On my list

Currently on my To-Read List:


Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century, by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective and a World of Literary Obsession – Allison Hover Bartlett

“Quantum Man: Richard Feynman’s Life in Science,” by Lawrence M. Krauss

Just Kids by Patti Smit

A Covert Affair:  Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS  By Jennet Conant

Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout  By Philip Connors

I'm a stranger here myself By Bill Bryson

The Rescue Artist by Edward Dolnick,

Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey From NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer by Mireya Mayor, Ph.D

author: Kathy Reichs  (the real life Bones)

Travel Reading

I'm still working on my non-fiction goal for April... not much progress has been made yet.
However, I leave tomorrow for a 10 day trip to India! I know I'll have a lot of downtime, especially during some long car and train rides, so I've stocked my nook with some new books!  Heres a glimpse:

• Lorna Barrett's Booktown series:  A mystery series set in a town with lots and lots of bookstores.  Can I please move there??  Seriously, I know people say when you see that lady from Murder She Wrote you should run the other way, but I could probably put up with a little crime if I got to live in a town of bookstores.  Here's hoping the books live up to the premise!
• Bill Bryson's 'I'm a Stranger Here Myself' - I randomly stumbled across this on my library's e-media site (Libraries Rock!).  I've never read anything by Bryson, but the title and subtitle (Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away) caught my attention. 
• Christopher Moore's 'A Dirty Job' - Another one that i stumbled on at the library, and again, I've never read anything by Christopher Moore... so we'll see!

I've also just finished handwriting several lists.  I have several series on my Nook that I haven't started because I wasn't sure which came first.  I am now better equipped to read the following series:

• Mrs. Pollifax
• Jack Ryan
• Sookie Stackhouse
• Anne of Green Gables
• Gabriel Allon 

So, I think I'm covered with Reading Options Yes?  Catch you on the flip side!

Spoiler alert: It doesn't work out.

The Paris Wife

 I just (an hour ago) finished The Paris wife by Paula McLain. And I have realized this about myself:  Melancholy books make me melancholy.  Right now, you’re probably saying ‘Duh, that’s what you’re supposed to feel’.  But you misunderstand.  Melancholy books make ME feel melancholy.  Not for the characters, or the story, but real life me.  I may have to trim them from my literary life all together.  I first noticed this with the 4^th Twilight book…for some reason it just made me feel grouchy all the time-but maybe that was just b/c it sucked and Bella is a whiney little B who shouldn’t get to live forever.  But then there was Cherie Curie’s autobiography Neon Angels, I was sick for days after reading that.  It has taken some serious meditation and pink bubbly thoughts to purge my memory of that book – hearing ‘Cherry Bomb’ still gives me the shakes.   And now The Paris Wife.  To be fair, it wasn’t on the level of Neon Angels, I don’t imagine I will still be feeling off tomorrow, but for a few hours, three letters sum up my feelings:  ugh.  I don’t even have the energy to put them in capital letters.  The simple act of pressing caps lock is too much effort to exert for such melancholia. 

Anyway, back to the beginning.  I picked up the Paris Wife (I used ‘picked up figuratively, as I’m using an e-reader) after reading a decent-ish review (I don’t remember where now, but it must have either been the New York Times or NPR).  I was initially struck by the cover art.  They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, and we all know it to be true, but something about the woman sitting at a café table- her dress, her jewelry, her shoes… I wanted to know about that woman, read her story, feel what life was like for her in Paris in the 1920s surrounded by culture, and art, and thought. 

The first 200 pages gave me fleeting glimpses of what I was looking for.  McLain imagines the café’s filled with absinthe drinkers, Gertrude Stein’s salon, and markets filled with fresh fruit and bread, and everywhere people putting their lives back together after the war.  But the glimpses are few.  More present are Hadley’s (the Paris wife herself) insecurities about not being an artist or about being alone when Hemingway goes off to write newspaper articles.  I don’t want to say she’s whiney—but I wouldn’t contradict someone else who said so.

