Blue Plate Special

I've only read one book by Kate Christensen, but I was anxious to check out  Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites after hearing an interview on NPR. I typically am not a big fan of memoirs in general. I'll read them from time to time, but they certainly aren't my favorite. And yet I loved Christensen's book. I love the way she writes and her voice is compelling. She's a natural storyteller so I imagine she could make anything gripping, but her life has been interesting. I also loved hearing about her growth and journey as a writer. I found myself wanting to read this book when I was away from it and simultaneously wanting to finish and not finish so I could stay inside those pages. I definitely plan to check out another one of her novels soon.

Relish: My Life In the Kitchen

It had been too long since I'd read a graphic novel and found Lucy Knisley's Relish: My Life in the Kitchen, which is an absolute delight. Knisley is the daughter of a chef and a gourmet and grows up surrounded by good food. She is taught the value of cooking and about our relationship with food and she explores these ideas in the format of a lovely little graphic novel. The result is a quick charming read, definitely worth checking out.

The Fault In Our Stars

I had heard a lot of buzz about John Green's novel The Fault In Our Stars so I was anxious to check it out. I wasn't even sure what the novel was about, but for a while it seemed like everywhere I turned I was reading something about its soaring popularity.

I learned before cracking it open that the novel was about Hazel, a sixteen year old girl with cancer, who meets Augustus, a boy in a support group for teenage cancer victims, and he turns her life upside down. It's a good story which is why the book has gained so much success. However, I did have a couple of problems with the book that made it hard for me to love it. First, the novel is written in first person from Hazel's perspective and though Green seems to be a capable writer, I didn't think he pulled off the teenage girl voice too well. As the novel went on it got better (or I became more able to ignore it) but it was hard to buy into the premise that it was a teenage girl telling the story. I also found the dialogue problematic at times because it could often be way over the top witty. There was one line in particular that I'd argue would never come out of anyone's mouth at dinner, much less a sixteen year old girl's. Good dialogue is supposed to be believable and in this novel it often wasn't. Then there was how as a reader it was difficult not to come to feel pity for the teen cancer victims despite how much they talked about not wanting people to feel that way. Is it a worthwhile read? Yeah, I'd say it is. But it's also chock-full of problems.

Of Wolves and Men

A few years ago I signed up to audit an environmental literature class. I knew and loved the professor and the description of the class sounded interesting. I bought all the required books and attended the first class, excited by the syllabus, before dropping it to give myself more time to write. One of the required books was Barry Holstrun Lopez's Of Wolves and Men. Even though this book sounded the most interesting to me, I never picked it up until now.

Lopez's book is packed with interesting information about wolves collected from personal experience (his and others') research and examining myths and legends. Wolves are fascinating creatures and the book is a comprehensive look at this animal-- typical and atypical behaviors as well as the social structure of packs. What I found most compelling was when Lopez examined humans' relationship with wolves and how that has evolved. Lopez's ability to nudge the reader to examine how people feel about this animal and how they allow their feelings to be played out, is a major strength of this book. I'd recommend it not only to those who'd like to learn more about wolves, but anyone interested in ecology and wildlife preservation as well as human behavior.

The BFG

After we read James and the Giant Peach Adam wanted to keep going with Roald Dahl so we picked up The BFG. Adam had read it at school last year and apparently loved it. I found the book to be dreadful. The novel is about a little girl who befriends a big friendly giant (the BFG) and the two plot together to stop the man eating giants. The story itself wasn't bad but I swear it was the most annoying children's novel I've ever read. The BFG is uneducated so he jumbles words up and it took longer to read because I was constantly having to slow down to read the gibberish that was always coming out of his mouth. I've heard people say they enjoyed this novel and perhaps I would have more if I was reading it silently to myself rather than out loud to my children. As a read aloud, I found it difficult to get through, each time we read was more painful than the last. I wish I could put a positive spin on it, but in truth I especially disliked this book.