Fly-by Book Reviews

Quick reviews on the books I've read lately:

The Dogs of Babel, by Carolyn Parkhurst
I do not like books about dogs. This book is about a man researching the speech of dogs, for crying outloud, so I knew I wouldn't like it. I was so wrong. This book connected with me on a level I never anticipated, and I was terrified and enlightened by the mirrors I saw in these characters. It's a bit sad, and I'm sure the writing wouldn't blow anyone away, but it read with a beautiful pitch that, for whatever reason, really resonated with me.

Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden
It's a masterpiece. A masterpiece as in someone's true life work that deservers all the recognition it got. It is a beautiful story. Do not read it before the movie, which takes very liberal editing moves, mostly to keep a dashing Ken Wantabe onscreen ten-thousand times the length his character is in the book. But it is worth it to visually experience all the rich descriptions of life and costumes and make-up in the book.

The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
I loved it. It took a bit to get used to the time-traveling layout, but it was a complete blast once I did. The story is unique and the characters are real and colorful and fresh. One of the best books I read this past year. Movie coming out soon with Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Obviously a piece of classic literature. It was written in dialect, which is always a challenge. And there is incest, divorce, rape, and child-selling in the first chapter. Not a beach read I'd toss out as a good book recommendation, but, hey, it's Alice Walker.

A Long Way Down, by Nick Hornby
I love Nick Hornby. The first book of his I read was How to Be Good and it was an entire story written from a mid-life-crisis female perspective. Impressive. This book should be a creative writing class must-read for voice, as each chapter changes characters, but I was in a mood where I only want to hear about happy things, and I didn't see how a book about people wanting to kill themselves, as comically ironic as it all was, was contributing to my life.

The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
Oh, hey, this is good. A little sad, but an interesting... wait, was the climax of this book seriously the eight-year old narrator taking over someone's body to have sex with the now-grown boyfriend of her childhood? Wait, what? I feel dirty. Putting book down. No good. I also read her 'Lucky' memoir about being raped, and after eventually skimming, I was mortified to discover that my mental outcome was that reporting a rape was not worth the way it ruined your life, and I don't think that was her intent.

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Fantastic. This book deserved all the attention it got. One, it taught Americans the recent history of a country we are at war with. (That should be a class requirement, by the way.) It was beautifully written. Everyone said, 'Oh, it's so sad,' so I figured one of the two boys dies at the end. Nope. That's not what happens. It is devastating at the beginning and then, oh, wait for it, it only gets more so. But I would highly recommend it. I read it again to Mike during our roadtrip, and it was worth it. Can't say I'm up for the movie, but I liked seeing the trailer.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards
This book was fantastic until it hit the mid-way point. I gave it a lot of time, but this is how little I cared by the end: The book was about 400 pages, and I just dropped the book to the floor at about 396. Didn't even care anymore. Such a great start! I was bummed.

The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
I only picked up this book because I needed another one and someone loaned it to me. I'm not a fan of sisterhood tales, but I was surprised to find that I couldn't stop turning pages on this book. It wasn't even that suspenseful, but the writing was so full of voice and the characters so full of life that, goshdarnit, I really wanted to know what else they all had to say. I feel like, in five years, I might not remember I read it. But it made me sunny for a week, and that's what matters. Can't get me to watch a Queen Latifah movie though. Sorry.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by what's-her-name
Yep. I'm actually doing it. I read the first one in two days. It was fun. I know it would be blasphemy to judge now. So let me just say that is was fun. I know they only get longer from here and Daniel Radcliffe's voice only gets deeper. Here we go...