Reading Listtag:www.michellejones.net,2008-08-23:/books/212008-10-06T00:59:38ZA list and brief reviews of the books I read in the yearMovable Type Pro 4.2-enA Conspiracy of Paper (33)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.27752008-10-06T00:49:20Z2008-10-06T00:59:38ZTitle: A Conspiracy of Paper Author: David Liss Genre: FictionI don't read a lot of historical fiction so maybe I'm easily impressed by a novel that "reads" like the era its set in. The words and phrasing of this novel,...Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.comTitle:A Conspiracy of Paper Author: David Liss Genre: Fiction
I don't read a lot of historical fiction so maybe I'm easily impressed by a novel that "reads" like the era its set in. The words and phrasing of this novel, set in early 18th century London, really set a tone and feeling. Unfortunately though the overall topic was a bit over my head. Perhaps ironically that subject is a deep conspiracy that involves the earliest form of the British stock market, buying and selling stock, and all matters of deep financial dealings that in my cases left the rich richer and the poor poorer. Like I said the topic was a bit over my head (not unlike the current financial crisis our country is in the middle of) so I had a bit of a hard time losing myself in the mystery of it all. That's not to say that I disliked the book, just that I probably wouldn't choose to read it again. ]]>
Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (32)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.27302008-09-22T13:14:04Z2008-09-22T13:24:20ZTitle: Drinking Coffee Elsewhere Author: ZZ Packer Genre: FictionThis collection of short stories had been on my "to read" list for so long that perhaps there was no way for me to not be disappointed by it. I had to...Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.comTitle:Drinking Coffee Elsewhere Author: ZZ Packer Genre: Fiction
This collection of short stories had been on my "to read" list for so long that perhaps there was no way for me to not be disappointed by it. I had to force myself to push through and finish this book and when I did I walked away quite unsatisfied.
The more I thought about my disappointment though the more I realized it wasn't disappointment at all. It was instead discomfort. The book didn't offer any element of escapism at all. Even though I had next to nothing in common with the actual characters and actions in the stories the deep sadness and melancholy present in everyone of the stories rang a little too true and hit a couple tender spots a little too directly. The fact that Packer is originally from Louisville and threw in some Louisville and Kentucky details just added to those direct hits.
I wasn't disappointed in the book, just uncomfortable with the level of emotions and introspection it inspired in me. I cannot think of higher praise to give a book. ]]>
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (31)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.26902008-09-08T12:22:52Z2008-09-08T12:29:56ZTitle: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Author: Michael Chabon Genre: FictionI don't think I loved this book as much as everyone else in the world seems to but I did love it. I read it at night in...Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.comTitle:The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Author: Michael Chabon Genre: Fiction
I don't think I loved this book as much as everyone else in the world seems to but I did love it. I read it at night in the ICU with my uncle while everyone else slept and it definitely wasn't hard to stay awake to. Then I read it after I came home and was heart sick. Then I read it after evenings at the funeral home. It's a long book. Did you pick up on that?
Having read three Michael Chabon books this year I'm amazed by the differences and the similarities in the three works. Without gushing too much I'll just say that it's very easy to see what he is probably our most rightfully praised contemporary American author. ]]>
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (30)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.26642008-08-28T15:34:31Z2008-08-28T15:42:46Z Title: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Author: Junot Díaz Genre: FictionThree word review: Bad ass book. What? You need more. Sucker. Alright. This is maybe the book of my generation and if not my generation then it's...Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.com
Title: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Author: Junot Díaz Genre: Fiction
Three word review: Bad ass book.
What? You need more. Sucker. Alright. This is maybe the book of my generation and if not my generation then it's the book of My People. It mixes languages, genres, styles, influences, fact and fiction, history and future, science and supernatural. It's like us. It's fantastic. Also like us.
