Lethologica

Dreams of My Father by Barack Obama

2009-03-22T21:58:00.000-07:00

This book was written after he graduated from law school, before political aspirations. He was approached to write it after he was made the first African American president of The Harvard Law Review.

I think the thing that made this book so intriguing to me it that it was such a clear picture of how he grew up and formed his opinions and values. It was written at a time he was not sure where his life was going. In some instances the stories he chooses to share are such an intimate portrayal of the choices he made that led him to his beliefs that he would never have written them after seeking office. I kept reading the book and having to stop and almost smack my forehead to remind myself it was not just another interesting memoir, but this guy is the president of the US! Too cool.

It was a really interesting read even if he were not the president. Read it, you will get a really interesting picture of who he is and what is important to him.

Embarassment and burning books

2007-11-24T14:16:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have been reading, but not anything that I would actually share with a large group for fear of being laughed at, so let's just say I read a 6 book series of books that are about 800 pages a piece and I can not even take credit for them from the embaressement.

I also read half a book I hated so much that I took outside and burned it. Yes, I burned a book. But really, what choice did I have. It was so bad. I would not have given that book away to anyone, even a stranger. I hated it with such passion that I felt nothing sad about trying to burn it. I say trying since it is much harder than you would assume to burn a book. We had to rip out all the pages to get the darn thing to light. I just wanted to throw a match on the complete book, but there is this thing called oxegen that fires need and apparently there is not enough in the tight leaves of a book.

I also am reading a book I will tell you the name of, although I am not thrilled about the story. I am ready Loving Frank. Ho - Hum. It was for book club, so was the burnt book mentioned above.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics (part 2)

2007-05-09T16:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, I finished it. It lived up to the hype.

The first 2/3rds or so of the book is a classic "here-is-what-lead-up-to-the-death-it-makes-no-sense" sorta book. it seems like you are being told yet another story of friendship lost. Ah, but the last 1/3 turns into super sleuth fact digging, go through every scrap mentioned in the first part of the book and figure out the mystery you did not even see coming. Quite good. Very enjoyable. Well pulled off.

I enjoyed it and wish I had another. Now I have to read a few boring books for my book club. Of course, I don't know they are boring, I am just assuming as always. I guess by underestimating books I enjoy the good ones more since I always expect them to be crap.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

2007-05-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

A first novel that is rather original.
I am only 1/2 way through it, but enjoying it.
The main character, Blue, is an erudite high school student penning her Life Story after the death of friend/teacher. The interesting literary convention she uses throughout the novel is citing references for information she shares. Such as describing a person as looking like a specific animal and then giving reference to the book and page in the MLA Handbook format.

Of course there is more it is a mystery, but until I reach the end of the book this is all I am sharing.

plus, a quick link to an article about the author in the New York Times Books section

Long Absence

2007-04-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

I have been reading a lot less.
I had a baby in December.
At least I am still reading, no?

I am searching the recesses of my sleep addled brain to find the titles of the more recent books

Magic Time was quite good. I enjoyed it. I was surprised that a rehashing of memories of 1964 could be so good. My friend said the style was a rip off of another author she has read a lot of. I or course can not remember the name. Anyway. Magic Time's structure is two time lines mashed together to show how the past is influencing the present. So it starts out kinda cryptic. the main character is a successful newspaper columnist. He covers a tragedy in NYC his adopted hometown, has a breakdown and is taken home to Mississippi to recover where you learn the reason for his breakdown. A tragedy during the summer of 1964. In the process I have to say that the Freedom Summer gained a much rounder appearance in my thoughts than before. There is nothing like a story to make you really think about what it would mean to be living in a time where civil rights are not granted to all.

Did I post about Cotton? That was a trippy little story. I really enjoyed the ride. To tell too much of this story, would be to give it away. Lets just say that it is not as straight a tale as the book jacket makes you think it is. It is an odd ride through the 50's. 60's, 70's and 80's. It tells the view point from many races and sexes in an unconventional manner. I enjoyed it.

How about my favorite junk food novelist, Christopher Moore. I think I have officially now read all of his books. So sad, I have to wait for a new one to come out. Recent reads: Coyote Blue and You Suck. Coyote was much better than I thought it would be. it is more a novel with strange people than his other novels really being strange people with novel written around it. You Suck was fun, but it really would help if you read Blood Sucking Fiends first, or most of it will be lost on you.

A little rock n roll re-read pairing: High Fidelity by Nick Hornby and Ground Beneath Her Feet by Rushdie. I normally don't re-read things but my book club wanted to read the pair, so I agreed. I originally read High Fidelity shortly after it came out and I was living in London. It was so of the time, much like Generation X was when it came out. I really enjoyed it both the first and second time, although each affected me differently. The first time I read it, it was so original and new sort of novel. I think really it is Nick Hornby's best one. Some of the others have just landed flat to me. I think High Fidelity is interesting now since I am about the same age as the main character and I can relate to the themes of growing up and changing and becoming an adult and loosing your street cred. I also love the theme of how music informs our concepts and expectation of love and relationships. I have oft teased my hubbie about being too influenced by pop music.

