"Quarterly" reading report for the year 2011

As mentioned in the previous post, apparently doing things on a regular basis (posting, exercising, going to the doctor) is not my thing. My intentions to post my readings on a quarterly basis was once again thwarted, most likely by myself. So, even though I just said I'm not very regular (not like THAT), this post will be regular in its irregularity, if you get what I mean (i.e., it was supposed to be quarterly, but it obviously isn't; however, it has proven to be annual).

I'll shut up now and tell you about my books.

I meant to make a more permanent mental note about the first couple of books I read this year, and now that I go to type this, I may or may not be historically accurate. I'll do my best.

Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut. *Interesting note: I read this book entirely in waiting rooms while going through physical therapy for my dislocated shoulder early last year (we didn't celebrate a few days ago). This wasn't my first time reading the book, but it was the first Vonnegut book I read--I came back to it again because while I enjoyed it somewhat the first time around, I figured I'd like it even more coming back to it after having read a number of his other works. The book is Vonnegut's attempt to make sense of the firebombing of Dresden during WWII; the title refers to the underground meat locker where the author (and the main, time-traveling protagonist, Billy Pilgrim) survive the destruction of that event. The novel is crazy, jumpy, funny, crass, thought-provoking, and just plain good. So it goes.

Little Bee by Chris Clive. *Interesting note: I read this book (almost? Or maybe) entirely in fast food restaurants. I was finishing up my grading for the semester, which included a whole bunch of terrible senior essays (which are also the reason for me deciding to work on posting my reading list tonight), and when I needed a break from all that excitement, I went to get fat and read this book. The back cover is kind of annoying in telling readers to spread the word about the book, but not to reveal what it's about. Hogwash. Okay, I'll tell you a tiny bit. It's about a Nigerian immigrant girl who comes to Britain, then simultaneously tells the backstory and the story, alternating narration between the immigrant girl ("Little Bee") and the couple she knows in Britain via a dramatic, horrifying incident from a year or so previous (in Nigeria, if you must know. Okay, I've told you enough already). Dramatic, horrifying incidents continue to happen, but I was engaged, enthralled, enticed, and en-something else. Made me think about immigration issues in our country, in Denmark, and in England.

One Big Damn Puzzler by John Harding. Also read in great chunks at physical therapy. A story about a tropical island with an indigenous tribe who have suffered from the effects of leftover landmines from WWII. The main character comes to represent the people in a class-action lawsuit against the American government for the loss of their limbs. The people aren't really interested in money. The main character meets a female researcher living on the island who documents the inhabitants' mode of living. Occasional research-type texts are scattered throughout the story, detailing everything from their religion to their mating rituals. The author made up the people, and, rather than imitate another type of pidgin English, he made up his own. The title comes from the chief of the island; he's translating "Hamlet" into the island's pidgin, and the language only has a present tense. Hamlet's famous speech goes something like this: "Is am be or is am not be. Is be one big damn puzzler." Eventually, the lawyer wins for the people, who sell out their island paradise for American government money, with, of course, disastrous consequences. I loved the characterization in this book, and I actually got a little teary-eyed at one particularly poignant moment during the performance of the chief's Hamlet. And I don't get teary-eyed often. I really enjoyed this book, but it may not be for sensitive readers who don't want to read about mating rituals of native peoples. It was light-hearted, generally funny, and picked up on a whim, so even better! (I tried to read more contemporary British novels this year so I can recommend them to my classes. I made it through a few.)

The Year 1000: What Life was Like at the Turn of the First Millenium--and Englishman's World by Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger. I picked this one up at thrift store, and I was not disappointed. It is structured around the Julius Work Calendar, a document that shows a different picture for each month of the year. Then, it describes in great detail the different activities that might have gone on in each particular month (planting, harvesting, etc.). In all, I'm definitely grateful to be living now and not then--of particular interest to me were stories of the Viking raids, and how they would sail up the rivers and take the Brits' harvest, in addition to their seeds for the next season, which would completely ruin them. Full of fascinating detail and generally fun to read.

Adverbs and Shut Your Mouth by Daniel Handler. There were many things to love about these two books by Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket. It is easy, however, to understand why he uses the Snicket handle for his children's books and his real name (if that IS your real name, Mr. Handler!) for more adult writing. There was plenty of adult in the adult writing. Adverbs had a fun concept: each section was based on an adverb, with a reference to it somewhere in that story. The different stories were also loosely connected throughout the book, just enough to see a connection, but not so much as to be overwhelming. Shut Your Mouth had some gorgeous passages and a clever execution of the novel-as-opera concept (I know you see that all the time), but centered around a guy who was dating a girl whose family had some potentially incestuous problems. Occasionally far too frank for my tastes.

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby. Super fun memoir about Hornby's obsession with a particular English football club. He is a diehard fan, but anyone who has diehard fandom in them is likely to relate. If you read any of his High Fidelity, this book is as obsessed and particular about football as High Fidelity is about music and bad relationships. There were laugh out loud moments.