Note: I wrote the above text last week immediately before entering family crisis mode. I planned to write more about how much I loved Oscar Wao but that's going to have to suffice. Believe me when I tell you to buy and read this book now. Particularly if you are one of my people. ]]>
Tales of the City (29)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.26612008-08-23T16:15:21Z2008-08-23T16:21:52ZTitle: Tales of the City Author: Armistead Maupin Genre: FictionThis is a very fluffy fun book that's almost like an sociological study into the 70s. Granted, live in San Francisco in 1976 was probably very, very different than life in...Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.com
Title: Tales of the City Author: Armistead Maupin Genre: Fiction
This is a very fluffy fun book that's almost like an sociological study into the 70s. Granted, live in San Francisco in 1976 was probably very, very different than life in middle America in 1976 so it would a sociological survey either way. In any case some of the stuff from this era in American history has not survive because I found myself going "What the?" because I had no idea what the author was talking about. And these are cultural things like tv shows and artists and I consider myself up on American pop culture from all generations.
This is another book I read aloud to B. While I enjoyed it I didn't enjoy it that much. She did though so now we've purchased the next two in the series to read. We'll see if I enjoy those more. ]]>
UnChosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels (28)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.25682008-07-28T18:58:56Z2008-07-28T19:12:57ZTitle: Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels Author: Hella Winston Genre: Non-FictionBorn out of author Winston's sociology dissertation work this book deals with a handful of "rebels" who for one reason or another aren't totally comfortable living as adults...Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.com
Title: Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels Author: Hella Winston Genre: Non-Fiction
Born out of author Winston's sociology dissertation work this book deals with a handful of "rebels" who for one reason or another aren't totally comfortable living as adults in the Hasidic communities they grew up in. Some have chosen to leave Hasidism while others are trying to live sort of dual lives. All the stories were fascinating. The reasons people had for "rebelling"* were so individual and the results of their choices so individual that no real conclusions could be drawn about either Hasidism or about leaving religious communities in general. This is not to say the book isn't interesting or worth reading, in fact just the contrary. The book was full or real people, real pain and real joy and real questioning and reflection. I find all of those things incredible interesting and definitely worth paying attention and time to. That being said if you don't have an interest in Hasidism or tightly structured closed religious communities I'm not sure there is much for you in this book.
*Though I can't think of a better alternative rebel doesn't seem to be the right word for what the people in this book are doing. They're doing something deeper and more personal than rebelling against their larger society though rebelling is part of it.
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The Double Bind (27)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.25442008-07-18T15:59:59Z2008-07-18T16:05:12ZTitle: The Double Bind Author: Chris Bohjalian Genre: FictionI don't know which I dislike more: mostly enjoying a book and then finding the ending to be a cop-out or not really liking a book because the main character only makes...Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.com
Title: The Double Bind Author: Chris Bohjalian Genre: Fiction
I don't know which I dislike more: mostly enjoying a book and then finding the ending to be a cop-out or not really liking a book because the main character only makes sense when you view it through the lens of the cop-out ending and therefore having to be relieved that there was a cop-out ending.
In any case I'm glad to be finished with this book. That's not to say that you might not enjoy it but since one of the above described states is true I most certainly did not enjoy the overall act of reading it. ]]>
Choosing A Jewish Life (26)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.25222008-07-11T00:59:06Z2008-07-11T02:00:45ZTitle: Choosing a Jewish Life: A Handbook for People Converting to Judaism and For Their Families Author: Anita Diamant Genre: Non-FictionNot so much a practical "how to convert" book but more a sociological or anthropological look at converting in modern...Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.com
Title: Choosing a Jewish Life: A Handbook for People Converting to Judaism and For Their Families Author: Anita Diamant Genre: Non-Fiction
Not so much a practical "how to convert" book but more a sociological or anthropological look at converting in modern American. What to expect during the actual conversion process, what to expect from the synagogue, how to deal with the various responses to news of your conversion, conversion in historical perspective, etc. It also had a lot of good information about being both fully a Jew and fully connected with and committed to your family of origin. Good stuff.
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The Year of Magical Thinking (25)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.25012008-07-06T18:13:33Z2008-07-06T18:41:14ZI think perhaps that it's wrong to say I love a book that is so filled with a real person's real pain. To love, and therefore enjoy, such a book seems selfish and yet I cannot help but say that I deeply loved this book.Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.comTitle:The Year of Magical Thinking Author: Joan Didion Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction
I think perhaps that it's wrong to say I love a book that is so filled with a real person's real pain. To love, and therefore enjoy, such a book seems selfish and yet I cannot help but say that I deeply loved this book. Didion's prose is straightforward and direct, not flowery but not quite Hemingway stark either. The tone ranges from slightly detached and clinical to deeply emotional, though still restrained.
