On Chesil Beach

A friend from the bookstore recommended this book as a quick, fantastic read and I completely agree.

Written by Ian McEwan, On Chesil Beach takes place almost entirely on a young couple’s wedding night in Britain in the early 1960’s.  What is so touching and, ultimately sad, is how uncomfortable and unsure they are of one another.  In this other time and place, the couple has been pretty, um, “hands off,”  throughout their relationship and now that their wedding night has arrived, they are overwhelmingly nervous and awkward with each other.

On Chesil Beach gives an unusual insight into a day that has so much promise and our emotions run the gamut throughout this moving story.

A Little House Christmas

I love the Little House books and I sometimes will still break them out and reread just for fun.  One Christmas, I received this great book featuring all the Christmas stories from the series.

This book covers Christmases from the Big Woods to the Prairie.  We remember the cold Christmas in Wisconsin where Laura got her first doll and Mr. Edwards’ delivering Christmas oranges on the prairie.  We see Pa eating the Christmas candy while waiting out a storm on Plum Creek and Almanzo returning unexpectedly just in time for a holiday surprise.

I still love the Little House books and I love Christmas, so these stories are forever a wonderful Christmas treat.

The Unlikely Disciple

I finished The Unlikely Disciple a week or so ago and have been thinking about it ever since, wondering what I was going to say about such a unique book.  It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that Kevin Roose was making an unfavorable statement about the evangelical community, but the book is much more complex than that.

Kevin is a sophomore at Brown University in Providence, RI who, instead of taking a semester in Italy or Australia, decides to transfer to Liberty University, Jerry Falwell’s college in VA for evangelical youth.  While working with A.J. Jacobs (author of The Year of Living Biblically), Kevin got the idea to transfer and write a book about his experiences.  Raised in a pretty non-religious Quaker home, Kevin was curious and a little skeptical about the evangelical community.

Kevin’s integration into Liberty University, from his homophobic and manic roommate to his attendance at a “Chronic Masturbators” group, is an eye-opening experience, for both Kevin and the reader.  For every “crazy” rule (no hugging for more than three seconds) there is a touching moment and a real understanding and appreciation of the values of his peers.  Kevin develops true friendships with his classmates at Liberty and there is an underlying reluctance for the reader to realize that Kevin is not who his friends think he is.  And Kevin has a hard time coming to grips with this as well.  It’s so sad to watch Kevin “break up” with his Christian crush Anna and essentially lie to his friends, who he is becoming so close to.  We grow to really like Jersey Joey and Zipper, even if we don’t fully understand or agree with their belief system.

Kevin pulls out all the stops in his semester at Liberty – he sings in the church choir, interviews Jerry Falwell for an article in the school paper and goes on a missionary trip to try to convert spring breakers in Florida.  There comes a point when Kevin is torn between the concern of his family, especially his gay aunts, and the friendships he’s formed at Liberty.  But Kevin’s hilarious narrative emphasizes the fact that these worlds can safely collide, with just a little effort from both sides.

Although parts of this book were difficult to read (Liberty kids have no qualms about throwing around the word “faggot” and the double standard between men and women was frustrating), I truly enjoyed reading about Kevin’s journey.  I think tolerance and understanding of others, no matter what their beliefs, are underrated in today’s society.  And I commend Kevin for bringing a new light to a community which I’m sure many of us have only stereotypical views of.  If everyone were as caring as some of Kevin’s Liberty friends, the world world would be a better place.  As long as they stop using the word “faggot.” 

Learn more about Kevin Roose here.

The Year of the Flood

The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood’s newest novel, takes place in the desolate future of her prior novel, Oryx and Crake. If you’ve read Oryx and Crake, you’ll remember some of these characters and you’ll of course remember the bleakness of the setting.

The novel focuses on Ren and Toby, two members of God’s Gardeners religious group.  We see the characters in both flashbacks and in the present day – Ren as a 10 year old child and later as a “stripper” at Scales and Tails and Toby as Eve Six of the Gardeners and as a shut-in at the Anoo Yoo Spa.

