My Education by Susan Choi: Read This If

My Education by Susan Choi was my favorite read this summer, and possibly one of my favorites for the year so far...

...And I started writing this in AUGUST so it was still going to be summer when I posted this, but now it's nearly WINTER (WHAT? WHAT?) and I thus prove my bum-ness in book blogging in 2013. Apologies.  Between the co-conspirator's workaholicness and my semipromotion that involves a whole lot more talking to people (sucking out all my introverted energy reserves) and the needy critter posse at the home, I just haven't had the time & inclination simultaneously.

Still, despite the dropping temperatures, you should pick up this book. Probably. Well:

Get thee to a book store or library and pick up a copy to read if:

• You can relate to the passion of young, obsessive love but have attained enough distance from it that gives you maturity and clarity.
• You don't mind (or possibly are looking for) a little sexiness in your literature, but in a well-written, non gray-shaded sort of way.
• You're looking for some smart, mostly likable but tragically flawed intellectual characters to befriend in your imagination.
• You find yourself nostalgic for your university days & want to relive a little of your experience without the hardship, or you want to feel better about not totally destroying your life while you were at it.
• You just want to read something contemporary, frank and smart, pre-social networking.

Perhaps avoid this one if: 

• You are looking for a high-stakes espionage thriller. This is not that.
• Gay marriage makes you queasy. Which likely means gay makes you queasy. Which probably also means
• You're really prudish, or maybe you're trying to maintain your prudish image despite the fact that you're actually human. 
• You prefer your plots like some people prefer their whiskey: neat and to the point.
• You hate intellectuals.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ebook copy to review, though I enjoyed it so much I did go out and buy it. Because I have a book-owning sickness. 

Late Lights by Kara Weiss: Read This If

Late Lights by Kara Weiss is a novella of interwoven stories following the lives of three teenagers, Monty, Erin and B.J., with three very different backgrounds. It's set in the Brookline neighborhood of Boston. A little background: Monty is an only child with an abusive father, and finds himself in and out of juvie. B.J.'s brothers are also trouble-makers, with her oldest having served time in prison, where her other brother will undoubtedly end up one day as well. Erin is the only daughter of a well-to-do attorney couple, and grows up best friends with B.J. and Monty, until they inevitably drift apart during adolescence. Still, their underlying bond is never fully broken, and each is fully capable of making some serious mistakes.

I found B.J. to be the least fleshed out and most perplexing character for me, perhaps because she was only the focus of one story, while the other two characters each get two - I would have liked to have had a little more insight into how she dealt with the issues brought up in her story.

Overall, Late Lights is very tightly written, its vivid descriptions fully bringing the reader into the lives of the three characters. It is not a pretty world, and nothing is sugar-coated, but it is a realistic world not without hope for the future.

I'd recommend reading this if:

• You have a 2-3 hour plane ride and want something you can read start to finish - this will engage you from the beginning.
• You enjoy stories told in snapshots. 
• You like characters you can imagine as real people. 
• You appreciate books that are not afraid to talk about the baser aspects of life, and that are explicit in a realistic way - not for shock value.

Don't read this if: 

• The slightest bit of violence or sex offends you.
• You'd rather not know what your teenager might be up to.
• You're looking for a light and fluffy read.
• You have triggers to do with rape - there's one small scene that could bring things up.

*I received this book courtesy of the author and TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. See what others have to say.

Happy Book Lover's day

Illustration by Ghergich & Co.

I may not have time to grab a great book, a cup of coffee and relax into a fantastic story, but hopefully you do! Happy reading.

Bookstore Loot & Oh By The Way I'm Still Alive

Why, hello! It's been quite some time since we've visited, has it not? Rest assured, I have not disappeared into the oblivion. At least, not quite yet. Or, not entirely. I make no promises for the future - that pesky oblivion - just like The Nothing - threatens to swallow me whole, or in parts, at any instant, but, as of this writing, it has not yet happened. That sounds much more depressing and dark than I meant it to be. Apologies.

So! Just what have I been up to, you ask? Or maybe you don't. Either way: it's been One Crazy Summer, and not in a Moore-Cusack kind of way (alas). The Spouse, aka The Coconspirator, has been working 2 jobs this summer (he's just so sought after!), so not only do I never see him, I have to pick up all the domestic slack as well. I am not good at domesticity. At all. It's a bit like living with a ghost roommate that leaves messes while I sleep. We also have 2 dogs, one of them quite new, who are untrained, unruly, and more than a handful. But super sweet and fun, when they're not trying to kill me.

Speaking of dogs trying to kill me, I was attacked just this morning, whilst on my run. Poor thing was afraid of me and his claw punctured my abdomen. It was a little shocking, to say the least. H2O2 & Neosporin to the rescue! I also did not manage to finish my run, which was really the worst part. Oh, and that: I've kind of picked up this running habit, quite regularly in the morning. Nothing crazy. Just 20-30 minutes in the mornings, mostly, as I'm just not that fit yet. I'm still waiting for that runner's high to strike. Any day now.

