Twilight

The cover story of my Entertainment Weekly a few weeks ago was about Stephenie Meyer, creator of the Twilight series. Being a pop culture nut and a reader, I'd obviously heard of these books, but I didn't know much beyond their existence until I read the story in EW. The story lines intrigued me, and learning Meyer's story also interested me. She published Twilight, the first book in the series of four, when she was 29 years old. I mentioned to the hubby that I might want to read these books. I searched the libraries and, with the highly anticipated fourth and final book about to hit shelves, all of Meyer's books were out. Thursday he made a stop at the bookstore and brought home the first two books for me.

I was in the middle of another book, but I couldn't wait to start. I picked up Twilight yesterday morning and consumed nearly the whole thing. I have about 100 pages left, and it's almost killing me to have to wait until tonight to finish it.

These books are meant for teenagers, but like Harry Potter and the Traveling Pants series, that's not stopping me from enjoying what is some really talented writing and imaginative, fanciful storytelling. Bella is a junior in high school who moves to a new town in northern Washington. She meets Edward, a beautiful creature, who has a pull on her she can't escape. One little problem: Edward is a vampire. This first book mostly describes their courtship - it's not that easy, for obvious reasons - but there's plenty of action to come. I can feel it.

Green Reading

I just read this article on MinnPost about green publishing, and how the book business uses up a lot of our natural resources. Some of the stats from the article:

According to the Green Press Initiative, 30 million trees are used to make books to be sold in the United States every year, and sources include endangered, ecologically sensitive and old-growth forests. The carbon footprint of a single book is 8.85 pounds, and the book publishing industry as a whole emits a net 12.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide every year, taking into account all steps of the production cycle, from tree harvesting to incinerating that paperback you left out in the rain.

And this one:

Ironically, the book that has consumed more trees in recent history than any other has helped push changes in the publishing industry. On the urging of author J.K. Rowling, Scholastic printed 65 percent of the U.S. first edition of the final Harry Potter book on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified paper, meaning it was harvested from responsibly managed forests, and included at least 30 percent post-consumer recycled paper.

The impact was significant: These moves saved 200,000 trees and had the same carbon impact as taking 1,577 cars off the road. Furthermore, printers across the country began stocking more recycled and FSC-certified paper to meet the demand.

It's really an interesting article and it also touches on the newspaper and magazine industries, which hits close to home for me. I'm encouraged that publishers are taking these issues to heart, because as I've posted before, I love to hold books in my hand. I'm not one who wants to read off a computer screen for too long. I don't think books will ever go out of "style," so it's important to keep ahead of the curve and be good to Mother Earth while still publishing important, fun, educational or classic writing, wherever it may appear on the printed page.

The Latehomecomer, Finale

I finished The Latehomecomer. I really enjoyed this book. Sometimes it's easy to think that someone as young as Lang Yang - 28 - doesn't have enough to say for a memoir. But, I think she fills the pages well. I don't think we always understand what a struggle immigration is for groups of people like the Hmong (or Somali, etc.). All they're looking for is a better life than the one they came from, but imagine moving to a country with a different language and completely different customs and trying to fit in. I don't know if I could do it. Which makes books like this one all the more powerful for me. Her family is very strong and she and her siblings went on to do great things (Yang and her sister co-founder Words Wanted, an agency dedicated to helping immigrants with writing, translating and business services.)

Here is one of my favorite passages from the book. When she sees her mother crying because her grandmother in Laos passed away (the last time Lang's Yang's mother saw her was during the war), Lang Yang describes her feelings:

I realized then that my mother had left her mother, the woman who had loved her best in the entire world, to walk with my father toward this life with us. I felt worried that perhaps I'd been selfish. I felt sorry for the decisions a Hmong woman faced, the decisions that this Hmong woman - who I had never seen as such, simply because she was my mother - had made. Why does love in a war always mean choosing? Her mother or my father? The country that gave birth to her or the one that would give birth to me? The little girl she had been or the woman she would become? For the first time, I knew the sadness of choice in my mother's life. I had a glimpse of the world she was working hard to protect me from, to keep me young in, this education and pursuit of a life she never had a chance at. I have the freedom to stand strong in the wake of love and to perhaps choose my own mother - instead of a man.

