Through the Years - Number Ones

I'm scheduling this post out for January 1, 2013. If it actually posts and there's anyone around to read it, that means we made it. There was no Mayan Apocalypse. The end of the Mayan calendar was just because the poor calendar maker had to stop somewhere. He was pretty tired.

Anyway, I started this blog in 2009 as an offshoot of my activity on Shelfari. But I'd joined Shelfari to save my sanity back in 2006, right after I'd graduated from college. I've been keeping track of my number one favorite reads from each year since then. Here they are:

2006 - Jude the Obscure (Signet Classics)

2007 - Jane Eyre (Dover Thrift Editions)

Jane Eyre is your first rate super heroine. I loved this book. It seems before its time in the way that Jane never compromises herself. She stays true to who she is and doesn't let circumstances, people, or religion, dictate her life. I definitely was not expecting this to be as good as it is, and breezed through it very quickly. 

2008 - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

I loved this book from beginning to end. I have so many things to say, but nothing quite grasps just how good this was. Kavalier & Clay will stay with me for a long time. Absolutely beautiful. Funny in a way that you must sometimes laugh in the hands that life deals you. True in spirit. Amazing.  

2009 - The Shining

Loved, loved, loved. I recently became obsessed with the movie, thinking it incredibly amazing. Beyond a horror story, the study of the human character. And the nature of evil. And god, Jack on that staircase and Wendy with the bat. I could watch that scene over and over. Anyway, I've never (except for when I was in middle school reading R.L. Stine and realize that his books were too juvenile for me) had the desire to read King, but the word from everyone was: If you liked the movie, you'll love the book.

The book was, as it often is, so much better. I've a respect for King I never thought I'd have. Though, you can't truly say that until you try. What a fantastic writer! This man knows where it's at. The book was absolutely amazing, much more than a horror story, with it's exploration of familial relationships and the essence of evil. 

2010 - Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People

Wow.

Raven is the story of Jim Jones and the People's Temple - told by Tim Reiterman, a journalist who survived the massacre of the Ryan party in Guyana just hours before more than 900 People's Temple members committed "revolutionary" suicide with poisoned Grape-Aid. Reiterman begins at the beginning - the birth and early life of Jim Jones and moves carefully forward, in almost 600 pages, to chronicle the rise and fall of a people who put their lives in the hands of a sociopath. 

2011 - Geek Love: A Novel

Not at all what its title implies - even when you find out exactly what Katherine Dunn means by Geek. Should have been called Freak Love, but I think the mystery and the - "Oh my god, this isn't about two nerds falling in love?" is half the attraction.

Concerning a traveling carnival whose acts were bred instead of hired - the story is told by Olympia Binewski, a bald, albino, hunchback dwarf and the youngest daughter of Lil and Al Binewski. 

2012 - Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

Last Call is  intelligent, thorough,and fun. The book had me researching and discussing a topic I hadn't given much thought of before. 

Top 10(ish) of 2012 (& See Ya Later?)

I've slowed down considerably at the end of this year, and I'm not sure why. Other interests and activities - a lot of crocheting, letterboxing, hiking, and watching of both Bones & Buffy via Netflix. I haven't felt like reading a GD thing since deciding to not finish the terrible Casual Vacancy, which means I didn't at all meet my goal of 44 novels - reaching only 31. Still - I read some quality literature this year and it doesn't all fit neatly into a Top 10.

Top 7 5-Star Reviews

7. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
6. Wonderstruck - Brian Selznick
5. Inside Out & Back Again - Thanhha Lai
4. We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver (and about Adam Lanza)
3. The Climb - Anatoli Boukreev
2. Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer 
1. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition - Daniel Okrent

I really love it when my favorite books of the year are non-fiction titles.

#s 8, 9, & 10

There are too many titles that fit the last few numbers on my list. Forced to choose by my own controlling nature, I'd go with:

10. Legend of a Suicide - David Vann
9. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami
8. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. LeGuin

However, the following titles are all just as incredible and could take the place of any of the above:

Green Hills of Africa - Ernest Hemingway
Kingdom Come - Mark Waid, Alex Ross
The Walking Dead - Robert Kirkman
Babbitt - Sinclair Lewis
The Postmortal - Drew Magary
Lump - Leena Luther

To finalize, I was sitting in my library and staring at my shelves and realized that I'd really like to spend a year reading with abandon. That means reading whatever I please without worrying about posting reviews or maintaining any lists. I've taken leave before and reserve my right to do it again - I'll be stepping away from this for a little while. Posting will be sporadic and few. I have a post set to go up at the end of the year, if we make it beyond the End of the World. Otherwise... radio silence.

