What I've Read Today

ok ok ok ok, so I haven’t updated in…like, a year and a half.  but, I would like to have some way of communicating what the hell I’ve been reading to the people who ask.  

just as a quick update in my life- since I last posted, I’ve decided to get a nursing degree, worked at Borders (the best job ever…I was a god there.. A GOD!!), started working at a nursing home, decided to move to San Francisco (technically, Oakland [I leave in two weeks!!]), explored my interest in BDSM and continued to read a shit-ton of books.  

Since it’s prob. impossible to go back and look at every book I’ve read in the past 18 months, I’ll just go with what I’ve read in…the past week.

1. My aunt (actually, she’s who I’m going to be living with in California for the time being) sent me A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (author of The Kite Runner, that book that was massively popular a few years ago).  I actually read The Kite Runner a few years ago and, truth be told, I wasn’t that big of a fan.  It was ok; I finished it, but it didn’t shake my world like it did for so many people.  However, A Thousand Splendid Suns hit me in all the right places.  

The story revolves around two women, who end up being wives of the same Muslim man.  Taking place over…50 years, or so, it covers the childhood of the first wife, her unhappy marriage, the childhood of the second wife, how the second wife joins in the (not-so) happy family and how the two women come to accept one another.  It ends around present time, so you get to read about 9/11 and the growing strength of the fundamentalist Islams from the point of view from women living in Afghanistan. 

2. Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free by Elissa Wall.  Well, the title pretty much takes the mystery out, huh?  This is the memoir of the girl (woman, now) that brought down the FLDS sect (the Mormans’ that still embrace polygamy) run by Warren Jeffs.  Although she has various upsets during her childhood (like her mother and siblings being “reassigned” to a new husband when her biological father proves unable to keep his three-wife, twenty-some children household stable), her forced marriage to a detested cousin caused her to speak out and seek justice.

3. Driving With Dead People by Monica Holloway is another memoir.  This one is your typical “I had a ridiculously horrible childhood featuring a distant and abusive father, a detached mother and after I was in college I realized I had been sexually violated by those I trusted most” coming-of-age story.  However, I really enjoyed it- the author is funny, portraying her quirks in a charming way and I especially enjoyed the fact that it took place in Ohio (my home state) and I recognized several of the cities and colleges she mentioned (it’s the little things, you know?)  Also, she’s best friends with a mortician’s daughter… so, she’s got that going for her.

I’m sorry to all my lovely readers for being, like, a month late on this post.  I had a bunch of family, school and job things that suddenly came calling.  So, I shall try to remember the books I read over this long period of time…and I shall do better in the future.  

Legacy by Susan Kay:  This is a fairly old (1980s or so) book about Elizabeth I’s life and loves.  I put off reading it because I assumed it would be (like many books about royalty that are older than 15-20 years) too prudish for my tastes.  I was TOTALLY WRONG.  It was awesome.  Never have I had so much respect for Elizabeth and her political genius.  

Daughters of Fortune by Tara Hyland:  Kinda fluff, kind of Gossip Girl-y with slightly more depth, totally fun to read.  A fashion mogul finds out he has an illegitimate daughter that he immediately adopts, much to the chagrin of his other two daughters.  One tries to follow in her father’s footsteps, another becomes a party girl and yet another tries to build a life for herself without the help of her family name, but all must band together to save the company when disaster stikes.  Very readable, the perfect guilty pleasure.     

The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson:  I had rather hoped that this book (heralded as the next Water for Elephants) would be more likable, however…it was not meant to be.  Set right after Lincoln’s assassination, the “World’s Thinnest Man” living in Barnum’s Museum of Human Curiousities in New York is displeased with his life.  While some of the characters are interesting, Bartholomew is completely unlikeable.  His obsession with a mysterious bearded lady leads to his alienation with the other “freaks” and an ability to make every action he takes seem self-absorbed and cruel totally turned me off from a book that promised better with the wonderful premise.  

I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells:  Narrated by a teenage sociopath with a conscious, this is basically Dexter before he started killing.  John is obsessed with serial killers and knows he is mentally completely different than his peers.  In order to keep himself from his true desire (to become a serial killer himself), he lives by a series of rules to avoid dangerous stalking habits keep his temper under control.  He is amazingly excited when a serial killer pops up in his own small town but soon realizes that the killer is not just another idol, but a real-life demon, and he’s the only one that can stop him.  I can’t decide if this should be young-adult or adult fiction (FYI, it’s classified as adult) because of the young narrator.  However, nonetheless, it was completely enjoyable, even if I did have to hide the cover from the other people in the airport (I didn’t think other’s would appreciate the large title on the cover stating that “I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER”).

Right now, I’m half-way through Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.  Like Legacy, I really didn’t think that I would enjoy this book, but thus far, it’s pretty damn good.  More sex than I expected, though.  Right after WWII, a war nurse meets up with her husband for a second honeymoon in Scotland after their respective services have ended.  While Claire is exploring a something similar to a Scottish Stonehenge, she is transported back to the 18th century.  Thrown into a world she doesn’t understand filled with clans and battles and forced into a marriage to assure her safety, Claire is amazed to find that she and her new husband have an amazing attraction to one another and she must decide if she should stay with him and use her knowledge of the future to save his life, or try to go back to her own time.

