Books

Just thought I'd keep a running list of books I've read and a few thoughts for each:
most recent reads are at the top.

On Beauty , Zadie Smith
It starts slow- character development for 150 pages, but then the story gets interesting. What is the value of family? How do relationships stay alive? What about that sexual instinct to pursue the most beautiful, vital people we in our lives? Who ends up happy and who pays? It’s not exactly a-plot-twist-a-minute, but On Beauty is a good read that asks some tough questions.

Freakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
So much has been written about this book: a common-sense approach to society’s problems, the application of quantitative analysis to seemingly qualitative issues, and a sense of humor to boot. One thing that struck me was the courage of these two men: to factually address problems in society of race, class, and socio-economic standing. There was no softening of a message because it dealt with abortion, black poverty, or poor schools.

Confessions of Max Tivoli, Andrew Sean Greer
This book gripped me from page one, sentence one. “We are both the loves of someone’s life.” The premise here is that Max is born an old man and ages physically backwards. His mind starts as a baby, progresses to a boy and then onward normally, but his body works in reverse. It confronts our issues of mortality and our culture’s veneration of youth and beauty. More than that- this is a love story, maybe two or three love stories. Read it and find out.

2005 reads
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
Quick read- a mystery as solved by a boy with Asperger's Syndrome. It's compelling, well-written and ... curious.

Winner of the National Book Award, Jincy Willett
The subtitle pretty much sums it up "A Novel of Fame, Honor, and Really Bad Weather." Funny prose, interesting characters, weird story.

Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
A Powerful book, I almost stopped reading it after the first 30 pages. The plot was brutal, but the rest of the story kept me glued to the page.

A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
Having read Bryson's Notes From a Big Country, I expected witty observations, but I didn't expect to learn so much natural history. Bryson uses his story telling acumen to paint a picture of the great scientific discoveries AND of the discoverers. He is also the ultimate 'bottom-line man.' Nobody summarizes better than Bryson.

Interpreter of Maladies, Juhmpa Lahiri
A great collection of short stories about expatriate Indians, immigrants, and second generation Indians living in America. I usually don't like short stories because they are either light on character development or all character development and no plot. Interpreter of Maladies created individual characters who were enriched by the characters in the preceding stories even though they were unrelated- so you got a nice mix of both plot and character.

The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
It didn't live up to her Pulitzer Prize winning short stories, but a compelling portrayal of one man's struggle to accept his name. Makes you realize we all get self-conscious recording a greeting on our answering machine.

Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs
A scatological memoir of a crazy childhood. Written in the voice of the author as a teen; I initially thought of him as a younger David Sedaris. But Burroughs has his own wit, the edge is sharper, and the familial situations more insane.

The Master, Colm Toibin
A fictionalization of the life of author, Henry James would not be my normal book selection, but I liked the cover. Despite the beautiful prose, exquisite landscapes, and anguished sense of the artist’s inner struggle, nothing happens. A noted plot-junkie, I enjoyed the read as a change of pace, but couldn’t recommend it to any one except lit-majors and Daisy Miller fans.

Lady Chatterley's Lover, D.H. Lawrence
As a kid I thought Judy Bloom’s “Blubber” was as steamy as you could get. WHY didn’t anyone ever give me a copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Okay, it’s racy, but in a good way: embracing sexuality as an important part of the mind, heart, body spectrum. Without revealing too much, the fate of the two people in love seems destined for disaster, but Lawrence lets the reader apply their own interpretation of love, sex and the possibility of domestic bliss.

All I did Was Ask, Terry Gross
As a huge fan of the NPR radio show, Fresh Air, I couldn't wait to read host Terry Gross's book. It was a series of interview transcripts from the show with brief introductions by Gross. I loved the interviews and the few comments she put in were delicious. I have tremendous respect for Terry Gross; her research, style, and casually calculated questions, but I wanted more info about HER. She admits that she is painfully private, so I'm sure what she did release in the book was traumatic for her, but I wanted more of her glorious insights.