The last 100 pages loses all of the beauty of the time and place and becomes a waiting game.  When will Hemingway take up with his mistress, when will Hadley find out about it, and surprisingly, how long will they exist as a threesome.  In this final third, Hadley becomes even more of a downer, she dislikes the fact that her husband has a mistress but continues to let the woman act as if they are friends: bike rides along the beach, shopping expeditions, etc.  Hadley does nothing.  And if there’s something I can’t stand (even in a fictional interpretation of a real person) it’s choosing to do nothing.  The last 100 pages are all angst, ending with Hemingway committing suicide.  I don’t know how I made it through as much schooling as I did without knowing that Hemingway shot himself, but I did-and I didn’t know that, and if I had, I probably wouldn’t have read this book no matter how chic the cover.

Two not-melancholy notes re: The Paris Wife

1.       1. The book of course covers Hadley’s losing of Hemingway’s manuscripts, but even knowing as little as I do about Hemingway, I was prepared for this thanks to a Gilmore Girls episode were Logan and Rory disagree over what happened.  Logan thinks Hadley lost them, Rory thinks she left them on a plane- In the end Rory discovers that the manuscripts were stolen while Hadley was on a train.  And then they make-out.  Probably.

2.       2. If you know me, this may amuse you, if you don’t…well then I don’t care:  My husband asked me why I was feeling melancholy-

Me: You wouldn’t ever leave me for a Vogue writer in Paris in the 1920s right?

Him: What the hell are you reading?

Me: A book about Hemingway’s first wife. You didn’t answer my question- would you leave me for a Vogue writer in Paris in the 1920s.

Him:  Well first I’ll have to build my time machine so I can go back and see how Hot she was, then I’ll tell you.

It made me laugh.  That’s probably the high point of this reading expedition for me. 

If you’re better than I at staying emotionally distant from a book, you might like this-this is just how I feel.

I tend to read several books at once.  I'll get about half way through one, and then decide I need a change of pace and switch to something else for awhile.  Most often this happens when I'm reading non-fiction.  It doesn't mean I don't enjoy the non-fiction that I'm reading, I just need a fiction break.  The problem comes when I forget to go back and finish the NF before I forget everything I already read.

Thus (I enjoy talking British) one of my goals for April is to finish some of the non-fiction books that have fallen by the wayside.  

My mom gave me Rogues' Gallery for Christmas last year (after I specifically asked for it).  The subtitle really describes the entire book:  The Secret Story of the Lust, Lies, Greed, and Betrayals That Made the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Sadly, although I've tried a couple of times, I've never gotten more than half-way through this book, its just so densely packed that I have to take a break.  

I'm still working on Keith Richards' Life.  I'm still liking it, Richards has continued his stream-of-conscious writing style and poetic descriptions of music.  Its easy to read, even if you're not a Stone's fan (which I am not).  But for goodness' sakes, its 576 pages!! I can't believe someone can be stoned for half their life and still remember enough to fill 576 pages. 

I gave Monuments Men to my dad for Christmas last year. Thereby starting my new tradition of giving him books that I want to read.  He finished MM in fairly short order, I've had more trouble getting through.  Again, the subtitle really gives you an accurate idea of the book:  Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History.  Its about allied soldiers who were tasked with finding and protecting art, artifacts, and even monuments during World War Two.  

Julia Child's My Life in France is the final book on my list.  It really is a delightful read and I think perhaps I haven't finished it because I want to drag out the joy of it.  Or at least thats how I remember it...I haven't picked it up in months.  

So- My goal for April is to finish at least 2 of these.  I would have said three, but I'm pretty sure I will need to start some three of them from the beginning since its been so long.  Hopefully I can make a significant dent, b/c I have quite a bit on my 'wish list' including just about every book reviewed this week by NPR.

There's a monkey, a one-eyed cat, two guys with special powers, and a girl who bakes cupcakes.

Wicked Appetite

By Janet Evanovich

  I told you I was going to read some Janet Evanovich after finishing the House of Night series.  And true to my word, the moment I finished typing the previous post, I went straight to my nook and picked up where I left off with Wicked Appetite.  And it did not disappoint.  I can always count on Evanovich it seems. 