The Latehomecomer, Part II

I'm really enjoying the book so far. Lang Yang starts by telling the history of her parents, who meet in the Laotian jungle as their separate families hid for their lives from enemy soldiers. They marry amongst the bombs and the fighting, and even still certain traditions remained. A dowry is a must, even if they barely had enough food to last the day.

The family (a daughter, Dawb, is born on the jungle floor) eventually makes it across to Thailand where they spend several years in different refugee camps. Lang Yang is born here and her story begins. The following stories come from her memory (and probably some things her mother, father and grandmother told her about), and it's amazing how much she remembers, particularly smells and sounds. She's actually pretty happy in the camp (that's all she knows), but she can tell her parents yearn for a better life.

Soon the Thai government doesn't want the Hmong anymore and slowly over several years the U.S. government offers them homes here. We're the cause for why they're refugees of war anyway. (We convinced them to fight the "Secret War" against the Vietnamese and now they've been run out of their country for helping us.) Lang Yang and her family traveled here when she's six years old.

Her stories of the airplane ride and her first month in America, St. Paul to be specific, are extremely interesting. Americans didn't know what to think about these people entering our country, and Lang Yang and her family could tell. But her parents always stressed that their lives would be better here. Lang Yang spends several different moments throughout the book discussing whether this is really true. With all the struggling to learn the language, the customs, living on welfare, etc., is life really better?

As Lang Yang and her siblings grow up, it's very interesting to read about the pressure put on them by their parents (as with all the Hmong families she knew). Hmong children have to become adults quicker - their parents need them to translate. If they're ever ungrateful or distant (typical teenagers - at least typical American teenagers), the parents' disappointment is overwhelming. The pressure to do well, to go to college, to become successful is preceded with [me paraphrasing] "We traveled all the way here to give you a better life - don't go wasting it."

I'm glad I'm reading this book, especially since Lang Yang is near my age. She was right on the cusp of the immigration. She was born elsewhere, but spent a majority of her life here. Her younger brothers and sisters were born Americans. They'll never have those memories of Laos or Thailand. They'll never know personally the way it was - they only know the way life is now or the way it could be. I think this is a major reason why she wrote this book. Maybe she felt a sense of duty?

The Latehomecomer

I've just started The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir, a story about a Hmong family's journey from Laos to Thailand to America. It's written by Kao Kalia Yang, a new Minnesota author. Several years ago, Yang, who is not even 30 years old, began writing down her grandmother's memories. Those memories turned into this book.

For the few pages I've read, I'm enjoying it. The book got high praise from Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, another book about Hmong culture and history that I really enjoyed. For more information on Yang, you can go to her Web site, or you can read this article on MNArtists.org. One quote from this article is just so heartbreaking and also so amazing that it comes out of someone's mouth who is just my age - though obviously much more worldly than me:

“There were lots of defeats,” remembers Yang. “One day, I was reading on the Vietnam War and noticed that the Hmong weren’t anywhere [in the account]. Just like the American history books I read all through college and all through high school – "Hmong" wasn’t mentioned anywhere. And yet, I knew that war was responsible for us being here, and that it killed two-thirds of the people I belong to. People are still dying in the jungles of Laos, remnants of this fight. In the process of writing this book, I learned that that wars don’t end." She pauses then says, "There were so many lessons. What happened to old men and women during and after the war? I looked for the answer to this question everywhere, but no one answered it satisfactorily. So, I faced the problem: how could I begin to tackle this question, especially as it concerned my grandmother, who was already old by the time this war had come?"

I also enjoyed this paragraph on her experience in grad school. As a writer, it hit home, because I've always questioned my experiences and wondered if they're worth applying to my writing (maybe it's an American thing?):

Yang adds that her singular purpose and passion for these stories gave her an advantage over some of the very talented writers she studied with in the MFA program at Columbia University. “They were writing about drugs, or about other things that I knew were part of the contemporary American landscape. But I never got the feeling that they were really quite convinced that that was their story to tell yet," she reflects. "But in my heart, I was already burning with a story."