The first time I read Ground Beneath Her Feet I hated it. This time I am really enjoying it. As I don't often re-read books, I can not say if I would have that reaction to others I did not like. It almost makes me think I should re-read others. But I wont. I am a Rushdie fan. I think when I read it before I could not get over the pop culture references. Now I see a lot more of the book and where I think it is going/coming from. I love all the parallels to mythology and the repeating themes of parents and trust and reality, of course how music informs our concepts and expectations of relationships too. More to it, but I would not want to spoil the book for you. It is a magical realism sorta book. It has the alternate universe thing that I think before put me off, but this time I am enjoying. Who knows what changed for me since I read it the first time.

I know I have read others, but they are not bubbling to the top of my head at the moment.

On Beauty

2006-09-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Next up: On Beauty by Zadie Smith
paired with Howard's End

A Girl Could Stand Up

2006-09-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

I picked up A Girl Could Stand Up by Leslie Marshall at my fave local book store, Tattered Cover, in the bargin books section. I have to admit, I bought it because it looked like something my best friend would like and she is in Seoul Korea for approx 6 months, an avid reader, without a large selection. So whenever possible I pick up books I think she would like, read them and mail them off to Seoul knowing I will never see them again. I am perfectly happy with doing that, but it makes me sad when I read a good book and can not get myself to mail it to her because I want to keep it.

I picked it up thinking it looked like it could be entertaining and keep my attention for a while, and to my suprise it actually was really was! I liked it much more than I thought I would. I kinda assumed it might be smaltsy, or fluffy, but it had an interesting array of eccentric characters, all trying to do what is best for an orphaned 6 year old. What I probably enjoyed the most is that it is an incredibly unconvential story.

Elray is orphaned when traveling through the tunnel of love on her 6th birthday. Her parents are electrocuted in a bizarre accient. He aunt/uncle Ajax moves into the house to take care of her giving up her uncomplicated cross dressing life in New York City (dont get me wrong, she did not give up cross dressing). The other uncle a globe trotting photographer decides he needs to keep an eye on the two of them and sets up base camp in the same house. Two unrealated adults find themselves living together and raising a child. As you can guess it is not bump free, but the love is there. This is the story of Elray's childhood. How she communicates with her dead parents through the scar on her arm, explores the local cathedral, makes friends with Raoul her not so invisible friend, and basically grows up and figures out who she is.

I enjoyed the tale. Enjoy the wacky ride, don't expect it to follow convential rules, and you will be fine.

The list goes on

2006-08-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Inomorata byJosephy Gangemi
Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Howard's End by E.M. Forrester
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd - blech, I read the back, did not think I would like it, read it anyway and was proved right. If you read the back and it appeals to you go for it, if you have any misgivings, avoid it.

The Plight of the Neglected Blog

2006-07-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

So it has been far too long since I have posted anything of any relevance.
I am about to post just another list. Perhaps I will find the time and actually get my reviews in on these books.

So here is a list, hopefully to be fleshed out someday

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – reread this and found it as moving the second time as I did the first. Actually, maybe more so. Reading this as an adult vs. college student puts a different spin on the novel, especially when you look at the direction the conservative right is attempting to steer the country. Handmaid’s tale is an even better cautionary tale in that light.

The Passage by Connie Willis – Interesting fictional look at Near Death Experiences, what causes them and their meaning.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova – Fictional vampire hunt through historical documents. Made the mistake of reading it alone at night. Fun but not earth shattering.

Under the Marble Sky by John Shors - Schlocky, not worth reading unless you like romances. Not nearly enough history or architecture.

Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore – a silly book, not one of his best, but still entertaining and odd like all his work. Read The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove if you want a truly good example of his absurdist romps.

The Giant’s House by Elizabeth McCracken – an oddball romance. A lonely librarian slowly falls in love/obession with the town’s lovable giant.

Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri - a good read. Explores relationships between people living in an apartment building during the death of a member of the neighborhood who lives on the front steps of the building. Religion, cast system, insanity, grief, love and hate.

Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke - a farcical look at a British Guy trying to work and date in Paris. Silly book. Enjoyable light read.

Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger – thought I was gonna hate it after reading the jacket. Actually really enjoyed it. Interesting premise of how relationships can last when the people are not always in the same time. The science was a little wonky, but I liked the premise of how uncontrollable time traveling was genetic. It was a sad book, but intriguing.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon – Kept picking this one up and trying to decide if it was going to be annoying or really enjoyable. It was really enjoyable. It is a coming of age story in post civil war Spain. The son of a bookseller comes across a rare book and tries to unravel the mystery that surrounds it. Through the years that it takes him to come to solve the mystery he grows from a kid into a young adult. There are some fun twists and turns in the book and an interesting cast of characters. I was captivated by this book.

