My Best of 2011

So my grand total for books read in 2011 is 61. It would have probably been 62 if I hadn’t started reading 11/22/63. I am about half way through, and so its over 1000 pages will straddle from this year into the next, which honestly feels quite appropriate.

 

Anyway, my award for 2011’s best goes to Moondogs.  It is an odd little book, and certainly isn’t for everyone, yet it somehow found its way to me, and I loved it.  In a big world with many books there is nothing that feels more special and worthy of celebration than the right book finding the right gal.  I hope for many more happy accidents in 2012!

Mission Complete

61. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

So this was my big rereading test:  Would I like it?  Would I ruin my wonderful memories?  Would I constantly badger myself about wasting valuable reading time?

Turns out that my timing for this couldn’t have been better.  I was sick.  Sicker than I have ever been in my life.  Like turn off the lights and sit in a cold, dark room for a week sick.  I couldn’t read more then a few pages at a time and if I had been reading something that was unknown to me I would probably have to start it over. Since I knew the plot of this already, I came out of my haze and was able to carry on without being lost.  So no need to worry about reading time lost, it would have been either way.  Whew… because this was my big worry, and I am not very good at giving myself a break.

So, did I like it?  In a way, yes, because it was kind of a comfort.  Did it stand up to my memories of the first time?  No, it did lose some of the magic.  But the part that was very fun and new was that I had never read any of these book when I knew what was coming next and so to see all of the foreshadowing and Easter egg laying that Rowling did was really great.  So, for that I am thankful. 

But I am still not a re-reader.

Not Your Momma's Werewolf

60. The Last Werewolf

He is more like 007.  That spy who somehow walks out of the shattered ruins while everyone else dies.  He is a brute, and a cad.  A man who was once more man than animal but is now much more animal than anything, and he is the last of his kind.  And he doesn’t really give a crap.  He has dilly-dallied around for over 200 years and is over it.  He feels like he lost the desire for anything so long ago that it isn’t even worth it to run away from all the people who are after him, until he sees her...

See, 007 I tell you.

This was a quick thriller but the very frank and explicit sex, remember they are animals, will run quite a few people off.  But for a story that seems to be over before it even starts it was fun to see where it went.

The Ace of Twain

About a year ago, I started to use playing cards as bookmarks.  Darren was at the age where he grabbed anything, and I had lost my place countless times using my standard bookmarks.  The cards are perfect because they hide in the book but are thick enough that you can find then, and when they are found by the boy they are strong enough to withhold some chewing and such.  Anyway, I became obsessed with finding cards, first it was just cheap decks, but now it is more eclectic ones.  I have far more than I will ever need but it is fun to choose a new card for every new book.

Then I found the deck that was meant for me while stocking-stuffer-shopping around at our local hobby shop. I stumbled across these:

 

I mean really!  I am sure the people working the cash register heard my “SQWEEE!!!” Each author has four cards, and each card highlights one book title.  I mean I could make my whole reading life around this deck.  Instead of picking a card to be the marker for the book, I pick the card to be the book as well. 

The Ace of Spades has always been my favorite card and nothing has changed with that.  It honestly couldn’t be a better fit.

Reread or Not to Reread

There is something about this time of year that makes me want to reread books, I think it is the sense of comfort that I am craving.  It comes up as I browse for gifts, I see all the books I have once loved and wonder if other would feel the same. 

The other night, a friend mention that she had just read Rebecca and I was flooded with memories. Manderlay, the first time she searches through Rebecca’s desk, the ill-fated costume ball, and The Danvers.  Ohhh, The Danvers – the name alone makes me shiver.  I read Rebecca while preparing to student teach and I was absolutely taken away by it.  I loved it so much that it became my go to recommendation.  I immediately found it on my shelf and wanted to stop doing anything else to read it again, but I didn’t.

Then this weekend I was bedridden with the cold from hell and watched a Harry Potter marathon on TV.  I love the movies and I loved the books.  The third book, Prisoner of Azkaban was my favorite book and is the only one I have ever considered rereading. Watching the movie brought that all back.  That book was my favorite because it was so magical and so much of that was left out of the movie simply because they couldn’t recreate it.  I went to my bookshelf and picked it up, none of the other movies had this effect on me.

But here is the rub: I never reread books.  Other than while I was teaching, I have done it maybe a half dozen times.  I know people who reread the same books on a yearly basis and I absolutely can’t understand it.  How do you have time to reread something when there is so much more to be read?  This is what plagues me when I try to do it… the what if (Really, the what if’s have become the plague of my life lately.) So I am going to do it.  I am going to reread Harry Potter #3 and hope that my original experience with it isn’t ruined but instead enhanced.

And Sometimes They Were Very Sad

59. The Marriage Plot

This book was a gut punch for me to read.  It wouldn’t be for other people, but for me it was painful for reasons I won’t write about here.  It made me very sad, but I also read it differently than anyone else would and so I think all of my opinions are going to be skewed.

I identified with Madeline, maybe too much.  I also have spent much of my life escaping into stories and have so many plots and characters floating around in my mind that my realities can never live up to my expectations.  I identified with all three characters as they fell in to the chasm of the “Real World.”  We hear about it during our education, everyone around us pretends that we have done everything right to be prepared for its realities.  We go to school and study in order to Be something.  We believe that we have a handle on who we want to be for the rest of our lives, but truthfully we know nothing.  We have simply been hiding, avoiding.

The book is wonderfully written, Eugenides plays with time in a wonderful way.  His writing shows how two people can share an experience but feel and remember it in excruciatingly different ways.  He highlights again how insecure people truly are with themselves and how the people around them know very little of the truth.  He brings each of the characters to life in a very vivid, though not always happy, way.  I am sure there will be many complaints about the entitled nature of the advantaged youth of the 1980’s.

