Reading Roundup: August
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Besides the obvious comparisons to the Bronte sisters and Daphne du Marier, I also kept mentally comparing this book to One Hundred Years of Solitude and Possession. Since I love both those books it was only natural that I would like this one a lot as well. It was an enjoyable, quick read and the story was compelling. The writing style wasn't particularly original and the ambiguous setting (especially the decade in which it was supposed to take place was confusing) bothered me, but it was a good fun read. If you like literary mysteries you'll really like this.
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Another story of family secrets, but less gothic and less literary-focused than The Thirteenth Tale. The story was very interesting and I thought the plot was well-put together. There were parts of this book that seemed a little too maudlin and overwrought and I had a hard time really believing some of the characters at times. In general, though, I enjoyed it and I would recommend it as well.
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
Despite the fact that this was a book on economics, it was highly entertaining and surprisingly easy to read. It provided a different perspective on a lot of issues and really got me thinking. Plus it was full of all kinds of unexpected trivia, so naturally I loved it even more for that.
Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott
This book is a good cure for the inevitable baby hunger that shows up after your little one turns into a toddler. She writes candidly about the difficulty of parenting a newborn and the sense of complete helplessness parents feel with their children. This is a great book, although I kept feeling myself somewhat bothered by the amount of profanity she uses. Maybe because she was writing about a baby? I don't know. It was still funny.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
I've been wanting to read this book for a while, but finally got around to it after seeing a preview for a movie version that is coming it. I really don't know how well it work as a movie, but as a biography and critique of idealism it works quite well. I enjoyed it and thought it was well-written and thought-provoking.
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
I think Anderson is one of my favorite YA authors. Her books always feel very real and are powerfully written. This was no exception, although I didn't enjoy it as much as Speak. It was still a good read and interesting story.
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
This book gave me a headache. I started to enjoy it by the end, but it really stretches the unreliable narrator convention in a way that makes the main character very unsympathetic. The writing was interesting, but not my favorite by Ishiguro.
The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
I enjoyed this book and found that it proved the point that good writing can make just about any subject interesting. The people profiled in it were quirky and I had no idea that so many people were so involved in orchid growing. Now I do.
The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
Although I liked the fact that the twist in this novel wasn't exactly what I had thought it was, I still felt like the story was incomplete. I started to get a little bored partway through the book. I probably wouldn't feel like reading it again, but it wasn't terrible.
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
We listened to this as an audio book on the way to Utah, and Mr. Fob and I both agree that we now have no desire to read the rest of the series. We thought it was really boring. Maybe someone who has loved these books could fill us in as to what the appeal of them is. I think the audio book was problematic because it was one of those "full cast" recordings and some of the voices were terrible. Plus they kept putting in weird sound effects. I thought the story wasn't very exciting and the tone was uneven--I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be funny or not.
I Need Your Love--Is that True? by Byron Katie
We also listened to this one in the car. I thought it was good and I loved her central premise of self-examination, but I thought the examples went on and on for a little too long. If I had been reading the book I probably would have skimmed some parts of it.
Shopgirl by Steve Martin
So when I grabbed this audiobook at the library I didn't think about the fact that it might be sexually explicit. And there were a few parts that were--a little uncomfortable in the car with small children. At least they aren't quite old enough to notice, yet. It also wasn't as funny as I had hoped, but by the end I really liked the story and the characters.
This is What I Did by Ann Dee Ellis
On the one hand this was a quick, easy read because it is a YA book and written in a post-modern, minimalist style. On the other hand, the story was painful and the style made it difficult to understand exactly what was happening. Overall I was impressed by the book and think Ellis is a good addition to the growing group of Mormons writing quality YA fiction.
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
This was another quick read, since it's a YA graphic novel. I also didn't get into the story until about halfway through the book. Then I really started to like it. This book definitely deserves the honors it's been getting and is a great introduction to graphic novels if you haven't read one yet.
Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
I would like to buy a copy of this book so I can go back and look it over again. I really enjoyed it and I liked a lot of their concepts. I want to try them out as my kids get bigger; like a lot of parenting books, this focuses on helping children express negative feelings in appropriate ways and consciously helping your children resolve their conflicts. I'm trying to figure out how to do that, but change is hard.
Schooled by Gordon Korman
I've decided that I really like Gordon Korman--his books that I've read have all been fun, easy reads that still manage to feel substantial in a way. This one was really funny. It's about a kid who was raised on a commune until 13 and suddenly ends up in public school while his grandmother recovers from an accident. It was refreshing to read after several books on bullying this month, because it has the utopian "everyone is friends" sort of ending.
Movies
Yi Yi
This is one of those stereotypical "foreign films" that is three hours long and doesn't have an action-packed plot. I still loved it anyways. The characters were all engaging and the cinematography was gorgeous.
All About Eve
Another on my list of classics to see, plus it's heavily referenced in Todo sobre mi madre. I enjoyed it; the acting is probably the strongest point in this movie, but the plot and everything else were well-done too.
Dreamgirls
I know I was watching this while feeling PMS-y and emotional, but I loved it. The music is awesome, the actors are great, and Jennifer Hudson is phenomenal. I teared up several times while watching it. The movie has some flaws, but it still got to me.
