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The kids came back from camp yesterday. They are consuming all the goodies I made. Jess's bus got a flat tire and she was 3 hours delayed. Not that fun sitting around Nassau Colliseum, oh well. But here is a picture of my 2 other happy campers (Josh and Em) on their arrival.
Now the summer gets fun...
Aravind Adiga: The White Tiger: A Novel (Man Booker Prize)
I finished this book while waiting in line to vote. I will say what all the critics said, this book is like reading an Indian Native Son or Invisible Man. Adiga makes a statement about India and the separation of classes through the story he tells. Remarkable first novel.
Carol Shields: Unless: A Novel (P.S.)
Recommended by a reader of this blog. At the beginning I didn't love it but as the story unfolds I was drawn in by the main character and how life takes turns. Stayed with me. The Stone Diaries, Shields Pulitzer Prize winner, is must read.
David Benioff: City of Thieves: A Novel
A total winner. Well written. Coming of age during WWII.
David Ebershoff: The 19th Wife: A Novel
Fact and fiction, polygamy and Mormon society. Good read.
David Wroblewski: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel
Long but good. Interesting story. Really well written. Didn't love the finale but the book is Hamlet with different characters.
Diane Setterfield: The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
LOVED!! Could not put it down. Never sure how something ends up next to my bed or why I bought it. A total page turner. Well written story. This is was so good that if I had the time, I would have started at page one and read until I finished.
Nancy Horan: Loving Frank: A Novel
The book stayed with me but I still can't decide if I loved it or hated it. Had to do with the main female character. Written in modern day but the event happened around early part of the 20th Century. Wife, with wonderful family and husband decides to pack everything in for Frank Lloyd Wright. Was she selfish or a feminist?
Alicia Drake: The Beautiful Fall: Fashion, Genius, and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris
If you love fashion, a must read. Biographies of YSL and Lagerfeld from past to present and the impact they made on the industry.
Sylvia Plath: The Bell Jar
Never read it until now. Knowing now how much has changed in helping people who are depressed makes it even more sad that she ended her life so young. Really wonderful book...incredibly modern for 2008 except for the medical treatment, the feeling she had as a woman who didn't want to fit the mold is no different today than it was 50 years ago, just more accepted.
Nam Le: The Boat
First book from this writer. Short stories. Brilliant writing, intense, layered. Not only captivating but sophisticated and wonderfully written. Looking forward to book #2.
Joseph O'Neill: Netherland: A Novel
Lots of praise for this book. Incredibly well written novel. Post 9/11 Brit finding himself alone after his wife and kid have departed NYC. Hans (the main character) finds himself connecting with fellow immigrants through cricket. An interesting story of the struggle for the American dream in a post 9/11 world. Worth the read.
James Frey: Bright Shiny Morning
Excellent. Describes Los Angeles like no other.
Stefan Merrill Block: The Story of Forgetting: A Novel
Wonderful story. First time novelist. A winner.
Sheila Weller: Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation
Loved. A real page turner.
Heidi Julavits: The Uses of Enchantment: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries)
This book was praised last year as a new young voice. Young girl vanishes and returns 3 weeks later. It is assumed that she faked that her abduction. Each chapter goes from present to past through different characters as the whole picture unfolds. I was really pulled in at the beginning but half way through the book all I wanted to do was finish it. Didn't love it.
John Burnham Schwartz: Reservation Road (Vintage Contemporaries) (Vintage Contemporaries)
Someone recommended this to me so I read it. Didn't love. Couple loses a child and the guilt slowly wreaks havoc on their lives.
Tony Earley: The Blue Star: A Novel
The second book to complete the series, the first being Jim, The Boy. Read them both together. The stories stick with you for a long time.
Tony Earley: Jim the Boy : A Novel
Simple beautiful story of a young boy growing up when life was easy in North Carolina prior to WWII
Nic Sheff: Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines
Also painful but worth the read with his father's book by David Sheff
Conor Oberst
Conor Oberst: Conor Oberst
LOVING this.
We Brave Bee Stings and All
Thao: We Brave Bee Stings and All
Kooks: Inside In/Inside Out
Loving this. Fun, pop oriented
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