LiterateMama

Towelhead

2008-08-31T21:50:00.002-04:00

At the movies last weekend, there was a preview for the film version of Towelhead. The preview made the movie seem smart and funny--it reminded me somewhat of Little Miss Sunshine--so I requested the book through the library system and happily got it within four days.

I finished the book in hours, but it made me so, so sad. Sure, it was funny in many places--mainly because the main character, Jasira, the first-person narrator, has absolutely no irony in how she perceives the world. But the book still made me so sad, because I could hardly bear the loneliness and lack of affection she seemed doomed to live with.

Jasira is half-Lebanese, half-Irish-American. At the age of 13, she has become so physically precocious that her mother's boyfriend has a crush on her, so that her mother sends her to her father in Houston. Jasira dreads the new situation, based on her one-month-a-year visits with her father who has rules he shares with her only after she's broken them, and uses his hands freely on her and doesn't give her the assurance and affection an awkward adolescent needs.

Jasira keeps trying find someone to love her, make her feel special and safe. With pretty disastrous consequences. Luckily, she finds a new family of sorts in another set of neighbors, Gil & Melina. They provide a safe haven for her when her father threatens a serious beating, after he finds a Playboy magazine in her room. They also give her the courage to confront her molester.

What made me so sad was how alone she was, how she developed all these false emotions because no one loved her enough to say to her "This is love, that is not" or "This is real, that isn't". How confused she was by her own body, and out of her lack of knowledge and people to trust in, she decides to listen to her body, to do what made her body feel good, because "anything that could give me an orgasm was good."

It also made me sad to think of my children's bodies changing, when they become adolescents. Would they come to us with their questions and confusion? Would their friends be reliable sources for information? Will we have a good enough relationship that they could feel secure in asking us anything about sex and sexuality?

Certain Girls

2008-04-11T00:42:00.005-04:00

Certain Girls
by Jennifer Weiner

I love me some Jennifer Weiner. She writes beautiful, believable stories that happen to be about women--good, smart, real women.

I just finished her newest book, a sequel to Good in Bed, picking up 12 years where it left off. I loved meeting Cannie again, and knowing that her preemie daughter Joy is 12 and beautiful, with only moderate after-effects to her calamitous birth. I loved seeing Peter, Ann & Lucy/Elle and Samantha and Maxie again (though I didn't get enough Maxie this time). And even Bruce, though I still wanted to reach through the pages and squeeze his Hairy Acorn for being such a bastard to Cannie the first time around.

This book is way sadder than the first. While good things happen in it, I don't think I could bear to read it again for a few months. (And I love reading JW's books over and over.) Part of me feels the big tragedy in the book is a bit of a cheat...a dramatic way to end the book, equivalent to the tragedy around Joy's arrival. But because Jennifer is as big a fan of Stephen King as I am (King writes about the idea of cheating in novels in Misery), I choose to believe that she wrote the story as honestly as she could, and that she was as surprised by the turn of events as I was.

But I'm certain that in a few months, I'll want to read this again. And again. Especially to savor the way she captured Cannie's relationship with Joy.

I doubt that Jennifer would ever write another sequel, but if she does, I hope she hires me as continuity editor. (At least, for In Her Shoes or Little Earthquakes, since I know those novels really, really well.) Some details in this book just didn't jibe with Good in Bed, and it makes me really, really crazy.

If Today Be Sweet

2007-11-06T01:27:00.000-05:00

by Thrity Umrigar

In spite of how much I like her name (seriously, I can go hours just chanting "Thrity Umrigar" in my head like it's a koan), I'm not that crazy about her work. I enjoyed her first book, The Spaces Between Us, very much--it reminded me a lot of Rohinton Mistry's books, though less complex, less layered. But very authentic, and very moving.

This book was a fun, easy read. But in comparison with the first book, maybe a little less believable? Not that the characters weren't well-thought out or inconsistent...but this book did strike me as more of a modern-day immigrant fairy tale.

Maybe it's because it's a happy book, and the first one was so tragic.

Recently-widowed Tehmina is visiting her son in suburban Ohio (he's married to a "midwestern white girl"), trying to decide whether to live in America with them or go back to Bombay. She's torn between her love for her family and her love for her familiar life. She finds herself drifting from day to day in Ohio--finding herself unhappy in spite of all that she has.

A great deal of her unhappiness comes from the cultural divide, and the tensions she feels she brings into her son's home.

What changes her is a small act of bravery that would be considered inconsequential in Bombay where everyone knows everyone else's business, but in the US could be perceived as both interfering and heroic. This small deed and its consequences help Tehmina to see that she has worth, even as an "old" lady in a foreign country, and makes it clear what her decision about the rest of her life needs to be.

What I liked most about the book was how Thrity got into Tehmina & Sorab (her son)'s heads, and their thoughts about their different experiences of immgrating to the US. I also loved the little descriptions of Parsi culture and wish I knew a bit more about it beyond what I've read in Thrity's books.

Dedication

2007-11-02T00:46:00.000-04:00

by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

The third offering from the pair that brought us The Nanny Diaries is a big, big improvement over their second (Citizen Girl).

For one thing, they've given up that cute little device they had in their first two books of calling their characters by a generic name.

Katie is 30, a sustainable development worker who is shadowed by her great childhood/teenage love, Jake Sharpe, who left town right before their prom and has become a celebrity rock star--perhaps a cross between Bono & Brad Pitt, but younger. Since she last saw him, he has written and sung many hit songs, most of which are about her and their relationship.

Katie vows on her best friend's wedding day to one day confront Jake about their past--why he left, why he never got in touch, why he keeps writing about her, and most important to their friends, why he never gave them songwriting credit for the first big hit he had.

She finally has the chance, Christmas 2005. Jake's come home to their small Vermont town with his fiancee. Katie flies up from North Carolina to get the closure she's needed for the last 13 years.

The story is told over many flashbacks that sandwich the present. With them, the picture we build of Katie is clear: she's strong and smart. She's honest. She's good at what she does.

But in spite of all she has going for her, Katie needs closure because she hasn't been able to move on from her 17-year old self. Jake's songs about her have made her wonder what they could've had, and how he could've just walked away from it.

Satisfyingly, Katie gets her closure. And she gets some romance, too. But not in a "happy ever after" kind of way, although I think the book had a happy ending, nonetheless.

As much as I enjoyed the plot and the narrative, this book didn't engage me as much as The Nanny Diaries did. Part of the problem for me was I often felt like I just fell into the middle of a conversation among Katie and her friends, and by the time I'd caught up with it, they'd moved on to something else, and I was scrambling once again.

I'm not sure why I felt that way--the characters spoke a familiar language, and it was actually nice to find myself trying to figure out what the characters were up to instead of everything being revealed in the narrative.

But this is certainly not a book that I'd read again just for the fun of it, because it felt like too much work for something that's supposed to be easy reading.

Thank you, Mado

2007-09-08T12:08:00.000-04:00

Madeleine L'Engle
1918-2007

While I'm very sad that there will be no more stories about the Austins, Murrys or O'Keefes, I am happy she has rejoined her Hugh.

I didn't fall in love with her work till I was in my 20s. I love her adult books and her books "for kids" and her book about her marriage, Two-Part Invention.

I will always want to have copies of her books wherever I live, and I hope that Teo will enjoy them as much as Benjie and I do.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2007-08-17T01:40:00.000-04:00

(Sue me. It's not a book. But it's only the second movie I've seen this year!)

(And sorry for this very late post--I saw the movie about 3 weeks ago but just didn't have the energy to write about anything.)

I had very low expectations of this movie since I'd heard it was relatively short, and the writers had been ruthless in the cuts they made.

First, I have to give props for the brevity of the film. In spite of my overall disappointment with the film, I think the choices the writers & director made were fair. NOT fantastic, but fair.

Second, the film is great enough for non-readers--it convinced one of my dearest friends, the one person who turned me on to Harry Potter in the first place but gave up the series because she couldn't make it thought the 5th book, to go back to reading the books. (She actually managed to read books 6 & 7 in the 3 weeks we didn't manage to talk to each other on the phone, and she's considering giving book 5 a second go.)

But I was actually disappointed in Imelda Staunton--everyone went on and on about how brilliant she was, but I didn't think she was all that.

The biggest disappointment for me was how the DA was discovered. It just didn't make sense. Why would Cho have been the one to betray them, when all the students were being interrogated by Umbridge with the use of veritaserum??? Why did it take so long, then?

Plus the portrayal of the Room of Requirement was a letdown too--it didn't live up enough to its name.

And while I got annoyed at times with the books and how Harry took forever to understand his power over Voldemort, I thought that was a necessary process. So I didn't appreciate the scene that includes Harry telling Voldemort, "You don't even have any friends" (or was it "You don't know how to love"?).

Feh! I just hope the next movies are much better!!!

Second Chance

2007-08-07T23:17:00.000-04:00

by Jane Green

I feel that Jane Green lost the inventiveness in her fiction quite a while back. I became a fan of her work when I read Jemima J. But so far, from her impressively-sized backlist, I've really only enjoyed The Other Woman.

Second Chance had an interesting premise: the death of Tom in a terrorist attack compels the rest of the gang (Holly, Olivia, Saffron & Paul) take a long hard look at their lives and wonder whether they're making the most of their time. However, I feel like JG didn't spin out anyone's storyline very well except for Holly (had a thing with Tom in their youth, now married to a very stuffy, pretentious divorce lawyer). The others' stories felt like filler. (Paul & his wife struggle with infertility, Olivia has been burned by a long-term relationship that ended badly, Saffron is an actress involved with a very successful, married Hollywood star.)

