#12 in my book challenge for the year, Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is such a polished novel that it almost sparkles. I want to revisit this book more often. The prose and the characters are a joy to spend time with.
#11 in my book challenge for the year, Truth and Consequences by Alison Lurie felt like a novel in shorthand. It was a quick read that I enjoyed, but the story of two couples–or is it four individuals?–never engaged me at the deep level that Lurie’s Foreign Affairs did.
#10 in my book challenge for the year is Salvation Run by Mary Gardner, about bikers and Lutherans in northern Minnesota. Mary Gardner is such a good writing instructor that I took the same class from her twice. Disproving the adage “those who can’t do, teach”, Salvation Run is exquisitely crafted. In simple prose, tales of flawed people who struggle with themselves and others interweave, but never confuse. Several characters linger long after the book is done.
Did you think I was just watching movies? I’ve been reading, too. It takes a lot more effort than it used to, and I’m having to give up a lot more things to do it (showers, housecleaning, email replies, phone calls) but I am reading. Further, I’m appreciating the reading, because I have to work so hard to do it. I think it’s tougher than watching a movie; it requires more mental energy, and more physical energy, too. Maybe you don’t think holding a book and turning pages is tough, but try doing it on little sleep and while nursing a baby–no small feat.
#9 in my book challenge for the year, Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner was the first novel I read, post-Guppy. The pink, chick-lit-y cover doesn’t match the novel at all; shame on the publisher for foisting it on the author. The mystery is interestingly plotted, and clips along at a good pace, but doesn’t linger in the mind. The meditations on marriage and motherhood, though, are complex and engaging. Weiner writes about ambivalence with humor and empathy. Her main character is easy to relate to, even as she questions her marriage and flirts with an old flame. The end of the book tidily ties up the mystery, but not the complex relationships. Some reviewers at Amazon have a problem with this, but I thought it elevated the book above its chick lit counterparts, and made me wish that Weiner focuses more on the messy relationship stuff for her next book.
#8 in my book challenge for the year was A Long Way Down, sent to me by kind reader V. who had an extra copy. It’s about four people who meet on New Year’s Eve at the top of a building. They all intend to jump, but don’t. The story rotates through their four voices, each of which is distinct. The book is dark, funny and human. Some dismiss Hornby as light reading, but I feel he has a talent for illuminating difficult emotional aspects of characters that gives his work more than average heft.
#7 in my book challenge for the year was Bungalow Kitchens, since we’re on the verge of updating ours. After flipping through the book, I thought the photos were lovely but didn’t think I’d get much out of the book. The photos had a lot of period reproductions of older kitchens with vintage appliances. We plan to update our kitchen, not make it look like it’s original. Yet we don’t want to plonk a modern-looking kitchen in the midst of our 1917-looking house. Reading the book cover to cover, though, was well worth my time. I learned a lot about bungalows in general, and about design choices in particular. Specifically helpful was the organization of the book by detail, e.g. counters, and the inclusion of information on how to obsessively restore, countered by compromises for modern kitchens. It was also helpful to learn that if we take a restorative tack in our kitchen re-do, then there are lots of things we can rule out, e.g. recessed lighting, thereby limiting the vast number of choices we’d have to make if we were building a kitchen from scratch or renovating a kitchen in a more modern house.
For the record, Hypnobirthing by Marie Mongan was my #6 book for the year, though it seems weird to mention, since it’s obviously a situational thing. The name sounds very cheesy, and some of the assurances a little too good to be true, e.g. birth doesn’t have to hurt! But I’m doing two big things differently this time: using hypnosis as a relaxation tool, and working with a doula. When I had Drake, my water broke after a long day; I was exhausted and probably dehydrated. Then when I had tough contractions, I threw up, making things worse. I would love drug-free pain, but I’ll settle for no vomiting. Also, when I had Drake the hospital was full, and G. Grod and I were left alone for long periods of time, with me in a labor whose details were not by the book. This time we’re working with a doula, in the hope that if things go weird again, we’ll have a calmer, more experienced person with us the whole time.
#5 in my book challenge for this year is a practical read: The Not-So-Big House by Sarah Susanka. Not only does our family live in a NSB house, but with a second child on the way, a new sink in our immediate future, and a restored/renovated kitchen in our possible future, I thought it would be good to gather ideas. This is a beautiful book with lovely photography. It’s coffee-table size, though, makes for awkward reading in bed. It’s written much in the manner of a self-help book. Susanka introduces different concepts about how to live more authentically in smaller places, then reinforces her points both in the text and the photos. Unlike many self-help books, though, many of the ideas continue to resonate. One is that of an “away” room in the house–a place for quiet reading that is apart from the general traffic flow and noise of everyday life. Another is her suggestion that rooms be multi-functional. She gently denigrates the modern house staple of a formal dining room that is hardly ever used because of its singular function. Instead, she advocates the creation of a dining space that can be informal or formal depending on light and decor, or a dining space that does double duty in other ways. (Case in point: I am typing this entry on my laptop as I sit at our dining room table, which is also where our little family eats every night. Breakfast and lunch usually take place in the kitchen.) She also has an interesting suggestion for planning house changes when you have kids–ask them. Very often, they’ll have opinions, and you might save time and hassle by finding out what kind of space your kids want for their room or play space, instead of making something they will dislike and not use.