I'll keep you posted as I read more.

The Abstinence Teacher

This book starts out telling us about Ruth, a high school sex ed teacher who gets into hot water when she talks about oral sex in her class. When the school falls to the pressures of the Bible-thumping members of the community and instates a curriculum teaching abstinence and nothing else, Ruth is forced to go along with it.

Tim is a former rock ‘n’ roller druggie who has found God and gotten clean. He’s a member of the most conservative church in town, as well as the coach of Ruth’s daughter’s soccer team. When he leads a prayer after a game, Ruth flies off the handle and demands that it never happens again.

The book follows the two characters separately and in situations together. It’s quite interesting because each person is right in his or her own way. I strongly believe teenagers should learn about safe sex, and teaching only abstinence is doing a disservice to the students in the long run. However, I can see why some parents would be upset with such candid conversations about certain aspects of sex. I also don’t think it’s right to subject a whole soccer team to prayer, especially when it’s a community-run team. However, if certain girls want to take a knee to pray, is that so bad? Others can sit out. Though yes, it may seem exclusive to those who don’t want to pray.

I think this is what Perrotta was trying to accomplish with this story. The world is gray, and everyone needs to have a little more understanding. You shouldn’t succumb to the pressures (schools feeling forced to switch to abstinence-only teaching; having your child be a part of prayer if you don’t want her to be), but find a medium (encourage your teacher to keep the anecdotes to a minimum and stick to the true facts; don’t force children to pray who don’t want to, respect the parent’s wishes).

The book has several characters who really come to life: Ruth’s gay best friends, Tim’s over-the-top pastor or his much younger, conservative, somewhat boring wife. I think this is one of Perrotta’s strong suits – creating characters who are a lot of fun to read about. I’ve never read his books before, but I may want to try Little Children (which was a 2006 Oscar-nominated movie with Kate Winslet.).

I really enjoyed this book. It’s nothing too groundbreaking, but it’s also not too formulaic either. Some reviewers state they hated the way it ended. I personally liked it a lot. It spoke more to real life. I think my only criticism of the story is that there’s not enough Ruth. I like her as a mother and a person with strong convictions. I wanted to learn more about her feelings. But overall, it was a very entertaining story. I read it in three days.

Favorite Perrotta quote: "Keep writing. Don't be discouraged by rejection. When things don't go well, it helps to think of yourself as a genius and the rest of the world as a bunch of idiots."

Fun Fact: Perrotta became big after his book Election was made into a cult movie classic with Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick. Great movie. He'd written several other books, but never really became known until Election came out in 1999.

Bookish Bent Goes Retro

I know I’ve posted about kids books before here and here, but yesterday I got to thinking of more books that I used to read and got excited about them all over again. I’m talking about The Baby-sitter’s Club and Sweet Valley Twins. I loved these books when I was younger. When did we read these – fifth grade? I feel like I read them when the characters – middle school girls – were older than me. And I read nearly all of them. The BSC had like 130+ and SVT had like 100+ in each series. I’ve always been a fast reader and I consumed these books in days, excited to move onto the next one. And the good thing was that they were already well-established series so volumes and volumes had already been published.

I loved reading about Elizabeth and Jessica in Sweet Valley Twins. The first book was about them going to seventh grade and realizing they were very different from each other. I totally related to Elizabeth, who was smart and a good student. I had friends who were a Jessica though, more interested in being popular (remember the popular girls club she wanted to and did join, The Unicorns? Kills me!). I think the books were a little over the top, but they did cover issues that junior high brings. I never got into Sweet Valley High though.

I never baby-sat when I was younger – I was one of the youngest in the neighborhood – but I still loved reading about the girls who did. I think Claudia and Stacey were my favorite characters. The books dealt with diversity (Claudia was Hawaiian, wasn’t she?) and illness (Stacey had diabetes), plus all the other things (like boys, moving, fighting) that junior high girls deal with. Both series had “Super Editions,” those few books that were like three books in one – usually when the class or the group went on trips or something. I loved those!