Plus the resolution just annoyed the heck out of me.

(spoiler!)
(spoiler!)
(spoiler!)

OK, clearly I don't care too much about upsetting you if you get to this paragraph (you really shouldn't allocate time to this book, if time is a valuable commodity over where you are). But Holly ends up leaving her husband after spending the first 95% of the book bemoaning how little time he spends with them, how pretentious and stuck-up he is, how he belittles her; after comparing him unfavorably with both Tom and his brother Will (who she develops a crush on!). What killed me though was that she basically bitched about all these issues, only to suddenly realize toward the end that she was also to blame since didn't try to help him or talk to him enough and fought him instead of trying to find a solution to their problems.

Huh???

I mean she acted and talked like a victim the whole time. She never gave the impression that she tried to fight and tried to assert herself more, in that first 95% of the book.

Reading this book brought me to one conclusion: no one writes ChickLit like this gal.

The Last Summer (of You and Me)

2007-07-26T02:23:00.000-04:00

by Ann Brashares

I was excited about this book, by the author of the Travelling Pants Quartet. It's billed as more adult fare for the fans who've grown up with the Sisterhood. The first few pages (which I skimmed in the bookstore) were promising--the language, the character descriptions made the book seem like a serious but still fun read.

I brought it home from the library nearly 2 weeks ago and it has the questionable distinction of being the first book I've read since finishing HP7.

I began to lose my energy for this book somewhere in the middle, but since I'd read that far I couldn't stop.

I don't know if it's because my ability to appreciate this book is still padlocked to HP7, or if the book really doesn't fulfill its promise.

But I don't have any empathy for Riley or Alice or Paul. I just don't care about them.

Makes me think I shouldn't try to read anything new for a while.

A Follow Up Post to The.Biggest.Effing.Book.in.the.World.EVER!!!!

2007-07-26T02:05:00.000-04:00

I'm not quite ready to put this book away. I mean, I've already read a new book, but I've read this book twice already (and re-read my favorite sections at least three times).

One of my MM buddies said that she didn't think this book would ever be a favorite, in that she'd want to read it again and again. I agree in that it won't replace HP3 in my heart, but I'll definitely read this one again and again for all the parts that made me teary eyed.

On my second reading, I skipped over bits of the big 3's quest in the forest, and their forays into the Ministry and visit with Mr. Lovegood. But I did savor the last third of the book, which takes place in one day, in Hogwarts. Harry's lonely walk into the forest, his exchanges with his ghosts. How people reacted to the news of his death. His confrontation with Voldemort.

And how I laugh at unexpected pockets of mirth--like when Hermione grabs Ron after he wonders about warning or rescuing the house-elfs of Hogwarts, and Harry dazedly asks "Is this the moment?"

Did I mention how glad I was that Neville had really come into his own as a hero?

I find myself picturing how the movie will look--I'm hoping it's done really, really well. The Battle at Hogwarts certainly had the feel of "Return of the King" but I suppose epics about good and evil inevitably take on similarities.

JK Rowling's doing a chat on Monday, 9 am EST on the Bloomsbury website--she'll be answering questions from readers. I've submitted 3 already!

The.Biggest.Effing.Book.in.the.World.EVER!!!!

2007-07-22T16:10:00.000-04:00

by JK Rowling

Leading up to Friday, I was feeling very, very blue. I don't think another series like Harry Potter is going to come along for a very, very long time, and I was torn between my desire to find out what happens to Harry, Voldemort and all the characters I've come to love and hate versus wanting to preserve the illusion that things wouldn't end with The Deathly Hallows.

(I was thinking about publishing phenoms like this, and I guess they come along once every generation--you have Dickens in the 19th century, Tolkien and Agatha Christie in the 20th. I wonder what'll cause the same frenzy in my son's generation?)

In fact, as I stood in line for the book (I was in the first batch, having picked up my color-coded wristband early Friday morning), I had resolved to savor the book and read it slowly, and listen to my body--if I felt like sleeping, I'd sleep.

Well! I began reading it at 2 am Saturday morning (got home at 12:30 am, then had a snack, took a shower, paid attention to the husband who generously missed out on the fun and games at our Borders--which, BTW, I joined, lame though they were), took a break at 5 am to feed the child, then finished the epilogue at 7 am.

I couldn't stop. This book has the distinction of being so action-packed, I just couldn't help myself from reading and reading.

And I cried. I didn't bawl, , but I certainly dry-sobbed so many times.

The casualty list was just horriblle. Long AND horrible.

And the path Harry takes to confront Voldemort. That was wonderfully written--I think it's a great way to show kids what bravery looks like.

Certainly the book isn't perfect. But while I think about the book's flaws, I also think about Annie Wilkes, the crazy serial-killer-writer-kidnapper in Stephen King's Misery. When she forces Paul Sheldon to bring her favorite character back to life, and he does, she judges his first attempt a "cheat"--since what he wrote didn't follow, logically, what he'd written previously.

And while I disagree with some of Jo's choices, Annie Wilkes' accusation can't be made against her. The choices she made for the story were mostly right.

( I do protest the very, very first casualty, and the double casualty toward the end.)

The one thing I wish she'd done differently was the epilogue. I would've loved to find out, especially, whether people who deserved a comeuppance got them!

My husband had way more criticisms about the book than I did, so I'll share them here, and how I countered them.

(SPOILER ALERT!!!!!)

Why did the Malfoys have to be redeemed? I think their redemption points to Dumbledore's idea of the power of love, esp. the love of parents for a child. As Mudblood-hating and power-hungry as they were, they realized that these meant nothing next to the possible loss of their child.

Too much deus-ex-machina (a term we also learned from Misery). There were certainly a lot of close calls for Harry, Ron & Hermione in the book. But it makes sense that Voldemort was perpetually after Harry, and it also makes sense for the close calls. They were on a quest--and in literary history, quests are typically completed with a lot of hard work, quick-thinking, and luck.

Why did Fred have to bite it? Statistically, it would've been pretty tough for a family of 9 in a war not to suffer any losses. Benjie thinks it should've been Percy, but that would've been too easy. I think Jo chose the right Weasly--we all love the twins, and few of us care for Percy.

One thing that really surprised me--Snape's real feelings. (And given who he turned out to be, I would've liked for him to have had a public redemption, but I think the way Harry honored him was wonderful.)

Here's to JK Rowling, and Harry Potter. Long may they live on the bookshelves of the world!

Preparing for Saturday morning

2007-07-17T23:36:00.000-04:00

I've read a slew of books, believe me (A Thousand Splendid Suns! Buy, Buy, Baby! and some pretty stupid chick-lit not worthy of a mention even on this blog). But I'm simultaneously rejoicing and mourning the release of the last Harry Potter book (whose title I need not mention) by re-reading the first 6 books.

(Confession: am thinking very seriously about buying the hardcover boxed set when it becomes available in September. The thing is though I hate the packaging--the box is a school trunk.)

(Confession #2: I am going to par-tay on Friday night at the local Borders while waiting for midnight to strike. Then I'm going to stay up as long as is necessary to finish the book. Motherhood/wifehood responsibilities be damned.)

I've always regarded Chamber of Secrets my least-favorite in the series, but I actually had a change of heart since re-reading it. Prisoner of Azkaban is still my favorite, followed closely by #s 1 & 4 (tied), then 2, 5 & 6. It's not that I didn't like Half-Blood Prince--I just feel that there should have been more stuff in it, esp. in relation to Harry acquiring the skills necessary to vanquish Voldemort.

I am so sad that the series is ending. It's the right thing to do, but still. Now I'm going to have to wait for Teo to be old enough to enjoy the story of Harry (in maybe 6 years?) to experience a thrill similar to that I've lived through over the last 8 years (I only started reading HP when Teo's Ninang Abby gifted me with the first 3 books all at once), each time a new book became available.

I haven't downloaded the countdowns to July 21 that you can get off Scholastic, but I've been counting the days and hours.

I can't wait. At the same time, I wish that day would never come.

Taking another break from writing about books...

2007-06-28T02:17:00.000-04:00

....to bring you my visual DNA.

My friend's latest entry inspired me to try this.

It's pretty accurate!

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Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

I have no idea how to fix the code so that it doesn't show on the blog.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

2007-06-21T02:23:00.000-04:00

by Brian Selznick

This is the first book I've completed in more than a month. Or at least, the first book I've read in full that I've felt was worth adding to the list here.

I'd had this book from the library for a while but wasn't in the mood to read it till tonight. Partly because I didn't realize it was part graphic novel, and its girth was a reflection of the number of illustrations (all beautiful, btw). (I've been struggling with The Autobiography of Henry VIII and it's killed my appetite for anything long and engaging.)

It is a wonder-full story of a gifted boy, orphaned and alone, forced to live by his wits in a train station; his obsession with his father's legacy (a broken automaton), the girl who befriends him and her godfather, a man who runs a toy shop in the station.

The story is set in 1930s Paris. Brian Selznick uses the real-life figure Georges Melies as inspiration--he is the godfather in this story. Many details in the book reflect the life of the real Melies (the son of shoemakers, prodigious filmmaker, bankrupted by big studios, running a toy shop in a train station).

But this book is about Hugo, a good boy in unfortunate circumstances. He loses his dad in a fire, is adopted by his drinky uncle who works as timekeeper at the train station, is forced to take on his uncle's job when the latter disappears, steals food to survive, and works on the automaton his father discovers in the museum before it burns down. Isabelle falls into his life and while initially she seems to him an obstacle and a pain in the neck, she paves the way to a better life for him.

