I decided I would be more consistent about posting in 2012, and five days in, I’m feeling failure approach. I’ve been meaning to write reviews for three books, edit the reviews I did manage to write at the end of last year, and actually post something. I’ve not done any of the above which is why I’m posting this video instead of a review. Besides, it’s only the first week of the year and really it would be better to get started next week. Yeah, that’s it.
Enjoy.
No, really, I mean it; it’s my last one. I’ve joined four and there will be no more.
But, if I’m being honest, I was planning to read more Stephen King this year after falling for 11/22/63 in December so it’s not as if this is going to be a problem.
The Stephen King Project 2012
Runs January – December 2012 and you can read the rules here and you can sign up here. I’m in for three books – A Lil Bit of King level.
What I’ll be reading for this challenge.
Salem’s Lot (This is part of a personal re-read challenge of my own.)
The Colorado Kid
Under the Dome
Funny, I seem to be challenge crazy this year. Wonder why that is…
Happy New Year!
It’s nice to be back. I took a slightly longer vacation than anticipated since we decided to stay a few extra days with family this past week. It’s all good though because it left me with time to think about this little space and what I want to accomplish in the coming year. I’m not one for resolutions, especially in regard to my reading. I’ve tried but never quite accomplish what I set out to do. Last year, I planned to read at least one non-fiction book a month, and was good for the first few months of 2011, then took a free fall and let it go. I did read a number of non-fiction books but not the amount I anticipated. I pictured lists upon lists of non-fiction, I got to seven. I don’t feel bad about it though. I knew it would happen; it’s my resolution pattern.
On another note, I did complete all the challenges I participated in last year. In some ways, these challenges are my reading resolutions in that I’m picky about what I sign up for — I want something that fits with my reading style but leaves me room to try new things without feeling constricted in anyway — I try to keep it to three or four and no more. I also like to find things that will help me to read more of what I want (for example: classics) without feeling like I’m forcing myself to do it as part of some doomed resolution. So maybe I do have resolutions, but the passive aggressive type. Whatever works I guess.
Looking back on my list (I did a best of list early in December), I read a lot of good books, had very few DNFs (a scant three books went unfinished), and topped out at 99. Not my best record, and it would have been nice to see 100, but I’m happy with almost everything I read so no complaints. I ended the year on a very good note with MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche. It was funny, cute, and made me think about the relationships I have with friends. If you’re looking for a good read, pick this one up. I hope to have a review done soon, and I warn you now, it will be a gusher.
As for the blog itself, I keep thinking and re-thinking my ratings system and how it’s working or not working for me. Most books fit into the 5 star system and I’ve allowed myself to make use of the .25, .5, and .75 stars (what they are exactly I don’t know and I don’t know how you even go about divided up a star but anyway) and while it’s useful, I’m thinking of ditching it for a I liked this book/I didn’t like this book type thing. When and if I figure it out, I’ll let you know.
I’m also going to be taking a class starting in January and will probably see my reading drop a bit at least until the class is finished. January is usually my most productive reading month due to cold weather (or what passes for cold weather in DC) but this year I’m changing things up. So, if there are a few slow days around here, please forgive. I’ll be doing some writing instead.
I’ve got long list of books to read this year so I’m off to get started.
Happy Sunday, Happy New Year, and happy reading. 🙂
I want to take a moment to wish everyone a very joyous holiday season. I’m heading off to spend some much needed time with family and friends and will be taking a few days off to celebrate, relax with a book (or two), a glass of wine, and several dozen cookies.
Enjoy the season. 🙂
11/22/63
By Stephen King
Scribner
eISBN: 9781451627282
4.75 stars
Yes, Stephen King, the man who writes the scariest characters on earth, wrote a time travel book.
Jake Epping, a recently divorced teacher, lives a quiet life in a small Maine town. His divorce has left him despondent about life in general but he trudges on day after day. One of those days, he’s approached by a friend, Al Templeton, a local restaurant owner who says he has something to show him. Jake meets Al at his restaurant and is surprised to see his friend in the last stages of cancer and struggles to understand when all this happened. Unfortunately, he ends up with more questions than answers when Al shows him the time portal in the back closet of his restaurant. Jake is skeptical but goes through. Al then ropes him into his scheme — he wants Jake to go back in time to kill Lee Harvey Oswald and save John F. Kennedy.
