Bookworm: November 2016

"Only the learned read old books and we have now so dealt with the learned that they are of all men the least likely to acquire wisdom by doing so." -C.S. Lewis

Loved: 

The Screwtape Letters, C.S.Lewis: I'm a major lover of C.S. Lewis's writing, but had never read Screwtape, which explores the battle between Heaven and Hell from Hell's perspective. Written as a series of letters from "Uncle Screwtape," a demon/tempter, to his nephew, the book offers "advice" on how to win humans to Hell versus "The Enemy," who is (of course) God. Wry, funny, and thought-provoking, and a fairly quick read for those who have busy holiday seasons coming up! 

An Untamed State, Roxane Gay: Oh my god, borrowed this from Emily over the holiday and stayed up past 1am on Thanksgiving night to read it. SUPER DARK AND DEPRESSING but incredibly written. She got it from her feminist book club (because, yes, she is in a feminist book club), and the book centers around how much a woman can survive (ranging from kidnapping to rape to family discord and marital strife). I reiterate: SUPER DARK. That said, couldn't put it down. 

Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow: DUH did you seriously think I wasn't going to read the biography that started it all? I loved it. So illuminating, gave so much context to the musical and illustrated a fascinating life in concise, clear, not-too-high-falutin' terminology. I think that even those who don't necessarily love biographies would really enjoy it...but then again, I'm Hamilton-obsessed OOPS. 

Enjoyed: 

Stardust, Neil Gaiman: This was a movie about a decade ago, about a fallen star in an alternate universe. I was in the mood for a fairy tale, and this fit the bill exactly. Perfect for younger readers looking for a bit of a challenge, too...

Sex, Lies, and Handwriting, Michelle Dresbold: A handwriting expert and criminologist outlines different personality "tells" in handwriting. Heavily illustrated, it was a fun, quick and light read - although according to my handwriting, I'm apparently both a serial killer and a sex maniac. Damn!

Tolerated: 

One, Sarah Crossan: Teenage conjoined twins struggle to find identities separate from one another, a process that is accelerated when one twin is diagnosed with heart failure. Written in weird, almost poem-like little baby chapters, I breezed through it in an hour and was left unmoved - a disappointment after such a promising premise. 

Re-reads: 

None this month - all new, and that's a delight!

Bookworm: October 2016

"Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation." -Graham Greene

Loved: 

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain: I've had a Scribd membership since the site was founded, and with the changes to the terms and availability of books, found I was suffering. Scribd now only offers a select number of books for free every month, and it's been a huge disappointment by and large. That said, I would never have picked this one had it not been free, and I loved it. Following a small special-forces unit on a "victory tour" after tour of duty in 2004, the incisive social commentary and utterly unique voice of the narrator reminded me of "The Things They Carried" in all the best ways. 

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, Ross King: Another Scribd Selects pick, I absolutely adored this chronicle of the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. I remember seeing the ceiling in 2010 and being utterly dumbfounded/overwhelmed by the detail, almost to the point of not being able to appreciate it. I read the book online with a giant, zoomable picture of the ceiling open in another window, and followed the progress of the ceiling in the photo as in the text. I can't recommend this highly enough for any art lover...or history fan, as the commentary on Renaissance Italian and papal politics is also fantastic. (My sister Em would ADORE this.)

The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene: Like I mentioned in my September list, I went on a HUGE Greene kick after falling in love with "The End of the Affair," and it hasn't ended. Michael recommended "The Power and the Glory" after the opera gala in September, and I picked it up a few days later. Moralist, Catholic and gorgeously written, I flew through it in a matter of hours...like "The End of the Affair." This affair won't end anytime soon, clearly. 

Enjoyed: 

When We Collided, Emery Lord: I've read Emery Lord's books in the past, as I followed her back in her blogging days. Geared toward a much younger audience, I can pretty much polish them off in a few hours, but they're beautifully written and perfect for a young adult audience. This one tackled bipolar disorder, death and family abandonment, but in a way that didn't feel overtly depressing or preachy. I'll be following her career for sure. 

Tolerated: 

The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo: I must admit, I did actually enjoy this one, but it creeped me out so badly I had nightmares for several days after I finished it. Set in British colonial Malaysia, it's a Chinese ghost story of murder, hauntings, possession and exorcism. Anyone who knows me knows that I get scared by even some Disney villains (the witch in Snow White still freaks me out a little, ha!), and the horror/ghost genre is NOT my thing at all. That said, others who prefer that vein of literature would probably enjoy this much more than I did!