I also read a lot of the Mandie books, by Lois Gladys Leppard. Mandie was a teenaged orphan who went to live with her wealthy uncle after her parents passed away. The books took place in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Each book had a mystery to it – like Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, Mandie and the Ghost Bandits. I loved these, too. Now looking back on them, because they’re dated, I can see some stereotypes were made when it came to Native Americans and blacks. However, I never noticed those things as a kid, and it didn’t alter my perceptions, I don’t think. Have you ever looked back on books you used to read and question them?

I also read Anne of Green Gables, and all the subsequent books that followed. (Anne with an ‘e’!) Those were good, too. I liked the movies that would sometimes air on PBS, too. I think we even watched them in school? How did the boys stand it?

So, go retro for me. Did you read these books too? What other “series” books bring you back to your pre-teen days? What did boys read at that age?

(P.S. It was hard for me to find a cover of Sweet Valley Twins or The BSC. Publishers update the covers of the older books so they look nothing like how I remember them. Or else they don't have an image available. I understand why, but it's also kind of sad.)

Entertainment Weekly: The New Classics, Books

In honor of its 1,000th issue, this past week Entertainment Weekly printed The New Classics: The 1,000 Best Movies, TV Shows, Albums, Books and More of the Past 25 Years. I thought the issue was great, especially since, as a 27-year-old, these are just the things I consider "classic" in my lifetime. Check out the list online for your favorites of the other genres, but here I list the editors' picks for books. I've highlighted the ones I've read, commented on a few and linked to the ones I've reviewed.

What do you think? Something missing? Any you disagree with?

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006) [I haven't read this, but the hubby has. He really enjoyed it. It's not happy-go-lucky, though.]
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991) [Loved these graphic novels. So touching and a very interesting way to tell a holocaust story.]
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)

11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)

21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000) [If you have any desire to be a writer, this is an absolute must read. I mean it.]
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984) [Gives me flashbacks to a weird Pop Culture media class I took in college.]
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004) [When I read this book, it was only because I picked it up at the bargain table at B&N. I thought it was really, really strange and had a hard time finishing it. A classic? Who knew? Not me.]

31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)

41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)

51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001) [A very interesting, true account of (the struggle of) living on minimum wage. Makes me mad when our state doesn't pass a law to raise it.]

61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)

71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997) [I wrote four posts about this intriguing story. You'll find them in my January and February 2008 archives.]
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003) [Great story.]
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006) [Check this out Jonniker!]
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)

81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991) [I've read bits and pieces of this in women's studies classes and enjoyed each bit.]
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006) [Again, another the hubby read and I didn't. He said it was probably too scary for my taste. But as someone who likes to read horror stuff, he liked it a lot. So did Stephen King.]
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)

91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001) [Another one the hubby read and enjoyed.]
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Finale

I finished David Sedaris' latest last night. He ended the book with a longer piece about quitting smoking. Sedaris started smoking when he was 20 years old and over the years, smoking has become harder and harder to do, with restaurants, hotels and sometimes whole states banning the practice. When he found himself staying in worse and worse dumps of hotels just so he could smoke in his room - well, that definitely helped him quit.

Sedaris read that to rid yourself of a habit, it helps to shake up your routine. So, in the extreme sense of the phrase, he and Hugh went to Japan for three months. (In the end, he writes that quitting smoking cost him $20,000.) I enjoyed his stories about Japan. He took language classes and, in true Sedaris form, sucked at them. (I laughed so hard when he said his favorite fellow student was the young girl who was dumber than he was. When she surpassed him in skills, he hated her.) It was interesting to hear how polite the Japanese are to each other. They don't litter, vandalize, lock their bikes, etc. One mom even put a towel under her child's feet when he wanted to stand on the train seat to see out the window, and the cleaned his fingerprints off the glass before exiting the train. Seriously? In comparison, we're a bunch of rude, loud, obnoxious, littering vandals. We could learn a little something from the Japanese, and I don't doubt several other cultures as well.