The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling

Rating: 1 star

It's so incredibly rare that I don't finish a book. For one, the sheer pain associated with reading an awful book makes me so mad, I don't want to have toiled so hard for a book I can't count among my yearly numbers. But oh god. Maybe you've noticed I've disappeared for a while. Over a month, I think, without a decent post, tweet or tumblr quote. Part of that is the volume of work I've had to deal with this Fall - our fiscal years don't align with the calendar year and so, September and October are busy, busy planning months. The other part of my silence was this new and godawful book by J.K. Rowling.

It took me the better part of two months to read a little over 100 pages. I finally made the decision to quit on Friday of last week, realizing I was wasting a lot of valuable reading time desperately trying to get through this novel just because J.K. Rowling wrote it.

My complaints mirror the complaints of the masses. Just Google it - you'll find more bad reviews than good ones. What gets me the most is that J.K. made a concentrated effort to have this marketed as an 'adult' novel - the Harry Potter author goes rogue, she can write what she wants, etc - and then reduced every single one of her adult characters (and there are so, so many) to mere caricatures. They might as well all have been named either Vernon or Petunia Dursley. And, surprisingly enough, the only characters with any depth at all are the teens. Unfortunately, their chapters can not carry the burden that is this book.

The book begins with Barry Fairbrother's death, a very well-written chapter that falsely draws you in to the terrible narrative that is to come. As soon as Barry hits the pavement, literally, the section titled Monday launches. In it, each character is given a chapter and a chance to react to the news of Barry Fairbrother's death. Sometimes more than once. Since Barry held a seat on the Parish Council in Pagford and was an instrumental player in the fight to keep The Fields (housing projects) a part of their well-to-do town, the reactions vary from distress to political plotting. And then Tuesday happens and, if you didn't guess it, I'll tell you - each character is given a chapter to talk some more about Barry Fairbrother's death, the reactions varying from distress to political plotting.

I couldn't. I'm sorry - I just couldn't. The plot crept along and the characters were utterly unlikable. J.K - how could you expect me to keep reading?

Behind

I've fallen so far behind on my reading. I blame The Casual Vacancy. Because it's awful.

Co-workers Do Nothing to Help My Obsession

I've still got The Climb sitting on my desk, waiting to be sent back to its owner. I've got several co-workers who do way more exciting and dangerous hikes/climbs than I do, so I guess it's not surprising that leaving something like that out sparks conversation. Anyway, walked in the other day to find these two coffee-table Everest books sitting on my desk. They've got great photos - I can't wait to dive into them. 

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

Rating: 5 stars

Listen. I'm aware of the fact that my reviews are somewhat lacking because I never took journalism classes because I never had the interest - even though when people hear reader and writer they immediately think you must have been on the school newspaper. There's a difference. A major difference in all the genres, all the nuances of reading and writing. Journalism is not my shtick. My reviews vary from those I'm super proud of, to those that kind of suck. My main goal, in all of my reviews, is to get to the heart of Did I like it? and Will you like? quickly - for those of us that maybe don't want to spend an hour reading a blog post just for the answer to those two questions.

That being said - I'm not entirely sure where to start with Gone Girl. Yes, I liked it. Loved it, in fact. Gillian Flynn can write. And yes, I think you'll like it, too. Just be prepared for a mind-f*ck beyond any you've ever had before.

Meet Nick and Amy, the unreliable main characters of Gone Girl, who we learn - via Nick's opening narrative - are celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary on the ominously titled "Day of." Day of... what, you ask? The day that Amy disappears, leaving behind a curiously staged crime scene and a diary that, interspersed with Nick's chapters, gives an eerie description of their marriage, oftentimes contradicting what Nick has only just disclosed the previous chapter. And just when you think the book is a classic whodunit, it morphs into a study of character, so intricately woven and perfectly written, you really aren't sure what the hell just happened to you, but you're kind of glad it did.

Review with Spoilers via FullStop (has all the words I don't).
Via The Millions - a discussion on Gillian Flynn and the distinctions of sex, class and identity in her novels. 
Book Magnet's Spoiler Free Review

Purchase Now from Amazon 

Book Sleuth - High Exposure

Oh no. Here we go again. Into Thin Air led me to The Climb which has led me to this book, written by David Breashears, the leader of the IMAX Expedition that was on Everest in '96 during that fateful storm. I've got his movie queued up on my Netflix as well. If I thought The Climb was the end for me - I was wrong. Something about this story has a fierce grip on my heart - as all of the authors probably intended. 

