Everyday I Write the Book

My Long Absence

I haven't posted in a week. Here's why - I started a book at the beginning of the week that just didn't grab me. Maybe it will, but it hasn't yet. And it has been one of those weekend when I could only read late at night, due to lots of work and other stuff going on. So I haven't read anything, and I've been trying to post mostly reviews instead of posts about books I *want* to read. May need to revisit that strategy...

But here's where I am now. I am listening to The Lake Shore Limited by Sue Miller, and really enjoying it (I am about 40% done), and I started my new online book club pick, Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman on Friday night, and I'm about 1/3 done with it. So no reviews today, but hopefully soon!

What did you read this weekend?

"Maine" by J. Courtney Sullivan

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan was on many recommended summer reading lists this summer, and with two days to spare, I finished it this summer! (Hello fall, in two days!)

Maine is about the Kellehers, a large New England Irish Catholic family with a summer house in Maine. (What is it about Maine that inspires so many people to write fiction about it?) Alice, the matriarch of the family, spends her whole summer there, and her three children (and their children) each visit for a month of the summer. But most of Maine isn't about the summer; instead, the book is mostly character development, with each chapter told from the perspective of a rotating woman - Alice, her daughter Kathleen, Kathleen's daughter Maggie, and Alice's daughter-in-law Ann Marie.

Some people have criticized this book for not having enough plot. That didn't bother me. I liked the character development. I enjoyed learning about what had brought each of these women to where they were at the start of the summer in question - how their relationships with each other and the rest of their family had shaped them into the women they are.

Maine is full of conflict, as most of the Kellehers don't get along, particularly with Alice, a difficult person. But by shifting perspective, often when describing the same events, Sullivan successfully makes each of these women sympathetic. None of them is perfect, of course, but they each have virtue, and often it is simply the others that bring out the worst (and very occasionally the best) in each other. I liked Sullivan's exploration of family dynamics - complete with secrets, grudges and mischaracterizations - and the shifting shades of gray that make them interesting.

If you need a fast-moving plot, you may be frustrated with the analytical, foundation-building pace of Maine. But if you like meaty family dramas (think Jennifer Haigh or Sue Miller), this may be the book for you. I recommend it.

[You may be looking for a plot, FTC, but you won't find it in this post - I bought this one, and paid retail! In a bookstore!]

"Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

I have been getting the sense that I may be the last book blogger out there who doesn't read YA.

So I decided to see what the fuss was about, and dipped my foot into the YA stream. I just finished Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher, which is a popular YA novel from a few years ago. The book is about Clay, a high school student who receives a mysterious box of cassettes in the mail. The cassettes turn out to be recordings by a fellow student, Hannah Baker, who killed herself a few weeks earlier. On the tapes, she has recorded the "thirteen reasons why" she killed herself. Those thirteen reasons turn out to be thirteen of her classmates who did various things over the course of high school that contributed to her despair.

In Thirteen Reasons Why, Clay listens to the tapes in order (he received them because he is one of the reasons, and is to pass them along to the person listed after him), and intersperses her dialogue with his narration and reactions to what Hannah says.

I am going to start with the good. I admire Jay Asher for taking this subject on, and I bet that this book is a powerful one for teenagers. The message is that your actions have effects on people, even ones you don't intend, and that careless, thoughtless, and downright cruel actions can cause terrible consequences. There are testimonials all over the book from readers who say that it changed, even saved, their lives, and I can see why.

This book lent itself well to audio, thanks to the alternating structure of Clay's and Hannah's voices. It's suspenseful, and kept me interested. The actors were pretty good at sounding like teenagers. And I liked listening to Hannah's tapes, rather than reading them, just as Clay had.

But.

Reading this book as an adult, I found it overwrought. Perhaps I am too old now to relate to being a teenager (though I doubt this, because I read plenty of coming-of-age novels that I find very compelling). I found Hannah's problems to be big, but not unsurmountable. She had paths out that she didn't take. Her actions were too premeditated to convey the desperation that she supposedly felt. Emotionally, I didn't find this to be a particularly satisfying read.

One other quibble - I don't like books that take place in real time. This whole book basically takes place in less than 24 hours - which I always find sort of exhausting and unrealistic.