I already told you how much I love the Stephanie Plum Numbers series.  Adore Them!  But I wasn’t sure how I would find Wicked Appetite.  It was certainly a possibility that it would fall flat after the glory of Ranger & Morelli found in the Numbers.  Plus, according to the summary, Wicked Appetite had a mystical/magic element to it, and I’m really not into sci-fi/fantasy (B/c it’s too confusing and those conventions look scary).  So I actually held onto Wicked Appetite for awhile before starting it, afraid I would be disappointed.  But I wasn’t!  Yay! From 10 pages in the story grabbed me.  Yes, there’s some magic-but it’s not confusing, and the parts that are, the main characters are confused right along with you, giving J.E. a chance to explain herself. 

The story centers on a young woman named Lizzy who works at a bakery in Salem.  Lizzy makes the best cupcakes ever – Tangent: Why does Janet Evanovich want me to be fat?? Everything she writes makes me want to eat something sweet! If it’s not doughnuts then its cupcakes!  Ok, tangent over, but I really do want a cupcake…. So Lizzy is a chill ordinary girl who somehow gets caught up in a search for something mystical.  There’s of course a bad guy, Wulf, and a good guy, Diesel – both of whom are searching for a stone, the Gluttony stone.  Turns out there’s a stone for each of the seven deadly sins (which means at least 6 more books!!), and if a bad guy has all the stones, he can probably do bad things.  Anyway, Diesel and Lizzy pair up to search for the stone. 

The funniest parts, for me, are when Lizzy inadvertently picks up Gluttonous behavior.  I’m not saying anymore than that so you can experience the awesomeness for yourself- and you should experience it. But don’t start it right before you have to be somewhere, if you’re like me, you’ll devour it in a day.  It made me laugh out loud and chased away any icky book demons that were hiding in the caverns of my brain.  Run, don’t walk, to your local library and Read. This. Book.  

*I’ve read a bunch of online reviews panning this book because it was so much like the Plum series.  Apparently a bunch of readers found it unoriginal. Perhaps I’m in the minority or perhaps Amazon is full of grouchy pants, either way, I like it and still think you should read it.  It’s Fun and Fluffy, like a kitten playing monopoly.

Literary Crack

I've finished all 8 of the House of Night books (Marked, Betrayed, Chosen, Untamed, Hunted, Tempted, Burned, Awakened) by mother daughter duo P.C and Kristin Cast.
After reading all 8 (#9 is I believe set to be released in the fall), I'm more than a little undecided on my feelings for this series (yes, there are degrees to Undecided-ness just as there are degrees of wrong-ness as anyone who watches Big Bang Theory knows).
So here in a simplified Pro-Con list are my thoughts:

Cons: 

• My least favorite thing about this series is the fact that 8 books in, its the same story.  Normally in a series, I expect each book to have some type of conclusion to the story line.  Maybe there is an over-arching villain that we build up to, but each book addresses a smaller villain or problem and solves or addresses it.  That does NOT happen in this series.  The same bad guys exist from book one through book 8.  Just Kill the Bad Guy Already!  I'm begging you.  Kill him off and create another freaky threat to the world. 
• Going along with that point- You can't read just one of these books.  They suck you in, and then end with a cliff hanger.  I was always hoping that maybe in the next book there were would be some kind of resolution instead of a constant climax.  I knew it was futile. Its like wishing for Manolo Blahniks to go on clearance or finding a pair of jeans that fit on the first try.  Not. Gonna. Happen.  Maybe you can get through the first couple of books with out getting hooked- maybe.  But after the 3rd or 4th, you're doomed. 
• I mentioned this in my starter post, but it totally bugs me that these books are written for Teens and yet there is Graphic adult material (s-e-x).  I'm a bit of a priss, but I'm going to go ahead and say it- there's a Blow Job about 30 pages into the first book.  Phew, can't believe I just typed that...my mom might read this...geez.  Anyway, maybe its just that I grew up in a different time, but it wasn't that long ago that I was a teenager, we're not talking about Happy Days here, more like Home Improvement.  Although, in the interest of full disclosure, I was the kid more likely to be found reading for fun and hanging out with my fellow band nerds, so maybe stuff was more 90210 than I thought it was.  I'm sure a 16 or 17 year old would read nothing that they didn't already know.  But I always read above my grade level, so my concern is more for the 13year old picking this up.  Bottom line, read the series (the complete series) before giving it to a teenager.  Unless of course you already allow that teenager to watch Gossip Girl, in which case, the ship has already sailed. 

