Books I have read: 2012
(Year-to-date totals: books, 50; pages, 15 643)
January (total books: 3, total pages: 812)
The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker (448 pages)
A book that has been on my To Read list for ages. I quite enjoyed it, as I'm very interested in languages and linguistics, although there were dry parts, and the last chapter seemed to really drag on. An interesting read, but not recommended for people who don't study linguistics.
This Is Paradise! My North Korean Childhood by Hyok Kang (158 pages)
Recommended by gwai_lol. A quick, and interesting read. We all know that North Korea is fucked up, but wow. Here's a passage from the book that made me go O_o:
During the winter holidays, there was also a dung quota to fulfil. To do this we had to cary six whole carts of faecal matter to the school, collected from public or private latrines. But we had to be careful not to choose just any old excrement. We needed human turds, the only ones that bore the label 'manure' in the eyes of our teachers. In extremis, dog turds were tolerated as well. But cowpats, horse manure and the liquid faeces of pigs or poultry were not acceptable. That said, we weren't averse to adding small quantities of forbidden excrement to bulk up our quotas because, scour the streets of the city though we did, dog poo was not easy to find, not least because adults collected it to fertilise their own private plots of land. Once I nearly came to blows with a neighbour over a piece of dog shit! (p. 56)
The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine (206 pages)
A (fiction) story about a young girl in India who is sold by her father and is forced into prostitution. An engaging, but sad story, in the same vein as The Kite Runner. I enjoyed the book, which was very quick to read, although the ending was a bit strange.
February (total books: 5, total pages: 2036)
Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer (245 pages)
I didn't enjoy this book as much as Zimmer's Microcosm and A Planet of Viruses, and at first I was quite disappointed, as it was not what I was expecting. But at chapter 5 the book became quite interesting, and overall, I did enjoy it. I was particularly interested in reading about how parasites have shaped evolution, sex, and the immune system.
Cool Water by Dianne Warren (328 pages)
A story about the inhabitants of a small town in Saskatchewan. Not one of my top reads, but quite enjoyable, and quick to read.
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson (358 pages)
A thriller about a woman suffering from memory loss due to an accident years ago, who is trying to piece together her life. Not my preferred genre, but I picked it up as it sounded interesting. While the twist ending became somewhat predictable as the story progressed, it was still an engaging read. It was a very easy read, and only took me a few days to finish it.
Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner, and a Gentlemen Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail by Stephen R. Bown (217 pages)
A book that has been on my To Read List for ages. Interesting, although there were parts that dragged on a bit.
Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley (888 pages)
A well-known book which was made into a mini series in the 70s (which I have never seen). An engaging, but heartbreaking story. I quite enjoyed the book, although once the story focused on the later generations of Kunta Kinte's family, it was a bit rushed, with very little detail on the newer generations, and the story sometimes jumping several years from one paragraph to the next.
March (total books: 5, total pages: 1415)
The Phone Book: The Curious History of the Book That Everyone Uses But No One Reads by Ammon Shea (200 pages)
Not as interesting as I thought it would be, but still a fun, quick read.
In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent (293 pages)
A book about invented languages, such as Esperanto and Klingon. The book was not as engaging as I had hoped, and dragged on at some parts, but it was interesting to read about the absurd languages that have been invented over the years.
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (294 pages)
A very interesting account of the lives of six North Koreans who defected to South Korea. It's just mind boggling how terrible things are in North Korea. And of course it's expected that North Koreans' growth would be stunted due to malnutrition, but it was still surprising to read about a teenage boy who was only 4'7", and that the military had to lower its height restriction to 5'3". Also, North Koreans are so sexually repressed. One couple took three years to hold hands, and several more years to even dare to kiss (had they been caught, they probably would have been sent off to labour camps).
The book was written in 2009 and covered the period when Kim Il-sung died and his son Kim Jong-il took power. It would be interesting to read an account of what things are like now, and what happened when Kim Jong-il died. I wonder if anything has changed over the years since the book was written, and if anything will change soon.
Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis (349 pages)
Not as interesting as I had hoped. The second part of the book wasn't bad, but the first 10 or so chapters, all about the background of the producers and people involved in creating the show, really dragged on, and it was confusing, trying to keep track of who was who. I guess I was expecting a book more about what went on during the actual show and the background of the actors and the Muppets. And while the second part of the book was more along the lines of what I was expecting, it wasn't worth 349 pages. Interesting, but not that interesting. If you want to know about Sesame Street, I'd suggest you read the Wikipedia articles instead.
The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew (279 pages)
A book about a black maid working for a white family in the 1950s, and racism. I recommend this if you're looking for a quick, engaging read.
