obsession 1 / karen 0

I probably shouldn't admit this, but instead of reading, I've been putting books into my library over at Bibliophil. It's way too much fun, and I'm really glad I found it before I got too far into doing my book catalog. This way there are pictures and it's searchable and you can arrange the books in different way, like by whether you own them or whether you've read them. You can arrange your library by author, book, rating, etc. And you can have "buddies" to whom you can recommend titles.

There are a few kinks, but it's free, so I'm not complaining too much. I'm sure it will all be worked out eventually. The best part, the part that makes me forget about any glitches, is that you can EXPORT YOUR LIST.

This is just what that book-obsessive part of me -- you know, the part that's always worried about having to replace my library and becoming overwhelmed and having no idea what was in it -- needed.

Here's the link to my library, if you're interested.

forty-five/fifty-two

I'll admit I picked up The Memory of Running mostly because of Stephen King's column on it. Back when it was only available as an audiobook, he wrote this glowing review about the writing and about how Smithy was one of the most memorable and original characters ever, etc., etc. He made the book sound really good, is what I'm saying.

I forgot about it for a little while then saw it on a list somewhere of good summer reads or something, and remembered King's enthusiasm, so I reserved it at the library. There was actually a waiting list, which is usually a good sign.

So the wee hours of this morning found me finishing Ron McLarty's The Memory of Running. It was good. I almost couldn't believe how good it was. It's the story of Smithy, this enormous guy who decides -- or it's kind of decided for him, really -- to go on a long cross-country bike ride. So there are a lot of mini-adventures there. It's also his sister's story, and that part of it is pretty sad. Once again I've made a book sound much lamer than it is, but it's written very well, and Smithy is the best kind of Everyman, accessible and mostly likeable without being cloying. And the story just flows from page to page, there are no slow parts.

So thank you, Mr. King. One day I'll read one of your books, too.

forty-four/fifty-two

A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You is a collection of short stories by Amy Bloom. Every story is as perfectly crafted as that title. Even the cover is perfect.

The stories are all about ordinary people doing semi-strange things, but the writing is so beautiful that even the most everyday details seem almost magical. The most horrible things people do in her stories seem strangely pretty when she writes about them.

I borrowed this one from the library -- I'm definitely adding it to my collection, though. And I'll be hunting down anything else by Bloom as well.

forty-three/fifty-two

I think the audiobook (cassette) version of David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day might have been abridged, but I'm not sure. Either way, it's still excellent. Remember back when I disliked David Sedaris? When I made the mistake of reading Holidays on Ice as my Sedaris introduction? That was pretty dumb, huh?

There were a couple of essays on here that weren't quite as good as the rest, but that's a pretty low bar to limbo under, so I won't count that against it. I actually saved this audiobook as a treat for the workweek, that's how much I enjoy listening to Sedaris read his own stuff. And the stuff is pretty good in its own right, as well. Like the piece about learning French -- that was one of my favorites. Of course, it was also pretty cool to HEAR Sedaris's Billie Holiday impersonation, so I'd rec this one even if you've already read the book, really.

A+++++!!!!, as they say on eBay.

forty-two/fifty-two

I am in love with audiobooks. I can't say it enough. Before I found out that my library has a rather decent selection, I dreaded the drive into and back from work -- a forty-five minute trip each way -- because it felt like such a waste of time. Now I feel like I'm actually getting something accomplished.

This edition of The Best American Travel Writing, edited by Frances Mayes, is a collection of the best travel writing from 2002. For the most part, the selections are read by their authors, which is cool. I love hearing authors read their own work. When they're not read by their respective authors, the pieces are read by Frances Mayes. She has a pretty voice, very Southern and soothing; however, it's such a soothing voice that I couldn't concentrate on the pieces she read, and my mind kept wandering, so that wasn't too great. The other authors (including David Sedaris!) mostly had good reading voices, with a few exceptions, but even the exceptions weren't horrible.

The selections themselves are a mixed bag; they were all okay, but half of them were too dry and static, full of long descriptions that might make for good reading but make for boring listening. The great ones, like "Forty Years in Acapulco," "In the Land of the White Rajahs," and "Home for Dinner," made up for it, though.

I would recommend getting this one from the library, but only if you already have an interest in travel writing. I wouldn't recommend buying it. I should also note that this is an abridged version of the book -- there are less than a dozen pieces on the four CDs that make up the audiobook, and the actual book has over twenty.

