Catching Fire

Catching Fire
by Suzanne Collins
2009
Scholastic Press, New York
391 pages
ISBN: 978-0-439-02349

So last Friday, I was feeling a little bit tired and not overly motivated when I got home at the end of the day. Andrew and I talked about going to a movie, but really, I just wasn't in the mood. We decided to save the money and go get a DVD from the library, but I couldn't find anything on the massive wall of library movies that seemed appealing either.

I was standing there, in a funk, when I realized that I had gotten an email to tell me that my requested copy of Her Fearful Symmetry had arrived. I went to grab it off the reserve shelf, and found next to it on the shelf, also with my name on the slip, Chasing Fire. And then I knew what I was in the mood for.

I checked it out and brought it home. I climbed in bed, my wonderful husband made me tea, and I read the whole thing, cover to cover, with breaks only to refill beverages and such. After that, I was decidedly no longer in a funk.

I do have to say that there are few pleasures in life as wonderous as a long stretch of time in bed with tea and a good book. Others include: a long stretch of time in a hammock with iced tea and a good book and cozy snow days when you can spend a long stretch of time curled up inside with hot chocolate and a good book. There are other non-beverage-and-good-book related great pleasures in life, but this is a book blog. Let's summarize by saying that I agree wholeheartedly with Carlos Ruiz Zafon, who said, "reading is up there with sex and chocolate in the list of the Top 10 ways to enjoy your time on this planet."

But about this book specifically. The wise and wonderful Jack O'Brien sent me after The Hunger Games Trilogy a few weeks ago, around when the third book came out. I read the first one, and headed to Barnes and Noble to buy the others. But both Chasing Fire and the third installment, Mockingjay, are currently only available in hardcover, and I have made a deal with myself that severely limits hardcover buying. So it's the library waiting list for me. I wish that I could say that I have been waiting patiently, for patience is a virtue. Alas, I am not blessed with it.

This is a wonderful, exciting, suspenseful book that won't disappoint anyone that loved The Hunger Games. It's thrilling. It's engrossing. The characters are powerful and dynamic. The plot is simply unputdownable. And while the language is not anything to call your literature professor over, especially when coming on the heels of The Book Thief, this is more than just a story. It's challenging. It forces you, while you are gripped in the tale, to ask yourself hard questions, like when rebellion against evil is noble and when it is foolhardy. Of course, you don't ask yourself for too long, because you are too anxious to know if there is a rebellion. But that question, and some others (what it means to be in love and what and who is worth dying for, for example) will stick with you. The deeply disturbing situations involved will likely stick with you as well. The Hunger Games is a decidedly dystopian series. I can say that I have deeply enjoyed these books... I can not say that they have left me with pleasant dreams.

If you like fiction and could use a good page turner, read this. Well, read The Hunger Games first, and then read this. And then you'll probably read Mockingjay... and if you buy it, once you're finished you should send it to me, because the library hasn't delivered yet, and I'm dying here.

I can promise that I'll return it quickly.

NOTE: I have not made a deliberate choice to read a ton of "Young Adult" fiction in the last couple of weeks. Really what's happened is that I've been told certain books are good, and been surprised to find that the little sticker on the side tells me that the library shelves them as "Teen." I'm still organizing my thoughts on what that category means.

The Book Thief

The Book Thief
by Marcus Zusak
2005
Alfred A. Knopf, New York
550 pages
ISBN: 978-0-375-84220-7

I can't remember who told me that I should read The Book Thief. I wish that I did, so that I could thank them. It was a nameless, "Oh, I've been meaning to read that." That made me request it from the CPL.

Seriously, this book is beautiful. It is a powerful, poetic novel, written from the perspective of Death. Yes, that's "capital D" Death. He informs us that he doesn't carry a scythe, and only wears a long black cloak when it's cold. He is, in a myriad of other ways, not what you might expect. Gentle, careful, exhausted.

I've started this next paragraph four times. I can't seem to do it justice. What is this book about? I haven't been able to find words that don't seem oversimplistic and dull compared to what you'll find on these pages, and so I've decided not to try, I'm going to let the narrator tell you.

"It's the story of one of those perpetual survivors - an expert at being left behind.
It's just a small story really, about, among other things:
*A girl
*Some words
*An accordionist
*Some fanatical Germans
*A Jewish fist fighter
*And quite a lot of thievery" (page 5)

Zusak does a wonderful job of giving Death a voice: a language and grammar all his own. The language is delightful, musical; it swings effortlessly from subtle to cutting. Death is untethered to time, but attached to colors. While the story has a beginning, middle and end, you will not find pure linear narration here. We know parts of end from the very beginning. It's not subtle. Characters you love will die. This is Nazi Germany after all, and Death is your narrator. He knows this story because he was around a lot.