Pros:

• I think I already made this point as well, but the Cast duo does an exceptional job of making the books sound authentic.  By that I mean, the teenagers sound like teenagers.  As opposed to adults in teenagers bodies.  Judging from the acknowledgments, this was primarily Kristen cast's contribution to the book, and she did an extraordinary job, Glee references and all. 
• The books read Fast.  This is a good thing since you're going to need to read one after the other in rapid succession thanks to the cliffhangers.
• The stories are exciting and the characters are well developed.  That's a very short and small bullet point, but I don't have anything to add to it.

All in All, I think my friend Lisa said it best when she said the books are good, but emotionally draining.  I'm rather exhausted just typing this.  I don't think I'll be continuing with the series when the next book comes out. And now I need to go cleanse my pallet with some Literary Oreos (that would be Janet Evanovich).

Just Started

I just started Jane Evanovich's Wicked Appetite.  I'm only 55 pages in, but I am Very Excited about this one.  I adore the Stephanie Plum series, and this feels like it will be similar, but with a bit of Mysticism thrown in.  Similar to the Plum 'in-between the numbers'.  So far there's a girl who bakes stellar cupcakes, a hot guy, a bad guy, and several delightfully funny side characters.  High High Hopes my friends.

Starting: Marked

I took a break from Keith Richards to start a new book (well actually I took a break, read to romance novels and then started the new series).  I'm reading the first in the House of Night series: Marked.  Both my mom and one of my best friends recommend the series to me, so it's about time I got around to reading it.  The series is classed as teen fiction, HOWEVER (notice how I used caps, that's to get you to pay attention) if you are thinking of handing this book to anyone under the age of 17 I urge you to read it first.  Really, you should do that anyway, but consider it a requirement with this series.  Within the first 50 pages there's a rather adult scene in a hallway.  If you've just gone back to the start of this post to clarify that I did in fact admit to reading two romance novels prior to this, yes, I'm aware of the irony.  Regardless, that's enough of the public service announcement.
My current feelings about Marked fall in the Cautiously Optimistic range.  The friend who recommended the series compared it to the Gallagher Girls series (One of My FAVORITES) and I can see where she's coming from.  I'm not sure I'll like it as much as the GGs, but I'm just starting out.  So far, I'm entrenched in the character development phase.  One thing I do Love about the book is that its written by a Mother and Daughter.  I find that Cute with a capitol C.  In the acknowledgments at the beginning of the book P.C. Cast (mother) thanks Kristin Cast (daughter) for ensuring that the characters really sounded like teenagers, which they very much do. 
So that's my thoughts for now!  Off to read some more

Starting: Life by Keith Richards

This isn't so much a review, more of a note I suppose.  I'm just beginning Keith Richards autobiography Life.  I'm not a Stones fan, so I didn't really know what to expect.  I heard a positive review on NPR, so I have high expectations going in.  At a little less than 100pages in to this 500+ page tome and I'm happy to report that I have not been disapointed.  Which is lovely, especially because the last rock&roll biography I read, Cherie Currie's Neon Angel, was so horrifyingly awful it gave me the shakes.  Seriously, do not read that book.  Her writing style wasn't so bad, but the content was all drugs and horrific violence-Not pleasant.  Icky Icky Ick... now I'm remembering Neon Angel.. pardon me while I go shower and attempt to disinfect my brain.
So..... Keith Richards really has to make up for the Neon disaster. Or else, be the last musician autobiography I ever read.  As I said, I am, so far, pleasantly surprised.  Richards can be very poetic when discussing music, especially his first introductions to the Blues.  He gives credit where credit is due with paragraphs on the greatness of Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and Muddy Waters, and what they meant to him.
   'The silence is your canvas, that's your frame, that's what you work on; don't try and deafen it out.  That's
    what "Heartbreak Hotel" did to me.  It was the first time I'd heard something so stark.'
My only complaint (and its not even a real complaint) is that at times I feel I need a British to American dictionary to figure out what the hell Richards is saying.  For example, at one point he says that two of his aunts were living together and his mother said, in a whisper, that they were 'on the game'.  On the game?  I have no idea what that means... could be anything!  Oh, What do you know, thanks to the wonders of the internet, I just found a dictionary of British slang here.  Apparently 'On the Game' = Prostitution.  I'm going to have to bookmark that page for future inquiries, incase I need to decode Life a little more.  

