A Sand County Almanac

I somehow own two copies of Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation From Round River. I'm not quite sure how that happened, but having not one but two copies of a book I hadn't read was enough for me to pick it up. I immediately fell into a trance; Leopold's writing is simple and beautiful. I'd be lying though if I said that my feelings didn't shift as I continued reading. The book is divided into different sections and the entire first section: A Sand County Almanac, was absolutely lyrical and beautiful. I liked the second section: The Quality of Landscape and the third section: A Taste for Country a bit less. The final section: The Upshot was probably my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the entire book, but there is something extraordinary about that first part of the book. But it's all well written, offering the reader a nice portrait of different landscapes and is a wonderful ode to nature. It also raises the challenge of conserving our natural resources, something that I always find appealing. It's definitely a worthwhile read.

Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls

I enjoy David Sedaris but have never quite shared the enthusiasm that so many people have for him. Yet when I saw he had a new book out, I immediately went to find it. (I mean it is David Sedaris.)

Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls is pretty standard David Sedaris- a collection of funny personal essays with a couple of satire pieces. There was a fictional correspondence from one sister to another that's humorous and then two others. There's one called "I Break For Traditional Marriage", that I didn't like at all. It's very over the top and dragged on way too long. "Health-Care Freedoms and Why I Want My Country Back" on the other hand I loved. It was short but funny.

As for the personal essays which make up the bulk of the book, there are great ones and others which aren't as good. Generally I liked the stories about the present such as "Author, Author" and "#2 to Go." I cared less for the ones about his childhood such as "Loggerheads" and "Memory Laps." I couldn't help thinking, "Oh c'mon, David.. you've written how many books and you never told this story before now? And you expect me to believe this?" And that's really at the heart of my tepid enjoyment for Sedaris-- I'm always suspect to anything that is supposed to be autobiographical. There are so few times I can remember exactly what is said in a given situation it seems strange to me that entire conversations are presented as a slice of history rather than an interpretation of what happened. That said, I still enjoyed the book.

Farther Away

I love reading books of essays by writers whom I admire and when I saw that Jonathan Franzen had a new essay collection out, I immediately placed a hold on the book. Farther Away is an interesting collection of essays, reviews, and speeches that span personal, literary, and environmental topics. The first essay, "Pain Won't Kill You" is a commencement address he gave in which he argues the necessity of making oneself vulnerable by opening one's heart, even if it'll cause one pain. I absolutely loved this essay as it began with rants about the narcissistic tendencies of technology, particularly the use of texting and Facebook. It was definitely one of my favorite essays in the book and had great lines like, "To friend a person is merely to include the person in our private hall of flattering mirrors."

He writes about his close friendship with the late writer David Foster Wallace and about how Wallace's suicide effected Franzen. He spoke about his passion for birds and trips to China and the Mediterranean that caused him to reflect on environmental devastations. He discusses books he loves, ones I hadn't heard of but now wish to read (The Man Who Loved Children and Desperate Characters). In "Comma-Then" he complains about the misuse of the word 'then' particularly when used after a comma and in "I Just Called To Say I Love You" he discusses his discomfort with the incessant pronouncements of love over cell phones. This essay delves into 9/11 and the increased usage of the phrase after the tragedy as well as his mother's comfort with uttering the words, but how his father never did. Perhaps my favorite essay was "On Autobiographical Fiction" which tackles the questions Franzen hates to be asked about his novels and reflects on how he became the person he needed to be to write The Corrections. I loved his idea that a writer needs to write the best book he or she possibly can and then to write a second, must become another person entirely so once again can write the best book possible. Though I wasn't crazy about all the essays, overall I really enjoyed this collection and would like to reread some of them again in the future.

to be real

I've been thinking a lot about feminism lately, so I picked up to be real: Telling the Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism, a collection of essays edited by Rebecca Walker. This collection is full of diverse perspectives and covers a range of topics. There is an essay about hip-hop and women (though the writer of the essay still enjoys the music of male hip hop artists with lyrics that are demeaning to women), an interview with Veronica Webb about being a feminist and a model, and the story of a daughter whose Indian parents were wed as part of an arranged marriage and whose mother fled the loveless marriage and moved to Australia to reclaim her identity. I especially enjoyed an essay written by a male feminist who reflected on his experience trying to throw a bachelor party without strippers, as well as one about a couple who created a new last name when they married rather than each keeping their own or having the woman hyphenate hers. I found this collection interesting and very thought-provoking. I look forward to checking out more of Rebecca Walker's work.

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.

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.

Second Nature

Some books take an unnaturally long time for me to get through, as was the case with Michael Pollan's Second Nature (his first book). In fact, I think I started it in May. I liked some essays more than others and generally speaking, found the first 1/2- 2/3 of the book more interesting than the end so I abandoned it for months. Eventually though the spine kept whispering "only 50 more pages... 50 more pages..." and I relented and finished.
Michael Pollan is amazing with words. I think reading something like the Omnivore's Dilemma, you miss that because the subject is so absorbing that the material takes center stage rather than his writing. Second Nature is a collection of essays about gardening and so the topics aren't super gripping, though they are interesting. It's a nice, quiet book.

High Tide in Tucson

Here is a book that was one of the treasures I found while perusing used books. My heartbeat quickened when I spotted 'Kingsolver' on a book in a pile of detective stories and I snatched it up when I saw it was a nice copy of something I hadn't read. Score!
One of my all-time favorite writers is Barbara Kingsolver. I absolutely *love* her books. They hit me on multiple levels because they are readable stories with likable characters and the writing is beautiful and smart, a bit sassy sometimes-- but then there is a social justice issue slyly woven in as well. (Ah, thinking about her novels makes me anxious for the release of her next novel, whenever that may be... I may need to reread one of her older ones to quench the craving.)
Hide Tide in Tuscon is a collection of personal essays. It was such a treat reading, especially because in a couple essays she talks about writing and her career. She talks about fan mail and book tours and people's responses to her work. She also talks about motherhood and parenting, among other things. There were some essays I liked more than others, but really, it was all good. This book is one I will definitely be rereading, which means it is a typical Barbara Kingsolver book--one that is so good, you'll want to go back.