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Thursday, June 30, 2005
June reads
(bold indicates a first-time read)
- My Sister's Keeper -- Jodi Picoult -- 3
- This was hyped pretty heavily, and I found that it just didn't quite meet up to my expectations. The moral issues raised are definitely the best aspect of this story, and why it's had such success as a book club selection, but I found the writing style to be amateurish at times, and I definitely felt ripped off by the ending.
- The Year of Pleasures -- Elizabeth Berg -- 4
- Elizabeth Berg has done it again, with this book whose characters are knowable and whose issues resonate even for those who've never dealt with them in reality.
- Emma -- Jane Austen -- 5
- Emma, Emma, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways. (Until you get over yourself, that is.) And the great thing is, the story's written so brilliantly that even while you're wishing you could wring the title character's neck, you're having the time of your life reading about her.
- Eats, Shoots, and Leaves -- Lynne Truss -- 5
- I LOVE THIS BOOK. But of course you all knew I would.
- The Jane Austen Book Club -- Karen Joy Fowler -- 1.5
- Blah. Don't bother. Austen fans won't find as much meat as they'd hope to, and people who haven't read or don't like Austen will be bored to tears. The plot's mighty thin, and the book discussions around which it revolves seem really... pale and bland to me.
- The Buccaneers -- Edith Wharton -- 3
- A friend lent this to me, and I liked it more than I thought I would. It was a biting, vicious depiction of the "marriage market" of (late-, in this instance) 19th-century England and America, and it's an excellent look at the collision of those two cultures during that time period. I could have done without the adultery, though.
- Persuasion -- Jane Austen -- 5
- My favorite, favorite Austen. It's more of a pure romance than her other books. The social satire is still there, in spades, but it takes a backseat to the glowing romance. And SUCH glowing romance it is, too.
- The Art of Mending -- Elizabeth Berg -- 4
- Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite modern authors, but this isn't my favorite of her books. It was very good, but not up to the standard of the rest of hers, I thought. It seemed a little less tightly woven. Still very poetic and with a good number of "I've always felt that way but never thought to put it like that" zinger moments, but... I dunno. It was a little bit flat for me. (You'll note that even with all this I gave it a 4. She's good, even when she's not at her best.)
Comments
That's the first time you have read Eats, Shoots and Leaves? Oh heavens, I thought you had already read it. Some of her comments had me thinking "Yes! That's IT!" I have "My Sister's Keeper" out of the library. It's up next, after "Girl Meets God". I also got the "...Dog in the Nightime" on the same trip. I hope I get them finished before they have to go back to the library. I am ashamed to say that I have not ready any Austen. I do have P&P here at home and will get to it after the library books.
Posted by: mary at June 30, 2005 04:53 PM
Oooh! I just started Eats, Shoots and Leaves this week. In between chuckles, I am seeing lots of mistakes I have been making.
And though I love Jane Austen, I must admit I have never actually read a single book she's written (though I own many). But I have had them read to me via audio books. And seen every video version my library has available.
Posted by: laura at July 1, 2005 02:32 PM
I want to read Eats, Shoots and Leaves! I heard the author interviewed on NPR once.
I love Persuasion, too, and I re-read it this month as well. Perhaps we'll get a chance to talk about it!
Posted by: Kristen at July 2, 2005 08:41 AM
"My Sister's Keeper" is one of my favourite 'first time reads' for this year, but I can understand how it could be a disapointment if there was too much hype about it beforehand. I knew absolutely NOTHING about it before reading it, so I loved it. I'm sorry you were disappointed by the ending :-/ I was too in some ways, but found it extremely moving in others.
Posted by: Maria at July 2, 2005 01:39 PM
reading update: Finished both My Sister's Keeper and "... Dog in the Night-time" this weekend. My Sister's Keeper was engrossing -- I couldn't put it down. I think the ending was a bit of a cop-out, but still a really good book.
Posted by: mary at July 4, 2005 08:18 PM
