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18 January 2010
The Bigness of the World Lori Ostlund The stories in this collection are all very similar but not redundant; reading each one is like being shown another facet of a diamond. Ostlund's two basic premises, a lesbian couple's relationship disintegrates as they travel in a developing country and a small child tries to understand the behavior of irresponsible adults, are presented with quiet humor and studded with small, sharp details such as sugared orange juice in Malaysia or minute rice with butter as an afterschool snack in Minnesota. Most of the characters are shy, fussy, middle-aged Midwesterners, lacking in social skills, lashing out in frustration at a world that has disappointed them, and strangled by their inability to express their emotions, although Ostlund lets us in their heads and describes beautifully what is there. Every story has at least one gay character, and the feeling of needing to keep this secret is part of what causes their separation from the rest of the world. I want to tell Ostlund that those people don't have to be tragic figures, that being that way doesn't doom you to a lifetime of unhappiness—many reserved Midwesterners go on to find love and live happy, fulfilled lives. The bigness of the world is frightening, the many ways that people can fail each other even more so, but Ostlund describes both with compassion and grace. 30 December 2009 The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance Elna Baker Elna Baker grew up in a warm, supportive, and very well-traveled Mormon family. She loves her religion and plans to stay a teetotaling virgin until she marries in the temple and to become a god after her death. But she's also a natural performer and dreams of being an actor, so when she leaves home for school she chooses New York City. When she loses eighty pounds and discovers that she enjoys flirting with and kissing cute non-Mormon men, of which there is an endless supply in New York, the tension of trying to live in two worlds that aren't at all compatible becomes overwhelming. Baker is engaging and funny, and this book would work as just a weight-loss memoir or a dating-misadventures-in-New-York story, but the religion component—she isn't leaving her upbringing behind, she (or at least part of her) wants a Mormon life—puts her in an impossible place, a more extreme version of a the choice that anyone torn between comfort and curiosity has faced. A security guard from her workplace sums her up: "You know what your problem is? You believe a buncha different things, you've lived in a buncha different places, and now, nobody's like you." "Thanks, Vinny, " she replies, "No one tells you what being unique actually means: that you'll die alone." So what should she do? A choice seems necessary, but also impossible. Baker is still in her twenties, so we can look forward to hearing many more of her adventures—and how she resolves her dilemma. 30 December 2009 The Murder of King Tut James Patterson and Martin Dugan This book is good because it tells what happened in Egypt a long time ago with the pharaohs who had a lot of gold and riches. Also it tells about Howard Carter. He is the guy from England who found the mummy and all the treasures. He made me think of Indiana Jones. One of the writers is a famous mystery writer and you can tell because he makes the story very exciting and like a mystery. There is lots of stuff about pharaohs killing people and robbers stealing from pyramids. Sometimes the authors use big words that are probably about sex or other grown-up things. But mostly it is a good book for kids to read and the chapters are only one page long or two pages long. The other guy who wrote the book is maybe the one who found out what all those people from a long time ago were really thinking, even though they are dead now. They are just like real people on TV even though they are from ancient Egypt and also England. I liked this book and everyone should read it. 20 December 2009 The New Yorkers Cathleen Schine On this block, whatever the weather Dog walking brings strangers together. The story's playful and light With a bittersweet bite For neither love nor dogs last forever. 30 September 2009 I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-up Comedy's Golden Era William Knoedelseder For comics, the seventies were sunny Until they realized they should be paid money. The strike details get dull But it's nice to recall The days when Leno was funny. 2 July 2009 Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog John Grogan The cute little Lab in the pen Becomes man's huge and destructive best friend. Overbearing and gawky Describe both the prose and the doggie But you'll want tissues on hand at the end. More limericks 20 December 2009 Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall Kazuo Ishiguro The misty photograph of Venice on the jacket and the melancholy title don't match the tone of this book. The passive male narrators recall the timid butler from The Remains of the Day, but the contemporary and often absurd situations they are in are very different. Mostly musicians who haven't made it or never will, the main characters let themselves be manipulated by people who have personalities stronger than their own, and who are often at least a little bit crazy. Ishiguro is in quiet command of his storytelling, which makes the laugh-out-loud wacky moments even more surprising and pleasurable. Revolutionary Road Richard Yates Is suburbia really entirely to blame? This Boy's Life: A Memoir Tobias Wolff Tough childhood, failures provide lifelong material. Mrs. Mike Benedict Freedman and Nancy Freedman Love a mountie, grow up fast. Outliers:The Story of Success Malcolm Gladwell Being fortunate contributes to success—surprised? More six-word summaries Archives 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 |
