Where'd You Go, Bernadette

I was looking at a list of authors coming to an independent book store in Milwaukee when I saw the cover for Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette. It definitely caught my eye and I read the blurb which put the novel at the top of my books to read list.

The novel's premise is an interesting one. A precocious young girl (Bee) does well in school and is rewarded with anything that she wants and she chooses a family trip to Antarctica. Her mother (Bernadette) goes missing the eve of the trip and Bee compiles letters, emails, and more to create a portrait of her mother and to piece together the tale of her disappearance.

I enjoyed the book as soon as I began reading. I love all of Semple's characters in the novel and they have such rich voices that pull the reader in. Yet the book gets better and better and eventually I was sucked into the story in that way that makes one abandon everything that should be done to find out what will happen next. It's funny with an element of mystery, smart and literary while still being very readable. It's an addictive read, one that I recommend. The only bad part of the book is that it's one of those books that makes it difficult to get into another book when it's over as everything else seems flat.

Admission

I have always been a sucker for the glossy trade paperbacks. Not buying them as I rarely purchase new books, but picking them up, reading their back covers, and continuing to covet them days later. Such was the case with Jean Hanff Korelitz's novel Admission, which is available in trade paperback with the faces of Tina Fey and Paul Rudd on the cover as they star in the new film adaptation. I thought about that book for weeks, not even knowing what it was about, before putting it on hold.

I loved this book and the way that Korelitz pulled me in, first with her prose, then with the story. I fell in love with Portia Nathan, the main character and found myself engrossed in what would happen with her. She is an admissions counselor at Princeton University and the novel gives the reader a glimpse of the process of college admissions while telling a heartfelt tale about love and confronting one's past. I hadn't seen the movie trailer before I began reading and the book's jacket cover doesn't give much away. One night, when I was only 15-20% into the book, I watched the movie trailer, which more or less gave away the climax. I'll admit doing so tainted the reading experience, but I still rather enjoyed it. I will probably check out the movie, but can already tell it doesn't stay true to the original story and looked a tad hokey. But I did love the characters and the story and am interested to check out more of the author's books.

The Beauty Myth

Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty

 Are Used Against Women was another used book sale buy.

 It's an amazing book, one that challenged the way I think about myself and about society's accepted ideas of beauty. (And to think it was mine for all of twenty cents.) The book examines the way that beauty--and the obsession with obtaining it--is undermining and alienating women in professional, sexual, and personal terms. It dissects the culture of beauty and the messages women receive from the media and society. I loved the book for its intelligence and anger and Wolf's ability to present these ideas so powerfully that it truly effects the reader. I attended a make-up party while I was reading it and wrote about it on my other blog. I had barely cracked the cover and already Wolf's ideas were affecting me. The Beauty Myth was the first book I read by Naomi Wolf, but I'm anxious to read another, so it certainly won't be my last.

Love Medicine

I haven't been very good about blogging about what I read these days, but it's true my reading pace has slowed considerably. I still enjoy reading, though I don't have quite as much time to do so. I also haven't been "wowed" by many books lately for whatever reason. Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine was no exception. It was well written, like all of Erdrich's books, but wasn't super gripping. It took me a while to get through it, but overall I did enjoy it.

It's a beautiful, literary novel that tells the stories of men and women who live on the Chippewa reservation in North Dakota spanning over several generations. The stories weave in and out of one another in the way that Erdrich does so skillfully. It's her first novel, but didn't remind me of a first novel due to the grace and fluidity of the storytelling. I definitely recommend it for anyone who likes slow literary novels that have rich characters. If you want something faster with a solid plot line, this book is not for you.

The Secret History

I found Donna Tartt's The Secret History at a used book sale and grabbed it as it is mentioned in a novel that I love. The book is a Christmas gift from one character to another in About a Boy. I knew nothing about the book aside from it being alluded to in that Christmas present exchange scene, but bought it, and let it sit on my shelf for months before picking it up to see what it was about. I flipped inside and read the first page and decided it was the perfect book to follow The Casual Vacancy.

The novel is about a young man who goes to college and finds himself intrigued by and then pulled in to a group of students. They are studying classics together, the group of 4 of them, the narrator becoming the fifth student. All their classes are taught by the same professor and there are no other students in any of the classes. The small group comes to change the way they think and their morals. It's a difficult novel to sum up without giving too much away as the novel's power comes from the way it unfolds. It is described as a psychological thriller. I haven't read many psychological thrillers so am not entirely familiar with the genre, but found the book extremely well written and well paced. It wasn't that fast paced, addictive kind of read, yet still was so enjoyable and gripping that I didn't want to put it down. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read.

The Casual Vacancy

I was curious to check out J. K. Rowling's new novel, The Casual Vacancy. 

I'm a fan of the Harry Potter series so knew what this woman is capable of delivering. I knew that her adult novel was going to be nothing like the books that made her oh so rich and famous and was excited to see what she would produce. I was less enthusiastic when I saw the cover. (Of course I know you can't judge a book by its cover, but an ugly cover does make me pause and become more reluctant to pick it up.) And so it was a while after the book was released that I actually read it.

I quite enjoyed this book. It's not exactly a page turner, but was a nice blend of serious and comic, both literary and readable. It begins with the death of a local politician and the lives of people who knew him start to unravel. There is a diverse cast of characters and the reader is given a glimpse of each of their lives. Rowling does so with such skill and her writing voice is addictive. Sometimes I found myself more into the way she writes than the actual story. It's definitely not a light read as there is a healthy dose of melancholy, but overall a worthwhile read. I hope she writes another adult novel and I will certainly not wait so long to read it-- regardless of how ugly the cover may be. 

The Evolution of Mara Dyer

I was so ecstatic to learn that the sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was out that I set aside a great book I was reading in order to devour it. As I began reading I realized how much of the first book I had forgotten, but still I pressed on. I wasn't crazy about the flashbacks to her grandmother in India with whom she appeared to have an inexplicable link, but the writing wasn't bad and the flashbacks were sparse. I found myself a tad annoyed with Mara in this book (it was how insistent she was that she was sane when the craziest things were happening) and yet I continued. And the further along I got in the book, the more difficult it was to put down. The novel took a turn that I certainly didn't see coming and it was gripping, though I had a hard time buying it, which soured my feelings on this sequel. I still want to read the next book, likely as soon as I can get my hands on it, as I like the characters and I enjoy Hodkin's writing, and know she can deliver a book that gets you to keep turning pages. Though I've lowered my expectations after this book, I'm hoping the next installment will not disappoint.