We now resume our previous book broadcast.
I see from my stats that the people in the United States have given up on me and think that I've quit blogging. Seems most of my readers are in India.
Hello, India readers.
I actually have been reading lots of books, even though I haven't been blogging about them. I know that I was purposefully vague about what was happening, exactly, with my daughter. That was intentional. I'm shy about revealing everything to people that I don't know---I'm even shy about giving all the details to people that I DO know. But I will tell you this: prognosis is good. We are winning our medical battles. The road will be long, and the way hilly, but we will make it. Nothing that my daughter has will hinder her life. We just have to get through this next little bit.
Enough said. On to the matter at hand: BOOKS!
Here's a summary of what I've read in the past four months.
1. The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. I can never get all the way through this one when Potok starts getting really technical about abstract art, which is about in the middle of the book. Then I have to put it down because my Humanities 101 class in college only covered so much. I do like the continuing story of Asher Lev, though, as this is a sequel to My Name is Asher Lev, which I loved. This reading, I especially resonated with Asher's wife, Devora, who asks again and again: Do you think there is a plan, my Asher? There must be a plan.
I was asking myself the same question at the time about the plan. With Devora, I hope there is a plan.
2. The Secret Life of Bees by an author I can't remember. But the book is popular enough. You can find the author. This was my second reading of Bees, and I got it this time. In the book, a young girl longs for her mother, named Deborah. Since I was reading this on the nights that I'd left my daughter in the hospital, I was longing for my daughter.
I understood the longing in the book this time. I understood it really well. Good book. Find a copy.
3. The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell. Unlike me, Vowell is a political die-hard liberal.
She and I see just about every issue in politics from completely different perspectives. But she is one mighty fine writer and I liked reading this book of essays about her reflections on events in American history. She's funny. I especially liked her essay on the presidential libraries.
Katy, have you read this? If not, find a copy. You'd probably be able to use some in your class if you ever teach American history.
4. Sarah's Quilt by Nancy E. Turner. As you'll recall, I loved These is My Words, the prequel to this book. When I started Sarah's Quilt, I almost put it down because . . . alas, alas, there was no Jack, why read the book at all? But it didn't take me long before I was hooked again, reading this fictional narrative about Sarah Prine in the 1900 Arizona territories. Loved it. I laughed. I cried. Writing is good. Story is good. Two thumbs up.
5. The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins---a trilogy on the YA scene. Plot, all plot. Writing gets better as the series goes on. But GOOD. I'd recommend it if you are looking for a roller coaster literary ride. SHWOOSH!---there you go. I was captivated, and that's hard to do.
6. Dreaming Water by Gail Tsukiyama. I was expecting absolutely nothing from this book because it's been on the NY bestseller list, and I usually find that I strike against the book. I find that what appeals to the masses usually doesn't appeal to me. So I was pleasantly surprised when I actually liked this book. In it, a mother/daughter pair deal with the daughter's illness and their husband/father's passing. Takes place over a twenty-four hour time period, which is an interesting convention to use for a novel. And here, it works.
Like I said, I didn't expect much. But was pleased to get quite a bit.
7. Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire, about a boy in Cuba, growing up in 1962 when there was a lot of political turmoil. The story was interesting enough, but I got bored with Eire's way of telling it. Didn't finish. If you are interested in Cuba, try this. If not, don't bother.
8. Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration by Sam Quinones. Although I don't agree with some of Quinones conclusions about the immigration issue, I did appreciate his treatment of the subject as he told the stories of individuals who leave Mexico to come the US. I read the chapters about the people that I found interesting. Some people I found boring, so I skipped them.
Solid writing. Good subject choice.
9. The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. I had tried this before, and couldn't get through it, but I gave Space another shot.
Another shot which missed.
It just has so much potential, this story, about two women from vastly different lives and castes in India. My problem is that you know who the father of Maya's baby is by the time you are on page twenty. And since that's the main "mystery" of the book, what's the point?
10. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. This book is about Joan's husband dying and how she deals with it. It was too depressing for me because of where I was in our medical journey. So I put it down. The writing is delicious, though, and satisfying. I'll go back to this one, and enjoy it. Later.
11. Still Life with Rice by Helie Lee, about a young woman's Korean ancestory, And The Street of A Thousand Blossoms by Tsukiyama. I wasn't especially impressed with either. Can't remember why--that was how little impression they made. Don't feel the need to go back.
12. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, about a woman who writes for jingle contest in the 1950's. There's nothing of literary substance in this one. It's cute. Like dogs who wear sweaters are cute. It's cute like smiley face stickers are cute. It's cute like "Baby on Board" signs on cars are cute.
If you are at a beach house one day, and you are suntanned and drinking a lot of orange juice and club soda, and you are expecting nothing but fluff and you find this on a bookshelf, give it a shot.
13. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. I made the mistake of reading all the criticism that people posted on the reviews on Amazon.com about this book. Lots of people didn't like it because of the anachronistic errors (like the Internet in 1986). And I can say, yes, there are errors like that in this book. It just shows that Ford has a lousy editor who didn't check for that stuff. But I liked the book anyway. Good story---about a man who once was a boy who watched his love go to a Japanese internment camp. Good characters. Endearing. Developing writing---good for a debut. Ford will get better.
I'd recommend this book. I liked it. Good book club selection, too.
14. The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. Here is a gem! Corrigan explores what it means to be a daughter. And a parent. At the same time. What it means to fight cancer. What it means to watch your father fight cancer. What it means to dream. To have your dreams come true. To have your dreams dashed. To fight. To surrender.
Sometimes in my reading, I find a book I need to buy.
This one I need to buy . . . so I have something lend when people ask me for a good book.
***So there you go. That's where I've been, more or less, for the past four months. Hope there are one or two to intrigue you. Enjoy.