I keep seeing the story labeled as a love triangle but I didn’t see it that way; it is more about choices.  We all make choices, big and small, every day.  We also constantly wonder what the other choice would have brought us, often believing that the better choice was the other option.  I am so glad that Mitchell gave Madeline a choice, for his sake as much as for hers.

Left Cold

58. The Skating Rink

 

I found myself a little bored and less absorbed than I usually am with Bolano’s books, so I would say that this is my least favorite. Also, I have to say it was a lot less exciting than the blurb on the back made it sound; I mean, "hair raising"? Not at all!

Since he died, they are printing all of his stuff whether finished or not and I think he might be a bit horrified by that fact as it smacks quite a bit of money grubbing.  The fact that I thought about that while reading this is also an indication of my lack of interest in the story.

The story is told from three male points of view, they are only linked by off chance meetings but they all know details about the skater, the rink that was built, and the murder that occurred there. I liked all three guys even though one is a corrupt politician, he is clearly a romantic; and another has left his wife and son even though he clearly loves them dearly. Not sure I liked them as I read, but looking back I do. Also, any mention of a band of poets from Chile makes me instantly smile, as if I am in on Bolano’s joke. Each of the chapters reads like an interrogation report of what happened, as if they are making sure to highlight the best of their actions.  You have to read this in a pretty steady fashion in order to stay on top of who is who.

Again, all of Bolano’s female characters are adored as opposed to being real characters; men are willing to do anything for them but we are never quite sure why. This is a complaint that I have with all of Bolano’s works, the women are just never developed and I had hoped that since one of the main characters in this book is a woman we might finally see that side of his writing, alas…

Vivid in Black and White

57. The Night Circus

 

The circus appears and disappears as if by magic, and the whole thing is magical.  The descriptions of the circus are quite amazing.  I wanted to be there, to wander the tents, and stand in front of the clock (I LOVED the clock!).  To eat the food, all the food!  It is a place that can only exist in the pages of a book, and I hope it remains safely there.  Although I think the movie rights are already sold, ugh.

There are many characters, too many for the author to handle them all well, and they are all more than meets the eye, and that is one of the aspects I loved most about the book.  It highlights the idea that we humans love to be cynical about things instead of believing in the possibility.  The circus is wonderful and yet it is believable because people don’t question it.

But the circus is also an arena for a duel.  A duel between two magicians selected, groomed, and educated solely to compete.  And this is where the plot lost me.  I don’t know why they were selected, what the duel is really about, or even how it is played.  The two characters dueling, Marco and Celia, are the most flat characters in the book and I had zero investment in their love or their fight.  Oddly, I still don’t understand the outcome of the duel, how it happened or why.  This is a problem.

So the circus totally works, but the dueling totally does not, leaving me to say that this is a fun, quick, beach-y read; but I think in the end this amazing circus will become forgettable and that is too bad.

Ah, The Fly in the Ointment

I knew nothing technical could be as seamless and easy as I would hope.  Although, I guess that isn’t really my complaint here.  Kindle books from the library are as easy to download and read as I said, but I just discovered that a few days before your book expires you get an email from Amazon reminding you how easy it would be to buy the book from them. 

That’s right… A crummy commercial.

True Love

I love the library.

I love the smell.  I love the endless shelves.  I love wandering and finding a treasure.  I love the big comfy chairs.  I love that there is a kid’s section.  I love that the last time my dad went to the library he took out his wallet to pay.

Books for free are magic to me.  They give anyone willing to read the opportunity to learn about anything that interests them.  Continuing Education at your fingertips for FREE!

As a kid, I remember walking up the glassed in ramp of the Boulder Public Library, my heart rate rising from both my speed and my excitement.  I wanted to stop and look at the artwork that lined the walls but I was too excited to get to the books.  Many were favorites and many were brand new.  There were beanbags to sit on and librarians to help.  But in the end it was up to me to decide how I would spend my time, what books I would choose to take home.  I checked them out with my own card.  Really it was my first foray into the adult world, as it was also up to me to treat the books well and get them back on time so that I could go through the experience all again. My first taste of freedom and responsibility; power.  The library has since been remodeled but I will always remember it this way.

Library for Kindle

I own the first generation Kindle, in all its quirky wonder, and it became my most prized possession when I was breastfeeding Darren.  One of the many things I didn’t know about breastfeeding was that it usually leads directly to nap time and it is very hard to turn pages in a book with a sleeping baby in your arms.  So my Kindle and I were connected and it was invaluable to me to be able to escape in to a book during that time.  But since I haven’t even picked the thing up.  I guess I just like regular books better, and quite frankly I want Darren to see me reading books not machines.

I discovered that my library is now lending books for the Kindle and I thought I would check it out just to see how it worked, and I have to say it works incredibly well!  I think a lot of things with technology are needlessly invasive.  You have to provide email and credit card numbers to do just about anything anymore and so I had my doubts, but this was a very simple thing.  No different than putting a book on hold, except that instead of an email saying your book is ready to be picked up you get an email saying it is ready for download: you click the button, sync your device, and voilá!  I know I won’t limit myself to this service because I love actually going to the library, but I have to say that I think I will use it frequently because of the ease.

Hence the Title

56. Child 44

I have been known to declare, “Hence the title!” while watching TV shows and movies.  I learned it from my brother, and I do it without even thinking. Sometimes the reason is obvious and sometimes more obscure; sometimes it is inappropriate.  The Hence the Title moment in Child 44 is rather shocking and made me sit up and exclaim it out loud.  In fact, there were quite a few moments like this and that is why I will say it is truly the most intense and fast paced thriller I have read in some time.  It isn’t a perfect book, but it is certainly an entertaining one.

The set up of the story and atmosphere were really great. A former MGB agent, in post WWII Russia, finds himself on the wrong side of the agency he works for and his life falls apart rather quickly. The stress of knowing that no matter what you do someone can interpret it as a crime is terrifying, and you feel the fear as you read about it all happening to him.

