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.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Adam needed a break from the heaviness of the second Harry Potter book, so we took an interlude for some fun Judy Blume: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. It was not as good as I had remembered from when I was a kid. (I had loved this book!) I was surprised to discover that it's a character driven novel; surprised because books written for children these days seem largely plot driven. (Likely because books have a tough job these days competing for a kid's attention with all the video games, etc. Thirty years ago books were a form of entertainment, regardless of how gripping the plot-line... I can't help but wonder if it was Judy Blume that got me hooked on character driven novels?)

I wasn't overly impressed with my rereading of this child classic, but Adam and Noah sure were. We read the novel over a couple days because the kids kept begging me to read more and more. They found the book hilarious and are so excited that there are sequels to read. It's so special to watch a child get hypnotized by a book, pulled in and not want to leave the characters. Judy Blume books seem to have that effect on children. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was the perfect novel to take Adam's mind off the darkness of Harry Potter for a while.

Vagina: A New Biography

I picked up Naomi Wolf's Vagina: A New Biography when I saw that she was following me on Twitter. I was ecstatic when I saw my new follower. Naomi Wolf?!? I love her! I kept thinking. Then to prove it, I rushed out to get her latest book, one I had meant to read since it came out but hadn't gotten around to actually picking up.

I am grateful that I did and grateful for Wolf and her insanely insightful book. Wolf set out on a journey to understand the vagina and its connection to the female brain after suffering from a medical crisis. She discovers a wealth of information about female sexuality and creativity and shares it along with cultural history and her own personal experiences. The result is a book that is intelligent and wise, personal and engaging and one hundred percent worthwhile to read. I feel as if I understand myself better in a comforting way, a hey, maybe I'm not crazy, maybe that was a biological response kind of way. This book is a wealth of important information, so much I am tempted to start summarizing some of it... but everyone (male or female) should check it out for themselves. Or at least the last chapter. Wolf gives men the lowdown on pleasing a woman that more or less condenses all the information from each chapter into segments such as "tell her she's beautiful" or "gaze into her eyes." It's a definite worthwhile read, even if you just take the Cliff Note version in the last chapter. I will likely be rereading it myself in the future.

Ten Things I've Learnt About Love

Sarah Butler's Ten Things I've Learnt About Love popped out at me at the library so I grabbed it and decided to check it out. I had never heard of the author or the book, but a quick glance at the acclaim on the back was enough for me to give it a shot.

The novel tells the story of Alice, a young woman who has always felt like an outsider in her family since her mother's death when she was a child. She has two older sisters and a father who are all close and she has taken to wandering, traveling the world without a solid sense of purpose. She is aching for a man she was in a relationship with for years that refused to acknowledge her presence in his life to his family and heartbroken, she has separated from him. Alice's perspective is juxtaposed with Daniel's, a homeless man searching for his daughter. Each chapter is preceded by a list of ten things written by either Daniel or Alice.

I almost abandoned this book. It's written well, but the writing wasn't grabbing me and the characters weren't really either. I pressed on though because of all the positive reviews I had read (plus it's not a terribly long book). In the end, I liked the novel, but can't endorse it with any of the enthusiasm on the book jacket. (It's just not that good.)

The Borrower

I stumbled upon Rebecca Makkai's novel The Borrower when I learned she was teaching a writing class that I was interested in applying for. (I have since applied, gotten accepted, registered, and am anxiously awaiting the first class.) I picked up the book with mild curiosity, but was soon captivated by the charming Ian, a ten year old boy from a small Midwestern town. The story is Lucy's, a children's librarian who feels compelled to save Ian from his overbearing mother who sends him to a religious based program to guide him towards heterosexuality. She both kidnaps him and is kidnapped by him and the two head out on an adventure.

I adored this novel, the themes of identity, revolution, and the enduring power of literature. I loved the book's humor and big heart, even if Lucy wasn't the most likable character ever. It's a readable story, but still literary... my favorite kind of novel. I pushed Alan to read it after and he pointed out the novel's flaws to me, which in my enthusiasm for the story I had ignored. Yet flaws, at times, can make a book more endearing. I love the humanity breathed into this book. It makes me even more excited to take the class from Makkai, a very gifted writer. I'm already looking forward to the release of her second novel next summer.