Over the Clover

Reading list for 2010

2010-01-01T20:06:54Z

Looking forward to 2010. This is the third year I'm making a list of books I must read in the coming year. So far it's helped me to read more than I normally think I have time for. The first year I made an ambitious list of 24 books, last year it was 12. I think I'm going to stick to 12 as a rule. It's not too much pressure and it's psychologically one book per month.

This is what I'm most interested in reading in 2010:

1. Confidence Man-A less well known Dickens novel
2. Rashamon-Been on the shelf and going to see the restored movie in a few months
3. The Catcher in the Rye-Because I should have read this one by now
4. Wanting Seed-Obligatory dystopian novel
5. Wind-Up Bird Chronicle-Because I seem to be reading one Murakami a year and this was the one I intended to start with years ago
6. Hindsight-A book that was seen/mentioned on Lost
7. La Fanu-Because I have to read something creepy every year in October
8. To the Wedding-I've meant to read a Berger fictional work for years
9. The Professor's Wife-I've never actually read anything by Willa Cather
10. Hear of Darkness-Another classic I never got around to reading
11. Castle of Crossed Destinies-Introducing myself to Calvino
12. Body Artist-Another author I've yet to read

I think the theme this year is mostly to read people and books that I've missed or put off.

I'm also going to continue with In Search of Lost Time. I have no idea how many volumes I'll get through so I'm not going to put any pressure on myself. I might finish it or I might just read one more book. We'll see. Just really looking forward to this year's reading list.

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Wrapping up 2009

2009-12-31T15:05:33Z

I finished my 2009 reading list with a few minutes to spare. New Year's party was at 7 p.m. and I finished the last lines of Swann's Way about an hour before that. I know one of my resolutions for 2010 will be to keep myself from procrastinating and/or getting distracted as much.

It was a good year though. Read 28 books in total and all 12 from my list.

I enjoyed the books I read more this year than I have in quite a few.

Top 5 Picks for the Year:
(In no particular order)

1. Swann's Way by Marcel Proust -- Best use of words
2. On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev--Best bohemian character of all time
3. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk--Most insightful character with issues
4. Atonement by Ian McEwan--Best narrative framework
5. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway--Best philosophical short

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Blindness by Jose Saramago

2009-12-17T01:56:16Z

Blindness (Movie Tie-In)

Jose Saramago

★★★

Blindness was the second Saramago book I read. A few years ago I read The Double which was one of the most unique books I've ever read. While this was just as creatively different as the first one this one was must more bleak. In fact it was perhaps the bleakest thing I have ever read. The Road--for which one could draw many parallels--is the only book I could compare the bleakness.

There were times when it was just strength of will to get through the most disgusting bits. The Road would become overwhelming but I never felt I was being assaulted like I did with this one.

The book really has two parts: before and after the blind victims are confined to a mental hospital by the government. The second part is the most rewarding part of the novel, but I bet a lot of people give up before they get that far.

The best argument for reading this book is that it will make you think about the concept of blindness on all levels: psychological, spiritual, intellectual, and physical.

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I am America (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert

2009-11-29T21:20:30Z

I Am America (And So Can You!)

Stephen Colbert

★★★

Our third and final audiobook was the one we both agreed on. Not too much to say about this one. If you are familiar with the show it's what you would expect.

A lot of fun. This is probably better as an audiobook than reading it to yourself.

One funny line:

"Childrearing is arguably the most important of my core values. I believe in it, I practice it, and I ceaselessly promote it to my friends and followers. That said, generally speaking, I’m against children."

Who would have ever guessed that a parody of conservative talk show hosts could be so funny so long?

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On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

2009-11-28T15:32:31Z

On Chesil Beach: A Novel -- First 1st U.S. Edition w/ Dust Jacket

Ian McEwan

★★★

On our road trip, I had the second audio book choice and I chose On Chesil Beach. While this was incredibly sad, it was also very beautiful.

McEwan is able to write about situational conflicts in such a harrowing, haunting way.

The story is of two virgins on their wedding night and set in the early 1960s.

The scenes in their honeymoon suite are amazing. When I read Murakami's sex scenes I am often struck by how he has no sensibility for sex and femininity. Those scenes were a stark contrast here as McEwan was able to capture so vividly and poignantly what the experience could be like for a woman who has experienced abuse in her past.

