SHINE SHINE SHINE and Self

St. Martin’s Press 2012

“Own it,” she said to herself. “Own the bald. Own the braided honey loaf. Own it. Your husband is Maxon Mann. Nobel Prize winner. Your mother is Emma Butcher. Fucking awesome lady. Own it.”

I have been reading glowing reviews on Shine Shine Shine from twitter for the past few months. Those lucky enough to get an ARC have been singing its praises. It sounded like a book I would really enjoy as well. It was. I fell in love with each of the characters with all their flaws and wished I could read more of them after I closed the book. That is the mark of a great book for me- characters must linger. I must be so engaged with the characters that the last page fills me with dread. I loved the turn around for Sunny Mann. I started off being upset with her but Netzer slowly unveils the depths of Sunny and you connect with her as a woman on so many levels. I understood her frustration and anger once I understood her whole story. I think that is a lesson that we could all remember sometimes: you don’t really know anyone’s motivations so stop judging them. I think I forget that occasionally. Here you are forced to face that fact when you realize what a struggle her whole life had been. Also, you forgive her when it becomes apparent that her anger comes from fear and ultimately from love. She does not mean to rage against Maxon but she is so afraid.

The love story between these two is wonderful as well. They are made for one another from the moment they meet. She has the patience to deal with his Asperger’s and he just loves her with the innocence of a child. After all, acceptance is really what Sunny needs. I fell in love with both of them. It was so nice to read a love story that made sense in the real world. I hate when a love story springs from nothing and is fueled by even less. This particular story did no such thing. You could easily see why they were so perfectly suited for each other right away.

In the end, I think this book dealt a lot with self realization. They all have struggles of where they fit in and who they fit with. Eventually they are lucky enough to figure it out before it is too late. What did you think the main point of the book was? Did you love the characters in the same way that I did? Or were you unable to forgive Sunny for being so angry?

If you would like to get into the mind of Maxon…

Mark Haddon

If the life of a person dealing with an Autistic related disease was intriguing try The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The narrator is a young man dealing with Autism and he witnesses an “incident” that his brain doesn’t quite understand so he goes on a journey to discover what really happened. It so imaginative and you’ll just love Christopher as much as Maxon. He’s so innocent and kind but yet a genius who can name all the countries in the world along with their capitals. A really brilliant novel that helps to humanize people that deal with Autism.

See you later, see you soon.

On Traveling with Books

Anchor 2010

I made the most important decision of my upcoming trip to Spain a few days ago- what book to bring. I go most places with a book in my bag. Heaven forbid you are caught somewhere with nothing to read. I think I have nightmares involving that scenario. So, I leave for Spain on Wednesday and tucked in my carry-on bag will be The Angel’s Game by my newest literary obsession Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It is the prequel to my favorite book of all time The Shadow of the Wind. It is set in Barcelona so I felt it was quite appropriate for the trip. It took me a long time though to decide. I also considered a few other books as well. For a while I had D.H. Lawrence‘s Women in Love in my mind but having never read The Rainbow I felt it was a bad choice. Then I shifted to wanting to bring a Neil Gaiman novel. I absolutely fell for American Gods (find my review here) so I thought he would be great to bring along. I read the back of all the novels I had on my shelf and decided he wasn’t quite right for my trip. Finally, a bulb went off over my head. I had purchased The Angel’s Game about a month ago and stuck it under my coffee table since I ran out of room on my bookshelves. It would be perfect. It has the right tone and I feel that since I know all the characters already I can jump in and out of it very easily. Whether or not I get a chance to finish it will not matter. I will certainly enjoy the detailed descriptions of Barcelona during the early half of the century. Maybe I’ll actually be able to visit some of the places he describes. I’m not entirely sure that where he discusses is real but maybe, just maybe.

What do you like to read on a trip? Do you plan for it like I do? Or is it just last minute? What was the last book you read on vacation? Or do you leave the books at home?