Re-reads: 

None - all new to me!

Bookworm: September 2016

“A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.” -Graham Greene

Loved: 

The End of the Affair, Graham Greene: Greene has quickly become one of my new favorite authors. The weight and solidity of his prose, coupled with the rich, multi-faceted characters and plot, made The End of the Affair one of my favorite recent reads. I've since purchased pretty much his entire published works and am excited to read much, much more! 

Enjoyed: 

The Nine, Jeffrey Toobin: The last biography on my 101 in 1001 #76, this wasn't so much a biography of a person as of an entity - the Supreme Court, in the latter half of the 20th century and early 21st. I was fascinated and deeply enjoyed the portraits of judicial lions like O'Connor and Scalia, along with a peek at the machinations under the surface of the Court. 

Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan: Quick, light, satirical read saturated with name-drops of designers, ritzy vacation destinations, and fabulous restaurants. I flew through this and its sequel - would've been a great beach read this summer! 

China Rich Girlfriend, Kevin Kwan: See above. Neither book will win a Pulitzer, but they were light, fast, and fun. 

The Fortune Hunter, Daisy Goodwin: Goodwin is one of my favorite authors, and the time period and setting (mid-1840s in England) is also one of my favorites. The class stratification and glittering society depicted in the novel scratched my ongoing itch for more "Downton Abbey" in my life. 

Tolerated: 

Three Sisters, Three Queens, Philippa Gregory: I usually really enjoy Philippa Gregory as a trashy historical sexy romance type read, but for some reason her latest offering fell really short for me. The "protagonist," Margaret Tudor (queen of Scotland, grandmother of Mary Queen of Scots), was whiny and unlikeable, and the subject matter felt tedious to me...perhaps because so much of it is simply another lens on the Henry VIII tale I've read five million times before. 

Re-reads: 

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen: I LOVE JANE AUSTEN. I saw "Sense and Sensibility" at the Guthrie last Thursday and re-read this as a refresher/in tandem with the play - and it delighted all over again. Elinor Dashwood is one of my favorite characters in literature for her cool, pragmatic approach to life, and I have such a soft spot in my heart for S&S and all its wit and warmth. 

Bookworm: July/August 2016

For the first time ever, no literature quote to start it off. Instead, a brag: Every Labor Day, Mike writes a massive game of trivia and teams split up to win bragging rights for the next year. Claire and I ended up on a team with Greg's parents and Rachel's parents, against the other ten-ish people our age. One of the questions was a fifteen-part "Name the author of this famous novel" deal, and yours truly single-handedly got 14 of the 15 (damn you, "Red Badge of Courage"/Stephen Crane!). NERD ALERT. 

I also totally forgot to post these for both July and August because I've been doing shamefully little reading with my jam-packed calendar. Here's to picking it up a bit this fall! 

Loved: 

The Adults, Alison Espach: Very twisted, dark tale about a young, upper-middle-class suburban girl's first brushes with depression, suicide, divorce, and sex. I loved it for the beautiful prose, and for the masterful depiction of how events of adolescence can shape a person's choices and actions even decades later. 

The List, Tara Ison: An ambitious rising-star surgeon and her deadbeat but visionary filmmaker boyfriend are trying to break up, but can't get over each other, so they make a "breakup list" with the understanding that, once the list is over, so are they. The problem? As the list progresses, the items on it get a little bit darker and more dangerous, and they start to unravel in the process of completing it. I could not put this down. 

Enjoyed: 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany: Oh goodness, such mixed feelings and so many thoughts. I'm a fiend for Harry Potter (like so many others of my generation) and really enjoyed getting to dive back into his world, but I think reading Cursed Child in script form kind of took away from the magic that would be seeing it live. I'm definitely planning on catching it next time I'm in London for work, so we'll see if my thoughts change after that! 

Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932, Francine Prose: Based on a famous photo of a cross-dressing couple in a pre-Occupation Parisian nightclub, "Lovers" tells the tale of a (fictional) gender-dysmorphic racecar driver, Lou Villars, who ended up a Nazi sympathizer and spy in Vichy France. The story is deeply rooted in the true-life tale of Violette Morris, a real Nazi collaborator in Paris in the 1930s. Told from many perspectives, it took me a bit to get into but once I did, I really enjoyed it (especially heavily leveraging Google to see what was rooted in fact and what was embellished!). 

