The Astral

One of my favorite sources for learning about new books is this free publication I get at the library called "Book Page." I'm always so giddy on my return home with that tucked in my library bag. My family knows that once I get home I'll tune everything out for a couple minutes as I quickly flip through it, occasionally gasping, "Oh, she's got a new book out!" If I have time to read the reviews right then, I will, if not, I'll do it later. Sometimes if I know I want to read the book, I don't bother reading the review too closely, as was the case with Kate Christensen's The Astral. I think I may have read the first sentence or two of the review and, not needing to read any further, put the book on hold. It was months ago that I retrieved it from the library and read the first page and promptly returned it. But every time I'd look at the new books section of the library, its spine would beckon to me, until I relented and gave it a second chance.

The Astral is about Harry Quirk, a poet scrambling to find his way after his wife, Luz, has thrown him out--along with his writing. Luz has found love sonnets that he's written that she knows are not about her and will not talk reasonably to him, she's so blinded by her rage. After having his work tossed, he is unable to pick up the pieces and write. (As a writer who has lost her share of work, I empathize greatly here.)

Harry hasn't had a job outside of writing and a bit of teaching and must stumble around as he figures out how to support himself. Meanwhile his son Hector has joined a cult and his daughter Karina (a freegan) is determined to save her brother, but needs Harry to help. I enjoyed the story a lot, but didn't find it super readable. Christensen is a wonderful writer, don't get me wrong. Her prose is so dense though that sometimes sentences feel weighted down and I'd find myself needing to reread a bit. I talked a while back about androgynous writing and I'd put Christensen's in that category. (I mean this in the most endearing way.) I'm interested in checking out some of her other novels. I wonder if she's always written like this or if her work has evolved over the years. Either way, I'm interested in reading more.

Kate Christensen

Zombie in Love

I haven't written about any picture books in a while and there's one we've been reading quite a bit around here that's pretty cute. Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio is both funny and rather sweet. And I love the illustrations by Scott Campbell; they fit nicely with the text.
 
It is the story of Mortimer, a zombie, who is looking for love. All his attempts to woo the ladies only scare them. (To the right is Mortimer trying to give a waitress a ring that is wrapped around a dead finger.) My boys and I laughed the first time we read it. We've read it several dozen times since then and still find the book charming.

Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It

The only bad thing about reading a really great book is that it is difficult to find something to read after as most books seem flat. After trying and tossing a couple aside, I decided to pick up a collection of short stories.

I had to start a new label for collections of short stories as I tend to shy away from the genre. I have gone so far to say that I hate short stories (with the exception of those by Jhumpa Lahiri and Lorrie Moore). I picked up Maile Meloy's Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It because when I saw Ann Patchett last summer she said Meloy is probably her favorite writer and specifically mentioned this book. I couldn't resist the urge to read the favorite writer of one of my favorite writers.

I have to amend my statement on short stories as I realize how much I love them when they are well written. I enjoyed almost all of the stories (though I wasn't all that crazy about "Agustin") and there were a couple ("Lovely Rita," "Two-Step," and "The Girlfriend") that I especially liked. I will definitely be reading more of Meloy's work in the future and will put this new label to good use. It probably won't be too long before I venture in the genre again.

The Art of Fielding

The book that I mentioned in my last post, the one that I had awaited for months, was Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding. I heard about it from Maureen Corrigan's 10 best novels of the year list, the same list where I found The Submission. I'm never disappointed by her recommendations. I certainly wasn't with The Art of Fielding. I loved this book!

The novel takes place at Westish College, a fictional school setting in northeast Wisconsin. It begins with Mike Schwartz, a sophomore at Westish who takes it upon himself to scout for the school's baseball team. Schwartz sees great potential in little Henry Skrimshander and convinces him to come to Westish. Also on the team is Henry's gay roommate, Owen Dunne. The lives of these three baseball players, along with Guert Affenlight, the college's president, and his daughter, Pella, are interwoven. There is a fateful game that changes their lives and it is the unraveling that takes place after this game that makes the story so good. The novel is about baseball, yes, but also about friendship and love and about pursuing one's dreams.

I played softball when I was younger and my brother played so much baseball that most of my summer memories growing up are of watching his games. Yet for the past twenty some years, I have had no interest in the sport whatsoever. I was a little leery about reading a book that seemed to be about baseball, but trusted Maureen Corrigan's taste in books enough to give it a shot. The writing is flawless and funny, the story captivating, so the baseball was not much of an obstacle to overcome. I even found myself on the edge of my seat during at least one of the games. I'm already awaiting Harbach's next novel, hoping it's as humorous and satisfying as his first.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

After reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo I was in the mood for something well written; it could be slow and plot-less, but I wanted something with substance. Ah, and the novel I'd placed on hold months ago was finally in--but I was unable to pick it up and needed something to read in the meantime and somehow ended up reading the next book in Stieg Larsson's trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire.