Confession: Not a Book Review

2007-06-19T00:12:00.000-04:00

(although I was thinking of the novel Di & I, which I read a few weeks before August 31, 1997.)

Among the many, many things that Teo will no doubt find shameful about his mom one day in the near future is the fact that she is a Princess Diana-o-phile.

I don't own any memorabilia from the 1981 wedding or (thankfully) the 1997 tragedy (except for countless commemorative magazines). I've never read a whole Diana bio from cover to cover.

But when Princess Diana died on Aug. 31, 1997, I was hit with a crippling, devastating sadness. That was the day I had my first measurements taken for my wedding gown, so for about 2 months I could only associate the wedding dress with sadness. (Wish I could tell you that there was a happy ending with the dress, but we're talking about a different shattered fairy tale here.)

Tonight I was reminded of how sad I felt when I watched Matt Lauer interview William & Harry.

It's been 10 years since Diana died. Back then, a lot of people thought I was crazy & shallow, that I was the height of celebrity-watching-culture-gone-mad. Perhaps they were right. But I know the feelings were real. I told Benjie tonight that I could remember how awful I felt, but I was glad I didn't feel the same feelings as intensely, any more.

I still wish that Diana were still alive, as crazy as she might have been herself. (She wasn't perfect--she was immature, and manipulative, and misguided in many things.) I wish Harry & Wills didn't lose her when they were so young, that they could've had her around now as they become men.

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight

2007-05-26T19:47:00.000-04:00

by Brad Barkley & Heather Hepler

After reading 19 Minutes last month, I was in serious need of light-hearted stuff. So I raided the Young Adult shelf!

This book is about two teenagers with tortured relationships with their parents, and how they break free from them. Eliot is the son of a successful Christian fat camp director, who feels his father has become less and less real the more wealthy he becomes. Cali (short for Calliope) is the daughter of a wandering artist who (according to the book's blurb) "seems less and less interested in being a parent"; Cali is straining hard toward planting roots and creating a home.

They meet one summer because Eliot's family's Christian fat camp is near the grounds of the medieval fair where Cali's mom sells her jewelry and takes on roles to make money before moving on to some place new.

From the beginning, there is an intense connection between Eliot and Cali. But this isn't your typical teen romance (did you ever read the Sweet Dreams series as a teenager?--I loved the first 40! But their plots were very straightforward: girl meets boy, girl & boy like each other but there are obstacles to overcome OR one of them dislikes the other intensely until some epiphany makes him or her change his/her opinion and they live happily till college or they outgrow each other, which ever comes first).

Because of their particular circumstances--Cali's mom yanking her up and away from her dad and making her live a gypsy life since she was about 8 or 9, Eliot feeling more and more distant from his dad and seeing the same thing happen to his mom--it seems that Cali and Eliot are meant to be each other's rocks, anchors, safeties. But each of them is also incredibly bright and self-aware, which makes me think that their relationship could be that rare thing in this world--a childhood romance that will grow with them and survive.

My Sister's Keeper

2007-05-17T00:44:00.000-04:00

by Jodi Picoult

I have not been goofing off since I last posted, more than a month ago. (In fact, I talked about Jodi Picoult's 19 Minutes next door.)

But with the unhappy timing of having read 19 Minutes and the Virginia Tech shootings, I've been cheering myself up with hapier reads like Meg Cabot's Size 12 is Not Fat and Shopaholic and Baby. And re-reads of Jennifer Weiner.

I'm fast becoming a Jodi Picoult fan, though, and when I saw this book at the library I decided to risk a serious read again.

This book raises interesting questions--how far would you go to save your child's life? Would you, as Sara and Brian do, conceive and carry a perfect genetic match, so that their daughter Kate (who is diagnosed with a deadly form of leukemia at age 3) would have a better chance of surviving her disease? Would you then continue to use that other child (in this case, Anna) every time your sick child has an emergency and needs blood or bone marrow?

Also: at what point in a person's life does (s)he become master of his/her body?--When can a child say, "I want to have plastic surgery," or "I want to lose weight."--and be entitled to be taken seriously?

What if this child says, "I don't want to donate one of my kidneys to my sick sister" (as Anna does, when she is 13 and Kate is 17)?

This story, of 11 days in a family's life, is set in motion when Anna sues for the right to be medically emancipated from her parents, even as her sister slides further into kidney failure.

The story is complex--the reader doesn't doubt Brian & Sara's love for all their children, even as they are so consumed by Kate's health that they pretty much ignore Jesse, their firstborn, who then finds an interesting outlet for his own feelings. And Anna is clearly not just Kate's life-support system--it's not like her parents only see her as a way of keeping Kate alive. Her parents love her fiercely, as well. Although perhaps they take her for granted because she is healthy.

And Anna doesn't sue for emancipation because she is tired of Kate living off her.

The book ends in both tragedy and triumph, though it wasn't the ending I suspected--I would accuse JP of manipulating me emotionally and going for the "cheap cry"--but for all that I didn't really like the ending, it works.

The Double Bind

2007-04-10T21:44:00.000-04:00

by Chris Bohjalian

I read this over two months ago, and it disturbed me on so many levels I still can't figure out what to say about it!

I've enjoyed almost all of Bohjalian's books, ever since Oprah promoted "Midwives". This is probably his most serious since that book. It deals with rape and post traumatic stress disorder.

I didn't completely understand the psychological term "double bind" as it was described in the book, so I had to look it up in Wikipedia, which was pretty helpful--the essence of a double-bind is two conflicting demands, neither of which can be ignored, which leave the victim torn both ways in such a way that whichever demand they try to meet, the other demand cannot be met. "I must do it but I can't do it" is a typical description of the double-bind experience.

In this story, Laurel (a social worker to homeless people in a small Vermont town) is caught in a double bind when she attempts to resolve the story of one of her "cases"--a man who, on his death, leaves a cache of beautiful photographs, many of which are of famous people taken throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. Among the pictures is one of her, from years earlier, right before the traumatic event whose continued suppression is the other demand on her life. Laurel is compelled to solve the mystery of the man's past--the shelter hopes to raise funds with an exhibit of the photographs--but she can't do it without coming face to face with the truth of what happened to her.

This leads to a schizophrenic break--and in fact, double binds are often cited in the case histories of schizophrenic patients.

I was completely ignorant that Laurel had already suffered a break, which I blame on not having read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I continued to believe, right till the very end, that the use of elements of that book meant that this book was a fiction-inside-a-fiction.

I did have suspicions--the pieces of the puzzle Laurel tried to solve were falling too easily into place.

Bohjalian leaves his readers hanging at the end--you don't know that Laurel is able to come back to health, although the one positive aspect is that her family and friends rally around her, and one hopes that their love can set her on the road.

One of the loveliest aspects of the book is the inclusion of photos taken by a real-life homeless person who died in a shelter; Bohjalian credits the discovery of his photos as a major inspiration, but he also hopes that when readers see them they are reminded that homeless people are real--that many of them have lives, have been productive members of society, before their lives spiral out of control.

One Good Turn

2007-04-04T17:56:00.000-04:00

by Kate Atkinson

I have generally loved everything Kate Atkinson has written, except for Emotionally Weird, which gave me the familiar but unwelcome sensation of reading something while I was on drugs, under water. (I've felt that way once before, while reading Banana Yoshimoto's Amrita.)

This book features retired detective Jackson Brodie, who while attending the Edinburgh Arts Festival finds himself in the crossroads of a bunch of characters who at face value don't have anything in common: a mystery writer who is much milder and meeker in real life than his profession would suggest; a single-mom detective; a 60ish housewife married to a real-estate tycoon. There are others but these are the most important and most developed.

While horrible things keep happening to some characters, there is also a good deal of comic relief in the book. Kate Atkinson writes the humor in so subtly though that you never feel she's mocking any of the characters; she's simply narrating their real lives, in all their comedy and tragedy.

The good guys are generally rewarded with happy endings (or perhaps the promise of a happy ending in the near future), and the bad guys are given their just ends.

Jackson Brodie appeared in Kate's last book and I got the sense that more of his exploits will be narrated in future.

The one element I wasn't so keen was what seemed to me Kate's use of deus ex machina in the form of a Russian girl. I feel that her role in the book keeps this from being a genuine mystery. But then again I can also see her usefulness in both tying up loose ends and poking fun at the genre of mystery, so maybe KA intended her to play this role after all.

Julie & Julia

2007-04-02T01:32:00.000-04:00

by Julie Powell

My friend Ginger recommended this book to me maybe about a year ago. I was intrigued by her recommendation but for some reason never felt compelled to put this on my list of requests from the local library. And then I chanced upon it a few visits back and decided to pack it into the stroller with the other 23 books already in it.

I am so glad I did!

I am certain there are countless of people out there who followed Julie on her year-long quest to make every single recipe from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking v.1 through Julie's blog (which, wonderfully enough, is still up.) But I am so happy she got an offer to publish her culinary adventure in book form. That Julie never made it as an actress (because she is such a lovely writer). That she hated her job as a temp enough, and was ambivalent enough about procreation, to want to do something to distract her and give her life some direction. That she chose to conquer Julia Child's cookbook--that never would have occurred to me!! (And believe me, I know all about wanting a Project to provide me with distraction and direction.)

I am no fan of French cooking, at least not restaurant-style--I haven't eaten in many French places but I do find the emphasis on presentation and theater over-the-top. I like my meals simple and tasty--they don't have to be plated nicely. REading J&J almost made me want to replicate the project myself. Or at least pick up a copy of MtAoFCv1 and try some of the recipes. At least those that don't involve aspic.

