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Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Books for October
Only five this month, and two of them were for Librivox. I got a big stack of books from the library early in the month, and just couldn't get into most of them.
Bold titles indicate first-time reads, ratings are out of five.
- Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler -- 4.5
- I've never made a secret out of the fact that I pretty much am Maggie Moran, the protagonist in this wonderful book. Not that Maggie is wonderful; she's amazingly flawed in some very real, humdrum kinds of ways, but the book is wonderful. It covers one day in the life of a long-married but still-affectionate couple consisting of solid, patient Ira and scatterbrained Maggie (that'd be me). I will, however, add a threefold disclaimer to this oft-repeated statement, after this most recent reread. One: I am not a nag. Maggie is a bit of a nag. Two: I am not an airhead. There's a line between scatterbrained-but-intelligent and airheaded, and Maggie crosses it a few times. Three: I don't make up things about people in my attempt to make them do what I want them to. I might have done this when I was thirteen, but not since. However. If you want to know how I see myself, read that caveat and then this book, and you will know. Not to mention that you'll have a great time reading a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
- Baby Proof by Emily Giffin -- 3.5
- Not what I expected it to be, honestly, which can be a very good thing. For a chicklit romance with a twist, it managed to keep me guessing about the ending rather well, pretty much right up until the ending. The writing was pretty good and the characters were believable, but for some reason this fell just flat enough for me to keep it from being in the 4 range. Note: What is it with modern novels and suburbia? This is [counts on fingers, makes 'thinking' face] at least the third and maybe the fourth book I've read in like two months that had these subtle-or-otherwise slams at the idea of living anywhere but in an urban center, preferably New York. What gives with that? I guess people who still cling to their Mom jeans* (yes, I plan on mentioning those in every post for quite some time, in case you were wondering) just can't understand such things. Give me peace and quiet any day even if it does mean I have to drive a while to get to highly cultured places like Target and Panda Express.
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares -- 4
- I liked this. It was fresh and funny and very different. I could tell I was quite a few trips around the sun away from the target audience but who cares. (One spoilery note: I truly liked how the book handled the one girl's loss of her virginity. Much more realistic -- and tastefully done -- to my mind, than all the starry-eyed treatments this topic got in the books I read as a teen. I hope girls who read it can see the truth in it.)
- Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney -- 3.5
- This is a story of a widowed mother raising her five children on a shoestring, to put it briefly. Paula was definitely right when she commented that this book is syrupy but readable. Maybe if I hadn't been reading it aloud, necessarily taking a couple of months to get through it, I would have enjoyed it more, but when you're reading a book aloud you notice things you mightn't otherwise. For instance, in I think every single chapter in this novel, someone 'screams' a bit of dialogue. Sidney's writing doesn't have the timeless, ageless quality that L.M. Montgomery and Louisa May Alcott mastered so thoroughly. It's a good book for what it is -- children's literature from the late nineteenth century -- and I liked it well enough, but I don't love it. You can listen to me read it (ack) here.
- Silas Marner by George Eliot -- 4.5
- This has long been one of my favorite books -- a simple story of a social outcast and the way his life and the lives of his neighbors were changed by a little girl who was "sent" to him. you can listen to me me read it (ack again) here.
While we're talking about good books: if you like Sara Donati's Wilderness series (and you should), today is the US release date for the most recent novel in that series, Queen of Swords, the ARC of which I reviewed here.
*I am a mom, by the way. Who better to wear them?
Comments
I can't wait to read the new Sara Donati book! I hope there is not a long library waiting list.
Posted by: debi at October 31, 2006 03:09 PM
I liked the Traveling Pants books, too, even though I'm outside the target audience as well. You're right about the loss of virginity. If you keep reading, she meets up with him (trying to avoid spoilers here) again later and that is handled pretty well too.
Posted by: mary at October 31, 2006 04:26 PM
DOOOD just wear the dang jeans. Who cares what people think. Yes, you ARE a mom, so yes, who better to wear them? In fact, I think you should string a pair up on a flag pole and display them with pride.
Love you.
I'm totally sersly.
:)
Posted by: jenn at November 1, 2006 11:27 PM
Actually, Jenn, Debi and I were thinking of a T-shirt:
MOM JEANS ROCK
So what do you think, should we go for it? ;-)
Posted by: Rachel at November 1, 2006 11:36 PM
LOLOL!! I looked, ONLY looked at *the other* jeans when I was shopping. I *might* and that is a BIG *might* look at those jeans when I lose another 20 lbs
Posted by: debi at November 2, 2006 11:52 AM
Oh! i like your idea for a shirt! hee hee
Posted by: debi at November 2, 2006 11:52 AM
I just read Jenn's post. LOL! Just make sure you are not in the jeans when they go up the flag pole!! sorry!! could not resist! Love you much, Rachel!! Really, I do! =)
Posted by: debi at November 2, 2006 11:58 AM
NOOOOOO! Don't give up the dream!! Down with Mom Jeans!
Posted by: Kristen at November 8, 2006 08:25 AM