Just because he's fictional doesn't mean he doesn't love me.

There's a line in a television show that I like (Sports Night) where one of the characters describes what she does when she's at a hotel, out of town, and feeling a little lost/homesick.  She orders a Shrimp Cocktail off the room service menu.  The reason being, shrimp cocktail always tastes the same, it's always good, it's a constant. 
Well, I'm not in a hotel, but I did just move half way around the world.  In addition to some epic packing, I had 24 hours of travel to prepare for.  Luckily, my sweet of a husband gave me an E-reader for our anniversary (a Nook- and yes, I love it).  So, I wasn't faced with deciding what books to carry with me, just what to read.  I knew I didn't want non-fiction (my brain automatically dulls on a plane), I needed some good chick lit.  So I turned to a favorite series:  Stephanie Plum. 
 I first started the series by Janet Evanovich several years ago, but stopped after the first couple of books.  Then I picked them up again about a year ago.  I seriously could not stop reading.  I flew through all 16 (#17 comes out this summer!) in a matter of weeks.  The series follows Stephanie Plum, a regular girl from New Jersey, who takes an irregular job.  She becomes a bounty hunter.  Ms. Plum does not have any particular skills to make this a logical career move, but she's hard up for money and has dirt on the owner of the Bond business, who happens to be her cousin.  Hi-jinks ensue.
  You might think that 16 books about a bounty hunter in Jersey might get old, but it really doesn't. 
So here then, my book loving friends, is a brief list of reasons why I love Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series:
1.  She's Plucky.  That's not a word you hear much in this modern world, but I think its an apt description.  Stephanie Plum (by her own word) has more luck than skill when it comes down to hunting fugitives.  But she doesn't give up.  Each book/story-line/adventure feels new and fresh mostly because Plum has a new way to solve the mystery/get the bad guy. She's assisted by a rather absurd cast or supporting characters.  There's Lula the former ho turned file clerk with a fondness for spandex, Grandma Mazur who always carries a gun with her and things visitations at the funeral home are social events, Stephanie's long-suffering Mother who just wishes she had a normal daughter...and then there are the men... 

2.  The Men.  Oh my goodness.  Stephanie has two men in her life: her on-again-off-again police officer boyfriend Morelli, and her Mentor/co-worker/friend/friend with benefits  Ranger.  In  my personal opinion, Morelli is the guy Stephanie is supposed to end up with... eventually.   They've known each other for ever, and admit that they love each other, but aren't quite ready to settle down.  But I think in 30 years you'll find the two of them married and living in the Burg (the part of Trenton both are from).  Which is fine, because that leaves Ranger for me.  Ranger is a mystery.  He wears all black, might be a superhero, is seriously scary, and has a seemingly endless supply of fancy black cars.  Ranger is hot stuff.  When my sister and I play the 'would you rather' game, Ranger always wins.  Except for sometimes when it comes down to Ranger vs. Carl Kasell.  Then my sis is torn.  But not me.  Give me a t-shirt that proclaims I heart Ranger and I'll gladly wear it. 

3.  The philosophy.  Freud Schmeud.  Janet Evanovich/Stephanie Plum have some of the best pieces of wisdom I have ever come across.  Gems such as The more insecure you feel, the more mascara you should wear.  So true.  And my personal favorite and sometimes Mantra:  Have a Mental doughnut.  Go ahead and take a second to digest the wisdom I'm dropping here.   Have. A. Mental. Doughnut.   Tell me that doesn't rock your world.

