rating:
This book was too hip for me and it took me for-ev-er to read. I'm not a fan.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
book 7
Maynard and Jennica, Rudolph Delson
rating:
This book was too hip for me and it took me for-ev-er to read. I'm not a fan.
rating:
This book was too hip for me and it took me for-ev-er to read. I'm not a fan.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
book 6
Candy Girl, Diablo Cody
rating:
Okay, obviously I have been living in an ivory tower. Strippers on TV just dance around without clothes on and that's it. This memoir by the screenwriter of Juno tells a different story. Basically: stripping is dirty and I don't get the appeal. Also, Cody's writing style didn't really work well for me. It was like Juno and her quick, wise-cracking, nobody-really-talks-like-that voice the whole time.
rating:
Okay, obviously I have been living in an ivory tower. Strippers on TV just dance around without clothes on and that's it. This memoir by the screenwriter of Juno tells a different story. Basically: stripping is dirty and I don't get the appeal. Also, Cody's writing style didn't really work well for me. It was like Juno and her quick, wise-cracking, nobody-really-talks-like-that voice the whole time.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
book 5
Alive and Well in Prague, New York, Daphne Grab
rating:
Pretty standard coming of age YA novel. Matisse, whose parents are artists, has to endure a move from NYC to the small town of Prague, NY, after her dad's Parkinson's Disease renders him unable to sculpt. She learns lessons, meets boys, makes friends, etc.
rating:
Pretty standard coming of age YA novel. Matisse, whose parents are artists, has to endure a move from NYC to the small town of Prague, NY, after her dad's Parkinson's Disease renders him unable to sculpt. She learns lessons, meets boys, makes friends, etc.
book 4
Belong to Me, Marisa de los Santos
rating:
A really nice follow-up to Love Walked In, which I read in 2006 (read it here). Overall I liked it better, it had a richer cast of characters and a little more texture all around. And I read it all in one sitting. Cornelia from Love Walked In is the main character, but she makes a few interesting friends when she moves from NYC to a little Pennsylvania suburb. There were a few random jokes about the ACC that made me feel a little homesick.
rating:
A really nice follow-up to Love Walked In, which I read in 2006 (read it here). Overall I liked it better, it had a richer cast of characters and a little more texture all around. And I read it all in one sitting. Cornelia from Love Walked In is the main character, but she makes a few interesting friends when she moves from NYC to a little Pennsylvania suburb. There were a few random jokes about the ACC that made me feel a little homesick.
book 3
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
rating:
I have been dismissing this novel as a circus book for over a year, and I'm now fully prepared to admit how dumb that was. This book is fantastic. It's about Jacob, now in his nineties, and the time he spent working as a vet for the Benzini Bros circus during the Great Depression. Just overall really engaging.
rating:
I have been dismissing this novel as a circus book for over a year, and I'm now fully prepared to admit how dumb that was. This book is fantastic. It's about Jacob, now in his nineties, and the time he spent working as a vet for the Benzini Bros circus during the Great Depression. Just overall really engaging.
Monday, January 07, 2008
book 2
School's Out, Christophe Dufosse
rating:
I was seduced by the cool cover of this book, and a blurb on the back that likened it to Secret History, which was the greatest book in the world to college freshman me. The comparison is NOT apt, and the cover is much cooler than the story. Basically, it opens with a teacher dying - it looks like a suicide, but many involved are suspicious of one of his classes, a group of students creepily and ardently devoted to one another. Sounds interesting, right? WRONG! The rest of the book is weighed down by the new teacher, Pierre Hoffman, waxing philosophical on what amounts to very little. It took about 150 pages for anything to really happen, and then there was another lull that lasted until almost the end. Ugh. I'll allow that some of the nuances may have been lost in translation. But that's all I'll allow. I need to read something really meaty and good to get me going in 2008. Suggestions?
rating:
I was seduced by the cool cover of this book, and a blurb on the back that likened it to Secret History, which was the greatest book in the world to college freshman me. The comparison is NOT apt, and the cover is much cooler than the story. Basically, it opens with a teacher dying - it looks like a suicide, but many involved are suspicious of one of his classes, a group of students creepily and ardently devoted to one another. Sounds interesting, right? WRONG! The rest of the book is weighed down by the new teacher, Pierre Hoffman, waxing philosophical on what amounts to very little. It took about 150 pages for anything to really happen, and then there was another lull that lasted until almost the end. Ugh. I'll allow that some of the nuances may have been lost in translation. But that's all I'll allow. I need to read something really meaty and good to get me going in 2008. Suggestions?
Saturday, January 05, 2008
book 1!
ah, nothing like a fresh start.
The Golden Compass, Phillip Pullman
rating:
Can you believe I've never read this? I started it in December, in anticipation of the movie, but I got distracted by the fact that we have to move, the weather was bad, it's really cold here, etc. Anyway, a friend demanded that I finish it today so that we could go see the movie while it's still in town, and I'm glad that I did because I really enjoyed it. People talk about the religious undertones and they're definitely there, especially at the end. It's really pretty violent and intense at times. Mostly I'm excited about seeing the giant bears in the movie.
The Golden Compass, Phillip Pullman
rating:
Can you believe I've never read this? I started it in December, in anticipation of the movie, but I got distracted by the fact that we have to move, the weather was bad, it's really cold here, etc. Anyway, a friend demanded that I finish it today so that we could go see the movie while it's still in town, and I'm glad that I did because I really enjoyed it. People talk about the religious undertones and they're definitely there, especially at the end. It's really pretty violent and intense at times. Mostly I'm excited about seeing the giant bears in the movie.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
books 63 and 64
Bitter Sweets, Roopa Farooki
rating:
This debut novel has been compared to Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake, and I have to say that, beyond the obvious cultural connection, I didn't really see it. This book is so soaked in deceit that I had a hard time relating to many of the characters, and some of the major issues raised are dealt with so neatly that it was difficult to believe. Still, I found Farooki's writing to be smooth and her voice to be very readable.
Last Rituals, Yrsa Sigurdardottir
rating:
The subtitle of this novel is: "An Icelandic Novel of Secret Symbols, Medieval Witchcraft, and Modern Murder." Yep, that pretty much says it all. Lawyer Thora is contacted by the family of a murdered German graduate student studying in Iceland. They're unhappy with the outcome of the police investigation and want her to find out more. I'm a fan of Scandinavian crime novels, generally, though this one was a little different b/c the victim was a German national. I figured out who the murderer was pretty early on, but the rest of the novel was still pretty interesting. Witches, torture, creepy stuff, etc.
rating:
This debut novel has been compared to Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake, and I have to say that, beyond the obvious cultural connection, I didn't really see it. This book is so soaked in deceit that I had a hard time relating to many of the characters, and some of the major issues raised are dealt with so neatly that it was difficult to believe. Still, I found Farooki's writing to be smooth and her voice to be very readable.
Last Rituals, Yrsa Sigurdardottir
rating:
The subtitle of this novel is: "An Icelandic Novel of Secret Symbols, Medieval Witchcraft, and Modern Murder." Yep, that pretty much says it all. Lawyer Thora is contacted by the family of a murdered German graduate student studying in Iceland. They're unhappy with the outcome of the police investigation and want her to find out more. I'm a fan of Scandinavian crime novels, generally, though this one was a little different b/c the victim was a German national. I figured out who the murderer was pretty early on, but the rest of the novel was still pretty interesting. Witches, torture, creepy stuff, etc.
Friday, December 28, 2007
book 62
Slam, Nick Hornby
rating:
Nick Hornby's latest novel is about a teenager, Sam, who is really into skating (skateboarding, that is, but apparently only rubes call it that). He's got a few nice things going for him - he might be the first in the family to go to college, he's got a pretty girlfriend, etc. But then it all goes out the window after something occurs that changes his life (I'm not saying what b/c the book jacket acts as if it's some kind of secret). Hornby's teenage voice is really good, and I really liked the fast pace of the story. I'm a little quibbly about the parts where he is able to magically preview the future, but those moments are pretty well contained. I remember not being super happy about How to Be Good, the last Hornby I read, but I enjoyed this one so much that I'm considering going back and reading that suicide book he wrote.
I've got three more days to up my totals for 2007. Can I do a book a day and make it a respectable 65? Stay tuned...
rating:
Nick Hornby's latest novel is about a teenager, Sam, who is really into skating (skateboarding, that is, but apparently only rubes call it that). He's got a few nice things going for him - he might be the first in the family to go to college, he's got a pretty girlfriend, etc. But then it all goes out the window after something occurs that changes his life (I'm not saying what b/c the book jacket acts as if it's some kind of secret). Hornby's teenage voice is really good, and I really liked the fast pace of the story. I'm a little quibbly about the parts where he is able to magically preview the future, but those moments are pretty well contained. I remember not being super happy about How to Be Good, the last Hornby I read, but I enjoyed this one so much that I'm considering going back and reading that suicide book he wrote.
I've got three more days to up my totals for 2007. Can I do a book a day and make it a respectable 65? Stay tuned...
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
book 61
Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen
rating:
A debut novel from a North Carolina writer, Garden Spells is about the Waverly sisters of Bascom, NC, and how they deal with their strange family history. One of the sisters is a caterer, and she makes all of these delicious-sounding foods out of the edible flowers grown in the magical family garden. I was hungry a lot while I read it. Overall, a fine read, but it all wrapped up a little too nicely for my taste.
rating:
A debut novel from a North Carolina writer, Garden Spells is about the Waverly sisters of Bascom, NC, and how they deal with their strange family history. One of the sisters is a caterer, and she makes all of these delicious-sounding foods out of the edible flowers grown in the magical family garden. I was hungry a lot while I read it. Overall, a fine read, but it all wrapped up a little too nicely for my taste.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
book 60
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
rating:
Re-reading for book club. If you don't know what happens, you should watch the movie.
rating:
Re-reading for book club. If you don't know what happens, you should watch the movie.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
book 59
The Abstinence Teacher, Tom Perrotta
rating:
Eh. I've really liked Tom Perrotta ever since I read The Wishbones back in high school. But this one really didn't do it for me. It's about Ruth, a sex ed teacher involved in scandal, etc. etc. and Tim, a former drug-addict now born-again Christian who coaches Ruth's daughter's soccer team. It was well-written but I didn't feel like there was much arc or movement to the story, like I was just waiting for whatever big thing was going to happen and I'm still waiting now, even after the book is over.
rating:
Eh. I've really liked Tom Perrotta ever since I read The Wishbones back in high school. But this one really didn't do it for me. It's about Ruth, a sex ed teacher involved in scandal, etc. etc. and Tim, a former drug-addict now born-again Christian who coaches Ruth's daughter's soccer team. It was well-written but I didn't feel like there was much arc or movement to the story, like I was just waiting for whatever big thing was going to happen and I'm still waiting now, even after the book is over.
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