Juvenile Fiction

2006-04-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer - really interesting book that looks at the ethics of cloning for biological replacments, what people do to justify it. Sci-fi of the near future well thought out and executed society. Recommended for adults too!

The City of Ember & People of Sparks by Jeanne Duprau - I enjoyed the first in this series, the second fell a little flat. It was definatly geared more towards kids than adults. Rather moralistic, hit you over the head kinda read instead of letting you soak it in through the story.

The End of the Beginning : Being the Adventures of a Small Snail (and an Even Smaller Ant) by Avi - Very sweet book about friendship and adventure.

April Fools Day Books

2006-04-01T21:44:00.000-08:00

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - really good but really sad book. Wont give away the twist, but worth reading.

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore - another silly absurdist romp by Mr. Moore. Apparently there are many death merchants who pick up the souls of the departed. One man stumbles into his destiny with out much help and keeps stumbing throughout the book. Silly supernatural and just plain wacky.

Two drastically different books

2006-03-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

The Love Wife by Gish Jen- it was a little hard to really relate to. I find it difficult that a family of adopted and biological kids could really be that hard to feel united. It made me grumpy.

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde - The man behind the Thurdsay Next series has a new character and it is just as silly since it is all the nursery rhyme characters coming to life. Jack Sprat investigates the death of Humpty Dumpty. Absurd and Fun my favorite combo for escapist reading.

What do you use as a bookmark?

2006-03-19T15:11:00.000-08:00

Top Five

5. The book marks handed out by Tattered Cover when you purchase a book.
4. Business or appointment cards
3. Folded over sticky notes
2. Paint chip cards – you know those pieces of cardstock with paint colors on them that you pick up at the paint store and take home to match to whatever you want to paint.
1. Airplane boarding passes

Too Long since my last post!

2006-03-19T14:55:00.000-08:00

Oh how remiss I have been in posting! The holidays, making 600+ oragamy cranes for my sister’s wedding, quitting my job, it takes it out of you.

I have read many books and forgotten most. Here is a snapshot of the more memoriable ones from the last few months.

My 16 year old cousin lent me Aragon and Eldest by the wunderkind Christopher Paolini. Although derivative, I still enjoyed the tale.

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach, liked it a lot less that Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. Stiff seemed to have some substance while Spook really seemed a bit pale in comparison. It is clear that both books were researched and humorous, but Spook just seemed to be humor at the expense of the people interviewed or researched, where with Stiff I actually learned a thing or two.

Two memoirs of women overcoming strange childhoods and achieving academic laurels.

Naked in the Promised Land: A Memoir by Lillian Faderman and The Road from Corrain by Jill Ker Conway. I really enjoyed both of them. If you choose to read each, read The Road from Corrain first, she does an excellent job of impressing upon the reader the difficulty of growing up on a sheep farm in the Australian bush with no peers then moving to Sydney and trying to learn how to socially integrate with kids her own age. She also clearly lays out the difficulty for women in academia in the early 60’s.

If you can only read one, read Naked in the Promised Land. Her tale can only be true since it is too outlandish to be fiction. Faderman made and incredible journey from the poor daughter of a mentally challenged immigrant to academic success and helping found the women’s studies movement. The life she had a as a young aspiring actress that led to her becoming a pin up model and burlesque dancer that was only on the road to earning her P.h.D and becoming an academic powerhouse is just amazing.

I started Team of Rivals today. Now that I am not employed, I will probably have some time to finish its 900 pages in time for book club next month.

Other recent non narrative books:
User Experience:
About Face 2.0
Ambient Findablility – helps to point out the direction the intertwingling of digital and meat space. Makes you think about the potential of technology to shape entirely new ways of finding objects and information in meat space not only online.

Knitting:
Knit Hats!
Hip to Knit
Stitch and Bitch Nation Handbook

Cheat and Charmer by Elizabeth Frank

2005-11-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Cheat and Charmer by Elizabeth Frank looked like it would be a good book, but I just felt cheated.
Cheat and Charmer is the story of two sisters one beautiful and famous (Veevie), the other plain and somewhat talented (Dinah) can you say cliché? The sisters grew up in LA and both ended up in show biz and the Communist Party. It takes place in Hollywood during the Red Scare and the McCarthy witch hunts of the early 1950’s. Cheat and Charmer tends to hit you over the head on the topic of principles without ever really getting to the meat of the issue. It poses many surface questions about the principles of those in the Party both during their early years and later when many left the Party behind and then those who chose to testify and those who did not. I kept waiting for something interesting and political to happen and instead all it really is, is a “book of betrayal” (to quote my friend Jessica). The characters neither know how to be honest, what it takes to have meaningful relationships, nor how to create the lives they want as sisters, wives, husbands, mothers, friends, they are all immature and morally bankrupt people. The only redeeming characters are the housekeeper and the mother-in-law (Dorska)

Large portions of the history of Dinah and her sister Veevie are told through flash backs which are supposed to show the circumstances through which the women became involved with the communist party in Hollywood. The sad thing is that it becomes clear that the women were only ever viewed as party favors by the men in the novel, never a contributing partner in anything. I agree with my friend Jessica’s assessment that the author relied on stereotypes to build the characters rather than ever getting into who they really could have been in that environment. The women come out looking like sexual pawns to the men, and maybe they were, but I imagine there was more a more interesting character angels that she could have pursued.