#4 in my book challenge for the year was Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace. The essays here cover range over the past decade and cover such diverse topics as the AVN awards (like the Oscars of porn), 9/11, Kafka and Dostoyevsky. With his trademark lengthy footnotes adorning every pages, this is not a quick or easy read, though it is rewarding. I especially enjoyed “Authority and American Usage,” ostensibly a review of the new A Dictionary of Modern American Usage, but really a history and analysis of what he terms The Usage Wars. It’s hard not to feel intellectually small after reading DFW, but he counters his extreme intellectualism with a humanity that makes the essays, no matter their topic, extremely engaging. I don’t think, however, that he could ever manage to balance the humanity and the intellectualism–he’s so far gone in the latter that it can only be tempered. Equilibrium would be a long shot.
#3 in my book challenge for 2006 was We Were the Mulvaneys. I veered from 2 quick graphic novel reads into Oates’s long, dense novel. This was the first book by Oates for adults that I have read, and I admired it. It is a family history, so thickly characterized I could almost swear the Mulvaneys were real. The Mulvaneys seem to have a charmed life until one awful, disruptive event sends them all spiralling down and out. It’s tragic, believable, and ultimately redemptive.
#2 in my book challenge for the year, Batman: Dark Victory, was not as interesting or complex as its predecessor Batman: The Long Halloween. It had a more defined ending, but was even less satisfying for its contrivance. My advice, contrary to most reviewers: skip Dark Victory and Catwoman: When in Rome. Read Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween, then stop.
#1 in my book challenge for this year was Catwoman: When in Rome. This book disappointed, as have Loeb and Sale’s more recent efforts. This story takes place after the much superior Batman: The Long Halloween and before Batman: Dark Victory. This six-issue collection could probably have been a very strong single issue with a good editor. Over six issues the story was spread thin. Additionally, I find the wildly subtle and various affects of the Scarecrow’s influence to be annoyingly contrived.
The book and movie challenges I did last year arose out of frustration that two of my favorite pastimes got short shrift in the aftermath of having a child 2+ years ago. The goals were reminders that books and movies are priorities. I enjoy them and they engage my mind. Our next child is due in the coming weeks; I’m sure this will make a dent in the time and energy I’m able to devote to books and movies. Last year’s successful challenges show me to hang in there, because things change. They also remind me that motherhood is not synonymous with intellectual stagnation or atrophy. I will again try for 50 books and 50 movies. One of each per week feels manageable, for now.
Recently burned by the less-than-completely truthful James Frey, Oprah has selected for her next book one that she foreshadowed by saying it should be mandatory reading for every person on earth. Big words. Is there any book that great? The one she picked, though, is hard to argue. It’s Night by Elie Wiesel, a book about the Holocaust that is both historic and humane.
There are other books that might be recommended so highly, but two in particular came to my mind: Beloved by Toni Morrison, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
For further reading related to Holocaust, I recommend a few other books. Art Spiegelman’s now-classic graphic novels Maus and Maus II, and Jane Yolen’s Briar Rose. The latter is a re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty myth interwoven with the Holocaust. It could so easily have been slight, or overdetermined, or both, but instead it is a powerfully moving interpretation that underscores how difficult truths can sometimes be better told in fiction than in non-. (A lesson that Frey might be aware of, now.)
Finally, for more Wiesel, I recommend reading The Town Beyond the Wall in conjunction with Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha–seemingly disparate, but very alike.
I started off 2005 with a 50 book challenge, but upped it to 100 when I realized that my inclusion of both graphic novels and young adult novels made for a faster-moving list. At the end of the year, the tallies were spookily exact, though some books could be argued as to which category they belong in, e.g. Persepolis: graphic novel or non-fiction? I chose the former. When in doubt, I also went with where it would be shelved in a bookstore or library. So, the final numbers. Novels: 39. Non-fiction: 13. Young adult: 27. Graphic Novels: 25. That’s 52 novels and non-fiction, and 52 YA and GNs, for a grand total of 104. Apologies for no italics, inconsistent author names, and no links, but all books are linked in the “50 Book Challenge” category.
I’ll start with the bad news. There are only two books I read last year that I feel were a waste of my time: Prep by Sittenfeld and Rent Girl by Tea. Both were highly hyped and featured static, immature main characters. For me, the lack of character development far outweighed any good points of the narratives.