Ren and Toby are both struggling to survive in a world that has encountered a “waterless flood.”  There are a limited number of survivors, most of whom were in the future version of prison/reality TV, and unusual animal splices like liobambs (lion/lamb) and rakunks (skunk/raccoon) graze the earth.

The Year of the Flood is a creative masterpiece – sometimes I wonder how Atwood can sleep at night if this is the future she envisions.   Atwood brings this scary future to your fingertips and we route for Ren and Toby’s survival and pray that the Gardeners will find each other once again.  I recommend reading this novel in conjunction with Oryx and Crake – the links between the two would be fun to compare.

Where do you like to read?

I started thinking about this the other day when I was at work and just couldn’t wait to get home to eat my butternut squash ravioli and get into my bed (with my new clean flannel sheets) to read Atwood’s The Year of the Flood. I love reading in my bed and  I look forward to heading to bed early so I can get in a few chapters before going to sleep.  I don’t think there is anywhere as comfortable to read as my bed.  Although the gardens at the Huntington Library were a pretty awesome reading spot too.

Where do you like to read – cozied up on the couch with a blanket?  On the beach in the summer?  A bench at a nearby park?

Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife

I remember reading “The Diary of Anne Frank” in middle school.  It’s a unique book, not only for the obvious reasons, but because it gives the reader an intimate look into the life of someone who never intended to have anyone read her work.  It’s also amazing that as a 12 or 13 y ear old I was reading the work of someone my age, who had a far more mature outlook on life and people.

But I had no idea that her diary was not her complete work.  Makes sense now that I think about it, but her father, upon finding her diary, edited out some entries, ideas and subjects.  Francine Prose has now published Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife, which is a commentary on Anne Frank as an author and the story of how the diary was published.

I read a great review of Prose’s work on the Miami Herald website and am excited to check out this book.  Anne Frank is a fascinating person and I think Prose’s novel will introduce an entirely new side of her.

Book Club Idea: 6 Months, 6 New England States

A few years ago, my sister, aunt and I joined a book club at the Providence Library.  The topic for the club was really unique and fun -  each month we read a book that was set in one of the six New England states.  I can’t remember the book we read for each state, but in the spirit of this Providence Library book club, I’ve picked a book set in each of the New England states for some fun, local reads:

Massachusetts – On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Connecticut – Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

Rhode Island - The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike

Vermont - Reap by Eric Rickstad

New Hampshire – Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

Maine – The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin

Do you have any New England-set favorite books?

Currently Reading: Atwood’s “The Year of the Flood”

One of the best perks of working at the bookstore is that I get to borrow books.  Like a library, I can simply check out a book for two weeks and return it when I’m done.   I get to read a lot of the newest releases without having to pay hardcover prices.  Love it!

While working on Sundays, I usually peruse the “Major New” table and decide which books I’d like to check out for the week.  This Sunday I grabbed Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood and so far, so good.  I do really like Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale is one of my all-time favorites.

What I like best about this book – and maybe most of Atwood’s works – is that I’m not really sure what exactly is going on.  Sounds odd, but Atwood writes in a way that is  not confusing, but just really interesting and intriguing, and I can’t wait to put all the pieces together.

Struggling Poet Works in “The Anthologist”

Meet Paul Chowder.  He needs to write an introduction to a poetry anthology, his girlfriend has left him and he’s having a series of minor accidents.  In short, he’s a mess.  But it makes a great story!

I love the way Nicholson Baker wrote this novel – most sentences are fairly short and direct and they almost mimic a poem.  The work is light, without being fluffy, a quick read, without being cheesy.

The novel revolves around Paul procrastinating writing his introduction and justifying his frequent attempts to reach out to his ex-girlfriend.  Paul is a funny, sad, lovable and annoying character who wins you over immediately.

Baker weaves in a ton of details on poetry, poets and writing, which really connects Paul-the-poet with Paul-the-sad-dumped-guy and creates a well-rounded character with whom we can truly relate.  Even if you don’t particularly like poetry, The Anthologist is a great read.

I won, I won!

The only thing I can remember winning in my life was $58 playing bingo on a Disney cruise.  And that was like 15 years ago.  Jeez.  But, anyway, I’ve won a copy of Henrietta’s War from My Porch blog and I’m really excited to read it.  Check out a review on My Porch.