See you later, see you soon.

HERZOG and Neurosis

Fawcett Crest 1964

I have had several of Saul Bellow‘s books on my shelf for some time now. I finally got around to reading one this week. I decided to go with Herzog which seems to be the one that is most beloved by critics and fans alike. It seemed like a good place to start. I have been a great fan of Philip Roth and so many articles that I read have referenced Saul Bellow as his predecessor. So, I had high expectations for this novel and he certainly delivered. It was nervous and rambling and so funny! Exactly what I imagining. The main character was annoying but lovable, horny but romantic, masculine but needy. He was interesting and fully rounded. For me, I must have a strong reaction to the main character if I am going to enjoy a book and I was moved by Herzog often. He was struggling in a way that is not necessarily what I have gone through at times; but, he reacted in the same way I do when dealing with uncertainty. He just delves into the depths of his mind. I loved the idea of writing non-stop letters. Basically saying everything you have ever wanted to say to people who have had even a small impact on your life.

Since you spend most of the book inside of Herzog’s scattered mind the writing does get pretty dense in many places. A few times I skipped a paragraph just to get to the point. Admittedly, I’m a pretty impatient reader. But there were plenty of surprises to keep me glued to the book. In the end, I was satisfied by a ending that felt simultaneously open-ended and finished. The anger and confusion seem to have subsided for him but what actaully happens with his family is still unknown. Some people feel jilted when the story ends without a full wrap-up but I don’t mind terribly especially with this particular story. In fact, you’ve been inside of his head for the whole book so you have all the information you need to finish out the book in your own imagination. 

If you liked this neurotic writer, you may like…

Philip Roth

I’m going with the easy suggestion on this one. I think The Counterlife is one of the greatest books ever written but it also makes sense to read it along with some Bellow. I think Roth is all that Bellow wished he could be but was too afraid to be in the 1960s. There was only so much you could say without someone censoring you in those days. Today, Roth can be as dirty and raunchy as he wishes. Trust me, he takes full advantage of that. But he’s so fucking brilliant and funny that you won’t feel insulted in the least. This particular novel is so original that it will take a while for it to wear off and allow you to enjoy other novels. Everything will seem like trash for a bit. Don’t worry, it eventually fades.

If you only have read one author, which book is your favorite? If you have read both, which writer do you prefer?  Do you agree that Roth is far dirtier than Bellow?

See you later, see you soon.

On the Read-In at Bogart’s

 

 

 

I am doing a bit of shameless self-promotion this week. Sometimes it must be done. I read an article a few weeks ago about how to keep a small bookstore thriving. One of the many suggestions was to host literary events. I decided a read-in would be perfect for our little shop. You’ll have to sign in and sign out including which book you are going to read. After reading for at least 1 hour you’ll receive a coupon for a free USED book. You can immediately choose one to take with you or take the coupon to use at a later date. I am really looking forward to seeing how many people come out to read. I set up an event page on Bogart’s facebook which you can find here. Please sign up and make it out if you can! Also, feel free to invite as many people as you wish. Let’s make this a really big deal.

Have you ever participated in a read-in before? Or any literary event? Tell me all about it!

See you later, see you soon.

DEWEY and Storytelling

Grand Central Publishing 2008

There is something wonderful about a great audio book. While I read Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World in actual print first, I really fell in love with the story after listening to it on audio. Susan McInerney does the narrating for it but it sounds just how I imagined Vicki Myron’s voice. In other words, it sounds like your mother quietly telling you a story. It’s so familiar and soothing. And here’s the thing, it came to me at the perfect time. You see, I am a cat lady without a cat for the first time in more than 15 years. So, being able to share this story made me feel comforted. I believe a lot of that had to do with how well the story was written but also how well the story was read.  I don’t often listen to audio books. It seems I gravitate to non fiction stuff over a fiction tale. The first I ever bought was a lecture on Walt Whitman. I have listen to that one 3 times fully and numerous times just one or two lectures. But Dewey is by far my favorite.

