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July 23
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Abby
gave
 
to:
You Shall Know Our Velocity (Paperback)
by Dave Eggers
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
Abby said:
"I'm glad that I read Dave Eggers' novel before I dove into Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. From what I know about the latter, it's self-indulgent and ranty, with a need of a good edit. You Shall Know Our Velocity was ranty at times, sure, bu...more
I'm glad that I read Dave Eggers' novel before I dove into Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. From what I know about the latter, it's self-indulgent and ranty, with a need of a good edit. You Shall Know Our Velocity was ranty at times, sure, but it served its purpose. It was deliberate rant that I read over, more than once, just to make sure it all sunk in.
Dave Eggers did something that not many authors I've read can do--he pulls off gorgeous, original description and fantastic dialogue. Every place he took us to, whether Drakar or Estonia, I could really feel the atmosphere and vibe he wanted to give off. And the Hand/Will dialogue was brilliant. I loved Hand's 'broken English'--I mean, seriously, doesn't that say enough about a character and the type of guy he is, to automatically lapse into poor English around people who speak English as a second-language? I was also a big fan of the fast-talk Will and Hand did whenever they wanted privacy around the natives; ie, WillandHandwouldtalkreallyfastsonobodycouldunderstandthem. So clever.
The backstory was interwoven wonderfully, although at times, the tenses and times seemed to jump around. Luckily, it didn't take more than a few paragraphs to realize what part of Will's life you were in, but it did feel annoying to be in three different times at one part, especially when the book is written in past-tense to begin with.
Also, I found myself wishing the week journey would come to an end sometimes, though; especially with the opening sentence. I wanted that to be explored more. There were places that felt the same and they all blended together after awhile. At times toward the end, the ranting DID feel too much and I briefly skimmed, but like I said, they served their purpose, so I made myself go back and re-read it. There were parts Eggers wasn't clear about, either; who DID beat Will up? I was confused whether it was related to Hand, or Will just blamed Hand because he wasn't around. Was Hand not around because he knew Will was being beaten up, or because he knew the guys? I didn't get that, and it was one of those things I hate about reading a really good book--you're not sure if it's you and your idiocy, or the author. You don't want to think it's you, but you don't want to think it's the book, either, because it's so fantastic.
In any case, I'll be reading more of Eggers. I'm curious to see what his quasi-memoir, HWOSG, will be like.
...less
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July 17
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Abby
marked as to-read:
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Paperback)
by Jonathan Safran Foer
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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July 11
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Abby
gave
to:
The Catcher in the Rye (Paperback)
by J.D. Salinger
bookshelves:
classic
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
Abby said:
"Well, I finally, finally, finally read Catcher in the Rye. I don't know why my high school never assigned this book, or why it took me so long to read it; and honestly, I don't know what I went in, expecting, except that it's a modern-classic (ah, th...more
Well, I finally, finally, finally read Catcher in the Rye. I don't know why my high school never assigned this book, or why it took me so long to read it; and honestly, I don't know what I went in, expecting, except that it's a modern-classic (ah, the oxymoron phase!) set in the POV of an adolescent kid who got kicked out of boarding school. I can't really say much about it, to be honest; the language and voice were consistent and authentic. I really like Holden--he was exasperating and enjoyable at the same time. Really funny and insightful, among all the "old so-and-so" and "that killed me" and "phony" comments. No real plot of the story, except a guy trying to figure out what to do with himself after being kicked out of boarding school, but I guess that was the whole point of the book; that he had no idea what to do with himself. Which is, of course, being a teenager...and adult...or just living, I guess....less
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July 06
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Abby
took the never-ending book quiz.
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July 05
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New comment on Jessica's review of
Double Love (Sweet Valley High #1)
(see all 31 comments)
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July 06
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Abby
marked as to-read:
The Informers (Paperback)
by Bret Easton Ellis
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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June 30
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Abby
gave
to:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Paperback)
by Stephen Chbosky
bookshelves:
fiction
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in March, 2008
Abby said:
"I loved this book. Although it's geared as young-adult fiction, it was written with such self-effacing ease that I think most adult-fiction writers could learn quite a bit.
