before I go

Carl Hiaasen's Hoot: enjoyable, definitely a kid's book, but it had a cute story. And "cute" is the right word there. I prefer his adult stuff, this seemed a little . . . trite, I guess. But it's for kids, so I'm not sure if that matters. If I were my younger self, well, I probably wouldn't read it because I went in for more meaty stuff (if you ignore the Lurlene McDaniels I read). But Hoot was okay.

Let me put it this way: it's not one I'll be keeping for Rabbit to enjoy down the road, like I am with my Narnia collection and The Cricket in Times Square and Little Women, etc., but I might buy it for her later, if she seems to like that sort of story.

See you in 2005!

fifty-two weeks to go

In the paper this weekend, there was an article about an English professor who resolved to read one book a week for a year in 2004. There were no guidelines as to what he had to read, he just had to read. I think it's a great idea, not too difficult and there's a definite goal, which is what I need. So that's what I'm doing in 2005.

Other people have done it, and even written books about it, so it's not exactly original. But that's not the point.

And this is a resolution I'll actually enjoy keeping.

(link via bookblog)

and the cover was so pretty

I finished Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris over, well, the holidays. It was pretty funny, full of nice and bitingly dry wit. The book is a collection of six Christmas stories. My favorite was "The Santaland Diaries." (I'm pretty sure that's what almost everyone says, but who am I to go against the flow?) By the end of the book, I was in that mood where I JUST WANT TO FINISH, ALREADY, but I'm not sure whether to blame Sedaris for that or the incredibly unlively party I had just attended. The stories just kind of went on for too long, which is okay when you're reading someone whose voice you just can't get enough of, but in this instance, it didn't work. Which is really strange, because Sedaris's humor is the kind I like.

Oh, I take it back. My favorite part of the book was actually the back-of-the-book blurb:

"HOLIDAYS ON ICE collects six of David Sedaris' most profound Christmas stories into one slender volume perfect for use as a last-minute coaster or ice scraper. This drinking man's companion can be enjoyed by the warmth of a raging fire, the glow of a brilliantly decorated tree, or even the backseat of a van or police car. It should be read with your eyes, felt with your heart, and heard only when spoken to. It should, in short, behave much like a book. And, oh, what a book it is!"

constant cravings

I've really been wanting to re-read a book lately: Eva Moves the Furniture. I'm not sure why, since I only read it once and I barely remember what it's about. I remember it as being kind of a novel made up of short stories softly bound together. Not that it's a book of short stories, just that that's the way it reads.

I really like the title. Maybe it's sticking in my head because of that, like a song with a chorus that bounces around for a while, always at the tip of your tongue.

maybe true, not so outstanding

Finished The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson (somewhat gushing review here), a story about a woman, Olivia, whose sister is diagnosed with leukemia. Olivia is in the middle of trying to get a movie based on Don Quixote made while she deals with her sister's illness. It's told entirely through letters and e-mails, which is a gimmick that I actually like a lot when it's used well. It was used pretty well here, for the most part, although the letters to Olivia's friend Tina made her sound a little passive-aggressive and condescending. Olivia actually seems kind of annoying all in all, which isn't something I'm used to in a protagonist, but I wouldn't want to read about some idealized woman's life and reaction to tragedy, so it worked for me.

In the end, it was an okay book. Not anything I'd give as a gift, but I'd give it away to a friend who had time to kill.

For books with a sisterly theme, I prefer Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson.

another one bites the dust

I finished The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory, which was interesting enough, although it wasn't exactly a work of art. The excerpt here basically says it all: this, like the last Gregory novel I read, The Other Boleyn Girl, is basically a fluffy semi-bodice-ripper with enough educational stuff in it that you don't feel like you've totally wasted your time. At least, it's educational to me, since I was never really taught much about English history (ah, the joys of being shuffled from homeschooling to private school to public school and back again).