Native Speaker , Chang Rae Lee
I was at the Goodwill store in Sacramento for a job and I saw Native Speaker. I'd heard of it, bought it, and thought it would be a tough read. It wasn't. I loved this book and recommend it as a thoughtful but compelling work that's even better when you find it next to some old shoes for 75 cents.

Going Nucular: Language, Politics, and Culture in Controversial Times, Geoff Nunberg
Nunberg is a professor at Stanford, a columnist for the New York Times and a commentator on NPR's Fresh Air. He was also gracious enough to let me interview him and his daughter for a TechTV story about teen's language while instant messaging. His publicist sent me this latest book and I really liked it. Geoff uses language as a jumping off point for social commentary- it's brilliant.

Caramello, Sandra Cisneros
Cisneros paints pictures of her faily life, their housing situations, and the history of her grandparents to string together an interesting and sometimes confusing narrative. The first 30 pages are a mishmash of greatgrandmothers, grandfathers, and aunts. But in the end, Cisneros creates a few moving storylines that actually feel like real family: confusing, vivid, and not easily defined through simple narratives.

Cry the Beloved Country, Alan Paton
My mother has been trying to get me to read this book forever, when I finally picked it up, I anticipated a tough read, but this book is surprisingly gripping. In the midst of it's plot, the language, sentiment, and ideology of it's author are conveyed with clarity, but they are not heavy-handed or preachy. Cry the Beloved Country is one of the most powerful books I have read in a long time.

Everything Is Illuminated Johnathon Safran Foer
Written in a refreshing style that seamlessly jumps from letters between friends to first person narrative, Everything is Illuminated caught me off guard. The beginning was a detailed and yet somehow confusing jumble of stories from a small Jewish town in Russia. Those stories never seemed to tie into the central narrative, but the names of the past came out tangentially in parts of the main plot. Eventually you realize that they were there to underscore the importance of the past and how it has influenced the main plot's "hero." The movie adaptation was such a even more of a surprise, I loved the way they changed the story-line to fit the big screen, how rare it is to say that. Both the book and movie are worth your time, but if I had to choose one, amazingly I'd recommend the movie.

The Known World Edward P. Jones
One hopes that a book will give you perspective, help you to see the world through someone else's eyes. The Known World lives up to that challenge with aplomb. Set in various generations in the antebellum South, this book chronicles the relationships between whites, free blacks and slaves. It revels in the complexities of those bonds unlike any other historical fiction I've read on the subject. The motives behind acts of cruelty are contrasted with the simplicity of certain tendernesses. A great book and a strong recommend.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
I am a fan and an addict. The books keep getting better and I find my moods frightningly altered when I'm reading the latest installment. What more can be said about Harry Potter books, but read them, read them, read them.

Blue Angel, Francine Prose
An english teacher in a Vermont college fights his own narcissism and maddening impulses. The politically correct climate and a dread fear of sexual harassment suits create an aura of Puritanical repression on campus that seems to be causing odd outbursts of behavior. As an American Literature major from a Vermont college, I found the Johnathon Edwards references fun and appropriate to this (sometimes painful) story of a middle aged man falling into a black hole.

Hawaii Books
Song of the Exile, Kiana Davenport
A saga of a Hawaiian family through WWII, amazing story of "comfort women" held captive by the Japanese.
West of Then, Tara Bray Smith
The memoir of a young woman's search to find and save her drug addicted mother. Tara was a classmate of mine in high school. The plot line of Tara's mother/daughter relationship is fascinating, but I have to admit the real joy for me was to read an eloquent portrayal of my own experiences growing up. What it was like to be a Haole in public school, the games we played (chinese jacks), the clothes we wore (Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and 'rubbah slippahs'), what it was like to watch the big hurricanes (Iwa and Iniki) hit the islands. To see your own childhood through someone elses's eyes is an incredible gift.

Shark Dialogues
The first of Kiana Davenports books about Hawaii, The characters in this novel are very vivid, but just alittle too melodramatic. There's a heavy dose of the supernatural in here and a lot of touching scenes, but I can't recommend this to anyone except Soap-opera fans.