Tolerated: 

None this month - isn't it nice when that happens? 

Re-reads: 

Duh, you can't have imagined I wouldn't re-read all the Harry Potters before starting Cursed Child. NEEEEEERD. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling

The Royal We, Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks

Bookworm: June 2016

“She was the reason I was a reader, and being a reader was what had made me most myself; it had given me the gifts of curiosity and sympathy, an awareness of the world as an odd and vibrant contradictory place, and it had me unafraid of its oddness and vibrancy and contradictions.” -Curtis Sittenfeld

(Photo from adorable restaurant The Laundromat in Reykjavik...I swear, I'm going to talk about Scandinavia SOMEDAY.)

I read SO MUCH LAST MONTH and I loved it. A large factor in that is the amount of time we spent in transit...a cumulative five flights, and two six-to-eight hour train rides while in Norway...but I lucked out and picked out books that I genuinely loved for the trip. Perfect summer reading, if I may say so myself...

Loved: 

No Baggage, Clara Bensen: Ah, such a quick and fantastic read! Clara tells the story of spending a month in Europe with a guy she had recently met online dating...only caveat? They only brought the clothes they had on their bodies and what they could fit in a small purse/pockets. I couldn't do it, but reading her account was incredibly, delightfully eye-opening. 

Me Before You, JoJo Moyes: Had to read it, as the movie trailer has been everywhere and Emily said it was incredible. And it is. A quadriplegic seeking assisted suicide meets a hired in-home caregiver determined to change his mind, and so much tragicomedy and romance and just plain humanity ensues. 

After You, Jo Jo Moyes: No spoilers, but it follows character Lou, the caregiver from Me Before You, as she lives her life and seeks her own truth. I plowed through both of these on the flight to Iceland...so they're super fast, incredibly attention-grabbing reads. 

Eligible, Curtis Sittenfeld: Anyone who knows me knows I love a good Pride and Prejudice spinoff, and this one was one of my favorites. Set in modern-day Cincinnati, Liz is a lawyer and Jane teaches yoga, and Bingley is a reality-TV show contestant and Darcy's a surgeon and the whole thing is riddled with Cincy references I totally got. It was absolutely decadent. I loved it. 

Luckiest Girl Alive, Jessica Knoll: This is one of those books that's continually heralded as "the next Gone Girl," and I agree. It's super, super dark and just the right amount of sexy, but the twists that started midway through and carried to the end kept me up until 2am in Norway...thank god for suns that never set. Only caveat...it's pretty dark and rife with rape, murder and suicidal ideation, so probably not something I'd recomment for a casual beach read. 

Enjoyed: 

America's First Daughter, Stephanie Dray and Lauren Kamoie: Totally on a Founding Fathers kick after falling madly in love with "Hamilton" this spring, and this satisfied my itch for more about the women behind the men. Martha Jefferson Randolph was Thomas Jefferson's oldest daughter and beloved companion for his entire life, and her story is as soapy as it is fascinating. While this account was highly fictionalized, it was still a fun peek back into the Revolutionary world. 

Tolerated:

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Chuck Klosterman: Maybe Klosterman's references just went over my head or something, or maybe the short-and-choppy, serialized style of writing didn't click with the mood I was in at the time, but I struggled to get through this mid-trip. Certain chapters really did resonate and made me wonder if I'd prefer some other writing of his, but by the end of the book I was really ready to move on to the next chapter in my library.  

Re-reads: 

Everybody Rise, Stephanie Clifford: Wharton-esque social climbing and class stratification in New York City's oldest and best families, right before the financial crash. Reading this a second time stressed me out a bit just because of the terrible financial decisions and general bitchiness of every character...there's truly not a likeable person in the book...but it's very well-written and dark in just the right way. 

Magic Flutes, Eva Ibbotson: I needed a little Eva in my life toward the end of the month and read this beloved favorite for probably the dozenth time in a couple hours. Opera, Vienna, star-crossed lovers, and a happy ending...exactly the pick-me-up I need and precisely why Ibbotson's novels are such familiar, time-worn favorites of mine.