The book is completely and totally about the author and her responses to her husband's death and the serious illness of her adult child. It's all her and it is deeply honest, true and emotionally raw. I was tremendously moved.
I read a passage out loud to B where Didion is examining different kinds of bereavement. Pathological is the worst type, it's most difficult to deal with and recover from. It's also known as "complicated grief." Specifically I read to B where Didion learns from medical texts that this complicated grief frequently occurs when "the survivor and the deceased had been unusually dependent on one another."
Didion quotes a medical text: " Was the bereaved actually very dependent upon the deceased person for pleasure support or esteem? Did the bereaved feel helpless without the lost person when enforced separations occurred?"
Reflecting on this quote I said to B "we're fucked." She said "Yep. I happily acknowledged our co-dependence many years ago and we'll deal with the dramatic grief that will bring later on."
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American Nerd (24)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.25002008-07-06T02:36:29Z2008-07-06T03:28:58ZTitle: American Nerd: Story of My People Author: Benjamin Nugent Genre: Non-FictionAmerican Nerd is a combination social history and personal memoir and in my mind it failed, in a small way, at both roles. The book lacked cohesion and a...Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.comTitle:American Nerd: Story of My People Author: Benjamin Nugent Genre: Non-Fiction
American Nerd is a combination social history and personal memoir and in my mind it failed, in a small way, at both roles. The book lacked cohesion and a smooth narrative flow. It seemed disjointed. There were elements of Nugent's personal history and actual historical analysis and facts that were terribly fascinating (for example the deep antisemitism that preceded anti-nerd/anti-"sissy" bias in late 19th and 20th century American society) but I can't say I enjoyed reading it terribly much.
What I did enjoy very much were the interesting historical notes (though there were many boring or questionable facts in the book), when Nugent examined his own personal history as a nerd and the exploration of the relationship between nerd-ism and Asperger's syndrome. However in that section on Asperger's Nugent threw out a statistic that said 80% of down syndrome fetuses are aborted. That statistic wasn't attributed, no footnote accompanied it. I find this perplexing and I kept thinking about it for the remainder of the book. 80% is such a high number that I was shocked that he'd throw it out without any documentation to back it up. Perhaps it's a sign of my own state of nerdiness that I couldn't concentrate on the rest of the book and as soon as I finished the book I tried to nail down whether or not that statistic is true.
As far as I can find there is no real evidence indicating that 80% of down syndrome fetuses are aborted. I found articles online saying 60%, 70% and even 90% are but no firm evidence to support any particular number. This brief research on my part makes me like the book even less than I already did. Since the author gave this easily disputed statistic as fact it makes me question what other historical and quasi-scientific data in the book isn't quite accurate. ]]>
The Tipping Point (23)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.24622008-06-24T00:20:29Z2008-06-24T00:33:44ZTitle: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Author: Malcolm Gladwell Genre: Non-FictionWill any of the information from the book ever be useful to me in either my business or personal life? I'm uncertain. That's ok...Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.com
Title: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Author: Malcolm Gladwell Genre: Non-Fiction
Will any of the information from the book ever be useful to me in either my business or personal life? I'm uncertain. That's ok though because the information in this book is totally interesting and that alone makes it worth knowing.
Really fascinating stuff including a lot of info and history on the children's televisions programs Sesame Street and Blue's Clues. Most interesting perhaps though was the stuff about the Broken Windows Theory as applied to NY subways and crime in NY in general.
The book can be a little dry in parts but it's very well worth it if you can stick with it for the whole thing.
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Wonder Boys (22)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.24492008-06-21T15:20:20Z2008-06-21T15:25:52ZTitle: Wonder Boys Author: Michael Chabon Genre: FictionI love the film based on this book. Love it. I love it so much I false remembered that I'd read this book shortly after seeing the film and love the book too....Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.com
Title: Wonder Boys Author: Michael Chabon Genre: Fiction
I love the film based on this book. Love it. I love it so much I false remembered that I'd read this book shortly after seeing the film and love the book too. Having just read the book I can say definitively that I have not read it before. The things that were different or just absent in the film were not even vaguely familiar to me. It was a completely fresh read.