If you want it in book form instead of CD, The Best American Travel Writing 2001 is supposed to be better than this edition, so I think I'd try that one before seeking out the full 2002 edition.

forty-one/fifty-two

It's high time for a "Buffy" book, don't you think? The Lost Slayer is a four-part serial novel (aka "we can make you buy four books at three bucks a pop which is a third more dinero than if we stuck these all together in one book, hahaha!") written by my favorite "Buffy" novelist, Christopher Golden. Most of Golden's books are well edited, well plotted, and well characterized. A lot of "Buffy" books have serious problems with characterization, or horribly lame plots, or, worse, the saddest editing ever. Like names that are spelled wrong or facts that aren't actually facts.

ANYWAY, this one was good. Buffy and Co. have to fight the god of bats, and along the way Buffy gets sucked into a future that is extraordinarily of the bad. She has to fight to fix the badness as well as figure out how to get back to her present in time to stop herself from making the mistake that leads to this future.

This one has actually been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years; I'm glad I got around to reading it. It's most excellent.

crazy

The family whom Augusten Burroughs wrote about in Running with Scissors (I don't think I reviewed that here, but I liked it, although it was a little disturbing) -- you know, the insane family with the psychiatrist dad? -- is suing Burroughs over his depiction of their family.

It's weird, but I think I feel a little worse for him than I would have if I hadn't heard him talk on the audiobook. Bizarre.

(link via Bookslut)

forty/fifty-two

Let me start off by saying I read Nigel Slater's cookbooks like they're novels, devouring fifty pages at a time. He is, as I've noted here before, my favorite British cookbook writer. Yes, better than Nigella. I think it's because he has a lot less hype over here, although the Nigella hype seems to have died down a little, now that I think of it. But I still like him better. He has a great down-to-earth style that I really dig.

Anyway, Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger is Slater's memoir about his childhood. Everyone has to have one. I wasn't sure whether to read this or not, because it didn't seem like he had a very pleasant childhood (mother died when he was young, father was abusive at times, stepmother was a little messed up in the head), and I'm just . . . I don't know, delicate or something. So lame, but it's true. Well, the book wasn't as doom-and-gloom as I thought it would be, but I didn't connect with it at all. I know Slater says in the foreword that a lot of people told him that they had similar experiences growing up, that they felt like Slater was writing about their own lives, but I just couldn't get there.

It wasn't that it was badly written, it was just written in a way that you get it or don't. And I think in order to enjoy Toast, you have to get it. And I didn't.

But I'll still buy any cookbook the man puts his name on.

thirty-nine/fifty-two

Have I gone on long enough about my love for Ruth Reichl's writing? Really? Well then, I'll just say that Garlic and Sapphires was not a let-down at all.

The tone is different than the tone of her other two books, which seemed softer, even gentle in comparison. This is a no-holds-barred account, gossipy (in a good way) at times, of her time as a restaurant critic for the New York Times, where she used all sorts of disguises in order to avoid the VIP treatment that well-known food critics receive. She includes some of her reviews, the good and bad. And of course, there are more recipes; I've already tried one, for Spaghetti Carbonara, and it was simple and delicious.

At the end of this book, just as Reichl decides she wants out of the restaurant review business, Gourmet offers her a job. I can't wait for that memoir.

After you read the book and take in all the Times-related gossip, be sure to check out their review of Garlic and Sapphires. It's even more fun that way.

thirty-eight/fifty-two

I love it when a writer I follow in this sometimes-awkward online medium puts out a book. I think Wendy McClure's stuff on Pound is great (and I always love her BUST columns), so I picked up I'm Not the New Me for some light-ish vacation reading. It was even better than I expected it to be.

It's a memoir, mostly about weight loss, also touching on the weird things that happen when you have a website, and the weird things that happen when you have a love life. It's sometimes sad and sometimes messy, but most of the time it's damn funny. And the ending isn't all tied up in a bow, like it would be if this were a glossy movie instead of real life. McClure is very easy to relate to, and she has a way with the written word that makes the whole book fly by.

I know my description makes it sound like a bad chick-lit novel, but it really is good.

thirty-seven/fifty-two

What good is a vacation without at least one comic book? I still have that same old problem with falling asleep while reading in the van, but I've discovered that reading in small bites helps out a little bit. Embroideries, by Marjane Satrapi, is actually a small enough book that I finished the whole thing without dozing off.

The setting for Embroideries is a little gossip session between Satrapi's female family members and friends, and it covers all of the stuff that an Iranian woman's life is made of. The scope of is a lot smaller than that of the two Persepolis novels, and it seems more lighthearted, although the subject matter is serious at times. Satrapi seems to be showing rather than telling, which I like.