Yes, characters you love will die, and though you have been warned, by Death himself, you will be surprised. You might find yourself, as I did, trying to cry quietly so as not to wake your sleeping bed mate. It's crushingly sad, no matter how you are warned.

Really though, you should read this. There are hundreds of reviews, if you need more convincing. I am not alone in my praise. You can find the plot summary on the back of the book, or Amazon, or whatever book-summarizing and reviewing website you choose, but it won't tell you much. The book thief steals because she loves books, and gradually, because she comes to understand their power. And in the end, this book, both in form and in tale, is about the power of words over us silly humans.


NOTE: This book has been labeled/marketed/shelved in your local library and bookstore as "Young Adult/Teen/Children" I have thoughts on that. They're going to come up in a later blog entry. I will only say here that if you let that dissuade you, you are doing yourself a disservice.

On Writing

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by Stephen King
2000
291 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4391-5681-0

I had read most of this book before, at an earlier time when I was thinking about writing in kind of an abstract and distant sort of way, but coming back from last weekend's trip to the AMSA Writer's Institute, I decided that perhaps I should pick it up again. I remembered it containing some good stuff, so it seemed like not a terrible place to revisit.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I like Stephen King. I am not saying that everything that the man has ever written is brilliant (and what's clear in this book is that neither is he), but he can tell a darn good story. Perhaps interesting, (and perhaps not) is that I like him best at the extremes: his short fiction and The Dark Tower. Either way, if you feel the need to quarrel about the idea that the man has talent, I suppose we can, but that's not the point here. The point is that I think that he has enough talent to be willing to get some tips, and I find him charming enough to have actually enjoyed reading them.

This is a good book. Not for everyone to be sure, but good. He makes excellent points about the process of writing that I'm sure have helped more than a few other writers get their work off the ground, but he is also honest about the limitations of what you can get from a book. He can't make you good if you are bad (and neither can anything else), he can't give you the ideas or really tell you where they come from, and it's going to be a lot of work.

But I am fine with all of that. At a moment like this, in my life, On Writing carries with it some reminders that I needed. About the work part, and the time part, and the drafting freely first and then editing part, and the admitting that I am writing, at least in part, to Andrew, so I should let him read things some of the time.

A lot of what's here is only going to be valuable to writer's of fiction (and readers as well.) King is interesting in his approach to character development and plot. He says he doesn't plan the plot beforehand, and is sometimes surprised by what his characters do. I suppose there's nothing to do but believe him, since I am almost always surprised by what his characters do. Still, some of the ideas, especially about drafting and editing ("2nd Draft = 1st Draft -10%") will likely work across genres, and I think that his analogy of the toolbox is universal.

And his notes on commitment, on the process, on the worthwhile effort, and the joy it brings, it's enough to remind you all over again why you might want to.

Two observations, neither really about writing that I especially liked:
On purgatory, I couldn't agree more:
"If I have to spend time in purgatory before going on to one place or another, I guess I'll be all right as long as they have a lending library (if there is, it's probably stocked with nothing by novels by Danielle Steel and Chicken Soup books...)" p. 104

On really smart people, I see it all the damn time:
"No one can be as intellectually slothful as a really smart person." p. 143

But really, it is the writing about writing that shines here. The notes on the process, on the parts of his life that contributed to becoming a writer, on taking rejection with your head held high, and on really really working at it make this a worthwhile read for those of us that want to write.

"you can, you should, and if you're brave enough to start, you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up." p. 270

And so should you fellow writers. So should you.

World Without End

World Without End
by Ken Follett
2007
1014 pages
ISBN: 978-0-451-22499-6
Purchased at Bookman/Bookwoman

The sequel to Follett's excellent The Pillars of the Earth lived up to expectations. This is an excellent historical epic that reads much quicker than its thousand pages would suggest. Follett again sets his tale primarily in Kingsbridge, England, but this time we see it in the 14th century. He succeeds in painting a vivid picture of the challenges of life in this distant past with well placed details. The novel follows the lives of multiple characters, but Follett is very successful in interweaving their stories and passing from one to another quickly enough to allow the reader to keep track of all of them but not so quickly that the story seems fragmented. Overall the book is a delightful read. Highly recommended.