I was really hoping to learn something more about the history and politics of time as well as what it meant to have to choose between testifying and “naming names” or keeping silent and therefore going to jail and loosing the life to which they were accustomed. Instead it really has flat characters and became a meditation of personal betrayal and loosing the illusion of the life the characters thought they had.

Two weeks in a foreign country

2005-11-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

What book(s) do you take with you when you are going on a two week trip out of the country and English language books will be difficult to find? I like to choose a very thick paperback. I mean thick in two ways: 1) lots of pages 2) something that takes a little work to read so it goes slowly. Now another criteria is that I won’t be sad if I have to leave my copy of it behind somewhere because I am sick of carrying it around, which is precisely what I did about 3 days before I came home.

So, you are asking, what book did I take with me? I took The System of the World by Neal Stephenson. Yes, I know I panned The Confusion just a few posts ago, but I have to admit, I got hooked. Yes, I got hooked, also it filled the above mentioned criteria for a book to take on a two week trip. I read the first in the series a year ago when I was on a two week biz trip in Europe, I waited a year to read the second and I forgot lots of details which made reading the second a bit difficult, so I thought if I am ever going to read the third, I had better do it quickly on the heals of the second, so it went with me on a two week trip to Italy.

I actually enjoyed this one more than the second. It has a single story line taking place in a few years and instead of the double weave story line over 30 years. It was a more cohesive story line than first two books. The history of currency was fascinating. There was the odd bit of swashbuckling, but for the most part, it was a more straightforward narrative. The funny part is I am not a huge fan of the straightforward narrative. I love magical realism, but I really enjoyed the amount of research that the author put into the historical details. I love that I learned about the time period and came out the other end a little more knowledgeable. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe everything he wrote as truth, it is not, he took liberties, but he did do some solid research so that the time period comes alive. One of the main characters is irritating, because he is too modern and American sounding, and the dialogue flips between carefully written/appropriate for the time and some very ridiculous modern sounding clichés and phrases.

I would love to know how many people have actually made it all the way through the three of them. All together the series is close to 3000 pages and it is not fluffy stuff: the history of physics, currency based on trade rather than land, the roots of computing, and alchemy. To be fair, there is a bunch of info about slaves, pirates and worldwide geography and customs. Overall, not a bad read, but you have to go through the first two so that the third makes any sense at all.

I also took a book about the spice trade – Spice, the history of a temptation - but I barely cracked the cover. I will keep you updated if I manage to read it.

Towelhead : A Novel by Alicia Erian

2005-09-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

A disturbing book. This book is difficult to read since the central themes are bad parenting, sexual abuse, and a confused thirteen year old girl who just wants to be loved and have some attention paid to her in any way she can. After Jasira’s mother’s boyfriend shows inappropriate attention to Jasira, she is shipped off to live with her Lebanese father in Texas. His ideas and rules for parenting are much different than Jasira’s mother, but her parents are equally deficient in parenting skills. Her mother is jealous, competitive and emotionally manipulative and her father is controlling and physically and mentally abusive, between the two of them they can not figure out how to show Jasira any love.

A friend of mine was getting a pedicure recently and the proprietress of the nail salon was lamenting the fact that she had a child very early in life. The child was now in her teens. She said, “When you have a baby, you no longer get to be the baby.” My friend nearly died realizing that this woman was still trying to “be the baby” and never learned to grow up and take responsibility for herself. As I was reading Towelhead, I could not stop from thinking about this odd conversation. A lot of bad parenting could be directly related to the fact that some of the parents are still trying to “be the baby” and therefore compete with their children instead of take the opportunity to grow up and become a parent. It is obvious that Jasira’s mother still wants to be the baby.

This book is rife with adults who can not look past their greedy selves to see let alone understand the needs of a young lost girl who is dabbling in inappropriate flirtations with adult neighbors, and exchanging sexual favors for attention with the first boy who shows an interest in her. After reading this book, I can see how so many girls end up in such dire circumstances.

I read an interview where the author discusses how this novel is partly based on her life, but not entirely. When you start to think about the reality of so many girls out in the world who actually do live these lives, that is what makes this book devastating

These are a few of our favorite words

2005-09-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

One of my all time favorite words is “penultimate” which means the second to last. I love it because it is usually misunderstood. It sounds like it should mean the absolute ultimate or something, but no!

My friend schooly g loves the word “elbow” due to the way it sounds and simplicity.

The Ever-Lovin’ Hubby’s (ELH) fave word is “shiznog” (is it really a word?) because it is so fun to say and is an almost polite replacement for the swearword “shit.”