I'd heard this second book was much better, and that was definitely true. There was not the strange pacing issue of Larsson's first book, nor droning background overload that felt unnecessary. It was exciting and a page turner-- exactly what I had expected with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The funny part was that the ending of the first book doesn't leave you feeling restless for the second, but the second book ends with a bit of a cliffhanger so that you feel desperate for the third. But I'd since gotten to the library and picked up my hold so I've resisted the urge to see what happens with Salander, for now. I'm sure I'll read the third book in the near future, but I have a stack of other books to get through before then... not that I'm complaining.

Something to Declare

After reading Return to Sender, I got hungry for more of Julia Alvarez's work. I did a quick search to see what books the library had that I haven't read and saw a collection of essays called Something to Declare. I didn't know she'd written any nonfiction and was eager to hear more about her, quickly gobbling the book up.

It was amazing to me to learn that this writer whose work I admire so much did not learn English until she was ten. It was inspiring to hear her trials of getting published and that even something as good as How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents took a long time to find a publisher. And it was fascinating to hear about her writing routine, how she begins writing by reading first poetry, then prose by her favorite writers and ends her writing day by going for a run to reflect on the work she did and to determine where it would continue to go the next day. Reading about her commitment to her writing has brought on a renewed determination to continue to pursue my own. I really enjoyed this book and will likely be reading more of her work in the near future as I love the way reading her work makes me feel. Richer, I suppose is the word--which is really what all good writing should do.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I used to be a literature snob. I stuck my nose up at anything that was a mega-bestseller because if it had such a wide appeal, it must be trash. Then I read The Da Vinci Code and decided that if something sold that widely, there had to be some merit. Yes, the writing might not be spectacular, but the story was likely to be worth reading anyway... as was the case with Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
It is a gripping story, but takes a bit to get into. As a friend told me, "Once you get to page one hundred it gets good." And that was pretty accurate. It was about 100 pages in that I settled into the story and let myself be hypnotized, even obsessed.

A girl disappeared 40 years earlier and Blomkvist, an investigative journalist, along with Lisbeth Salander, a researcher/ hacker, are on the case to figure out the mystery. The crime/ mystery genre isn't really my thing, but again, the story is compelling. Enough so that the novel's other shortcomings can be overlooked. When I read a novel, I want to meet an interesting character and feel like I've gotten to know this fictional person, that I've spent time with him/her, almost like a friendship developed. You don't really get a sense of that with a plot-driven mystery/crime novel. (Though Salander is an interesting, likable character.) But again, the trade-off is you get a good story, something that keeps you frantically turning the pages, which is its own virtue.

Stuart Little

Adam is home sick today so we've spent the morning reading together. We had begun E. B. White's Stuart Little a few weeks ago, but hadn't picked it up in about a week. We finished it this morning. I had never read it before and would say it is just ok. White has this way of writing that is so simple, yet carries this quiet beauty. I thought the story itself was lacking though and when we finished, I blurted out that I liked Charlotte's Web better. Adam nodded and sighed, "I like Tale of Despereaux way better, Mom." I have to agree.

Bird by Bird

Over and over I kept seeing that Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird was highly recommended reading for writers and aspiring writers. When I saw it listed in a top five books writers must read list, I finally put the book on hold and once I got it, gobbled it right up. It is a seriously inspiring and informative book on the writing craft. Lamott is very likable and very, very funny. I've read quite a few good books on writing, but this one by far was the best. I found a DVD at the library when I was in the middle of the book about her called Bird by Bird with Annie that was shots from writing conferences, workshops, and book tours where she spoke about many of the same themes and topics from the book. It was entertaining and brought her to life, but the book was still better. (As books tend to be.) I am looking forward to checking out her fiction after hearing the way she painstakingly puts together novels. Based on this book, it seems like her novels would be full of raw honesty and beauty. She breathed so much life and humanity in these essays that her talent is hard to dispute.

The Future of Us

I heard about The Future of Us on NPR about a month ago. I didn't catch the whole story, but heard enough to pique my interest. And when it was over, they said who the authors were—Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher. Asher wrote a book called Thirteen Reasons Why, which was about a girl who committed suicide and left behind cassette tapes addressed to the people that brought her to that point of hopelessness. It was a real twisted idea, but a powerful story about how our actions have consequences and how much we can hurt a person.

The Future of Us is another story about the consequences of our actions, but in a much different light. Two characters, Josh and Emma, find their Facebook pages fifteen years into the future. (The story takes place in 1996 and they are looking ahead to when they are 31 years old.) As someone who is not on Facebook, the whole phenomenon fascinates me. There is a certain allure to social networking, but I haven't succumbed to its temptation; to be perfectly honest, mostly because I'm not the best at balance. I was on Friendster way back when and it was so addictive. It is easier to avoid it altogether than risk getting sucked in and obsessing over things I or my friends have posted. This book once again made me feel like my decision to stay away from the site is a good one. Emma gets pretty obsessed with the snippets of her future life she gets through these posts. Neurotic, some might say and yet I could relate to poor Emma.

The Future of Us is a quick, interesting read about how the choices we make affects our life stories. As someone who always thinks “what if I would have done...” or “I should've did this instead of that...” it was a nice reminder that my life would not have turned out this way had I done this instead of that. And sometimes we need that reminder.

Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler