How timely - writings on money as I struggle with my budget and figuring out what I really need to be spending it on. So, you may ask, how much did I spend on this book? Zero. Nothing. That's right! And that's always the best part. It's from Concord Free Press - a new experiment in publishing. Check it out at www.concordfreepress.com. Such a cool concept! You get a book for free, donate to your chosen cause and let them know so that they can track it. Then pass the book on to someone who will do the same. So - I better give this a good review so that everyone will want it.
This is, essentially, a collection of short stories, essays, some interviews, excerpts from books and poetry, all somehow relating to money. As with any collection of works by different authors, some struck me more than others. I didn't love every bit, but overall I really did enjoy this. I'm going to include a few lines from a poem, although I'm hesitant to take lines out of a poem for fear that they will lose their meaning. But here goes. These lines are from a poem called "America" by Tony Hoagland.
But how could he have imagined 100 channels of 24-hour cable
Or what kind of nightmare it might be
When each day you watch rivers of bright merchandise run past you
And you are floating in your pleasure boat upon this river
What an image. Rivers of bright merchandise. And don't we see that, any time we turn on the tv or walk down the aisles of our favorite store? Or turn the pages in a magazine? Or see the ads on our favorite websites? It's all over. And I'm as guilty as the next of sitting proudly in my boat.
It just really struck me.
So - you can't beat the price. And I'll donate, where I don't know yet, and will let them know about that. And maybe, just maybe, hopefully, I'll buy less than what I would normally buy.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Briefly Told Lives - C. Bard Cole
What a perfect book for today. Yup, that's right, I started and finished this book today. My friend Jeffrey gave me this book, along with a bunch of others. It's actually a collection of short stories rather than a novel. The weather today: kinda cool, a breeze, mostly cloudy although some periods of sun, and the occasional light drizzle. The perfect day to brew a pot of coffee, curl up, put on some good jazz and just bliss out and read. As it turned out, this was the next book in the pile.
A collection of stories: not my usual thing, but it was good. All about a character - usually the main one, but not always - who is gay. Different ages, perspectives, time periods. And occasionally I'd realize that a peripheral character in one story was also in a different story, which was kind of cool. But then other stories had no connections whatsoever.
He has an interesting writing style - some of the stories were told almost like a news report or something, with one story where the narrator provided the exact date and time that he saw this other guy. It was different but I liked it.
I didn't sit and read the book non-stop; I took a few breaks, watched some tv, went for a walk, that kind of thing. I had Melody Gardot on in the background for a lot of it (www.melodygardot.com, go check her out, she's great) and they went well together.
A perfect read for a peaceful day for me. Also, a great follow-up to that boring French book. Like a breath of fresh air, while a nice cool breeze was coming in. Aaahh.
A collection of stories: not my usual thing, but it was good. All about a character - usually the main one, but not always - who is gay. Different ages, perspectives, time periods. And occasionally I'd realize that a peripheral character in one story was also in a different story, which was kind of cool. But then other stories had no connections whatsoever.
He has an interesting writing style - some of the stories were told almost like a news report or something, with one story where the narrator provided the exact date and time that he saw this other guy. It was different but I liked it.
I didn't sit and read the book non-stop; I took a few breaks, watched some tv, went for a walk, that kind of thing. I had Melody Gardot on in the background for a lot of it (www.melodygardot.com, go check her out, she's great) and they went well together.
A perfect read for a peaceful day for me. Also, a great follow-up to that boring French book. Like a breath of fresh air, while a nice cool breeze was coming in. Aaahh.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
L'Élégance du hérisson - Muriel Barbery
I tried, really, I did. I read over 25% of this book before finally giving in and giving up. I just couldn't get into it no matter how much I hoped I would.
I got this book when I was in France last November, although I don't remember why I picked it. It's a story about an apartment building in Paris; the tenants are all very upper-class bourgeois families, and there's a widow who is the concierge. She is much more intelligent than she lets on out of fear of breaking the social stereotypes of how a concierge should be. The novel goes back and forth between her and a 12 year old girl, very precocious, who lives in one of the apartments.
