read it again in a few months. It also really makes you think - by throwing one imagined concept - time traveling - the author really makes you ponder the reasons we do what we do...free will, causality, happiness, death... my head is still spinning with all of the beautiful and complicated things I read.

I'm really excited for our book club discussion in a few weeks. I just hope I don't cry. :)

And, another reason to get excited for Christmas this year, the movie is being released!! I think Eric Bana is a fabulous choice for Henry DeTamble, and Rachel McAdams is the perfect Clare. I just hope they can capture the essence of the book.

SO.EXCITED. for the movie. For real... I hope a trailer comes out soon!


Oh, and another movie/book opinion... I think Rob Livingston as Gomez is also a fabulous casting call. If they can write/direct a movie as well as they can cast it, might be a good representation of the book! Fingers crossed!