Hannah is a Jewish girl with The Sight who's on the run from the Spanish Inquisition; she is brought to court to be a Holy Fool, and she gets caught up in court intrigue. Along the way, there's lot of longing for the man who brought her into court, and lusting for the eighth cousin (something like that) to whom she's betrothed. Hannah's torn between loyalty for Queen Mary and interest in Princess Elizabeth, and I've got to say, although Elizabeth seemed like more fun, she was also kind of a bitch. But then, Mary burned Protestants, so it's kind of a lose/lose situation. All in all, an entertaining story told well enough that I finished it in two days (always a good sign).

Gregory's books always make me want to read some of Alison Weir's stuff, but I never seem to get around to it. One day, my pretties.

I haven't forgotten how to read!

I wasn't sure if I'd ever finish a book again, but today I did it! See, since we moved in (last week), the only books I've had unpacked are cookbooks, so I've been reading them here and there when I needed some written word. I finally got the (forty or so) books that I've bought since moving into my parents' basement unpacked Monday. After being spoiled by all the recipes and anecdotes in the cookbooks I'd been reading, I craved some food writing, and luckily, Ruth Reichl's Tender at the Bone (excerpt) was there to help a girl out. Reichl's writing voice is a nice, down-to-earth, friendly one, and the story itself was interesting enough that I finished the book in two days (including staying up late reading on Tuesday night, which I haven't done in months and months). Plus, I love any book which includes recipes for dishes mentioned in the story (with the exception of Cooking for Mr. Latte, I should add). This book deserves the highest praise I can give it: I want to read more. Next up (maybe I can luck out and thrift store it like this one) is Comfort Me with Apples, in which Reichl continues her story.

but that's just my opinion

Remember all the uproar on the old Glitter board about how snobby the Budget Living mag was when it started up? Well, I do.

I was at Borders the other day, picking up Christmas gifts, and I saw BL sitting there, looking cute. I wanted a xmas magazine, and it was between that, MS Living, and Gourmet. Budget Living won out because it was cheaper.

So I took it home with semi-great expectations. It looked interesting, the taglines on the front showed promise, the cover was pretty, the mag had a nice feel to it, etc. Sat down to read it. Oh dear.

This is another magazine which has a premise that I love, but an execution that grates. I know it's about, you know, living on a budget and all, but do you really need to complain that many times about how underfunded your magazine is? I know, I complain about money a lot, but you're not paying to read this, are you? I paid almost four bucks to read about how little the staff of the magazine that I PAID FOR gets paid. It wasn't just mentioned once, either, or I could have chalked it up to an oversight.

That said, there were some interesting ideas in the magazine. Some nice DIY inspiration. But for a budget-conscious publication, there sure were a lot of spreads filled with nothing but stuff to buy. And a lot of "this is pricey BUT . . ." captions and buy-this-because snippets. The same people who are complaining about being paid less than a fast food employee are writing about sixty-dollar throw pillows.

I guess the titular "budget" is that of someone with a lot more discretionary income than me. Or, judging by their own claims, more than the employees of Budget Living. Which makes the magazine pretty pointless.

foxy

Next time I have a spare moment, I want to check out Slightly Foxed, a book-review magazine that sounds pretty good, at least based on this Bookslut review.

I'm all for a non-generic book mag; if you know of any others, let me know. I have a hard time finding anything but the usual boring ones in town.

(Whatever happened to Bookslut's blog, anyway? I used to spend lots of time following links there.)

box full of paper

I've narrowed my magazine subscriptions down. I have dropped/am dropping In Style, Lucky, Real Simple, and Marie Claire, because they just made me want to buy things. Dropping Self because I get Health, and it gets sort of repetitive after a while. After a lot of debating, I dropped Entertainment Weekly because it just wasn't that enjoyable for me anymore, and I'm trying to concentrate more on real life and less on screens (although I already miss Dalton Ross). I dropped Giant Robot because it's one of those magazines that sit around for a month before I get to it.