He is sent on an errand to remind a family that the death of their son was an accident and not a murder, as they think, because such things do not happen in their perfect society.  He soon realizes that this was not first murder and decides that someone needs to stop them from happening. The murders are horrible and graphic, and I only learned after reading that they are based on a real case.

The second half of the book felt a bit rushed with some decidedly far-fetched antics. That, and the sappy sweet ending, took a bit of the-thrill-of-it-all out for me, but overall I enjoyed it for what it is. I had zero expectations going in and was pleasantly surprised.

Money, Money, Money

55. Name of The Wind

You know when you read a book and you think: Man, I wish I had done that!  Well, clearly Patrick Rothfuss has done it too.  He read The Lord of the Rings, The Narnia books, and other “Geeky” things (he calls himself a geek, not me – especially since being a geek is the new cool kid thing to do.)  Then he spent seven-some odd years writing this book and what ever is to come next since I wouldn’t even call this a first book in a trilogy as much a first half of a book that is being published as a trilogy, or series, because that is what we do now.  It is worse than a cliffhanger ending; it is like pages fell out.

All of it just felt like it was trying to be something instead of organically becoming something new.  I felt like he needed to stretch a bit more, show a bit more, work a bit more.  Basically write more.  But not print every word he wrote!

The thing that really got on my nerves was how often he brought up money.  The author created his own currency system (good on oh-so-creative you!) and brought up, over and over again, how the narrator got, spent, and was constantly in need of more money.  The problem with that is that it is a story, so while you can say someone is poor you can’t constantly dwell on it because it doesn’t really matter – it is all fake!  And dwelling on it takes me out of the story; because really, is he going to get kicked out of the pretend school because he doesn’t have enough pretend money to pay for it?  No, because there are 400 more pages and, since this is all told as a flash back, you already told us he went to school!  Clearly, it got to the point that I couldn’t think about anything else.

Anyway, there were parts of the story that were intriguing but I don’t think I care enough about them to continue on to the other books.

Am I Me?

54. Await Your Reply 

“There are so many people we could become, and we leave a trail of bodies through our teens and twenties that it’s hard to tell which one is us. How many versions do we abandon over the years?” – Dan Chaon. Truth.

I literally said, “Wow!” at the end of this one.  It is three seemingly separate story lines that weave together to reveal a truth at the end, and while I wouldn’t really call it a thriller, I would say that the shifting back and forth from each story propels the plot along and made it quite hard to put down.  One thing that really helped was that no specific time frame is given and so each story kind of revolves in its own world (until you realize that it really doesn’t.) All of the stories include characters that change their identity for one reason or another.  With the advent of the Internet it seems that this is a fairly easy thing to do, but it is also something that people have been doing for much longer.  Don’t we all want to leave our hometown at some point and "become" something?

These shifts in identity lead to my one complaint, and I am sure it is a common one, as a reader you felt a bit detached from things because you aren’t drawn close to many of the characters. But wasn’t that the point?  We as readers can’t know the characters when they keep changing who they are and leaving who they were behind. You can’t know fully developed characters because they haven’t developed yet. They are just names and documents. 

The truth in life is that we know what people want us to know about them.  We don’t really know ourselves. We highlight our positives and hope the negative fades away. Would we really say no if someone said we could start all over? All the characters say they are hoping to find someone who truly loves them. Is that what makes us real?  When we matter to someone else?

Sublime Choas

53. Beautiful Chaos

 

This is the third in the Beautiful series, and I have read them all in their first week of release.  I don’t even know how I found out about the first book but I have truly enjoyed the ride.  As I said, this is the third book and in many ways I thought it was the best.

The books have the typical YA appearance: A beautiful girl, who will become a witch on her birthday, falls for an average guy (in fact, they seem destined for one another) who may not be as average as he seems.

But what is so new, and really well done, is that we see it all from the young man’s POV.  We see him act stereotypically tough, but feel shame for it.  We see him feel truly fearful for those he loves, we see him sacrifice, and act heroically.  And we see him admire the girl for her loyalty and bravery.  Like I said: New.  What is also great here is that the peripheral characters, made up of close friends and family, are really well developed and are given very important places in the plot lines.  These characters have returned in all three books and continue to be hashed out and more deeply developed instead of being retired and replaced with each new book, and I love that because it makes the payoff of sticking with the series that much more sweet. The southern gothic setting with its traditions and superstitions has also become another character. The plots are written much more like mysteries with subtle hints given throughout, but also little surprises along the way. Each book does end with a cliffhanger, which is a bit tired but I guess also a bit necessary.

Safe to say I will pick up the next one as soon as I can and that is rare for me with a series, usually by this time I only stick with it because I feel like have to.

SO DONE!

Ok, over the last year or so I have been keeping more of an eye on the publishing world and I find that every three months or so there is a MUST read book.  Some are new works from past winners like The Marriage Plot or Freedom, but many are from brand new authors like: The Tiger’s Wife, Swamplaidia!, and The Night Circus.  It pains me to know that I bought all of the later three in hardback because I just couldn’t stand not having the new “it” book.  The Tiger’s Wife was enjoyable but far from great, I just finished Swamplandia and I feel sick about it, and now I am hearing a lot of push back on The Night Circus.  So I am stating right here, right now, NEVER AGAIN.  I will buy hardback copies of books that I am looking forward to, but no more of these publishing darlings.

52. Swampladia!

 

Fuck you.  Fuck you.  Fuck you.

You cannot have a whimsical cover like this and then torture me with the dreadful existence of these characters.  I know people have it rough and life is hard, but is there not one thing to be hopeful about?  Not one shred of light to keep moving towards?  Because if there is, where was it here?  I have been told not to judge a book by its cover, but come on.

