On my shelf (and other stuff)

On my shelf:

I'm currently reading two books-- Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor (which is the next book club pick!) and Mudbound by Hillary Jordan (which was a gift from my mom). I'm enjoying both, though I have to admit I'm only a few chapters into each of them. Somehow my subconscious keeps combining them into one book. In the morning I find myself searching for "Mud Blood" before I hop on the bus. If I was a maniacal Harry Potter fan, this might be more expected, but instead it's just kind of hilarious.

Other stuff:

So many of the books I've read since starting this blog have been turned into TV shows (all of the Sookie books) or movies, (the Twilight series, The Help, The Hunger Games, and Cloud Atlas), or were based on an event that is also the topic of a great documentary (Let the Great World Spin) that I have been thinking of adding a series to the blog. My goal would not be to become a movie critic (because I am just not cool enough, skilled enough, or... well, I think "cool enough" summed it up) but would just be to compare the works in written format to the works in the film format.

For example-- take the Twilight series. Twilight still makes me get butterflies and googly eyes in the written form, (I know, it's embarrassing and anti-feminist but I JUST CANNOT HELP MYSELF. I mean, he LOVES her but he wants to EAT her. How can you not swoon?) but the movie hurts my soul. My favorite scene of the book (in the meadow-- anyone? Anyone?) is completely ruined in the movie by awkward teenage actors and windchime sound effects accompanying the worst "glittery skin" special effects I have ever seen. The second and third movies  were not much better (though, the books weren't as good either so this is hardly a surprise). However, the fourth movie (which yes, I did see in theaters.... and not in an ironic way, sadly) was staggeringly better than the outrageous and ridiculous (first half of the) fourth book.

Okay-- enough talking about tween vampire romantic thrillers. But, just get ready, readers (and by "readers", I mean "Mom", because she's the only one that reads this), because more film/book comparisons are coming your way soon!

Upcoming book picks

September's meeting will be hosted by Lisa and she picked The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. It is non-fiction (sort of a biography but sort of not) but reads like a fast paced novel. I'm 80 pages in and have found myself going to bed at nine every night this week so I could get more reading time in!

Other upcoming books are Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami and Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros (this one is my pick)... I'm hoping for some theme eats/drinks to go with these culturally specific books. We'll see if Japanese night and Mexican night pan out.

Happy Reading!

Impatient? Me?

So, yet again, I finished the book club book more than a month ahead of schedule. I just can't help myself when the box arrives from Amazon. It's like Christmas!

I finished Zeitoun about a week ago and I cannot wait to talk about it with the club. It is unlike any of the other books we have read in that it is non-fiction. It is about the Zeitoun family and their lives in New Orleans around the time of Hurricane Katrina. It is still written like a novel, but the characters and the events are real. While reading it, I actually preferred to pretend it was fictionalized because some of the things that happened to the family are terrible, and I just wanted them to not be true.

I'm itching for anyone else to finish this book so we can cheat and talk about it before the meeting at the end of May. But I guess in the mean time I should get started on the ever-growing stack of books on my night stand.

Updates

The book for May will be Zeitoun (Vintage) by Dave Eggers. I am very excited about this since I love Dave Eggers and have read many others by him (What Is the What (Vintage), A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and You Shall Know Our Velocity are my favorites).

Happy reading!

The Book Thief

Typically, I wait until after a book club meeting to write about the books, but I typically I do not devour a 550 page novel in four days either. Even though our meeting is nearly a month away, I just had to write something about The Book Thief by Markus Zusak now, while it is still fresh.

This book was... I'm at a loss for words... wonderful. My heart sang and my heart wept-- sometimes simultaneously-- while reading. Though the heroine, Liesel Meminger, and I had little in common other than a love for books and words and knowledge, I feel as though she is part of me. I am mourning the end of this incredible story, and I know that the memory of it will stay with me for a long time.

Growing up, I loved historical fiction books, especially about young and vibrant women growing up in Nazi Germany. Though this novel fits that bill precisely, it is unlike any WWII or Holocaust story I've ever encountered. Zusak's portrayal of this well-known era and people was inspired. The characters were beautifully tortured-- each complex and so real I feel that I know them, or in some cases that I am them. 
The story was narrated by Death, which one might expect to be sinister or hokey, but Zusak made a familiar and likable figure even out of a feared entity.

This book shows the power of and freedom in words-- both in an era when books were burned and knowledge was warped and now when information is at one's fingertips and is taken for granted. It is an inspiration and a masterpiece!

on my shelf

April's book club pick has been chosen by Tana-- she selected The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I'm only 80 pages in, but loving it!I am also reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, and per the recommendation of Timmy, The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva.

Hopefully announcing that I am reading these books will encourage me to 1) read them and 2) blog about it!

Next Sunday is the meeting for Halley's selection The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman and I cannot wait!

new book!

There is something incredibly satisfying about writing my name in the cover of a new book. I experienced this tiny joy today when I received a box from Amazon containing Halley's February(ish) pick for book club: The Imperfectionists: A Novel (Random House Reader's Circle). 

I sadly won't be able to begin reading this book (another tiny joy in my life-- the first page of a new story) until I finish   Let the Great World Spin: A Novel. I am really enjoying it so far, and I will have to finish before next week's book club meeting, so The Imperfectionists are coming soon!

Just to tide you over....

I have barely done any reading since the semester started. Well, I take that back. I have done a TON of reading... granted, it is virtually all articles from psychology journals and does not exactly hold any literary quality.

But, this Sunday is our discussion of Little Bee (I cannot wait to hear other people's thoughts on this, because I am completely ambivalent), and then I get to start Shanghai Girls, and my friend Josh has just announced his book club pick--  A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Tool.

Happy reading!

Upcoming Book Club Picks

The next three book club books have been chosen!

Beth picked a collection of short stories called Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender for August. I just finished the book and am looking forward to the discussion. The stories included dark, twisted and sad, beautiful modern fairy tales. I found them all very polarizing. It varied by story, but I either loved them or hated them.

Next up, Jamie selected Little Bee by Chris Cleave and for October, Emily has picked Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. Both of these novels are en route to my house now, thanks to Amazon Prime. I can't wait for the package to arrive! I move this week, so some new literary friends to join me at my new digs are exactly what I need to feel right at home.

First book!

I was in charge of selecting the book for the first meeting of Eat, Drink, and Be Literary. I agonized for days over this decision. Do I pick something I have read already and loved and risk the possibility of everyone else hating it? Do I blindly pick something I haven't read and risk the possibility of it being terrible and nobody returning to book club? Do I choose a novel? Non fiction? A memoir?

Finally, I consulted a glass (or three) of wine and a good friend and I selected The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. It is a story told from the point of view of the family dog, Enzo. I read the book in three sittings, and cried at least once each time. Overall, I think my pick was a success, but that might just be the wine talking. The first meeting is next Thursday so I guess I will find out for sure!