And I'm dropping Kitchen Sink after my sub expires because each time I've ordered something from their website (my first issue, then Volume 1), I've had to e-mail to find out where it's at. In the case of Volume 1, I waited two and a half months with no luck, then e-mailed and got a "I know I sent it!" response and a promise for a resend and a couple of extra issues for my trouble. I got the resend, but no extra issues, and not even a note inside with a quick "Sorry!" -- that's one of my (maybe unfair) pet peeves. If you're gonna promise something, deliver or apologize. Anyway, between that and the typos (it's such a nice-looking publication and so smart, but the typos make it unreadable for me), I've given up on this one. That doesn't mean you should, though! Maybe you have better KS luck.

I'm keeping Cooking Light and Everyday Food, although I may stop CL after this year and just buy the collected recipes, since I usually end up buying them anyway. I can't imagine giving up Everyday Food, though, with its fantastic and simple recipes. Also keeping: MS Kids (I get so many ideas from it), Venus, and BUST (god, the Dec/Jan issue kicked ass, especially the crafty section).

Bitch is on the verge of being knocked off the list. The last few issues just haven't interested me that much, and I don't get hyped up when I see it in the mailbox anymore.

Man, I used to get so effing many magazines. Of course, now my mailbox gets filled up with stupid mail-order catalogues instead. One day I will figure out how to stop that from happening, and that will be a happy day.

gasp!

I haven't read any actual books lately (no rest for the relocating), but I did receive a great cookbook the other day, so let's talk about that.

To explain, I'm signed up for The Good Cook book club, mostly because I'm drawn to the siren call of cheap pretty cookbooks, and their opening offer was a good one. (And I can never bring myself to pay full price in an actual bookstore, but I'm okay with paying the slightly lower club price by mail. Strangeness.) They have, of course, their little cards that you get each month and have to return or they automatically ship you their selection of the month. Apparently they never received my card last month, and they shipped me Patrick O'Connell's Refined American Cuisine. I was going to just return it, but I looked up a few reviews, and it sounded like something I might like. So I decided to keep it.

Yesterday I looked through it, marking the recipes I wanted to try, and damn, I love this book. Chef Patrick O'Connell co-created The Inn at Little Washington, a place I will probably never be able to visit but can still appreciate. The recipes are almost all slightly glamourous but still accessible (they actually seem do-able), and the pictures are gorgeous. The best part is that O'Connell is a great writer, throwing little anecdotes in and not being too Important Chef serious, so the book ends up being fairly light-hearted and fun to read. There are pictures of my beloved Virginia here and there (The Inn's located near the Blue Ridge Mountains), which of course makes me love the book more because I'm a horrible biased reviewer.

I'm afraid I'm not that great at reviewing cookbooks. Here: this is a splendid cookbook. It has beautiful recipes that are easy to follow. I've marked about a quarter of the pages with my "to try" bookmarks. I was so excited about it that I talked to my husband for ten minutes about the thing, even as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. And, bonus, it's not snobby. The end.

in case of boredom . . .

I'm loving the never-ending bookworm thread on getcrafty.com right now. It's fun to see what other people are reading, and there are some great suggestions in there, too.

bumbling fools and bumblebees

Yes, I suppose it is pointless to have a book log if you never get around to reading books, but whatever. I just got back from "vacation" and damned if I didn't get to read THREE books. Also, I hated the name of this site, so I changed it to something I liked. To celebrate, I will now subject you to the following exchange:

Ms. Calendar: "You're here again? You kids really dig the library, don't you?"
Buffy: "We're literary."
Xander: "To read makes our speaking English good."

Ah, the glorious Buffy days of yore.

Summer and basement living conspire to keep me from updating this site, but I'll try to post reviewlets of vacation books sometime soon.

In the meantime, I will point you to four decent magazines I discovered while on said vacation: Look-Look (I hate their website, though), mental_floss, NYLON, and Utne, which was called The Utne Reader last time I read it, and which seems a lot less boring now than it did then.

an explanation

This is buttercup's sister site. It will house my little tiny unprofessional book reviews and be sort of a book log, like the library's summer book club without the flamingo-shaped pen.

I don't expect you to read it, really, though you're welcome to do so.