I enjoyed the book very much. It wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as Me Talk Pretty One Day, however there were plenty of times the other passengers on the bus heard me laugh.

When You're Engulfed in Flames, Part II

Some thoughts:

1. Sedaris is getting older. I think he's around 50 now. And in his experiences and his writing, you can tell. He's more afraid to talk to people (he quit learning French, so really can't talk to people). He doesn't drive. He doesn't cook. He sits around at home a lot. He takes little walks. He relies on boyfriend Hugh to manage their money, fix things around the house, nearly everything. He wears ratty old clothes because he's too afraid he'll wreck new things. While it all seems a little pathetic - you're 50, not 85 - it's all the more hilarious when he writes about it.

2. I love when in his mind he makes assumptions about strangers he meets - usually on a plane, because living in France means he has to take long flights a couple times a year to America. He thinks they're assholes and they prove him wrong, or he thinks they're nice and need his pity and they end up being complete jerks. Totally relateable.

3. His stories about when he and his siblings were kids are so funny. By his actions and expressions, you can tell he was a little gay boy. I wonder if his family knew then, too, or just thought he was little more flamboyant than the other boys? His dad cracks me up. He seems to have no sympathy for stupid kid stuff and you can tell Sedaris and his sister, Amy, definitely got their humor and wit from him. But even though he can be harsh sometimes, you can tell he's proud of his crazy kids.

I have just a few stories left.

Eat, Pray, Love

[Note: Today I'm publishing a special guest post from my GoodReads friend and blog author I frequent, Jonniker. Her book reviews on GoodReads usually crack me up, so I wanted to share one (and probably more in the future) with you today. Here's her take on Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. After you read the review, check her blog. She's hilarious and insightful -- hilariously insightful, if you will.]

Eat, Pray, Vomit

Oh, Elizabeth Gilbert, how you frustrate me. Forgive me for saying so, as this book came so highly recommended by so many people I truly love, but I haven't wanted to punch someone as much as I want to punch Elizabeth Gilbert in a really, truly long time. "One woman's journey," my ass. The premise, if by now you aren't familiar with it -- and if you aren't, might I add that I'm envious of your oblivion, and may I urge you to stop reading this now to protect your innocence? -- is Liz Gilbert's three-country tour through Italy, India and Indonesia to find herself after what she deems as a "painful" divorce. The divorce, by the way, was her choice, and yet she spends an inordinate amount of time making us feel sorry for her, as though she was VICTIMIZED by this man who loved her and wanted to stay married to her, OH BOO HOO. They're called consequences, sister. Learn to live with them.

Sorry, where was I? Oh yes. Ultimately, the issue that I had with this book was that I didn't like her -- I didn't like her at ALL -- and without having a sense of compassion for who she is, and what she learns on this journey, I think enjoying the book is a near impossibility. And yet ... by the end I was less vitriolic in my hate for her than I was in the beginning, but I think that can be chalked up to the fact that by Indonesia, she's introduced several characters for us to become emotionally invested in -- real people who are not as self-pitying and self-centered as she is.

But oh, Italy and India. I hated you so. And frankly, I hated her. Her attitude, her smugness, immature behavior all amounted to a person who really needs to be kicked in the ass -- hard -- by a good dose of reality. Put it this way: how much pity would you have for one of your friends who left her husband in a fit of immaturity and got a YEAR -- fully paid -- to do nothing but eat her way through Italy (and really, that's all she does there), do yoga in an Indian ashram and find a way to balance the two (VOMIT) in Indonesia?

I imagine not very much, no? Wouldn't you take her aside and say listen, bitch, quit your complaining, because some of us do this shit EVERY DAY and oh by the way, we also have to WORK and tend to our RESPONSIBILITIES. So GROW UP?

No? Just me then?

I was, and remain, truly mystified by the legion of reviewers who called her self-deprecating and likable, for frankly, any self-deprecation was done in a way that we were meant to find charming and lovable, because wasn't she so HUMBLE and SELF-AWARE? How darling! Oh, Liz!