I won't judge all of YA on this book, of course. I just didn't love this one. I'll try something else soon.

Oh, hi FTC! Paper and audio were both courtesy of the D.C. Library.

BBAW Interview Swap: Amy from The House of the Seven Tails

Happy Book Blogger Appreciation Week, everyone!

Today is my favorite day of BBAW - it's Interview Swap day. BBAW pairs us up with another book blogger, and then we interview each other and post the interviews on our respective blogs. I was lucky to be paired up with Amy of The House of the Seven Tails, a blogger I have come to know through this blog over the last few months. In addition to us both being book bloggers, Amy and I have two other things in common - we are both former lawyers, and we are both big animal lovers. Oh! And we both don't like vampire books! No wonder we get along so well. :)

Amy's wonderful blog contains thorough, thoughtful reviews of mostly fiction, including a lot of books on my TBR list (such as The Winters in Bloom and Domestic Violets). Please head over to the The House of the Seven Tails and check it out. If you like EDIWTB, you'll like Amy's blog too. Her interview of me will be posted there today - we answered (mostly) the same questions.

Without further ado, here is Amy's interview:

1. Tell me about your blog - when did you start blogging, what kinds of books do you review, and what do you hope to get out of your blog?

My blog is a constant work-in-progress! I just made a few changes to it but I have bigger ideas for change in mind...possibly even moving servers! I'm never entirely satisfied with the look or content of my blog, which isn't a bad thing necessarily, although I've found it can be stressful!

When I first started blogging I had no plans to create my own blog...and then I discovered book blogs. It was like the clouds broke apart and the sun shined brightly down on me. I was thrilled to discover a community of book blogs! I spent some time visiting blogs within the book community and to my utter delight, discovered a welcoming, friendly, fun group of bloggers! Still, when I decided to start a blog, since I generally like to chat I thought I'd make a blog that mixed a few different topics, specifically, I thought I would blog a little about my life, a little about my many cats, almost all rescues and a lot about books. As time went on, though, I realized that I enjoyed blogging about and reviewing books the most and I spent the most time reading blogs, posts and articles about books, author interview, bookshelf porn! etc.. I started focusing more and more on books, taking one day a week to post a photo of the cats with info or an update on their life (the cats are more interesting and social than I am!) and frequently, on Sundays I'd write a Sunday Salon post, which includes anything going on in my life other than books and ends with a paragraph about the books I'm reading and reviewing at that time. Right now, that's the format of my blog.

My blog is mostly contemporary fiction right now. I was very excited when I discovered that publishers will send ARCs, galleys and newly published books to bloggers to review, which, I've also discovered, you can easily get carried away with reviewing these books! I also review for TLC Book Tours which I really enjoy. I've found that, although I enjoy reviewing galleys and new books, I miss reading books I've wanted to read for a long time, many classics and books by specific authors that have been around for years and I just haven't had a chance to read yet. I would like to review classics more that I have been, which should be easy since I think I've reviewed maybe 2 in the last year! I was an English major in college and I've been missing reading the classics. I want to reread some as well as read ones I haven't had a chance to yet. I'd also like to read and review some nonfiction, too including memoirs.

I started my blog in July 2009. I cannot believe I've been blogging for 2 years! Actually, not quite 2 years. I had to take a break from my blog because of some health and personal problems. I was gone for about 5 months in the beginning of 2010. Since then, I've had to take some mini-breaks from my blog, a week here, a few days there because of health and medical problems. One of the fantastic things about the book blogging community is the support bloggers give each other. It's like being part of a family of book lovers. I like to tell other bloggers who have to stop blogging for a period of time because of a crisis of some kind, that the light is always on for them here in the book blogging community. We eagerly await your return and contribution to this wonderful world of books and people!

2. If you were going to be on a deserted island for one year and were permitted 3 books, which 3 books would you bring with you?

Norton's Anthology of English Literature, Volume 2
Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace
A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

3. If you could be friends with any character you've met in a book, who would it be and why?

There are many, many characters I have read about I would love to be friends with...Emma from Emma by Jane Austen; Eliza Sommers from Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende; and Charulata Apte from Miss Timmins School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy are just a few of the many I would like to at least meet.