I loved this story because

--prior to the project, Julie wasn't much of a cook. And then she managed to educate herself pretty thoroughly about food and cooking--she deboned her own poultry, and cooked things I've never even attempted!! (Though now I am especially tempted to try making the calves' liver she mentions toward the end.)

--she did it all in a crappy New York apartment kitchen, which sounds way worse than any kitchen I've ever worked in. At least I've never had frozen water pipes (KOW) or maggots. I desperately want counter space in my kitchen, but I do pretty well otherwise.

--you get to know Julie and Eric, and the family members and friends who grace the book...so it almost felt to me like I was reading an excellent bit of fiction with well-developed characters!

The one thing about the book I didn't like were the fictional(?) musings on different episodes in Julia Child's life that you find between the chapters. I tried, but found my eyes glazing over every time. I can't explain it!

Bravo, Julie Powell. I am so glad that your culinary success led to literary (and I hope apartment) glory. I look forward to your next adventure!

Heart-Shaped Box

2007-03-31T02:38:00.000-04:00

by Joe Hill

I was lucky enough to get this book almost as soon as it was ordered by and delivered to the library. And I must say that I was not at all disappointed in it.

You've got to admire Joe HIll for setting off down the road that's been well-traveled by his dad. I think one day though he'll be paving his own road--perhaps it will run parallel to his dad's, but it'll be his own, all the same.

Initially I couldn't rouse much empathy or sympathy for Jude Coyne--an aging heavy metal singer with lots of baggage and a taste for the macabre--his collection includes a snuff film, a skull with a hole bored into it, a noose that was actually used in executions, a witch's confession. His latest acquisition, a dead man's suit, which arrives in a heart-shaped box, comes with its own ghost, and Jude discovers that the seller wasn't kidding about that.

He and his current squeeze are harrassed by the ghost and for a long stretch of the book it doesn't seem possible that they can be rid of it. It's come for revenge. But they discover that there is a way to fight back. I found myself rooting for Jude and all his failings as a person.

That's one of the many things I liked about this novel--Joe Hill did an excellent job of fleshing out the characters. It would've been easy to caricature an aging rock star, but Joe wrote Jude Coyne's character very well. You understood where he came from, what his motivations were, and the best part was that it wasn't developed through boring narration--the flashbacks, the dialogues were written in wonderful but never overwhelming detail.

There were some parts of the book I suspected early on--for example, the truth behind Jude's previous girlfriend's death, and her own back story. I think I've just developed that sense from reading Joe's dad. It didn't spoil the book for me though. And the ending was satisfactory, though I really wished that there had been two fewer dogs sacrificed.

The Higher Power of Lucky

2007-03-29T08:41:00.000-04:00

by Susan Patron

This book has been in the news of late because it won the Newberry Prize (I think, currently the most prestigious in the US for children's literature) for 2006 and because it uses the word "scrotum" on the first page, and two or three times more.

The use of the word prompted some librarians all over the US to ban the book as well as lively discussions among parents in chatrooms and listservs.

Really??? "Scrotum"? That's a scientific term. Much more scientific than "nuts" or "balls". And pretty consistent with the character who uses the word.

The controversy would've been good for the book I think if it wasn't a book for young adults, whose reading may still largely be policed by adults. But aside from the controversy I think the book is worth reading for itself. It's short and sweet and very smart.

Lucky is an insecure child--her mother died in a thunderstorm two years before, never knew her father, and is currently looked after by her guardian, Brigitte, her father's first, French wife. She lives in fear each day of being abandoned by Brigitte as well and being forced to leave Hard Pan, CA. She earns a little extra money by cleaning up after -Anonymous meetings (Smokers, Overeaters, Alcoholics) and eavesdrops on the participants (which is where she hears the word "scrotum", though she has no idea what it might be) and is in search of her own Higher Power, in case she reaches Rock Bottom some day.

This is a lovely story of family and hope, with your requisite misunderstanding and high drama. Things turn out okay for Lucky--she finds her HIgher Power and family. And she finds out what "scrotum" means.

How To Be Popular

2007-03-25T12:39:00.000-04:00

by Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot books are as chicklit as they come. And I mean that in a good way! They're fun, easy, and always capable of making me chortle, at the very least.

This particular book I enjoyed more than I expected. Steph Landry embarks on a project to change her image (that of a klutz) as she begins her junior year, with the help of a book from the 70s named "How To Be Popular". She is smart enough to distill the advice for the new millenium, and her plan begins to work. But of course she's forced to face the reality that getting what she wants may not make her any happier.

There's great mean girl action, best friend confidentials, unrealized love, even a little lust! Plus the requisite happy ending you know you'll get in any Meg Cabot teen-oriented book. (I haven't read her supernatural stuff, so I don't know that she has happy endings in all her books.)

Whitethorn Woods

2007-03-25T12:25:00.000-04:00

by Maeve Binchy

I loooove Maeve Binchy. I know her work seems very lightweight, but how can one sneer at writing that usually brings a smile to my face? Her characters are never very complex or surprising. But reading her is like having a massage--very relaxing, very comforting.

I wasn't as excited as I normally am to discover that she had a new book. I was soooo disappointed with her last, "Night of Rain and Stars." That book really had the feel of something dashed off to complete a book contract! (This to me is one of the greatest sins an otherwise wonderful writer can commit.)

I was so happy though to read Whitethorn Woods. This is a lot like one of my other favorite Binchys--Evening Class, a straightforward story built on a cast of characters whose histories she explores. Whitethorn Woods, in Rossmore, is faced with the possibility of destruction in the name of progress--a move is on to build a highway, which would solve a lot of the city's traffic issues, but risks destroying the shrine to St. Ann. Many people have been touched by this saint, and so there is a very real dilemma for the people of the town.

The book is in large part a collection of story dyads--people who've been affected one way or another by the saint or her shrine, telling two sides of their story. It was wonderful to get to know these characters a little--particularly Neddy, Maureen, Helen, Becca, and a few others. While the book doesn't have a lot in terms of conflict or plot, the little stories about a bunch of different people were a fun, easy read. I got emotionally invested in a few of the them, even if in some you could see the ending a mile away.

There was never any doubt in my mind that the shrine would stay safe. Plus, one of the best things in Maeve Binchy's world is that there is always justice--everyone gets what's coming to them.

Thanks, Maeve--this was a delightful read; I'm sure I'll pick it up again in the future when I'm looking for some comfort!

The Ruins

2007-03-11T01:50:00.000-05:00

by Scott Smith

AS mentioned previously, I picked this up because of Stephen King's very strong recommendation. (I think he mentioned it in one of his columns for Entertainment Weekly--one of the top ten books of 2006?)

I read this more than a month ago and given that my memory's like fishnet stockings, I don't remember the characters' names. (Four recent American college grads, 2 girls who are best friends and their boyfriends. A German guy, a Greek guy.) Or where in Mexico the story takes place. But so much of what actually happens to the 6 has actually stayed with me, and I think that's a good sign that the book made a strong impression, right?

I'm not keen on making comparisons, especially since I'm not very good at it. But I compare reading this book to watching "The Talented Mr. Ripley." That was just a beautiful, compelling movie; superbly acted and staged and whatnot--but it just wore me out and I left the theater feeling like I'd never feel happy or hopeful again. And I was pretty sure I would never, ever want to see the movie again either.

For starters, this book has no chapters. No breaks, so you can safely say, ok, I can stop at this point, take a pee, whatever. That's one of its genius methods--you feel you have to keep reading on. Actually, worse--you feel like you're one of the six characters, and you can't take a break from the shit that keeps flying at them, either.

The 4 Americans hook up with the German guy because his brother left their beach resort a few days before to go on a dig, and he was worried. The Greek guy came along for the fun, probably because he was drunk, out for more good times, and not aware of what he was getting himself into, since he didn't speak their languages.

Their arrival at the purported dig quickly serves up one horror after another. As I read the book, I was pretty sure there would be only unhappy endings, but until the last 15 pages of so I still kept hoping that something good would happen. I turned out to be right (so don't read this book unless you like horror with unhappy endings), but since I've since recovered from the fear and anxiety.

I'm never going to read this book again, but I enjoyed myself enough for the one-time trip I took in it, and that's clearly a sign that this book was written by a very gifted writer. (It'll be a while though before I feel I can pick up his first book.)

I'm still reading!

2007-03-05T04:17:00.000-05:00

In fact, I have 2 books to post about. I just can't get my act together. I find I'm down to about a post a week next door.

But in lieu of books I've actually read, here's a short list of books I'm dying to read but probably won't any time soon since they still haven't been ordered by my library.

Perhaps I should be ashamed of myself for including this book on the list (and listing it first, too!!). IMHO, the Shopaholic series started to get really old and really predictable with Shopaholic Ties the Knot. (Crap, woman, how horrible would it be to have two weddings????? Please stop making problems for yourself, already.) But it's still highly addictive--I picked up this book at the store today and managed to read through 8 chapters before the Boy woke up. So I already can predict that she's going to hyperventilate herself into a tizzy worrying about Luke (WTF does he see in this woman???) and her OBGYN, Venetia, who used to be Luke's girlfriend at university...and I am fairly certain Shopaholic is carrying twins...

but I just can't help myself....I cannot wait to read this and get irritated by this character all over again.

Would this book be on my list if I didn't already know that Joe Hill weren't Stephen King's son? Probably not--but not because I don't believe in literary nepotism! See, I really enjoyed the other King progeny (Owen)'s writing, so Joe's couldn't be too bad. (As far as I know, the firstborn King, Naomi, is a Unitarian minister and not a writer.)