My friend Mrs. B says, “right now, I'm enjoying the word ‘pickle’ because it has hard sounds and soft meaning. I also enjoy “antepenultimate,” which is the one before the second to last. I also like “crepuscular,” because it sounds like it should have to do with pustules, but it doesn't. words rock.”

mryendor likes the word precept since it is an idea that is used as the basis for action when it may not necessarily be true.

What are a few of your favorite words?

Crapmare (newly coined word)

2005-09-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

Crapmare
(n) The feeling of such intense fear, horror, and distress brought on by an over abundance of emotional crap which brings on the wish to wake up from the dream that is actually the reality.

Summer Reading List (most recent last)

2005-09-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

I have been negligent in my blogging. I have been reading, but not writing. I think I will write more about each of these books at some point. but right now, just wanted to document them. I think I read others and forgot what they were since I last posted anything. One main reason to have this blog was to keep a record of the books I read and what I think of them.

His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman
http://www.philip-pullman.com
This is a great fantasy series. Short interesting and well worth reading. Apparently it is juvenile fantasy. The only difference I see is that the protagonist is a child on the verge of puberty (not a big shift for fantasy), there is no sex or swearing in the books, other than that, it is a good fantasy series. The ideas developed across the three books are really interesting in their depth of thought on consciousness, religion and the meaning of a soul. These books are not for anyone who is uncomfortable with challenges to Christianity.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling
http://www.jkrowling.com
Nope, I wont tell you who dies.

Brick Lane by Monica Ali
http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth03B5N513312634963
OK book, not Earth shattering or anything. Gives and interesting perspective on the life of a Bangladeshi woman in an arranged mariage to an immigrant in London.

Zorro: A Novel by Isabel Allende
http://www.isabelallende.com
OK, at first I thought I was going to hate this book. The last few books I read of hers bored me to tears. Her strong empowered female characters have been making me gag for several books. Why do I keep reading them you ask? I have no idea. Someone hands me the book and I read it? Nothing better to do with a couple of hours and all other books are lost? I actually found this tale quite refreshing from the other books of her's I have read in the last few years. It is not the story of Zorro's escapades, rather the story of how he became Zorro. The story is intermingled with all sorts of great history of California, Mexoico, Spain and New Orleans. I was sucked in by this book. It was a fun adventure.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clark
http://www.jonathanstrange.com
OMG! Such a great book, but it is long and you have to enjoy the odd 18oo's England and a bit of magic thrown in the mix. Very impressed that it is a first book. I actually only know of about two people who might like to read this, and one already had it on her list. I want to know who has been reading it to make it a best seller. It is huge (800 pages) by most people's standards, and very very English. I can clearly see why it is a best seller. It is a great book.

Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore
http://www.chrismoore.com
How can you say no to Christopher Moore for some good plane reading? The plane trip from Denver to DC is a long one. I sat next to some rather old lady who kept looking at the title of this book askance. Some of the most amazing wacky tales spring from Moore's brain. I want to know what drugs he takes and if he doesn't OMG, how do you explain the stuff he dreams up? This one was silly, enjoyable, but not nearly as good as Lamb or The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

Currently reading The Confusion by Neal Stephenson
http://www.nealstephenson.com
Kinda feel like he has really gone down that schlocky trail ever since Cryptonomicon, but somehow compelled to read his stuff. This one is the second book in a trilogy. The first one made me want to throw it against the wall in a bitter rage because of how flat, arrogant and predictable his books have gotten while at the same time learning all sorts of interesting things about the time period and physics, who knew? He absolute best book is Diamond Age, if you read anything by him, read that. Good writing and characters that don’t make you want to throw the book at the wall. Not really proud to tell anyone I am reading this.

nugatory

2005-08-11T15:33:00.000-07:00

nugatory \NOO-guh-tor-ee; NYOO-\,
adjective:
1. Trifling; insignificant; inconsequential.
2. Having no force; inoperative; ineffectual

Wonder When You’ll Miss Me by Amanda Davis

2005-05-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

Wonder When You’ll Miss Me is such an original novel.
The first third of the book was hard for me to read and the end of it much more easy (although my friend who loves dark things more thought the exact opposite). The first part of the book details all the reasons that led to her attempted suicide and fracturing of her personality. The last part of the book detail how she chooses to keep living by running away from home and towards this illusory person who she thinks will take care of her, not finding him and joining the circus and therefore growing up and past the dependence on others for her acceptance and level of happiness.

Sure, it is a coming of age story where the protagonist goes through some horrible situations and runs away and joins the circus so that she can grow up and be accepted. Sounds simple enough, but then throw in that when she goes through a particularly horrible incident, he personality sorta splits giving her an invisible friend who happen to be all the parts of herself she never liked. Her waking persona is rather oblivious to the world around her and invisible friend basically helps run her life. In order to face her new life in the circus she renames herself to give her to courage to move forward in the world. Some of the more interesting scenes in the book are when she is interacting with her invisible friend.

The book was disconcerting at times and hard to belive all the parts, but it was also such an orginal voice and interesting look at how hard growing up (even in middle class America) can be.