I did like the two Persepolis books more, but I think this book stands alone pretty well and doesn't suffer too badly in comparison. It's worth reading.

thirty-six/fifty-two

I was halfway through My Friend Leonard when we had to leave. Now, normally I don't take library books on long trips, because I have very bad luck with that sort of thing, and this was an especially long trip with two small children in the car. However, I couldn't let go of this story, so I said a special book prayer and took it along. And finished it with no book-binding-melting issues, THANK GOD.

There's a good article here that explains the plot, gives highlights, etc. Basically, this book picks up where James Frey's A Million Little Pieces left off, and it follows Frey as he rejoins the world outside of rehab. It's also about the relationship between Frey and his friend and sort-of-father figure, Leonard, who's a member of an unnamed large sinister-sounding corporation (yes, it's exactly what you think). It's quite an interesting relationship. Leonard's generosity is so grand that at times it almost sounds like fiction -- like the enormous dinners he buys for Frey and a handful of his friends. But Leonard seems to live that sort of expansive life, so in the end it's believable and he comes off sounding like a pretty good guy, even with his questionable career.

Once again, it took some time to get used to Frey's writing style, but once I got into it, it stopped seeming like bad editing and became a rhythm. I did love this book, and I think I can safely declare myself a Frey fan (freynatic? ha ha.).

He has a new website, too, by the way. I especially enjoyed the links to bad reviews of AMLP. The site isn't the prettiest one in the world, but it is nice and informative, which is the main thing I look for in an author's site. Now I'm not saying that authors with good websites get more love from me, but . . . oh hell, yes, I am saying it. Unless the author is, like, from the nineteenth century, in which case I cut them a little slack.

thirty-five/fifty-two

I'm cheating just a smidge here, because I'm not quite finished with this one, but it's an audiobook, I have to return it because someone put a hold on it, and I'm on, like, the penultimate track, so I know I'll finish it today. All I have to do is finish the bonus interview, which wasn't a part of the book, technically, anyway.

This book is a collection of essays about Burroughs's life, his whole life, from elementary school to adulthood. I've read all of his other books, and I think the best thing to say is that if you liked his other stuff, you'll like this. I love Burroughs's sense of humor, and he seems like a pretty cool guy. I'm not sure how to describe the book except to say . . . maybe Burroughs's could be compared to David Sedaris's collections, only rougher and with a lot more swearing. And maybe more confessional. (Yes, I know that every other review on Earth makes the same effing comparison, but it works for me. I haven't read a lot of humor collections, so I have a limited pool to choose from.)

I admit I had to skip a couple of essays, one that involved a rat being killed in a bathtub, and one about dental work -- animal suffering and oral pain, two things that always make me squirm way too much. But the rest of them were perfect. I'm not sure which one I enjoyed best . . . maybe "Debby's Requirements," about a psychotic cleaning lady recommended to Burroughs by a friend. Or the one where he expounds on his belief in magical thinking. They were all good, though.

It's always strange to hear male authors read their stories, it always throws me for a loop. I'm not sure if it's because when I read a book I'm applying one generic "male voice" to all male authors, or if it's because I'm thinking the words in a female voice, or what. Whatever. It's weird. It took me a while to get into Burroughs's voice, because it seems like he ends every sentence in a question, and he puts stress on different words than I would. After a while it's barely noticeable, though I do catch myself repeating phrases like I would say them, just to see where the difference is. Oh, and I had to keep the speakers in the back off because of all the swearing. Now, anyone who knows me well knows I have no problem with swearing, because in the swearing world, I am queen, but I was listening to the CDs in the car. With Rabbit. Who is in this phase where she repeats everything she hears, and we JUST got her off "damn it" so I really didn't want her getting any ideas.

That was very unfocused. Sorry. I liked the book, I like Burroughs, and I really like his website, which is everything an author's website should be. It's fabulous. Go look! It's the best one I've seen yet. And check out the bio/FAQ page if you've never read anything by him and want to sample his style.

Now I'm off for a week of hyperactive kids, frazzled and possibly drunk tourists, and staying up and reading books til dawn. And if I'm lucky, picking up some more. Books, not kids or tourists. Just wanted to clarify.

thirty-four/fifty-two

I just reread Monday's post. "Mysterious masterpiece" is quite probably the goofiest thing I've written in a month. I sound like a Scooby-Doo episode. Ignore my flawed prose and read the article, it's very good. I promise!

Finished the Otori trilogy. There's a website for the books, although it's not very substantial. That link is to the Australian website, the American site is here, but I think the Aussie version is set up better. This series seems to have had a massive advertising campaign -- there are five or six semi-fleshed-out sites -- although I never heard of it until I saw someone mention it on Chicklit not very long ago.