Ha ha NO. I didn't find her likable at all, and I'll admit, I really wanted to. And I'll admit, I was a bit soured by the concept of running off and "finding yourself" at 34, which seemed ... well, it seemed self-indulgent, and her selfish reaction to everything she saw kind of cemented that idea for me.

In addition, while I understand that non-fiction is largely written and commissioned on spec, I do feel very strongly that the pre-determined publishing agreement took a great deal away from the authenticity of the project. While I admire her business acumen in securing one prior to her travels, on the other hand, how much more would you have admired her if she did it on her own, out of an actual desire to do so, rather than a mercenary, selfish motivation? Doesn't it seem a bit contrived to find yourself because you got a publishing agreement to do so? I'm CERTAIN I could find myself -- even though I have not yet gotten lost -- if someone gave me a year to travel around the world. In fact, I DARE a publisher to come find me and make me an offer.

To put it mildly, I won't be seeing the film. The concept of Liz Gilbert played by Julia Roberts is ... well, let's say it's a bit too much for my gag reflex to bear.

Do you agree or disagree? Let us know.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

I love David Sedaris. I'm trying to remember when I was first introduced to his writing, and I think it was in college by my best friend and also a fellow co-worker. After I read Me Talk Pretty One Day, I was hooked. It still remains my favorite collection of his. I even asked for a New Yorker subscription for my birthday - half the reason was to check each week for a new Sedaris story. (While The New Yorker is a great pub, I never had the time to read the whole thing each week on top of working, eating, sleeping and all the other magazines and books I read - thing's dense!)

Sedaris got his "big break" when he recorded his reading of SantaLand Diaries for Ira Glass' Chicago radio morning show several years back (Sedaris is still a frequent contributor to This American Life). This is one of the funniest stories I've ever heard/read. Sedaris does a lot of what I call immersion writing - throwing himself into possibly humorous situations and seeing what comes of it. For SantaLand Diaries, he worked as an elf at Macy's. This is probably his most famous work, yet in his mind, it's one of his least favorites. However, I listened to a podcast with him recently and he seems to dislike many of his stories once they've been published - he's ready to move on. (I also love his stories about being a house painter, a mover and a cleaner - though I can't remember what books those fall in. Me Talk Pretty One Day is about living in Paris, and not speaking the language. Sedaris and his partner Hugh live abroad a majority of the time.)

Sedaris is self-deprecating, humble being. His life situations are very entertaining to read about, yet he personally doesn't understand what the fuss is all about. He keeps a diary, something he writes in every day and indexes every season so he can use it as a reference later. He goes on 30-city lecture tours twice a year, trying out new material. He'll read stories and gauge the audience reaction - rewriting later that night if need be, or trashing something that bombed. He's not a comedian, but his process seems similar.

His latest book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, is what I'm reading now. I just started, so thoughts to come later. However, Sedaris stops in the Twin Cities this weekend. I can't make these engagements, but maybe when he returns in the fall. His lectures are always packed, so arriving early is important.

Today, Friday June 13: University of Minnesota bookstore, 7 p.m.
Saturday June 14: Borders in Roseville, 1 p.m.
October 19: State Theater, 7 p.m.

Who else loves Sedaris? Do you have a favorite essay of his?

Life of Pi, The End

This was a busy week that left little time to read, hence the infrequent posts. However, I only semi-enjoyed Life of Pi, so the urgency to want to read it wasn't there either. But, I finally finished the book last night. I wrote in my previous post that some reviews I read said there was a "payoff" at the end. I was actually more disappointed at the end then I was throughout the entire book.

The book follows Pi, a young Indian boy, whose ship sinks on the way to Canada. Son of zookeeper, Pi is left on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with a zebra, hyena, orangutan and a giant Bengal tiger. Soon, because of the obvious food chain, Pi is left alone with the tiger. A majority of the story follows the survival of the two, surviving the elements and surviving each other. Reading about some of Pi's survival techniques were interesting. Being of a zookeeping family, Pi also had much knowledge about animals, and those passages were interesting, too.