Wonder why there's a big marketing gambit with this book, though--first, why go by the name "Joe Hill" if you're going public about who your dad is? I've seen Joe on the talk shows (looking much like his dad except for a less angular, and thus gentler face, though who can say for sure since he's got quite a beard going), and the hosts always bring up the fact that he's Stephen King's kid....which, if I were Tabitha--SK's wife and also a fine, highly-respected writer--I might be a tad pissed off about, given that she actually shoved the kid through her vjj. Also, I don't remember a similar push with Owen's book.) Third, this book is reviewed by two highly regarded writers on Amazon's site--Scott Smith and Harlan Coben. I know SK loves their work...(in fact his recommendation for Scott Smith's The Ruins was such that I had to read it, and it's one of the books I need to post about)...did they feel obliged to review HSB (with such high praise, too) because of the boost they've gotten from SK from time to time?

But I actually browsed through this book at the store, and I have to admit the few pages I read got my heart pounding with interest and anxiety and anticipation. --The feeling was very similar to the way I've felt when I read through some of my favorites from SK's backlist. I'm almost certain that this book will make people sit up and notice Joe for his own writing ability. (I am also dying to get my hands on this other work of fiction by him.)

Haven't seen the movie of the first book yet, and I can't remember anything about the third book in this series, which makes me think I haven't read it yet...but I still absolutely need to read this book. (I only belatedly realized that Carmen is played by America "Ugly Betty" Ferrera in the film...and I absolutely love America Ferrera!--I suppose it's time to renew the Netflix and watch SotTP.)

I really, really enjoyed the first book and I think this series is a promising "next", once the last Harry Potter book comes out in 5 months. For one, it's very well-written (in both plot and dialogue!). For another, there's so much background story about the gods & goddesses that's really interesting--reading The Lightning Thief made me want to read Bullfinch's Mythology (or something way more fun)--it's potentially very rich territory that kids can engage with.

Gone With the Windsors

2007-01-30T00:12:00.000-05:00

by Laurie Graham

It's not that I haven't been reading, but I was actually in the middle of three books, and this is the first among them I finished.

I fully expected a thirties' style chicklit tell-all, and in some ways this book is that, but I didn't expect to be as entertained as much as I have.

This is a work of fiction, but Laurie Graham created her characters so plausibly and kept faith with history so well that I often forgot that Maybelle Brumby didn't exist, and wasn't the paymaster general of Wallis Simpson.

The book is an interesting angle into one of the greatest love stories of the 20th century--the king who gave up his throne for love.

But the book asks its reader to wonder whether Edward VIII was really just a coward or a real idiot, and not the romantic most people are convinced he was.

It makes one think about how history might have gone down if Edward (called David in the book by Wally and intimates, which I think was actually how it was in real life) had remained King, and simply kept Wally Simpson as a mistress.

It also makes the reader question the utility of the British Royals. They fascinate, but perhaps everyone (including they!) would be better off if the monarchy no longer existed, and they could be Just People, instead of People with Duties and Obligations.

The diarist is both funny and sad, in her profligacy with money, in her narrow-mindedness, in her speed for disregarding advice which didn't suit her--but then again she wouldn't have been a convincing character if she didn't have those flaws and others. I admit though to being impatient as to when she'd finally have it out with Wally and her smooching and belittling and dictating. It took 8 years!!

The book also made me think of Charles and Diana and Camilla. What if Charles had learned the lesson of his great-uncle? What if he'd settled down with Camilla from the very beginning? Then likely more folks would have been happier all around. But then we'd never have had Diana for the 17 years she captivated the world. (Can you tell I was a big Diana fan? Her death depressed the crap out of me.) And maybe Wills wouldn't be as good-looking as he is.

Fragile Things

2007-01-12T01:22:00.000-05:00

by Neil Gaiman

This man has imagination!

I have enjoyed Neil Gaiman's fiction tremendously--not such a big fan of his graphic novels, but I think that's because I had to be so damned CAREFUL while reading the Sandman (belonged to a friend of mine who would've killed me if there were food crumbs, hair, or fingerprints on the pages).

Loved Neverwhere, Stardust, Anansi Boys, Good Omens (which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett)...and I loved this collection as well. (Short story collections are great for mothers of young children: you can actually finish an entire work in 20 minutes or less!)

Confession, though: I skipped over his poetry. I find I have to be in a "mood" to read poetry of any kind and wasn't so inspired during the 5 weeks I had this from the library.

Among my favorites in this collection are

A Study In Emerald: great for fans of Sherlock Holmes, and non-fans too!

Keepsakes and Memories: sick, and sad.

The Problem of Susan: personally the most disturbing story; inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia.

Goliath: if you're a Matrix fan you've probably read this on the website. I'd never heard about Gaiman's tie-up with the Matrix before reading his introduction in this volume. This story is lovely.

Fifteen Painted CArds from a Vampire Tarot: very clever; can't wait for him to finish the Major Arcana!

All in all, I recommend this book unabashedly--you will be entertained, for sure, even if you are disconcerted by most of his writing (especially if you haven't read a lot of his stuff!).

All Your Worth

2007-01-10T22:48:00.000-05:00

I picked this up on Moxie's recommendation, plus I really learned so much from the authors' first book, The Two-Income Trap. The authors impress me as people who are on their readers' side. What they have to say is only partly depressing, and wholly empowering.

Moxie recommended this especially for people who may have zero or less than zero saved for their retirement. (Certainly a group I can identify with...but never mind retirement, try college for Teo!) Unlike other investment planning books that assume yu have money just sitting in a bank waiting to be told where to go, this assumes that you're a "normal" person who's made a few mistakes regarding your finances.

It has a great formula for what to do with your income to get your life in balance and eliminate the worry from your ife: spend 50% on your must-haves (which includes long-term obligations, mortgages, health and life insurance, and food), 30% on your wants (which includes cable, phone services that are above & beyond basic, your daily coffee, and the like) and put 20% toward savings.

We are nowhere near able to follow this formula right now, and the authors say that's ok too--now that we know what the ideal formula is, we need to work toward that as fast as we possibly can.

This book showed me the errors we've been making, but also showed me a light at the end of the tunnel.

Heat

2006-12-20T05:02:00.000-05:00

by Bill Buford

This wasn't on my list of books to read, but it was available at my last visit to the library, so I picked it up. And I am so glad I did!

I consider myself like Bill Buford in his pre-Babbo days--an amateur in the kitchen. Maybe I've had more success than he has--but then again, my standards for success are pretty low, considering I cook mainly for a husband who doesn't complain too much about what I feed him (except when they involve cruciferous vegetables).

This book had me laughing out loud at so many things--Buford's inviting Mario Batali to his home, for a meal, and the results of that encounter; his adventures in the Babbo kitchen, his apprenticeships in Italy to a pasta maker and butcher.

The book is also full of well-considered musings on food and our relationship to it.

Buford paints wonderful pictures of the people he works with, like Mario and his kitchen staff, and the people he meets in Italy. I never got the sense that any of them were caricatured.

I cannot wait for the sequel (if he does write one, about his continuing culinary education in France)!

I must admit feeling sooo envious of the author--that his life and his work allowed him to pursue the activities he describes in this book--working in a restaurant for more than a year, taking many trips to Italy to learn how to cut up a pig and cow...

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

2006-12-13T01:49:00.000-05:00

It took me about 6 weeks to finish this book--partly because I made the mistake of starting other books at the same time and getting engrossed in them (Lisey's Story, 13th Tale), and partly because I'd forget I had this on the bedside table and I've pretty much stopped reading in bed at night since Teo's back in the bed!

At first the constant cross-referencing and source-citing by Blue Van Meer, the 15-year old heroine, was a charming tic. Later on, since she did it relentlessly throughout the book (I'm pretty sure a lot of the stuff she cited, aside from those her father, Gareth, had written were fictional) it lost its appeal and entertainment value.

But irritating as all the parenthetical attributions might be to me, I still found this a worthwhile read.

Blue and her father move to a small North Carolina town for her senior year of high school while her dad teaches political science at the local college. She falls in with the Blue Bloods--a group of five seniors united by their affection for Hannah Schneider, the beautiful film teacher whose idea it is to reach out to the newcomer.

Soon Blue is drinking, staying out late, though that's the extent of her rebellion from the previously very closeted life she had with her dad as they traveled across the US, never laying roots down for more than a year.

The Blue Bloods are shaken by a death at Hannah's house, and by the increasingly troubled behavior of their mentor. In March, during a Blue Blood camping trip with Hannah, Blue finds her swinging from a tree in the woods. The gang turns on Blue and she takes on the task of figuring out the truth behind Hannah's death.

Blue finds more answers than she means to, with the result of more betrayal and abandonment. But you don't finish the novel feeling too sorry for her--from her exploits and intelligence one feels Blue will be just fine.

The Thirteenth Tale

2006-12-04T00:18:00.000-05:00

This book defied all my expectations. I was engrossed by Ms. Vida Winter's autobiography, as told to the solitary Margaret Lea.

I was so focused on the characters that I didn't get to an "aha" moment at all, but was blindsided by the twists in the tale.

Ms. Vida Winter is Britain's most celebrated writer, now in her winter years. She is ready and eager at last to "tell the truth" about her life--whereas in previous healthy years she spun yarn after yarn to would-be biographers. And the truth of her life is as exciting as the tales she is renowned for, involving a strange family, twins, ghosts, and tragedy. With the task of setting the truth of Ms. Winter's life, Margaret comes to resolution about her own family and tragedy.

