#14 - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (11/12/11)

I have NO IDEA why I own this book.  I'm guessing Amazon.com recommended it to me and I was in a mood to buy.  So, POOF, it ended up in my bookcase.  The reason why I read it is equally as anti-climactic:  it was there and the right length for what I felt like getting myself into.

You'd think that I'd choose books in a better way.  I have a list of Books I Should Read and yet I waste (harsh?  maybe...) my time with things like Oscar Wao.

That said, this book wasn't bad.  There were interesting parts and it obviously held my attention.  But it certainly won't be remembered.

But the author did something throughout that I seriously do not like:  he snuck in all sorts of detail and history in FOOTNOTES.  Okay, listen, this isn't a research paper.  It's a novel.  And having half the page taken up by a footnote is distracting.  Especially when I have to read said footnote (which is half of one page but then runs over to half of the next page) and it takes me completely out of the story you're telling me and into a new story.  By the time I return to the real story, I'm sort of lost.

So stop footnoting.
Thanks.

(I guess its a bad sign when the only thing I want to write about after reading a book is how I didn't like the style, huh.)

#7 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Okay, okay, OKAY:  I'm reading Harry Potter.  (10 years - or more - late?  Um, yes.  I know.)

One down, six more to go...

WARNING: Crappy Reader Ahead

Here's the deal:  I HAVEN'T READ A BOOK SINCE I FINISHED THE HUNGER GAMES.   Um, wtf.  That was 2 months ago.

I started The Lonely Polygamist but I haven't made any real progress.  Not because I don't like it, but more likely because I'm unmotivated to read.  How sad.

The other issue is that I'm currently reading from an inherited Kindle.  That means that I've also inherited Kindle books.  So I have to read all the ones that interest me on that list BEFORE I can switch to my own Kindle account and buy other books I want to read.  (Sheesh, that came out way less eloquent than necessary.)

Bottom line:  I'm being a crappy reader.  Booooo.

#3 - House Rules

House Rules by Rachel Sontag (02/01/11)

Rachel, a daughter controlled by her father.  A daughter stuck between wanting approval and wanting to separate herself from her family and their secrets.

I don't know why I didn't like this book.  Maybe because I didn't particularly like Rachel?  Or maybe because I didn't understand her relationship with her father.  Hm, no - I understood it, I just didn't believe it.  It's a memoir, so I believe it is (mostly) true.  And I believe it is what the author remembers as the truth.  But something about the explanation of that relationship didn't feel authentic.  Maybe because I'm a girl with her own fucked up daddy/daughter relationship (ew, how boo-hoo does that sound?  I swear my issues don't rule my life, but I'd be crazy not to think they don't affect me.  Especially when it comes to my opinion about a book with a similar theme).

Recommend?  Nah.  There are WAY BETTER memoirs out there.

#2 - Half Broke Horses

Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls (01/27/11)

Lily Smith, grandmother of Jeanette Walls.  Strong woman, independent, determined, focused.  Caring but not loving, not understanding, not accepting.  Hardened.  But likable.  Whether she was or not in real life, it's impossible to tell.  But Jeanette Walls writes her likable.

Love, love, loved this book.  But I have a soft spot for Jeanette Walls.  Her memoir, The Glass Castle, is one of my favorites of all time.  I've read it 3 times.

Lily is a real woman.  She isn't always likable.  She isn't always right.  She's harsh and strong and bold.  But she is loving, too.  Tough, so question.  But loving in her own way.

Dear Jeanette Walls,
Your family's stories are amazing.  And the way you tell those stories is amazing.  You are amazing and I will read anything you write.
Love, Rachel.

Recommend?  Yes, obvi.

#4, #5, and #6 - The Hunger Games Trilogy

This series, these books - they're YA novels.  I happen to like YA books.  But some people hear that and think fluff.  Let me be clear:  these book are not fluff.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (02/08/11)

Catching Fire (02/10/11)

Mockingjay (02/12/11)

It's been an incredibly long time since I felt changed by a book (or, in this case, a collection of books).  This series reached me.  Transformed me in a way I can't yet fully describe.  But the change is there.

I feel it.

I am still soaking it all in, still listening to Mumford & Sons' album "Sigh No More" on repeat.  Because, right now, that seems to be the only thing that can swallow me with the same force as Suzanne Collins' words.  I have that feeling you get after you read a particularly good book - deflated a little, tired, sad that it's over and the story is finished.  I feel shellshocked, almost.  In a good way.  If you've ever read a book you loved, then you know exactly what I mean.

I'm not sure what got to me.  Probably the idea of being connected to someone in a way you can't explain or fight or forget.  I'm so easily thrown by love stories.  Almost to the point of embarrassment.  I don't like cheesy, I don't like predictable, I don't like Valentine's syrupy sweet stories.
I think stories like this one.  (I want a story like this one.)

The larger theme at play, the one about humans as a whole - it got me too, of course.  But I'm more of a sap than people know.  So, to be honest, it's not why I'm reeling now.

Recommend?  Um, YES.

(Yes, I'm going out of order here but WHO CARES.  These deserve to come first, trust me.)

#1 - The Patterns of Paper Monsters

The Patterns of Paper Monsters by Emma Rathbone  (01/25/11)

Jacob, stuck in a detention center for a number of months.  Jacob, whose home life was less than desirable. Jacob, who hates the facility but also finds a certain comfort in it.  Jacob, who finds himself and finds a life after the center.  Jacob, who has a story that didn't surprise me.

Here's the deal:  I am a sucker for books about broken people.  I prefer memoirs but fiction can be satisfying too.  This book was a quick read, mostly because it didn't offer anything.  It didn't make me think.  There were parts of Jacob that I liked but I wasn't rooting for him; I didn't fall for him.

Recommend?  Nah.