April (total books: 4, total pages: 1145)
Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield (331 pages)
The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai by John Tayman (318 pages)
In the 1800s, people who had leprosy--or were thought to have leprosy--were exiled to the island of Molokai, Hawaii. The conditions and treatment these victims endured were just awful: being arrested and removed from their families, little food and shelter once exiled, invasive examinations, even experimentation. It's just mind boggling how people can treat other people the way these victims were treated. Harrowing is a very apt description. And the sad thing is, many of the victims did not have leprosy or were not contagious. The first part of the book was a bit dull, but overall, an interesting read.
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay (350 pages)
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons (146 pages)
May (total books: 4, total pages: 1304)
The Concubine's Daughter by Pai Kit Fai (471 pages)
Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers (288 pages)
A waste of time. I do not recommend this book.
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok (290 pages)
Tell It to the Trees by Anita Rau Badami (255 pages)
Tell It to the Trees is about the Dharma family, a dysfunctional family living in a small, isolated community in British Columbia: Vikram the abusive head of the household; Suman, Vikram's second wife, brought from India after a hastily arranged marriage; Akka, Vikram's elderly mother and Suman's only friend and ally; Varsha, Vikram's 13 year old daughter from his first marriage; and 7 year old Hemant, who does everything his sister tells him to do. When Anu, the Dharmas' tenant, is found dead in the yard, family secrets are revealed.
I found this book very engaging, and highly recommend it. I also found the ending quite disturbing, and it sent chills down my spine.
June (total books: 5, total pages: 1441)
How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway (274 pages)
Monoceros by Suzette Mayr (261 pages)
A story about a 17 year old gay boy who commits suicide after being bullied, told from the points of view of various characters, including his closeted principal and guidance counsellor who are in a secret relationship; his boyfriend and his boyfriend's girlfriend, the girl who bullied him; a classmate who is obsessed with unicorns; unicorn girl's uncle, a drag queen. I thought the book was excellent, and I enjoyed the rich characters. However, it made me sad how people are bullied for being who they are and must hide who they are, out of fear.
The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler (300 pages)
Like Nickel and Dimed, an interesting (and depressing) book about poverty and low-wage earners in America.
Rocks in the Belly by Jon Bauer (292 pages)
Description from the library website: This somewhat overwrought story is about an emotionally troubled boy who grows up into an emotionally troubled adult. At issue is the jealousy the boy feels because his parents foster children and this, he supposes, robs him of their undivided love and attention. At 28 he returns home to care for his dying mother and memories are triggered - especially those concerning Robert the last fostered boy in their household. The grimness of the story is redeemed by an emotionally satisfying resolution.
An interesting enough story (although somewhat predictable), however, the protagonist, whose name we never learn, is quite unlikable. In fact, he's a horrid human being. I think we're supposed to feel sympathy for him, after all his mother fostered children and slightly neglected him, in his opinion (in fact, he had quite a loving family). However, as a boy, he was a little psycho, doing things such as torturing the family cat, and grew up to be a complete douchebag. Sorry, but a "bad" childhood (which was mostly of his own doing) doesn't justify his behaviour. I don't particularly recommend this book; there are far better things to read.
Tiger, Tiger by Margaux Fragoso (314 pages)
Fragoso's memoir about her relationship with Peter Curran, the pedophile she befriended at age 7, a relationship that lasted 15 years, until his suicide. A very engaging, although disturbing, book. I do recommend it, as it is quite interesting to read, although there are descriptions of her molestation and sexual abuse, so it may not be a book that everyone will be comfortable reading.
July (total books: 2, total pages: 434)
Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag by Kang Chol-Hwan (238 pages)
The conditions in the labour camp are truly horrific.
Escape From Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden (196 pages)
After having just read Aquariums of Pyongyang, I wasn't planning on reading another book about North Korea, but I saw this in the library and had to pick it up. Unlike the other books I've read about North Korea, this story is a little different; it's about Shin Dong-Hyuk who was born in one of the worst labour camps, and escaped at age 23 (all the other stories are about people who were put into labour camps, and then release). Truly horrifying.
August (total books: 3, total pages: 869)
Seeds of Change: Six Plants that Transformed Mankind by Henry Hobhouse (363 pages)
A book about six plants that have had a major influence on the world: quinine, sugar, tea, cotton, the potato, and coca. I very eagerly borrowed this book from the library as it sounded extremely fascinating. And while I did learn some interesting tidbits, overall, the book was disappointing, as often it difficult to slog through. Perhaps I found it exceptionally difficult to read because I don't have a head for history and can't keep historical names and dates straight, but I often found myself confused about what the author was talking about, and puzzled at the relevance to the plant's history. Perhaps I should stick with Bill Bryson.
