Reading Roundup: January 2020
The Guardians by John Grisham
It's been years since I last read a novel by Grisham, but I read a number of positive reviews of this new title and thought it might be worth my time to give it a try. Like many of the author's other novels, this focuses on a contemporary social issue (wrongful convictions), which made it feel a little too didactic in spots. It also wasn't as suspenseful as I had thought it would be--I kept waiting for the conflict to increase or for something awful to happen, and yet it did not. I think it might be better to skip this and just read Just Mercy instead.
Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America by James Poniezowik
I rarely read books about politics, but I had read an interview with the author of this book last year and found his ideas to be intriguing. When I ran across the book again at work, I decided to check it out and give it a read. First of all, it reminded me that I have actually watched very little television during the last four decades and don't know much about the shows the author references. However, that didn't seem to matter since he does a great job of describing their content and impact on pop culture. This book interweaves a history of the evolution of television during the last few decades with the simultaneous evolution of Trump as a media figure in response to differing eras of pop culture. I thought it was fascinating and successful in balancing both these goals.
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
I was in the mood for a long immersive historical novel, and this book certainly delivered. I knew I would like it since I already love Spain, but I think that if you don't know much about the country you will still enjoy reading this. The book is a bit long and stuffs in a number of different side stories that could have been streamlined a bit. However, I fell completely in love with the protagonist, Daniel, and wanted to keep reading even after reaching the end of the book.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
I read this book while I was home trying to rest and recover from a particularly bad cold that morphed into pinkeye and an ear infection (not a great way to start the year). It was the perfect book for a time when I just wanted something fun, funny, and easy to read. Sure it's completely unrealistic--I can't decide whether the biggest fantasy is the election of a progressive female president or the hot love affair between her son and one of the princes of England, both of whom are surprisingly decent and mature young people. I don't care--it was totally ridiculous and totally fun to read. The only problem I had was that the explicitness of the language and the sex scenes was definitely right up against the edge of my comfort zone, so be aware of that if you decide to read this book.
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
This book was meant to be suspenseful, but instead I found that it dragged quite a bit. Although it starts out with the protagonist in jail, introducing the conflict right from the start, the rest of the story took a while to come together. The protagonist is also difficult to follow because her actions are not always consistent--I believe this is meant to build suspense, but makes it hard to root for her because it's not always clear what she wants.
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
This book's biggest weakness was also the construction of the protagonist--she is so determined to not let anyone in that it's hard as a reader to sympathize with her. Also, although she solves central mystery in the book, she doesn't change much along the way. The story and setting, however, are well-written enough to make up for those weaknesses.
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch
This is my new favorite book to urge people to read, whether you are a language nerd like I am or not. McCulloch probes a number of the same questions I have had after observing how people communicate on the internet. She also is able to clearly explain difficult, technical concepts in a way that makes sense and is a lot of fun to read.
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
I've had this book on my list for years and finally decided to read it. I loved Obreht's use of language; it's been a while since I've enjoyed the language of a book so much. The imagery was beautiful, and the book had powerful themes that are subtly rendered.
Homespun and Angel Feathers by Darlene Young
It's probably cheating a bit to count this as my poetry book for January, since I read most of it last fall and just finished it this month. I've known Darlene for a long time and I had already read (and loved) some of the poems included in this book. One of the things I love most about her poetry is the juxtaposition between our ordinary, earthly experiences and the spiritual world that surrounds and fill us. Also, she's a master of word choice and creating wry turns of phrase.
Movies
Chernobyl
Until watching this, I had little real understanding of what actually happened at Chernobyl, although I've been vaguely aware of the disaster ever since it happened. The biggest challenge in this show, and what it succeeds at so well, is bringing a large-scale event down to a level that is understandable and relatable. The longer format of a miniseries works well for this story, and by the end of the third episode, I couldn't stop watching. Yes, this is long (and a bit gruesome in parts), but a powerful meditation on the dangers of willfully ignoring reality and truth in favor of power.
Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse
I haven't watched this movie since seeing it in the theater--thankfully it was just as good the second time around. I'm still amazed at how deep the emotions in this movie are, even when I know how the ending would turn out.
Captain America: The First Avenger
LD convinced me to watch this movie with him when he was home sick from school. I enjoyed it quite a lot--sure it was a bit over the top, but still a lot of fun.