Remember how I mentioned the disappearing Spouse and his 2 jobs? Well, a couple weeks ago, I seem to have ended up with 2-3 jobs of my own, due to strange comings and goings at the company at which I work. That's still working itself out. It might mean a promotion and a raise. It also might mean the oblivion will swallow me up completely. Or not. Stay tuned.

Despite the craziness, I have still been reading. In fact, the book club I started has had 3 whole meetings already. Also, I just finished this absolutely exquisite book called My Education by Susan Choi, which I hope to have featured here shortly (possibly with a giveaway - again, stay tuned). Hot and well-written? Yes, please. Especially this summer. I also managed to use my birthday bookstore gift certificate finally, results above. I may have contributed a few of my own dollars. Just a few.

Oh, and, I finally got a proper camera, with interchangeable lenses and everything. I love it. But my "hobby" list is growing too much. Running, photos, reading, dogs, etc? That's quite a bit to do, with errands and work too. Let's just hope I win that amazing powerball this Wednesday. Of course, I'll have to remember to buy a ticket.

I hope you've had a more relaxing summer than I, and I'd love to hear about it, should you have the time!

Fake Bookish Neurosis: Schizobibliosis

So Many Books (by ~Minnea~)

Lately, you may have noticed, I've mostly disappeared. Where did I go? You see, I got stuck. I'm buried under ALL THE BOOKS. (And other stuff. Like work, and dogs, and cats, and running, and spouses (well, just the one), and chores, and errands, and family, and, you know, stuff.)

How did this happen? Well, I accepted too many books to review, for one, so, that needs to change, or slow down, or something. The pressure to read the small pile on the review shelf is tying some seriously painful knots under my shoulder blades. I also started a book club in which we have a set day and time to meet every month, and, gasp, actually read and discuss the book,* and we had our first meeting, and it was grand. But since I started the thing, I actually have to be prepared! What? Add to this the fact that there are just so many interesting-sounding books out there. Lying in wait. To be read. By me. At some point. Maybe. Optimistically. Tragically?

All of which has resulted in me being in the middle of about 5 books at once. That's 2-3 too many, for me, really, which leads me to suffer from the dreaded, dreadful schizobibliosis. Too much jumping back and forth between plots and characters and comedy and tragedy and add to that that one of these is Infinite Jest, which is about 170 plot lines rolled up into one complicated, verbose novel that is often awesome and sometimes boring (sorry die-hards), and sometimes both at the same time. I mean, I couldn't pass up this whole Summer of Jest thing, even though I did miss the first call in, and am already behind the proposed schedule. But that's okay. I'm not terribly worried about that. It's The Spouse's favorite book ever, so, I guess it's time. (Although, I've said that before. Ha.)

See? I can't even stay on topic. What's the topic? Oh. Wait, what?

Luckily, schizobibliosis, unlike it's phrenetic (he he, see what I did there?) cousin, has a cure: I just need to finish some of these books before I start the rest of them. That's totally doable, yes? Don't you think? Yes. I think so. Probably. Most likely. We'll see. Or will we...

*The other book club that I'm casually, occasionally still attending can't seem to meet regularly or set a reasonable time to meet, every meeting scheduling shenanigan beginning with an email thread to check schedules and trailing off until a time is suddenly decided upon often less than a week ahead of time, 2 if we're lucky. This leads to the book often not being read (even by me, with such little notice), and discussions that tend to go off subject. Add to that, the off-subject subjects of discussion more often than not are topics that disallow my participation almost completely as a childless, non-Catholic non-teacher, since said discussions tend to revolve around (you guessed it) teaching, teaching politics, birthing, parenting, child behavior generally, and the goings on in a parish of which I am not a part and of which I have no desire to be a part, not being Catholic and all. The members are all smart, lovely ladies, but sometimes the prevalence of cliquey estrogeny teachiness can be a little overwhelming. So I call that my Wine-Drinking Catholic Teaching Moms That Occasionally Read and Might Discuss a Book, a Little, Sometimes Club, of which I am only an honorary member, my only qualifications for membership being that I can read and drink wine.  

Appointment In Samarra by John O'Hara: Read This If

In a break from form, I'm going to introduce this novel (one that I can't believe I'd never heard of let alone read) with the description on the inside cover:

In December 1930, just before Christmas, the Gibbsville, PA, social circuit is electrified with parties and dances. At the center of the social elite stand Julian and Caroline English. But in one rash moment born inside a highball glass, Julian breaks with polite society and begins a rapid descent toward self-destruction. Brimming with wealth and privilege, jealousy and infidelity, O'Hara's iconic first novel is an unflinching look at the dark side of the American dream--and a lasting testament to the keen social intelligence of a major American writer.

Appointment in Samarra is a more frank, less stylized novel touching on the same themes as Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby - not that The Great Gatsby isn't fantastic - it is - this novel just presents its characters with more raw humanity than a novel as tight and stylized as TGG could possibly allow. The title, too, is quite clever - as a member of my book club pointed out, it's not only a metaphor for Julian's own fast demise, but, as the novel is set in 1930, a year after the crash of '29 that set off the Great Depression, it's also a metaphor for the rapid disintegration of a particular way of life. (Luckily O'Hara changed it from it's original - The Infernal Grove.)