Sadly we will not see any more books from Amanda Davis as she was killed in a plane crash with her parents as they were flying her around the country for her book tour.

Saul and Patsy by Charles Baxter

2005-05-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

Charles Baxter is one of my favorite contemporary American authors. I was first introduced to his work by my sister who was writing her thesis on his first book First Light for her masters in Contemporary American Literature. I was very fortunate to have had a sister who studied English as her undergrad and Literature for her masters degree. I have always been a voracious reader, but without much direction. When I was in high school she was in college and bringing home lots and lots of assigned books to read that she encouraged me to pick up when she was done with them. So through her course work, I ended up reading extensively the classics and the contemporaries, and I had someone knowledgeable to discuss them with. I guess she was my first book club.

So, back to Charles Baxter. Feast of Love came out in 2000 and I loved it. It was such an interesting look into the love of a community. So of it going right and some going drastically wrong. I had not been paying attention in the years since, and happily stumbled upon Saul and Patsy a few days ago while looking at books.

I have been fortunate to have read some really original and interesting books lately and Saul and Patsy just continued that trend nicely. I am afraid that since I had three good books in a row I might now fall back into some crappy book slump having used up all the luck I had.

Saul and Pasty is so incredibly subtle in its humor, joy and sadness. It is the story of two people who are so in love with one another that their world revolves around their enjoyment of one another. Saul and Pasty fulfill one another with their love of language, theories, and discussions.

They are city people who move to a small town in Michigan so that Saul could follow his ideals and become a teacher. The central theme of the book really is about relationships and isolation. Baxter is known for his themes of Mid-Western isolation. How do outsiders become members of a community? How do outsiders change when they fit themselves into a new community and learn and incorporate manners that are foreign to them? What are the boundaries of intended or unintended relationships?

There is enough information out there about the book’s plot so I am going to forgo that discussion and just say how much I enjoyed the style of the book and the movement of the plot line. The dialogue was beautiful, intelligent and humorous. I laughed out loud and felt compelled to read passages to those unfortunate to be sitting near me. The story forced the characters to examine their lives and perceptions of happiness and how well they believed they knew their families and communities. I really enjoyed that the plot was not easy to predict. It is divided into three parts and each one is a movement that makes up the whole with indications for the next part, but it does not give itself away.

Just go read it. Yes, it is sad in places, but such an intelligent humorous insightful book.

Life at These Speeds by Jeremy Jackson

2005-05-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

If you have not read Life at These Speeds, you really should it is amazing. The author Jeremy Jackson has really created something unique. I would have to say it falls in the top of my picks for contemporary fiction and first novels.

When I read the back of the book I thought, “Holy man, that sounds cheesy. There is no way that could be anything but sappy.” Oh how wrong I was.

The premise: An eighth grader who goes to a small town school is on the track team. After an away track meet his parents drive him home while all his team mates careen off a bridge and die in the school van. Almost all of his classmates (out of the entire grade) were in the van, I said it was a small school. He basically goes into shock, does nothing but run and become a great runner in the process. Told ya it sounded cheesy, right?

Well it is not.

The book describes his process of waking up from grief induced amnesia in such an amazing way. He slowly becomes aware of himself, begins remembering his life with the kids that died, and starts to live his life again. It is heart wrenching. The author describes the process sort of like the unfolding of a flower. The story blooms. I am not going to explain much more, because you need to read this book for yourself. It is incredible.

It is handled so beautifully.

Other themes in the book that are interesting in their own right. The parental equation. How do parents insert themselves into their children’s emotional lives. Running. Running plays a huge part of this book, and the author captures the solitary world beautifully.

My one complaint about the book is that the kids have better emotional insight and speak at such a high level there that it can be unbelievable at times.

Just so I don’t end on a bad note, I want to re-iterate this book is well worth reading. Do yourself a favor and read it.

Weather

2005-04-08T18:58:00.000-07:00

Denver is having its Springtime Winter Weather Issues. It is April and snow is predicted. Completely normal for us. We had 75+ temps yesterday, and today it is starting to turn. We should have snow by Sunday. This kind of weather makes me restless and lethargic at the same time. Not sure how that is possible. It just makes me want to sit for the whole weekend and read. Forget the social engagements I have agreed to, forget the pit of unorganized stuff my house has slowly degraded into. Pick up on of the many books sitting around that have been started and left lying around with sad dusty bookmarks. I started I Capture the Castle and I think I left it at a friend’s house. Not smart since I kinda got interested in it.

I finished Devil in the White City a few days ago and I have to say that it is a strange book. I think the language the author uses is a bit overblown. I think he spent too much time reading Victorian newspapers or something when researching this book. It is the strangest combination of World Fair planning and Serial Killer.