I thought there would be a little fun in this set up:  A family who name themselves Bigtree and live on an island in the Florida Everglades, wrestling alligators and delighting fans at their park, Swamplandia!  Fun, right?  But we missed all that.  All that is over.  What we have now is a crumbling park, a crumbling family, and crumbling psyches.  A father and a son trying to do right but failing miserably while the sisters, and daughters, wander through the very real dangers of the island after being left on their own.  You would think that the worst pain they would feel would be the loss of their mother, but it gets worse.  In an awful and sickening way.  And then it is over.

Is it well written? Yes.  There are some silly plot holes and continuity errors, but overall it is good.  It is original? Setting wise, absolutely, but plot wise not really.  Is there potential for this writer? Yes, but I can see why she started out writing short stories.  Over all, is this a MUST read book? NO!!!  Frankly, I kind of wish I had missed it.

More Memories

One piece of literature for every three pieces of trash.

This was my mom’s rule for me when we went to the library or book shopping.  It was instituted when I started to read VC Andrews, Sweet Valley High, and other tawdry YA “classics.”  She never said I couldn’t read those things, she just wanted me to read other things as well. And because it was three for one I thought I was totally getting away with something. A brilliant scheme on her part really! Even now I realize that unconsciously I still tend to live by this rule.  I still love my trashy, escapist reads, but after a while I feel the need for a cleanse.

Some of my fondest memories are the trips she, my dad, and I would make to the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, a book Mecca if you will. Once we hit the store we would all head our separate ways. I could wander for hours knowing that I could always find dad reading in a chair in the mystery section. Eventually, we would all congregate back there and leave with a huge pile of books.  I always felt so lucky. And I was. So lucky to come from a reading family; now lucky to have married a man who reads and blessed to have a three year old who loves books.  I can’t begin to thank my parents for allowing this to grow in me.  The last time we all went to the Tattered Cover was during a trip for the final fitting of my wedding dress, much too long ago but an amazingly special trip. 

As I recall, the first time my mom instituted the three for one rule my literature choice was In Cold Blood. She didn’t bat an eye (what a lady huh?).  That book is still on my shelf, and it is with great pride that I say I have absolutely no idea what the three pieces of trash were.

Stuck in the Muck

I remember reading the reviews for Swamplandia! earlier this year, and I was so excited about it I decided I HAD to buy it on its release day. Then it sat. The other day I noticed that the paperback version is now out and I still haven’t read my hardback that I just HAD to have, and that drives me crazy! So, I picked it up last Wednesday and now I am only on page 59. Almost a week and only 59 pages!  I read a 1000 page book the week before. I have read a few paragraphs every day instead of my usual few chapters.

The real issue is that I don't know what it is that is holding me back. It is an original story and it is well written. Truthfully, I think I just can't take any more mothers dying of cancer and leaving their children behind to face the world unguided. I know it happens; chances are good it will happen to me and the realization of that is heart wrenching. It stops my breath and makes my heart ache. Both my son and my husband turned a year older this weekend so maybe I am just super aware and sensitive to time passing and things changing right now, not to mention busy trying to make everyone feel celebrated, to also be reading a book about an entire family’s upheaval. 

Anyway, I feel bogged down by the swamp, but hopefully I will be able to scrape myself out of it and enjoy myself again.

Whew!

51. Savages

Well, I need to catch my breath here for a second.  I mean, literally, my eyes can’t focus…

I flew through this in just over a day. The format makes it very easy to read and it becomes literally un-put-down-able. It reads very much like a screenplay, and apparently is already in production.  There are far too many pop culture references that will be obsolete in a few years time, but it is a fast, hip (maybe a bit too pretentious) read that pulls you in, gets your heart beat racing, and is over before you know it.

The plot involves two young Southern California pot growers trying to get back their girlfriend who has been kidnapped by the Mexican Cartel.  One is a sweet, hip, do-gooder; and the other a violence-is-the-only-answer war vet.  And the girl?  Well, she shops a lot and sleeps with both guys.  So basically I would not like these people, but for some reason I really liked them, and I was rooting for them.  Even when the things they were getting away with were laughable, I pushed aside my doubts and just hung on for the ride and it was certainly a ride.

I have to admit that I liked this book, but because it is a primary example of one of those over the top kind of hip things to like, liking it makes me feel kind of dirty.

So long Pennywise!

50. It

At some point Pennywise says, “What child doesn’t love a clown?” Umm… Me, and almost every person I know. They are creepy.  Period.

 

As I said before I wanted a scary book to read to get me in the mood for Halloween, and this fit the bill.

The build up of the story is great. I thought the shifts between the action of the characters as kids to the present action as adults was handled very well and also succeeded in pushing the plot along.  Some parts were very over written but this is Stephen King we are talking about.  In fact there were so many long, drawn out chase scenes I was able to skim quite a bit and get my reading over faster.  Because the fact is, I wanted it to be over.  Not because I didn’t like it, but because I didn’t like to read it before I went to sleep. 

The problem I had was that the build up was so good that the ending just could never live up. I thought things got drawn out and then also went to a silly quasi-philosophical place, but ultimately the ending was ruined by a scene that was totally out of character, out of place, and, frankly, out of line. The character of Bev was really ruined by the scene and there was no reason for it.

Long story (literally), short:  It was a fun, scary read, that I would never recommend because it went somewhere it really didn’t need to go.

Boo!

Rainy, dark skies, leaves falling; it is time for a Halloween read, and I wanted a scary one, so I picked Stephen King’s It.  I have seen the movie and so a lot of the plot isn’t a surprise to me, but the thing about It that makes it so scary isn’t really what you read, it is what it makes you think.

 

The brilliant thing about It is that for each kid in the story It is something else. It is each child’s worst nightmare; their most base fear and so it is impossible to read without conjuring up your own It.  And what it was when you were eleven.

At eleven, I remember turning off the light in the basement and running up the stairs, not just running, but running with all my might and almost feeling something closing in behind me. It was vaguely vampiric as I recall. I still get a shiver going up those stairs; especially at night.  I wonder how my brothers felt since they slept down there?   

My It now is much more basic and much less confined to the dark, and that is what rises my heckles, and enters my dreams, about this book and makes it a pretty great Halloween read so far.

An Unexpected Surprise

49. The Fall

 

This book was a totally unexpected surprise that I devoured in two days.  It also marks a return to reading on the Kindle and I have to say that I really enjoyed the experience and think it lent itself to me progressing so quickly. 

This is the sequel to The Strain, and the third in the trilogy comes out at the end of the month.  It has been well over a year since I read the first book and I didn’t think I remembered much but I found myself right back in the swing of things without much trouble, and the authors made the transition very easy.  There wasn’t a lot of rehashing of plot points from the first book, instead a new plot was introduced that I thought was a lot of fun.

And how does one keep a girl like me hooked on a doomsday vampire book?  You introduce Nazi vampires and an ancient book that holds secrets.  Do that and you have me hook, line and sinker!  I love that the bad guys are really bad and the good guys are really good, and all seems lost but then you find yourself chuckling over one-liners.  This isn’t some great piece of literary writing, but it sure is a heck of a lot of fun and a great way to spend a rainy weekend.

Oh How I Wanted to Love You!

48. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Great title, beautiful cover, and lovely illustrations.  All of this made me think I had found a perfect little gem that would become a long-time favorite. Something that I would love to recommend to young girls. But it just didn’t all come together for me.

What we have is a very sweet YA book that reads a little too old for its intended audience. The reading level is teens but the plot and action is 7-10.  I loved September and all of the crazy characters she met, but we have all been here before, and so in the end I think it is a pretty easy story to forget.

High School Sucks

47. Prep

 

This was an uncomfortable read for me.  I really recognized myself in the main character; I wanted her to change in ways I was never confident enough to, and then I just wanted it to be over.  Kind of like high school. And when it was, I felt disappointed because really nothing happens.  Kind of like high school.  Lee lets us in to her four years at boarding school and then it is over, and nothing has really changed for her or for anyone else.

The setting of the boarding school with the dorms, and the mailboxes, and the cafeteria reminded me of my college years, so I had to keep reminding myself that Lee was much younger than I was picturing her.  I can’t imagine living in that world at such a young age, but either way so much of what she went through are things that I remember going through as well, and are obviously things many more people go through than anyone is aware of.

The feeling that you know every odd detail about everyone else, but they know nothing about you.

Being painfully aware of the you inside versus what people see, or what you allow them to know. Even, and especially, your family and closest friends.

Being constantly caught up in thinking socially when you should be studying and learning, and only understanding the consequences of that too late.

The fleeting realization that there are so many people living, and wondering what they are doing. It is all so big, and you really are so small, but it always closes back in on you.

But mostly, wondering if you will ever fit in... anywhere. 

Will I Ever Learn?

Another YA trilogy, really Karen?  Another book that is just a beginning, like some bad joke.  A lot of interesting introductions to characters and places that seem exciting but are never used in an interesting way.  Why are all of these trilogies instead of just long books?  Because really that is what they should be. When the books are all put together it is one story, not three. 

46. The Magician’s Guild

Let's see if you have heard this one before?

A girl, who’s parents died, lives in the slums and hangs out with thieves.  Then one day she makes something happen but she doesn’t know how.  Turns out there are magicians who know exactly what happened, and now one of the most powerful, male ones wants to find her and help her.  So he brings her to the magic school, and she loves it but is torn between staying or returning to her friends.  But she has to stay because her magic is so strong and she needs to be taught. How strong is she, and why is she important?  We don’t know because that part must come in the other books. 

All this book does is introduce us to the world and the characters but not to the intrigue or the development.  My frustration is that I liked this book, it is a good start, but why does it stop?  I hate that instead of enjoying this book I felt cheated by it.  I don’t think I care enough to read the other two books though.

The YA Conundrum

45. Kindred

This book embodies a lot of the issues I have with YA books.  So many times you read them and just wish the author would go there, that they would push it.  Instead they seem to hold back in an attempt to save the audience from true exposure.  Is this because so many parents are ridiculous enough to ban books, so authors air on the side of caution?  The books are good, the plots are good, but ultimately I read them and I feel robbed of the emotional experience that is so amazing about literature.  And it ticks me off.

Here we have a 26 year-old woman living in 1976 California, who literally disappears and reappears in antebellum Maryland.  She saves a boy from drowning, has a gun pulled on her, and is suddenly back home.  This continues for her, as she becomes this boy's guardian angle of sorts.  I can see this being a great book to use in a 6th or 7th grade class.  The time travel will draw them in and the realities of slavery are well described, but in the end there is no emotional payout - doesn't that sound impossible?  Could there be a better set up for a really gut wrenching read?  I know, and that is why I was disappointed.

The character development is just not there.  Granted there is a lot going on and we also like to think that thick books scare off kids so we don't want to go over 300 pages.  But I don't understand Dana or what drives her.  I don't understand why she loves her husband or why she cares for Rufus.  I understand that she needs to save him, but does that mean she needs to like him?  If I knew and cared about her more the whole book would have been so much more effective.  But it just kind of glances the surface of everything instead of really diving in.  Why???

Modern Dickens

44. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

I couldn’t help thinking about Dickens (and I am certainly not the first) as I read this book because I felt that there were so many similarities between the story structure and his works, the least of which was the length, but let’s start there.

