Another month, another mix of books! I've just about met my Goodreads goal of reading 80 books this year, but I'm torn between wanting to push it to 100 books as I have in the past, or force myself to choose potentially more introspective, slower reads and fall short of that. We'll see how the rest of the year pans out.
Either way, I've told myself that October's library trip was the last for this year. Must focus more on my to-read pile at home...
This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live - Melody Warnick (2016)
From: Local Library
"We had made something good happen. We had thrown a pebble into the pond and watched the ripples fan out."
The author of this book is a journalist, and thus her writing style makes use of lots of statistics and examples. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it tended to feel a bit like padding, and I felt it took away from this being a purely informative and hands-on book. Also, in trying to be all-inclusive, Warnick failed to hone in on specific circumstances like military families having to move a lot, and glossed over people who are trapped in their hometowns due to poverty (there is a section that relates to this, but it felt rather lost in a sea of other stuff). And in general, I found the author's voice a tiny bit grating at times.
That said, this book does give some good starting points for getting more connected with and attached to your current home town. It's peppered with lots of ideas, the thought being that you can take what's useful and relevant and leave what's not. And the end of every chapter includes a related checklist for concrete ideas to try. It's a worthy read overall, and I came out of it newly inspired.
Related Reads:
The Art of Neighboring (Pathak & Runyon)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Kingsolver)
Kindred - Octavia E. Butler (1979)
From: Local Library
"Mama said she'd rather be dead than be a slave," she said.
"Better to stay alive," I said. "At least while there's a chance to get free."
Octavia Butler has been on my to-read list for some time, but I had always thought of her as strictly a Sci-Fi writer. However, the only Sci-Fi element in Kindred is the time travel. The book is really more along the lines of historical fiction, but that seems like a trite and incomplete category. In gripping and immersive prose, Butler brings the past to the forefront and forces the reader to face and wrestle with issues related to complex ancestry and experiencing slavery. It's heavy and shattering.
Related Reads:
Woman on the Edge of Time (Piercy)
The Lathe of Heaven (le Guin)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Jacobs)
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage - Haruki Murakami (2014)
From: Local Library
"One heart is not connected to another through harmony alone. They are, instead, linked deeply through their wounds. Pain linked to pain, fragility to fragility. There is no silence without a cry of grief, no forgiveness without bloodshed, no acceptance without a passage through acute loss. That is what lies at the root of true harmony."
I found this to be more anchored in realism than the other Murakami books I've read, but it still has some "magical" elements woven throughout. And as with other Murakami books I've read, I feel like I'm missing some cultural subtext. I think it's important for a reader to note that this is more an exploration of thoughts and ideas than a linear, neatly-wrapped-up story.
Quick spoiler-ish content note that the protagonist's vivid sex dreams and a character's sexual assault play key roles in the plot.
Related Reads:
Kafka on the Shore (Murakami)
The Little Friend (Tartt)
This is How You Lose Her - Junot Diaz (2012)
From: Local Library
"At least you were honest, which is more than I can say for me."
This is a tied-together short story collection that, like the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, focuses on Dominican culture and sub-culture. I didn't really care for it as a whole, but not because the writing is bad. The overarching theme is difficult romantic relationships/infidelity (of the main protagonist in particular), and thus it comes across as fairly depressing overall and has a lot of focus on sex. It just wasn't really for me.
Related Reads:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Diaz)
The Spinster - Myrtle Reed (1901)
From: Free Kindle Book
"There is nothing in the world as harmless and as utterly joyous as man's conceit. The woman who will not pander to it is ungracious indeed."
This free Kindle book that I stumbled on is rather delightful. It contains a blend of the author's of-the-time deftly wry commentary on men, women, and relationships. Sometimes it's a little difficult to tell if the author is being serious or sly in her comments, but really, does it matter? It's an interesting window into the early-1900's time time period.