Planning the World's Fair is forgettable because I did not care about the characters, although I was interested in the engineering. He did not give the characters enough humanity to make me really care what happened. My curiosity was peaked about the politics and the crazy negotiations it took to get the Fair off the ground, but I just did not give a rat’s ass about the main characters. Then next to that is the great detail about the serial killer and his world. The killer - a Mr. H. H. Holmes - has been haunting me. He is just a creepy creepy psychopath who preyed (mostly) on single women. Blech. It just makes you think of all the charming and soulless people who walk this earth harming others without a second thought. I keep thinking about a book review I read on Salon (I can’t seem to find the review or the name of the book right now) where the author claims that 4% of the population are psychopaths. Since then I have seen that most researchers in the field think she is basing that purely on conjecture.

Apparently I am rambling tonight.

Nap time yet?

2005-04-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

The time change is always difficult for me. I grew up in the two states that do not go in for Daylight Savings Time: Indiana and Arizona. I did not experience Daylight Savings until I lived in London. That was a shock.

I don’t do well with changing time zones. Needless to say my sleep patterns get mighty disrupted when the time changes. So to fight this issue I read about half of Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

It is such an odd book. It juxtaposes the building of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 against the life and cons of a serial killer who lived next door to the fair. It is a really creepy but compelling read. In some ways the Chicago World’s Fair part reminds me of Breaking Ground and the serial killer part reminds me of Stiff, but it is worse than that. The thing that is really bugging me about the book is that the author has made the book seem very narrative, but I want to know how he know what people said, thought and felt. He has some quotes and apparently researched it well, but I want to know which parts he just made up to make the story move better. I think he is imposing his concepts to their reality and it is annoying.

The ramblings of my sleepy mind. I hope I adjust to the time change soon.

Is it nap time yet?

Imbroglio

2005-04-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

Words give me great pleasure. I love running across seldom used words that capture a meaning so well. Like lethologica. Here is one I had forgotten about:
Imbroglio
What a wonderfully succinct word.

Imbroglio
A difficult or intricate situation; an entanglement.
A confused or complicated disagreement.
A confused heap; a tangle.
[Italian, from Old Italian, from imbrogliare, to tangle, confuse : in-, in (from Latin. See in-2) + brogliare, to mix, stir (probably from Old French brooiller, brouiller. See broil2).]

Blink & Breaking Ground

2005-03-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

I have been enjoying reading non-fiction lately. I have to admit, that very little of it absorbs me quite the way that fiction does, but it is an interesting area to explore a bit more. I find the ego a little more prevalent in non-fiction. You hear the author either speaking in the first person or arguing their own ideas, usually from a rather personal point of view.

Two most recent non-fiction books are Blink by Malcom Gladwell and Breaking Ground by Daniel Libeskind. I am still trudging through the little book Blink, but I finished Breaking Ground today after work. Both are very fast and easy reads.

Blink is an interesting little book that deals with Malcom Gladwell’s concept of “thin slicing.” He argues that most people actually make very fast and accurate judgments/decisions/inspirations in a split second then spend the rest of the time trying to justify the decision. He argues that we make these quick decisions behind the “locked door” of our unconscious. Your unconscious sifts through your prior knowledge, associations and returns a fairly accurate response. The more expert you are at a subject the better your response. He backs up all of this with some really interesting psychological experiments and anecdotal evidence (that is not always accurate).

I usually love anything about cognitive science, but this kinda reads like a really long magazine article. Sure it is researched, but I am not sure how solid it is. He does not seem to ever really get very deep. It all remains fairly surface, although that is the premise for Blink, fast recognition. I am not sure that is how I would really put together a theory. If you feel like a little more meat in your cognitive science, my friend Richard suggestes The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind's Hidden Complexities by Gilles Fauconnier as an excellent book.

Ok, on to Breaking Ground by Daniel Liebeskind. I found this a really interesting book to read at the same time as Blink. Liebeskind talks extensively how he has a flash of an idea that is born fully formed like Athena from Zeus’ head. This is something that Gladwell argues comes from behind the “locked door.” The moment of inspiration after soaking in the problem. I enjoyed the happy coincidence.

Have you seen any of the designs for the master plan of the new World Trade Center? Well, that is some of Daniel Liebeskind’s work. He also designed the new annex for the Denver Art Museum. His work is very untraditional. He approaches each building in a more esoteric mode than your typical architect. His designs are very cutting edge yet incredibly compelling to me.

The book is an anecdotal journey of his creative process, theory, personal history, gossip about the architecture world and book to argue why he is a genius when it comes to architecture. Each chapter loosely centers on its theme: Foundations, A Sense of Place, Building, Faces, Hertzblut, The Proposal, The Invisible, Materials, Forced Marriage, Faith. Breaking Ground rambles on in an organic kind of way explaining his position in the world with stories of childhood and various projects he has worked on. A major theme is overcoming obstacles, which he has had his share.