Now if only I could be motivated to read Calamity Physics as quickly as I read this!

The Abortionist's Daughter

2006-11-23T01:59:00.000-05:00

by Elizabeth Hyde

I'm not a diehard fan of thrillers or whodunnits. I'll pick one up occasionally if the jacket description makes me believe the book isn't just about trying to figure out who did what. This book falls into that category.

Diana Duprey, a notorious abortion provider in Colorado, is found dead in her lap pool. Suspicion falls on the likely suspects: her husband, with whom she had a loud disagreement hours before her body is discovered; the followers of the local right-to-life protesters; even an old flame of her husband's.

The book does a good job of fleshing out the relationships Frank and Megan had with Diana as husband and daughter, respectively. This saved the book for me since I had a very strong suspicion as to who did her in from very early in the book--even if I was right, it didn't matter--I read on because I enjoyed how who Diana (along with Megan, in particular) was slowly revealed through conversations and memories, and not just through narrative.

The way the story also details the relationship between Diana and Megan was a clincher for me. It was a great anatomy of mother-daughter tension--if I can remember this story if I ever have a daughter someday, it sure will provide a balm in her adolescence.

Lisey's Story

2006-11-23T01:02:00.000-05:00

By Stephen King

Stephen King is in my top two picks of favorite writers of all time. (The other is John Irving. And since I love JK Rowling's Harry Potter, I would've given almost anything to have been able to attend the reading these 3 gave in NYC last August to raise funds for...a really good cause that I can't remember.) I still hope desperately to get to meet him someday--I'm hoping he'll be included in the National Book Festival next September.

I fell in love with SK after reading Pet Sematary, of all books. (Read it during my first trip to the US. Had nightmares the rest of the trip. Wouldn't have done it differently, let me tell you.) I've loved SK even as he's grown from being a writer of seriously entertaining and scary stuff (basically, much of his work written in the 70s and early 80s) to not-so-scary-in-the-gives-you-nightmares way but still awesome stuff (The Stand, Dark Tower) to the more psychologically-twisted stuff (Misery, Bag of Bones). I think the only book I had to stop reading out of sheer lack of interest was Tommyknockers.

Lisey's Story is both a horrorfest and a psychologically twisted tale with many layers of narrative. There's Lisey's 25-year marriage to a famous, successful writer named Scott Landon, who's been dead for 2 years due to reasons that aren't revealed till the very end. There's Lisey's relationships with her sisters. There's Lisey being stalked by a Dark Prince of Incunks (don't you just love the wonderful gift SK has for words?). There's the story of Scott and his father and brother and how those relationships colored his relationship with Lisey. And lastly there's the story of Boo'ya Moon.

I think I'm too old to get nightmares from having read this book, though I have no doubt my 17-year old self would've been scared shitless. But I really enjoyed this story completely. I'm not certain it's among his books that I'd happily re-read again and again (that list includes the Stand, Different Seasons, Pet Sematary, The Shining, Salem's Lot, It, The Talisman, Wizard and Glass, Eyes of the Dragon, and most of the stories in his large story anthologies). But I'd certainly re-read it at least twice more in the future!

What I loved most about this book was how real a picture it painted of marriage--and of a good marriage, at that. It did that so well that I ached for Lisey, having lost Scott at such a young age (48 is pretty young nowadays, right?). It made me think, unwillingly, that someday Benjie or I will be alone and widowed as well, and that made me infinitely sad. (Benjie hopes he'll go first.)

The language was also unbeatably King. The secret language between Scott & Lisey made me think of the unique dialect that's sprung up in my relationship with Benjie. It's nowhere near as rich and colorful as the Landons' but we've only been married 9 years (almost).

One of my greatest hopes is that SK lives to a ripe old age, and that he will continue to draw from his pool and share what he draws with us.

The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner

2006-11-11T00:09:00.000-05:00

I love Jennifer Weiner. She's the smartest of the "chicklit" set, if you can even count her among them, and I don't. Her girls have real troubles, and no deus-ex-machina saves them--they save themselves.

This collection of short stories is wonderful not just for a mother with a drastically reduced attention span or reading time. Each story feels real--esp. the trio of stories in the beginning that reflect the years following Jen's own parents' divorce. I was also cringing and dying to yell at the Jess, the central character in Buyer's Market--how could she NOT see how she was being used? How lonely and weak could she be? And I loved Swim, with its character who is used to being invisible or pitied or both discovering that she can be seen and appreciated as she is.

In fact, the story I enjoyed least is the title story. JW admits it's sort of a homage to Stephen King's "Word Processor of the Gods". It feels too sci fi/fantasy for me. JW has a great gift for fleshing out the lives of everyday girls--I would be happy if she stuck to that.

Helen of Troy by Margaret George

2006-11-10T23:55:00.000-05:00

I don't consider myself a fan of mythology, which is odd considering how much I enjoyed the survey we had of Roman & Greek mythology in high school. But I've forgotten much of it, and I never read any of the Greek classics--I felt that their synopses were quite enough.

This book is enough to get me to change my mind--to at least go and find a palatable version of Bullfinch's Mythology and trace the different families and family trees. I really enjoyed the humanized Helen, and how Margaret George chose to re-work the Iliad and Odyssey to include the humans' voices, but exclude the gods'.

I loved the perspective that it wasn't undying love that started the Trojan War, but a war-hungry king anxious for his own glory.

I loved its explanation of how the Trojans could be fooled by a giant wooden horse.

I think I actually benefitted from NOT knowing the stories of Helen or Paris or Menelaus (except from the movie Troy--and I had a hard time imagining Achilles as not having the face of Brad Pitt, though it was easy to not picture Orlando Bloom as Paris)--each unfolding element in the story was new and surprising and had literary integrity.

Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen

2006-10-27T02:58:00.000-04:00

I've read almost all of Anna Quindlen's fiction. (Ironically, not One True Thing, which was made into a movie with Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger and whatsisname, Marlee Matlin's ex...Mosquito Coast guy...) I enjoyed this one more than the others. Or perhaps I'm not remembering the others as well as I ought to.

But no matter. This was a lovely read. Not having one myself, I envy the relationship between sisters (at least if they're the good kind--involving some amount of communication and drama which resolves itself eventually). This was a lovely story of two very different women, one a morning-show anchor (think Katie pre-CBS at 6:30 pm, or Diane even) and the other a social worker. Their lives go haywire and they lean on each other to survive.

But as much as I loved that it was a story about two sisters, I also enjoyed that it was a story about two New Yorks. One where Town Cars are available to drive you everywhere, and you have a view of Central Park from your home, and your child attends tony private schools, and you eat at places like Le Cirque and Jean Georges as a matter of course. The other is where everyone else lives. The book does justice to both places; even makes you want to get to know the "lesser" one a bit more. Maybe.

Closing Costs

2006-10-27T02:38:00.000-04:00

by Seth Margolis

I expected this book to be just another fun read. I wasn't wrong--it was fun to read about the wealthy and their real estate adventures in Manhattan. (Whenever I sigh and think about how impossible the DC market is, I try to reassure myself by thinking that at least we don't live in NYC.) But Closing Costs isn't as fluffy as I thought it might be.

It skewers the world of the haves (and the different castes within that world) as they search for the place to call home. In a way I can't define, it reminds me of The First Wives Club by Olivia Goldsmith.

There are happy endings all around, though if you've ever had home renovations, or downsized, you'll be wincing through quite a few chapters.

Happiness Sold Separately

2006-09-10T22:41:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's taken me forever to finish writing about this book, which I really enjoyed. (but there was the hospital stay, and recovery, and generally feeling that writing one blog was taxing my remaining brain cells.)

I liked it because it drives home the reality that marriage+career+family isn't the modern woman's happy-ever-after any more. It takes a heck of a lot of hard work and luck to make all three possible, let alone even a happy situation, and so many people are challenged in one department or another.

It's been a while since I returned these to the library so I've actually forgotten the characters' names!! The couple in the story are dealing with infertility and failed attempts at assisted reproduction, and it takes a bitter toll on their marriage. He turns to another woman's comfort to deal with her anger and resentment, which is inexcusable but so human. They still love each other, they try to work things out, but eventually she decides that their differences (beyond just the infidelity) will keep them unhappy with each other.

The End of California

2006-09-03T00:10:00.000-04:00

This has to be one of the most compelling bits of fiction I've read in a while. It's set in Loring, Mississippi, the home town of a former football star and once-successful doctor who returns after suffering professional and personal disgrace in California.

Pete Barrington brings his wife Angela and their daughter Toni back to start their lives over. Their lives quickly intersect with Tim (Pete's best friend in high school), Mason (who becomes enamored of Toni) and his father Alan (who like Tim has a history with Pete but not in a similarly amicable fashion).

There is a lot of lust, repressed anger, secrecy, deception, retribution and small-town intrigue that culminates in tragedy.

The end is satisfyingly real and gritty, and not easy for readers who hope for happy endings. But it is beautifully written, and there is a small smidgen of hope on the last few pages.

Armed Madhouse

2006-09-02T23:52:00.000-04:00

LTNE!! (Long time no entry.) Not that I haven't been reading--I've actually read tons over the past 3 weeks. This book kind of depressed me though and I lost my drive to write about what I've been reading.

Greg Palast is famous for having detailed exactly how Al Gore "lost" the presidential elections of 2000. (Michael Moore talked about it in his book, Stupid White Men, but he relied mostly on Palast's research.) His new book spends a lot of ink on figuring out the reason the US is involved in Iraq (it IS the oil, but not the way most people think), a fair amount on how Kerry "lost" the election of 2004, some on how more election shenanigans will take place in 2008, some on the state of the nation.