July 2010 Reads

So now I'm technically a graduate student. Which means way less class/study time than was required by medical school. Obviously, that time should be spent reading, reading, reading away. Here's the list for July:

July 1-4, 2010



World Without End
by Ken Follett
2007
1014 pages
ISBN: 978-0-451-22499-6
Purchased at Bookman/Bookwoman

Purge: Rehab Diaries

Purge: Rehab Diaries
by Nicole Johns
2009
274 pages
ISBN: 978-1-58005-274-0
Cincinnati Public Library

I got this book out of the Cincinnati Public Library when I saw it on the "New Books" shelf. That particular library visit was during Brain and Behavior II (which included pretty much all of the psychiatry that we're going to see). I thought that this might be a useful read because while I think that I know a decent amount about most types of psychiatric treatment, I didn't feel like I really knew much of anything about the treatment of eating disorders.

For the purpose of learning more about inpatient eating disorder treatment, this book was certainly useful for me. I think that it was also useful for me in that it is forcing me to face the reality that I actually have somewhat limited sympathy for eating disordered patients. I find them frustrating. I feel this way even though I believe that their disease is a real one. There were points in this book, when Johns sneaks off to purge after a meal, and I literally wanted to reach into the book and slap her upside the head. This is a woman who has serious heart arrhythmia at the age of 22 due to her eating disorder. She really needs to stop vomiting. Really. Now.

Now as someone that is very seriously considering a career in child and adolescent psychiatry, this is obviously an issue that I am going to have to work on, so I have to admit that it is useful to be able to acknowledge it at this point in my life. I'm not sure really what I'm going to do about it, but I guess admitting that you have a problem is the first step, and I admit that I really have a problem here, and that deep down inside, I not-so-secretly want to feed those girls a cheeseburger. I think they'll feel better.

To be fair, I think that part of my struggle is that Johns expresses some of the stereotypes that so often go with eating disorders that I personally think undermine my ability to take them seriously as medical disease. She describes herself as a perfectionist and an overachiever that is looking for control in her life, over and over again. I know that perfectionism is linked to eating disorders and on and on, but I am an upper middle class, over-achieving, perfectionist, white woman from the east coast, notorious for putting unreal expectations on herself. And seriously, I love a good cookie. Too much really. I need to stop with the cookies.

There is a part of me that realizes that because I fit the demographic of this disease but find it so foreign, so unimaginable, that should make the idea that it is genetic/medical/biochemical all the more legit. Because it's not just being a perfectionist. Really. And it's not just always wanting more from yourself. There is something else going on there. But the patients and doctors and general public so often attribute this disease to women taking control of the an area of their life that they can control when they feel that other parts of their life have gotten out of hand. I think that's a VERY bad way to think about it. Because, really, that description includes the words "something they CAN control" with regards to the eating/exercising/purging habits of these women. And I have to believe, if I want to have sympathy for them, if I want to ever be able to develop into someone that hopes to be able to deal these patients in any sort of therapeutic way, that it is not something that they can truly control. I have to believe that they have lost control and that the goal of treatment is to help them find it. Because if starving themselves or throwing up after all their meals IS a choice, then I want to feed them a cheeseburger. With Bacon.

Johns does a good job of capturing that out of control feeling, and she does a decent job painting a picture of eating disorder treatment in a way that I think was useful for me to encounter. This is an adequate memoir for what she says in the prologue she is trying to accomplish, but as one of the recent crop of memoirs from people too young to be seriously writing memoirs, it's really middling.

That's not to say that reading this is not going to affect my thinking, because it has. It challenged me, but that is more because it made me realize something a little bit ugly in myself than because it is an outstanding piece of writing. Still, for what I got, I am grateful. The thought process that pops into my head listening to people describe their eating disordered behavior is different and downright mean when compared to that which is in my head during accounts of other psychiatric disorders. That's something that I am going to have to deal with, something that I am glad I can admit to myself now, while I have a long time to wrestle with it. Because if nothing else was clear in this book, these women need some help.

To Hellholes and Back

To Hellholes and Back:
Bribes, Lies and the Art of Extreme Tourism
by Chuck Thompson
2009
321 pages
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8788-8

Chuck Thompson wants desperately to be the Chuck Klosterman of travel writing. He wants it so badly it hurts... to read.

Actually, that's maybe a bit harsh of an opening. Most of this book is readable in the "travel books are great for afternoons off when I don't want to make my brain tired" sort of way. Thompson travels to three places that are notorious for making travelers nervous: Democratic Republic of Congo, India and Mexico City. Those three sections are mostly a reasonably entertaining accounting of his adventures, with some heavy handed attempts at political and social commentary thrown in. Even when I agree with Thompson, and he makes some points here that I have been making for years, I wish that he would get back to the travel and stay away from the race relations. Such is life.