I liked it ok. Very, very rarely do I like a movie better than I like the book it's based on but this is one of those cases. I still think I want to read all of Chabon's work since I loved The Yiddish Policeman's Union so very much. I know for a fact that I did read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay when it first came out and didn't love it but I'm going to give it another go and hopefully have a better experience with it this time round. ]]>
The Last Lecture (21)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.23252008-05-22T00:55:52Z2008-05-22T01:13:13ZThough I'm not normally one to buy tearjerker "how to live your life" books by self-help gurus this guy is something different. He's an earnest nerd. I like earnest nerds and I in fact am an earnest nerd. I found his last lecture more than a little entertaining and inspirational so I bought the book. I found it too to be more than a little entertaining and inspirational.Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.com
Title: The Last Lecture Author: Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction
Like just about everyone else on the internet I watched the video of Randy Pausch's last lecture at Carnegie Mellon. It was funny and sad and all the other things you expect a lecture given by a really, really smart man who is dying would be. Though I'm not normally one to buy tearjerker "how to live your life" books by self-help gurus this guy is something different. He's an earnest nerd. I like earnest nerds and I in fact am an earnest nerd. I found his last lecture more than a little entertaining and inspirational so I bought the book. I found it too to be more than a little entertaining and inspirational.
He tells a good story and he lives his life well and it seems like he did so well before his terminal diagnosis. I picked up a few things from his lecture and book that I'd like to carry with me to help me live my life a little bit better. ]]>
The Yiddish Policemen's Union (20)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.23102008-05-15T20:15:33Z2008-05-22T00:55:13ZI can't recall the last book I enjoyed as much as I enjoyed The Yiddish Policemen's Union. I've always like Chabon's work so it's not really surprising that I love this book. But this book is a hard boiled detective story, think Raymond Chandler. Those kind of detective stories are not usually my bag at all but this one so was. I couldn't wait to get back to the book every single time I had to put it down. I've been sick the past couple days and this book was my comfort. When my brain was too fuzzy to do actual work I'd hunker down with this book and a box of Kleenex and start to feel a little better.Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.com
Title: The Yiddish Policemen's Union Author: Michael Chabon Genre: Fiction
I can't recall the last book I enjoyed as much as I enjoyed The Yiddish Policemen's Union. I've always like Chabon's work so it's not really surprising that I love this book. But this book is a hard boiled detective story, think Raymond Chandler. Those kind of detective stories are not usually my bag at all but this one so was. I couldn't wait to get back to the book every single time I had to put it down. I've been sick the past couple days and this book was my comfort. When my brain was too fuzzy to do actual work I'd hunker down with this book and a box of Kleenex and start to feel a little better. Seriously, I just loved this book.
Loving this book so much has inspired me to re-read all of Chabon's novels. I read The Final Solution when it came out but his other YA novel didn't appeal to me nor did the serialized novel from last year but maybe I should give them a shot. I'm thinking I'll go in chronological order and start with The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. ]]>
Persepolis (19)tag:www.michellejones.net,2008:/books//21.22892008-05-05T20:27:21Z2008-05-05T20:35:25ZIt was a very enjoyable, quick read. It's the story of a childhood during the Iranian revolutions of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The events in Iran at the time are something I know woefully little about so it was good to pick up a little bit of historical detail and context as well as experiencing this one girl's childhood and her story.Michellehttp://www.consuminglouisville.com
Title: Persepolis Author: Marjane Satrapi Genre:Memoir, Graphic Novel
I'd been meaning to read this ever since it was first released years ago but I just never did. Then B picked it up at the bookstore a few weeks ago and she breezed right through it, cooing over it the whole time.
It was a very enjoyable, quick read. It's the story of a childhood during the Iranian revolutions of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The events in Iran at the time are something I know woefully little about so it was good to pick up a little bit of historical detail and context as well as experiencing this one girl's childhood and her story. ]]>
Title: A Conspiracy of Paper
Title: Drinking Coffee Elsewhere
