Double-Stacked Bookshelves

I've recently joined yet another book club; this one being formed by a longtime family friend, Misty.  It's strictly an online forum and a place for, what seems to be, a bunch of mothers to get together and discuss books once a month.  Now, I don't really fit into this category, but I am a book lover and I'm pretty sure that's why Misty invited me to join.  It was decided that the easiest way to determine who chooses books and when would be to make an alphabetical list and go from there.  Needless to say I'm rather far down on the list.  Our first chooser was Betty and she decided on James Patterson's 1st to Die .  I can't recall if I've ever read anything by Patterson, I'm pretty sure I haven't, so this was my first sojourn into the bestseller's world of murder and intrigue. I picked the book up from the local library and got ready to settle in.  1st to Die is the first novel in the Women's Murder Club series.  These aren't nor...

I've recently killed two birds with one stone:  reading Interview with the Vampire for both my A-Z Reading Challenge and for my scattered Edinburgh book club.  This was pretty much a decided factor as the four of us were sitting around a table at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans last month enjoying cafe au laits and beignets (delicious).  I have to say that the book pleasantly surprised me.  Though written and published by Anne Rice in 1976, I had never read the book.  Of course I'd seen the movie adaptation and, though I loved it at the time, since reading the novel I am completely disappointed in the movie.  There is so much that happens in the novel that is not included in the film and vice versa.  Yes, the movie is good, but the book is so much better. The novel starts with Louis consenting to an interview with a reporter who is only ever referred to as "the boy."  It is through this medium that Louis tells the story of how he became what he ...

I was so looking forward to reading Leif Enger's new novel, So Brave, Young, and Handsome .  Unfortunately, it did not stack up or compare to the beautiful story of Peace like a River , his first novel.  Yes, at times the story clipped along at a brisk pace, but those instances did not occur until the second half of the book. The story starts with Monte Beckett, a writer attempting and failing at his second novel, his son, Redstart, his wife, Susannah, and Glendon Hale, the mysterious boat builder and river navigator.  These characters come together in a rather predictable fashion and it stays like that in the beginning.  Soon Hale reveals that he will be leaving to make reparations with his ex-wife in Mexico and asks Beckett to come along.  Thus begins a cross-continental journey from Minnesota to California. As the two set off the reader slowly begins to learn more about each character.  We find out that Hale has been a fugitive for the past few decad...

The second book in my A-Z Book Reading Challenge, and the first on the actual list, Chelsea Handler's Are You There, Vodka?  It's Me, Chelsea was a light, enjoyable read and a good break from the heavier novels that I've been attracted to lately.  I've read both of Handler's other novels, My Horizontal Live and Chelsea, Chelsea Bang, Bang , and have enjoyed all of them.  This choice was a nice mixture of episodes from Handler's seeminly insane life.  I swear that woman gets into more hijinks than I can imagine!  Whether it's getting jumped by a bunch of high school gangster wannabe's or having a midget con artist bum money off her to bail her deadbeat husband our of jail, Handler has a knack for making the reader laugh out loud throughout the book.  She starts the collection with an outrageous lie about starring in a movie with Goldie Hawn that she tells to the school in order to be accepted.  This, of course, leads to more problems that she must lie ...

Though not read for the A-Z Reading Challenge, I just finished Chris Bohjalian's newest novel, Secrets of Eden , a murder/mystery/thriller type.  I've loved everything that I've read of Bohjalian's, but for some reason this one didn't capture my attention as quickly as the previous novels.  It's not bad, but it wasn't great either.  Of course by the end I was shocked and most definitely thrown for a loop with the twist he provides, but I didn't like the fact that it took me that long to become engrossed in the story. Like most of Bohjalian's novels, Secrets of Eden is told from several different perspectives, four to be precise, and peppered with excerpts from the writing of Heather Laurent.  One thing to keep in mind when reading Bohjalian's novels:  the characters are not always what they seem.   The first character is Stephen Drew, the local pastor in the community.  He is the character that informs the reader that the murder/suicide of ...

Finally, the first book finished on the A-Z Reading Challenge! I feel slightly accomplished. And without further ado: Chris Bohjalian's Trans-Sister Radio was simply fascinating. I've read a few of his other books and this one did not disappoint. The thing that I like about Bohjalian is that none of his books touch on the same topic. Yes, similar themes run throughout every book of his I've read, but the way in which he approaches those themes is remarkably refreshing. Because of this, and his writing style, he's quickly become one of my favorite contemporary writers. In my latest foray into this author's work I ventured into the world of the transgendered male. The novel is told from the perspective of the four main characters: Dana, the transgendered lead, Allison, Dana's lover, Will, Allison's ex-husband, and Carly, Will and Allison's nineteen year old daughter. Interspersed between each of the different viewpoints are excerpts from a NP...

I've recently finished reading Percy Walker's The Moviegoer for my scattered book club from Scotland and I have to say that it left me wanting...a lot. I can't put my finger on what I didn't like about this book; perhaps it was my lack of interest in any of the characters or the writing style that disappointed, despite the fact that it won the National Book Award for Fiction. I had such high hopes for this read for many reason. 1) I will soon be heading to Biloxi and New Orleans to meet up with the above mentioned book club, 2) I tend to like novels set in the South, and 3) the synopsis sounded intriguing. Alas, I was let down. As a breakdown to why I didn't enjoy this read I offer the following: the characters bored my to death...and I wish it had done so to Kate! I feel that the major failing in this work rests in the complete lack of kinship the reader feels with any of the characters presented, much like Flaubert's characters in A Sentimental Edu...