At almost 800 pages, I think this book is too long, but at the same time if I had any real complaints about the plot it wasn’t that it needed editing.  In fact, there were many plot lines that I wish had been taken further.  In fact, this would have been a perfect serial.  The characters were all really well developed and had their own interesting stories, and the plot was more of a life story with many small plot climaxes as opposed to one overriding big bang climax.  I really think that if I had read the book a section at a time I may have enjoyed it more.  If I had put the book aside and come back to it later I am sure I would not have forgotten anything about the characters but what I may have benefited from was a rest from the story in a way that would have made it more interesting instead of more of a drudgery.  Basically, I would have loved to read each section in the New Yorker instead of in a huge block of very heavy book (not to mention it was a library book with an expiration date!).

The thing I really liked about the characters was that you never really had a hold on who was good and who was bad, because everyone was a little of both; expect for one truly good guy.  Most importantly, they are developed so you feel like you really know every character and that each one is different from the others and critical to the story in their own way.  Plus, we are talking about a book about magic and all of the characters were down with that.  There wasn’t a lot of, “This is unbelievable,” it just was.  Although the people who say this book is like Harry Potter for adults are kind of crazy.  The magic here is about war and power but it is also very dark.

The over all atmosphere of the book was really well developed as well.  The chapters switch back and forth to describe what is going on with different groups of characters and based on the descriptions of the surroundings you could tell the shifts in their circumstances from good to dire.  I wanted to be in Norrell’s library, to walk on the fairy roads, and maybe even dance a bit in Lost-Hope.

I love Dickens and in many ways I loved this book. I smiled as I turned the last page, but I was glad to see it end.  I can’t believe they haven’t made it into a movie yet.

Feeling Dumb

For the past week I have been in a funk of sorts. A technological funk.  A time wasting funk.  A worthless feeling funk.  Instead of striving to be something I feel like I have decided to give in and be nothing.  So I sit and surf gossip sites, going back again and again to see what is happening in other people’s lives instead of being present in mine.  And the worst part is, I stopped reading and that makes me feel dumb.

While surfing, I stopped by a favorite web site of mine, Out of Print, and found that they were going to be trying out an online book club reading of Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and they had a little video of him talking about his life.

He is passionate and happy and excited.  All the things I am not; but I watched, and I smiled, and I listened:

"Things that you love should be things that you do, and things that you do should be things that you love."

"Libraries are people; thousands of people."

"But if you don't know how to read, you don't know how to decide."

And now it is up to me.  I can decide to be nothing, or I can decide to continue to be imperfect.  So I will pick up my book and write about it because I love it and not worry about the fact that the writing isn't prefect because how can it improve if I don't keep trying?

**The part with the cat is the capper!

Coming to Theaters

43. The Woman in Black

 

So there is a new trailer out for a movie based on this story and it looked SUPER creepy, so I wanted to read the story before seeing the movie and I am glad that I did.

I would imagine that the movie version will take everything a bit further but this was a good, fast, and spooky read.  A bit formulaic to be sure: old creepy lady dies, she lived in a creepy out of the way house, the new lawyer is sent to straighten out her affairs, everyone warns him about staying in the house, he goes anyway and things are creepy...  But it all worked and it is such a quick read that you just get in to it and let it take you away.  It would be absolutely perfect to read on a rainy day with a cup of tea!

Ka Pow!

42. Moondogs

Wow!  What a book!  So not everyone's cup of tea, but I loved every last inch of it.

The Crew:
Benicio - High school tech support who has decided to visit his father in Manila after a long estrangement.
Howard - Benicio's father and possibly a good guy, but probably a bad guy.
Monique - An ex-pat living in Manila and trying to recapture the wonder of the childhood she spent there, but only succeeding in destroying everything around her.  Literally.
Raynato - The leader of a band of specially selected super-heroes who stand up for the unstandupable.  He supposedly has a special eye for finding people with special talents, but to me he sees talent in everyone he meets, so maybe the truth is that we all have it.
Efrem - The newest member of team Ka-Pow.
Ignacio and Kelog - The Villains

The Ride:
We are privy to all of the story lines of these people over the course of a few days, and to all of the shifts in time and points of view that bring them together for single moments of huge significance.  This is a rare first novel that handles all of these techniques with a masterful hand.The plot clips along at a great pace and even though there is a lot going on the book never tries to lose the reader.  It isn't trying to be something smart and new and different, it is just honestly those things, and you feel it as you read. I can't wait to see what comes next from this young man.

Special K

"A man and his rooster exit a taxi idling on a crowded street.  The man is short and thin, and the rooster is green, and the rooster belongs to him.  He's wearing a fresh shirt, the blood all washed out, and his polyester slacks shine a little in the afternoon light.  He's too young to be balding, but is.  His mouth is a rotten mess, owing to bad hygiene and a shabu habit.  His name is Ignacio.  He and the rooster are villains."

This is the opening paragraph of Moondogs by Alexander Yates, and this is the shit I live for!  Could it be any better? I read it and couldn't stop smiling.  I had to close the book and take a deep breath to calm down the excitement I have to read the rest.  I quite simply can't wait!

Memories

41. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

It is an acclaimed YA book and so I had high expectations and I did like it but I also thought it was a bit over the top.  It felt somewhat unrealistic in the extremes of the highs and the lows.  But I LOVED the artwork and thought it really helped the plot of the story and that it would be a great discussion point for kids.  It is certainly a quick read and there are many parts that I am sure will get it banned but it gave a pretty real portrayal of life on a reservation and the pressure we all feel to break away yet to also conform.