But two characters that I know I’d love to be friends with are Frankie Bard from The Postmistress by Sarah Blake and Sarah Price from Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart.

Sarah Price is a young mother who discovers that her husband, Nathan, has had an affair and is still somewhat involved with the woman he cheated with. Sarah discovers the affair because her husband incorporates some of his experience into the novel he’s just published. Sarah’s funny, intelligent, kind and amiable. She’s also very hurt. She’s not a perfect woman, like us all, she’s has flaws. I thought her reaction to Nathan’s news was understandable and very realistic...she runs the gamut from acceptance of it to outright rejection of Nathan and eventually leaves the house, unable to be near Nathan or the home they shared. She wants to be needed, desired and admired which makes sense to me. She reacts in a way that I don’t completely agree with but it works for her and in doing what she does, she figures things out for herself and her family. I liked that Sarah is strong and weak at the same time, while she takes the steps she takes, she’s confused and not sure why she’s doing what she’s doing but she also feels it’s what she has to do.

Sarah would make a great friend whether you’re chatting while sharing a bottle of wine, seeing the latest girly movie or discussing a book you both read. She feels like a woman who is fine disagreeing about a subject with her friends and discussing it, comfortable with you both having differing opinions.

Frankie Bard is one of the first female radio reporters in 1940 during the Blitz in London. Frankie’s an American who wants to jolt Americans awake to what is happening across Europe. She’s convinced if she reports the right story, she’ll reach Americans. Frankie is stubborn, brave and has a one-track mind. She travels through Europe reporting what she sees and the words of the people she encounters. But this war correspondent wasn’t totally prepared for the sights and people she encountered. By the time she’s finished her reporting tour across Europe, Frankie is burnt out and needs a break. She’s only human, of course!

Frankie is strong and stubborn but she’s also got a heart of gold. She learns some tough lessons while traveling through Europe meeting people who are frightened for the safety and well-being of their families. She meets many children whose parents have sacrificed their own well-being to save their children.

I was so impressed with Frankie’s willingness to do almost anything to reach people and to help people once she realized what was happening. Frankie was willing to go so far as to risk her own health and well-being. Although she’s sometimes brash and doesn’t always think before she acts, her intentions are pure. I know many of Frankie’s stories would astound me up but I’d also learn about the beauty and worth of life, to celebrate living and, most importantly, to reach out and help people because these are all things Frankie does.

4. What time of day do you do most of your blogging, and where are you when you're doing it?

I blog most often in the morning and early afternoon. After a good night’s sleep I feel best early in the day. I have to cope with chronic pain and fatigue everyday so by late afternoon and evening I’m getting worn out. I can’t tell you ho w many times I’ve turned off the computer around 4 o’clock with every intention of returning in an hour or two. More often than not, it doesn’t happen!

5. What is your favorite guilty pleasure? (This can be edible or not.)

The magazines Elle and Vogue, especially in September and March issues. And Cadbury Milk Chocolate!

 

Different Perspectives on "The Help"

I read a great post tonight on Amy Reads about The Help (the book and the movie, which I compared in this post). Amy's post is about the importance of historical accuracy and the need to get multiple perspectives in order to have a true sense of what happened during a particular era. She links to a few other posts that talk about why The Help is misleading and one-sided, and she is participating in a reading challenge based on a reading list suggested by the Association of Black Women Historians.

If you've read The Help, seen the movie, or done both or neither and are just curious about the issues they raise, I highly recommend Amy's post.

"The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards

I got into audiobooks last summer, and since then, I always have a book going in the car for my (sadly short) commute to work. I generally pick up audiobooks at the library or at used book sales, and I never listen to an audiobook unless I have access to the paper version as well, so that I can re-read passages that stood out to me and make sure I didn't miss anything. Usually I pick audiobooks that are also sitting on my TBR list at home, or I borrow the paper version from the library.

If an audiobook says "abridged" on it anywhere, I pass. I don't want to listen to an edited version of a book - I want to listen to the book exactly as the author intended. For some reason, I abandoned that policy a few weeks ago when I saw the audio version of The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards, at a book sale. It was abridged, but the cover said that the edits were with the author's consent, so I figured it was probably fine, right?

