Books July 2012

Just realized that I forgot to post the list from July. Some really good reads this month, but I think my favorite was A Beginner's Good-Bye by Anne Tyler.
Happy Reading!

Books- July 2012

1. A beginner's good-bye by Anne Tyler

2. Little gale gumbo by Erika Marks

3. Nightlife by Thomas Perry

4. Bakers towers by Jennifer Haigh

5. The Meryl Streep movie club by Mia March

6. A confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

7. Jane Austen made me do it edited by Laurel Ann Nattress

8. The invisible bridge by Julie Oringer (audio book)

9. Girls in white dresses by Jennifer Close

10.         Remember me? By Sophie Kinsella

11.         Beach girls by Luanne Rice

12.         The sense of an ending by Julian Barnes

13.         My name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira (audio book)

14.         Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children by  Ransom Riggs

1.     Anne Tyler is simply superb! The story of Aaron’s first year after losing his wife Dorothy to a freak accident (a large branch fell on their house during a storm), this is so simple, yet so very complex. Told in Aaron’s voice, the level of grief is palpable as Aaron negotiates both old and new relationships. I would read anything Anne Tyler writes.

2.     This was a quick read about a family of women who move from New Orleans to Maine to escape an abusive husband/father. But, it was also a story of A loves B, B loves C, C loves D, etc. Why do they all have to be living with unrequited love?

3.     We read this for book club. It was fast paced, with tons of characters. It took me a little while to figure out who was the main good guy (actually good woman!). While I liked this, I would not go out of my way to read Thomas Perry again.

4.     Bakers Towers is set in Western Pennsylvania in a mining community that thrives in the early part of the 20^th century and then slides into oblivion in the middle of the century. Following the siblings in one family, Haigh manages to make all of them somewhat unlikable, even the ones who are upstanding. While the historical references were well-done, this was not a pleasant book to read.

5.     Four women come back together when one is dying of cancer. Every Friday night they watch another Meryl Streep movie and there are endless good ones from which to choose. I loved the premise of the book and then reading how the author thought about the themes of the movies and worked to blend these with the lives of the women. Nicely done!

6.     Recommended by my brother who read this in a book club, I enjoyed this book full of nonsense. As Kip described it, the main character (Ignatius Reilly) is a fat slob with few redeeming characteristics. Many story lines run somewhat separately, but all come together in the end and Ignatius ends the book as self-deluded as he began it. Hilarious!

7.     Short stories all based on either Jane Austen herself, or one of her books. While it is always fun to read about Austen, this was not very well done.

8.     This was quite long and I found the story to be a little contrived. The story of the three Levi brothers from Budapest, starting in the late 1930s. It follows these men and their love interests through work camps and the war. Great details of history.

9.     When I started reading this book, I was not too interested. But, as I got into it, the book grew on me. This is a series of stand alone short stories with interconnected characters; young women fresh out of college, living in large cities and negotiating work and relationships. Very well done!

10. Another Sophie Kinsella. I liked this better than Confessions of a Shopaholic, but not as much as I’ve Got Your Number. The situations Kinsella’s characters get into are so real, but ones that you do not often see in books. If you read this, you will laugh out loud!

11. I like Luanne Rice as a good chick lit writer and she did not disappoint here. This was a perfect read during vacation!

12. Trying to up my reading list a little bit, I checked out this book, the winner of the Man Booker Prize. The reviews suggest that while it is short, it is something that you might need to read more than one time. I agree and may choose to read this again in the next few months. Though-provoking and well-written.

13. Another historical novel, based on a woman who wants to become a doctor during the Civil War. Mary Sutter leaves her home in Albany to go to Washington DC and doctor the myriad of wounded. Listening to this was difficult as the injuries and treatments (primarily amputations) were recounted with gory and unstinting detail. Mary was a great character and was rendered as a woman with a multi-faceted personality.

14. A young adult novel that is quite sophisticated in its telling and in the content. As I generally do not like fantasy, this was not a good choice for me, but I thought it was well-done. It also seemed to be set up to have at least one sequel. It seems to have caught the eye of many readers, wonder if we will be hearing about a movie soon?

More August Picture Books, My favorites

Horsefly and Honeybee by Randy Cecil

Another hit! When Horsefly and Honeybee have a fight over who can take a nap in a flower, they both lose a wing. Ultimately, they figure out they can still fly by holding on to each other and using the two wings they have left. Good for teaching cooperation and survival skills. Illustrations are wonderful! 