From Amazon: 

Breashears has no lack of good material. We follow him through the stunning backdrops of Yosemite, Europe, Nepal, and Tibet, brushing up against triumphs and tragedies along the way. And while the nuts and bolts of his adventures are entertainment enough, his knack for building suspense and employing understated drama makes his autobiography read like a novel: "The morning was sunny and calm, and Rob looked as though he'd lain down on his side and fallen asleep. Around him the undisturbed snow sparkled in the sun. I stared at his bare left hand ... I wondered what a mountaineer with Rob's experience was doing without a glove."

Purchase Now From Amazon

The Climb - Anatoli Boukreev

Rating: 5 stars

Despite the contrary opinions of most other reviewers, I exited Krakauer's Into Thin Air with a brave and stoic impression of Anatoli Boukreev. And it is true - the Anatoli Boukreev represented in Jon's novel is a less villian-y rendition of the Boukreev first represented in Krakauer's article for Outside, published shortly after the '96 Everest excursion. Still, the fear remained for Boukreev and many who knew him that Krakauer's telling of events ruined forever the reputation of an expert climber and hero.

The Climb is Anatoli Boukreev's - with the help of G. Weston DeWalt - version of the events surrounding the Everest tragedy. My first impression of the differences between both accounts was this: Krakauer is a hobby climber who writes extremely well; Boukreev is a professional, well established mountaineer. If Krakauer manages to give readers the emotional aspect of the mountain in '96, Boukreev gives the factual, the carefully considered, the professional view of everything that went wrong that summit day. And Krakauer kind of comes off like a petulant jerk.

Still - there's a pleading note to Boukreev's book that checks my desire to whole-heartedly believe one account over the other. It's as if Boukreev is begging us to see that he made no mistakes at all - that he alone may have had all the answers in avoiding what happened to the people on that mountain. Both books do seem to acknowledge, however, that a series of small mistakes and/or misunderstandings led to the loss of lives. Despite this, the fact remains that because Boukreev descended before the other climbers (as he is criticized for doing in Into Thin Air), he was definitely in a position to go later out into that storm and rescue three people, by himself.

It was very difficult for me to start this book just five months after completing Into Thin Air. Reading again the climbers hopes and expectations prior to reaching Everest, yet already fully knowing the outcome, knowing I was subjecting myself to those emotions again was hard. But I'm really glad I did. I'll never climb Everest but I can keep these people alive in my memory because of men like Krakauer and Boukreev who took the time to make this story known.

Further Reading: Letters from Krakauer, Boukreev & Lopsang

Purchase Now From Amazon

Book Sleuth - The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving

Found via: The Sunday Rumpus Interview

From Amazon: 

Benjamin Benjamin has lost virtually everything—his wife, his family, his home, his livelihood. With few options, Ben enrolls in a night class called The Fundamentals of Caregiving, where he is instructed in the art of inserting catheters and avoiding liability, about professionalism, and on how to keep physical and emotional distance between client and provider.

But when Ben is assigned to tyrannical nineteen-year-old Trevor, who is in the advanced stages of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, he soon discovers that the endless mnemonics and service plan checklists have done little to prepare him for the reality of caring for a fiercely stubborn, sexually frustrated adolescent with an ax to grind with the world at large.

Purchase Now. 

Moll Flanders - Daniel DeFoe

Rating: 3 stars

I struggle between not liking this book at all, and liking it a lot. There's much to say about DeFoe's structure, theme and characterization. And what it's lacking (any consequence whatsoever for Moll's many marriages, children and life of crime) helps to bring about DeFoe's main theme - the juxtaposition of Christian morality with ethics and the struggle to survive - which seems pretty heavy and scandalous for the time period.

I loved Robinson Crusoe and so had pretty high hopes for Moll Flanders. What Crusoe and Flanders have in common is their resourcefulness - their ability to make the best of the worst situations and come out not only alive, but better off than before. And even though Moll does this by manipulating many, many people and leaving scores of children behind - you can't help but pity her for the terrible situations that come of her many attempts of "meaning well," and kind of respect her for trying and succeeding in the end.

Purchase Now from Amazon

8/75

Book Sleuth - Straight: A Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality

It's been an incredibly long time since I've done a Book Sleuth. But I found this one via Reading Rambo (a great blog, bt-dubs) and it sounds so amazing, I had to let you all know about it.