You should definitely read this if:

• You enjoyed The Great Gatsby and are looking for something set in a similar time period following a similar crowd.
• You love realistic dialogue. (O'Hara was apparently accused of writing his dialogue TOO realistically.)
• You want to know what the inside of an alcoholic's mind looks like. (I'm told it's quite realistic, so, beware.)
• You wondered what the Jane Austen style of marrying off upper class men and women might look like in 1930s small town America.
• You're looking for a short, fast read.
• You have always wondered what might happen if you acted on some of your lesser impulses. (Answer: Nothing good.)

You might want to steer clear of this novel if:

• Straight forward writing about sex and sexuality offends you.
• You require happy endings. (If you know the story of the appointment in Samarra as retold by W. Somerset Maugham, which serves as an epigraph to this novel, I'm not giving anything away here.)
• The crazed haze of alcoholism hits too close to home for you at this particular moment.
• You are easily depressed.
• You can't stand novels in which you're often silently pleading with the main character to make better choices.

Make better choices, all. Read this novel.

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. (I'm so glad I did - I wouldn't have known to read this otherwise.)

Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli: Read This If

Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli is a beautifully crafted  novel that I'm surprised I haven't heard much about. At all. It's compared to The Help on its paperback cover, but it's really nothing like The Help, except that it takes place in the South and deals with issues of race and class. That's where the similarities end. (Not to knock The Help, which I also thoroughly enjoyed - they are just two very different novels.)

Glow follows the lives of a few interconnected families in Hopewell County, GA, over the course of more than a century, from about 1834 to 1941, which covers slavery to freedom and all the fraught issues before and after the Civil War, including the rise of of the Ku Klux Klan. Not only does the novel deftly explore the race relations between blacks and whites, but also Native Americans, who were basically considered savage non-persons, especially after being kicked off their land in Georgia. The characters' tales are full of horror and humanity and authenticity and soul with a dash of ghostly haunting and redemption. The language captures the lilting dialect of the time and place (or so I imagine). (I listened to a good deal of the audio version, and it is superb.) I may even have shed a tear or two. That doesn't often happen these days. That's not to say it's sentimental - it's not.

You should read this novel. Seriously. This is a book I'm going to be running around telling everyone to read. I'm not saying it's the best book ever written, but the magic and vividness of the stories make them well worth reading. It's more like a novel of intertwined novellas, and be aware that it does not follow traditional or formulaic plot lines. It's more of a meandering, lilting set of tales, told with poise and heart.

Okay, you should read this novel if:

• You are human. 
• You can read. 
• You think you've heard all angles of all tales of the south and slavery and racism and class (you haven't). 
• You appreciate good prose and storytelling and strong characters.
• You also appreciate stories that show the depth of our flawed human characters. 

Don't read this if: 

• You can't read (in which case, learn to read, or listen to the audio). 
• You hate books. (In which case, what are you doing here?)
• You need formulaic, fast-moving, straight forward plots. 
• Your soul is a crispy, burnt thing. 

*I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. 

The Burning Air by Erin Kelly: Read This If

Hello, dear readers, it's been some weeks since my last post. I finished The Burning Air by Erin Kelly some weeks ago, and just haven't been able to disseminate my thoughts on the novel adequately. The novel certainly builds suspense with a slow, steadily growing heat. It grows on the reader in the same way - what seems like a reluctant, meandering plot jumps into focus after a change in perspective. The characters are all normal, average English people who happen to cross paths with a boy who anything but normal or average, and who refuses to accept his shortcomings.

This is not a formulaic story arch. The MacBrides, the central family in the story, are actually the flattest characters of the bunch - it's the villains of the story that have a fair amount of life to them, to the point that you might find yourself rooting both for and against the main scoundrel at the same time - though in the end, you will definitely pick a side. His revenge plotting is so all-consuming that he cannot see anything beyond its realization. That alone lends the novel its most disturbing quality.

The Burning Air was a different sort of thriller for me - its pacing was much slower than the Tana French novels I managed to fly through in the earlier part of this year. It's a gradual build, but its psychological mind games and its haunting, creepy atmosphere is sure to stick with you long after you fini

You should pick up The Burning Air if:

• You like seeing your story from the perspective of the villain. 
• You crave psychological suspense in your novels. 
• Your life has just seemed too sunny and happy lately, and you need some creepiness to shake it up. 
• You can't get the song Private Eyes out of your head. (Ha! NOW you can't! You're welcome.)

You should skip this if: 

• You just had a child and might be suffering from post partum depression. You're probably not reading much at all if that's the case, so I'm not too worried.
• You are prone to anxiety and paranoia and already find most people creepy. This will just feed al
• You are in the market for a light read akin to Bridget Jones Diary (I'd suggest Wife 22 or Domestic Violets to satisfy such a mood). 
• You're looking for a more traditional fast-paced mystery.

*I received this book from the Penguin Viking in exchange for my honest review.