I have only read two of Murakami's books, so it might be a false impression, but I feel that, sexually, women are objects in Murakami's stories. McEwan left me amazed that a man could have such insight into a female experience.

Also, music plays an important role in this book. And I found myself thinking of both High Fidelity and Once. Although this one has the saddest ending, I think I prefer it to the other two.

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Next by Michael Crichton

2009-11-26T03:06:20Z

Michael Crichton

★★★

We started a road trip and decided to take some audio books with us. The problem is that our reading tastes do not overlap. This one was my husband's choice.

At first I detested this book. I wondered how I would make it through the whole twelve hours. But eventually I realized that the narrative is both insane and very original.

The book is about human genes. And how they are becoming co-opted in strange ways by scientists and pharmaceutical companies.

The narrative is told without a main character. All the characters (and there are tons of them!) are given equal time. Some stories go somewhere, some don't. Some get picked up further down the line, others run into each other. Yes, it's a confusing as you would imagine, but it's also ingenious. It is the concept of genes as closely as could be represented in a textual format.

Didn't love it, but definitely can say I appreciated it.

(I would love to meet a parrot like Gerrard as well.)

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Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

2009-11-20T02:36:32Z

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel

Diane Setterfield

★★★

I would never have picked this one up on my own. My book club chose it. After my initial resistance, I became absorbed in the story. If you have an appreciation for Gothic literature, you'll probably really enjoy this one.

The characters, while somewhat two-dimensional, are still fascinating in their personalities that range from well-meaning (but clueless) to all out psychotic.

One of the best aspects of the book is in how direct dialogue from two of the characters is limited. It lends an extra eerie quality to the story.

I would also recommend this book because it's one of the least predictable stories I've read in quite a while. I did figure out the "twist" shortly before it was revealed, and some in the book club felt it was contrived, but it's creative, so I can look past how unlikely it was.

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Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

2009-10-16T15:34:45Z

Me Talk Pretty One Day

David Sedaris

★★★

I love the cover of this book. Front and back. The simple green background and the bright, chalky letters make me happy.

Even if I had hated this book and David Sedaris, I would have read this one for its cover.

I know there are those who would say that's wrong, but I don't care. I just don't care.

My favorite essay was You Can't Kill the Rooster.

I'm going out and making one of those today!

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Norwegian Wood

2009-10-14T10:18:30Z

Norwegian Wood

Haruki Murakami

★★★

This was my second book by Murakami. I picked this one up for two reasons. First it's his most popular book in Japan and the book that created his notoriety. Second, it's the only book he wrote that is straight-forward. He said in an interview that his reason for writing this book was to see if he could write a story without magical realism.

This book gave me a better feel for Murakami. In the future if someone asks which book to start with I'll recommend this one.

As in Kafka on the Shore I had a really hard time believing in the characters (they all feel like the same person to me) and caring for them (they feel two-dimensional).

The part that really didn't work was Murakami, a man, writing about female sexual experiences. It just didn't ring true at all. Just one example: two women had sex with one particular man and it was so good they swore off sex for the rest of their lives.

But, as in the previous book, I did appreciate the overarching story. What would it be like to continually know people close to you committing suicide? Or to continually be involved in three-way friendships?

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Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

2009-10-13T10:59:43Z

Holidays on Ice: Stories

David Sedaris

★★

What I learned from this sad to disturbing collection of Christmas tales is that Sedaris has major psychological issues with Christmas.

Six in all, the pieces are a mix of essays and short stories. The short stories include baby murder and intentional self-dismemberment.

The essays are not quite as disturbing, but still not what I would call funny. Even Santaland, which is one of the author's most famous pieces, was never one of my favorites. But most people find that one fall down funny. I don't get it.

Maybe I don't get it because I can't join the Christmas -is-the-most-depressing-time-of-year mentality. I mean, it's not like my favorite time of year, but I think we've all become a little too dramatic about how depressing we think the holidays are.

I'm starting to think I'm a freak just because I can accept the holidays as another day, and I don't spend the rest of the year either dreading them, plotting against them, or harassing people who say Happy Holidays as opposed to Merry Christmas. Times are weird.

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