Related Reads:
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness (Hartley)
Short Stories by L. M. Montgomery
The Little Book of Hygge - Meik Wiking (2017)
From: Local Library
"Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom."
I couldn't help but think that this little coffee-table-esque book could have all its key points put forth in a long article and lose nothing in the process. Basically, the author discusses the Danish concept of hygge (an incomplete English translation could be "coziness") and how to apply it. The reader also learns a lot about Danish culture along the way.
Despite the culture and weather of Southern California being very different than that of Denmark (there are precious few days in the year here where it's cold enough to even think about drinking hot cocoa beside a crackling fire), I did take away some helpful thoughts, and found that I was already applying some of the principles. It's good food for thought (especially if you like to read about home decor and organizing) and don't mind a good amount of repetition.
Related Reads:
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Kondo)
This Is Where You Belong (Warnick)
Newt's Emerald - Garth Nix (2015)
From: Local Library
"The candlelight flickered on the silver, and small green fires danced from the many facets of the stone, hinting at the sorcerous powers that lurked within."
This is the first Garth Nix book I've read, and I found myself rather enchanted by it despite some unevenness in writing. It's a YA Regency-era story with fantasy elements; immediately immersive and beset with mysteries, magic, and disguises. I found it both a little slow and a little too rushed at various points, but it's certainly a fun little read with a handful of interesting main characters.
Related Reads:
Ella Enchanted (Levine)
The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett (2003)
From: Library Bookstore earlier this year
"She’d read the dictionary all the way through. No one told her you weren’t supposed to."
This Discworld novel is the first of the Tiffany Aching story line. The books in this story line are all technically labeled as YA, but I didn't find Wee Free Men significantly different in tone or content than other Discworld novels. This is a story that's hilarious, serious, random, moving, and creepy at various points throughout, and as usual, Pratchett blends it all masterfully.
I really liked Tiffany Aching as a character, and I appreciated reading another Discworld novel that ties into the female-heavy Witches story line. This is a pretty good one to start with if you haven't read anything by Pratchett yet.
Related Reads:
Equal Rites (Pratchett)
Coraline (Gaiman)
Either way, I've told myself that October's library trip was the last for this year. Must focus more on my to-read pile at home...
This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live - Melody Warnick (2016)
From: Local Library
"We had made something good happen. We had thrown a pebble into the pond and watched the ripples fan out."
The author of this book is a journalist, and thus her writing style makes use of lots of statistics and examples. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it tended to feel a bit like padding, and I felt it took away from this being a purely informative and hands-on book. Also, in trying to be all-inclusive, Warnick failed to hone in on specific circumstances like military families having to move a lot, and glossed over people who are trapped in their hometowns due to poverty (there is a section that relates to this, but it felt rather lost in a sea of other stuff). And in general, I found the author's voice a tiny bit grating at times.
That said, this book does give some good starting points for getting more connected with and attached to your current home town. It's peppered with lots of ideas, the thought being that you can take what's useful and relevant and leave what's not. And the end of every chapter includes a related checklist for concrete ideas to try. It's a worthy read overall, and I came out of it newly inspired.
Related Reads:
The Art of Neighboring (Pathak & Runyon)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Kingsolver)
Kindred - Octavia E. Butler (1979)
From: Local Library
"Mama said she'd rather be dead than be a slave," she said.
"Better to stay alive," I said. "At least while there's a chance to get free."
Octavia Butler has been on my to-read list for some time, but I had always thought of her as strictly a Sci-Fi writer. However, the only Sci-Fi element in Kindred is the time travel. The book is really more along the lines of historical fiction, but that seems like a trite and incomplete category. In gripping and immersive prose, Butler brings the past to the forefront and forces the reader to face and wrestle with issues related to complex ancestry and experiencing slavery. It's heavy and shattering.