In the end though, I found the book too drawn out. Part I barely intertwined with Part II or III. All the set up of Part I seemed to mean nothing for the rest of the story. The author spends much of Part I exploring Pi's religious beliefs. As Part II is about his survival in the middle of the ocean, I was expecting more reflection on Pi's feelings about God. Part II was too long and Part III was, in all honesty, kind of lame. I found the ending predictable, but I don't want to go into it in case it would spoil the book for someone. In the beginning, the author claims the story "will make you believe in God." He didn't deliver on that promise. (Not that a novel would necessarily have that impact on someone, but I don't even find it believable that it might.)

I know there are plenty of people out there who probably disagree with me about the book, and I'm open to hearing why people like the book. Or, if you feel the same as me, let me know that, too.

Life of Pi

I've just started reading Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. I'm into Part II, at about 120 pages. Here is a book that, when it was released, seemed to get much acclaim and awards. I picked it up at bookstores, reread the jacket at libraries, but for some reason I just didn't know if I would like it. I heard a few good reviews from people whose opinions I respect, so this past holiday season I put it on my Amazon Wish List and got it from the hubby.

After nearly 28 years of living with my gut, I should know it's usually right. There was a reason why I hadn't read the book yet. So far, I've found it to be just OK. It's getting a little more engaging, but I'm still feeling mediocre about it. This frustrates me, especially when I have the impression that everyone else loves it. Am I missing something? The hubby could tell I was a little disconcerted when I wasn't super enthused to read last night. When I love a book I'm reading, I can't wait to get back to it. This one - eh.

Being frustrated, I perused Amazon reviews. More than 1,800 people have reviewed this book on Amazon. Nearly 1,000 gave it 5 stars, however more than 400 gave it 3 stars or less. I read a few reviews from each category, and while the 5-star givers made me feel like I was missing something great, the 3-star givers spoke to my feelings so far.

Now, several reviews said it was a tough book to get in to, but at the end is the pay off. So, I'm going to keep reading it - like I said, it's getting a bit more engaging - and we'll see how I feel in the end.

So, my question to you: Have you ever gone against popular opinion when reading a book? Either you hated a book everyone loves, or loved a story everyone hates? If you have insights to Life of Pi, feel free to post them here, or wait until I've delved deeper and write my next post.

Judy Blume

What can I say about Judy Blume? My most favorite book of sixth grade, Just as Long as We're Together - she wrote it. I think over the next few years, I read that book 10 times. The book that every 11-year-old girl should read, Are You There God, It's Me Margaret - she wrote it. The best books for little kids, The Pain and The Great One, Freckle Juice, Tale of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge - Judy Blume again. Seriously, generations have grown up with her books - the first was published in 1969. (She also writes for adults - I recently mentioned Summer Sisters in this post.)

There's a great story in our local paper about Blume. She talks about her writing, her three marriages, her father, her children, her fight against censorship and her philosophy of life. She's 70 years old, living in Key West most of the year, owning a local cinema with her husband and taking tap dance lessons (there's video of this if you're interested - lady can dance!). One of my favorite quotes from the article, Blume says, "When I started to write, I vowed I would never write books that kids would do book reports on. I wanted them reading me on window seats, under the covers with flashlights."

That's exactly what I did. I read them before bed, on the boat during the summer, in the car on long trips. She spoke to me as a young girl, as a new teenager. She knew what it was like to be (and demonstrated through her characters) teased by a brother, fighting with your best friends, confused by your body. She's truly a classic. Her books will never go out of style.

What about you? Are you a Judy Blume fan? Do you have a favorite book she's written? Were there other authors who spoke to you during your adolescent years?

[More notes: Judy Blume also makes a stop at our local Fitzgerald Theater next week, June 12, to talk about her new series of The Pain and the Great One books. You can also listen to a great interview with Blume on B&N's Meet the Writers. Her Web site is a kick, too, with her blog, her advice for writers and an archive of titles.]