I haven’t been blogging long, but I’ve realized that it’s not for me.
I found I don’t like sharing my reading thoughts with “the public,” (though not many people look at this blog to begin with). The most practical way for me to keep a record of my reading is to jot some notes in a journal. My comments are more authentic, concise, and meaningful. But I do love to TALK about what I read!
So very soon I will remove this blog. It was a fun experiment, but I’m happily saying “goodbye.”
Title: Handle With Care
Author: Jodi Picoult
Reading Recommendation: fast read that raises many thought-provoking ideas about the value of life
My Reflection: I have read three other Picoultbooks; I enjoyed them, but felt like I had my fill of Picoult. I picked up Handle With Care in a Christmas exchange, and I’m glad I did.
In typical Picoult style, the point of view shifts between numerous characters, all telling the story of Willow O’Keefe, a 5-year old who was born with a rare, brittle bone disease, Osteogenisis Imperfecta. In those few years, Willow has already suffered something like 50 breaks, some of them serious. But Willow’s parents, Charolotte and Sean, love her deeply–and appreciate her love of trivia, her bright mind, and her courageous personality. When the family feels that they were mistreated on vacation, they meet with a lawyer to explore a lawsuit. Although that lawsuit is dropped, the lawyer suggests that they consider suing the obstetrician for wrongful birth. Besides the moral and relational implications of pursuing that action (imagine looking at your child and saying, “If I knew, I would have aborted you. I don’t want you in my life” !), the OB is Charlotte O’Keefe’s best friend.
I was spell-bound from the very beginning, and made more time to read than I usually do because I had to find out how the story would unfold. I thought a strength in this Picoult novel was the depth of characterization. The main characters were vivid, with unique voices and complex emotions. I especially liked the narrative voice of Amelia, Charolotte’s older daughter from before she married Sean. Amelia struggles with bulemia and cutting, largely because of what has become a dysfunctional family. Here’s the paradox: Charolotte believes that she is making the ultimate sacrifice for Willow in being able to provide for her (especially for uninsured medical supplies), but in doing so, she sacrifices everything that matters, even compromising her relationship with Willow.
The biggest fault of this novel was the ending. Of course, Picoult is known for her shocker endings, and I almost didn’t read the last chapter simply because of that. But I did and I wish I hadn’t. I would like to rip out the last few pages.
Even with the ending, this was the best Picoult I’ve read, a page-turner, and a thought-provoking book.
Title: The Rest of Her Life
Author: Laura Moriarty
Reading Recommendation: average book, but raises some interesting questions about parenting and about mother/daughter relationships
My Reflection: The opening of The Rest of Her Life immediately captured my attention. Leigh’s teenage daughter, Kara, has an accident and runs over and kills another girl from her high school. Leigh already felt that she and Kara didn’t have the kind of relationship she always wanted, and the accident adds more strain to that. But Leigh is also carrying a lot of baggage from her own childhood. While she wants to do better than her own mother did, she has blind spots to some of her own shortcomings. In particular, she seemed to treat Kara according to how she (Leigh) would like to be treated, not recognizing that Kara is a different person with a different personality with different needs.
At some point the novel’s grip on my attention wanned. But I wanted to see it though because of the time I’d already spent on it, because the characters seemed so real, and because it was my next book club read. At our meeting we had a good discussion about Leigh, parenting, and relationships with children. The discussion was certainly worth the read.
One insight I really liked in the book was near the end when Leigh was packing a box to send to Kara. She didn’t know quite what to put in it, what Kara needed, but remarks that parenting is a lot like that. You do your best and give your kids what you think they need, what they will connect with, and if it isn’t quite right, you try again. As a parent of a toddler, looking at the years stretching out ahead of us, that is both a comforting and daunting thought. Really, there are no guarantees that any “box” you send, no matter how many, is going to be the right one. But a good parent tries and tries and tries some more. The comforting part is knowing that it’s ok if the first try isn’t right–you can keep trying.
Title: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Author: Marjane Satrapi
My Recommendation: if you haven’t read a graphic novel, give the genre a try–and Persepolis would be a good first choice
My Reflection: I’ve had minimal experience with graphic novels, and since our Latte Lit book group seems to enjoy reading books we might not pick up on own own, I thought a graphic novel would be an interesting pick. Turns out, it was.
This “graphic novel” is really more of “graphic memoir” as it is the author’s account of her childhood growing up in Iran during the Iranian revolution. She did a great job with with illustrations, especially capturing/expressing emotion on faces.
Oddly enough, while I truly enjoyed the story and my experience reading it, I did not like the characters. Any of them. The narrator had such a cruel streak. And her parents seemed so selfish at times–especially when they left their daughter in a war torn country to go on vacation! But somehow, disliking the characters just made my reading experience more interesting.
At our book club meeting we were talking about whether people liked not only Persepolis, but the graphic novel. Some did, some didn’t. I won’t read many more, but I did like it. But with the setting of the book (fundamentalist “takeover”), I couldn’t help thinking about Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, a heartbreaking, beautiful, and moving novel. There was so much more depth in Splendid Suns, and I connected with the characters at a deeper level. When I put these two “similar” novels together, I realize how much I felt like I missed in the graphic novel format.
Clearly, this is a mixed review, but if you haven’t read a graphic novel, they are quick reads, and I don’t think you’d regret the time you spent exploring a different genre. If you want to try a graphic novel, I’ve also heard good things about Maus: A Surviver’s Tale about a Polish Jew’s struggle to survive the Holocaust.
Title: If You Lived Here
Author: Dana Sachs
Reading Recommendation: I wouldn’t rate this an exceptional read, but might be worth your read if you enjoy books set (at least partially) in other cultures or are interested in a novel with adoption as a central conflict.
My Reflection: If You Lived Here alternates between two narrators: Shelley Marino who runs a funeral home with her husband, and Xuan Mai, a Vietnamese-American who came to American as a teenager after a tragedy that she caused. Shelley’s deepest hope is to have a child, though she has been step-mom to her husband’s now-grown sons. She finally convinces her husband to adopt, but the Slovakian adoption falls through and they are offered a little boy from Viet Nam. But Martin Marino is a Viet Nam vet who never talks about his experiences there, and he refuses not only to adopt this little boy, but realized that he cannot raise another child, leading to the disintegration of Shelley and Martin’s marriage. Shelley hatches a plan to be able to adopt the little boy (Hai Au) despite her impending divorce, and in the process befriends Xuan Mai. Mai’s own story is interesting, and since the author doesn’t fill us in on all of the details of her past, I was hooked, wanting to find out how her niece had died, what Mai had to do with it, and how Mai ended up in America.
I was drawn to this novel because of the topic. I haven’t ever read a book that focuses on adoption, and it’s a topic that interests me, so I thought, why not read a novel about it? I was quite absorbed in the book for the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the narrative, but at some point after Shelley and Mai travel to Viet Nam together, the pace slowed and my interest waned, but I was so close to the end, I wanted to finish it. It did end happily, with everything resolved. I can’t say it was the most satisfying ending I’ve ever read, but it was at least believable despite its happiness. (does that last sentence scram cynical??)
Shelley’s husband expressed an interesting “philosophy” on parenting. When he tells her that he cannot adopt a child after all, he says that he has no more love/worry to give a child. “What is parenthood besides love and worry?” Granted, Martin’s extreme worry over his boys was influenced by his profession, but his comment struck me. As a mother, I find it very easy to give in to worry. While worry certainly comes along with parenting–or really, any relationship in which you find your heart walking around in another person’s body–it certainly shouldn’t characterize parenting. If anything, I’ve tried to consciously divert worry into appreciation–being thankful for every day and beautiful moment I’ve had with my family, and do my best not to “waste” any time. It is, indeed, precious.
Title: Anna Karenina
Author: Leo Tolstoy
My Reflection: It took me almost two months to finish Anna Karenina, though I hate to admit that. But I’m glad that I finally read it. I most enjoyed how complex the thoughts, emotions, and even actions, of the characters were. I constantly found myself thinking “I like this character,” and then 100 pages later a new aspect of his/her character would emerge and I would change my mind. Invariably, I ended up changing it again. Sometimes an individual’s motives and thoughts were contradictory or nonsensical–but that is what made it true to life. I most liked Levin, even though there were moments I did not like him.
I do feel that my reading experience didn’t do the novel justice. Tolstoy raises so many questions about so many topics–marriage, motherhood, suicide, spirituality, social responsibility, class differences, love. But I never went beyond “Hmmm… that’s an interesting thought,” to actually mulling over any of them, much less discussing them.
I did struggle with the many (in my opinion) superfluous passages. But what makes the book worth reading is Tolstoy’s grasp of the complex human mind/heart and his exploration of fascinating themes.
Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Reading Recommendation: This is a book absolutely everyone should read–and savor.
My Reflection: This is at least my eighth time reading Mockingbird. It was by far my favorite book to teach; actually, it is my very favorite book. Ever. And I enjoyed this reading as much as all of the others.