Related Reads:
Woman on the Edge of Time (Piercy)
The Lathe of Heaven (le Guin)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Jacobs)
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage - Haruki Murakami (2014)
From: Local Library
"One heart is not connected to another through harmony alone. They are, instead, linked deeply through their wounds. Pain linked to pain, fragility to fragility. There is no silence without a cry of grief, no forgiveness without bloodshed, no acceptance without a passage through acute loss. That is what lies at the root of true harmony."
I found this to be more anchored in realism than the other Murakami books I've read, but it still has some "magical" elements woven throughout. And as with other Murakami books I've read, I feel like I'm missing some cultural subtext. I think it's important for a reader to note that this is more an exploration of thoughts and ideas than a linear, neatly-wrapped-up story.
Quick spoiler-ish content note that the protagonist's vivid sex dreams and a character's sexual assault play key roles in the plot.
Related Reads:
Kafka on the Shore (Murakami)
The Little Friend (Tartt)
This is How You Lose Her - Junot Diaz (2012)
From: Local Library
"At least you were honest, which is more than I can say for me."
This is a tied-together short story collection that, like the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, focuses on Dominican culture and sub-culture. I didn't really care for it as a whole, but not because the writing is bad. The overarching theme is difficult romantic relationships/infidelity (of the main protagonist in particular), and thus it comes across as fairly depressing overall and has a lot of focus on sex. It just wasn't really for me.
Related Reads:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Diaz)
The Spinster - Myrtle Reed (1901)
From: Free Kindle Book
"There is nothing in the world as harmless and as utterly joyous as man's conceit. The woman who will not pander to it is ungracious indeed."
This free Kindle book that I stumbled on is rather delightful. It contains a blend of the author's of-the-time deftly wry commentary on men, women, and relationships. Sometimes it's a little difficult to tell if the author is being serious or sly in her comments, but really, does it matter? It's an interesting window into the early-1900's time time period.
Related Reads:
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness (Hartley)
Short Stories by L. M. Montgomery
The Little Book of Hygge - Meik Wiking (2017)
From: Local Library
"Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom."
I couldn't help but think that this little coffee-table-esque book could have all its key points put forth in a long article and lose nothing in the process. Basically, the author discusses the Danish concept of hygge (an incomplete English translation could be "coziness") and how to apply it. The reader also learns a lot about Danish culture along the way.
Despite the culture and weather of Southern California being very different than that of Denmark (there are precious few days in the year here where it's cold enough to even think about drinking hot cocoa beside a crackling fire), I did take away some helpful thoughts, and found that I was already applying some of the principles. It's good food for thought (especially if you like to read about home decor and organizing) and don't mind a good amount of repetition.
Related Reads:
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Kondo)
This Is Where You Belong (Warnick)
Newt's Emerald - Garth Nix (2015)
From: Local Library
"The candlelight flickered on the silver, and small green fires danced from the many facets of the stone, hinting at the sorcerous powers that lurked within."
This is the first Garth Nix book I've read, and I found myself rather enchanted by it despite some unevenness in writing. It's a YA Regency-era story with fantasy elements; immediately immersive and beset with mysteries, magic, and disguises. I found it both a little slow and a little too rushed at various points, but it's certainly a fun little read with a handful of interesting main characters.
Related Reads:
Ella Enchanted (Levine)
The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett (2003)
From: Library Bookstore earlier this year
"She’d read the dictionary all the way through. No one told her you weren’t supposed to."
This Discworld novel is the first of the Tiffany Aching story line. The books in this story line are all technically labeled as YA, but I didn't find Wee Free Men significantly different in tone or content than other Discworld novels. This is a story that's hilarious, serious, random, moving, and creepy at various points throughout, and as usual, Pratchett blends it all masterfully.
I really liked Tiffany Aching as a character, and I appreciated reading another Discworld novel that ties into the female-heavy Witches story line. This is a pretty good one to start with if you haven't read anything by Pratchett yet.
Related Reads:
Equal Rites (Pratchett)
Coraline (Gaiman)
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