He couches a lot of his disturbing assertions in humor, which I enjoyed initially then began to find irritating. Come on, man--this is serious shit you're talking about!! Be serious about it!!

He backs up his statements with references to documents and interviews with key witnesses and I had no reason to believe that he would fabricate this entire book. (I found his last book, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, really well-grounded in fact and do trust in his credibility.)

His assertions on American involvement in Iraq are a little hard to follow (because they do go round and about) but completely plausible. I feel though that the value of the book is in its discussion of past and future election fraud. I think Americans should read this book if only to have their eyes opened to the possibility that their democracy has been shanghaied. I come from a country where electoral cheating is the norm rather than the exception, so I don't have any difficulty believing that people are capable of twisting the system to benefit one political party or another. I feel that if more people were ready to question the electoral process and their elected leaders America will probably be able to rectify many of the mistakes it's made in the last half-century.

I brought up the issue of possible electoral cheating with some of my American friends. Their general reaction (in spite of being mostly avowed Democrats) is that their faith in the electoral system is steadfast, that it's still worth trusting in.

Sadly, any electoral system--even in this great democracy--isn't designed, maintained, or executed by God--which is the only way it can be considered infallible and foolproof. Human minds and hands are responsible for seeing that the system works. And Palast makes it clear that if the human minds and hands are determined to subvert the system, the system can be gamed.

Lost and Found

2006-08-13T03:58:00.000-04:00

I love the premise of this book: teams of two compete against each other as they travel around the world solving puzzles and collecting objects to win a million dollars. It sounds like the only reality show I've followed almost faithfully from the beginning (The Amazing Race! which is truly amazing and which I would love to join. The only season I wasn't into it was when they had families of 4 competing).

The twist is that the book isn't about the game as much as it is about the people who join: There's Laura and her daughter Cassie, who are going through what seems to be more strained-than-average mother-daughter tension; Jeff & Carl, divorced, good-natured brothers; Dallas & Juliet, former child stars trying to crack the world of grownup showbiz, and Justin & Abby, former homosexuals who have renounced their ways and married each other. There were 8 other teams, but when the book opens it's down to 6, and you don't really learn too much about the other 2.

I only picked this book up today and just fell in love with the whole bundle. I couldn't put it down--not just so I could find out who won but also to find whether everyone gets a happy ending. (Almost everyone does, to some degree.) I loved how well-fleshed-out the characters were. Considering how short this book is (less than 300 pages) the author does justice to all her characters--each one feels like someone you might know. Each person's actions and decisions make sense.

I love this book so much I just may buy a copy for myself and try to find Carolyn Parkhurst (she lives in DC!!) so I can get her autograph.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

2006-08-13T01:04:00.000-04:00

There's been a lot of buzz about this book lately--particularly about how in hardcover it didn't sell so well but now that it's in paperback it's getting picked up for book clubs and people are really talking about it.

Having read it, I must say the buzz is well-deserved. You should go and read this!

Not only because the story touches two things close to my consciousness at almost every moment of the day: special needs and giving a child away. The story is wonderfully written. I became attached to each character--even to the "bad guy", David Henry, who ultimately proves to be just human.

David Henry delivers his own twins and finds that while the first, Paul, is perfectly healthy, his sister Phoebe has Down's Syndrome. Dr. Henry decides to spare his family what he believes to be inevitable grief and despair (believing that almost all DS babies don't live very long) and asks his nurse to take Phoebe to an institution. His nurse, Caroline, decides to keep Phoebe for herself.

The story follows the Henrys and Caroline and Phoebe over the next 20+ years. Most of the story is about how secrets destroy families, but there is also a lot about love and grace.

We Are All Welcome Here

2006-08-04T23:50:00.001-04:00

I'm very sure I've read at least half of Elizabeth Berg's novels. I've enjoyed her writing a lot--she is a gifted writer whose every day language hides many of humanity's truths. I don't remember any of her books very clearly, though--as much as I like her I've never been inclined to re-read her stuff. But I believe this one will stick to me long after I've returned it to the library--and I won't need to re-read it to remember it for a long time.

It's set in the mid-1960s, when polio and open racial discrimination were still very common. Diana, the 12-year old daughter of a polio victim (who's been paralyzed since she contracted the illness, in her 9th month of pregnancy, and dependent on a cumbersome respirator to boot), tells the story of an extraordinary summer in her and her mother's life.

Good things happen to both of them. Sad things too. But what made my tears fall was how their relationship changed--how Diana grew up, and understood the choices her mother made, and matured in her love for her mother. I knew for sure that Diana had grown up when she finally saw Peacie not as her tormentor but as someone who had loved her from the moment she was born.

I'm intrigued by the fact that this book is inspired by a true story--one of Ms. Berg's fans wrote and suggested that she write about her mother, who did fall victim to polio and had to live in an iron lung for a while but managed to raise 3 children and go on to have a career.

24 Karat Kids

2006-08-04T23:50:00.000-04:00

I've been reading this on my visits to the bookstore, and finally finished it on Monday while feeding Teo and holding him as he slept. (He wouldn't sleep without my breast and wouldn't let go of it either in his sleep. Perhaps I should be reading a sleep training book!)

I had been enjoying this book immensely in spite of the cheesy title. The fictional foibles of Manhattan's wealthy families are amusing and since one of the authors IS an Upper East Side pediatrician they sound authentic, too. And I liked this book all the way till I hit the last 3 chapters or so.

I feel like the authors had to keep this book to a certain number of pages--they ended the story abruptly, in my view. And they seemed forced to give the story the requisite chicklit happy ending. Only the ending did not feel right to me. A better happy ending would've been the heroine choosing to be alone and happy in her aloneness. It didn't feel right that she ended up with who she ended up, given all her kvetching about him and that he was pretty much a rebound.

Much Ado About Jessie Kaplan

2006-08-01T02:35:00.000-04:00

I was sufficiently entertained by Jane Austen in Scarsdale to want to pick up Paula Marantz Cohen's other books. After reading this book (the first of two to be filled by my library) I may just cancel my hold on Jane Austen in Boca.

I suppose this, like JA in Scarsdale, is a comic novel of manners. But something didn't quite click for me. The separate elements of the story line--the septuagenarian mother's sudden flashbacks into a previous life as Shakespeare's paramour, the teenage daughter's bat mitzvah, the sexy sister's unlikely romance with the middle school teacher--seemed interesting enough, but they never quite gelled together for me to make one nice, interesting, cohesive read.

The best part of the story for me was the old lady's "past life" awakening. Jessie Kaplan remembers details of her life as the Dark Lady who inspired William Shakespeare's later sonnets and his Merchant of Venice. Her complete absorption in this realization worries her daughters but intrigues her granddaugher's English teacher, who believes her so much he takes her on a trip to Venice to see if they can find the sonnets she had hidden away in her old life. But even this storyline didn't end on a satisfactory enough note for me.

I truly hated the "BatMitzvah-zilla" aspect of the story. While I'm sure Bat Mitzvahs have become another competitive sport among well-to-do parents, I wasn't entertained by the accounts of Carla and Mark fighting with stationers, caterers, entertainers, florists, and their daughter over this event. Maybe you'd have to have experienced the craziness of a Bat Mitzvah to appreciate them. Or maybe over-the-top parenting has just become such a cliche that it no longer inspires laughter?

The Whole World Over

2006-07-30T01:02:00.000-04:00

I know Julia Glass' first novel, Three Junes, was much acclaimed, but I've not read it. I never got past the first chapter! I expected that to happen with her newest book. But I was hooked from the beginning.

I didn't think it would take me so long to finish this though--it's under 500 pages but the type size has got to be 6. It took me about 9 days!

The Whole World Over tells the story of New Yorkers (and one Connecticut-er) in the roughly year-and-a-half before 9-11. There's Greenie, a pastry chef, married to Alan, a shrink, with one son, George. She decamps to New Mexico to be private chef to the governor, leaving Alan behind. There's Walter, Greenie's good, gay friend. There's Saga, the Connecticut-based animal lover. Julia Glass tells the big and small of their lives before 9-11 changes them or forces them to choose or opens their eyes or all of the above.

I enjoyed the book very much though doubt I'll read it again (that font size!!!). The characters came alive. I feel like I could walk down Manhattan's Bank Street and really sit in Walter's Place (his restaurant) or browse in his neighbor Fenno's book store. I appreciated Greenie's torment and guilt and Alan's professional ennui.

I loved how Julia Glass left some mysteries unresolved almost till the end. Particularly the events that led to Saga's circumstances. And how she'll backtrack in the middle of the present then jump back.

It's generally a happy book--in spite of 9-11. Maybe especially because of 9-11. Then again, none of the characters lose anyone of utmost importance in the tragedy, but it does wake them up and help them seize the day or value what they already have.

Can't Wait To Get To Heaven

2006-07-22T21:05:00.000-04:00

This is Fannie Flagg's latest book, and a sequel of sorts to Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! and Standing in the Rainbow. I really enjoy Ms. Flagg's books--Fried Green Tomatoes is still my favorite among them. She writes sweet books where a few bad things may happen but things generally end well for most characters. This is no exception. It's got an interesting interpretation of life after death.

I got to know Aunt Elner a little better in this book--she was a supporting character in the first two books. Her ways may drive some readers crazy but I wouldn't mind growing old and staying as interesting as she managed to be. I loved her good-natured perspective. I imagine that it wouldn't be so bad to grow old the way she did--optimistic, trusting, warm, never turning cynical or jaded.