I've always loved a page-turner Literary Limericks Six-Word Summaries Buy-Nothing Songs Books Reviewed Ten Little Indians Sherman Alexie The...Mormon Singles Halloween Dance Elna Baker A Box of Matches Nicholson Baker Big Trouble Dave Barry One! Hundred! Demons! Lynda Barry Personals Thomas Beller, editor Postville Stephen Bloom Passionate Minds David Bodanis Mystery Ride Robert Boswell The Climb Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt My Husband Betty Helen Boyd Drop City T.C. Boyle The Inner Circle T.C. Boyle The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid Bill Bryson A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson Long For This World Michael Byers In Cold Blood Truman Capote The Skeptic's Dictionary Robert T. Carroll Heart, You Bully, You Punk Leah Hager Cohen Mrs. Bridge Evan S. Connell Mr. Bridge Evan S. Connell River Thieves Michael Crummey My Misspent Youth Meghan Daum The Quality of Life Report Meghan Daum The Gift of Fear Gavin de Becker Burnt Bread and Chutney Carmit Delman Brother Iron, Sister Steel Dave Draper Crunchy Cons Rod Dreher Turbulent Souls Stephen Dubner House of Sand and Fog Andre Dubus III Bait and Switch Barbara Ehrenreich Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich Travels with Lizbeth Lars Eighner The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Anne Fadiman Kick Me Paul Feig True Story Michael Finkel Time and Again Jack Finney Still Life With Husband Lauren Fox Bad Times in Buenos Aires Miranda France The Corrections Jonathan Franzen Jew vs. Jew Samuel G. Freedman Jews Without Judaism Daniel Friedman Muscle Samuel Fussell The Country of Marriage Anthony Giardina White Guys Anthony Giardina Baby Proof Emily Giffin Love the One You're With Emily Giffin Stumbling on Happiness Daniel Gilbert The Last American Man Elizabeth Gilbert Stern Men Elizabeth Gilbert Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress Susan Jane Gilman Blink Malcolm Gladwell Bee Season Myla Goldberg The Search for God at Harvard Ari Goldman Awake Elizabeth Graver The Curious Incident of the Dog... Mark Haddon Holy Days Lis Harris The Believers Zöe Heller What Was She Thinking? Zöe Heller Confederates in the Attic Tony Horwitz Waltzing the Cat Pam Houston Nocturnes Kazuo Ishiguro The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro Le Divorce Diane Johnson A Death in Belmont Sebastian Junger John Stuart Mill in Love Josephine Kamm Subwayland Randy Kennedy The Pleasing Hour Lily King Seven Blessings Ruchama King Ultimate Fitness Gina Kolata Into the Wild Jon Krakauer Under the Banner of Heaven Jon Krakauer The Namesake Jhumpa Lahiri Close to the Bone Jake Lamar The Girls Lori Lansens The Devil in the White City Erik Larson The Body of Jonah Boyd David Leavitt Random Family Adrian Nicole LeBlanc Mystic River Dennis Lehane The Geography of Time Robert Levine The Inn at Lake Devine Elinor Lipman Absolutely American David Lipsky Inconspicuous Consumption Paul Lukas Lonesome Dove Larry McMurtry The Early Arrival of Dreams Rosemary Mahoney Shopgirl Steve Martin The Family That Couldn’t Sleep D.T. Max Home Comforts Cheryl Mendelson The Trouble with Diversity Walter Benn Michaels The Outside World Tova Mirvis Starting Out in the Evening Brian Morton Her Fearful Symmetry Audrey Niffenegger The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club Laurie Notaro The Last of Her Kind Sigrid Nunez The Orchid Thief Susan Orlean The Bigness of the World Lori Ostlund The Dive From Clausen’s Pier Ann Packer Truth and Beauty Ann Patchett The Murder of King Tut James Patterson, Martin Dugan Little Children Tom Perrotta The Botany of Desire Michael Pollan Blue Clay People William Powers Whispering in the Giant's Ear William Powers The Wild Trees Richard Preston Blue Angel Francine Prose Music Through the Floor Eric Puchner Don’t Get Too Comfortable David Rakoff In the Little World John H. Richardson Out of America Keith B. Richburg Stiff Mary Roach Them Jon Ronson The Israelis Donna Rosenthal Kissing in Manhattan David Schickler Time of My Life Allison Winn Scotch Me Talk Pretty One Day David Sedaris A Return to Modesty Wendy Shalit The Dangerous Husband Jane Shapiro The Size of the World Joan Silber American Wife Curtis Sittenfeld The Man of My Dreams Curtis Sittenfeld Prep Curtis Sittenfeld Before the Knife Carolyn Slaughter Name All the Animals Alison Smith A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith A Ship Made of Paper Scott Spencer The Man Who Ate Everything Jeffrey Steingarten High-Tech Heretic Clifford Stoll Evening News Marly Swick The Mismeasure of Woman Carol Tavris Blankets Craig Thompson A Complicated Kindness Miriam Toews Summer Blonde Adrian Tomine The Men and the Girls Johanna Trollope One-L Scott Turow Working Fire Zac Unger My Own Country Abraham Verghese The Tennis Partner Abraham Verghese The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls Girls Like Us Sheila Weller He Is...I Say David Wild The Right Stuff Tom Wolfe Old School Tobias Wolff Marjorie Morningstar Herman Wouk Youngblood Hawke Herman Wouk Generation Kill Evan Wright |