Raise Your Hand if You're an Art Nerd

'Monet or Manet? I said again.

'Yes' he said

And I realized he didn't know the difference

Priceless: How I went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures

By: Robert K. Wittman with John Shiffman

C. 2010

                I am an art history Nerd.  That’s right- I capitalized the N in nerd to show you how serious I am.  You want to talk about the Impressionists use of light and visible brush strokes? Sure.  Want to debate  Jackson Pollock’s genius?  I’m your gal.  Want to discuss Venetian architecture’s obvious borrowing from Arab and Asian mosques?  Right-on.   So when my mom (aka Super Librarian) brought home a copy of Priceless, I was loving it already.  The cover was practically screaming my name.  A guy in an art museum wearing a rad hat…ah, Priceless, you had me at Hello.

                The sub-title of this book had my toes curling a wee bit: How I went undercover to rescue the world’s stolen treasures.  You mean it’s a mystery too???? Sweet!  True to that title, the guts of the book are Wittman’s details of undercover operations during which he posed as a shady Art Dealer in order to trick the bad guys into selling him the art. When the bad guys brought the art, and told Wittman their life stories, the FBI equivalent of a swat team would rush in from the next room and get the bad guys.  Which brings me to a question: do these bad guys not watch movies?  Seriously, in every movie with bad guys, they always tell the undercover cop how they committed the crime.  Don’t give it up so easy bad guys! They’ll use it against you in court. 

                Bad guy idiocracy aside, if you were only mildly interested in the subject matter, this book might get boring; it’s really just one art recovery story after another.  BUT if you, like me, find the pitch interesting, each story is unique and enjoyable because of the (albeit minute) twists and turns the cases take and the history of the Art and Artifacts involved. Once case centers around a flag carried during the Civil War by one of the first black regiments, another follows Masks stolen from a museum in Africa, yet another an original copy of the Bill of Rights.  While all the cases follow the same pattern, Wittman peppers in enough tidbits and undercover tips to keep it fresh. 

                Most of the final third of the book follows Wittman’s pursuit of art stolen from the Gardner museum in Boston.  In March of 1990 thieves dressed as police officers entered the museum and stole 13 works of art valued at over 500million dollars.  The most note-worthy pieces are Vermeer’s The Concert and Rembrandt’s The storm on the Sea of Galilee.  Did you notice that I used present tense there?  The pieces have not been found/returned two decades later.  Wittman worked with several individuals who claimed to have access to, or know who had the Gardner pieces.  In one case, a man offers to sell the undercover agent/shady dealer a Vermeer- and as Wittman points out, ‘The world is only missing one Vermeer’.  As I said, the pieces are still at large; Wittman uses the end of the book to detail how they slipped away.  It seems that he largely blames the FBIs bureaucracy and individuals who were more interested in praise and face time in the media, than rescuing the pieces.  Which brings me to the only downfall I found in Priceless:  Robert Wittman seems to be a rather bitter/disillusioned man.  He is quick to point out the short comings of other individuals within the FBI, yet never mentions a misstep of his own.  However, this negativity was really only apparent in the end of the book. 

                So, in summary I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  What’s more, I learned a great deal and it re-sparked my interest in one of my favorite subjects.

You should read this book:  If you’re cool like me.  Or if you want to be an FBI agent (seriously, I lost count of how many times he said ‘When going undercover you should always……’)

You should not read this book:  If you hate art. You should also go sit in a corner and cry.  Seriously, what’s wrong with you? 

                ‘Before he imposed the sentence, the judge held aloft a stack of fifteen letters from museum directors….What made art theft different from most financial and property crimes, many museum directors told the judge, is the harm to society….Any theft from any museum goes beyond the crime itself-such a destructive act robs the entire community of its history, its cultural heritage’

              

I may be a dork, but at least I'm not a dork in a costume

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

j.k. rowling

                I’m a grown up and I’m a Harry Potter fan.  Now, I’m not the kind of fan that dresses up in the outfits and waited for the books at midnight, or ran screaming to the movie theaters.  But I enjoyed all 7 of the books and  movies 1-5 (come on movie 6 left  half the important stuff out…the fight at Hogwarts, the werewolf attacking one of the Weasley boys, Ginny and harry making out…these are important things).  If you’re not a fan that’s cool, but you might want to skip this post. ..