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to say in this post. Then I realized: If you like Fannie Flagg, as I do, you'll enjoy this book, and if you don't like her, nothing I can say will change your mind.

The Men I Didn't Marry

2006-07-18T14:06:00.000-04:00

Crapfest.

OK, maybe that's too harsh. If this book were a real crapfest, I'd have chucked it after the second chapter.

My big problem with this book is that it felt like an Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy. Or a Disney animated feature from the last 10 years--full of funny one-liners, but no real story, no real character growth. (I feel you gotta have one or the other at the very least!)

The characters felt pretty one-dimensional. I couldn't muster up much sympathy for the main character, Hallie. So her husband drives into Manhattan after they drop off their daughter at Yale, hands her the keys, and moves in with his new girlfriend. So she ends up spending a fortune on QVC and gorging on Double-Stuffed Oreos. This was nowhere near as enjoyable as Olivia Goldsmith's First Wives' Club. I didn't find myself rooting for her in any way.

I finished the book, only because I kept hoping something good would happen. Also, the one-liners were funny enough. But after a while there were so many that you couldn't appreciate them any more.

I have nothing against writing tandems--I loved The Nanny Diaries and The Talisman, to name a few--but I'm pretty sure I'll be staying away from this particular writing pair.

Not Technically a Book Review: Nightmares and Dreamscapes

2006-07-17T02:28:00.000-04:00

Did I mention I'm a Stephen King fan? Have adored his work since 1989 or so?

I read Nightmares & Dreamscapes back in 1995 when it came out in paperback and was given to me as a gift by one of my graduating daughters. It's King's 3rd collection of stories. I confess I actually only truly enjoyed about 5 of the stories here--I liked Skeleton Crew and Everything's Eventual much more. But TNT is showing a mini-series (kind of like Twilight Zone) based mostly on the stories in this book, though a few episodes will be taken from other collections.

I loooooved the first episode, Battleground, with William Hurt. Absolutely wonderful. Reminded me strongly of The REd Balloon--if you've seen that, then see this, you'll know why. This episode was directed I think by one of Jim Henson (yes, Kermit's daddy)'s kids.

I hated the second--Crouch End--but then again it was one of the stories I didn't ever want to read again. So maybe my bias just transferred. I dunno, though--Benjie isn't a King fan but he was as hooked as I on Battleground and felt as I did that Crouch End was too messy, too arty, and had actors acting badly.

This week's episode I await anxiously--it's based on one of my favorites in the book (The End of the Whole Mess). And the other episode, with William Macy, can't be half-bad!

I generally hate any movie or tv adaptation of Stephen King's work. His work is highly adaptable but I think the ones that have been done have been unlucky enough not to get the kind of respect and attention to detail that they deserve. But this series is very promising!

Baby Proof

2006-07-17T01:05:00.000-04:00

I was prepared to like this bit of chick lit even before I got past the 2nd chapter. (That's my cutoff point for deciding whether I should soldier on or give up. I've mentioned in my nextdoor blog that I used to be an equal-opportunity reader and an in-for-a-penny-in-for-a-pound reader. Having Teo and NOT having the same amount of time I used to be able to devote to reading changed that. In these new times I figure a writer had better have you hooked by the second chapter or else he or she just isn't worth the bother. And if I've been disappointed or unimpressed by one book, I probably won't pick up another by the same author. My exceptions to this rule include Stephen King and John Irving. I'd read anything they write to the bitter end, no matter how badly I hate it. With the exception of Setting Free the Bears. Love John Irving but I cannot, cannot get beyond the 4th page of that book.)

Not because I was a big fan of Emily Griffin's first 2 books. I've read Something Blue, and I liked it fine, but not enough to want to ever read again. (And it's not like I'm stingy with that compliment--there well could be 100 books that I'm hoping to read again before I die, most of which I've probably already read at least 5 times.) I loved the premise described on the book jacket--what happens when an otherwise happy couple is thrown for a loop by a very bad case of "I changed my mind"?

I loved this book because I imagine that I am a lot like Claudia. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I've never wanted children (she claims that when she and her sisters played house as children, she was always the loving, generous, childless aunt). At one point in my life (OK, at least 2 points: when I was delusionally convinced I'd grow up to marry Simon le Bon, and very early in my relationship with Benjie) I thought I wanted 8 kids. But Benjie and I have been married almost 9 years. Until my drugstore pregnancy test results came back in late January 2005 we were convinced that we would have lives just as joyful and blessed as anyone else's if we chose to remain childless. And I have to admit there have been many days since Teo's birth that I have missed those carefree days with a passion.

Claudia and Ben meet, fall in love and marry. They are a truly well-matched pair, not least because they both don't want to have children. But a few years into marriage, Claudia is still the same girl--content with life with Ben--but Ben is hankering for a child.

This book is about dealbreakers, good choices, and bad choices within relationships. I loved the fact that Emily Griffin kept most of Claudia's relationships spinning simultaneously, with the complexity and authenticity that real-life women can empathize with and enjoy. You never get the sense that any other character Claudia interacts with is superficial or unreal. (In many a chick lit I've found that at least one important character becomes a caricature. Maybe it has to do with author decisions about plot, or brevity, or whatever. With Baby Proof you develop a sense that you've gotten to know the people in Claudia's life almost as well as if they were your family and friends and significant others.)

I loved that Claudia was a strong female character, someone who knew her mind and priorities, but wasn't afraid to look them over and wonder whether she'd made mistakes.

I loved that this book has a happy ending, if not necessarily the kind of happy ending you get used to looking for in chick lit.

Jane Austen Mania

2006-07-15T23:31:00.000-04:00

Big, awful bookworm confession: I've only ever read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Haven't read Sense and Sensibility, or Mansfield Park (though I did borrow it and got to the second chapter) or Emma or anything else.

(Actually, there are many classics I haven't read. I figure I have time enough in the future to get to Dickens when Teo's old enough to appreciate Great Expectations in read-aloud, and to Austen if and when I have a daughter who'll enjoy 19th century chick lit.)

Notwithstanding, I did read The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler last year (or was it the year before) and liked it. I guess I would've loved it if I'd read Jane Austen more, but there you go.

Anyhoot, there's a rash of Jane Austen-inspired chick lit on the shelves, and here are two that I read in the last few months. Like JA's books, these two novels are set among the wealthy and literate. Each novel has an admirable heroine--beautiful, intelligent, accomplished--whose big flaw is spurning the love of her life because of class differences and family pressure. Each novel details the ways in which The One comes back into the heroine's life and heart.

In spite of their similarities, I still enjoyed each book. For one, they're both very well-written, and full of the foibles of Homo Dinero. For another, the happy endings come almost just as I'd given up on them. I loved that the characters were well into their thirties and comfortable with, though not dejectedly resigned to, the idea of possible lifelong spinsterhood. I loved the Boston setting of the Family Fortune (some familiarity with a novel's geography is always a thrill) and the descriptions of the overbearing parents and overachieving students in JA in Scarsdale(think The Nanny Diaries in senior year high school).

I think I prefer Jane Fortune, the character in Family Fortune, a tad above Anne Ehrlich (in Scarsdale), if only because she was a bit less passive in making things happen in her life. (Anne seems to have mostly let things happen to her.)

I like imagining that if I'd given in to family pressure and not married Benjie when I did, we still would've found each other later the way Jane and Max and Anne and Ben did. (Though the differences between us were much narrower!)

The Knowledge Deficit

2006-07-15T22:51:00.000-04:00

(Thanks Amazon for the picture of the book!)

I picked up this book because I felt my son's stroller basket was too full of chicklit and otherwise lightweight reading. I wanted some non-fiction and this was slender and short enough to guarantee at least the possibility of getting beyond the first chapter.

I wasn't too keen to read it--I've read Cultural Literacy, and I have to admit that my left-leaning biases made me agree too quickly with the liberal and politically correct criticisms of that book (mainly that Hirsch favors a western European model of curriculum to the detriment of other ethnicities in American schools).

But the book surprised me by giving me several lightbulb moments--that I actually agreed with!

Hirsch's first idea is that there is too much emphasis in elementary schools on teaching kids to read--phonics, comprehension, etc. His second idea is that we take for granted that giving kids this kind of instruction is enough to guarantee that they'll grow into fluent readers. His third idea is that this assumption (he calls it formalism) is wrong--kids need more than formal reading skills; they need a lot of background knowledge to help them understand what they're reading!

He cites a study (of course I didn't take note of who conducted it!) comparing a group of kids who tested well on reading skills versus a group with low scores but some knowledge of baseball, which was the subject of the passage they were tested on. The kids with low skills but some knowledge actually did better on the reading test.

Hirsch points out that kids who come from homes where educated parents talk with them about a wide range of subjects, where they are encouraged to participate in conversation, begin school with much more background knowledge than kids who come from poorer or less educated homes, and that this deficit will widen as they go through the school system. Schools can narrow this gap if they teach both reading and other subjects very well.

I suppose I'm not so set in my ways that I enjoy getting surprised. I was prepared to hate this book, but it really made me think and to admit that Hirsch argues his case so well that it deserves widespread discussion and debate. Some of the things he proposes (a more common curriculum across the US--rather than letting local districts compose 100% of their curricula, about 40-60% of it should be subject matter that is taught everywhere else; reducing explicit reading instruction time to accommodate instruction in social sciences, science and art, to cite 2) will be controversial for both conservative and liberal education thinkers. But that the debate takes place at all can only be good for America's children.