Uh, topic? Brilliance of the Moon is the name of the final installment. The beginning was kind of sloggy, but I finished the last half in one night. At two o'clock in the morning. On a work night.

In this one, all the stuff that was set up in the second book is settled. Takeo is basically working to fulfill the prophecy and seek revenge, Justice, whatever, at this point. Kaede finds trouble again, too. And we see Shirakawa again, so yay. I liked her. I think it's safe to say this is a series that should be read in order, or you will cry because there are so many characters and subplots.

The ending was nice and open-ended. Of course, the Afterword had to go and tie up all the loose ends, but I prefer to ignore that sort of Afterword.

The script is being written for the movie based on the first book, by the way. The whole trilogy does seem pretty movie-ready, so that's no big shocker. It should be a fun adventure flick, and I'm sure they'll actually be doing the whole trilogy eventually. It's always nice to see books I like adapted for the screen and try to pick out the differences. Unless it's a book that's become a pet of mine, like The Time Traveler's Wife (seriously, plotline = "man with a time-traveling gene uses his innate abilities to visit his lover at different points in her life"?). Then it's a kind of torture. But I think this one will turn out okay.

briefly

Two articles that have been on my mind recently:

The New Yorker details the restoration of the Unicorn tapestries, and how math is the key to restoring the mysterious masterpiece.

and

"The Writer Who Was Full of Grace" -- Yardley's article about Flannery O'Connor, which I enjoyed more than I think was fitting. After reading it, I felt an urge to go pull out the one O'Connor book I own and devour it. Unfortunately, it's in storage, like EVERYTHING ELSE.

When we get back from vacation, my first priority will be a bookcase and my second will be rescuing my poor books.

If anyone happens in here and knows of a good secondhand bookstore near either Orlando, FL or Savannah, GA, PLEASE let me know. I'm having a hard time finding one online. I'm going to keep searching, and will probly end up just walking around 'til I find one, but a rec would be so great. I'll make you cookies! (Toaster oven cookies, but cookies nonetheless.)

I forget so you don't have to

I always forget about Persephone Books until I see someone mention it at Chicklit. Then I drive myself crazy making lists of the ones I want.

One day I will be rich or the world will revert to a barter system and the currency will be either leaves or bad teenage poetry, both of which I have in spades. The first book I buy will be Kitchen Essays by Agnes Jekyll, because . . . I'm not sure why, honestly. It sounds good, and I like things that involve the kitchen. The second would probably be Katherine Mansfield's The Montana Stories because, ah, it's the second book I looked at. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to older authors and books, so it's fun to learn about these people I've never heard of. Although I'm sure that makes me sound very dumb. I'm learning, though, see?

I should just ask everyone to get me one Persephone book for xmas. Hahaha, like they'd get me books. It's a very strange phenomenon, actually -- I, the book addict, very rarely get books for xmas and birthdays. I think it may be because no one knows what I already have. One day I will introduce them to my Amazon wishlist. Is that tacky? Maybe I won't do it, I'll just hope they stumble on it. Although I am going to show Ben how to use it because he's asked me to do so before.

Whoa, I got off-topic. Anyway, I just discovered Amazon does actually have most of the Persephone Books listed (makes wishlisting them a lot easier), but you have to look them up individually. There's no way to just look up "Persephone Books" unless I'm missing something. This makes my life a lot easier, although I think I'd rather order them directly because of the little extras they include -- bookmarks and the catalog, which I must have in order to properly lust after the books.

for your eyes only

I got suckered into another book club -- all hardcover, 6 for $1 then 1 at half price, only 3 to buy in the next 2 years, etc.

I mostly found books that have only been on my wishlist for a week or so, making this some sort of twisted instant-gratification exercise:

* The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

* The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

* Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

* The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco

* Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

* Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham

and * The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

All those hardbacks for only $24. I love online book clubs. Because I'm going to buy more than four books in the next two years anyway, so it's not like I'm spending money I wouldn't normally spend. Might as well get the almost-free books. Plus Smart Reader Rewards (blah name, but whatever) has free shipping if you spend $24. Much like Amazon except you can pay by check AFTER receiving your books, which is always a surefire lure for me. I'm not sure why, since Ben has a debit card that I can use, but there you have it.

THEN I went to QPB and took advantage of their buy one, get the rest half off sale. Although I like it better when they combine that sale with the "$24 or more gets free shipping" sale. Anyway, it was time to place my big summer order (I usually do one in summer, one in winter); ignore the fact that a few weeks ago I went crazy buying books for vacation. Here's the haul:

* The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

* Ariel: The Restored Edition: A Facsimile of Plath's Manuscript, Reinstating Her Original Selection and Arrangement
by Sylvia Plath

* a 6-volume set of Jane Austen books (Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma) -- believe it or not, I don't think I had any of these already, although I do have the BBC's Pride and Prejudice miniseries starring Colin Firth on DVD.

