Books I Read in July

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
This is a modern gothic horror, and it is in fact rather horrifying. The premise is of a mysterious fiction writer finally revealing her true life story to a biographer.There is no wonder that a character would never tell anyone the truth about her life and prefer to create fictional worlds. Families don't get more dysfunctional than this one.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This book moves back and forth between the narrator a present day nursing home, and his memories of his time with a traveling circus in the Depression-era.The writing is elementary, and the dialog doesn't seem to fit the time period, but the stories about life on a circus train are entertaining. In the afterward the writer explains that many of them are based on historical events. I also found the character in the present day very sympathetic.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
This was a fun read, and I can see why this epistolary novel has been so popular. It piqued my interest in Guernsey in general and the German occupation in particular.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman
This was a re-read. I read it first shortly after it came out, and my brother raved about it. It's totally fascinating to me, and I could (and probably will) read it over and over. In many ways it's a fantasy novel, but it doesn't fit with generic convention. Usually in fantasy novels, the hero is a type of Christ. Instead, this hero is a type of Adam. He is a fallen man who has eaten the apple and mucked up the garden.The book is well-written, and is filled with allusions to other fantasy novels, particularly the Narnia books, which is fun. It shows the main character as a young guy who loves fantasy novels, but then he finds himself in that world. He discovers it's far more complicated than he imagined, and that being able to do magic doesn't make him a better person. So good. I highly recommend it, but it's definitely for adults. 

Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris
I had never before read anything by this author, who also wrote Chocolat. I picked it up off a display of food-related novels at my library.  It deals with the German occupation of France in WWII. I definitely was engaged by the foodie aspects of the book, but the characters are mostly unlikable. It really took reading the whole book to connect with and understand the motivations of any of them. 

The $64 Tomato by William Alexander
This is a gardening memoir, and it's very amusingly written. The only caveat I have about the book is the author has an extremely adversarial view towards the wildlife that eat the fruits of his labor. His efforts in deterring them sometimes seem inhumane, but that could partially be him trying to spin it in a "humorous" way. For the most part I really enjoyed the book.

Ecological Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
I expected to really like this book, because I'm usually intrigued by analysis of consumer behavior. I'm also highly interested in the life cycles of the products we buy and how to make them more sustainable. Unfortunately, I was completely bored by this book. It just never engaged me, and it didn't really present anything that was new to me.

Books I Read in June

The Wind-Up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
This book is set in a future, dystopic, post-apocalyptic (in the literary sense) Thailand. I find this sort of fiction fascinating. It tends to reflect pretty accurately the fears in society at the time it is written. Naturally, the book is very grim. In this world, food is very limited, and calories are currency. Genetic engineering has run amuck, and the wind-up girl is person who is the result of it. She's considered sub-human. For me the setting was the most intriguing part about this book. I was very interested in learning about the world the author imagined, but the characters and plot didn't hold my interest as much.

Promises to Keep by Jane Green
This book is about a pair of sisters. One of the sisters has cancer. I don't recall too much about it, except that it was a tear-jerker, as you might expect. Also, one of the sisters is a vegan chef, and most of the chapters include recipes, which was an odd device for this particular book, I think. I didn't end up trying any of them, but several of them sounded delicious, so maybe I should get the book again to try some of them for Lent. 

The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
The Children of the Green Knowe by L.M. Boston
I read both of these planning to write about them as part of the 100 Children's books series. I'm going to get back to that as soon as I catch up with the books I read posts, so I'll discuss these then.

I may have read more books in June, but I don't have a record of it. Then again, this may have been it. The Wind-Up Girl was a slow read, and June was a very busy month. At any rate, this concludes the second catch-up edition of Books I Read.

Books I Read in May

I'm not sure if this is an exhaustive list. I may not have kept very good track, and well, it's been a little while, but here we go for the first catch-up edition of Books I Read.

Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan
Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan
Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
Books 9, 10, and 11 of the Wheel of Time series, which I discussed here.

A New Spring by Robert Jordan
This is a prequel to the Wheel of Time series. I greatly resented it when it was published, because at that point the series was nowhere near its conclusion, and the books in the series were getting incredibly bogged down and drawn out. I just wanted the author to focus on finishing the series in an enjoyable and reasonably efficient manner. And that was typical of the feelings of fans of the series at the time. actually complained to my brother that if Jordan was going to waste time with prequels and didn't focus on completing the WOT, he would die before he finished it. This seemed like hyperbole, because Jordan was only about 55 then, so he should have had easily 20 years to write. But then he was diagnosed with a rare blood disease, and sadly he did depart this life before finishing the series. So of course I regret my words, and I have to admit I quite like the book. Apparently Jordan planned to write 2 more prequels, so I'll be curious to see if those will be written by Brandon Sanderson (the author now completing the series) once the main saga is published.