                This is not of course the first time I have read the Deathly Hallows.  I read it when it came out several years ago, and maybe once more in the middle somewhere, but I can’t remember.  I don’t often re-read books.  A book has to be either fairly special or very confusing for me to deem a second read necessary, or else have a movie coming out.  As it turns out HP7 falls into 2 of those categories (I’ll give you a hint, it’s not that confusing).  I started re-reading on an impulse, and continued b/c I thought, hey, the movie’s coming out soon, I should read up and make sure they don’t make any mistakes.  The surprise was how I enjoyed the re-re. 

                I’ve previously stated that I’m a harry potter fan, so obviously I enjoyed the first reading of Deathly Hallows.  Although I do recall the drama being intense and loss of loveable characters crushing.  Not knowing how it was all going to work out made for a tense 759 pages.  Adding to the tension was the fact that my husband (and I preface this by saying we are still married) told me the ending of the book before I FINISHED!  The Cardinal sin of book lovers!  Ohhhh it was bad.  3 years later and if anyone mentions the phrase ‘battle at Hogwarts’  within in a 50foot radius steam comes out of my ears.  Which of course my husband finds amusing (why do people find my anger funny?  Fear my wrath mortals!). To this day, if he asks what I’m reading, my knee-jerk reaction is ‘Nothing! Why do you want to know’.             

          Anyway, back to the present,  I found this re-read very pleasant because for one, no one was able to ruin the ending for me, and two without the OMG tension I was able to enjoy the story more.  I know others have written about the holes in the plot and how everything came together too easily, and I just don’t care.  I loved re-reading HP7, remembering the characters, seeing their adventures, knowing they’ll all make it through to the other side.  All of which I kind of expected.  What I did not expect was the very poignant way the final chapters of the book touched me.  There is a beauty in J.K’s writing at the end of this young adult novel that would not be out of place in a non-fiction memoir or adult text.  The most obvious instance being when Harry goes willingly to die to save his friends, and is helped along by the ghostly imprints of his most valued but deceased role models.   There’s also of course the Malfoy family who go from something to be disliked, almost hated, to something to be pitied.  The enduring friendships of Ron, Harry, and Hermione, the idea that those who have passed on are never truly gone, and the notion that a family is what is built not defined by blood- these are all philosophical themes that are so clearly expressed in HP7.  And I am always happy for a reminder that Love is everything. 

In the end, I’ll leave with the suggestion that you return to an old favorite, give it a re-read and see where it takes you….. Oh, and I’ll leave you with what may very well be my favorite quote in the entire book:

“ Of course it is happening inside your head Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?”

               

               

The Cookbook Collector

By Allegra Goodman

                The best way to describe my feelings about this book would be to compare it to an on-again/off-again relationship.  At first I wasn’t sure, Then I liked it, Then I was bored, Then I was really considering my other options, then I liked it again, then I liked it a lot, and then it was over, leaving me with fond memories, but not necessarily with the desire to repeat the process.  No, that’s not the right comparison… ok, let me start over.  This book was like a decent movie:  It was good, had some great points, but not worth paying to see in the theater and you could cut out an hour and still have the same story.  Yep, that’s better. 

                On the whole-I liked the Cookbook Collector.  I was a little concerned at first because I normally read fluff or non-fiction and this falls somewhere in-between; it is obviously fiction, but more high-brow smarty pants fiction.  But, it had great reviews and high praise for the author.  Allegra Goodman has been called the Jane Austen of our time. I’ll tell you right now, I don’t see it. I’m really not sure where that came from at all- not even a little bit. Goodman certainly writes intelligently, and she weaves story lines together-focusing on intertwining relationships…but that could describe a million authors, so how she was bestowed that title is a mystery.  But I’m not holding it against her, she probably didn’t decide to compare herself with Jane Austen, at least I hope not.  That’s like comparing yourself to Batman or Gandhi; it’s a bad idea, you’re not them so go ahead- take off your cape and eat a burger for goodness sake.  But like I said, it’s probably not her fault.

