Books Read:
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
Hector and the Search for Happiness by Fancois Lelord
When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
Shakespeare Wrote for Money by Nick Hornby
Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne
The Alchemist: Graphic Novel by Paulo Coelho
You caught me...
I have been mixing in some childrens books just to boost my numbers. Well, not just to boost my numbers. I've enjoyed reading them and all. I've been meaning to read them. Actually, the big debate this month came when Matt told me that I couldn't count a book of poetry as a book read. I totally count it if I've read it cover to cover. I read the final three Winne the Pooh books cover to cover. Most of the poetry was even read aloud, as it should be and much to the cats' delight. I also slipped in a graphic novel but it was The Alchemist and it was very deep and well worth it.
I spent a lot of time on Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres and part of the problem was that it was too close to home. The actual content of the story wasn't but he vast farms and the pretty much the entire setting reminded me of my hometown, which I have never left. It was easy to get caught up in the descriptions of farm life because they were the same things that I heard every day in class. Basically, it was the kind of book that I get caught up in and take, thus, take my time with. However, it was a bit predictable. It's literature, after all. It was easy for me to guess what was going on, or what had gone on as it were.
The shining star of this month, for sure, was Hector and the Search for Happiness. I read reviews of this book and then I came across it in Target and it was the perfect little paperback. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I ordered it through the library and there is was! The same little paperback, perfectly shaped! It was worth the effort. I could not put this book down. Hector is a psychiatrist and he notices that more and more people who should be happy aren't. He decides to travel the world and learn about happiness. He goes to China, a violent African country, and The Country of More. (That's us! We have more psychiatrists AND we are more unhappy!) Hector learns a lot about happiness and I really enjoyed the ride.
I was impressed with all of the reading I got done this month until I started writing this. Now I feel a bit deflated. Next month doesn't look like it's going to be much better. I've joined a book club and the first selection isn't something that I am really looking forward to. I'll try it but I will invoke my reader's rights if I have to: The right not to read.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
February 2011
Books Read:
Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
Fat Vampire by Adam Rex
Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
You may have noticed a little change around here. Mostly, I've quit writing about what I read. I review my books on Facebook and then set it aside, not even writing a hard copy in the lovely leather journal that I have used for some years now. However, last month it was brought to my attention that SOME people may actually read this and that I SHOULD write.
So I will. But I'm doing it differently.
Actually, the main influence for this change came from two of the books I read last month. Polysyllabic Spree and Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby are collections of articles he wrote for The Believer, an arts magazine out in California. I love these books. The articles are actually about reading. They are about books purchased compared to books actually read and the flow of reading (or not reading) in general. I've learned a lot from Hornby, who is also possibly my favorite living author, and one of the best lessons was to give up on books if you don't like them. I put aside one book this month because I couldn't stand the author's voice. And the book was a memoir. I couldn't stand any of it.
Fat Vampire was an interesting little read. It was young adult and I liked the idea that it was about a non-stereotypical vampire. However, the non-stereotypical ends there. I hate how every edgy YA novel has to use Rocky Horror Picture Show to show how very edgy it is. Like the cherry on the top, I watched Jennifer's Body last night and the goth kid totally asks the hot girl to go to Rocky Horror with him. Seriously? Seriously!
The book I set aside this month was This is Not the Story You Think it Is by Laura Munson. It was a memoir about the summer her husband decided he didn't love her anymore and instead of getting upset about it she decides to follow her therapist's advice of refusing to suffer. I read 100 pages. There were three chapters in a row that didn't really apply and by the end of the third one I was feeling too lost and distracted to finish. Munson refuses to suffer but that doesn't mean she won't complain about being unable to get published or talk about her idyllic childhood in the upper-class, boarding school set. She really annoyed me. I did enjoy the chapter on her father though. It left me teary eyed and reaching for the phone to talk to the rock in my life.
Have you read Winnie-the-Pooh? You really should if you haven't and you should read it again if you have. I suggest a gray day, preferably rainy though snowy will do just fine. Curl up with a blanket and a cup of tea and devour it in one sitting if you can. You'll love it.
Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
Fat Vampire by Adam Rex
Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
You may have noticed a little change around here. Mostly, I've quit writing about what I read. I review my books on Facebook and then set it aside, not even writing a hard copy in the lovely leather journal that I have used for some years now. However, last month it was brought to my attention that SOME people may actually read this and that I SHOULD write.
So I will. But I'm doing it differently.
Actually, the main influence for this change came from two of the books I read last month. Polysyllabic Spree and Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby are collections of articles he wrote for The Believer, an arts magazine out in California. I love these books. The articles are actually about reading. They are about books purchased compared to books actually read and the flow of reading (or not reading) in general. I've learned a lot from Hornby, who is also possibly my favorite living author, and one of the best lessons was to give up on books if you don't like them. I put aside one book this month because I couldn't stand the author's voice. And the book was a memoir. I couldn't stand any of it.
Fat Vampire was an interesting little read. It was young adult and I liked the idea that it was about a non-stereotypical vampire. However, the non-stereotypical ends there. I hate how every edgy YA novel has to use Rocky Horror Picture Show to show how very edgy it is. Like the cherry on the top, I watched Jennifer's Body last night and the goth kid totally asks the hot girl to go to Rocky Horror with him. Seriously? Seriously!
The book I set aside this month was This is Not the Story You Think it Is by Laura Munson. It was a memoir about the summer her husband decided he didn't love her anymore and instead of getting upset about it she decides to follow her therapist's advice of refusing to suffer. I read 100 pages. There were three chapters in a row that didn't really apply and by the end of the third one I was feeling too lost and distracted to finish. Munson refuses to suffer but that doesn't mean she won't complain about being unable to get published or talk about her idyllic childhood in the upper-class, boarding school set. She really annoyed me. I did enjoy the chapter on her father though. It left me teary eyed and reaching for the phone to talk to the rock in my life.
Have you read Winnie-the-Pooh? You really should if you haven't and you should read it again if you have. I suggest a gray day, preferably rainy though snowy will do just fine. Curl up with a blanket and a cup of tea and devour it in one sitting if you can. You'll love it.
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