In a few weeks, I will be in Italy, my favorite place in the world.  I had the extreme fortune of interning at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice six years ago. With southern Italian blood running through my veins, a year and a half of Italian language study under my belt, and a wealth of curiosity and excitement in my heart, I set off... and had one of the best summers of my life. I lived in Venice but saw Verona, Ravenna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Pompeii and Sorrento. I spoke to Italians in their own language day in and day out. I ate like a queen and came home trimmer because of the quality of their food and the hot walks in the Italian sun. And I promptly began dreaming (both asleep and awake) of my return for the next six years.

Now that it is nearly upon me, I can hardly contain my excitement. And you know me when I get excited - I hit the library and bookstore hard. Here's what will keep me busy over the next month as I prepare and then travel:

• Invisible Cities - Italo Calvino
• La Bella Figura - Beppe Severgnini
• The City of Falling Angels - John Berendt (re-read)
• The Wings of the Dove - Henry James
• The Aspern Papers - Henry James (re-read)
• History of My Life - Giacomo Casanova
• As the Romans Do - Alan Epstein
• La Bella Lingua - Dianne Hales

Got any other suggestions for me? I'm primarily interested in Venice and Rome.

Book Review: If on a winter's night a traveler

Over the past two years, since I've been back in New York, I've had the great fortune to reconnect with alumni from the fellowship program I participated in while in college. Talk about a great group of folks - they are intellectual, fun, and awesome! We recently set up a book club and it has been a blast.  Last month, the book choice was If on a winter's night a traveler (or Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore in one of the most beautiful languages in the world) by Italo Calvino.

Years ago, I tried to read If on a winter's night a traveler because it's on one of those Top 100 Novel lists. I didn't get far and didn't give it much of a chance before giving up.  This time, I had to see it through in order to be loyal to my fellow book club readers, so I did. And I really enjoyed it! It was unlike anything I had ever read before or am likely to ever read again.  I held my review of it until we had our meeting and discussion because I knew that my friends would have great thoughts to contribute.  And they did.

Anything I write about this book is likely to be a spoiler, so I'm just going to share the synopsis listed on Amazon.com:

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler is a marvel of ingenuity, an experimental text that looks longingly back to the great age of narration--"when time no longer seemed stopped and did not yet seem to have exploded." [...] The Reader buys a fashionable new book, which opens with an exhortation: "Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade." Alas, after 30 or so pages, he discovers that his copy is corrupted, and consists of nothing but the first section, over and over. Returning to the bookshop, he discovers the volume, which he thought was by Calvino, is actually by the Polish writer Bazakbal. Given the choice between the two, he goes for the Pole, as does the Other Reader, Ludmilla. But this copy turns out to be by yet another writer, as does the next, and the next.  

The real Calvino intersperses 10 different pastiches--stories of menace, spies, mystery, premonition--with explorations of how and why we read, make meanings, and get our bearings or fail to.

In our meeting, over glasses of Italian wine and plates of antipasto, we explored what we loved about the novel. Someone commented on the way that the author spends so much time and attention on the experience of "The Reader" in a way that authors generally do not. Someone else said some of the most powerful and beautiful sentences in the novel made him want to go out and write himself. There was also talk around how each book that the characters try to finish breaks off at the climax, and how that can actually be a good thing, like leaving a party when it's at the best it will ever be instead of waiting for that great feeling to pass and leaving when it has already become dull. "It will never again be as great as it is right now." A powerful meditation on the present, which I find interesting because it counters my tendencies to live in either the past or future. Actually, quite Buddhist if you think about it.

We also had a couple of people who disliked the book intensely. "I hate to see a facile writer, which Calvino clearly is, produce something like this." Those of us who liked the book quickly stepped up to its defense. "It feels like something the writer produced after a long successful career, as a meditation on his career and the process of "producing" art like it is just another commodity."  A quick Google search on a smartphone revealed this to be true - the novel was written in 1979, six years before Calvino's death.

As I reflect on this book club meeting where we shared our thoughts, ideas and theories, it is as if we had become characters in the novel ourselves, chasing down the story and trying to hold it in our hands, perhaps completely missing the point in the meantime.

Book Review: Oryx and Crake

After finishing The Handmaid's Tale, I polled my Facebook friends for what to read next by Margaret Atwood.  I got 3 votes for The Robber Bride, 2 for Alias Grace, 2 for Cat's Eye and 2 for Oryx and Crake. After reading the descriptions and seeing what was instantly available for my Kindle via the library, I settled on Oryx and Crake.

Wow.  I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a while.  It's similar to The Handmaid's Tale because it portrays a dystopia that feels like it could quite easily happen in real life, which freaks you out as a reader, but there the similarities end. In the former, we glimpse a terrifying world where misogynist agenda gets taken too far. In Oryx and Crake, the world we enter highlights what can happen if humanity takes it upon itself to use our advanced science and technology to "play God."

