Spring/summer reading so far
Jul. 26th, 2008 06:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
opera142- Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
This should have been right up my alley-- sibling rivalry centering around a more beloved child, a fishing village on the bay, historical setting, and yet it sucked. Meant for teenagers, I guess which did the book no favors. A lot of talking down and glossing over and preaching. No real plot, a girl sulked because everyone like her sister more. Her brief crush on an old dude, then the shaming that follow was interesting but it got dropped. In the end she married a hillbilly and saved a baby's life by putting in an oven.
-Right as Rain by George Pelacanos.
Crime fiction by one of the best. Though this was not one of his best. It was a study in the damage authorial ruts can do. In George's case, his character's musical tastes (60s and 70's soul gets talked about endlessly) and the ways it can be difficult for blacks and whites to trust each other. It felt a little re-tready in this book, which was unfortunate because the crime was interesting (meth dealers doing bad things)but it got bogged down in teh_lectures.
-Play It As It Lays Joan Didion
I like Joan's essay writing. I don't always agree with her views, but I admire her forthrightness and her ability to show gritty details without relying on gimmick. I probably would have liked this book more if I were a product of its time period. The book was a 60's update of the 50's depressed heroine. Drug use and gay people and sleeping around unremorselessly not really all that shocking anymore. There was more to the book than shock value, but the datedness, for me anyway, blocked any message.
-The Nightbirds by Thomas Maltman.
Moe thought I would like this. He was wrong. The story is a pioneer family who lives in harmony then not in harmony with the local Native Americans. I figured out the twist on page 24-- the kid narrator is the actually the son of "Aunt" Hazel. There is way too much boring flashback, and the author crammed in way too much backstory and fanfic-like melodrama. Oh noes, mean momma spilled Aunt Hazel's meds and now she will have teh_seizures!
-French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
I don't know what I was expecting, but what I got was a diet book. A shitty one at that. Mostly a long boring ad for her champagne company, and sometimes filled with laughable "advice" Want to lose weight quickly? Eat nothing but boiled onions. Also, exercise is gross. Don't engage in it if you want to be chic.
-Some Writers Deserve to Starve by Elaura Niles
Writing advice. A lot of it was common sense, and I don't really remember much about it.
-Fondling Your Muse by John Warner
Dumb. I thought it would be a snarky antidote to the usual perky writing advice. Not funny, not helpful. Those unfunny, long-winded, repetitive jokes your Uncle Greg likes to bore everyone with at Thanksgiving... imagine they are about writing, and you will have this book. I got it for free and I feel ripped off.
-Spy Girl by Amy Gray.
Memoir of a chick who worked at a detective agency. MarySueish and vapid (I fit in with the Goths when I wore my Doc Martens!), and calling oneself a spy when all one did was skiptrace is lame-o.
-A Lion's Tale by Chris Jericho.
This deserves its own post, really. Second only to Foley's first book in terms of wrestling biographies. It's good as a generic autobiography--Jericho's lived an interesting life. I did not know his mom was paralyzed. I didn't know he had a close relationship with his dad. But the book shines as a wrestling book. His stories from Mexico ran the gauntlet-- terrifying mugging in the middle of the desert, close friend dying, first taste of sucess, gringo in a strange place. More of the same concerning Japan. Snark from the WCW. Really touching stuff about Eddie and Benoit. Go buy this one. It's not fluff.
-A Late Dinner by Paul Richardson.
Really liked it, Spanish cooking was examined in a socio-economic context. Migas to El Bulli were discussed, and I plan to steal lots of details when I write my fantasy epic.
-Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea by Nikki Giovanni
Poems about the Black experience. Nikki's voice came out loud and clear in this, which is something that doesn't always happen in poetry-- a lot of it sounds too 7th grade English class. She relies a little too much on personal history, and I can't decide if that's good thing or bad. It's like I admire her for saying stuff, for putting her thoughts out there, but I need a little something to hook me into the experience. Unless that's the point: you don't get it white girl and you won't ever.
-Cinderella by Titian Beresford.
Pr0N. I'm not big on femdom on males fiction. Mostly because it reeks so strongly of male fantasy. The women are still objects, they just have scarier costumes. It's still all about male pleasure first. (just a reminder, I'm discussing fiction. Not commenting on r/l. Go on with the habits that make you happy and horny).
The story was re-telling of the Cinderella fairy tale. The fairy godmother was a dominatrix, and Cinderella was whore. Go get your subby prince, honey. Some sex scenes-- the one where Victoria plugged a fat dude with a pig's tail, rode around on his back and made him find her "truffle" and the fairy godmother having her way with a chained giant--- were made of hot. Others, all the tedious jack off scenes and the wtfness of the magically shrunk dude napping in vaginas, were made of yawn.