A Thousand Cuts by Simon Lelic (294 pages)
I Wish I Were Engulfed In Flames: My Insane Life Raising Two Boys With Autism by Jeni Decker (212 pages)
A book I randomly found in the library, and decided to borrow because it seemed amusing, and I was in the mood for something light and fun. It was alright, but this woman is not as funny as she thinks she is. Also, I don't really care for her. She seems rather annoying.
September (total books: 3, total pages: 1007)
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese (221 pages)
Saul Indian Horse, a young Ojibway boy, is taken from his parents and sent to a residential school, where he discovers his talent for hockey.
Although I have no interest in hockey and this novel heavily focuses on hockey, it wasn't to the point where it was boring; the hockey references were an integral part of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as heartbreaking as it was, and highly recommend it. I am very glad that I discovered this wonderful novel through the public library's website, and will definitely read more by this author.
The Beggar's Garden by Michael Christie (261 pages)
Another book I randomly found through the library's website. It's a collection of short stories set in Vancouver's DTES (Downtown East Side). I found the majority of the stories interesting, however, most of them felt unfinished when they ended, which was a bit frustrating.
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi (525 pages)
Set in WW II Germany, a novel about Trudi Montag, a woman with dwarfism and her relationships and interactions with the people in the small town in which she resides. A very engaging book that I recommend.
I'm interested in reading Hegi's novel Floating in My Mother's Palm, which takes place after Stones from the River and features some of the same characters, including Trudi Montag, although it was written before Stones. Unfortunately, the public library doesn't have any copies.
October (total books: 7, total pages: 2623)
Girl Walks into a Bar... Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle by Rachel Dratch (246 pages)
After being disappointed with numerous celebrity memoirs (Betty White, Roseanne Barr, and Tina Fey, to name a few), I was half expecting this to be another waste of time. However, I really enjoyed the book because it was actually funny, the kind of funny that I think the other books were aiming for. The reason why this memoir was different than the others is probably because Dratch is not a "glamorous" celebrity--she's an underdog. She seems more like a "regular" person, and has "regular" problems. I also could relate to a lot of her problems, such as the search for a partner and bad dates. Dratch seems like the kind of person I'd like to be friends with.
Nature's Building Blocks: Everything You Need to Know about the Elements by John Emsley (651 pages)
I actually read half of this book in September and finished the second half in October. Being a science nerd, a book about the elements on the periodic table sounded really fascinating. And while the book was interesting, the numerous typos and errors (grammatical, stylistic, and scientific) were just awful and left me with a rather poor opinion of the book. The book is over 600 pages, so a couple of minor typos aren't totally unreasonable, but the number of errors was rather embarrassing. The editor probably had absolutely no knowledge of the subject matter, because how else can you explain stating that the chemical symbol of mercury is Ag? And all the mistakes with the oxidation states and chemical formulas...
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
I admit, I read this book simply because of the author. When I first heard about it I had no idea what it was about, but decided to jump on the bandwagon out of curiosity. I put the book on hold at the library, months before it was even out, thus I was in the first round of people to get a copy--jumping on the bandwagon took no effort at all.
Because the Harry Potter series was so successful, J.K. Rowling is in a tough position--people will compare this book to Harry Potter, and because it's not Harry Potter, people will be disappointed and extra critical. I had absolutely no expectations at all, and I quite enjoyed the book. What I really enjoyed were the details of the characters. I didn't like the characters themselves--they were quite awful--but I enjoyed reading about the characters, their problems, motivations, and relationships with each other. All in all, an enjoyable read.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (118 pages)
A re-read.
The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe (241 pages)
A really strange book. Here's the description from the back of the book: One of the premier Japanese novels of the twentieth century, The Women in the Dunes combines the essence of myth, suspense, and the existential novel. In a remote seaside village, Niki Jumpei, a teacher and amateur entomologist, is held captive with a young woman at the bottom of a vast sand pit where, Sisyphus-like, they are pressed into shoveling off the ever-advancing sand dunes that threaten the village.
Red Dog, Red Dog by Patrick Lane (332 pages)
Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist (532 pages)
From wikipedia: A man discovers an abandoned infant in the woods. He becomes obsessed with the child and raises her with his wife in his basement. Years later, a catastrophic incident occurs and the couple's adult son takes the girl to Stockholm and enters her to perform in Idol. From there, the girl meets a fellow outcast named Teresa on the internet. Together, the two prove to be deadly.
I'm not particularly into horror, but when I heard about this book on the library website it sounded interesting, and I enjoy discovering new books and new authors. Surprisingly, the book was pretty quick to get through, despite being over 500 pages, and it was very engaging--I kept wanting to find out what was going to happen. I quite enjoyed it, probably because it's more of a psychological horror book, not horror as in zombies and vampires. I'd recommend this book (although I do have to caution that it is quite gruesome towards the end), and will perhaps try another of Lindqvist's books.
November (total books: 2, total pages: 504)
A Stolen Life by Jaycee Duguard (268 pages)
Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy (236 pages)
When I first heard about this book on the library's website, it sounded like a fascinating book, right up my alley. However, the book was an absolute waste of time. It is appropriate to include the history of people's stories and beliefs about rabies and how the disease and superstitions has shaped cultures around the world, but the authors' attempt at this resulted in superfluous rambles that often left me having to reread what I had just read because it was so damn boring. (Was it really necessary to go on for pages about vampires and werewolves?!)
The book consists of eight chapters, plus an introduction and conclusion. The introduction and first four chapters aren't worth reading, and only until the fifth chapter, about Louis Pasteur and his work on the rabies vaccine, did the book pick up. The fifth chapter was quite interesting, and was what I was expecting out of the entire book. Sadly, the interest was short lived, only until the sixth chapter. The remainder of the book wasn't as bad as the first four chapters, as the superfluous rambles did have occasional tidbits of interesting information and contributed somewhat to the book. However, they did drag on, and often left me thinking, "What was the point of writing about that?" For example, here's an excerpt from the eighth chapter, which is about a rabies outbreak on Bali, an island that had been rabies-free, and the government's attempt to vaccinate the island's dogs:
"In their demeanor, the dog catchers, generally married med in their early twenties, strived for a nonchalant badassery. They wore their paw print emblazoned BAWA [Bali Animal Welfare Association] T-shirts with pants that were either very tight or very lose, along with such rocker accessories as spiked bracelets or bandanas. Most had visible tattoos. During breaks they smoked cigarettes, consumes sweets bought liberally from the ubiquitous household storefronts, and hooted at attractive girls whenever they passed by. When they were engaged in the thrill of the catch, though, the young men's swagger gave way to a quick and purposeful gait; their expressions, cooly bored a moment before, brightened to an alert apprehension." (p. 216)
What the fuck was the point of that?!
All in all, the book was terrible, and the only chapter that was worth reading was the fifth chapter. If interested in rabies, just read the fifth chapter and don't waste your time on the rest of the book.
December (total books: 7, total pages: 2053)
Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Daniel L. Everett (279 pages)
The account of Everett's life among the Pirahã people, and the study of their language. Everett, along with his family, spent many years living in the Amazon jungle learning the culture and language of the Pirahã. Everett, who later turned atheist, was a missionary sent to learn their language in order to translate the bible.
The book was divided into two parts: part one was about the culture of the people, and part two focused on the language. I found the book quite interesting, however, was surprised to find part one far more interesting. The language part wasn't quite as interesting as I had expected, but all in all, it was a good book.
Harbour by John Ajvide Lindqvist (500 pages)
The novel was interesting and engaging, but the ending was confusing and disappointing. What the fuck was all that nonsense about the stairs?!
The Hollow City by Dan Wells (333 pages)
An entertaining enough book about a schizophrenic man who believes he is being pursued by faceless men. However, the ending was a bit ridiculous.
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English by John McWhorter (197 pages)
As the title suggests, this book is about the English language. It was alright, and it's not a book that I'd be quick to recommend. Also, the author was trying to be funny, but didn't quite cut it. Leave the humour to Bill Bryson! (Now a book about the English language that I would recommend is The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way by Bill Bryson.)
Throughout the book, the author gave examples of phrases in other languages to demonstrate grammatical rules and such. He used a variety of languages, mostly French, Spanish, and German. He also used Swedish quite a bit. However, on page 104, in an attempt to demonstrate a grammatical rule in which the verb comes before the pronoun if the sentence begins with a reference to time (yesterday, at 7 o'clock, etc), he wrote I dag kører hun bilen and said that that is Swedish for Today, she drives the car. Um, no. That is not Swedish, WTF? I think it may be Danish, but it is definitely not Swedish. Swedish doesn't even have the letter ø! (It does, however, have the letter ö.) How hard is it to look up a simple thing like that? Whoever edited the book is an idiot.
Sentenced to Science: One Black Man’s Story of Imprisonment in America by Allen M. Hornblum (200 pages)
An account of medical experiments on prisoners in Holmesburg Prison, Philadelphia.
Y by Marjorie Celona (348 pages)
A very enjoyable and engaging story of Shannon, a girl abandoned by her young mother at the front door of the YMCA moments after her birth.
Here is a quotation from the book that made me laugh, about one of Shannon's acquaintances: He's a little less cool than Jude--a little lower on the social ladder. He wears the same uniform as Jude, the checked shirt and baggy jeans, but his sneakers are all wrong--cross-trainers. Does he not notice the difference between sneakers and running shoes? (p.239)
So damn true! There is a huge difference between sneakers and running shoes, and so many guys have no idea, and just wear ugly running shoes are regular footwear. Ugh.
Soucouyant by David Chariandy (196 pages)
The ending left me very unsatisfied, and a bit confused.
January (total books: 3, total pages: 812)
The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker (448 pages)
A book that has been on my To Read list for ages. I quite enjoyed it, as I'm very interested in languages and linguistics, although there were dry parts, and the last chapter seemed to really drag on. An interesting read, but not recommended for people who don't study linguistics.
This Is Paradise! My North Korean Childhood by Hyok Kang (158 pages)
Recommended by gwai_lol. A quick, and interesting read. We all know that North Korea is fucked up, but wow. Here's a passage from the book that made me go O_o:
During the winter holidays, there was also a dung quota to fulfil. To do this we had to cary six whole carts of faecal matter to the school, collected from public or private latrines. But we had to be careful not to choose just any old excrement. We needed human turds, the only ones that bore the label 'manure' in the eyes of our teachers. In extremis, dog turds were tolerated as well. But cowpats, horse manure and the liquid faeces of pigs or poultry were not acceptable. That said, we weren't averse to adding small quantities of forbidden excrement to bulk up our quotas because, scour the streets of the city though we did, dog poo was not easy to find, not least because adults collected it to fertilise their own private plots of land. Once I nearly came to blows with a neighbour over a piece of dog shit! (p. 56)
The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine (206 pages)
A (fiction) story about a young girl in India who is sold by her father and is forced into prostitution. An engaging, but sad story, in the same vein as The Kite Runner. I enjoyed the book, which was very quick to read, although the ending was a bit strange.
February (total books: 5, total pages: 2036)
Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer (245 pages)
I didn't enjoy this book as much as Zimmer's Microcosm and A Planet of Viruses, and at first I was quite disappointed, as it was not what I was expecting. But at chapter 5 the book became quite interesting, and overall, I did enjoy it. I was particularly interested in reading about how parasites have shaped evolution, sex, and the immune system.
Cool Water by Dianne Warren (328 pages)
A story about the inhabitants of a small town in Saskatchewan. Not one of my top reads, but quite enjoyable, and quick to read.
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson (358 pages)
A thriller about a woman suffering from memory loss due to an accident years ago, who is trying to piece together her life. Not my preferred genre, but I picked it up as it sounded interesting. While the twist ending became somewhat predictable as the story progressed, it was still an engaging read. It was a very easy read, and only took me a few days to finish it.
Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner, and a Gentlemen Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail by Stephen R. Bown (217 pages)
A book that has been on my To Read List for ages. Interesting, although there were parts that dragged on a bit.
Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley (888 pages)
A well-known book which was made into a mini series in the 70s (which I have never seen). An engaging, but heartbreaking story. I quite enjoyed the book, although once the story focused on the later generations of Kunta Kinte's family, it was a bit rushed, with very little detail on the newer generations, and the story sometimes jumping several years from one paragraph to the next.
March (total books: 5, total pages: 1415)
The Phone Book: The Curious History of the Book That Everyone Uses But No One Reads by Ammon Shea (200 pages)
Not as interesting as I thought it would be, but still a fun, quick read.
In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent (293 pages)
A book about invented languages, such as Esperanto and Klingon. The book was not as engaging as I had hoped, and dragged on at some parts, but it was interesting to read about the absurd languages that have been invented over the years.
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (294 pages)
A very interesting account of the lives of six North Koreans who defected to South Korea. It's just mind boggling how terrible things are in North Korea. And of course it's expected that North Koreans' growth would be stunted due to malnutrition, but it was still surprising to read about a teenage boy who was only 4'7", and that the military had to lower its height restriction to 5'3". Also, North Koreans are so sexually repressed. One couple took three years to hold hands, and several more years to even dare to kiss (had they been caught, they probably would have been sent off to labour camps).
The book was written in 2009 and covered the period when Kim Il-sung died and his son Kim Jong-il took power. It would be interesting to read an account of what things are like now, and what happened when Kim Jong-il died. I wonder if anything has changed over the years since the book was written, and if anything will change soon.
Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis (349 pages)
Not as interesting as I had hoped. The second part of the book wasn't bad, but the first 10 or so chapters, all about the background of the producers and people involved in creating the show, really dragged on, and it was confusing, trying to keep track of who was who. I guess I was expecting a book more about what went on during the actual show and the background of the actors and the Muppets. And while the second part of the book was more along the lines of what I was expecting, it wasn't worth 349 pages. Interesting, but not that interesting. If you want to know about Sesame Street, I'd suggest you read the Wikipedia articles instead.
The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew (279 pages)
A book about a black maid working for a white family in the 1950s, and racism. I recommend this if you're looking for a quick, engaging read.
