Books #37 & #38
Book #37 was "Bag of Bones" by Stephen King, as an audiobook read by the author. It was fun to hear the book read by the author- King isn't as good as a professional reader, but he's not bad, and he knows the Maine accents he's trying to create, so it worked for me. I liked the story as well - the plot and characters were definitely the strong points. King's writing, in terms of aesthetics, is hit-or-miss. He has some nice bits of description and snappy dialogue in some places and then some other bits are clunky or involve a mixed metaphor that doesn't quite work. Overall, a good hard-to-put-down (or, "hard to get out of the car until I get to the next audio track") read.
Book #38 was "The Merry Recluse" by Caroline Knapp. Knapp is probably best known for her book on recovering from alcoholism (Drinking: A Love Story) or her memoir about recovering from anorexia, but she also wrote a regular column for the Boston Phoenix and occasional articles for other print and online news magazines, like New Woman and Salon, and those are collected here, loosely grouped by subject matter. Despite her being an authority on eating disorders, I found her pieces on body image some of the least compelling, along with some of her silly pop culture comedic pieces. I liked the essays on solitude, dealing with the death of her parents and alcoholism to be some of the best. I liked the collection well enough that I plan to loan it to a friend and I also want to read more by the author.
1. Kiss of the Spiderwoman [fiction]- Manuel Puig
2. The Garlic Ballads [fiction]- Mo Yan
3. The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World [non-fiction]- Michael Pollan
4. Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood [non-fiction/memoir]- Jennifer Traig
5. Bleeding Kansas [fiction]- Sara Paretsky
6. The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas [non-fiction]- Jerry Dennis
7. The Last of Mr. Noris [fiction]- Christopher Isherwood
8. Goodbye to Berlin [fiction]- Christopher Isherwood
9. The Golden City [fiction]- John Twelve Hawks
10. The Scarlet Pimpernel [fiction]- Baroness Emmuska Orczy (unabridged book on CD)
11 Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo, and Pygmies [non-fiction/memoir]- Stewart Copeland
12. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan [fiction]- Lisa See
13. The Shameful Life of Salvador Dali [non-fiction]- Ian Gibson
14. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life [non-fiction]- Barbara Kingsolver (unabridged book on CD)
15. The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup [non-fiction]- Susan Orlean
16. Bee Season [fiction]- Myla Goldberg
17. Kiss Me Like You Love Me [fiction]- Wednesday Lee Friday
18. The Buffalo Soldier [fiction] Chris Bohjalian
19. 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs - The Election that Changed the Country [non-fiction]- James Chace
20. Thirteen [fiction]- Richard K. Morgan (unabridged book on CD)
21. The Waters of Babylon: A Novel About Lawrence After Arabia [fiction]- David Stevens
22. 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior [non-fiction]- Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Roscio and Barry L. Beyerstein
23. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love [fiction]- Oscar Hijuelos
24. Metatropolis [fiction/novellas]- Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi and Karl Schroeder (unabridged book on CD)
25. Under the Eye of the Clock [non-fiction/memoir]- Christopher Nolan
26. Iron and Silk [non-fiction/memoir]- Mark Salzman
27. Ventus [fiction]- Karl Schroeder
28. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin [non-fiction/memoir]- Benjamin Franklin
29. Slowing Down to the Speed of Life [non-fiction]- Richard Carlson and Joseph Bailey.
30. Ancient Puzzles: Classic Brainteasers and Other Timeless Mathematical Games of the Past 10 Centuries [non-fiction]- Dominic Olivastro
31. Anathem [fiction]- Neal Stephenson (unabridged book on CD)
32. Almanac of the Dead [fiction]- Leslie Marmon Silko
33. No Surrender: My Thirty Year War [non-fiction/memoir]- Hiroo Onoda
34. Brideshead Revisited [fiction]- Evelyn Waugh
35. Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our Elders [fiction]- Mary Pipher
36. The Confessions of Nat Turner [fiction- William Styron
Book #38 was "The Merry Recluse" by Caroline Knapp. Knapp is probably best known for her book on recovering from alcoholism (Drinking: A Love Story) or her memoir about recovering from anorexia, but she also wrote a regular column for the Boston Phoenix and occasional articles for other print and online news magazines, like New Woman and Salon, and those are collected here, loosely grouped by subject matter. Despite her being an authority on eating disorders, I found her pieces on body image some of the least compelling, along with some of her silly pop culture comedic pieces. I liked the essays on solitude, dealing with the death of her parents and alcoholism to be some of the best. I liked the collection well enough that I plan to loan it to a friend and I also want to read more by the author.
1. Kiss of the Spiderwoman [fiction]- Manuel Puig
2. The Garlic Ballads [fiction]- Mo Yan
3. The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World [non-fiction]- Michael Pollan
4. Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood [non-fiction/memoir]- Jennifer Traig
5. Bleeding Kansas [fiction]- Sara Paretsky
6. The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas [non-fiction]- Jerry Dennis
7. The Last of Mr. Noris [fiction]- Christopher Isherwood
8. Goodbye to Berlin [fiction]- Christopher Isherwood
9. The Golden City [fiction]- John Twelve Hawks
10. The Scarlet Pimpernel [fiction]- Baroness Emmuska Orczy (unabridged book on CD)
11 Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo, and Pygmies [non-fiction/memoir]- Stewart Copeland
12. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan [fiction]- Lisa See
13. The Shameful Life of Salvador Dali [non-fiction]- Ian Gibson
14. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life [non-fiction]- Barbara Kingsolver (unabridged book on CD)
15. The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup [non-fiction]- Susan Orlean
16. Bee Season [fiction]- Myla Goldberg
17. Kiss Me Like You Love Me [fiction]- Wednesday Lee Friday
18. The Buffalo Soldier [fiction] Chris Bohjalian
19. 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs - The Election that Changed the Country [non-fiction]- James Chace
20. Thirteen [fiction]- Richard K. Morgan (unabridged book on CD)
21. The Waters of Babylon: A Novel About Lawrence After Arabia [fiction]- David Stevens
22. 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior [non-fiction]- Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Roscio and Barry L. Beyerstein
23. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love [fiction]- Oscar Hijuelos
24. Metatropolis [fiction/novellas]- Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi and Karl Schroeder (unabridged book on CD)
25. Under the Eye of the Clock [non-fiction/memoir]- Christopher Nolan
26. Iron and Silk [non-fiction/memoir]- Mark Salzman
27. Ventus [fiction]- Karl Schroeder
28. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin [non-fiction/memoir]- Benjamin Franklin
29. Slowing Down to the Speed of Life [non-fiction]- Richard Carlson and Joseph Bailey.
30. Ancient Puzzles: Classic Brainteasers and Other Timeless Mathematical Games of the Past 10 Centuries [non-fiction]- Dominic Olivastro
31. Anathem [fiction]- Neal Stephenson (unabridged book on CD)
32. Almanac of the Dead [fiction]- Leslie Marmon Silko
33. No Surrender: My Thirty Year War [non-fiction/memoir]- Hiroo Onoda
34. Brideshead Revisited [fiction]- Evelyn Waugh
35. Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our Elders [fiction]- Mary Pipher
36. The Confessions of Nat Turner [fiction- William Styron