For me it also brought back memories of the road trips my parents and I would take to New Mexico, and one trip particularly when we stopped to watch a chicken pull.  A chicken pull is exactly what it sounds like: two guys on horses, each one takes a wing, and they pull.  The guy with the bigger piece is the winner.  I think I was 15 on this trip and so was all kinds of grossed out, annoyed, and indignant about going to this thing(and everything else).  I remember standing there with my mom and dad and suddenly my mom was hit in the head by some ice.  She ignored it and then it happened again.  Some people behind us were throwing it to show us we were not in the right place.  It was the oddest feeling.  I should have been angry that they hurt my mother right?  Anyone would be.  But I was too embarrassed to be.  Too embarrassed because I knew they were right.  We were white and on the reservation.  The feeling on the reservation is that if this is what the white men gave them then we should let them be.  I can't remember how much longer we stayed, I can remember being scared.  And I can still see clearly the broken bits of ice sparkling in my mom's hair.

Real Life Sherlock

40. Arthur and George

This is another in the new trend of historical novels that are well researched but read more like fiction, and this had many of the same issues that I have found in the others.  The research is great but the endgame is lacking.

It follows the true story of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's crusade to clear the name of George Edjali who served three years in prison for the mutilation of a pony. After the death of Arthur's wife he came across a letter and clippings sent to him from Edjali chronicling the crime and asking for his help in clearing his name so that he could go back to work as a solicitor.  Doyle seems to take on the characteristics of his own Holmes to "solve" the crime. 

I was not familiar with the case so all of that information was very interesting to read but the truth is if you are looking for it to all come together in a sort of tidy conclusion, this isn't the story for you.  I also felt that the story took too long to really get to the meat of things; this is an issue I tend to have with a of these books.  Sometimes the research gets in the way of the story.  I also felt that the characters lacked a bit of depth.

Seriously?!?

39. Hunting Season

You are a horrible book!

You are supposed to be a murder mystery but I am still not convinced that a murder took place.  Your heroine is the boss yet she bends to everyone's demands and is constantly scared of what they think of her.  She is in love with a man but you only tell us about his wife.  And your bad guy! COME ON!!!

Seriously, the whole thing was annoying and I MADE myself read you. Screw you bad book. Seriously Karen, why?

Book-A-Day

During my first year of teaching a had a book a day calendar on my desk. Many of the books I had read, but I still have a handful of the entries attached to my TBR list and this is one of them.

Looking back, I am not sure what drew my attention to it but I finally was able to get my hands on a copy of the book and am now about half way through. To say I have trudged is a gross understatement.  Wow, I hate it. The heroine is insufferable. All of the other characters are so similar that she continuously uses their entire names, and there are far too many of them.  The main crime is not really driving the plot at all, I have no sympathy for the victim, and it seems that all that happens is people drive around.

A Thousand Words

38. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I read about this book on a YA blog and loved the story of how it came to be.  The author finds a box of weird old pictures and writes a story about them.  I thought it sounded good but knew it was a book that needed to be seen which kind of goes against a main rule in writing: show don't tell.  I know that sounds odd but over and over the author would explain what the character saw in the photo and then give the reader the photo to see.  I just felt like that was tedious even though he was technically following the rule.  I can't imagine that people who bought this book for their Kindle are very happy either. 

Anyway, I have to say that I liked this more than I thought it would.  I was expecting more of a scary story and this is more of a fantasy.  I think the author did a great job off cutting out all the extra stuff and keeping to task and I thought the pictures were used pretty well, although it did seem like maybe he wanted to include every picture he had instead of just those he needed, but I do have to say that they were creepy!  I mean what is this:

God!!! That creeeeeeps me out.  Seriously, heeby geeby...

The ending was rushed and set up for a sequel which is a trend that drives me crazy!  I just don't need more trilogies made for movies and I have to wonder where the story will come from without the gimmick of using the pictures.

A True Mobius Strip

37.  Mr Peanut

I am not going to review this book because it is very hard to explain.  But I loved reading it, I loved the cover, I loved that it made me think and confront some truths about me, and I loved that it was over because it made me profoundly sad.  Although for the entire middle section, dedicated to retelling the Sheppard murder, all I could hear in my head was Tommy Lee Jones saying, "Dr. Richard Kimble!"

I would call this a Hipster book.  One that is cool to be seen reading, one loved by the NY Times, one that only certain people can "get", and so it has cache.  It is also a first novel that needs some editing.  But it is also really good.  Why is it good?  Because it is smart.  It meanders and weaves but it comes together.  It pulls in references to art and movies, technology and history.  It is truthful about how relationships work, and it is harsh, and some people will love that and some people will hate it.  It addresses the duplicity of people; who other people see versus how we think.  It confronts the fact that we are ever changing; we think something drastic and crazy one second and forget about it almost immediately. But people hate to be confronted by who they are, especially when picking up a murder mystery.  And this is probably the biggest fault I have with the book.  Who marked it as a mystery?  Because it isn't.  It is a character study.

The book talks a lot about Escher and Hitchcock, and those classes we take in college that stick with us forever and literally change who we are and how we think.  I have always loved Escher because I look at his stuff and think, "Where did it start?"  And I have to wonder this about Adam Ross and how he wrote this book, because at the end there is no possible way that the reader won't wonder where it all started.

Renaissance Man

36.  The Rembrandt Affair

Oh Gabriel, I love you.  I love that I know you will right wrongs.  I love that you keep your team safe.  I love that when the bad guy says something I smile to myself knowing he will regret that later.  I love that you retire at the end of every book, but you always come back.  I love that next July you will be waiting on the shelf.  And I love that I know we will have another three days together to set the world right.

Texas Forever

We interrupt the reading for me to mourn the passing of Friday Night Lights; an amazing TV show that fought the good fight.

I had an odd evolution with the show.  I watched the first season and enjoyed it, but gave up on it during the second when they went all hypo-drama with the murder plot line. Then the schedule got all shuffled around so I only saw some of season three.

Then came season four and Vince, and it was over. I couldn’t possibly be more of a fan.  I remember watching the third episode and breaking down over the realities of kids like this, kids with zero chance. Kids who meet a coach who gives them something to work for and be proud of. Kids who I knew because I taught them.  You do the best you can for them in the few hours a week you see them but then they are gone and you wonder about them always. 

