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.