What I'm Reading OCTOBER 2015

[Carol]

Ethan wrote: "Carol wrote: "Ethan wrote: "I just started reading Slade House by David Mitchell. I'm excited to read this shorter work by the author. I feel like he may really ben..."

Great, he is one of my favorites.

[Lyn]

I just finished A Little Life. I have so many different reactions that I hardly know what to say.

I was definitely absorbed while reading this book, even though it is very long. I became caught up enough in the characters and steady storytelling of the novel that I used it several days to escape from my own life responsibilities by reading for hours.

I enjoyed the fact that it is in many ways different than anything I have read before. The author (interestingly, a woman who created main characters that are almost exclusively men) has talked of it being about people finding family and community more in friendship than in traditional ways, and I did like that bent of it, something I feel people may increasingly be doing in society today.

The reader is somewhat sucked in, as the book at first seems to be about four young male college roommates and their friendship as they go through life. It's awhile into the book when it becomes focused mostly on one of them, Jude, and how horrendous physical and sexual abuse as a child has affected him in ways that mentally and physically continue to make adult daily life an enormous struggle. Jude's closest friend Willem, almost too kind to be true, was my favorite character.

The novel's characters were envisioned in such a way to be vivid and memorable, so I was involved even while not quite believing they could be true, as both the good and bad elements of the book and the characters seem to be exaggerated and so not quite believable reality. The facts that all four men attained wealth and success, that everyone almost automatically and fiercely loved and respected Jude (unless they were one of his horrific abusers), including a law prof who developed the desire to adopt him as an adult, that Jude's self esteem never seemed to actually improve fundamentally even a little bit over the decades of life with the support of loving friends, and that Willem so smoothly went sexually from women to Jude were things that rang a little bell of incredulity even as I went along with them and kept reading. It also seemed to me that the male characters talked of love and affection for each other more easily than I have ever seen male friends do (but perhaps for young men today this is changing).

However, the author imagined characters and presented them in a way that made one want to keep reading, and although there was resolution at the end, the story was not tied up in an bow but finished in a way that was true to the character of Jude that she created.

This is recommended reading if you have time to get lost in the world of a book for awhile. I would be interested to hear what others thought of this one.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Quanjun wrote: "Just finished , can't say enough good things about it. I'm a new fan! Will read a few fiction and get back to the series (or will not complete book count chall..."

Quanjun, how about putting the title along with the picture of the book. Those of us with old eyes cannot decipher that little icon, and it doesn't show up on mobile apps.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Quanjun wrote: "Sherry wrote: "Quanjun wrote: "Just finished , can't say enough good things about it. I'm a new fan! Will read a few fiction and get back to the series (or wil..."

I find that very odd. We like to be able to read the name of the book without squinting.

[Sheila]

Lyn wrote: "I just finished A Little Life. I have so many different reactions that I hardly know what to say.

I was definitely absorbed while reading this book, even though it is very long. I..."
Lyn, thanks for the review of this. It is the next book from this year's Booker list that I shall be reading. It is currently sitting on my table just waiting on a break in proceedings of life to have time to start it.

[Ethan]

Carol wrote: "Ethan wrote: "Carol wrote: "Ethan wrote: "I just started reading Slade House by David Mitchell. I'm excited to read this shorter work by the author. I feel like he ..."

As promised...here's a link to my review of Slade House by David Mitchell. I loved it! http://e135-abookaweek.blogspot.com/2...

[Carol]

Ethan wrote: "Carol wrote: "Ethan wrote: "Carol wrote: "Ethan wrote: "I just started reading Slade House by David Mitchell. I'm excited to read this shorter work by the author. I..."

My copy comes tomorrow, and I can hardly wait. Your review makes me want to read it post haste. I have enjoyed all of Mitchell's books. Thanks for the link.

[Ethan]

Carol wrote: "Ethan wrote: "Carol wrote: "Ethan wrote: "Carol wrote: "Ethan wrote: "I just started reading Slade House by David Mitchell. I'm excited to read this shorter work by..."

I can't wait to hear what you think of it!

Now I'm on to After Alice by Gregory Maguire.

[Mary]

Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates. It is the story of Cressida who goes missing, her parents and sister, and her sister's former fiancé - a disabled veteran -who confesses to murdering Cressida. The story held my attention. The structure took a while to get used to - different voices, moving back and forth in time. The ending left me wanting more closure, but maybe there really isn't any. It is a story about relationships, violence, mental health, justice, forgiveness.

[Carol]

I am having a hard time getting through The Blue Guitar. Has anyone else read or attempted to read it?

[Gina]

I finished Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison last night. This book tells the story of Bone, born to a 15 year old mother. This story speaks volume about abuse: sexual, physical and emotional. Bone's stepdad hates her and she him. The Boatwrights aren't the most respectable neighbors in town and Bone grows up with shame and anger knowing she's called Trash. Great book.

[Book Concierge]

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – 3***
Is there anyone who doesn’t know the basic storyline of Alexei Karenin, his wife Anna, and her lover Count Vronsky? Tolstoy’s novel explores much more than this love triangle, but this central story was what I found compelling. Too bad I had to wade through all that other stuff. Nadia May does an okay job of narrating the audio version. She does tend to “read” rather than perform but her pacing was good and her diction clear.
Full Review HERE

[Barbara]

Gina, Bastard Out of Carolina is one of my favorite books. I loved Allison's refusal to make Bone a victim. I saw Dorothy Allison talk in Ann Arbor quite a while ago and really liked her.

[Gina]

I finished The Reader by Bernhard Schlink yesterday. Usually the book is better. In this case, I think the movie is better. This audio book seemed flat with the characters never exhibiting much passion. It's a horrific story of what people (women) can be capable of with no explanation or reasoning given. Just evil.

[Renee]

I'm currently reading Lost Boy Lost Girl by Peter Straub. I haven't read much of his works but this one is really good. A perfect read for Halloween.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Gina wrote: "I finished The Reader by Bernhard Schlink yesterday. Usually the book is better. In this case, I think the movie is better. This audio book seemed flat with the charact..."

Gina, if you're interested, we read The Reader years ago (1999) for the reading list. Here's our discussion:

http://constantreader.com/discussions...

[Gina]

Book Concierge wrote: " Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – 3***
Is there anyone who doesn’t know the basic storyline of Alexei Karenin, his wife Anna, and her lover Count Vronsky? Tolstoy’s nove..."

Thanks Barbara. I hadn't thought about that, but you're right. She never becomes a victim.

[Gina]

Sherry wrote: "Gina wrote: "I finished The Reader by Bernhard Schlink yesterday. Usually the book is better. In this case, I think the movie is better. This audio book seemed flat wit..."

Thanks Sherry. I read the CR discussion this morning. It gave me insights I didn't get the first time.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Gina wrote: "Sherry wrote: "Gina wrote: "I finished The Reader by Bernhard Schlink yesterday. Usually the book is better. In this case, I think the movie is better. This audio book ..."

I love that we have these old discussions to read. I had totally forgotten the book, but reading the discussion brings back memories.

[Gina]

I read Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo yesterday. This was a wonderful short book about war, family, love and tragedy.

[Mary Anne]

I'm reading The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert. Very well written. Also, I'm reading How to Be Both by Ali Smith, and recommended here by one of the Janes, a while back.