Then came the episode "The Son." I literally stood up and screamed at Tim Riggins, “Don’t you break in to the mortuary Timothy Riggins!” while wielding my pointy teacher finger at the TV. But this is what Riggins does; he isn’t a forward thinker or a planner so when he makes suggestions they are simple and direct, and often exactly right. It was the most honoring and realistic portrayal of kids left to bear the burden of war I have ever seen.

From that point on I watched every episode and look forward to it, but not for the escape I usually seek, but for the reality. The realness of the show makes me feel more normal. The desire to escape from your hometown, and yet always being drawn back to it makes me feel normal. The Taylors marriage makes me feel normal. It also taught me the most important message I have ever learned about marriage: you change and it changes. It isn't about what you expected it to be or what the big plan was, it is about where you are and who you are and asking someone to risk that with you.

For a show about football, I haven't mentioned it much have I?  Well that isn't because it isn’t there. It certainly was but it was kept in perspective and that works for me because my whole life football has been there.  We won state my senior year of high school, I think my feet are still frozen from that day.  The ducks went to the Rose Bowl my sophomore year and we went to the Naty last year. Does it make a difference that I am a girl and 36 years old?  No way, because I am a fan and an alumni and that never goes away (just ask Buddy!). Darren had duck gear before he was born. He says "Go ducks!" and we give him high fives. It is a thrilling and agonizing game to watch, and obviously to play, but at the end of the day it is just a game and FNL never gave it too much more importance than that.  Not everyone gets a happily ever after but they love it while they are there.

So I am sad to see this show go, but in a way I am also happy.  It did run for five seasons, and it got better with each one, which is very rare.  Kids graduated and were replaced with equally intriguing characters.  So I am glad it goes away still being a great show instead of some shows that go on ten years and are just painful to watch by the end.  When I was a teenager I watched 90210 and it taught me that drama was what made you important.  That something bad always had to be going on.  FNL taught me that family, friends and integrity are what make you important.  Man, I wish this show had been around for me then, but thank goodness it was around for me now.

"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose." - Coach Taylor

**And, on a reading note, I read the book in high school and LOVED it!  It just may be time for a re-read.

Graveyard with Heart

35. The Graveyard Book

A young boy is orphaned but then raised by the inhabitants of a graveyard ah-la The Jungle Book.

There is the premise and it is a wonderful one, and what is here is great, but I just wish there was more to it.  It is a YA book, so I guess you don’t want to over write it but I needed to know more about what was going on, specifically why.  The suspense is good, the bad guys are bad and the good guys are good, but just as we meet someone they kind of go away and we never get to the meat of things.

Christmas in July!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Why you say?  The hot weather? No, I only like it for a day.  Summer vacation? Nope, I was the kid who couldn't wait to get back to school. Forth of July? No way, I HATE fireworks, unless they are the big professional jobby-jobs.

I have two words people: Gabriel Allon.

Every July Daniel Silva published a new book in the Allon series and on the day his new hardback is released the paperback of his previous book is also released.  My Allon collection is paperback only, so I am a year behind, but I wouldn’t have it any other way because at some point Silva is going to move on or stop writing and when he does I will have an extra year of Gabriel waiting for me.

I love Gabriel to the point of ridiculousness. I think it is because he is quiet.  He doesn't boast, he doesn't even generally want to be doing what he is doing.  But he always does the right thing.  And he always cares about the people he is with.  Plus, his eyes, and the painting...

What a Relief!

34. Echoes From The Dead

 

I read this book very quickly, and for the first time in what feels like a long time it wasn't because I was rushing to get on to the next thing, it was because it was well constructed and intriguing and so I was drawn to it and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

It is a pretty basic who done it although you follow the story of the good guys along with the story of the bad guy.  It was pretty suspenseful and that kept me drawn in.  Ending was a bit off for me, but they often are.

It is just such a relief to find that I can still find and enjoy the escape!

Captain BlueBore

33. 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear

It felt like it took about 13 1/2 lives to get through this book.  I NEVER stop reading a book in the middle, but I kept asking myself why I wasn't when I was reading this.  And in retrospect it probably would have been a good idea.

Here is the thing though, it is wildly imaginative and the illustrations are fun, but it doesn't go anywhere and I just don't have time for that anymore.  Clearly the author spends a lot of time imagining places and things and he has collected every one of them here.  The bear goes to a place and sees things, then goes to another place and sees more things, and it repeats like that for 703 pages.  703 PAGES!!!  The fact of the matter is that nothing really happens and this is marketed as a YA book but I don't know many kids who wouldn't lose interest after the first 100 pages.

TBR Pile(s)

My TBR piles are infringing on my life!  They make me feel guilty and mock me for wasting time.  They have become a source of stress instead of comfort.  In fact, I feel like I no longer enjoy what I am reading because I feel like I need to just get it over with to get on to the next one.

My main pile resides in the bookshelf directly across from my place on the bed.

The TBR are those laying on their sides, the ones behind have been read (mostly!).  The shelves are BOWING!  BOWING PEOPLE!

My more immediate TBR pile resides next to the bed.  It has limited space which makes me feel like it is more under control.  See it even has space for a new addition! 

My final TBR pile is a new addition.  It consists of library books.  The library is truly a magical place, I mean books for free!  However they come with an expiration date which makes me antsy.  These are always at the top of the list because they have to go back, so they are the most stressful pile, when really they should be the most celebrated and enjoyed.

I would need several lifetimes to get through all of these books (and they don't even include all the other unread treats residing on the many bookshelves in the house, or the many books I have on my Kindle and iPad!) and I wouldn't have it any other way, but I wish I wasn't letting it stress me out!

Crap, I just remembered the stack of New Yorkers...