Love In Infant Monkeys

A couple of months ago I responded to a flyer of someone new to town looking to start a book club. I suppose officially I joined, but have yet to make it to a meeting and still haven't met anyone in it. I am hoping to remedy this situation this month as we discuss the first book selection I've actually finished--Lydia Millet's Love in Infant Monkeys. Millet's writing is simple, yet flawless and her collection of short stories all revolve around famous people and animals. The stories are inspired by actual events, yet are all works of fiction. The collection is slim and the stories are quick but interesting reads exploring the relationship between man and animal.  My favorites were the title story and "The Lady and the Dragon." There were none that I did not like, though I wanted to like "Tesla and Wife" more than I actually did. Nothing in the collection blew me away and yet I found it a fast, enjoyable read.

Sick Puppy

I have enjoyed everything I've read by Carl Hiaasen, though it's all been his kids books. I knew he was first and foremost a novelist for adults so I wanted to read some of his adult novels. I started buying them when I'd find them used and Alan gobbled them up. He kept telling me I should read some of them as he really enjoyed them and thought I would too. So I eventually picked up Sick Puppy. I enjoyed it but put it down as I felt it got to be a bit much after a while. I wasn't connecting with any of the characters and my lack of empathy for pretty much everyone involved made me need a break from it. But after finishing Fifty Shades Darker I did finish it. It's a funny book and quite entertaining, but if you are looking for rich character development (as I always am) you'll need to look elsewhere. Hiaasen has many virtues as a writer but the ability to create layered characters that the reader ends up feeling for is not one of them. That said, I think that Hiaasen's books have a strong dose of testosterone in them and that they'd largely appeal more to a male audience. It may be a while before I read another of his books, but I'm sure I will again at some point as he is good at providing entertainment.

Fifty Shades Darker

My mom gave me the entire Fifty Shades trilogy for Christmas. I held off for a while before diving into the second installment, Fifty Shades Darker. Then I got hungry for an easy read that I could get lost inside. And lose myself I did, the series' popularity is likely in part due to the way the books provide such a nice escape from one's life. Well written? Definitely not. Gripping and addictive? Completely. If it wasn't for the fact a hold for a book I've been waiting months for was available for pick up, I would've read the next book.

It's funny how fast I read this book when I've been averaging no more than 20 pages a day lately. I was reading no less than 50 a day (sometimes as much as 100) with this book. It's nice to be overtaken by a book like that, pushing aside everything to find out what will happen. I'm looking forward to getting through my 'to read' pile and getting back to the last installment of this guilty pleasure reading.

The Measure of a Man

I bought a copy of Sidney Poitier's The Measure of a Man: a spiritual autobiography at a used book sale. Though I admired Poitier's work in A Raisin in the Sun and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner- to be honest, it was the Oprah Book Club sticker that got me to pick it up.

I used to be an Oprah Book Club snob, as in I wouldn't read anything with the sticker because it seemed too --?-- (I don't even remember anymore what I had against them.) But time (and prodding by Alan) got me to actually try reading some of the book club books and in doing so, realized that with very few exceptions, they are all gripping and well written, so now the sticker prods me to pick up books I might otherwise pass by. I'm thankful for this new policy as I'm happy I read Poitier's book. It's part autobiography, part his philosophy on life. Poitier's life is fascinating and the book is insightful. It's a short book and easy to get through, yet a worthwhile read.

Her Fearful Symmetry

I received a copy of Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry for Christmas from my cousin Miranda. I've wanted Niffenegger's second novel since I found out about its release. I had gotten it from the library immediately, gobbled it up and loved it, but for some reason didn't admit I had read it when I received the book last month, afraid she wouldn't understand how much I loved the gift if I said I'd already read it. (Silly, I know.)

I reread the novel a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it all over again. (It's amazing how much of a book you can forget after a few years and how the reading experience can be so similar to the first time around.) The novel is about two sets of twins: Elspeth and Edie, and Edie's twin daughters- Julia and Valentina. After Elspeth dies, her nieces inherit her estate with the provision that they live in her flat for one year before deciding to sell it. And so Julia and Valentina head off to London, where life begins to get complicated for them. It's a story about identity, love, family, and loyalties--to ourselves and to our loved ones. I know the novel had received poor reviews, but after reading it twice now, I can't for the life of me figure out why. Perhaps because it is different from her first novel that was so well received? I'm not sure, but sometimes the critics are just plain wrong.

The Girls' Guide To Hunting and Fishing

I read Melissa Bank's The Wonder Spot a couple years ago and enjoyed it, so I picked up her first book, The Girls' Guide To Hunting and Fishing. Bank did not disappoint. I was in a bit of a reading slump--one of those times when everything you pick up seems bland and nothing grabs you. And though this book wasn't exceptionally exciting or interesting, I was hooked by the first page as I loved the character's voice. Thankfully that character, Jane Rosenal, is carried throughout the seven interconnected stories so the reader can follow her through her life as she navigates her way through relationships. Bank writes with humor and poignancy, with that ability to write about something that makes you shake your head even though you did or thought the same thing yourself before. I loved this book and am looking forward to when she comes out with another book, be it a novel or short story collection, either will suffice.

Autobiography of a Face

A few years ago I read Ann Patchett's memoir Truth and Beauty, about her friendship with writer Lucy Grealy. Patchett mentions that Grealy wrote a beautiful book called Autobiography of a Face. I filed the title in the back of my mind, in that space I throw names of authors and books I want to read someday to retrieve from later at the library or used book sales. I found a copy of Grealy's memoir for 20 cents and grabbed it.

Lucy Grealy, who died in 2002, was a beautiful writer and her story is one that stays with you. It's been weeks since I read it [I'm a bit behind on this blog] yet I still remember it in startling detail.When Grealy was nine years old she was diagnosed with cancer causing her to get part of her jaw removed. It's a sad and inspiring story of how Grealy coped with it all--the cruelty of her classmates, the multiple surgeries and pain she endured over the years, the hunger to fit in, and the challenge of dismissing vanity in a culture that puts so much emphasis on appearances. It is the kind of book that makes you look at life and the world a little differently, definitely a worthwhile read.