Generation A by Douglas Coupland. A kind of end-of-the-world tale about six-ish people who are stung by bees after bees have supposedly disappeared. It is told from each of the six's points of view (from a variety of different cultures, locations, etc.), and turns into something of a mystery/conspiracy tale about big pharmaceutical companies and the world after bees. Language (Canadian!).

The Big Over Easy and The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde. I've read both of these before, but after a few of my students wrote their Contemporary British Book Projects about them, I had to read them again. Fforde also wrote the Thursday Next novels, which are goofy fun. These two are about Detective Jack Spratt; the first is about solving Humpty Dumpty's death, and the second is about Goldilocks. They are fast-paced, witty, full of allusions and references to nursery rhymes (they are, after all, "Nursery Crime" novels), and occasionally groan-inducing, but when has that ever stopped me from enjoying a joke? Good enough to be read twice, but probably not thrice. (Okay, The Big Over Easy is the more enjoyable of the two, but I would recommend reading them both).

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. Another book I read to boost my Contemporary Brit Lit numbers. About four people who accidentally meet at the top of a building on New Year's Eve with the intention of committing suicide. They talk each other down, and, like Generation A, the reader gets to hear parts of the narrative from each of the major players. One is a TV host who was involved in a sex scandal. Another is the wild child of a member of parliament. One is an American hippie-esque musician dude who lives in London. The fourth is a frumpy, lonely middle-aged mother of a quadriplegic son. The story traces them through their "recovery" and helping each other get past the issues that led to the tower in the first place. I liked it.

The Sun Also Rises and The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. I'm ashamed to admit I haven't read much (if any) Hemingway up to this point, and I had these two books at home. The Sun Also Rises is what helped the running of the bulls in Pamplona gain its fame--it's also about the Lost Generation after WWI. I quite enjoyed it. The Old Man and the Sea is kind of like you'd expect it to be. :)

Dawn and The Accident by Elie Wiesel. As parts of what is called Elie Wiesel's "Night Trilogy", both books were different than I expected them to be. I was hoping for a continuation of Night, but it wasn't so. Dawn is concerned with a Holocaust survivor who is supposed to help the Zionist cause by helping a rebel group execute a British prisoner at, you guessed it, dawn. The Accident is quasi-fictional story about a young Jewish reporter/Holocaust survivor and some of his relationships after coming to America and getting run over by a car in New York City. Neither is really a summer read/beach book, but then again, I was in Idaho.

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. I bought this as an audiobook and hadn't listened to it in a long time. As I drove back and forth to my master's classes this summer, this book accompanied me. It's a dystopian novel about a future where class systems are divided by color and all color is manufactured. The characters and situations are fun, and there's a lot of quick dialogue. I loved it.

1984 by George Orwell. Read it in high school--this is my first re-read. It was the official summer read for my Brit Lit class, and it BLEW MY MIND. I absolutely loved it.

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which I reviewed last year, I think. This one's about a retiree who discovers a spot on his thigh (a spot of bother? Get it?) and the potential that it's cancerous leads him to a mental breakdown, right about the time his daughter is to get remarried to a boyfriend who is stable but unloved by the in-laws. Further family awkwardness comes from a son who is gay but unable or unwilling to confront it with his family (who are also uncomfortable with the situation). Lots of wacky hijinks ensue. Lots of language, some questionable situations. I quite liked it. Also for contemporary Brit Lit reading list.

Who Killed Art Deco? by Chuck Barris, creator of the Gong Show. A murder mystery about the death of the heir to a large fortune. Meh.

Mr. Monster by Dan Wells. Sequel to I am Not a Serial Killer, which I also reviewed last year. The protagonist, Jon Wayne Cleaver, is trying his best to adjust to life when a series of killings start happening, and he suspects that supernatural forces are at work again in his small town. Creepy, violent, disturbing.

Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut. Futuristic story about a world where machines have made most humans obsolete in the workforce, except for engineers and inventors. Some great points and interesting commentary on how we value or don't value humans as laborers vs. automation and saving time and money.

The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson. The third in the series. Wraps the whole thing up--large government coverups in the life of one of the protagonists. Was read on or near the beach, which is the best way to read a book.

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett. A hard-boiled detective investigates corruption in a small mining town. Lots of great tough-guy dialogue, drinking, and shooting.

Mr. Monk in Outer Space and Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop by Lee Goldberg. Books based on the TV series Monk. Kind of like watching TV, but in book form. Enjoyable, if you like the TV show or people with OCD.

Never End by Ake Edwardson. Swedish mystery novel from D.I. Serial rapist on the loose in Goteborg in the heat of the summer. Great description of the sweltering heat, late night sunshine, and (what I assume to be an accurate portrayal of) Swedish culture.

Small Steps by Louis Sachar. Sequel to Holes about Armpit, his friendship with the girl next door who has cerebral palsy and their connection with the country's biggest pop star. Fun, quick read.

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. The dust jacket describes the main couple as "lovable inebriates" Nick and Nora. Nick, a former detective, solves a murder mystery involving a family that he formerly worked for.

I think that's it. I probably yakked on and on more than I should have, and probably left a book out somewhere. Send questions or comments my way. Good night!