The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove by Cathy Erway
Food memoirs are a favorite genre of mine. In this one, the author stops eating out for two years. I really enjoyed the book. It's fascinating to me to read about life in New York City. It's completely foreign because it's so unlike any of the many places I have lived. Yet at the same time it's completely familiar because it's such a constant subject in our popular culture. Additionally the book is interesting because the author is a very adventurous cook, and she combines the food stories well with the memoir aspect of the book.

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
I discussed this book here as number 100 from the list of the top 100 Children's books.

Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
I like Emily Giffin's writing quite a bit. Her characters are very real and for the most part likable. This the second novel in a row in which she deals with the topic of infidelity. In Love the One You're With she treats a wife's infidelity, and in this one it's the infidelity of the husband. This novel goes back and forth between the perspective of the wife and the other woman. As popular women's fiction, of course it's not presented as a book about sin and how it infects our lives, but in effect, that's what it is. By having the perspective of both the women, we see hw everyone is harmed by the relationship. The book deals with the relationship in a way where we can see how the couple are drawn into it. I like and could sympathize with them even when I didn't like or agree with the choices they made. It liked that to me it seemed it was written so that we root for redemption rather than retribution.

Books I Read in April

Middlemarch by George Eliot
I started reading this lo, these many months ago, and finally finished it at the very, very, tail end of April. I read it for Mimi's Lenten read-along, and I so enjoyed it. It was a really dense read, and is rather long. So be forewarned, this is not a book you can just flirt with, it requires a serious commitment.  It was thought provoking with interesting characters and a historical backdrop that taught me a few things. Fiction is my favorite way to learn!

This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson
I really loved this book, but the topic is pretty close to my heart. I just think libraries and librarians are so important, and even more so in this age of information overload. I enjoyed the stories about the various libraries and librarians. I liked reading about the cool things different librarians are doing. It was fun to read about other aspects of librarianship, and also to see some familiar names crop up from my own field. It's mostly a pretty rah-rah book about librarians, but it also depicts us as humans with real flaws, and not cookie-cutter stereotypes.

Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin
I come from a family of political junkies, so this book was fascinating to me. It was pretty intriguing to see the process of the presidential campaigns behind-the-scenes. This book was somewhat controversial because the authors chose to leave there sources anonymous, so take it with that grain of salt. It's not a book everyone would enjoy as it's certainly not an uplifting read, but I found it to be pretty engrossing.

Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
I read this book after I cataloged it because the premise was so wacky, I just couldn't resist. An amusement park on an island in the Ohio River is a prison for five ancient Etruscan demons, and there are five guardians who have to make sure they stay trapped.  Wow, talk about suspension of disbelief. I was somewhat intrigued because I've read most of Crusie's other books, and this seemed nothing like her usual work. Most of her novels are really funny, character based romances. Her collaborations with Mayer have been more plot based, but this is a even a departure from those. I can't say I really cared for it, and it doesn't seem like it would appeal to her fan base. It was just pretty out-there. And shockingly, (I say with tongue somewhat in cheek) despite people being possessed by pesky demons left and right, none of them had to be cast out with prayer and fasting. 

Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces by Gayla Trail
This book is beautiful! I love the pictures. And that's really what gardening books are all about, right? The pictures? Considering I'm pretty much totally inexperienced as a gardener myself, they're one of my favorite things about gardening books, anyway. It seemed to have lots of cool, practical advice for growing vegetables in small spaces. I actually have a reasonably good sized yard, but most of it's shady so we don't have a lot of prime vegetable growing space, so I think a lot of these tips will be useful...you know, when I plant a garden. 

One Magic Square: One magic square : the easy, organic way to grow your own food on a 3-foot square by Lolo Houbein
Not so many color photos as the book above, but lots of different charts for 3 foot square gardens vegetable gardens, which sounds like a totally reasonable size for a complete garden neophyte. It also has recipes and all sorts of stories from an experienced gardener.

Books I Read in March

Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living by Doug Fine
An eco-memoir--I've read several of these now. I like reading these for the personal inspiration to continue edging myself towards a greener life, but this one wasn't really a favorite. For one, the author moves to Arizona to start his green lifestyle in earnest, and so a lot of the things aren't really transferable to my life in Indiana. Also, the writer makes a number of jokes about the political right and despite often finding them amusing, I felt like the book could be alienating to some readers, which I found frustrating.

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers translated by Benedicta Ward
We read this for our adult study at church this Lent. It is excellent for Lenten reading--very humbling and thought provoking. It's arranged with with sections of sayings from various desert Fathers and some desert Mothers grouped (Greek) alphabetically by the saint's name. So good. So perfect for Lent.

Homegrown Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs: a Bountiful, Healthful Garden for Lean Times by Jim Wilson
Lots of pictures, user-friendly, devotes a full or half page to info and tips on growing many kinds of fruits and vegetables.  I especially liked the sidebar with tips from the author's personal experience, like how to retain aroma and flavor when you dry basil. This book doesn't advocate completely organic methods, seems like an integrated pest management approach.