                To the point- Yes, I did like the book-but just barely.  On a one to ten scale, I’d put this as a 5.  We’ll start at the beginning-which I liked. Goodman immediately draws you into her characters with such strong descriptions that they feel almost 3 dimensional.  Her discussion of objects, especially nature and the weather are prose like.  In fact one of the elements of this book is the use of lines of poetry and philosophy quotes. Some by names I recognize and others, not so much-and they never feel out of place, which is quite the accomplishment.  So, the start of the book introduces us to two sisters, dis-alike in every way.  It sounds a little formulaic and in some ways it is-two sisters each finding their way- One has it all: great career, money, successful boyfriend-The other: an eternal student, no serious relationship, living in a cheap apartment. Of course we know that the story is about the first sister losing it and the second sister finding her way. But as in all things-it’s the journey that counts and so I read on.

                Part two- the middle:  And here’s where I got confused.  So there are a lot of themes running through this book.  There’s probably a technical literary term –but I don’t know it, so I’ll say ‘themes’.  Two such themes dominate the middle of the book. The first is the focus on the dot.com boom of the late 1990s We see two start-up software companies and watch them go public, the founders of both become multi-millionaires overnight as people clamor to buy up stock and invest in the next ‘thing’ even if they’re not exactly sure what that is.  The second theme is Judaism.  We are introduced to several rabbis and hear multiple opinions on a particular sect.  Both of these interwoven themes confused me.  I’m still not sure what they had to do with the story itself.  As I look back at the book, it would be the same story if Goodman took out the hundreds of pages she spent following these lines of inquiry.  Parts of each theme are important or at least pertain to the story.  One character discovers that she has family she didn’t know existed (who happen to be Jewish). Another character uses information he obtained in less than honest ways to promote his company.  But those points could be made without all the detail and technical points, which is what confused me.   

                And now part 3-The end.  The final third of the book was written more like the beginning.  Or at least it seemed that way to me.  Perhaps I was less confused, or maybe I just knew it was ending, but for whatever reason, it was easier to read.  The entire book has been following these characters and the chapters are dated.  So I knew what was coming, but nevertheless forgot until all of a sudden is was September 11, 2001 and the boyfriend of one of the sisters was boarding a flight for the west coast, but never arrived.   

‘They didn’t know under the trees what day it was, or how the market closed, or how the

 sun rose bright on the East Coast…They didn’t know it was September 11, but no one else

did either.’

And here’s where Allegra Goodman earns her paycheck as far as I’m concerned.  She wrote beautifully and elegantly about the feeling of ‘which way is up’ and utter confusion and bewilderment.  Not just for the characters most affected, but for the country as a whole.  We watch as peripheral characters (and there are many of them) go about their daily lives and observe the minute changes in their worlds.  Again, just as in the beginning of the story, the author brings the reader into this world with her vivid descriptions and attention to detail. Through the chaos, we are still watching the sisters stories unfold as the formula reaches towards its conclusion: one sister (the eternal student) is falling in love with the man we knew she was meant for, while the other has to struggle to make sense of it all.  

                My overall thoughts on The Cookbook Collector- well, I got through it. The characters are well written, but in my opinion there was just too much: too many side characters, to many side story lines, too much to keep track of.  I know I didn’t mention the cookbooks in this review, but don’t worry; they’re barely in the book either. 

Should you read the Cookbook Collector, I guess if parts of this synopsis had you interested then sure, go for it.  Am I recommending it, eh perhaps if you have a very long flight and nothing else to read.  As for me, I’m still not seeing the Jane Austen comparison.  But I do give kudos to Allegra Goodman for what was probably my favorite part of the book, this quote from the last page:

“What do metaphorical bubbles taste like?”