In the final section, Thompson takes it all to the last place he's afraid of, Disney World. Here he totally lost me, because at that point it's certainly not about travel anymore, and he doesn't have the skills to be a true culture writer. If you want to read this, you would likely do yourself a favor and skip that last section.

In the end, I suppose that I am not the world's greatest fan of travel writing. I tend to find it self-indulgent drivel in 99.9% of the cases. That's not to say that I don't enjoy it when I want to turn off my brain and think about being in exotic places, but it requires a specific mood and a specific time, and even then, I recognize that what I'm reading is just for funsies. This is a book that I would suggest you read if you feel an urgent need to be a tourist in the Congo (why?!), but otherwise, I'm sure there are better uses for your time.

Note: I received this book as an ARC for free from the publisher via the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. Apparently there's a law now that says I have to say that... You know, to prevent you from not realizing that my review is made all the more positive by the fact I didn't pay for the book. Imagine what it would say if I had ;-)

100 Books While I'm 27: January 2010

Books Before this Point: (Doing Some Checking, Will be determined soon)

January 2010:

The Secret of Lost Things
by Sheridan Hay
2007
349 pages
ISBN: 978-0-385-51848-2

Match Day:
One Day and One Dramatic Year in the Lives of Three New Doctors
by Brian Eule
2009
272 pages
ISBN: 978-0-312-37784-7
Cincinnati Public Library

The Devil in the White City:
Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
by Erik Larson
2003
390 pages
ISBN: 978-0-375-72560-9

To Hellholes and Back:
Bribes, Lies and the Art of Extreme Tourism
by Chuck Thompson
2009
321 pages
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8788-8
ARC from LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Eternal on the Water
by Joseph Monninger
2010
344 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4391-6833-2
ARC from Barnes & Noble FirstLook
Anticipated Release: February 2010

Purge: Rehab Diaries
by Nicole Johns
2009
274 pages
ISBN: 978-1-58005-274-0
Cincinnati Public Library

The Pillars of the Earth
by Ken Follett
1989
973 pages
ISBN: 978-0-451-22524-5

Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story
by Chuck Klosterman
2005
237 pages
ISBN: 978-0-7432-6645-7

An Arsonist's Guide To Writers' Homes in New England

An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England

by Brock Clarke

2007

303 pages

ISBN: 978-1-56512-551-3

So this book was recommended to me by Dan during my epic birthday recommend-a-thon. I admit that I had given it the once over a couple of times when it appeared in various bookstore displays, the title is clearly an eye-catcher, but I resisted the urge to purchase until I was gong wild with birthday money.

I want to say good things here about the Barnes and Noble manager that was working at the store I went to on my birthday. After getting recommendations from tons of friends, looking up a little more about the books that they had suggested, deciding which I was really dying to read, and making a list... I left said list on my desk. I went up to customer service and told him the title (or something close to the title) for 3 or 4 books that I was looking for and then, after we had walked around the store, hunting for and finding one of them on sale, 2 others that I managed to remember while we were looking. Not only did he find them all for me, but he told me NOT to buy his trade paperback copy of this book, because he was sure that I would be able to get the remaindered hardcover on the website for $5. Now I'm sure that it was obvious to him as we walked around and added to my enormous pile of books that I am the type of customer that Barnes and Noble wants to keep happy, but still, he didn't have to do that. And he certainly didn't have to come find me when I was browsing to give me a little slip of paper with the ISBN for the cheaper edition so that I would be able to find it right away when I went to the site. He was great. So thanks to him.

Anyway, I found some parts of this book extremely amusing, and others rather annoying. Overall, Clarke has succeeded in creating a cast of characters so wildly unlikable that they're interesting, headed by a protagonist who amazes you not in that he manages to mess up his own life so spectacularly, but more that he manages to do it so efficiently when he seems like such a "bumbler." Then Clarke takes these hapless, incapable, flawed people and places them a series of situations so insanely implausible, so absurd, that sometimes you can't help but shake your head in disbelief.

Yet most of it works. There are some things that don't, certainly; the dinner scene with Sams soon-to-be-ex-in-laws got past my last nerve for example, but most of it is really quite good. Perhaps a bit overplotted, and the turn towards tragedy at the end felt a little bit forced, but certainly worth it for the shiningly funny moments.