The girl has decided that life is ridiculous and that all adults are just lying to themselves, so she's going to kill herself on her 13th birthday. And despite this setup I just didn't really care about either person or what she had to say. I'm sure at some point the two get to know each other, and I'm sure at some point the older woman shows the girl something about life she's never seen before. But, yeah, I just couldn't sit through it to find out.
I got this book when I was in France last November, although I don't remember why I picked it. It's a story about an apartment building in Paris; the tenants are all very upper-class bourgeois families, and there's a widow who is the concierge. She is much more intelligent than she lets on out of fear of breaking the social stereotypes of how a concierge should be. The novel goes back and forth between her and a 12 year old girl, very precocious, who lives in one of the apartments.
The girl has decided that life is ridiculous and that all adults are just lying to themselves, so she's going to kill herself on her 13th birthday. And despite this setup I just didn't really care about either person or what she had to say. I'm sure at some point the two get to know each other, and I'm sure at some point the older woman shows the girl something about life she's never seen before. But, yeah, I just couldn't sit through it to find out.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris
Oh, Sookie, we heart you. Book 10 in the series!!! She's come a long way - both Sookie and Charlaine Harris. It's been interesting to see how this series has evolved, from sort of "a mystery with a twist" that I felt the first book was to some interesting character and cultural developments as the series has progressed, adding layers as werewolves, witches, fairies and others have become central to the stories.
After the end of the last book - which I felt was relatively dark for this series, but I liked - I didn't know what to expect from this one. But what I got was not what I expected, although I enjoyed it. As with the others, it didn't take me very long to read it; the books have always been a relatively quick read for me, and this was no exception. It picked up very soon after where the previous book left off, as Sookie is recovering. And then - well - took off from there. (I'm being cautious not to say anything that might spoil the plot for those who haven't read it yet - hi Peggy!)
What I thought was interesting was that it wasn't like the early books, with a clear starting point to a mystery/conflict. And it wasn't like the later books, with things clearly building to a large battle. At the same time, though, things are happening that (of course) put Sookie in some danger.
I really don't want to say too much or reveal any plot points, but I'll say again that I felt like it was kind of a different style of book for Sookie, but that I really enjoyed it. It had come plot points that I definitely didn't see coming but that I appreciated. If you're a fan of the series, you won't be disappointed. I'm very interested to see what comes next!
After the end of the last book - which I felt was relatively dark for this series, but I liked - I didn't know what to expect from this one. But what I got was not what I expected, although I enjoyed it. As with the others, it didn't take me very long to read it; the books have always been a relatively quick read for me, and this was no exception. It picked up very soon after where the previous book left off, as Sookie is recovering. And then - well - took off from there. (I'm being cautious not to say anything that might spoil the plot for those who haven't read it yet - hi Peggy!)
What I thought was interesting was that it wasn't like the early books, with a clear starting point to a mystery/conflict. And it wasn't like the later books, with things clearly building to a large battle. At the same time, though, things are happening that (of course) put Sookie in some danger.
I really don't want to say too much or reveal any plot points, but I'll say again that I felt like it was kind of a different style of book for Sookie, but that I really enjoyed it. It had come plot points that I definitely didn't see coming but that I appreciated. If you're a fan of the series, you won't be disappointed. I'm very interested to see what comes next!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
California Screaming - Doug Guinan
Well, not exactly a really tough read for this one. My friend Jeffrey gave me this book. Essentially I guess it's some sort of love story - but really it's a fluff novel. As I started the first chapter I could tell that I wasn't going to like it...It's set in LA, and the main character - Kevin - is a pretty boy, one of the most wanted and desired ones in LA. And it talks about how to be gay and be accepted, you need to look a certain way, dress a certain way, etc, and how if you don't do these things then you're essentially a waste. Not exactly a character I can relate to!