Oh, the tale Mr. King weaves. This book feels part science fiction, part alternate reality, part fantasy. But what it really is is all wonderful. There was a time when King was a comfort read for me. That might sound strange considering he’s known more for horror but I read Carrie, Christine, Salem’s Lot, The Running Man, and The Long Walk over and over again. Each time amazed by the tension, the twists and turns, and I loved being scared by him. Eventually, I moved away from his books, not for lack of books (the man is more than prolific) but because there were other books that caught my attention. Admittedly, I probably burned myself out. A few years ago, I asked a colleague’s husband if I could borrow one of his King books. It was Duma Key and I was once again left wondering why I didn’t read more King.
When 11/22/63 came out everyone fell hard for it. I decided to wait. I wanted to read it but I tend to shy away from bestsellers and give myself space from all the wonderful reviews. And there were many wonderful reviews of this one. Then Twitter happened. Natalie over at Coffee and a Book Chick was talking about how she loved it. I asked if it was really worth it (the answer was a resounding YES) and then decided that since I needed a book for my Thanksgiving travels, I would buy it. What can I say — it was fabulous.
There’s nothing particularly scary about this book, so if you’re judging on that level, walk away. In some respects, that made it feel like I wasn’t reading a King book but I was OK with that outcome because the characters are amazing. I cared so much about what would happen to them and I came very close to tears at the end. I didn’t want it to end.
It was a rush of a story too. While it’s slow in the middle and you start wondering what if anything Jake is going to do about Oswald, you’re too caught up in his alternate life to care. It’s the life he was looking for and you’re so glad to see him finally find it that you start hoping that he won’t go through with it so he can continue with what he found.
This was a book I fell for hard. It also made me thankful that King is an author with many tomes to his name. While I can’t recreate this reading, I can revel in his other books.
Believe the hype on this one. It is that good.
The Magician King
By Lev Grossman
Viking
ISBN: 9780670022311
3 stars
I’m torn over this review and fully admit to putting off writing it because I don’t know what I want to say about it. Did I like it? Sort of. Would I read it again? Probably not. The more I thought about it the more frustrated I became with the whole book and its predecessor, The Magicians. So here goes my attempt at some thoughts.
Quentin is now in Fillory and a full king at that along with Eilot, Janet, and Julia. But he’s bored. So bored he decides to travel to the Outer Islands of Fillory to collect, of all things, back taxes. He ends up inadvertently on a quest for the seven keys. Using the first, he and Julie, who accompanied him on the unplanned trip, end up back in the real world. The two search for a way back to Fillory both knowing they have absolutely no desire to spend any time in reality — Fillory is their reality now.
OK, first, back taxes?! This is how a quest starts?! I just, I don’t know, I wanted something less mundane and every day. Taxes are not fantasy. Beyond that I was sort of bored and annoyed. Quentin is still whiny, now he’s bored and whiny. Eliot, not sure what I thought of him, mostly I just didn’t; Janet is pretty well non-existent and I was fine with that. And then there’s Julia. We find out all about Julia and how she learned magic and it’s fascinating. It was dark, disturbing, and sad. I was right there going along with her story, having to put up with Quentin to get to Julia’s story, and then we came to the end of her story and I said out loud, “What? You went there!” and that’s when I decided to muddle through and be done with it.
I was excited for this book but sadly that excitement barely got me though. There’s much to like and many people do indeed like this book so ignore if you’re one of them. For me, this one didn’t do it.
I went back to see how I rated the first book and it was fairly high, a 4 out of 5. I remember liking it at the time too but with a few quibbles. Then, the more I thought about it the less I liked it. These thoughts may have clouded my judgment of this book.
Read it? Feel differently? Wrote a review of it? Let me know, I’m happy to link to a review that’s a completely different take than mine.
The Scottish Prisoner
By Diana Gabaldon
Delacourt Press
ISBN: 9780385337519
4 stars
I have a soft spot, a very soft spot, for Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Jamie and Claire Fraser are among my favorite fictional characters. When I heard the latest John Grey novel would feature Jamie (the character has made appearances in the books but never as a major character), I made the decision that this would be my introduction into the Lord John Grey Outlander spinoff.
Jamie Fraser is now a paroled prisoner of war working as a stable hand on a remote farm called Helwater in the Lake District of England. While he wouldn’t say his life is satisfying without his wife and family, he is thankful for life’s small diversions. He’s no longer in prison, he spends his days working with horses, and is close to the son no one knows is his; affording him a small reprieve from his grief over losing his wife, Claire, and their child he never met. When Tobias Quinn, a friend of his from the Jacobite Rising, shows up at the farm, he tells him he wants nothing to do with the failed rebellion or with Tobias himself. He’s lost too much, namely his wife and child, and fears losing what little freedom he has gained at Helwater. When Lord John Grey summons him to London too many memories come flooding back to Jamie and he wants absolutely nothing to do with any of them.