If you have never read this lovely little book and you are a fan of any one of these: cats, libraries, small towns, farms, or stories of survival, this is a perfect book for you. Even if you only are interested in just one of those you will be surprised at how much you care about the others by the end of this tale. Vicki does such a seamless job of blending not only her personal life but also the life of a small town- a town that could exist anywhere in the States- with the story of a very special cat. The story takes place in the mid-80s for the most part and during the farming crisis in the middle of our country. Now I was born in 1986 so I don’t really remember it but she reveals how it affected people and I was moved. Then she stirs in her own crushing story of love, loss and serious illness. She battles breast cancer so valiantly all while being a single mom with a deadbeat drunkard ex-husband. In the end, she has a beautiful daughter and a fabulous job at her local library. Unless you have no heart this story will make you cry at some point.

What about you? Do you ever listen to audio books? Or would you like to and just haven’t known where to start? They can get pretty expensive but do you think it’s worth it if it makes the book even better? If you read Dewey, what were you most moved by? Dewey’s story? Vicki’s story? Or the story of the struggling small town?

If you liked this you may also like…

Sarah Vowell

I love this writer. She’s so funny and smart and just cool. I picked up Assassination Vacation used at Bogart’s because I loved her stuff and the list of guests seemed really cool. Truth be told if I see Jon Stewart’s name attached I pretty much buy it on the spot. But this is another case of blending in her own life along with the deaths of presidents. It sounds morbid and it is but it’s also brilliantly funny. She gives you little tidbits about each president that I never knew. And even some small coincidences that they had in common with their assassins. So, you come out smarter than you were before. Plus, she has a way of delivering her own lines that I think I would have missed had I read it in print.

See you later, see you soon.

On Non-fiction books

My favorite book on the mind

I think my obsession with non fiction began with biographies and histories but has since grown since I have matured. When I was younger I would go to the library to find biographies on the people that I was learning about in school. I believe this little habit came from the fact that my parents always took us to historical sites as kids so I grew up always loving to learn about people and places in depth. I also always got a book when we’d visit places so a good amount of my biographies came from visiting important places. For example, when we visited Ford’s Theater when I was 12 I got a biography of Lincoln. Or upon visiting Civil War battle sites (something my father was particularly fond of doing) I’d get a book that traced the battle from its causes to its outcomes. I loved these books. I was a history nerd in school because of them. When I was a senior in high school I took the AP history class and was the only person to pass the AP exam. (In a side note, the kid that grew up to become a history teacher did not pass. We were not friendly and I took great delight in rubbing his nose in it. HA!) My love of biographies eventually led to other things as well.

When I was in high school I broke my collar bone and had to spend my gym period doing other things. Being the “library girl” had its advantages at this point because instead of writing essays on gym related topics (what in god’s name could THAT have entailed?) I was given permission to “help” the librarians. Instead, I was able to sit in the library and read as much as I liked. It was then that I stumbled upon my great love for science books. I was reading a biography on the greatest scientist to ever live- Einstein! At the end it had a listing of further reading books that included Einstein’s book on relativity. I gobbled it up. I was hooked for life. It was exactly what I was looking for at that time in my life. Real, concrete discussions on the way that the whole damn universe works. Not the bullshit explanations that my catholic upbringing had fed to me for so many years. From the universe I moved to my current obsession which is far more complicated than the universe- the mind. If you have a similar interest do find it in your power to pick up anything written by Steven Pinker. The book you see above The Stuff of Thought is the first I read and still my favorite. I stumbled upon it by accident while I was wasting time in my university bookstore in between classes. I have read most of his other works as well bu this one stays as one of my favorite books of all time.

How do you feel about non-fiction? Do you stick to fiction? Do you stick to one genre in particular? If you read non-fiction, what topic interests you the most? Why did you pick up non-fiction?

See you later, see you soon.