A Year of Reading: January 2012
Hello! I spent the morning at a library conference* so this is my quick break of posting (I cleverly typed it last night, saving the LJ formatting for actual LJ posting) before I work late (to make up the hours) and then go out to dinner with shaes_shire who is in town for the same conference!
*Where I met Guy Gavriel Kay and Nancy Pearl!! (The former spoke very well but was kind of rude in person, Nancy Pearl did not speak much but was very sweet in person.)
On to the books!
1. The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (in Real Life) by Chris Hardwick
3 stars on Goodreads
This is really more of a 3.5. I'll probably upgrade to a 4-star rating upon re-read. Some parts were more applicable to me than others - I don't need to fix my credit score, I don't really need that many pages of work-out instruction, I can get that elsewhere - but the first section (goal-setting, assess-your-skills, use your laser-brain stuff, deal-with-anxiety-and-panic-attacks stuff) was helpful, interesting, and entertaining. (And full of dick jokes.)
2. Jane Austen by Carol Shields
3 stars on Goodreads
This is a relatively short biography of Jane Austen - it's really more a biography of her work than of her life. (We get the big-picture events but that's about it.) Carol Shields is a great writer herself so even if I wasn't that into the subject matter at some points, the writing made it worthwhile.
3. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (gave up)
I really stalled on this around pages 80-92 or so, but I picked it up again for another try and am back into it. I got to page 140 or so and then gave up. I might have loved this as a young teen but I just can't get into it now. Too bad - people really seem to love it!
4. The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert
4 stars on Goodreads
I liked this a lot. It's a biography of Eustace Conway, a naturalist and woodsman-survivalist who has been living in the Appalachian woods since his teenage years (in the late 1970s). Eustace came across as a fascinating and frustrating person, and it seemed to me that Elizabeth Gilbert was both fascinated and frustrated by him as well.
The book is also (sort of) about the disconnect between people and the land, and how so many people say they want to 'get back to nature' but when they do, they don't like it (it's hard, it's a lot of work, etc.)
Eustace certainly has issues - with his father, his siblings, the women in his life - but being boring isn't one of them. I found the Gilbert's writing engaging, entertaining, and flowing. I read this in about a day - couldn't put it down!
5. A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz
2 stars on Goodreads
This is sort of part-literary-analysis and part-memoir. I don't dislike it, but I personally wanted more memoir and less literary analysis. Probably if you had read more Jane Austen than I have you would like this better than I did. Interesting idea, though!
6. Into the Silence: the Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis (gave up)
Interesting but too long to read in the short-term loan I had.
7. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
3 stars on Goodreads
This never got as incest-creepy as I expected it to - WHICH IS GOOD - but I felt there were many a few too many red herrings. And of course the book-and-movie trope of finding exactly the right clues/people/things to figure out the mystery... I can see this being made into a movie, like Posession. (This one has three stories, three generations, a mystery, etc.)
8. The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson
3 stars on Goodreads
An entertaining and interesting read, it is both funny and worrisome. There's a mysterious book, criminal profilers, Scientologists, and possible undiagnosed psychopaths around every corner. (Am I one? How about everyone I know?)
9. The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons
3 stars on Goodreads
As I mentioned in one status update, the world's smallest font didn't do much for me and I will remember to check font size before buying any more new books!!
A good read, I was really compelled to keep turning the pages of this book. Elise is a Viennese Jew who leaves for England to work as a domestic at a stately home in the 1930s. A great sense of place, and the characters are well drawn. I didn't buy the ending 100% but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book in general. I look forward to reading more from this author
10. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (reread)
11. Among Others by Jo Walton
3 stars on Goodreads
Probably more like 3.5 stars. For the first 250 pages of the book, I was on a 4- or 5-star rating. But the last 50 or so pages just did nothing for me - it felt like all the actiony action was crammed into those pages. I liked the school parts and the discussions about books (though there was a LOT of 70s sci-fi/fantasy I haven't read) and the journal format worked well. Loved the Flanders and Swann mention, too! (I've now been singing 'Slow Train' all evening.)
Up Next or In Transit At the Library:
-Allegiance by Heather Domin (started this morning!)
-Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons
-The Last Season by Eric Blehm
-The Lies of Sarah Palin: The Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest For Power by Geoffrey Dunn
What are you reading lately? What do you recommend? Are you on GoodReads? If so, please feel free to add me there!
*Where I met Guy Gavriel Kay and Nancy Pearl!! (The former spoke very well but was kind of rude in person, Nancy Pearl did not speak much but was very sweet in person.)
On to the books!
1. The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (in Real Life) by Chris Hardwick
3 stars on Goodreads
This is really more of a 3.5. I'll probably upgrade to a 4-star rating upon re-read. Some parts were more applicable to me than others - I don't need to fix my credit score, I don't really need that many pages of work-out instruction, I can get that elsewhere - but the first section (goal-setting, assess-your-skills, use your laser-brain stuff, deal-with-anxiety-and-panic-attacks stuff) was helpful, interesting, and entertaining. (And full of dick jokes.)
2. Jane Austen by Carol Shields
3 stars on Goodreads
This is a relatively short biography of Jane Austen - it's really more a biography of her work than of her life. (We get the big-picture events but that's about it.) Carol Shields is a great writer herself so even if I wasn't that into the subject matter at some points, the writing made it worthwhile.
3. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (gave up)
I really stalled on this around pages 80-92 or so, but I picked it up again for another try and am back into it. I got to page 140 or so and then gave up. I might have loved this as a young teen but I just can't get into it now. Too bad - people really seem to love it!
4. The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert
4 stars on Goodreads
I liked this a lot. It's a biography of Eustace Conway, a naturalist and woodsman-survivalist who has been living in the Appalachian woods since his teenage years (in the late 1970s). Eustace came across as a fascinating and frustrating person, and it seemed to me that Elizabeth Gilbert was both fascinated and frustrated by him as well.
The book is also (sort of) about the disconnect between people and the land, and how so many people say they want to 'get back to nature' but when they do, they don't like it (it's hard, it's a lot of work, etc.)
Eustace certainly has issues - with his father, his siblings, the women in his life - but being boring isn't one of them. I found the Gilbert's writing engaging, entertaining, and flowing. I read this in about a day - couldn't put it down!
5. A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz
2 stars on Goodreads
This is sort of part-literary-analysis and part-memoir. I don't dislike it, but I personally wanted more memoir and less literary analysis. Probably if you had read more Jane Austen than I have you would like this better than I did. Interesting idea, though!
6. Into the Silence: the Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis (gave up)
Interesting but too long to read in the short-term loan I had.
7. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
3 stars on Goodreads
This never got as incest-creepy as I expected it to - WHICH IS GOOD - but I felt there were many a few too many red herrings. And of course the book-and-movie trope of finding exactly the right clues/people/things to figure out the mystery... I can see this being made into a movie, like Posession. (This one has three stories, three generations, a mystery, etc.)
8. The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson
3 stars on Goodreads
An entertaining and interesting read, it is both funny and worrisome. There's a mysterious book, criminal profilers, Scientologists, and possible undiagnosed psychopaths around every corner. (Am I one? How about everyone I know?)
9. The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons
3 stars on Goodreads
As I mentioned in one status update, the world's smallest font didn't do much for me and I will remember to check font size before buying any more new books!!
A good read, I was really compelled to keep turning the pages of this book. Elise is a Viennese Jew who leaves for England to work as a domestic at a stately home in the 1930s. A great sense of place, and the characters are well drawn. I didn't buy the ending 100% but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book in general. I look forward to reading more from this author
10. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (reread)
11. Among Others by Jo Walton
3 stars on Goodreads
Probably more like 3.5 stars. For the first 250 pages of the book, I was on a 4- or 5-star rating. But the last 50 or so pages just did nothing for me - it felt like all the actiony action was crammed into those pages. I liked the school parts and the discussions about books (though there was a LOT of 70s sci-fi/fantasy I haven't read) and the journal format worked well. Loved the Flanders and Swann mention, too! (I've now been singing 'Slow Train' all evening.)
Up Next or In Transit At the Library:
-Allegiance by Heather Domin (started this morning!)
-Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons
-The Last Season by Eric Blehm
-The Lies of Sarah Palin: The Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest For Power by Geoffrey Dunn
What are you reading lately? What do you recommend? Are you on GoodReads? If so, please feel free to add me there!