Apparently this is Clarke's 4th novel, at least according to the review that Dan sent with his recommendation. That reviewer thought that it seemed like a debut, and I have to agree... although for different reasons. For me this book was rough around the edges, but showed some real promise... the kind of thing that you expect from someone with raw talent who's just starting out. I'm not sure if Clarke, who apparently teaches just up the street, should take that as a compliment or an insult.

Coppola: A Periatric Surgeon In Iraq

Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq
by Dr. Chris Coppola
2009
259 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9840531-1-7
ARC from LibraryThing Early Reviewers

For better or for worse, LibraryThing has pegged me as a reader of medical memoirs, and when one comes up in the Early Reviewers list, if I request it, you can bet that I'll get sent a copy. Since I joined a year an a half ago, I've gotten ARCs of Weekends at Bellevue, Brain Surgeon, and The Addict. I'm not complaining about this per say, especially since I would have wanted to read these books anyway, but I wish that they had also pegged me as the compulsive reader of fiction that I am, and sent me The Angel's Game and Last Night in Twisted River when those were on the list. I certainly will read and review every medical memoir they send my way for free, but there are other books that I want to read more and I hate to think that I don't get them because I've been pigeon-holed. Such is life.

That being said, Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq is one of the better medical memoirs I've read. In the book, Dr. Chris Coppola recounts his experiences during his two tours of duty in Iraq as a surgeon with the US Air Force. Coppola manages to achieve the perfect balance in his writing between the action of clinical cases and using his experiences to inform a discussion of the ethical and cultural issues he encountered and the challenges of military life.

Dr. Coppola's unique position as a specialist in pediatric surgery means he has a skill set sorely lacking in the current Iraqi medical system. Throughout both tours, he struggles to find balance between his compassion and sense of obligation to the young patients he encounters and the realities of his position, the position of the US military, and the medical treatment available in Iraqi hospitals outside of the American medical base. There are times when he fights hard for his patients when others disagree with his call, and times when he is forced to turn patients away. He makes a compelling argument for the role of pediatric specialists in war hospitals, especially given the rate of civilian casualties in the IED era. Dr. Coppola is not shy about calling the problems of military medicine to the forefront of our attention, while at the same time making it clear that he has found satisfaction in his service.

Overall, this is a strong memoir that calls to mind some important issues that come with our current presence in Iraq, many of which likely extend to our increasing presence in Afghanistan. It is a timely and important read, and one that I would certainly suggest to other people in the medical field and outside it.

Juliet, Naked

Juliet, Naked
by Nick Hornby
2009
406 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59448-887-0
Cincinnati Public Library

I requested this from the library as soon as I got home from the bookstore where I saw it on the shelf. Thinking about it, that was a kind of blind optimism based on the fact that I liked Hornby's earliest books, the movies-made-them-famous High Fidelity and About a Boy. Since then, I have found my affection somewhat waning. How To Be Good was really only good. My thoughts on A Long Way Down are there for your perusal if you so choose, but can sum it up with the fact that I didn't like it enough to keep track of it. I either donated or lent it away to the big library in the sky, because that once owned copy is not on the shelf here now. As for his 2007 YAish novel Slam, it's so forgettable that I actually forgot that I read it. As in, when I saw it on the list of Hornby's books, I thought "Oh, I'll have to find a copy of that one," only to realize upon closer inspection that I had read it already. I know that I read a lot, but that is not a compliment.

Juliet, Naked bucks the trend. It is a true return to the Nick Hornby that I loved so long ago. This book is sweet and sarcastic with characters that are delightfully real and lovable for all their dramatic and obvious flaws. The characters are what this book is all about, and while you wonder what is going to happen, what you are really wondering is what is going to happen to them. The events here gain most of their significance from their effect on the people involved. The relationships between the characters are the real charm of this novel, especially the relationship between Tucker and his adorable son Jackson, which is a real highlight.

In Juliet, Naked Hornby does to the obsessive website creating song analyzing fan what he did to the obsessive record collector in High Fidelity, shows them all their warts and insanity, and leaves them human none the less. He does this well I suppose, although I found myself feeling bad for them (and perhaps a little scornful) in a distant sort of way as I read the book. Long after I finished I realized that I actually wrote my big term paper in high school on Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows as an American poet. Perhaps I should have related to them more (although I would certainly not spend my vacation on a tour of significant places in Duriz's life).

This is a charming and delightful read, and would be a pretty good introduction to Hornby for the uninitiated. It reminds us all that sometimes the people around us can see us far more clearly than we see ourselves, and maybe, sometimes we should listen to what they tell us.

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil
by George Saunders
2005
130 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59448-152-9

This book was suggested to me during my birthday recommendation blitz by Jack O'Brien. He gets credit for recommending several favorites, including The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Gunslinger. (Which is the first book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series, I read the whole 7 books in like two and a half weeks. It might take you longer. I still recommend it)

Anyway, I knew the basic story of Phil, because Jack adapted it for the stage during his senior year in college, and I managed to make it down for a performance. That show was a lot of fun to watch, but I have to admit that some of the funniest parts of this book are the little details that don't translate well to the stage. For example, in the book, Phil's brain falls off its rack from time to time, while on the stage, Phil's brain seemed to remain contained within his cranium. Some actors just aren't willing to truly sacrifice for their craft.

I would say that this qualifies more as a novella than a novel. Easily read in a single day. That is probably the right format for Saunders hilariously irreverent and critical take on human nature. If this piece was much longer, the jokes might have gotten old or started to seem a little bit too absurd, but at 130 pages everything maintains the glow of clever and fun. I highly recommend a trip to Outer and Inner Horner for any fans of political satire, it'll be a short vacation for most readers, but one well worth the effort. You might just find yourself laughing out loud.

Nocturnes

Nocturnes
by John Connolly
2006
471 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4165-3460-0

My previous experience with John Connolly's work has been nothing short of delightful. The Book of Lost Things is a wonderfully dark and chilling interpretation of the stories from our childhood. His recent offering, The Gates is a fresh and funny story about a young boy literally trying to stop all hell from breaking loose. While both of these books have been classified as "young adult," I imagine that is largely (solely) due to their pre-teen protagonists. (You would think that the idea that only children can enjoy books about children would have been blown out of the water by a certain wizard.) I think that neither of these is best suited to the younger set, and will continue to recommend both left and right to adult readers. In a recent review on LibraryThing, I compared the footnotes and humor in The Gates to the work of the late great Douglas Adams... and anyone who's read my notes on And Another Thing... knows that I consider that high praise indeed.

With that in mind, imagine my delight to find Nocturnes, Connolly's book of short stories, sitting all alone on the "Last Chance" super bargain table at Barnes and Noble when I walked in, on my birthday, gift cards blazing and on a mission to make up for months of serious book-buying restraint.

Nocturnes turned out not to be at all what I expected. It is as different from The Gates and The Book of Lost Things as the two are from each other, but also nearly as wonderful. The stories here are darker by far than I expected to encounter, but most are also quite gripping.

Many of the pieces here in this collection were originally written for BBC radio, and most are quite short. While some of these shorter pieces are particular gems, including "Mr. Pettinger's Daemon," "The New Daughter" and "Miss Froom, Vampire," others are less successful. Connolly shines most when he gives himself some room to work. The opening novella, "The Cancer Cowboy Rides" is one of the most deeply creepy pieces of writing I've read in some time. As in, I can't put it down even though it's 1:30am, better go check the locks, cuddle a little closer to the sleeping fiancee creepy. It's good stuff. "The Underbury Witches" was so much fun that I sat in the waiting room at the spa long long after my toenails were dry in order to finish it. "The Reflecting Eye" a novella featuring Charlie Parker (who apparently stars in many of Connolly's adult fiction), is entertaining enough that I found myself considering the idea of adding some of those to the ever growing TBR pile.

Overall, this collection is strong, if a little uneven. And it is not just the Maine setting of several of these stories that calls to mind the shorter works of Stephen King. I would say of Connolly's work here something very similar to what I've said about King's short fiction in the past (and I admit that I am an enthusiastic fan)... When he hits the nail on the head, it's glorious, creepy, you'll-be-thinking-about-it-for-days, eerie wonderfulness. And when he misses, he just misses, so it's still a good time. Overall, this is more fun than I've had off the bargain table in a while.

And Another Thing...

November 13, 2009 - November 17, 2009
And Another Thing...
by Eoin Colfer
2009
275 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4013-2358-2

First, some background. Douglas Adams was an epically, uniquely talented and hilariously funny writer. Tragically, he died of a heart attack in 2001. I remember reading about his passing at the time and feeling a real sense of loss. I was a senior in high school at that point, and I loved his books (I still do.) For me it was the first time that I was aware of an author I truly adored passing away. I felt very sad and a little cheated. I think a lot of people did. Adams was only 49, and I am willing to bet that he had a lot more to say. We are all missing out on something there.

Adams is most famous for the five books of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy. (No, that is not a typo). These are among my favorite books of all time. I have a beautiful leather bound all in one volume that has occupied a position of pride on my bookshelf for many years. It's one of the few books in my library with an actual bookplate, as in I would be epically pissed if you stole it. I have hundreds of books, I can only think of 5 that I would be hesitant to lend, and this is one of them. The Hitchhiker's Guide holds a very special place in my heart. (The movie however, does not.)

Which is why I was simultaneously very excited and very nervous when I read that someone had taken it upon themselves to write part a six of the trilogy. I am not familiar with Colfer or his other work aside from the basic level of name recognition, so I was not at all confident that he was qualified to pick up where one of the greats left off. (I should note that I also wasn't at all confident that Adams "left off" at all, the fifth book ends pretty endily.) Still, the publication had the full support of his estate, so I let hope win, and requested it from the library. (Still not buying hardcovers.)

There are good things to be said about Colfer's work in this book, but Douglas Adams he is not. Especially at the beginning I was frustrated by some pretty serious flaws. In fact, not too far in I found myself thinking that the book was inadvertently describing itself with the Adams quote that it uses on the cover... "The storm had now definitely abated, and what thunder there was now grumbled over more distant hills, like a man saying 'And another thing' twenty minutes after admitting he's lost the argument."

Colfer does not do justice to the Hitchiker's Guide's most beloved characters. Zaphoid is duller, Arthur just doesn't sound like himself, Ford seems to have lost a good bit of his charm. He also doesn't seen to grasp the beauty of the randomness of Adams. In the other Hitchhiker's books, the Guide excerpts are delightfully disconnected asides that never seem to interfere with the flow of the tale at hand. They are the random and hilarious musings of a wonderful mind. Colfer's Guide excepts are set off from the text, seem more like interruptions, and are far too frequent and far less charming. Colfer also seems to grasp far too tightly to a few words and references from the other books ("froody" comes to mind) and beat them into the ground.

But it's not all bad. I suppose it's not surprising that the places where this book shines are the portions that Colfer has made his own, adding something of his own to the wacky Hitchhiker's Universe. The residents of the planet Nano are wonderfully absurd. Thor is a real winner both as a character, and it turns out, as a God. The second half of the book is far more readable than the first. There are times when you really do feel like you are back in Adams' zany world.

All in all, I think that fans of the series will find something to like here, but only if they can go into it with the right expectations. This is not a true sixth Hitchhiker's volume, but it is a loving and sincere tribute to Adams from a well intentioned admirer. It is also a foray back into a universe that I, for one, have really missed.

Of course, if you haven't read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or the other four books in the original series, you really should stop spending their time reading my pathetic little blog and go pick it up. I promise you will find it far more entertaining than anything that I'll come up with in the next couple of days.

In that spirit, and with a nod to the fact that I am writing this instead of studying for a large and looming Brain and Behavior exam, I will close with one of my all time favorite Adams quotes:

" I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

Oliver Twist

November 5, 2009- November 13, 2009
Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens
1838
Read on the Sony Digital Book
989 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4340-0061-3

I picked this up after reading Daniel Pearl's The Last Dickens. I wanted to read some actual Dickens because Pearl's book relies on his shocking popularity in his own day. Really, Charles Dickens was something like a rock star, sold out American tour and all that. So I figured I'd take an opportunity to actually read one of his books, to try to understand what inspired that kind of enthusiasm. Especially since my only prior experience was enforced skimming of Great Expectations in English class at Miss Porter's, which didn't really deliver the fun.

Anyway, Oliver Twist was a pretty good read, not life altering, but I certainly enjoyed it. I found that it picked up a lot in the last 1/3, and I read the last 250 pages or so all on one day. I admit that I feel like I might have gotten more out of it with a couple of clarifying footnotes, which is the disadvantage of reading the freeish digital book version over one that's pricier and annotated, but I'll live.

I'll give old Charles credit for keeping me involved for almost 1000 digital pages when I had a pile of recently requested library books actually turning up, and a bigger pile of birthday related book binge purchases, all calling my name. I never once thought of putting it down.

And for our next project... Andrew and I are going to read one of Dickens novels in the serial as if it's coming out for the first time. We've decided to go with one of the monthlies since that way there should be some actual waiting involved, but we haven't picked which one yet. This is a project for the new year, so there is time to voice your opinions if you so choose. Wikipedia tells me that the following options were published as monthly serials: The Pickwick Papers, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, Dombey and Son, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Little Dorrit and Our Mutual Friend. Andrew's already read Pickwick, which almost completely eliminates it from contention (he wants to read it again, but I think that it defeats the point of the exercise).