April (total books: 4, total pages: 1145)
Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield (331 pages)
The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai by John Tayman (318 pages)
In the 1800s, people who had leprosy--or were thought to have leprosy--were exiled to the island of Molokai, Hawaii. The conditions and treatment these victims endured were just awful: being arrested and removed from their families, little food and shelter once exiled, invasive examinations, even experimentation. It's just mind boggling how people can treat other people the way these victims were treated. Harrowing is a very apt description. And the sad thing is, many of the victims did not have leprosy or were not contagious. The first part of the book was a bit dull, but overall, an interesting read.
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay (350 pages)
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons (146 pages)
May (total books: 4, total pages: 1304)
The Concubine's Daughter by Pai Kit Fai (471 pages)
Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers (288 pages)
A waste of time. I do not recommend this book.
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok (290 pages)
Tell It to the Trees by Anita Rau Badami (255 pages)
Tell It to the Trees is about the Dharma family, a dysfunctional family living in a small, isolated community in British Columbia: Vikram the abusive head of the household; Suman, Vikram's second wife, brought from India after a hastily arranged marriage; Akka, Vikram's elderly mother and Suman's only friend and ally; Varsha, Vikram's 13 year old daughter from his first marriage; and 7 year old Hemant, who does everything his sister tells him to do. When Anu, the Dharmas' tenant, is found dead in the yard, family secrets are revealed.
I found this book very engaging, and highly recommend it. I also found the ending quite disturbing, and it sent chills down my spine.
June (total books: 5, total pages: 1441)
How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway (274 pages)
Monoceros by Suzette Mayr (261 pages)
A story about a 17 year old gay boy who commits suicide after being bullied, told from the points of view of various characters, including his closeted principal and guidance counsellor who are in a secret relationship; his boyfriend and his boyfriend's girlfriend, the girl who bullied him; a classmate who is obsessed with unicorns; unicorn girl's uncle, a drag queen. I thought the book was excellent, and I enjoyed the rich characters. However, it made me sad how people are bullied for being who they are and must hide who they are, out of fear.
The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler (300 pages)
Like Nickel and Dimed, an interesting (and depressing) book about poverty and low-wage earners in America.
Rocks in the Belly by Jon Bauer (292 pages)
Description from the library website: This somewhat overwrought story is about an emotionally troubled boy who grows up into an emotionally troubled adult. At issue is the jealousy the boy feels because his parents foster children and this, he supposes, robs him of their undivided love and attention. At 28 he returns home to care for his dying mother and memories are triggered - especially those concerning Robert the last fostered boy in their household. The grimness of the story is redeemed by an emotionally satisfying resolution.
An interesting enough story (although somewhat predictable), however, the protagonist, whose name we never learn, is quite unlikable. In fact, he's a horrid human being. I think we're supposed to feel sympathy for him, after all his mother fostered children and slightly neglected him, in his opinion (in fact, he had quite a loving family). However, as a boy, he was a little psycho, doing things such as torturing the family cat, and grew up to be a complete douchebag. Sorry, but a "bad" childhood (which was mostly of his own doing) doesn't justify his behaviour. I don't particularly recommend this book; there are far better things to read.
Tiger, Tiger by Margaux Fragoso (314 pages)
Fragoso's memoir about her relationship with Peter Curran, the pedophile she befriended at age 7, a relationship that lasted 15 years, until his suicide. A very engaging, although disturbing, book. I do recommend it, as it is quite interesting to read, although there are descriptions of her molestation and sexual abuse, so it may not be a book that everyone will be comfortable reading.
July (total books: 2, total pages: 434)
Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag by Kang Chol-Hwan (238 pages)
The conditions in the labour camp are truly horrific.
Escape From Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden (196 pages)
After having just read Aquariums of Pyongyang, I wasn't planning on reading another book about North Korea, but I saw this in the library and had to pick it up. Unlike the other books I've read about North Korea, this story is a little different; it's about Shin Dong-Hyuk who was born in one of the worst labour camps, and escaped at age 23 (all the other stories are about people who were put into labour camps, and then release). Truly horrifying.
August (total books: 3, total pages: 869)
Seeds of Change: Six Plants that Transformed Mankind by Henry Hobhouse (363 pages)
A book about six plants that have had a major influence on the world: quinine, sugar, tea, cotton, the potato, and coca. I very eagerly borrowed this book from the library as it sounded extremely fascinating. And while I did learn some interesting tidbits, overall, the book was disappointing, as often it difficult to slog through. Perhaps I found it exceptionally difficult to read because I don't have a head for history and can't keep historical names and dates straight, but I often found myself confused about what the author was talking about, and puzzled at the relevance to the plant's history. Perhaps I should stick with Bill Bryson.
A Thousand Cuts by Simon Lelic (294 pages)
I Wish I Were Engulfed In Flames: My Insane Life Raising Two Boys With Autism by Jeni Decker (212 pages)
A book I randomly found in the library, and decided to borrow because it seemed amusing, and I was in the mood for something light and fun. It was alright, but this woman is not as funny as she thinks she is. Also, I don't really care for her. She seems rather annoying.