Says RR:

So. You might think from the title that this is one of those liberal books by one of those liberal people trying out some new liberal concept of 'Oh, people were TOTES GAY for most of history. This thing we have now with gentlemen and ladies? Way new. I mean, does it even make SENSE? Have you seen men's bathroom habits? Nast." BUT NO. It is in fact exactly what it says: it's a history of the concept of heterosexuality.

Because who had to name it? It was normal. Everyone did it (*cough*orsotheythought*cough*). We don't need names for those things. She makes the excellent point that we have names like 'prude' and 'slut' but there isn't a name for someone who's into sex "a normal amount." And it's not like we have a scale, so those are arbitrary titles society can cast onto people. Someone's a slut because they're called a slut.

But you should really visit her blog to read the rest of the review. Because it's really thoughtful and thought provoking.

Purchase Now from Amazon.

The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

Rating: 4 stars

I started reading this slowly, at the beginning of the year, in the hopes of savoring it until the movie arrived. I have to tell you, it started out all rainbows and nostalgia until someone told me that the movie was going to be split into three parts. I spent the remainder of the book angrily wondering how Peter Jackson planned to successfully pull that off without pissing off fans. It's a small book! Written as a young adult novel! Yes, there are many adventures along the road to the Lonely Mountain, but nothing that packs as much punch as the actual ending of the novel. There aren't any real clear starts and stops that - to my mind - make three separate, yet cohesive movies.

Anyway - film making aside - I first read this book when I was in middle school, so it's been a long, long time. Fifteen years, maybe? Perhaps a bit more. I was surprised by how many details have stuck with me over such a wide span of years. This time - knowing and loving Bilbo well, rather than having just been introduced to him - I was able to imagine that it was Bilbo himself writing the tale. The writing style is so vastly different from the Lord of the Rings trilogy that it isn't difficult at all to replace Tolkien's voice with Bilbo's. It's much more humorous and has the tone of a folk-tale - you can almost imagine Bilbo around a campfire, enacting his tale to a captive audience. Also - there's a lot less walking.

I'd say the 4-star rating of my memory holds up with my current reading of the novel. Middle-earth is a place I wouldn't mind continuing to visit time and time again.

Purchase Now from Amazon. 

7/75

Babbitt - Sinclair Lewis

Rating: 4 stars


While not always the most riveting of reads, Babbitt - a satire on the conformity and hypocrisy of the middle class - is incredibly well written and insightful.

George F. Babbitt is a middle class business man from Zenith, a fictional city located somewhere in middle America. He lives with his wife and three children in the suburbs of Zenith, in a house that looks much like the houses of his neighbors and that is furnished with all of the modern conveniences. He carries on his real-estate business like he is supposed to, attends all the right clubs (Booster, Athletic, Elk), attends church and throws dinner parties for his neighbors - all of whom, like Babbitt, spend their days attempting to climb the social ladder.

But when Babbitt's best and oldest friend gets arrested for eschewing these values, George begins to see his life in a new light. It all seems a fraud to him and so he tries his hardest to really live his life, with his own opinions and thoughts. In response, the good citizens of Zenith begin to shun him.

It isn't until Myra, Babbitt's wife, falls ill that he begins to realize the middle class world he's a part of is one that he helped create. And so, he falls somewhat comfortably back into it - yet, in the end, he tells his son Ted, "I've never done a single thing I've wanted to in my whole life! I don't know's I've accomplished anything anything except just get along." He encourages Ted to make his own way through life, following his dreams and damning those who would try and stop him, thus ending the book with a glimmer of hope for the next generation.

The book was surprisingly resonant, for having been published in 1922. Sure many things have changed, but the core of the novel focuses on a man just gliding through his life, doing everything he thinks he's supposed to do and nothing for himself. By the time he tries to regain that freedom, it's too late. I was fortunate that I knew what I wanted, worked hard to get there, and was supported by incredible parents who, I think, understand how unfulfilling a path you didn't necessarily want to take can be. But, moving through the corporate world, even if it's the precise world that I've chosen, does include its measure of conformity. We just call it "playing the game" now.

Purchase Now from Amazon. 

6/75

Classics Club September Meme

I didn't participate in last month's meme because I'd already answered the question as part of my 30-Day Book Challenge (favorite classic) in July. But I'm all ready to participate in this month's topic - highlight another clubber's review on a classic from my own list that has me particularly excited to move it up the TBR.