I would rather read one that I have heard of before, although I've realized as I've looked into this that I really know NOTHING at all about most of these books. Really. A Christmas Carol: I know pretty well (and yes, from reading it, not just movies). Great Expectations: I know well enough to think that the South Park episode spoofing it is HILARIOUS. Beyond that: Oliver Twist = orphan, Tale of Two Cities = "best of times, worst of times" Edmond Drood = unfinished. And we're done. I don't have the slightest idea what made David Copperfield or Nicholas Nickleby worthy of title character status.

The thing is, I am not sure that I want to know anything about the stories before I read them in serial, because I don't think that dust jacket summaries and reviews were part of the genuine monthly serial experience. This, obviously, makes selection of the title for this project a bit of a challenge. Cryptic suggestions might be helpful. Right.

100 Books While I'm 27

New Goal, New Tracking. Here we go.

1.) November 7, 2009 - November 13, 2009
Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens
1838
989 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4340-0061-3
Read on the Sony Digital Book

2.) November 13, 2009 - November 17, 2009
And Another Thing...
by Eoin Colfer
2009
275 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4013-2358-2
Cincinnati Public Library

3.) November 17, 2009 - November 22, 2009
Nocturnes
by John Connolly
2006
471 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4165-3460-0

4.) November 22, 2009 - November 23, 2009
The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil
by George Saunders
2005
130 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59448-152-9

5.) November 23, 2009 - November 25, 2009
Juliet, Naked
by Nick Hornby
2009
406 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59448-887-0
Cincinnati Public Library

6.) November 25, 2009 - November 27, 2009
Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq
by Dr. Chris Coppola
2009
259 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9840531-1-7
ARC from LibraryThing Early Reviewers

7.) November 27, 2009 - November 30, 2009
An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England
by Brock Clarke
2007
303 pages
ISBN: 978-1-56512-551-3

8.) November 30, 2009 - December 3, 2009
The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse
by Robert Rankin
2002
342 pages
ISBN: 978-0-575-07401-9

9.) December 3, 2009 - December 6, 2009
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
by Allison Hoover Bartlett
2009
274 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59448-891-7
Cincinnati Public Library

10.) December 6, 2009 - December 9, 2009
The Magicians
by Lev Grossman
2009
402 pages
ISBN: 978-0-670-02055-3
Cincinnati Public Library

11.) December 10, 2009- present
A Better Angel
by Chris Adrian
2008
227 pages
ISBN: 978-0-312-42853-7

Brave New World

OK, so I read Brave New World. I can confidently say that it was VERY different than I remembered, and that I got it/enjoyed it/got more out of it as an adult than I did as a preteen. But I suppose that makes sense. More later, I just promised myself that I would at least record the reading as I finish it so that I wouldn't lose track again.

What I'm Reading Now 2.0

A new start at the What I'm Reading Now List, with the following:

Fiction:
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
1932
268 pages

Non-Fiction:
Zeitoun
by Dave Eggers
2009
335 pages

What I'm Reading Now

This summer has not been nearly as productive for reading as I hoped that it might be. As it draws to a close, I am determined to do at least a little bit better at keeping track of what I'm reading for the rest of this year when I imagine that the reading time will be a little bit scarcer than it has been. With that I give you the list of what I'm reading right at this moment, with promises to write at least brief comments on each once I'm done with them and on to the next. Because really, I want to do this for me.

Currently Reading:
Fiction:
The Children's Hospital
by Chris Adrian
2006
615 pages
Wednesday, July 29 -

Non-Fiction:
The Super-Organism:
The Beauty Elegance and Strangeness of Insect Societies
by Bert Holldobler and E.O. Wilson
2009
502 pages
Tuesday, July 28 -

Sarum

So I've read several of Rutherfurd's books in the past, and they all seem to follow the basic format of picking a location (past examples, London (in, well, London) and Dublin (in The Princes of Ireland and The Rebels of Ireland)) and following several families through the history of the location from the earliest people to something like the present day. In Sarum this location is the area surrounding modern-day Salisbury, England. The book is enormous, over 1000 pages, but it's still an enjoyable read. Some of the sections are far more entertaining than others, there were certainly points when I wondered what the point of a particular scene was, but overall, the novel was fun to read. I was disappointed with the ending, but I suppose nobody's perfect.

One of the things that I really enjoy about these books are the history lessons that I get out of reading them. I've said it before I know, but I really do think that I know more history from reading historical fiction than I do from actually reading history... but perhaps it is just that I remember it better when it's plot points and not testable knowledge. Who knows. It's still good stuff.

Want more information on this book, or to see what else I've been reading?
Check out The 2009 booklist.