Nose in a Book

Friday Finds hosted by mizb17 at Should Be Reading

This week I added five more books to me TBR list:

Generation A by Douglas Coupland – Maree at Just Add Books wrote a short review of this book but it was enough to make me add it to my list!

The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby – Clover at Fluttering Butterflies posted about this one.  This is what sucked me in

“Hornby has such enthusiasm for books and for reading. And he has all those neuroticisms that everyone has, he just writes about them better than most. How he buys loads of books and never gets around to them. How sometimes he gets distracted by what’s on the telly, complains about long-winded passages in books. He gives up on books.”

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehreneich – Bethany at Dreadlock Girl reviewed this one.  The premise of the book sounded interesting but what decided me was this:

“Barbara puts a face on the working poor, a face that you won’t be able to forget even if you aim to. I highly recommend this Nickel and Dimed for perspective, awareness and so much more!”

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake – I read several reviews of this book this week and even entered a giveaway to win it.  (Fingers crossed!)  I think it sounds interesting but what really sold me on this one is the cover.  Isn’t it pretty?

Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee – Reviewed by Jackie at Farm Lane Books Blog.  I can’t just choose one quote that really grabbed me.  Just go read the entire review!

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A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Read for: Book Club, Global Reading Challenge 2010 – Asia

I just finished reading this book for the second time.  I have to admit, I really didn’t enjoy it the first time around.  I think I was expecting something more like The Kite Runner, with more of a plot, which it doesn’t have.  I’m happy to report that I enjoyed it a lot more  the second time around.  Since the first time I’ve read a lot more books about this part of the world in this time period and it’s helped me to appreciate what this book is really about.

The book is divided into four parts starting with Mariam, a young harami (bastard) girl whose father is a rich man.  Her mother hangs herself and Mariam finds herself married to a much older man and transported 650 miles across the country to Kabul.  Part two introduces Laila, an even younger woman who through an entirely different series of events, finds herself orphaned, pregnant and forced to marry the same man.  Rasheed is not a happy man and he takes it out on his two wives.  Eventually the two women become friends and develop a mother-daughter relationship.

A major theme of the novel is the oppression of women as the Taliban comes to power and removes virtually all womens rights.  Before I read this book and The Kite Runner (and other books from this part of the world) I didn’t know anything about the trials that people suffered under the hands of the Taliban.  I also realize how oppressive some of these regimes were.  I’ve really like reading these books because I think it’s important for us to be informed about the world around us.

Besides that, though, the book did have some sweet and hopeful moments.  There were parts that made me cry for these women, knowing that although they are fictional, there are women having to make the same tough decisions and go through the same struggles that Mariam and Laila did.  Even though the book was sad in parts and had the potential to be depressing, I never found that it got me down.  It seemed that through everything these two women had to endure, they always found something to cling to, something to help them carry on.  Even when it seemed that all hope was lost, they still had strength.

So, although this book was a very different type of book than The Kite Runner (which was very plot driven), it still told a very powerful story.  I found I was glad I gave this one a second chance.  I’m still not adding it to my top ten or anything, but I did like it a lot better this time around!

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Afghanistan, Khaled Hosseini

Just a couple of things:

1. I haven’t stopped reading, but I have decided to take a little break from blogging.  With Christmas and a baby coming at roughly the same time, I’ve been really busy.  I hope to be back to blogging sometime in January or February.

2. I’ve been featured at As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves for 451 Fridays.  Check it out!

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Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman

There’s not much of a summary I can post for this book.  Basically it’s a set of essays/memoirs of Waldman’s experiences as a mother.  Waldman claimes to be a bad mother because she discusses way in which she is unlike the stereotypical “good mother”.   But I disagree (and I think she probably does too) that she is a bad mother.

I really liked this book for a few reasons.  First of all, quite of few of the chapters really resonated with me.  I can’t really pinpoint any specifics anymore, but I there were times when I knew and understood exactly what she was talking about, because I’ve been there.

