31 posts tagged “what i'm reading now”
During my lunch break I started reading Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why. I can't remember the last time I read a YA book, but even the dark YA books I read once upon a time (The Chocolate War, I Am the Cheese, Judy Blume, etc.) weren't this bleak.
I am so glad I happened upon The Serpent Garden at a local library months ago.
Since reading that, I've been trying to get my hands on every other novel by Judith Merkle Riley. Just today I finished A Vision of Light, and now I've been sucked into the world of Margaret of Ashbury, a woman (unfortunately for her) before her times. The character is a bright midwife in the Middle Ages who receives a gift of healing. A lot of other stuff happens, as well, and she decides to have a book written about her life. My only complaint is that A Vision of Light seems too long at times -- I admit that I skimmed some of Brother Gregory's passages. Still, I greatly enjoyed it, and can't wait to read the next book of the trilogy.
Willig even had me not caring at all about the "contemporary" section, which I think only takes place in two days. I could be wrong, because after a couple of these passages I just gave up and starting skipping these parts entirely.
I give up! And perhaps Willig should too. . . no matter how attractive I find the covers for her books, I'm not reading anything else she writes.
So, I've gotten a lot more lax about posting here since I use my tumblog for most of the cool links, news items, and photos I want to post or remember. But I do still love vox!
But as I finished the last page, I groaned. I really expected more from Robinson - I remember liking her Gilead very much.
Overall, a disappointing read.
I finished this book:
When the Bryant Park Project's Book Club started, I attempted to read the book chosen, but it didn't work out. Then I skipped the next month's book and had already read last month's pick. But I really wanted to give this month's book a try.
Petropolis, which I at first got confused with Persepolis, is a darkly humorous tale about the coming of age of Sasha Goldberg, a Jewish Siberian girl on a quest to find her father. Her story includes that of her passive-aggressive mother, her first lover, her delinquent father, and all the people she comes to know in America. It's definitely not all sunshine and lollipops in this book, but I found it a very enjoyable read. Once I got into it, I was really into it, cramming reading time into my lunch breaks and staying up late in bed to finish it.
Tomorrow author/BPP Book Club maven Sarah Goodyear and I will chat about the book's endearing qualities. Or something like that. I'll let you know when it's posted (I think the audio will go up on the blog rather than on the air).
Good stuff!
A lot takes place in the year portrayed in Sofer's debut novel. Indeed, a couple scenes were difficult for me to read, only because I had come to love all the family members and didn't want any harm to befall them (spoiler: they all survive in the end).
Last night I was slightly disappointed to finish the novel, because I wanted to keep reading about the Amin family and their plight in 1980's Iran. I don't want to give you the wrong idea about the Amin family, because they are not absolutely lovable. The parents are wealthy and slightly hypocritical, but they realize their true selves during the imprisonment of Isaac, the patriarch. Farhaz, his wife, comes out of her funk in an attempt to free him. Their young daughter takes to stealing files from a friend's house and hiding them in the garden. The son, at school in the States, is depressed at the separation from his family and country, but comes to feel welcomed by a Hassidic family.
I have nothing but high praise for this novel and Sofer's writing style. It was a deeply engaging read, and I look forward to more from her.
I don't want
I LOVED. this. book.
In my head I kept comparing it to Eat, Pray, Love, just because I don't read much non-fiction, and that was the last non-fiction book I read written about a single (well, divorced, really) woman's search for her identity.
But can I say that I loved the ending of this book so much more? [SPOILER WARNING] I love that Cohen realizes that she doesn't have to get married, that she doesn't need that to define her self. I wanted a match for her through most of the book, because she is gorgeous, with a very loving family and a wonderful sense of humor. But I'm so happy with the last section, I can't tell you enough.
I'm curious as to how the film/TV-film version will treat the book. Will the version starring Sarah Jessica Parker have the writer get married off? Or will Amy Sherman-Palladino keep the essence of the book in her version? I truly hope so.
This book was a wonderful fix for me on Valentine's Day. As y'all know, I love me some romance novels, but it is great to get a shot of reality every now and then.
Anyway, reading this during my lunch break not be the greatest idea I've had. . . some of the characters are in a feedlot now, talking about what is being fed to the cattle, and ICK.
So far I think Ozeki's more recent All Over Creation has this book beat, but I'm still liking it.