The New American Backyard: Easy, Organic Techniques and Solutions for a Landscape You'll Love by Kris Medic
Tons of advice on choosing plants, managing a lawn, landscaping to work with what your soil and yard, arranging plantings to reduce energy costs in your home, and dealing with weeds and pests.
 
The Landscape Makeover Book: How to Bring New Life to an Old Yard by Sara Jane von Trapp
Tips on how to update the look of your yard, how to decide what to keep and what to get remove. Also pruning, thinning and transplanting things that are overgrown, and generally planning and prioritizing. Doesn't have an organic focus.

James keeps teasing me that I like reading about gardening more than actually gardening. I've got a few more gardening books that I've been reading in April. We are planning to put in our very first vegetable garden this weekend, though. April should be a pretty long book post, actually. I'm slowing myself down by juggling a lot of books at once, but I'm hoping to edge Middlemarch out of the currently reading sidebar.  Winter's Heart is my lunch book at work, though. I take half hour lunches, and it's a long book..hopefully it will show up in the May edition of Books I Read.

Books I Read in February

Blackout by Connie Willis

Two of my favorite novels are Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, both by Willis, so I was excited to see she had written another of book about her time-traveling Oxford historians. This book is set during the London Blitz and it was totally engrossing.  I really enjoyed it right up until the cliff-hanger ending.  I didn't realize it was part of a 2 volume work, and I was left reeling. Now I have to wait until All Clear comes out. I devoured this book, and I recommend it with the caveat that you might want to wait to read it until the second volume is released in October.

The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan

Book eight of the Wheel of Time series. See Books I Read in January for my comments on WOT.

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

I had never read this before and didn't know what to expect, so I was surprised by this book. I don't want to give away the premise if any of you are unfamiliar with it. It was a very quick read, but thought-provoking. It is told in a very engaging manner, but I found it quite sad. It's rather depressing to consider all the ways we separate ourselves from God. I highly recommend it.

Thus concludes this short edition of Books I Read. The brevity is partly because I'm in the midst of reading several books which I have yet to finish. It's also partly due to spending half of this short month attending church services. Books aren't the only thing I'm reading less of this month.  My blog reading has fallen off as well. I tend to do it in concentrated bursts once or twice a week.  So somewhat belatedly, I mention that I was delighted to see this kind write-up of my blog by Anastasia at Kyrie, Eleison!  And also very amused at her assessment of what my stash size says about my status as a "True Knitter."  At least through the joys of blogging I can vicariously enjoy the stash of others while I aspire to enter the ranks of the True Knitters.

Books I Read in January

The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan
A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan

Right now I'm plowing my way through a re-reading of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, which I do every once in a while. There are currently 12 reeeeaaaallllly long (700-1000 page) books in this series. And it's not done yet. Even though Robert Jordan passed away in 2007. If you are unfamiliar with the Wheel of Time, it's a fantasy saga with a huge following of sometimes fanatic readers. There are a number of fan sites devoted to it. I started reading this series when I was 14, and a friend asked me to read the first book. He was delighted that I was undaunted by its length and that he would have someone to talk with about the books. At that point only three of the books had been published, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. So this series is a habit that I've retained since my teen years. The twelfth book was released in the fall, and I've been re-reading them ever since. It's necessary to do this occasionally so that I can keep track of all the characters and story lines in my head. All this to say that I've mostly been reading WoT books this month.

I'm not going to write notes on each of these books individually. I think would be a bit pointless to read any of the three (books 5, 6 & 7) without reading the whole series. The first book is The Eye of the World. If you like epic fantasy novels, you should read it and decide if you wish to read on.  This series is a (perhaps the) seminal modern work in the genre. If you don't enjoy fantasy novels, or series with a huge scope, you probably won't enjoy this, and you might not even if you do like the genre. To me they are old friends, and I love them despite their flaws.

Vintage Knits for Modern Babies by Hadley Fierlinger

This book is lovely. I want to knit about a dozen different things from this. I'm currently knitting a gift for a friend from it, which is why it is sticking around in my sidebar. I got it from the library, and I think I may need to add this to my personal library, especially if I ever have some modern babies of my own. I suspect you'll be seeing a few projects from this pictures in the future.

Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited by Elise Schein and Paula Bernstein

I found this book to be thought-provoking. I was especially interested in what each had to say about how learning of and getting to know their twin, as well as their journey to learn about their birth mother, affected their views of family. I enjoyed it and would recommend it. 
  
Home in Time for Christmas by Heather Graham

I didn't really care for this book. I read it because I was intrigued by the concept, a Revolutionary War soldier who gets propelled forward in time to modern day. It's a romance novel, and I didn't find the heroine to be very likable. I also didn't think the major conflict of their cultural differences due to being from different time periods was resolved very convincingly. If you enjoy reading romance that's not overtly sexual, I can recommend it on that front, but note that it has a rather syncretistic treatment of Christian and pagan practices.

And thus ends my summary of the books I read in January. I plan to do this the first week of each month.  Likely the list will get more varied and lengthy when I finish the WoT re-read.