Wrong. I started the audio, got about 2 discs in, and then browsed the paper version and found that there were plot points, passages, and entire characters left out of the audio version. That was it. I ejected the second disc, put the whole set away, and started the book over again in paper. I have learned my lesson - never again! (BTW, I just looked on Amazon and I think there is an unabridged audio version of The Memory Keeper's Daughter available as well. I had no idea. The one I bought was read by Martha Plimpton. I didn't love her narration - her voice is aggressive and formal and made the the portion that I listened to sound angry.)

So, on to my review of the book.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter is a 400-page book that hinges entirely on one night that occurs in the first chapter. David Henry, a Kentucky doctor, delivers his own twins in the middle of a blizzard. His first child, a son, is healthy, and his second child, a daughter, is born with the unmistakable signs of Down's Syndrome. David makes a split-second decision - he asks his nurse Caroline to take the baby girl to an institution, hoping to spare his wife Norah the grief of raising a daughter who is not likely to live long. Caroline decides to keep the baby (Phoebe), and David tells Norah that Phoebe died.

Thus two parallel stories follow - how David and Norah fare in the aftermath of his unthinkable lie, and how Caroline manages with a newborn who is not her own and who faces a lifetime of challenges. This a pretty sad book, but the story of these people, and the lies they keep from each other, is a compelling one. Kim Edwards is a good storyteller, full of compassion for her characters and skill in threading four different perspectives into a moving story.

I also liked the history lessons inherent in the book. Phoebe and her brother Paul are born in the early 60s, and The Memory Keeper's Daughter concludes in the late 80s. Edwards takes on the evolving role of women over those decades, particularly, as well as changing attitudes toward mentally handicapped children.

I am going light on the plot here, because there are a lot of secrets and twists in the book that I don't want to give away. However, there was a point in the book - about 2/3 of the way through - where Edwards went astray. Her characters had been very consistent, and then a few of them went off the tracks and did some really random stuff that felt unnatural.

I can also see why the audiobook producers felt the urge to abridge - this book could really have used some editing. There was a lot of repetition and too much explanation of the characters' feelings about each other. Not too much subtlety and very little left to the reader's own interpretation.

That said, it's a great premise, and I am glad I read the book. And I have learned my lesson about abridgements - never again!

Everyone else in the world read this book years ago - please weigh in and let me know what you thought.

September EDIWTB Online Book Club: "Domestic Violets" by Matthew Norman

I am excited to announce the September online book club pick: Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman. I have heard nothing but great things about this book. From Amazon:

Tom Violet always thought that by the time he turned thirty-five, he’d have everything going for him. Fame. Fortune. A beautiful wife. A satisfying career as a successful novelist. A happy dog to greet him at the end of the day.

The reality, though, is far different. He’s got a wife, but their problems are bigger than he can even imagine. And he’s written a novel, but the manuscript he’s slaved over for years is currently hidden in his desk drawer while his father, an actual famous writer, just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His career, such that it is, involves mind-numbing corporate buzzwords, his pretentious archnemesis Gregory, and a hopeless, completely inappropriate crush on his favorite coworker. Oh... and his dog, according to the vet, is suffering from acute anxiety.

Tom’s life is crushing his soul, but he’s decided to do something about it. (Really.) Domestic Violets is the brilliant and beguiling story of a man finally taking control of his own happiness—even if it means making a complete idiot of himself along the way.

Swapna from S. Krishna's Books says that Domestic Violets "blew me away. It was so witty, so heartfelt, and so achingly honest that I couldn’t help but love it from beginning to end." Julie from Booking Mama said, "I didn't just read this book, I devoured it. I honestly couldn't put it down, and I was resentful of any event that got in the way of my reading."

I'm really excited about this one. Thanks to HarperPerennial, I have room for 20 people to read it along with me. If you're interested, send me an email at [email protected] with the following (in this format):

name

address

address

email address

We'll pick a date in late September or early October for a discussion here on EDIWTB.

Thanks, HarperPerennial!