I didn’t plan on it, but the books I’ve read lately have been rather complimentary. First, I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which is set mainly in Russian controlled Czechoslovakia during the Cold War (a setting that largely influences the plot and philosophy that makes the book incredible). Next, I read The Wednesday Wars,… Continue reading Harmonious Reading
Category: book review
At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays by Anne Fadiman
At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays Anne Fadiman An important quality of a good essayist is their ability to write about a topic you (the reader) have no previous history of caring about and yet still manage to captivate you with the subject matter. An even better essayist will not only hold your attention… Continue reading At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays by Anne Fadiman
Mister Pip and the Man Booker Prize
Mister Pip Lloyd Jones Mister Pip was one of the front runners for this year’s Man Booker Prize (which I find to be one of the most reliable prize lists to select a novel from) and I kept hearing amazing things about it. I had read two of the six shortlisted books (The Reluctant Fundamentalist… Continue reading Mister Pip and the Man Booker Prize
52nd Book of the Year – The Blind Assassin
The Blind Assassin: A Novel Margaret Atwood I finished my 2007 New Year’s Resolution last week – reading 52 books this year. The 52nd book was The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. From what I’ve heard, people either love Margaret Atwood or hate her after reading one of her books. I haven’t heard of many… Continue reading 52nd Book of the Year – The Blind Assassin
Mini-Review: Palm Sunday by Kurt Vonnegut
Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage Kurt Vonnegut This weekend I finished Palm Sunday. I started it right after Kurt died and have been slowly savoring it every since. It was easy to spread it out because it’s, as he says, an autobiographical collage. It includes many gems; it was great fun to read some of… Continue reading Mini-Review: Palm Sunday by Kurt Vonnegut
Julia Child
My Life in France Julia Child Today would have been Julia Child’s 95th birthday, had she not passed away in 2004. One of her last projects, her memoir called My Life in France, did not come out until after she died. In honor of Julia today, I’d like to whole-heartedly recommend My Life in France.… Continue reading Julia Child
Short Book Review: The Eyre Affair
The Eyre Affair Jasper Fforde While mourning the loss of new Harry Potter books to look forward to, I decided I needed a new series to read. Not expecting anything to fill the Harry Potter shaped whole in my heart, but I figured it’d be fun to get into another series. {Enter Jasper Fforde and… Continue reading Short Book Review: The Eyre Affair
Water for Elephants
Water for Elephants Sara Gruen This week I finished Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I love where books take me – across America on a train with a traveling circus, stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the restaurant at the end of the universe, on an… Continue reading Water for Elephants
Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
I finally read Winnie-the-Pooh. A few years ago I saw it on the Radcliffe list of the 100 Greatest English Language Novels, and almost checked it off as read, but realized that years of dedication to and viewings of the movie did not in any way translate into having read the book. So last year… Continue reading Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
It was incredible to read Franny and Zooey right after finishing Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer. It helped me realize how extraordinarily talented J.D. Salinger is. I loved the story as well, especially the conversation at the end between Franny and Zooey on the phone – it was beautiful. But the writing was outstanding,… Continue reading Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby
I finished Nick Hornby’s The Polysyllabic Spree, and absolutely loved it. It’s a collection of his columns from the Believer from September 2003 to November 2004. I was happy to discover there was another book, a continuation, with his columns from February 2005 to June/July 2006 – Housekeeping vs. The Dirt which I promptly went… Continue reading Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby