So, here goes:
Authors: Kate Dugan and Jennifer Owens
Category: Nonfiction essays
Month: January
How'd I snag it: Library
Rating: Thumbs up. Maybe not for everybody, but it was interesting for me to hear how these women rectify the conflict between their faith identities and their identities as women. I also know one of the editors/authors, so that added an element of interest for me.
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Category: Fiction
Month: February
How'd I snag it: Bought it, hardcover
Rating: Waivering halvsies-thumb. Given its Kingsolver's first book in quite a while and that I've loved many of her other books, I thought this would be better. The story was fractured in two and left something to be desired in terms of its hold on the reader. However, I still greatly enjoyed the description of Mexico, which put me in the mood for our trip to Mexico City. I'd recommend it but certainly not for everybody. Ry tried to read it and only made it a few chapters in before he moved on to something else.
Author: TC Boyle
Category: Fiction
Month: March
How'd I snag it: Bought it, paperback
Rating: Halvies-thumb. This year I was clearly on a TC Boyle kick. There is something about his prose, use of language and the enveloping stories he tells that keep me coming back. I went to the store specifically looking to buy some Boyle and this was the result. It's good, as all Boyle is, and of course given the fact that its a story about sex-researcher Alfred Kinsey there are certainly some tantalizing bits, but overall it just felt like filler to me. Good, but for Boyle it falls somewhere in the middle.
Author: TC Boyle
Category: Fiction
Month: April
How'd I snag it: library
Rating: Thumbs down! Continuing my Boyle kick, I picked this book up. Yuck! The flash-forward, flash-back story of environmental radicals left more than something to be desired. I even recommended this one to a co-worker, based on what I thought he'd like, before I read it and was thoroughly embarrassed once I had. Wouldn't recommend this to anyone.
Author: Paul Fleischman
Category: Youth fiction
Month: May
How'd I snag it: Borrowed it from my teacher hubby
Rating: Thumbs up! This is a wonderful children's book about an urban neighborhood that comes together over a community garden that a little girl inadvertently starts by planting and nurturing a bean plant. It's an easy read for a little bit older elementary school kid, it's colorfully multicultural and it's definitely feel-good. I picked it up because Ryan was reading it with his kids in class. I would highly recommend it for kids of all ages.
Category: Memoir
Month: June
How'd I snag it: Stole it from my hubby who was reading it for a class
Awards: 1986 Nobel Peace Prize
Rating: Thumbs up. This book is a difficult read, as it chronicles Wiesel's experience in a Nazi concentration camp. It's short but significant and I believe it's something everyone should read. I picked it up because Ry was reading it for a Holocaust class he took over the summer for continuing education credits. I read it while we wasn't and actually finished before he did for class. Not really light summer reading, but worthwhile.
Author: Tony Cohan
Category: Travel memoir
Month: June
How'd I snag it: Grabbed it off our bookshelf
Rating: Thumbs up. We have a million books on our shelves and some of them go unread. Ry picked this book up some years back and never read it. I was simply looking for something to occupy my time and this one fit the bill. I loved the vivid images of the author and his wife's life in Mexico. The book chronicles their decision to drop out of life in Los Angeles in the mid-1980's and move to central Mexico. Any easy read and it satiated my desire for a slice of Mexico.
Author: Tom Wolfe
Category: Fiction
Month: July
How'd I snag it: Bought it, paperback
Rating: Thumbs up. Many, many of my higher education colleagues have recommended that I read this book as it chronicles the life of a small town, rural young woman as she transitions to her freshman year of college at a fictional ivy league university. It is funny, painful at times and very engaging. I could not put this 700 page book down and read the whole thing in about two days flat. It's not for everyone, it might be hyperbole, but it's also an accurate portrayal of the hedonistic style of college life in year one. And you know what? I lived that life for a total of six years, one as a student, five as a university administrator, so I'm a qualified judge. Ry also couldn't put it down when he read it.
Author: TC Boyle
Category: Fiction
Month: July
How'd I snag it: Library, book on tape
Rating: Waivering halvsies-thumb. So, I know what you are saying, "Book on tape, really? Does that count?" I say yes, especially since this is actually a re-read for me. We listened to this in the car on our summer road trip out to CO and AZ. It is a fictional account of the life of architect Frank Lloyd Wright told through the voices of three of his wives (he actually had four in total). Ry picked it up for me when it first came out to try and get me interested in Boyle. He had bought me one of Boyle's first books for my birthday, World's End, but I was obstinant about actually reading it. At that time I had recently read Loving Frank, another novel about Wright, and was sucked into The Women as well. It's a good read, but may not be for everyone. One of the wife-narrators is detestable and the way the reader portrayed her made it difficult to listen to. We listened to this one for our whole drive out to AZ and then some, so it was slow going. I'd still recommend it though.