I have to say that I loved his family stories, it gave me a wonderful view of how he became the person he is. I loved his creative process, he has an amazing take on the world and brings it into his work amazingly. I found his stories about the personalities of the architecture world catty and gossipy. I could have done without his characterizations of some really well known people, it made me feel that he was using his book to get back at these people and to prove to the world how he is the better person. In my opinion, if he were such a great person it would not be necessary to drag these people through the mud as he does. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any love for the people who he gossiped about, but it just felt like such an unprofessional thing to do. Breaking Ground begins beautifully and ends on a bit of a sour note as he shares a lot about the personalities involved in rebuilding the WTC

A Few Favorite Reads of 2004

2005-03-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

Most of these are in groups because I tend to find one book I like and go read others by the same author.

Margaret Atwood
Blind Assassin
Oryx and Crake

Paul Auster
Oracle Night

David Eugenides
Middlesex
The Virgin Suicides

Christopher Moore
Lamb: The Gosipal According to Biff Christ’s Childhood Pal
Fluke (strange and enjoyable Sci-Fi twist)

Anne Patchette
Bel Canto (reading group guide)
Magician’s Assistant

Matthew Pearl
Dante Club

Richard Russo
Empire Falls (reading group guide)
Straight Man

The Snow Queen

2005-03-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

by Joan D. Vinge
Rating: B
Genre: Sci-Fi

If you don’t like Sci-Fi, don’t read any further. Last night I finished Snow Queen during one of my fits of “I-can’t-fall-asleep-so-I-might-as-well-finish-my-book.” I was up until 1:30 on a school night reading this oddly compelling story.

Ok, confession: I am a person who loves Sci-Fi. I don’t read a whole lot of it anymore, but my dad introduced me to all sorts of Fantasy and Sci-Fi at a young age. I loved all the escapist plots, crazy technology and otherworldliness. He gave me Lord of the Rings and Stranger in Strange Land while I was still in middle school. I think I always identified with - or wanted to believe I was like - the protagonist who is in someway special, trying to do good in the world, but misunderstood or battling by those around them. I think it is the same thing that makes comic books compelling for so many.

Pros: I really enjoyed the world of universe of the Hegemony and Tiamat that were the background for the story. I thought that Vinge did a great job of creating an entire political system in which to place the story. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded slowly revealing the details in such a way that they were not immediately obvious (for the most part). Even though the general arc of the plot was obvious quickly, I enjoyed the ride it took me on to its conclusion. I felt compelled to pick it up and see where it was going. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, but…

Cons: Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres have some big hurdles to overcome to get my vote as a really good read. Too often the characters are flat, not nearly the inner life you want in your protagonist. The dialogue and plot can be clichéd. Snow Queen definitely fell into those holes. The main character Moon had lots of action and adventure, but I never really connected and cared about her the way a good character can sink her hooks into me (I think I cared more about the supporting characters than the fate of the Moon). Even though this book was written by a woman who wanted to create strong female oriented tale, it could have easily been written by a man who doesn’t quite get it. Joan D. Vinge’s female characters (protagonist, antagonist and supporting characters) suffered from the syndrome of a characterization of a strong woman instead of the honesty of a strong woman. They were too arrogant and not well rounded enough to really ring true. The dialogue is somewhat forced and I never quite fell into the natural rhythm that makes me forget I am reading. I like to be absorbed in a book.

I would recommend the book, but with the caveat that it is not a great Sci-Fi book, but a good Sci-Fi book. Entertaining, enjoyable, interesting clash of primitive and technological worlds, quest for knowledge, truth, and love wrapped up in a compelling story.

A few of the books sitting around waiting to be read

2005-02-21T22:21:00.000-08:00

(in no particular order)
Ten North Frederick by John O'Hara
Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress by Susan Jane Giman
Breaking Ground by Daniel Libeskind
Michaelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
A Series of Unfortuante Events 4-6 by Lemony Snicket

Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy

2005-02-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I read the memoir Blowing My Cover: My Life As a CIA Spy by
Lindsay Moran

Blowing My Cover proved to be a quick and entertaining read, although it left me a little empty. Not especially mind blowing or anything. Yes, her infatuation with becoming a spy mixed with her naiveté about what the job really entails, makes you wonder why she did not just quit during training. I have to say it read like she was trying to write an expose on the CIA, but fell flat of that goal.

She wallowed in that space where many smart people tend to get stuck. She is smart, she is used to being judged as smart by her superiors and peers, and WHOA, she was proven right, again (!) when she joined the CIA and excelled. It read a bit like she was bragging, but I don’t think she thought she was. Kinda like the smart kid who thinks they are talking over your head, like you won’t understand and read between the lines. I found the subject matter interesting since I know almost nothing about the CIA, but I would have liked more human aspects of her story. Yes, she gave up details about her life, but they were a bit flat.

What is in a name?

2005-02-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

Who knew that for me the hardest part to starting a blog might be the name?

I didn't.

I have never been one who is quick to name things. Not that I don't like giving names to inanimate objects, quite the contrary. The difficult part is finding the right name, getting just the right name that the item in question will wear for all time, not just get stuck with 'cause that was the best thing I could come up with at the moment.

So, I thought that Lethologica was rather apropos of the situation.

Lethologica the inability to remember a word or put your finger on the right word.