Readables
Since my last post featured food, I believe this should feature the other great interest of my life: Reading.
In no particular order, the most recent books I've read (starting July until now).
Lit by Mary Karr
A memoir of an alcoholic author and her crazy life. Amazingly well written and a brutally honest look at herself.
Liar's Club by Mary Karr
Memoir of a childhood with alcoholic parents and general insanity. Written before Lit, this is the story of Karr's childhood, rather than the adulthood covered in her later memoir. Excellently written again, although I believe I liked Lit slightly more. One messed up childhood, that's all I have to say.
Little, Big by John Crowley
A fantasy novel of an extended family living on the border between real and not. Amazing fantasy feel, but slightly slow pace.
Lord Byron's Novel The Evening Land by John Crowley
As an English major, I absolutely loved this. Similar in theory to A.S. Byatt's Possession, in that a manuscript by a well-known author is discovered and literary history is explored and revealed, except this one held my attention. Plus, who doesn't love Lord Byron, the O.G. rock star?
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Interesting in that it highlights race relations that were common in the not-that-distant-at-all past, but it somehow glosses over racism a bit to make for a light read--which isn't really what 1950s race relations lend themselves toward.
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Fabulous. That's all I have to say. As is The Shadow of the Wind, by the same author. Dark, gothic, Spanish, creepy, literary--what more could I want?
Black Fly Season by Giles Blunt
A thriller. A fun enough read, but nothing special.
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
A man suffers burns and meets and possibly insane woman. A bit graphic-for-graphic's-sake, and a little too into itself (much like Palahniuk in those respects), but a fun read.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
I am a long-time UNsupporter of precocious children, and the main character in this novel is precocious to the eyeballs, but I still liked it. An eleven year old chemist goes about solving a murder. She makes for a wonderfully unreliable narrator, if nothing else.
The Killing Floor by Lee Child
A friend recommended this. I should know better than to trust my friends. Trashy thriller.
Cuba Libre by Elmore Leonard
Cowboys in Cuba. An incredibly written-for-movie book (Leonard wrote Get Shorty, Be Cool and a couple other books that have been made into movies--so this is clearly his style), which made it too surface. I liked it at first but was unimpressed by the end.
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Fabulous look at India. An Indian Crime and Punishment in how it treats murders and what poverty/society pushes people into. Fast, engaging, yet meaningful.
Can't believe I've read that much in less than two months--no TV is wonderful!
In no particular order, the most recent books I've read (starting July until now).
Lit by Mary Karr
A memoir of an alcoholic author and her crazy life. Amazingly well written and a brutally honest look at herself.
Liar's Club by Mary Karr
Memoir of a childhood with alcoholic parents and general insanity. Written before Lit, this is the story of Karr's childhood, rather than the adulthood covered in her later memoir. Excellently written again, although I believe I liked Lit slightly more. One messed up childhood, that's all I have to say.
Little, Big by John Crowley
A fantasy novel of an extended family living on the border between real and not. Amazing fantasy feel, but slightly slow pace.
Lord Byron's Novel The Evening Land by John Crowley
As an English major, I absolutely loved this. Similar in theory to A.S. Byatt's Possession, in that a manuscript by a well-known author is discovered and literary history is explored and revealed, except this one held my attention. Plus, who doesn't love Lord Byron, the O.G. rock star?
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Interesting in that it highlights race relations that were common in the not-that-distant-at-all past, but it somehow glosses over racism a bit to make for a light read--which isn't really what 1950s race relations lend themselves toward.
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Fabulous. That's all I have to say. As is The Shadow of the Wind, by the same author. Dark, gothic, Spanish, creepy, literary--what more could I want?
Black Fly Season by Giles Blunt
A thriller. A fun enough read, but nothing special.
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
A man suffers burns and meets and possibly insane woman. A bit graphic-for-graphic's-sake, and a little too into itself (much like Palahniuk in those respects), but a fun read.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
I am a long-time UNsupporter of precocious children, and the main character in this novel is precocious to the eyeballs, but I still liked it. An eleven year old chemist goes about solving a murder. She makes for a wonderfully unreliable narrator, if nothing else.
The Killing Floor by Lee Child
A friend recommended this. I should know better than to trust my friends. Trashy thriller.
Cuba Libre by Elmore Leonard
Cowboys in Cuba. An incredibly written-for-movie book (Leonard wrote Get Shorty, Be Cool and a couple other books that have been made into movies--so this is clearly his style), which made it too surface. I liked it at first but was unimpressed by the end.
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Fabulous look at India. An Indian Crime and Punishment in how it treats murders and what poverty/society pushes people into. Fast, engaging, yet meaningful.
Can't believe I've read that much in less than two months--no TV is wonderful!