I’ve starred the books I found particularly good. Lying Awake by Salzman was an accidental find, which impressed me all the more because I had no expectations. Ex Machina, Y the Last Man, and Daredevil were my favorite graphic novels and ongoing comic book series of the past year. I am proud to have finally read the entire Don Quixote. Satrapi’s graphic novels were much more engaging and involving than Reading Lolita In Tehran.
I found the young-adult novels by writers who also write for adults more complex and better written than a lot of what’s out there: Godless and Invisible by Hautman, All Rivers Flow to the Sea by McGhee, Sexy and Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Oates.
Several books are starred because I flat-out enjoyed them: Case Histories by Atkinson, The Year of Secret Assignments by Moriarty, Magic or Madness by Larbalestier, and I Capture the Castle by Smith. Additionally, I re-read some old favorites, like Top Ten, Batman Year One, Speak, The Tempest, and Howl’s Moving Castle.
Finally, some of the starred books were not only good reads, but each had a “wow” factor that particularly impressed me: Briar Rose by Yolen, Empire Falls by Russo, Paradise by Kennedy, Bangkok 8 by Burdett, Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro, Housekeeping and Gilead by Robinson, What I Loved by Hustvedt, The Driver’s Seat by Spark, Mothers and Other Monsters by McHugh, In a Lonely Place by Hughes, and Alias Grace by Atwood.
1. Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
*2. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
3. Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas
*4. Ex Machina by Brian K. Vaughn, Tony Harris et al.
*5. Y the Last Man 4 by Brian K. Vaughn, Pia Guerra et al.
6. Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 ed. Cart & Eggers
*7. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
8. Doing It by Burgess, Melvin
9. Rush Hour 1 Sin ed. Cart, Michael
10. Rush Hour 2 Bad Boys ed. Cart, Michael
11. Girl by Nelson, Blake
12. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Mackler, Carolyn
*13. Empire Falls by Russo, Richard
14 to 17: special-topic research for novel
18. From Romance to Realism by Cart, Michael
19. What You Wear Can Change Your Life by Woodall & Constantine
*20. Lying Awake by Salzman, Mark
21. Carnet de Voyage by Thompson, Craig
22. Tender at the Bone by Reichl, Ruth
23. Saving Francesca by Marchetta, Melina
24. When the Messenger Is Hot by Crane, Elizabeth
25. Stop that Girl by McKenzie, Elizabeth
26. Fast Food Nation by Schlosser, Eric
*27. Don Quixote by Cervantes
28. All This Heavenly Glory by Crane, Elizabeth
29. Beware of God by Auslander, Shalom
*30. Daredevil: Widow by Bendis/Maleev
31. The True & Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Robinson, Elisabeth
32. Embroideries by Satrapi
33. Tomorrowland ed. Cart, M.
*34. Speak by Anderson, Laurie Halse
*35. Case Histories by Atkinson, Kate
36. Where No Gods Came by O’Connor, Sheila
37. Mysterious Skin by Heim, Scott
38. Scott Pilgrim #1 by O’Malley, Bryan Lee
*39. Paradise by Kennedy, A.L.
40. Scott Pilgrim #2 by O’Malley, Bryan Lee
41. The Fall by Mawer, Simon
42. Hulk: Gray by Loeb/Sale
43. WE3 by Morrison/Quitely
44. Daredevil V. 11: Golden Age by Bendis/Maleev
45. Family Matters by Guterson, David
46. The Wonder Spot by Banks, Melissa
*47. Persepolis 2 by Satrapi, Marjane
48. Wasteland by Block, Francesca Lia
49. Necklace of Kisses by Block, Francesca Lia
50. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
51. In the Shadow of the Law by Kermit Roosevelt
*52. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
53. Rush Hour 3: Face ed. Cart, Michael
*54. Y the Last Man v. 5: Ring of Truth by Vaughan
*55. The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
56. If Chins Could Kill by Bruce Campbell
57. Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner
*58. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
*59. Bangkok 8 by John Burdett
60. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Smith
61. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by Rowling
62. Runaways v. 1 by Vaughan
63. The Cute Manifesto by Kochalka
64. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by Rowling
65. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Nafisi
66. A Changed Man by Francine Prose
67. The Clouds Above by Jordan Crane
*68. The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark
69. Other Electricities by Ander Monson
70. Tricked by Alex Robinson
*71. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
*72. Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier
73. The Queen of Everything by Deb Caletti
*74. Was it Beautiful? by Alison McGhee
75. DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke
*76. Invisible by Pete Hautman
77. Snap by McGhee
78. Sweetblood by Hautman
79. The Kite Runner by Hosseini
*80. Godless by Hautman
*81. What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt
82. The Panic-Free Pregnancy by Broder
*83. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
*84. Mothers and Other Monsters by Maureen McHugh
*85. All Rivers Flow to the Sea by McGhee
*86. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
87. The Skin Chairs by Barbara Comyns
*88. The Tempest by Shakespeare
*89. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
90. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
*91. Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