I love the tone and style of the book. Every passage is full of distinct and vivid descriptions. Lee does an excellent job of letting us see this complex issue of racism through the eyes of an innocent child. I love the simple childhood scenes when the kids are obsessed with the neighborhood phantom, Boo Radley. And I love the way Boo Radley and Tom Robinson (the center of the racism plot) plot lines are woven together, literally, and symbolically.
I love the characters. Impetuous, tomboy Scout. Big brother Jem. Quirky Dill. The Boo Radley of the neighborhood legends. Cantankerous Mrs. Dubose. Wise Miss Maudie. But mostly, noble Atticus. Atticus may be my favorite character in all of literature–I only hope and pray that I can raise my children, and live my own life, with such integrity and wisdom.
I realize I have probably overused the word “love,” but I can’t help it. I truly do love this novel more than any other.
Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Author: Mark Haddon
Reading Recommendation: this is a good pick for anyone–teens, adults, teachers, book clubs…
My Reflection: This book wasn’t entirely what I’d expected from reviews and the back-of-the-book summary, but I liked it. I was expecting a fairly traditional murder mystery, though about a dog instead of a person, with an autistic teen investigating the murder. I thought it would be interesting to see how the author portrayed what he understood and gleaned and how it might differ from what we perceived as he spoke with people.
The book was much more about Christopher, a boy with Asperger’s, interacting with his everyday world. And that is a good thing. It is very much a character-driven book, opening our minds to the experience of some autistic children. When I was teaching I had a few students with Asperger’s, and I think this book helped me to understand them and what might have been going through their minds a little bit more. This book would be a good read for anyone who has contact with autistic children because it helps you to see the person instead of just facts and statistics and strategies for helping them. Curious Incident helped me to understand how some of Christopher’s actions that looked illogical were actually quite sensible to Christopher and even helped him cope with overwhelming situations.
Stylistically, this book was unique, but wonderfully captured the narrator’s voice. The book was full of diagrams and explanations and observations that enhanced our understanding of Christopher. His realistic voice is what stands out most to me.
I also thought a lot about his parents and how difficult it was for them to manage a child like Christopher, and I pitied them, especially his father who clearly tried. One book club member pointed out how unfair it was that the mother gets to be the hero while the father, the one who sacrifices for him every day and tries hard to make him happy is the one who will have to work so hard to gain Christopher’s trust again.
I know this book found some critical acclaim, and I have to agree with it. Not just for the subject, but the way Haddon approaches it with a distinct style, compassion, humor, and humanity.
Title: True Blue
Author: David Baldacci
Reading Recommendation: mystery; decent long-drive audiobook
My Reflection:There was nothing special or notable about this book for me, but I enjoyed it. When my husband and I take a long car ride (often, since my family lives out of state) we download a book to listen to in the car. Usually we’re looking for a fantasy or a mystery that will keep us interested and make the drive seem not-so-endless. True Blue did that.
I think that the book is the start of a new series. I might download another one for another drive as I did like the protagonist, Mace Perry– an independent and tough woman and former police officer in Washington D.C. Former because she was captured, drugged and set up while serving under cover. At the beginning of the novel Mace is released from prison and intent on becoming a “blue” again. She hopes that solving an important case, with the help of her sister Beth, the police chief, and one of the initial suspects, Roy, will be enough to reinstate her.
Even though I liked Mace, some of the situations seem too contrived, especially when she is saved from dangerous situation by someone else showing up at just the right time.
Title: Wintergirls
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Reading Recommendation: tough book (emotionally), but excellent pick if you are looking for a book that deals with eating disorders and cutting
My Reflection:
Having enjoyed the audio version of Twisted by Anderson, I decided to listen to Wintergirls next. I know that Anderson has a reputation for writing about some of the toughest teen issues, but this was a very difficult book to read. It wasn’t as much the topics–eating disorders, death of a friend, and cutting– that made it difficult as it was the tone; even Speak (about rape) had a humorous tone, a sardonic humor, but humor nonetheless.
That fact is not necessarily a flaw. On the contrary, Anderson writes with her typical powerful, vivid, and emotive language. So vivid that I had to keep my writing journal nearby and copy down phrase after phrase as inspiration. And I was eager to find out whether Lia would conquer all of her guilt, pain, and demons, so I found I was turning on my ipod at every chance. However, this is not a book that I would recommend simply for the sake of reading it; if it catches your attention and you feel you can cope with the dark story, read it. Or, if you are seeking a novel that deals frankly with the topics of eating disorders and/or cutting, it will certainly be worth your read.