September (total books: 3, total pages: 1007)
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese (221 pages)
Saul Indian Horse, a young Ojibway boy, is taken from his parents and sent to a residential school, where he discovers his talent for hockey.
Although I have no interest in hockey and this novel heavily focuses on hockey, it wasn't to the point where it was boring; the hockey references were an integral part of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as heartbreaking as it was, and highly recommend it. I am very glad that I discovered this wonderful novel through the public library's website, and will definitely read more by this author.
The Beggar's Garden by Michael Christie (261 pages)
Another book I randomly found through the library's website. It's a collection of short stories set in Vancouver's DTES (Downtown East Side). I found the majority of the stories interesting, however, most of them felt unfinished when they ended, which was a bit frustrating.
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi (525 pages)
Set in WW II Germany, a novel about Trudi Montag, a woman with dwarfism and her relationships and interactions with the people in the small town in which she resides. A very engaging book that I recommend.
I'm interested in reading Hegi's novel Floating in My Mother's Palm, which takes place after Stones from the River and features some of the same characters, including Trudi Montag, although it was written before Stones. Unfortunately, the public library doesn't have any copies.
October (total books: 7, total pages: 2623)
Girl Walks into a Bar... Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle by Rachel Dratch (246 pages)
After being disappointed with numerous celebrity memoirs (Betty White, Roseanne Barr, and Tina Fey, to name a few), I was half expecting this to be another waste of time. However, I really enjoyed the book because it was actually funny, the kind of funny that I think the other books were aiming for. The reason why this memoir was different than the others is probably because Dratch is not a "glamorous" celebrity--she's an underdog. She seems more like a "regular" person, and has "regular" problems. I also could relate to a lot of her problems, such as the search for a partner and bad dates. Dratch seems like the kind of person I'd like to be friends with.
Nature's Building Blocks: Everything You Need to Know about the Elements by John Emsley (651 pages)
I actually read half of this book in September and finished the second half in October. Being a science nerd, a book about the elements on the periodic table sounded really fascinating. And while the book was interesting, the numerous typos and errors (grammatical, stylistic, and scientific) were just awful and left me with a rather poor opinion of the book. The book is over 600 pages, so a couple of minor typos aren't totally unreasonable, but the number of errors was rather embarrassing. The editor probably had absolutely no knowledge of the subject matter, because how else can you explain stating that the chemical symbol of mercury is Ag? And all the mistakes with the oxidation states and chemical formulas...
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
I admit, I read this book simply because of the author. When I first heard about it I had no idea what it was about, but decided to jump on the bandwagon out of curiosity. I put the book on hold at the library, months before it was even out, thus I was in the first round of people to get a copy--jumping on the bandwagon took no effort at all.
Because the Harry Potter series was so successful, J.K. Rowling is in a tough position--people will compare this book to Harry Potter, and because it's not Harry Potter, people will be disappointed and extra critical. I had absolutely no expectations at all, and I quite enjoyed the book. What I really enjoyed were the details of the characters. I didn't like the characters themselves--they were quite awful--but I enjoyed reading about the characters, their problems, motivations, and relationships with each other. All in all, an enjoyable read.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (118 pages)
A re-read.
The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe (241 pages)
A really strange book. Here's the description from the back of the book: One of the premier Japanese novels of the twentieth century, The Women in the Dunes combines the essence of myth, suspense, and the existential novel. In a remote seaside village, Niki Jumpei, a teacher and amateur entomologist, is held captive with a young woman at the bottom of a vast sand pit where, Sisyphus-like, they are pressed into shoveling off the ever-advancing sand dunes that threaten the village.
Red Dog, Red Dog by Patrick Lane (332 pages)
Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist (532 pages)
From wikipedia: A man discovers an abandoned infant in the woods. He becomes obsessed with the child and raises her with his wife in his basement. Years later, a catastrophic incident occurs and the couple's adult son takes the girl to Stockholm and enters her to perform in Idol. From there, the girl meets a fellow outcast named Teresa on the internet. Together, the two prove to be deadly.
I'm not particularly into horror, but when I heard about this book on the library website it sounded interesting, and I enjoy discovering new books and new authors. Surprisingly, the book was pretty quick to get through, despite being over 500 pages, and it was very engaging--I kept wanting to find out what was going to happen. I quite enjoyed it, probably because it's more of a psychological horror book, not horror as in zombies and vampires. I'd recommend this book (although I do have to caution that it is quite gruesome towards the end), and will perhaps try another of Lindqvist's books.