So, that’s what I remember off the top of my head…if I come across any other books that I’ve read over my month “off the grid” I’ll be sure to let you know!  

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson) was excellent.  Most thriller novels are ok, maybe even good, but this was a book that kept me fairly entrenched the entire time I was reading it.  Another thing I loved about it was that, normally, I read crime/thriller novels in a few hours; The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo took me days to finish.  So, yay for getting my money’s worth :-) 

I’m currently reading the second book in the series, The Girl Who Played With Fire (again, by Stieg Larsson).  It has a lot more plot dealing with Lisbeth, the 25-year-old cyberpunk prodigy with a dark past.  

I’ve mostly been occupied with the above books, but I am attempting a reread of The Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.  I read most of it a few years ago but never finished it and I’m beginning to remember why.  It’s about a small town outside London in 1666 that closes itself off when they discover they have been infected with the Black Death.  Normally, I would love this type of plot, but it’s a little too Puritan for my taste.  I’ll keep trying though :-) 

I shall call this “The Week of Unfinished Books.”
The week began with my continuation of The Passage, by Justin Cronin.  While it is an excellent book and I hope to finish it at a later time, 800 pages about the downfall of civilization is more than I could take at one time.  
I’ve read most of The Creation of Eve, by Lynn Cullen, over the past few days.  The book is about famous FEMALE renaissance artist (don’t hear about too many of those!), Sofonisba Anguissola.  She studied with Michelangelo and spent much of her adult life in the courts of Spanish king Phillip (Queen Mary’s, aka Bloody Mary’s, widowed husband) and his young French bride.  Sofi becomes the young queen’s confidante and struggles with her past moral decisions and those of her former teacher.  Pretty good, not great.  Enjoyable and little sex for all you purists out there :-)
Finally, I just started The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the Swedish literary phenomenon by Stieg Larsson.  The financial jargon is a bit hard to get into, but the kick-ass female that stars as a main character makes it all worth it.  I imagine I won’t be able to put it down once I get into it, so I’ll let you all know what I think once I’m done!

I’ve been a bad blogger…sorry (blame it on the World Cup!)

Well, I’ve still been reading.  I gave up on The Magicians (not forever, I just disliked the main character to much to finish right away), but I read The Year of Disappearances, by Susan Hubbard (the sequel to The Society of S) and throughly enjoyed it.  Like I said previously, this book is about vampires, but treats it as a medical condition (like the X-Men…there are both good and bad parts of being a vampire).  This book gets a lot more into the vampire culture and continues to follow Ari (now 14, but appears and thinks as though she were in her late teens-twenties) as every person she seems to get close to disappears.  She attends college, discovers a vampire conspiracy…you know, normal teenage stuff. 

Right now, I’m reading The Passage, by Justin Cronin.  This book has been talked up even more than The Magicians.  Stephen King gave it his blessing and I haven’t even seen so much as a negative review.  Again, it’s about vampires (I swear, I don’t go out searching for them! vampire novels find me!).  This time, the government tries to make vampires so they can have an unstoppable army, it goes horribly wrong (kind of like zombie-vampires) and triggers an apocalypse.  Woo.  It’s a doorstop of a book, so be prepared for that…

And finally, I found a cookbook for people that don’t really plan on using it.  Amy Sedaris (you might know her from SNL or her famous author brother, David) came out with I Like You (Hospitality Under the Influence) a few years ago, and it’s more like a biography than a cookbook.  Lots of humorous, 50s-style advice with some classic recipes and silly arts-and-crafts.  I made the Pineapple Upsidedown Cake and some chicken and phyllo-dough concoction for my dad for Father’s Day and turned out LOVELY.  So, for a cookbook that will make you laugh and inspire you to actually use the oven- try I Like You. 

So, I haven’t posted in a few days because, like a drunk at a bar, I’m double-fisting.  I realize how ridiculously lewd that sounds.  However, what it actually means is “I’m reading two books at once.”  I feel guilty because I’ve actually read them before..but I usually read books a few times.  

The first is The Society of S by Susan Hubbard.  It’s a coming-of-age vampire novel; it treats vampires like a medical condition.  I recently discovered it has a sequel, so I decided to reread it so I can understand the second one.  Apparently, it’s the first in a series (the 3rd is due out soon) called the Ethical Vampires Series.  Really, really lame title.  

The second book is called The Fourth Queen, by Debbie Taylor, a historical novel set in the harems of the Middle East.  It’s based on the true story of a Scottish woman, Helen,  that became the fourth wife of a sultan after being sold into the harem after her ship was attacked by pirates.  Her story is alternated with the diary of a midget that serves as a eunuch in the harem (spoiler: he’s not actually a eunuch! No one bothered to check him due to his midget-stature) who falls desperately in love with Helen.