Lethologica

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.