November (total books: 2, total pages: 504)
A Stolen Life by Jaycee Duguard (268 pages)
Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy (236 pages)
When I first heard about this book on the library's website, it sounded like a fascinating book, right up my alley. However, the book was an absolute waste of time. It is appropriate to include the history of people's stories and beliefs about rabies and how the disease and superstitions has shaped cultures around the world, but the authors' attempt at this resulted in superfluous rambles that often left me having to reread what I had just read because it was so damn boring. (Was it really necessary to go on for pages about vampires and werewolves?!)
The book consists of eight chapters, plus an introduction and conclusion. The introduction and first four chapters aren't worth reading, and only until the fifth chapter, about Louis Pasteur and his work on the rabies vaccine, did the book pick up. The fifth chapter was quite interesting, and was what I was expecting out of the entire book. Sadly, the interest was short lived, only until the sixth chapter. The remainder of the book wasn't as bad as the first four chapters, as the superfluous rambles did have occasional tidbits of interesting information and contributed somewhat to the book. However, they did drag on, and often left me thinking, "What was the point of writing about that?" For example, here's an excerpt from the eighth chapter, which is about a rabies outbreak on Bali, an island that had been rabies-free, and the government's attempt to vaccinate the island's dogs:
"In their demeanor, the dog catchers, generally married med in their early twenties, strived for a nonchalant badassery. They wore their paw print emblazoned BAWA [Bali Animal Welfare Association] T-shirts with pants that were either very tight or very lose, along with such rocker accessories as spiked bracelets or bandanas. Most had visible tattoos. During breaks they smoked cigarettes, consumes sweets bought liberally from the ubiquitous household storefronts, and hooted at attractive girls whenever they passed by. When they were engaged in the thrill of the catch, though, the young men's swagger gave way to a quick and purposeful gait; their expressions, cooly bored a moment before, brightened to an alert apprehension." (p. 216)
What the fuck was the point of that?!
All in all, the book was terrible, and the only chapter that was worth reading was the fifth chapter. If interested in rabies, just read the fifth chapter and don't waste your time on the rest of the book.
December (total books: 7, total pages: 2053)
Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Daniel L. Everett (279 pages)
The account of Everett's life among the Pirahã people, and the study of their language. Everett, along with his family, spent many years living in the Amazon jungle learning the culture and language of the Pirahã. Everett, who later turned atheist, was a missionary sent to learn their language in order to translate the bible.
The book was divided into two parts: part one was about the culture of the people, and part two focused on the language. I found the book quite interesting, however, was surprised to find part one far more interesting. The language part wasn't quite as interesting as I had expected, but all in all, it was a good book.
Harbour by John Ajvide Lindqvist (500 pages)
The novel was interesting and engaging, but the ending was confusing and disappointing. What the fuck was all that nonsense about the stairs?!
The Hollow City by Dan Wells (333 pages)
An entertaining enough book about a schizophrenic man who believes he is being pursued by faceless men. However, the ending was a bit ridiculous.
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English by John McWhorter (197 pages)
As the title suggests, this book is about the English language. It was alright, and it's not a book that I'd be quick to recommend. Also, the author was trying to be funny, but didn't quite cut it. Leave the humour to Bill Bryson! (Now a book about the English language that I would recommend is The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way by Bill Bryson.)
Throughout the book, the author gave examples of phrases in other languages to demonstrate grammatical rules and such. He used a variety of languages, mostly French, Spanish, and German. He also used Swedish quite a bit. However, on page 104, in an attempt to demonstrate a grammatical rule in which the verb comes before the pronoun if the sentence begins with a reference to time (yesterday, at 7 o'clock, etc), he wrote I dag kører hun bilen and said that that is Swedish for Today, she drives the car. Um, no. That is not Swedish, WTF? I think it may be Danish, but it is definitely not Swedish. Swedish doesn't even have the letter ø! (It does, however, have the letter ö.) How hard is it to look up a simple thing like that? Whoever edited the book is an idiot.
Sentenced to Science: One Black Man’s Story of Imprisonment in America by Allen M. Hornblum (200 pages)
An account of medical experiments on prisoners in Holmesburg Prison, Philadelphia.
Y by Marjorie Celona (348 pages)
A very enjoyable and engaging story of Shannon, a girl abandoned by her young mother at the front door of the YMCA moments after her birth.
Here is a quotation from the book that made me laugh, about one of Shannon's acquaintances: He's a little less cool than Jude--a little lower on the social ladder. He wears the same uniform as Jude, the checked shirt and baggy jeans, but his sneakers are all wrong--cross-trainers. Does he not notice the difference between sneakers and running shoes? (p.239)
So damn true! There is a huge difference between sneakers and running shoes, and so many guys have no idea, and just wear ugly running shoes are regular footwear. Ugh.
Soucouyant by David Chariandy (196 pages)
The ending left me very unsatisfied, and a bit confused.