I finally read my second Hardy novel, Far from the Madding Crowd. I looooooove that title. I've never exactly been a people person and as an introvert, I desperately need quiet alone time. The idea of being "far from the madding crowd" sounds quite pleasant to me. I'm pretty sure Hardy was an introvert and not overly fond of people either as he always makes horrible things happen to his characters. 

The most interesting thing about Hardy to me though is that he creates such vivid female characters who aren't villains. They don't always do the right thing, they get in trouble, and they seem real.

Via Sparks' Notes.

A good portion of her post was spoiler-induced, but it was carefully marked. I was able to read the beginning and the end of the review without spoiling anything for myself, and still managed to get ridiculously excited for this one. I've already read and loved Jude and Tess, so this should be a sure bet.

For the Pin Obessed Book Nerds

I don't know about you guys, but I'm obsessed with Pinterest. I'd been keeping a board I'd first called, Books and Reading and Books. Then I changed the name to Read Me Like a Book. Then I realized, I was starting to pin anything and everything book related to the boards and well - they were getting sloppy. I don't like sloppy. I like organization and... well, control. Yes - I'm controlling. So now, I've set up the Book Nerd Series. Feel free to follow and pin!

Read Me

That Was Good

Libraries and Ladders

Mementos of a Book Nerd

30-Day Book Challenge - Day 30

Day 30 - Your Favorite Book of All Time


Here we are at the end - end of this challenge and nearing the end of summer. I tried to convince myself that I had something ... more... for this last question. My favorite book of all time should be Hemingway or Austen or Dumas or something like that. I mean - come on! I was an English major! But, I looked at my Top Ten on Shelfari and I looked at all of the favorites since then. And I thought - which of these do I know inside and out? Which will I never tire of? And, which would I read right now, without hesitation?

Harry Potter. All of them. My love for this series hasn't wavered since the start. I've read each book more times than I can count, and now that I own each book on audio - I've listened to them all several times as well. I know these books inside and out and yet - the magic of them never fades. 

30-Day Book Challenge - Day 29

Day 29 - A Book That Makes You Cry

Every. Single. Time. I do also get emotional whenever Cedric Diggory, Sirius Black and Dumbledore die in previous years. But this book - it kills me every time. First there's Snape. I start crying the moment his Patronus shows up as a doe. Then, when he dies and hands his memories over to Harry and we relive all of the years Snape loved Lily, the grief he felt when he lost her,... "Always." And then Lupin and Tonks! Fred Weasley! Right up to the very end when Harry scolds his son - Albus Severus. Oh man - I'm pretty much crying as I write this. 

Broken Harbor - Tana French

Rating: 3 stars


While not quite on par with French's first three novels in the series, Broken Harbor still does not disappoint. It follows the brash cop, Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy, who makes appearances in French's third novel, Faithful Place. Kennedy hasn't worked a big case for two years, and the deaths of one family in the middle of Brianstown - a failed development in the middle of a place once known as Broken Harbor - gives him and his partner, Richie, the chance to get back on top. But, in true French fashion, Broken Harbor holds much more for Kennedy than this case. It's a place he visited as a child, that holds both happy and painful memories that he'll be forced to face.

As always, French's strength is her characters. Each one has always come alive for me, right off the page. The same is true for Mick Kennedy, his partner Richie and the rest of the minor characters in the novel. But, the first thing that caught me with French's debut novel, In the Woods, was how rich and vivid the language was. It wasn't just some crime novel - it was gorgeous. Even if i wasn't a fan of the main character - there was something beautiful about the way that book was written. Same goes for The Likeness and Faithful Place. But the beauty was missing here.

It makes me wonder if she's through with the Dublin Murder Squad. Will we see another book from her in this series, or will we get something completely new? Though I've loved reading the series and guessing who was coming next - I'd welcome something fresh from Tana with open arms.

30-Day Book Challenge - Day 28

Day 28 - Your Favorite Title


Probably the same as everyone with a thing for grammar:

What a difference a comma makes! 

30-Day Book Challenge - Day 27

Day 27 - The Most Surprising Plot Twist or Ending

The back cover of my edition promised one of the most shocking conclusions in literary history. Given that this book came out in 1895, I was skeptical. What was shocking then would hardly bat an eye now. But - there isn't even anything that I've ever read that comes close to how shocking and disturbing it actually is! This book was my favorite of that year - and one of the most tragic, most controversial and yes - most shocking - books in literary history.