50 Books
1. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
I've been sort of getting into mysteries lately, and of course I've always been obsessed with books set in London and written by British authors, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed reading Maisie Dobbs. Set in interbellum London, it's more than a "whodunit." Maisie is initially hired to follow the wife of a wealthy man to find out if she's cheating on him, but she stumbles upon a much deeper mystery involving murder, post-traumatic stress disorder, relationships cut tragically short by the war, and class struggle. I finished it and bought the sequel the same day.
2. How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater by Marc Acito
...Meh. I finished it and I was interested in how the plot was going to resolve itself which is more than I can say about some books (Adverbs, I'm looking at you). That being said, I didn't find this book to be particularly well-written or compelling. It's the story of a kid in New Jersey who wants to be an Actor (he's Very. Serious. about his acting) so when he's accepted to Julliard and his father refuses to pay for it, he resolves to stealing the tuition from his stepmother (who stole it from his father in the first place). The entire plot is so wholly unrealistic and fantastical - it's almost like the author is writing the story of how he wishes his senior year in high school had been. The most popular jock in the school befriends him and his weird drama friends (they call themselves "Play People" ) and brings the most exotic and beautiful girl in the school along, and they have a summer full of mischief and fun and pranks and then graduate to group sex and homoerotic wrestling. Seriously, when he admits that he's in love with Doug (the jock) and tries to convince Doug to let him give him a blowjob, Doug is like, "No thanks, dude. I'm straight. But let's be really good and close friends, ok?" That would NEVER happen in high school. Never in a million years. In reality Doug would react with horror and tell all his jock friends about what a queer the main character is, and they'd likely beat him or at the very least ostracize him. There would be no three-ways with hot girlfriends. Then at the end Frank Sinatra shows up. All in all, I can't say I recommend it.
3. Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs
I have a thing for gay memoirists, apparently. Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, David Rakoff (see below), Dan Savage... In any case, I liked this book. I'm not sure how much of it is based in reality and how much of it is fiction, but it's entertaining regardless of how true-to-life it is. I HOPE some of it's not true (the poop-saving, for example...) because if it is, I think I've lost part of my will to live. At the end of the book there's a "where are they now?" sort of epilogue that makes me fear it's all true. God, I hope it's not true.
4. Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems by David Rakoff
Is it weird that I enjoy his writing so much more when I read it to myself with his voice in my head? I'm sure my librarian grandmother is rolling over in her grave as I write this, but I think that some books are better as audiobooks than traditional books, and this is one that I would put in that category. That's not to say it's not a good book, because it is. I enjoyed it very much. I read it in less than a day. (That's not meant to be a comment about the speed of my reading - it's not a long book - it's that it's good enough that I managed to read the entire thing in less than 24 hours while caring for a 2-month-old baby.) It's that some writers, Rakoff included, are such gifted performers that listening to them read their writing is far better than what I get in my head when I'm reading their writing to myself. I would also put David Sedaris on this list. JK Rowling, on the other hand, is (in my opinion) much better at writing than she is at reading her writing to others. In Don't Get Too Comfortable, Rakoff flies on the Concorde, goes to fashion shows, consults with plastic surgeons and (most hilariously) does a fasting program that requires, among other things, a morning enema. Highly recommended.
I've been sort of getting into mysteries lately, and of course I've always been obsessed with books set in London and written by British authors, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed reading Maisie Dobbs. Set in interbellum London, it's more than a "whodunit." Maisie is initially hired to follow the wife of a wealthy man to find out if she's cheating on him, but she stumbles upon a much deeper mystery involving murder, post-traumatic stress disorder, relationships cut tragically short by the war, and class struggle. I finished it and bought the sequel the same day.
2. How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater by Marc Acito
...Meh. I finished it and I was interested in how the plot was going to resolve itself which is more than I can say about some books (Adverbs, I'm looking at you). That being said, I didn't find this book to be particularly well-written or compelling. It's the story of a kid in New Jersey who wants to be an Actor (he's Very. Serious. about his acting) so when he's accepted to Julliard and his father refuses to pay for it, he resolves to stealing the tuition from his stepmother (who stole it from his father in the first place). The entire plot is so wholly unrealistic and fantastical - it's almost like the author is writing the story of how he wishes his senior year in high school had been. The most popular jock in the school befriends him and his weird drama friends (they call themselves "Play People" ) and brings the most exotic and beautiful girl in the school along, and they have a summer full of mischief and fun and pranks and then graduate to group sex and homoerotic wrestling. Seriously, when he admits that he's in love with Doug (the jock) and tries to convince Doug to let him give him a blowjob, Doug is like, "No thanks, dude. I'm straight. But let's be really good and close friends, ok?" That would NEVER happen in high school. Never in a million years. In reality Doug would react with horror and tell all his jock friends about what a queer the main character is, and they'd likely beat him or at the very least ostracize him. There would be no three-ways with hot girlfriends. Then at the end Frank Sinatra shows up. All in all, I can't say I recommend it.
3. Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs
I have a thing for gay memoirists, apparently. Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris, David Rakoff (see below), Dan Savage... In any case, I liked this book. I'm not sure how much of it is based in reality and how much of it is fiction, but it's entertaining regardless of how true-to-life it is. I HOPE some of it's not true (the poop-saving, for example...) because if it is, I think I've lost part of my will to live. At the end of the book there's a "where are they now?" sort of epilogue that makes me fear it's all true. God, I hope it's not true.
4. Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems by David Rakoff
Is it weird that I enjoy his writing so much more when I read it to myself with his voice in my head? I'm sure my librarian grandmother is rolling over in her grave as I write this, but I think that some books are better as audiobooks than traditional books, and this is one that I would put in that category. That's not to say it's not a good book, because it is. I enjoyed it very much. I read it in less than a day. (That's not meant to be a comment about the speed of my reading - it's not a long book - it's that it's good enough that I managed to read the entire thing in less than 24 hours while caring for a 2-month-old baby.) It's that some writers, Rakoff included, are such gifted performers that listening to them read their writing is far better than what I get in my head when I'm reading their writing to myself. I would also put David Sedaris on this list. JK Rowling, on the other hand, is (in my opinion) much better at writing than she is at reading her writing to others. In Don't Get Too Comfortable, Rakoff flies on the Concorde, goes to fashion shows, consults with plastic surgeons and (most hilariously) does a fasting program that requires, among other things, a morning enema. Highly recommended.