But the story ended up being - well, maybe not great, and maybe not really good - but better than I thought it would. Kevin meets Brad, an amazingly wealthy and successful entertainment mogul, and they meet each other's needs and then - twist! - fall in love! How dare they. That's apparently against the LA rules. And there's an act of betrayal, of course, that drives them apart.
All of the characters in here are pretty one-dimensional. Even the back story of what brought Kevin from NYC to LA is somewhat interesting but kind of flat. I ended up enjoying the novel more than I thought I would, which was a nice surprise. But I just can't understand or relate to the amount of self-loathing that each of the characters feels. And maybe that's the way it really is in LA and West Hollywood, at least for some people. And if so, I can assure you that I don't really want to get to know them.
I don't know anything about the author, and it appears that this is his only novel. Has he lived in LA? Is this his own version of a cautionary tale? Was he rejected from LA, so he wrote this out of bitterness? Maybe he's never even been out there, and this is all imagined in his mind...I really don't know. There's signs of redemption for Kevin at the end of the novel, as he starts living a different life. Which I guess is some sort of a happy ending. I guess we'll never know - and I guess I'm okay with that.
But the story ended up being - well, maybe not great, and maybe not really good - but better than I thought it would. Kevin meets Brad, an amazingly wealthy and successful entertainment mogul, and they meet each other's needs and then - twist! - fall in love! How dare they. That's apparently against the LA rules. And there's an act of betrayal, of course, that drives them apart.
All of the characters in here are pretty one-dimensional. Even the back story of what brought Kevin from NYC to LA is somewhat interesting but kind of flat. I ended up enjoying the novel more than I thought I would, which was a nice surprise. But I just can't understand or relate to the amount of self-loathing that each of the characters feels. And maybe that's the way it really is in LA and West Hollywood, at least for some people. And if so, I can assure you that I don't really want to get to know them.
I don't know anything about the author, and it appears that this is his only novel. Has he lived in LA? Is this his own version of a cautionary tale? Was he rejected from LA, so he wrote this out of bitterness? Maybe he's never even been out there, and this is all imagined in his mind...I really don't know. There's signs of redemption for Kevin at the end of the novel, as he starts living a different life. Which I guess is some sort of a happy ending. I guess we'll never know - and I guess I'm okay with that.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Sans Feu Ni Lieu - Fred Vargas
Well, this is the last of the Fred Vargas books that I have. Oh, she's written more, and I'll read them eventually. But this is the last one that I brought back with me from my last trip to France.
This story has the three Evangelists again, living in the same house with the one guy's godfather. And they crack me up. They really are very engaging characters. We have a new hero in this story, a man named Clement who realizes that he's been framed for some recent murders. Clement isn't very smart...maybe he is mildly mentally retarded, it's not completely clear. He is VERY well written and so endearing. You just know from the outset that he is innocent, as he claims to be.
So then, of course, it's up to the three evangelists and an ex-cop to find the real killer and clear Clement. Which they do of course. I was proud of myself; I actually figured out who the real killer was, which I rarely do! So go me. There were some aspects that I got wrong about it, though. Which is not surprising.
Another good story from Fred Vargas, with well drawn characters that pull you in, and a good ending. I can't wait for my next trip to France so that I can get some more of her books!
This story has the three Evangelists again, living in the same house with the one guy's godfather. And they crack me up. They really are very engaging characters. We have a new hero in this story, a man named Clement who realizes that he's been framed for some recent murders. Clement isn't very smart...maybe he is mildly mentally retarded, it's not completely clear. He is VERY well written and so endearing. You just know from the outset that he is innocent, as he claims to be.
So then, of course, it's up to the three evangelists and an ex-cop to find the real killer and clear Clement. Which they do of course. I was proud of myself; I actually figured out who the real killer was, which I rarely do! So go me. There were some aspects that I got wrong about it, though. Which is not surprising.
Another good story from Fred Vargas, with well drawn characters that pull you in, and a good ending. I can't wait for my next trip to France so that I can get some more of her books!
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