Andrew - San Francisco, CA (340 books)

Andrew gave

to:

Sex in the Heartland
by Beth L. Bailey

My rating:

You mean you didn't know Kansas invented sex?

Andrew gave

to:

What Narcissism Means to Me
by Tony Hoagland

My rating:

More of a 3.61. I liked this more than 'Donkey Gospel' but not quite as much as 'Unincorporated Persons,' so it's a fitting chronological bridge b/w the two.

"And dying you know shows a serious ingratitude
For sunsets and beehive hairdos and the prec...more

Andrew gave

to:

Orientation: And Other Stories
by Daniel Orozco

My rating:

This book faced an uphill battle in winning my affection, b/c of stupid, unfair resistance on my part formed on the notion its author had seemingly built an entire career off of a single short novelty story written 15 years ago. But it climbed all th...more

Andrew gave

to:

Middlesex
by Jeffrey Eugenides

My rating:

Didn't love it the way I loved 'Virgin Suicides'--but still pretty damn good. Not sure how it took me nine years to read a book I supposedly was dying to read. It kind of fell into this group of longish books of the last 15 years (Underworld, Correct...moreDidn't love it the way I loved 'Virgin Suicides'--but still pretty damn good. Not sure how it took me nine years to read a book I supposedly was dying to read. It kind of fell into this group of longish books of the last 15 years (Underworld, Corrections, Infinite Jest, Kavalier and Clay, Freedom, Pale King, 2666, Against the Day) that I've slowly been working through (still need to hit Underworld, K&C, 2666, and A the D!!! Quoth Jesse Spano, that poetess of Bayside High: "There's never any time"). Anyway, it's a big, roiling, plotty family novel, released at the right cultural moment, when there's so much discussion and debate about enlarging notions of gender and identity. There are excellent reasons for not doing so, but I did find myself hungry to get to the Cal portions of the book. Similarly, I was curious about the missing 25 years b/w Cal's point of telling (at 40) and where his narrative leaves off at 15, but again, there are good reason for it that are stated pretty clearly in the first few pages. One of the interesting features of the book is Cal's 'impossible knowledge'--not only relating events in great detail that he wasn't around to see, but also asserting knowing of things he could no way have known (e.g. inhabiting family members' consciousness or things they did, thought, felt, while alone)--and it works because he asserts these things with confidence. They feel true in the moment b/c he says they are, and they even work upon reflection b/c we know that the impossible knowledge he shares with us is a wonderful imaginative leap that actually tells us more about him than the truth of his family. There's a horrific description of the burning of Smyrna, an interesting an amusing plot turn on the origins of the Nation of Islam, and an absolutely outlandish plot twist at the end that somehow doesn't sink the book. It all still works and feels true and satisfying. JE's new novel comes out in September, almost ten years after Middlesex, which was ten years after 'VS.' Gotta admire that patience. Hopefully it won't take me ten years to read the next one.(less)

Andrew gave

to:

Black Liberation and Socialism
by Ahmed Shawki

My rating:

As with all the Haymarket titles I've read, this was an interesting read, part of their "______ and Socialism" series, which are nice, readable introductions to a whole host of important issues and ideas. The book looks to give an "overview of the ma...more

Andrew gave

to:

Where I Was From (Vintage International)
by Joan Didion

My rating:

This book suffered do to the circumstances in which I read it, a time of transition, hard to get a rhythm. Still, I didn't love this like I hoped. I thought it was solid, more of a 2.5, but lacked a lot of the power, craft, and voice of "Slouching." ...more

Andrew gave

to:

The Pale King
by David Foster Wallace

My rating:

What to say? Perhaps you've heard it's an entertaining book about boredom? Which is true, and thus makes it a great companion to the we're-killing-ourselves-with-entertainment theme of Infinite Jest.

While the book is indeterminate, which is nothing ...more

Andrew gave

to:

A Sorrow Beyond Dreams
by Peter Handke

My rating:

This is my first encounter with Handke, someone I've been meaning to read for the last couple years. It's a very short book, written in a two-month burst, recounting his mother's life after she's committed suicide. Despite these factors of its compos...more

Andrew gave

to:

Donkey Gospel
by Tony Hoagland

My rating:

This was enjoyable but suffered only in comparison to how much I loved "Unincorporated Persons." This feels less political and not quite as laugh-caught-in-my-throat producing. That said: "Down inside history's body, / the slaves are still singing in...more

Andrew gave

to:

Farming the Dust Bowl by Lawrence Svobida

Farming the Dust Bowl: A First-Hand Account from Kansas
by Lawrence Svobida

My rating:

Picked this off the bestseller table and did not regret. A lot of yucks at the beach with this one.

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Andrew gave to: Sex in the Heartland by Beth L. Bailey	My rating:
You mean you didn't know Kansas invented sex?
Sep 12, 2011 09:53am · see review
Andrew gave to: What Narcissism Means to Me by Tony Hoagland	My rating:
More of a 3.61. I liked this more than 'Donkey Gospel' but not quite as much as 'Unincorporated Persons,' so it's a fitting chronological bridge b/w the two. "And dying you know shows a serious ingratitude For sunsets and beehive hairdos and the prec...more
Sep 12, 2011 09:52am · see review
Andrew gave to: Orientation: And Other Stories by Daniel Orozco	My rating:
This book faced an uphill battle in winning my affection, b/c of stupid, unfair resistance on my part formed on the notion its author had seemingly built an entire career off of a single short novelty story written 15 years ago. But it climbed all th...more
Sep 04, 2011 05:49pm · see review
Andrew gave to: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides	My rating:
Didn't love it the way I loved 'Virgin Suicides'--but still pretty damn good. Not sure how it took me nine years to read a book I supposedly was dying to read. It kind of fell into this group of longish books of the last 15 years (Underworld, Correct...more
Aug 11, 2011 06:01pm · see review
Andrew gave to: Black Liberation and Socialism by Ahmed Shawki	My rating:
As with all the Haymarket titles I've read, this was an interesting read, part of their "______ and Socialism" series, which are nice, readable introductions to a whole host of important issues and ideas. The book looks to give an "overview of the ma...more
Jul 16, 2011 12:28pm · see review
Andrew gave to: Where I Was From (Vintage International) by Joan Didion	My rating:
This book suffered do to the circumstances in which I read it, a time of transition, hard to get a rhythm. Still, I didn't love this like I hoped. I thought it was solid, more of a 2.5, but lacked a lot of the power, craft, and voice of "Slouching." ...more
Jul 16, 2011 11:50am · see review
Andrew gave to: The Pale King by David Foster Wallace	My rating:
What to say? Perhaps you've heard it's an entertaining book about boredom? Which is true, and thus makes it a great companion to the we're-killing-ourselves-with-entertainment theme of Infinite Jest. While the book is indeterminate, which is nothing ...more
May 13, 2011 06:15pm · see review
Andrew gave to: A Sorrow Beyond Dreams by Peter Handke	My rating:
This is my first encounter with Handke, someone I've been meaning to read for the last couple years. It's a very short book, written in a two-month burst, recounting his mother's life after she's committed suicide. Despite these factors of its compos...more
May 13, 2011 05:34pm · see review
Andrew gave to: Donkey Gospel by Tony Hoagland	My rating:
This was enjoyable but suffered only in comparison to how much I loved "Unincorporated Persons." This feels less political and not quite as laugh-caught-in-my-throat producing. That said: "Down inside history's body, / the slaves are still singing in...more
May 13, 2011 05:21pm · see review
Andrew gave to: Farming the Dust Bowl: A First-Hand Account from Kansas by Lawrence Svobida	My rating:
Picked this off the bestseller table and did not regret. A lot of yucks at the beach with this one.
May 13, 2011 05:14pm · see review

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