This is the first protagonist, in a long time, that I've fallen in love wi...more
I loved this book. Although it's geared as young-adult fiction, it was written with such self-effacing ease that I think most adult-fiction writers could learn quite a bit.
This is the first protagonist, in a long time, that I've fallen in love with. Charlie was wonderful-sweet, insightful, honest, awkward, brilliant, aware. His stories and encounters were believable and memorable. I found myself writing a lot of great lines down, such as:
"I feel infinite."
or
"Sometimes people use thought to not participate in life."
or
"We accept the love we think we deserve."
And those aren't even the descriptive lines-just a lot of raw, but contained, thoughts.
Although there are still flaws--I felt the ending needed a bit more build-up or hints. The discovery of Charlie's felt abrupt, and I didn't really see that coming. But maybe that was the intention--for the reader to be as clueless as Charlie. I also felt his bits of being 'bad' (in the psychotic sense) needed a bit more to them. Maybe more flashbacks or background, I don't know. And the last chapter itself has a lot if, "I feel" type of sentiments, which grated on me for a bit. But that was really it.
Really great book. Even if somebody told me that Charlie is trying to be Holden and Chbosky is trying to be Salinger....less
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Abby
gave
to:
Empire Falls (Paperback)
by Richard Russo
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Abby said:
"This book has been on my To-Read list for longer than I can remember. The prologue was what killed me every time I attempted to get into it; I'm a very visual learner, and seeing pages of only italics made me want to hurt Richard Russo. I was tempted...more
This book has been on my To-Read list for longer than I can remember. The prologue was what killed me every time I attempted to get into it; I'm a very visual learner, and seeing pages of only italics made me want to hurt Richard Russo. I was tempted to skip that entire part, but stuck with it, hoping it would be beneficial for the rest of the novel.
Yep. It definitely was.
Once I got into Chapter One, I was sucked in. Miles is a wonderful protagonist, and most of the supporting characters, like Tick, the Silver Fox, and Charlene, are equally awesome. Two personal favorites are Timmy the Cat and Father Tom. I laughed out loud during most of their passages, and felt the usual bits of annoyance and envy that I can't write humor so effectively.
I had problems with Janine, though, and Mrs. Whiting. They felt one-dimensional, and with Janine especially, inconsistent. She started off the book in a certain frame of intelligence but as the novel persisted, it was like somebody started popping her brain cells one by one. I mean, seriously, did Russo really need to make her look up the word 'lobotomy?' It felt excessive. Janine's chapters could have been omitted altogether, to be honest; we got the sense of her character, her faults and traits, through Miles' POV. Otherwise, it became repetitive, as if Russo was trying to drive too many points home with this one sad, lonely woman who is just now discovering her sexual appetite. It also, to me, felt like he was trying too hard to show he understood how a sexual woman would think and act. It's a fatality in a lot of male authors trying to understand females, and it's definitely not an easy feat to write in the opposite gender.
Overall, I loved reading this. Eventually I got used to the chapters written solely in italics (they served their purpose) and a lot of the bits I found funny eventually became tragic or meaningful. John Voss broke my heart, as did Grace Roby, because they're meant to. It's impressive when an author can combine comedy and tragedy so easily, and leave these images and thoughts long after the book is put down.
Straight Man is my next one to read by Russo, and I'm not going to lie--I'm pretty damned excited for it....less
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June 11
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New comment on Jill's review of
Middlesex
(see all 17 comments)
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June 06
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Abby
marked as to-read:
Blonde: A Novel (Paperback)
by Joyce Carol Oates
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Abby, you have written very good reviews for almost every book you have rated. Want a book reviewer web page? Book reviewers can get FREE advance copy books from publishers who need these reviews to advertise. I'll send you a link to my latest book.