The other thing I liked about the book was how honest it was.  Waldman doesn’t back away from sharing the worst things (in her opinion) she’s done as a mother.  And while I disagreed with her philosophy and her decisions on certain issues, I appreciated her candour.  In one particular chapter, she discusses a decision she made as a mother that I would never have even considered, but her emotions about the situation were so raw and real, I couldn’t help but feel for her, even though I disagreed with her choice with all of my being.

I really enjoyed this book, but I know that a lot of people might be offended by it or at least some of Waldman’s choices as a mother.

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Ayelet Waldman

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.  Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

-Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD Canadian Army (1872-1918)

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Benny and Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti

Desire is mourning her late husband and Benny  his mother.  The grave sites happen to be right next to each other and Benny and Desire often find themselves sitting on a bench in the graveyard together.  At first, they are annoyed by the presence of another person, but eventually they make a connection.   They begin a relationship and find that there is a lot of passion between them – good and bad.  They seem to be perfect for each other and totally wrong for each other all at the same time.

This book was a really quick, light read, but I didn’t really enjoy it.  The characters were annoying and selfish and the story moved a little too fast for my liking.  I also really hated the ending.  It wasn’t believable or satisfying.  However, I think some people might enjoy this book and apparently have as it’s supposedly an international bestseller.  It just wasn’t for me.

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Woohoo!  My second challenge completed.  I had so much fun reading these books for the challenge.  It’s normally a genre that I tend to ignore, but I read some really good books for the challenge.  I think my favourite was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I also really enjoyed The Moonstone.  Thanks Carl for a great challenge!  (Click on the image to go to the review site to see all the books read by everyone for the challenge.)

Books I read:

• City of Glass – Cassandra Clare
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
• The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins
• Deja Dead – Kathy Reichs
• Her Fearful Symmetry – Audrey Niffenegger

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Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Read for: RIP Challenge

I’m not really sure where to start on a summary for this one.   As the book begins, Elspeth has died.  In her will, she leaves her flat to her estranged twin’s American daughters (also twins).  The only stipulation is that they have to live in the flat for a year before they can sell it.  Of course, the twins decide to move to London to live in the flat for the year.  As they begin to make friends with the other residents of the building, they find that they flat is haunted by Elspeth.  Which leads to some plot twists which I found pretty predictable.

The book was definitely an interesting read and it was perfect for reading the week before Halloween, but it was just sooo predictable.  And I didn’t find the ending to be all that satisfying either (maybe because I saw it coming?).  I just didn’t find this book to be as good as The Time Traveller’s Wife.  I know this is a short review, but I don’t have much else to say.  It was a fun read, but nothing special.

I’m having a hard time categorizing this one, do I need a new genre?

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Audrey Niffenegger

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

Read for: RIP Challenge

My mom and my brother has recently convinced me that I was totally missing out by not watching the TV series Bones.  So I borrowed Season 1 and flew through it and I’m not just starting Season 2.  And I agree, I was missing out!  But then I noticed in the credits that it was based on a series of books by Kathy Reichs.  Of course, I had to read them!  The book is really nothing like the TV except for the name of the main character and the fact that they are both forensic anthropologists, but it was equally as good!

For those of you, that have never seen the TV show or read the book, Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist.  Basically, that means that she’s really good at reading bones.  In the book, she works in Montreal with the crime lab.  In Deja Dead, she is brought a set of bones that when analyzed remind her of a set she worked on about a year previously.  Then another body is found and the circumstances around the murder creep Brennan out even more.  She does some digging and finds other possible cases.  She’s convinced that they are dealing with a serial killer.  Unfortunately for her, the detectives on the case disagree and she can’t really take it that much further on her own.

I really liked this book and I will definitely be picking up the rest of the books about Tempe Brennan.  There were a couple of times where I found the book got overly technical and I was totally lost.  It didn’t hamper my understanding of the case or the plot though, but I wondered why it was necessary?  Also, it bothered me that Brennan constantly put herself in dangerous situations without telling anyone where she was going, even after the detectives on the case told her not to do that any more and knowing that the killer was following her.  She never even had a weapon!  Otherwise it was an enjoyable read and I can’t wait to read some more!

By the way, how would you categorize this book?  I’m going with mystery for now but let me know if there’s a better label for it.

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Kathy Reichs, Temperance Brennan