*92. Sexy by Oates
*93. In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes
94. Revision by David Kaplan
95. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
96. No Limit by Hautman
97. Mr. Was by Hautman
*98. Top Ten Book 1 by Moore/Ha/Cannon
*99. Top Ten Book 2
100. Top Ten: The Forty-Niners by Moore/Ha
101. Smax by Moore/Cannon
102. Rent Girl by Tea/McCubbin
*103. Batman: Year One by Miller/Mazzuchelli
104. Batman: The Long Halloween by Loeb/Sale
I hope to do a recap of the 2005 book and movie challenges. I think they were a resounding success–I read 104 books and watched 59 movies. This year will bring new challenges; I’m not sure how I’ll be able to read and watch once I’m caring for both a two year old and a newborn. Instead of number goals this year, I want the great majority of whatever I read or watch to be something I already own. I worked in a used bookstore a few years ago, and still have a huge number of books I bought there that I haven’t read. Additionally, our Tivo is packed with films, and our cabinets with DVDs purchased back in the days of dual incomes, all unwatched. Last year I became expert at my library’s online hold system for books, movies, and music. This year, I’d like to restrain myself from throwing any book or movie I read about that catches my fancy on my request list. Especially with movies, I won’t eschew the library completely, but I would like to limit it to a small percentage (10%, perhaps?) of what I could be reading or watching that is currently lying fallow at home.
#104 in my book challenge for 2005 was Batman: The Long Halloween, written by Loeb and illustrated by Sale. This was Loeb and Sale’s first multi-issue collaboration, and it has much to recommend it. It is rooted in the characters from Frank Miller’s Year One, but expands on them in this noir tale of mafia and corruption in Gotham City. A killer is loose and taking out members of the Falcone family business. Batman, police commissioner Jim Gordon and DA Harvey Dent are trying to catch the killer and collect enough evidence on Falcone to put him in jail. Each member of Batman’s rogues’ gallery is introduced over the course of thirteen chapters, interpreted through Sale’s distinctive and striking artistic style. There is excellent characterization here, and great chemistry between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, and their alter-egos Batman and Catwoman. The story falls flat at the end, though. When the killer is purportedly revealed in one of the penultimate chapters, it is satisfying and makes sense. Yet the book goes on to finger not just one but two other characters. It’s a surprise ending that was set up in advance, so I have no quibbles there. But it’s murky–it’s not clear who murdered whom, and this feels cheap after the earlier, more satisfying reveal.
#103 in my 2005 book challenge was Batman: Year One, two steps back from where I started, which was to read the Loeb/Sale collaboration Catwoman: When in Rome. The Catwoman story takes place after Batman: The Long Halloween, which in turn is rooted in some of the ancillary characters from Miller’s seminal Year One. So re-reading Year One was where I began, and was reminded of why it’s not only one of my favorite Batman stories, but one of my favorite graphic novels. It’s not really about Batman; this is Jim Gordon’s story. Both the art by David Mazuchelli and story by Miller are spare and impressionistic, yet so evocative that the book feels rich and complete. Batman is one of the most intriguing, complex superheroes because he is “merely” human. Year One shows the messy humanity of Batman, Catwoman, and the very fallible Gordon. It doesn’t involve a single supervillain, only corrupt civilians. The mood of this book was evident in last year’s successful film, Batman Begins, which many assumed, incorrectly, was adapted from Year One.
#102 in my book challenge for 2005 was Rent Girl by Michelle Tea, a recommendation on Blog of a Bookslut. It’s an autobiographical account of Tea’s time as a prostitute. Just because a book is about prostitution doesn’t make it edgy or interesting. I found it irritating. Tea became a prostitute after she found out her girlfriend was one, and because she had nothing better to do and the money was good. There are some occasional insights about the relations between clients and prostitutes, and Tea’s honesty about her feelings about the clients are sometimes impressively complicated and dark. Ultimately, though, this is the story of a foolish, immature girl surrounded by others like herself. She does not grow or change over the course of the narrative, and I found it hard to care much about her. The book was further diminished by numerous misspellings. Additionally, the illustrations by McCubbin, a darling of comic-book bad-boy Warren Ellis, were not only stiff and too photo-model based, but they often contradicted the text. I found this disconnection particularly annoying. Did McCubbin not read the text carefully? Was the text altered after the art was done? Whatever the reason, the text describes one woman wearing a floral dress, but a solid-color sheath is pictured. Another woman is written as wearing a conservative dress, but one with a thigh-high slit is pictured. Later, a guy in a polo shirt is drawn wearing a button down. This book’s sales and reviews likely benefit from its salacious subject, but I found the story and art merely adequate.