A Home for Bird by Philip C. Stead

Vernon is a frog who finds a wooden bird. No matter what Vernon says or does, Bird will not speak. Finally, Vernon finds a broken cuckoo clock and puts Bird inside. A few repairs and Bird is happily springing out saying, “Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo!” A delightful story with many points of interest to engage young readers in discussion. What a great friend Vernon is!

Plant a Little Seed by Bonnie Christensen

I loved this book, although it took me a while since it is written in a very rhythmic fashion, without the rhyming endings. It tells the story of a garden from seed to eating and illustrations show a white girl and a black boy working happily together in this garden. The end notes give some fun facts, including why some plants we eat are called fruits and why some are vegetables. If you don’t know why tomatoes and zucchinis are fruits and not vegetables, you should read this book!

The Hero of Little Street by Gregory Rogers

A small boy is running, ever running, away from bigger boys, away from the dog-catcher, away from a woman after he breaks the dishes she was carrying. His companion is a small dog who has jumped out of an imitation of Vermeer’s Piano Player. Told all in pictures, this is an excellent wordless picture book with a touch of fantasy. Maybe I have to read it again, as I could not tell how the child in the book was a hero.

I read 12 picture books today, these are the best of the lot. I was looking at gender today, because I began noticing that many of these had a boy main character. The final count: 9 main character male, 1 main character female, and 2 have both male and female main characters. To be fair, yesterday, there were 2 with main character female, only one with a male and three that were mixed. Overall, the percentages are: male: 55%, female: 17% and both male and female: 28%. The authors are evenly split, male and female, so now we have to encourage women to write about girls.

Picture Books for August

Picture books for August

Summer Days and Nights by Wong Herbert Yee

A sweet rhyming story that tells all the things a young child can do on a summer day. The characters are of Asian descent.

Red, White and Boom! By Lee Wardlaw, illustrated by Huy Voun Lee

A saucy, brightly colored picture book that tells the story of July 4^th with short , spiky rhymes: “Oohs and Ahhs/Cheers, applause/Shoulder sighs/Drowsy eyes.” Plenty of diversity in age, race and gender. Very well done!

Creature Count: A Prehistoric Rhyme by Brenda Huante, illustrated by Vincent Nguyen

Prehistoric monsters are anthropomorphized and rendered quite cutely in this simple counting book. The rhyme is quite rhythmic and could be sung to the tune of “Over in the Meadow.”

Some Cat by Mary Casanova, illustrated by Ard Hoyt

Violet is an abused cat who needs a new home. When she is adopted by a couple with two dogs, Violet causes all kinds of trouble for Zippity and George. But, when a pack of stray dogs go after Violet, Zippity and George come to her rescue and then all is right with the world. Great illustrations. Maybe a little too simplistic in the plot line.

Flabbersmashed about You by Rachel Vail, illustrated by Yumi Heo

What happens when your best friend chooses another friend as a playground buddy? Katie Honors finds out and it does not feel good. While this story has a happy ending, and not all playground disasters end happily, this is a great book to use when kids need some help making and keeping friends. You might consider reading  You Can’t Say You Can’t Play by Vivian Paley, a book about how to keep kids from being mean to each other, even at a very young age.

Mom, It’s my First Day of Kindergarten! By Hyewon Yum

A five-year-old is more than ready for his first day of school, but is his mother? Very clever tale of the first day, with the illustrations portraying the mom as tiny, compared to her brave boy. Great story for the first day in Kindergarten, maybe even something that can be shared with parents. I love this one!

Just a weird thing to notice:

Of these six books, five have either an author or illustrator who is of Asian descent. Hyewon Yum is Korean American, Vincent Nguyen is Vietnamese American, and I am not sure of the heritage of Yumi Heo, Huy Voun Lee, or Herbert Lee. But, it is interesting to note. Three of the six books have Asian children represented within them. Go diversity!

Books June 2012

June has flown by, I have not read the pile of picture books on my den floor and need to get to those. Here's the list of adult books read in June. Mostly lighter reads than last month, but a few enlightening ones as well.

Lots of fun reads this month, so I decided to list them in rank order, hard to do, since they are such different genres. Will try to do better with postings in July!

1.     I've got you number by Sophie Kinsella

2. If I loved you, I would tell you this by Robin Black

3. Banishing Verona by Margot Levesey

4. The brutal telling by Louise Penny

5. Bel Canto by Anne Patchett

6. The handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood

7. Whatever you love by Louise Doughty

8. Confessions of a shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

9. Victims by Jonathan Kellermnan

10.         Gun games by Faye Kellerman

11.         Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen

12.         Yours, mine and ours by Maryjanice Davidson (did not finish)

1.     This is slapstick writing at its best. I loved this predictable romantic comedy because the comedy was anything but predictable! Read it, you will laugh outloud!

2.     Short stories that are so riveting, I wanted to know more about each of the characters. Black is comparable to Alice Munro, one of the greatest!

3.     An unusual love story told from the viewpoints of both star-crossed lovers, one of whom is a young man with autistic tendencies.

4.     The fifth Louise Penny mystery, good enough to eat! They may not be getting better, but they are certainly maintaining a high level of readability.

5.     I liked this book, read on the recommendation of my sister, but liked State of Wonder better; maybe Patchett’s books have that effect, the first one, whichever you read first, will always be the best.

6.     Never having read this before, I enjoyed it, although it is truly a scary look at one possible future for our country. All I can say is “Don’t let the bastards beat you down.”

7.     The story of a divorced woman who loses her daughter to an auto accident, her thoughts and actions for the first few months after her daugther’s death. This is well-written and extremely sad. Why do I read this stuff?

8.     Another Sophie Kinsella. I did not enjoy this nearly as much as I’ve Got Your Number, but it was still funny and a quick read.

9.     Psychological murder at its best. It may be that J. Kellerman is running out of stories to tell.

10. The wife tells tales, too. I do like the characters of Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus. They grow old gracefully, but will Kellerman ever let Peter retire?

11. A tongue in cheek romp through aristocratic life in the early 1900s. Fun, but nothing to write home about.

12. I thought I might like this, but could not finish reading it. Too many problems and no one to like. 

Books May 2012

Books- May 2012

1. Red mist by Patricia Cornwell

2. The marriage plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

3. Other waters by Eleni N. Gage

4. Night train by Clyde Edgerton

5. My life as a stunt boy by Janet Tashjian

6. Lady killer by Lisa Scottolone (audio book)

7. Patron saint of liars by Anne Patchett

8. Chomp by Carl Hiasson

9. The sleepy hollow family almanac by Kris d'agostino (did not complete)

10. We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver

1.     Any book by Patricia Cornwell is bound to be good. I think I have missed a few along the way, but have read most of the Kay Scarpetta novels. I am not sure how much further she can go with these characters. Too bad she did not make Lucy a more likeable character from the beginning, because it might be possible to do a spin-off if that were the case.

2.     This was for the Hamilton Library book club. It took a long time to get into it and the characters were not very likable. No one else finished the book; I guess it was too literary for us.

3.     I thought I would love this book. It was written in the first person about a young Indian-American woman dealing with the pressures of her job, family and relationships. But, I never quite got into it. Maybe because the author was not Indian, something was a little off.

4.     Back in my North Carolina days, I read Clyde Edgerton with a wide smile on my face. And this did make me laugh. But, I had trouble following the multiple characters. Some subtle (and not so subtle) digs at racism and some tongue in cheek. Just not at the top of my list.

5.     A sequel to My Life as a Book. Still a cute concept, but this book was not as good as the first one.

6.     I love to listen to Scottolone’s books. Not sure if they would work as well for me in print form, but for now, I’ll keep a lookout for these audio books at the library.

7.     My sister recommended more Anne Patchett and I did enjoy this. Some questions for Katie: when she married for the second time, why did Rose go through with it since she said she was destined to be married to a man she did not love? Why not just go back to the first man she did not love, since he was at least the father of the baby? Let’s talk!

8.     A book for kids about wild animals, reality TV and parents who beat their children, all done with a touch of light humor and realistic narration. Quick read.

9.     Could not get into this one. I read about the first 70 pages or so and then had to give it up. Did not like the style, tone or the characters.

10. This was a hard read. A mother is writing letters to her husband after their child murdered 9 people in the school gymnasium. Should she blame herself as the community did? Deep and disturbing, but worth the read?