Reading Roundup: July 2020
Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker
I will admit that there were times I found myself judging the women depicted in this book because of their life choices. However, that is exactly why Kolker wrote the book, because crime victims get judged just as much as, and perhaps in some ways even more than, criminals. This book is a good counterpoint to many other crime narratives, both fiction and nonfiction, that want to create neat, linear narratives with obvious 'good' and 'bad' participants. Real life is messy, complicated, and doesn't always offer us the neat solutions we would like. Another major lesson from the book, which resonates with several other books I read earlier this year, is that violent crime affects much more than just the victim, and for much longer than anyone anticipates.
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
This book was a bit slow to get started, especially since it includes a number of different characters and storylines. Also, in the beginning, the protagonist is difficult to sympathize with (she's written this way on purpose). However, after a while I got into it and had a hard time putting it down. I think I still prefer Novik's first book, Uprooted, but this was a great read.
The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias by Dolly Chugh
I've recommended this book to several people in the last month since I finished reading it. I like that the author uses specific examples, including from her own life, and that her language is accessible and easy to read. She also backs up everything with research and notes for easy follow-up. As the author points out, this is a book for those people who want to be 'good' people, but have a hard time putting their knowledge and intentions into practice. I wrote down a bunch of notes after reading it, so hopefully I won't come away from this completely unchanged.
El silencio de la ciudad blanca by Eva Garcia Saenz
It's been a long time since I last read a book in Spanish, especially not one that was required for a class. I actually first heard about this through a review of the English translation of this book. I like mysteries and I like Spain, so this was a perfect fit for me. Although the resolution of the story was a bit far-fetched, the rest of the writing (pacing, characterization, dialogue) was great and I really enjoyed this.
The Mountains Wild by Sarah Stewart Taylor
I sat down and read this book in a few hours one quiet afternoon, which felt nice because it took me over a week to read the previous book (yes I can still read in Spanish, but I'm slow). This book does a good job balancing two timelines, and the author's descriptions of Ireland were beautifully detailed. I felt that the conclusion was a big rushed, but generally I thought this was a well-written mystery and I would read another by Taylor.
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr
While I don't agree with all of Rohr's ideas, there were some good insights in this book that I wrote down to save for later. This is a fairly short book, but I read it sporadically over several weeks so that I would have time to think about it. I particularly resonated with his insights about moving from an outward-focused, task-based life to one shaped by values and mission. That goes along with some other books I've read recently and fits with things I've been pondering changing about my life.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
This book came up in a library-related forum because someone describing it pre-publication had designated it as a 'mystery'. Now many libraries, mine included, are using that categorization. This book is definitely not a mystery--it's definitely literary fiction about family, identity, performance, and secrets. I thought it was excellent; I'm still thinking about it a month later, which is always the mark of a well-written book.
An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo
This book combines poetry, history, and family memories to simultaneously talk about Native American experience in general as well as Harjo's particular experiences. Like many poetry collections, it's relatively short in length and word-count, but all of those words are carefully chosen and powerful.
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
This book started out like typical chick-lit, and then switched into something darker halfway through. Although I wasn't expecting the switch, the protagonist remained consistently believable in her actions and I was rooting for her until the end. I'm not sure if I'll read any more books by Weiner, but this was a good one.
The Lies that Bind by Emily Giffin
First of all, this book is set in 2001, and I felt like the author was sometimes trying too hard to evoke nostalgia for that time with her very specific descriptions of things like clothes and electronics. Second, the plot for this book had a lot of crazy twists and turns, and not necessary in a good way. I was not always convinced that the choices the protagonist made were consistent with her character as described by the author. It wasn't the worst book I've read this year, but not really my favorite either.
Autoboyography by Christina Lauren
S-Boogie and I read this book and had some good chats about it. We both agree that it actually does a good job with many aspects of teen life in Utah (Although the real Provo High isn't the best analogue for the school in the book, given the actual diversity of Provo. Also, no super-Mormon family in Utah would name their kid Sebastian--he should have been something like McKay or Ethan.) Obviously it's easy to have opinions about a book written about an area I'm familiar with. Those things aside, this was a fun book and I enjoyed reading it.
Movies
I decided to catch up on some classic films I have never seen, and decided to start with this one since I had a free Saturday afternoon. On the one hand, I can see why this movie is still so acclaimed after all this time. The framing of shots, the acting, the editing, the music--they are all wonderful. However, the pacing drags in a few spots and the story and themes feel a bit too dated now. It was impressive, but not something I really want to watch again.
I was worried I would hate this movie as much as I hated Life is Beautiful, but surprisingly I found myself liking it. However, I'm still not entirely sure the world is ready for this kind of whimsical satire about Nazis. Perhaps it makes us feel better when we can reduce them to buffoons, but I'm not entirely sure that means we should. That being said, this is actually a very sweet story about a boy growing up and learning to trust his own judgement. Besides his ridiculous sense of humor, one strength I've noticed Taika Waititi has is an ability to elicit amazing performances from the actors he works with.
I've heard about this movie for years and put it down on my list of movies to watch. The acting was the strongest part of the movie, in my opinion. As an American watching this movie thirty years after it came out, I was occasionally lost in some of the references to events and people that were probably more obvious to the original audience. It was still a good movie, with amazing performances from Daniel Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite.
Does this count as a movie? For my purposes, I'll count it. It was interesting to watch this filmed version of the play, since I've listened to the cast recording so many times I've memorized it. I also saw the play in-person on tour, but my seat was at the very back of the auditorium. There are advantages to all these approaches. As I listen to the recording, I can focus on the artistry of the lyrics and the vocal abilities of the performers. When I saw the show live, I was particularly impressed by the use of props, the lighting, and the dancing. In some ways, the streaming version is a bit of the best of both worlds. However, I did sometimes wish the camera would have pulled back a bit more in order for us to see the entire stage and how all the elements work together on it. It's still not quite the same as the experience of seeing a show in-person, but I'd love to see more Broadway recordings like this become available.
For some reason, after the first week of the month, I ended up in a bit of a funk for a few weeks and didn't watch any more movies. I've spent too much time binge-watching crappy television instead. Hopefully in August I can get my movie watching groove back. I did rewatch a bunch of different movies with the kids, but I've already talked about them on here, so I decided not to list them all. We're still enjoying our Disney+ subscription and using it extensively as a family.
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