It's been years since I last read a novel by Grisham, but I read a number of positive reviews of this new title and thought it might be worth my time to give it a try. Like many of the author's other novels, this focuses on a contemporary social issue (wrongful convictions), which made it feel a little too didactic in spots. It also wasn't as suspenseful as I had thought it would be--I kept waiting for the conflict to increase or for something awful to happen, and yet it did not. I think it might be better to skip this and just read Just Mercy instead.
Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America by James Poniezowik
I rarely read books about politics, but I had read an interview with the author of this book last year and found his ideas to be intriguing. When I ran across the book again at work, I decided to check it out and give it a read. First of all, it reminded me that I have actually watched very little television during the last four decades and don't know much about the shows the author references. However, that didn't seem to matter since he does a great job of describing their content and impact on pop culture. This book interweaves a history of the evolution of television during the last few decades with the simultaneous evolution of Trump as a media figure in response to differing eras of pop culture. I thought it was fascinating and successful in balancing both these goals.
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
I was in the mood for a long immersive historical novel, and this book certainly delivered. I knew I would like it since I already love Spain, but I think that if you don't know much about the country you will still enjoy reading this. The book is a bit long and stuffs in a number of different side stories that could have been streamlined a bit. However, I fell completely in love with the protagonist, Daniel, and wanted to keep reading even after reaching the end of the book.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
I read this book while I was home trying to rest and recover from a particularly bad cold that morphed into pinkeye and an ear infection (not a great way to start the year). It was the perfect book for a time when I just wanted something fun, funny, and easy to read. Sure it's completely unrealistic--I can't decide whether the biggest fantasy is the election of a progressive female president or the hot love affair between her son and one of the princes of England, both of whom are surprisingly decent and mature young people. I don't care--it was totally ridiculous and totally fun to read. The only problem I had was that the explicitness of the language and the sex scenes was definitely right up against the edge of my comfort zone, so be aware of that if you decide to read this book.
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
This book was meant to be suspenseful, but instead I found that it dragged quite a bit. Although it starts out with the protagonist in jail, introducing the conflict right from the start, the rest of the story took a while to come together. The protagonist is also difficult to follow because her actions are not always consistent--I believe this is meant to build suspense, but makes it hard to root for her because it's not always clear what she wants.
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
This book's biggest weakness was also the construction of the protagonist--she is so determined to not let anyone in that it's hard as a reader to sympathize with her. Also, although she solves central mystery in the book, she doesn't change much along the way. The story and setting, however, are well-written enough to make up for those weaknesses.
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch
This is my new favorite book to urge people to read, whether you are a language nerd like I am or not. McCulloch probes a number of the same questions I have had after observing how people communicate on the internet. She also is able to clearly explain difficult, technical concepts in a way that makes sense and is a lot of fun to read.
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
I've had this book on my list for years and finally decided to read it. I loved Obreht's use of language; it's been a while since I've enjoyed the language of a book so much. The imagery was beautiful, and the book had powerful themes that are subtly rendered.
Homespun and Angel Feathers by Darlene Young
It's probably cheating a bit to count this as my poetry book for January, since I read most of it last fall and just finished it this month. I've known Darlene for a long time and I had already read (and loved) some of the poems included in this book. One of the things I love most about her poetry is the juxtaposition between our ordinary, earthly experiences and the spiritual world that surrounds and fill us. Also, she's a master of word choice and creating wry turns of phrase.
Movies
Chernobyl
Until watching this, I had little real understanding of what actually happened at Chernobyl, although I've been vaguely aware of the disaster ever since it happened. The biggest challenge in this show, and what it succeeds at so well, is bringing a large-scale event down to a level that is understandable and relatable. The longer format of a miniseries works well for this story, and by the end of the third episode, I couldn't stop watching. Yes, this is long (and a bit gruesome in parts), but a powerful meditation on the dangers of willfully ignoring reality and truth in favor of power.
Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse
I haven't watched this movie since seeing it in the theater--thankfully it was just as good the second time around. I'm still amazed at how deep the emotions in this movie are, even when I know how the ending would turn out.
Captain America: The First Avenger
LD convinced me to watch this movie with him when he was home sick from school. I enjoyed it quite a lot--sure it was a bit over the top, but still a lot of fun.
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