Author: TC Boyle
Category: Fiction
Month: August
How'd I snag it: Library, book on tape
Rating: Thumbs up. We picked this up for our road trip as well but only got through the first little bit of it on our drive back to Wisconsin. I continued listening to it on my first commutes to UW-Whitewater when I started my new job. This book is a modern account of a deaf woman and her boyfriend as they stalk and attempt to catch the man who has stolen both of their identities. Sounds cheesy, but it's not. It has some of the elements of a caper, but it's more of a commentary on life from a deaf person's perspective. That part of it was thought provoking. It's accessible Boyle that's not historical fiction, I'd recommend it.
Author: TC Boyle
Category: Fiction
Month: August
How'd I snag it: Library
Rating: Halvsies-thumb. I have to say I didn't love it. This book is historical fiction that chronicles the experience of well-to-do patients in Dr. John Harvey Kellogg's (the original cereal guy) holistic medicine sanitarium in Battle Creek, MI in the early part of the 20th century. A somewhat engaging story, but a bit slow and this era was not particularly interesting to me. Curious to think that health and wellness scams have probably existed since the beginning of time. There were elements of this novel that fit today's health fads like a glove even though the subject at hand is clearly dated. Apparently this book was made into a movie a while back. Ry says the movie is good though I've never seen it.
Author: Jonathan Franzen
Category: Fiction
Month: September
How'd I snag it: Bought it, hardcover, release day
Rating: Huge thumbs up! I dedicated an entire post to this book in September, so I'm gonna link you to it here. Read this book. Also, read The Corrections while you're at it. I love Franzen's prose but have trouble with his essays. Click on Franzen's name above for a link to the front-age article from Time hailing him the great American novelist of our time.
Author: Erik Marcus
Category: Non-fiction
Month: October
How'd I snag it: Library
Rating: Thumbs up. A thorough look at the physical health, animal rights and and environmental benefits of giving up meat and an animal products. An easy introduction to the central ethical questions of a vegan lifestyle. I read it as inspiration, but have still not been able to cut out dairy products. I know that it would be good on many levels, but can't do it at this point.
Author: Laura Waterman
Category: Memoir
Month: October
How'd I snag it: Library
Rating: Halvsies thumb. I don't know what to say about this book. I heard an interview with the author on NPR and decided that I needed to read it. It chronicles the lives and marriage of Laura and Guy Waterman, homesteaders, outdoors authors and prominent New England rock climbers in the 1970's. The book is a look at how they built their lives as homesteaders in Vermont and how Laura supported her mentally ill husband (my assessment) as he prepared to commit suicide. A lot of people had good things to say about this book, but I just thought Guy was selfish. His death also seemed like such a waste. He clearly could have sought help and did not need to die as he chose to. Their life was ideal in many ways, but their relationship seemed strange and unhealthy. It was engaging but I'm not sure I would recommend it.
Author: TC Boyle
Category: Fiction
Month: December
How'd I snag it: Bought it, paperback
Awards: National Book Award Finalist 2003
Rating: Huge thumbs up. This is probably my favorite book of all time. I had a hankering to read it again, so I finally bought a copy and loved it just as much as the first time through. Boyle is so freaking smart, observant and funny. This is tale of a 1960's hippie commune that moves their life north to the Alaskan bush and attempts to make a go of it there, but clash with the locals in many ways. It's just great. If you only read one book by Boyle, this is it, hands down.
Author: Jeannette Walls
Category: Fiction/Memoir
Month: December
How'd I snag it: It was gifted to me by my mother-in-law, Beckie (thanks!)
Rating: Thumbs up. This is fiction, but is closely based on the life of the author's grandmother growing up in the American Southwest in the early 20th century. The writing is simple and the main character is a strong independent woman with lots of spunk. Having lived in Northern Arizona, I loved the imagery of this area. An easy read you could finish in a day and well worth it.
Hmm, let's see...trends for 2010 year:
A clear fixation with TC Boyle. He's great.
Novels and memoirs. This is nothing new for me. I love fiction and memoirs would always be my second choice as they are still engaging stories about people.
Books on tape during road trips. You should try it, you'll be amazed how quickly 24 hours can be filled up with great stories.
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