I’m almost finished with Everyday Jews. The book takes place in the early 1900’s and covers about a year in a young boy’s life.
Coincidentally, I’ve been watching Simon Schama’s History of the Jews on PBS. In the episode titled Over the Rainbow, Schama visits sites in Poland and Lithuania that are similar to the places in the book. We’re also seeing film and photos from that time. The book and film really came together. I’m seeing huts that could have been where the boy lived, Schama’s pronouncing the same Yiddish/Hebrew words, describing the lives of these people – some of the names are even the same. It really adds to the book experience.
My 5-year old son got his first library card last month, so we’ve been using that as a reason to go to the library more often.
Our rule is three books at a time, so I’ve just finished up:
Lost Cleveland: Seven Wonders of the Sixth City - As a Cleveland historian I found it a bit light, but it’s a pretty good introduction to some of Cleveland’s historical landmarks. Also it features Severance Hall, and there’s certainly nothing “lost” about it!
Finding the Dragon Lady: The Mystery of Vietnam’s Madame Nhu - Not really a fan of authors including their personal narrative with the subject of a biography, but otherwise a very interesting look at the private life of Trần Lệ Xuân and her hand in the rise and fall of the Ngô regime in Vietnam.
I have been reading and reading and reading and reading A Dance of Dragons forEVER and not making any headway. Nothing happens, ever. But I WILL finish it, hopefully before Martin finishes writing the series.
Just finished Racing In The Rain: My Life as a Dog by Garth Stein. It was a cute book. I think a Lifetime Movie told from a dog’s point of view.
The interesting thing, for me, was the portrayal of the Jews. I read that Walter Scott was deliberately going for a positive portrayal, deliberately to counteract the everyday anti-Semitism of his time - and obviously, Rebecca is the heroine (and far more interesting than Rowena). But man alive, Issac of York is a bundle of stereotypes, for a sympathetic character!
Heard about the novella Sleep Donation by Karen Russell via an NPR author interview last week and decided to pick it up from Amazon.
It’s a short, but compelling read, set in a world where insomnia is a fatal disease and healthy sleepers can donate their sleep to help save the suffering. Children’s sleep is especially effective, which leads to the discovery of Baby A - a universal donor. Unfortunately, nightmares can infect donated sleep, and Donor Y becomes a symbol of fear and distrust of the system.
The sociological implications (modern world disrupting our natural rhythms & humankind’s plundering of natural resources) are rather obvious; yet, for the most part, not presented in too heavy-handed a way. The protagonist, Trish Edgewater is well-rounded; you learn her motivations quickly and follow her through her developing doubts and concerns. The plot moves along quickly - as you would expect in a 110-page novella - and there’s a few elements I wish had been explored more thoroughly. However, expanding the story to a full length novel probably would have been a mistake; leave the audience wanting more.
I also expected the ending to be a bit different; and I suspect if this novella is ever made into a film, it will follow the conclusions I was drawing to make for a rather depressing finale.
I’d definitely recommend this novella to anyone who enjoyed Charlie Huston’s *Sleepless *and/or Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby, as Russell may have have drawn from both these worlds to create her own narrative.
Making good progress on Stephen King’s 11/22/63, and am already more than halfway through. Loving it.
Also started Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die, ed. by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo and David Malki. Very odd, somewhat inconsistent, but with an interesting premise (a machine is invented which will correctly - but sometimes ironically - tell you how you will die, but not when. Zany hijinks ensue).
I’m about halfway through George Alec Effinger’s When Gravity Fails. I introduced myself to William Gibson through Idoru a few months ago and have started to develop an interest in cyberpunk.
I couldn’t finish it. I just couldn’t get any interest in the main character and the fact that all the women in it were whores and former men felt too misogynistic.
You know, I knew it’s called A Dance With Dragons because I’ve been referring to it as Dances with Firebreathing Wolves to my husband who, btw, agrees with you that it’s full of happening stuff. “Keep reading!” he insists. I will. I will read that book much and more!
I just finished Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper. It was … strange. The plot was highly convoluted and constantly surprising - at first, I realised it was Sleeping Beauty and thought I knew where it was going, then suddenly time travellers! Dystopia! It just gets weirder from there!
I’m not sure how I feel about this book. There were parts I really liked, parts that were hugely disturbing and parts that I didn’t feel much for at all. It was a bit preachy, sometimes in ways I had no problem with (we certainly should save the environment before it’s too late) and sometimes in ways I did have a problem with (one of the items on a list of all the terrible things humanity does that will only lead to our doom was “We birth retarded babies” - wow, screw you, there’s nothing inherently awful about disabled people being allowed to exist). Sheri Tepper is clearly a very good writer and I can understand why this book is listed as a fantasy masterwork, but as for my personal reaction … Well. It’s complicated.
I see that more as a result of the story’s setting than any sort of attitudes towards women on the author’s part. Mostly, I’m just impressed that there are transsexual characters at all.
I’m a third of the way into Thirty Rooms to Hide In: Insanity, Addiction and Rock and Roll in the Shadow of the Mayo Clinic by Luke Longstreet Sullivan.
Mr. Sullivan was one of six sons of a prominent orthopedic surgeon at the Mayo who suffered from severe alcoholism and died in his forties.
Writing it must have been a difficult, though cathartic, experience for the author. All the classic examples of how the illness damages family members are there and he’s done a deft job of interweaving the chaos, guilt and anger with a fearless look at his family’s dynamics. He’s added enough humor to carry the message and to keep me wanting to turn the next page.
I’ve just spent the last few weeks, since mid-February or so, reading all the KIm Stanley Robinson Mars books - the trilogy, and Martians, the collection of stories and other bits that didn’t make the final edit.
Very good, but I sometimes seemed to be taking ages to make much progress…
I’ve owned them all since they were published, so I really should have read the trilogy before now!
That’s A Dance with Dragons. I’m about 3/4 of the way through now and enjoying it immensely. I see lots happening.