false 792256 male Sacramento, CA 01/2008 12/2009 7 50 41 true 5667897 read 1 true 1604401 currently-reading 8 true 1604400 to-read How Not to Start a Magazine (Paperback) by B. Ann Bell]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80586873 http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41JSDDT905L._SL75_.jpg 792256 Casey http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204425017p2/792256.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/792256-casey Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:21:37 -0800 West of the West: Dreamers, Believers, Builders, and Killers in the Golden State (Hardcover) by Mark Arax]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80586725 http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410q-zTl1HL._SL75_.jpg 792256 Casey http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204425017p2/792256.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/792256-casey Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:20:32 -0800 The Year of Magical Thinking (Paperback) by Joan Didion]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80586625 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165644384s/7815.jpg 792256 Casey http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204425017p2/792256.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/792256-casey Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:19:59 -0800 Last Night: Stories (Paperback) by James Salter]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80586516 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167093677s/18757.jpg 792256 Casey http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204425017p2/792256.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/792256-casey Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:19:15 -0800 Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned: Stories (Hardcover) by Wells Tower]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80586377 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255939030s/4291946.jpg 792256 Casey http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204425017p2/792256.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/792256-casey Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:18:28 -0800 My First Summer in the Sierra (Dover Books on Americana) by John Muir]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66458819 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173020211s/238727.jpg 792256 Casey http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204425017p2/792256.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/792256-casey Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:18:02 -0800 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79662310 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175540825s/525749.jpg 792256 Casey http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204425017p2/792256.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/792256-casey Sun, 06 Dec 2009 07:57:45 -0800
I read it as thinly veiled autobiography, and dug it as that. I have absolutely no problem with writers writing about writing. I also have no idea what 'all too now' means as a critique. The kid came to life for me, as it really felt like I was reading about a different version of myself were I forced to live under the same circumstances as the narrator. As for the Jewish thing, it seemed pretty straightforward to me. He is partially Jewish and afraid to admit it for fear of being looked down upon. This makes him sympathize with classmates of Jewish ancestry who are looked down upon for being Jewish. It's used to show the narrator's fear of being honest about himself, of being open with and truly close to his fellow classmates, and of being rejected by his peers.

I have to admit, I had a lot of the same thoughts about the kid not realizing he was turning in a plagiarized story. I kind of just had to suspend disbelief and roll with it - Wolff could've definitely handled this better. But as for the 'coyness' of holding off on delivering a crucial plot point, it seemed like a pretty standard strategy that novelists consistently employ, and which Wolff did as well as anyone.]]> Identity Crisis (Paperback) by Brad Meltzer]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66459728 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167783075s/26085.jpg 792256 Casey http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204425017p2/792256.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/792256-casey Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:24:54 -0700 The OMAC Project (Countdown to Infinite Crisis) by Greg Rucka]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66459691 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174018202s/353700.jpg 792256 Casey http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204425017p2/792256.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/792256-casey Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:24:34 -0700 Shallow Grave in Trinity County (Softcover) by Harry Farrell]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66459304 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1184815600s/1532122.jpg 792256 Casey http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204425017p2/792256.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/792256-casey Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:20:24 -0700