* Scribbling the Cat by Alexandra Fuller

* All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki -- have you read My Year of Meats? You should.

* Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

* Animal Crackers by Hannah Tinti

* a 4-volume set of Ray Bradbury books (Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and The Illustrated Man) -- I've never read Martian or Man, but I was really keen on the other two when I was younger.

and * The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

About $100, not too bad since there are two multi-volume (hardcover) sets in there. I realize this post is excruciatingly boring for anyone who happens in here, but a) I like lists, b) I like books, and c) I like to keep a record of my book acquisitions to look back on later (and probly feel guilty that most of these are still on the TBR shelf).

I really need to get my older books out of storage so that I can do an inventory.

(If only Blogger had post tags. I've been wishing they'd get some for a while. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have an "acquisitions" or "inventory" tag? I have faith, though, if LJ's got them, I'm sure Blogger will hop on the bandwagon eventually.)

thirty-three/fifty-two

Just finished my first-ever book on CD: Steve Martin's The Pleasure of My Company, read by Mr. Martin himself. Now, I never read Shopgirl, although I know it's allegedly great and everything, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought maybe Martin's novels were crappy little vanity projects.

So I was pleasantly surprised to discover I liked Company. And I'm glad I listened to it instead of reading it, because Martin's voice fits the character of Daniel quite well.

Daniel is a neurotic guy in his late twenties, in love with a realtor he's never met. Which seems sort of creepy at first -- actually, it seemed creepy throughout his entire infatuation. I liked Daniel because he's a character you don't LIKE all the time; sometimes he seems like a jackass, sometimes a little creepy, sometimes way too melodramatic. But he can also be a very sympathetic character, charming in a nebbishy way.

The story was pretty good, too, it was fun to follow all the twisty turns it took. The ending was a little too neat for me -- I think I would have liked it better if the last chapter was left off -- but all in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable novel. And now I'm on the hook for Shopgirl.

thirty-two/fifty-two

I was sitting there trying to figure out how to get to the next book in the Otori series without losing my momentum, when a huge Duh Lightning Bolt hit me and I checked out the library's catalog. They have both of the other books in the trilogy, although book two is categorized as YA and book three is not, which I find kind of weird.

So I've now finished Grass for His Pillow, also by Lian Hearn, and while it dragged a little in some spots, I still liked it a lot. I've seen a few complaints over the switch in voice -- from first person for Takeo's parts to third person for Kaede's parts -- but it doesn't really bother me.

Okay, in this one Takeo is trying to figure out how to fulfill all his obligations -- to the Tribe and as an Otori -- and he's also mooning over Kaede, of course. And Kaede has returned to her father's home to find everything completely effed up. The parts that drag are mostly the parts where Takeo is travelling somewhere; unfortunately, that's, like, half of his part of the book. Or it seemed that way, anyway. I just ended up skimming those parts, I'm such a lazy reader.

Hearn still kind of glossed the surface of Takeo's motivations and abilities, etc., but it kind of fits his (Takeo's) voice, so I'm not minding that so much, either.

I got about halfway through the book before anyone glanced over ironically. Then it was like Hearn had to make up for not using the word until then. Ach, I just find it funny now instead of being annoyed by it. Everyone needs a tic, right?

thirty-one/fifty-two

See? Told you I was still reading. But you didn't believe me, did you? I can't say I blame you.

Treinta uno: Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori, Book One) by Lian Hearn (that's a pseudonym, by the way). All I have to say about this one is niiiiice.

The story is a historical fiction/fantasy/adventure mix set in an alternate-universe feudal Japan. The main character, Takeo, is pretty interesting, but he could be fleshed out more. The plot is pretty basic (for a fantasy novel, ha): Takeo is out to seek revenge from an evil warlord-type both for himself and on behalf of his new adoptive father. He has some special magical skills that aren't explained too well, but I'm hoping everything that was kind of glanced over in the first book will be drawn more deeply in the next two.

I liked the writing, too. The only thing that bothered me -- you know there has to be something -- was the overuse of the word "irony." I understand that it went well with the tone of the writing but by the end I was rolling my eyes everytime someone glanced over "ironically" or used an "ironic" tone of voice. But hey, I use certain words to the point that they keel over half-dead every time I post, so who am I to talk?

Before I was finished with this book, I was already trying to figure out the best way to acquire the next two in the trilogy. So yes, niiiice.