Lord John Grey is almost as unhappy as Jamie is about the situation they find themselves in. A former warden of the jail where Jamie was held after the Jacobite Rising, he has no interest in seeing him especially since their last parting, which was on awkward terms. Lord John is in possession of documents that may contain information about a new possible uprising and he believes Jamie may be the only person who can help him figure out what the documents say. It’s an unhappy and uncomfortable match from the beginning.
One of the nice things about the Lord John Grey series is that the books are meant as standalone novels. Having the Outlander background and understanding the complicated relationship between Lord John Grey and Jamie Fraser will add more for fans of the series, but if you have a love of historical fiction, this book could be a good entrance point into the Outlander world if you’re looking to try it out. It gives you a taste of Jamie’s life, what he’s lost, and while not a full background on him, it provides enough to make you want to know more about him and the wife he lost. Although, as fair warning to fans, the Jamie you meet in The Scottish Prisoner is slightly more hardened than the more good-humored Scotsman many have grown to love. Claire is alluded to numerous times and if you’re a fan of the series, this particular book is set after the battle of Culloden when Claire has returned to her own time and Jamie has been released from prison, essentially in the 20 year time period the couple spent apart in the series.
The Scottish Prisoner is set in Ireland but the slightly mystical feeling you get from the series is still present as there is a plot in the works to steal an ancient relic that the supporters of the Rising hope will inspire their Cause and rally supporters in Ireland. While I could have done without this little twist — I personally didn’t think it added much — it did evoke the supernatural feeling of the series without the time travel element. This is my only quibble with the book though. As always, Gabaldon goes above and beyond in the entertainment department and this book will probably be a fast read for fans of the series.
In addition to this blog, I also do reviews for The Book Reporter website. The above review was done for the Book Reporter which can be found here. The book was provided to me by the publisher.
A Visit from the Goon Squad
By Jennifer Egan
Random House
ISBN: 97803074 77477
5 stars
There are books you buy because you read so many fabulous reviews that you must, absolutely must, have it as part of your personal library. Sometimes you go to a book festival and hear an author speak and you’re convinced that you must, absolutely must, own the book. You’ve been sold. You buy the book. And then you start to wonder if it will live up to the expectations, which are now so high that you consider taking the book back to the store and finding out if it would be possible to exchange it for something else. You don’t want to be disappointed. You decide to read it anyway and you’re surprised. Surprised that you love it; surprised that it lived up to your mighty expectations.
In the bathroom of a hotel in New York City, Sasha is doing her best to not steal a wallet peeking slightly out of a woman’s purse. She doesn’t want to steal it, but she has to. She can’t explain it, not even to her therapist, stealing is something she must do. And it has to be personal, new things don’t have the same effect on her. She takes it and then just as the wallet peeking out of the purse, we peek into her life. We do this by way of disjointed introductions to all the people and places that have passed through her life. Her therapist, her boss — Bennie Salazar, a music industry executive with too many problems of his own — ex-boyfriends, college friends, and family members.
This is one of those books that I will admit upfront that I will not be able to describe adequately so I won’t even try. It’s a meandering book. You’re drawn in and out of people’s lives and in some cases you’re not even sure until several paragraphs into the chapter why exactly this person has appeared. What’s amazing about it is that even in those moments when you’re wondering who this person is and why you should care about them, you begin to see the invisible strings that tie everyone together. They appear out of nowhere and this author’s ability to show, in raw details, the characters’ problems is amazing. And the writing; the writing is startling. Yes, there is a reason Jennifer Egan won a Pulitzer Prize. Yes, she deserves it.
A Visit from the Goon Squad took me several days to read and it’s not a long book; 340 pages total. I took my time wanting to savor each and every word. I went back a few times to re-read passages. I wanted to see how she said so much with so few words. The writing felt sparse to me at first and then I began to realize that even though she didn’t describe things in a widely epic fashion, I saw every single detail. I saw Sasha lift that wallet so delicately out of the purse and slip it into hers. I saw the expression on Bennie Salazar’s face when his son puts the gold flakes on his tongue and the felt the exhilaration his son felt. There’s something about her writing that is so extraordinary that I found myself reading slower and slower as I got to the end.
I’ve never read a book before that included one chapter that was an entire PowerPoint presentation. A Visit from the Goon Squad is officially that book and may retain that title for many years to come. What I thought most interesting about this chapter was that in some ways it was the most telling and sad chapter of the entire book. So poignant and strange at the same time I forgot I was reading slides and it read as a young girl’s journal, as it was intended.
I’m sure this one will make it on my best of 2011 list (it did). It was just that good. Sad, funny, confusing, and beautiful; much like life.
Just Book Reading 