Besides the obvious comparisons to the Bronte sisters and Daphne du Marier, I also kept mentally comparing this book to One Hundred Years of Solitude and Possession. Since I love both those books it was only natural that I would like this one a lot as well. It was an enjoyable, quick read and the story was compelling. The writing style wasn't particularly original and the ambiguous setting (especially the decade in which it was supposed to take place was confusing) bothered me, but it was a good fun read. If you like literary mysteries you'll really like this.
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Another story of family secrets, but less gothic and less literary-focused than The Thirteenth Tale. The story was very interesting and I thought the plot was well-put together. There were parts of this book that seemed a little too maudlin and overwrought and I had a hard time really believing some of the characters at times. In general, though, I enjoyed it and I would recommend it as well.
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
Despite the fact that this was a book on economics, it was highly entertaining and surprisingly easy to read. It provided a different perspective on a lot of issues and really got me thinking. Plus it was full of all kinds of unexpected trivia, so naturally I loved it even more for that.
Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott
This book is a good cure for the inevitable baby hunger that shows up after your little one turns into a toddler. She writes candidly about the difficulty of parenting a newborn and the sense of complete helplessness parents feel with their children. This is a great book, although I kept feeling myself somewhat bothered by the amount of profanity she uses. Maybe because she was writing about a baby? I don't know. It was still funny.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
I've been wanting to read this book for a while, but finally got around to it after seeing a preview for a movie version that is coming it. I really don't know how well it work as a movie, but as a biography and critique of idealism it works quite well. I enjoyed it and thought it was well-written and thought-provoking.
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
I think Anderson is one of my favorite YA authors. Her books always feel very real and are powerfully written. This was no exception, although I didn't enjoy it as much as Speak. It was still a good read and interesting story.
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
This book gave me a headache. I started to enjoy it by the end, but it really stretches the unreliable narrator convention in a way that makes the main character very unsympathetic. The writing was interesting, but not my favorite by Ishiguro.
The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
I enjoyed this book and found that it proved the point that good writing can make just about any subject interesting. The people profiled in it were quirky and I had no idea that so many people were so involved in orchid growing. Now I do.
The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
Although I liked the fact that the twist in this novel wasn't exactly what I had thought it was, I still felt like the story was incomplete. I started to get a little bored partway through the book. I probably wouldn't feel like reading it again, but it wasn't terrible.
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
We listened to this as an audio book on the way to Utah, and Mr. Fob and I both agree that we now have no desire to read the rest of the series. We thought it was really boring. Maybe someone who has loved these books could fill us in as to what the appeal of them is. I think the audio book was problematic because it was one of those "full cast" recordings and some of the voices were terrible. Plus they kept putting in weird sound effects. I thought the story wasn't very exciting and the tone was uneven--I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be funny or not.
I Need Your Love--Is that True? by Byron Katie
We also listened to this one in the car. I thought it was good and I loved her central premise of self-examination, but I thought the examples went on and on for a little too long. If I had been reading the book I probably would have skimmed some parts of it.
Shopgirl by Steve Martin
So when I grabbed this audiobook at the library I didn't think about the fact that it might be sexually explicit. And there were a few parts that were--a little uncomfortable in the car with small children. At least they aren't quite old enough to notice, yet. It also wasn't as funny as I had hoped, but by the end I really liked the story and the characters.
This is What I Did by Ann Dee Ellis
On the one hand this was a quick, easy read because it is a YA book and written in a post-modern, minimalist style. On the other hand, the story was painful and the style made it difficult to understand exactly what was happening. Overall I was impressed by the book and think Ellis is a good addition to the growing group of Mormons writing quality YA fiction.
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
This was another quick read, since it's a YA graphic novel. I also didn't get into the story until about halfway through the book. Then I really started to like it. This book definitely deserves the honors it's been getting and is a great introduction to graphic novels if you haven't read one yet.
Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
I would like to buy a copy of this book so I can go back and look it over again. I really enjoyed it and I liked a lot of their concepts. I want to try them out as my kids get bigger; like a lot of parenting books, this focuses on helping children express negative feelings in appropriate ways and consciously helping your children resolve their conflicts. I'm trying to figure out how to do that, but change is hard.
Schooled by Gordon Korman
I've decided that I really like Gordon Korman--his books that I've read have all been fun, easy reads that still manage to feel substantial in a way. This one was really funny. It's about a kid who was raised on a commune until 13 and suddenly ends up in public school while his grandmother recovers from an accident. It was refreshing to read after several books on bullying this month, because it has the utopian "everyone is friends" sort of ending.
Movies
Yi Yi
This is one of those stereotypical "foreign films" that is three hours long and doesn't have an action-packed plot. I still loved it anyways. The characters were all engaging and the cinematography was gorgeous.
All About Eve
Another on my list of classics to see, plus it's heavily referenced in Todo sobre mi madre. I enjoyed it; the acting is probably the strongest point in this movie, but the plot and everything else were well-done too.
Dreamgirls
I know I was watching this while feeling PMS-y and emotional, but I loved it. The music is awesome, the actors are great, and Jennifer Hudson is phenomenal. I teared up several times while watching it. The movie has some flaws, but it still got to me.
Comments
I'm so tickled you read The Orchid Thief. I read the original Orlean article in the New Yorker and was thrilled when she expanded it to a book.
When I found out that they were turning it into a movie, I balked. How could they possibly turn The Orchid Thief into a movie? Well, they turned it into a movie about how you can't make a movie about The Orchid Thief. Adaptation was such a bizarre retelling of The Orchid thief, but fun nonetheless.