This should have been right up my alley-- sibling rivalry centering around a more beloved child, a fishing village on the bay, historical setting, and yet it sucked. Meant for teenagers, I guess which did the book no favors. A lot of talking down and glossing over and preaching. No real plot, a girl sulked because everyone like her sister more. Her brief crush on an old dude, then the shaming that follow was interesting but it got dropped. In the end she married a hillbilly and saved a baby's life by putting in an oven.
-Right as Rain by George Pelacanos.
Crime fiction by one of the best. Though this was not one of his best. It was a study in the damage authorial ruts can do. In George's case, his character's musical tastes (60s and 70's soul gets talked about endlessly) and the ways it can be difficult for blacks and whites to trust each other. It felt a little re-tready in this book, which was unfortunate because the crime was interesting (meth dealers doing bad things)but it got bogged down in teh_lectures.
-Play It As It Lays Joan Didion
I like Joan's essay writing. I don't always agree with her views, but I admire her forthrightness and her ability to show gritty details without relying on gimmick. I probably would have liked this book more if I were a product of its time period. The book was a 60's update of the 50's depressed heroine. Drug use and gay people and sleeping around unremorselessly not really all that shocking anymore. There was more to the book than shock value, but the datedness, for me anyway, blocked any message.
-The Nightbirds by Thomas Maltman.
Moe thought I would like this. He was wrong. The story is a pioneer family who lives in harmony then not in harmony with the local Native Americans. I figured out the twist on page 24-- the kid narrator is the actually the son of "Aunt" Hazel. There is way too much boring flashback, and the author crammed in way too much backstory and fanfic-like melodrama. Oh noes, mean momma spilled Aunt Hazel's meds and now she will have teh_seizures!
-French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
I don't know what I was expecting, but what I got was a diet book. A shitty one at that. Mostly a long boring ad for her champagne company, and sometimes filled with laughable "advice" Want to lose weight quickly? Eat nothing but boiled onions. Also, exercise is gross. Don't engage in it if you want to be chic.
-Some Writers Deserve to Starve by Elaura Niles
Writing advice. A lot of it was common sense, and I don't really remember much about it.
-Fondling Your Muse by John Warner
Dumb. I thought it would be a snarky antidote to the usual perky writing advice. Not funny, not helpful. Those unfunny, long-winded, repetitive jokes your Uncle Greg likes to bore everyone with at Thanksgiving... imagine they are about writing, and you will have this book. I got it for free and I feel ripped off.
-Spy Girl by Amy Gray.
Memoir of a chick who worked at a detective agency. MarySueish and vapid (I fit in with the Goths when I wore my Doc Martens!), and calling oneself a spy when all one did was skiptrace is lame-o.
-A Lion's Tale by Chris Jericho.
This deserves its own post, really. Second only to Foley's first book in terms of wrestling biographies. It's good as a generic autobiography--Jericho's lived an interesting life. I did not know his mom was paralyzed. I didn't know he had a close relationship with his dad. But the book shines as a wrestling book. His stories from Mexico ran the gauntlet-- terrifying mugging in the middle of the desert, close friend dying, first taste of sucess, gringo in a strange place. More of the same concerning Japan. Snark from the WCW. Really touching stuff about Eddie and Benoit. Go buy this one. It's not fluff.
-A Late Dinner by Paul Richardson.
Really liked it, Spanish cooking was examined in a socio-economic context. Migas to El Bulli were discussed, and I plan to steal lots of details when I write my fantasy epic.
-Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea by Nikki Giovanni
Poems about the Black experience. Nikki's voice came out loud and clear in this, which is something that doesn't always happen in poetry-- a lot of it sounds too 7th grade English class. She relies a little too much on personal history, and I can't decide if that's good thing or bad. It's like I admire her for saying stuff, for putting her thoughts out there, but I need a little something to hook me into the experience. Unless that's the point: you don't get it white girl and you won't ever.
-Cinderella by Titian Beresford.
Pr0N. I'm not big on femdom on males fiction. Mostly because it reeks so strongly of male fantasy. The women are still objects, they just have scarier costumes. It's still all about male pleasure first. (just a reminder, I'm discussing fiction. Not commenting on r/l. Go on with the habits that make you happy and horny).
The story was re-telling of the Cinderella fairy tale. The fairy godmother was a dominatrix, and Cinderella was whore. Go get your subby prince, honey. Some sex scenes-- the one where Victoria plugged a fat dude with a pig's tail, rode around on his back and made him find her "truffle" and the fairy godmother having her way with a chained giant--- were made of hot. Others, all the tedious jack off scenes and the wtfness of the magically shrunk dude napping in vaginas, were made of yawn.