The novel opens with Snowman, who is, as far as he knows, the last remaining member of the human race. He cares for the Children of Crake, a new humanoid species, but is ultimately alone in his humanness and his memory of what came before.  Snowman, who was once called Jimmy, shows us how the world got to this state through a series of flashbacks beginning in his childhood, when he met his best friend, Crake, who would change the world like never before. He also shares his first encounters with Oryx, the love of his life who also has a role to play.

There's not much else I can say without spoiling the novel for anyone, but suffice it to say that I couldn't put it down, which is actually kind of rare for me. The characters and the world they live in were both fascinating, and the ethical and philosophical implications are mind-blowing.  I could probably read it again and uncover things I missed the first time.

(Credit to embley on DeviantArt.)

I was sad for the novel to end (another rarity) and was overjoyed to find that it is the first in a trilogy. I had had no idea, having heard so much about Oryx and Crake, but never about the second book, The Year of the Flood, or the fact that Margaret Atwood is working on a third.  Can't wait!

It's the End of the World As We Know It: Dystopian Fiction

Raise your hand if you like dystopian fiction!  (Or raise your hand if you know what dystopian fiction is!)*

The utopia and its offshoot, the dystopia, are genres of literature that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world, or utopia, as the setting for a novel. Dystopian fiction is the opposite: creation of a nightmare world, or dystopia. Many novels combine both, often as a metaphor for the different directions humanity can take in its choices, ending up with one of two possible futures. Both utopias and dystopias are commonly found in science fiction and other speculative fiction genres, and arguably are by definition a type of speculative fiction. 

Source: Wikipedia

I don't know that I would consider it one of my favorite genres, but I have read and enjoyed a few of its most popular pieces.  1984 was so good, I was depressed for a few days after finishing it.  Fahrenheit 451 was good too.  I could not get past 50 pages of The Hunger Games.  I didn't get far with War of the Worlds either.  I do love Stephen King's The Stand (The mini-series, that is.  Hey, full disclosure.  It's over 1k pages.)

Most recently: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  In a nutshell: it's a truly excellent novel that portrays a 'nightmare world' where women are used as commodities for what they can provide - housework and babies, mostly.  Men have wives, but then they also have "Martha"s for cooking and cleaning, and "Handmaids" for bearing children. As you can imagine, these women are kept under close surveillance and not allowed much (any) freedom.

The protagonist, who is called "Offred" ("Of Fred," the man she is assigned to), lets us into this world from the perspective of someone who remembers the time before, a time much like today.  We don't even learn her name from the time before because, after all, she no longer has an identity outside of childbearing.

The novel is thought-provoking and disturbing.  I have to admit that while I was reading, it occurred to me that these archetypes already exist in our society: the Wife, the Daughter, the Martha, the Handmaid, the "Jezebel."  Atwood has simply personified them, but they exist today as social constructs and roles many women fight hard to fit into, to avoid, or both.

I enjoyed this novel so much that I began reading Oryx and Crake, another of Margaret Atwood's novels that, as one fellow reader put it, has "that same futuristic, the world is going to hell in a hand-basket tone to it."

What's your favorite nightmare world?  Novel, graphic novel, comic, film?

*Check out this very cool infographic from Goodreads on dystopian fiction.

Talking Fiction, Talking Fact

I had a great experience recently at the Brooklyn Historical Society. By chance, I was on Twitter on a Sunday morning and one of the first tweets that came up in my home feed advertised the following event: Talking Fiction, Talking Fact: Colm Tóibín and Mick Moloney on Brooklyn.

I had been meaning to read Colm Toibin for a long time.  I knew that he had written a historical fiction piece about immigrants in Brooklyn (one of my favorite subjects!) and also that he had written The Master about Henry James (one of my favorite authors).  I hadn't gotten around to it yet, but here was Fate beckoning me on a Sunday morning.

I went to the event and it was really interesting.  Colm read from Brooklyn and answered questions. Mick Moloney played traditional Irish songs.  Colm signed my copy of the novel.  I was excited to share with him details about my family's immigration story (what little I know of it), but was cut off abruptly by two elderly women who jumped in front of me with the enthusiasm of groupies.  What could I do?  I've been raised to respect my elders.

TSS Week 31

I haven't had much cause to write any Sunday Salon posts because I haven't really completed any books in a while. I'm still reading a handful at one time and that slows things a bit, but I thought that since I haven't blogged in a while, I would write about them all.

I did finish a novel called Inheritance, written by Indira Ganesan. It was about a teenage girl living in India who has an interesting family and history, and she spends the novel trying to both figure it out and learn who she is. It was a good "time-pass," as I've heard people say. I enjoyed it but it did not make any real impression on me.

I am currently reading Les Miserables for the first time via DailyLit. I love it. It is long-winded and there are parts on French history that lose me (I skip over them - shh! Don't tell!) but it is, for the most part, truly touching and beautiful. I have been reading for months and am only about 32% through it, but that's Hugo for you. I'm in no rush.

I also started reading Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. I have never read Woolf's fiction before (have read A Room of One's Own and adored it, of course) so it took me a little while to adjust to it, but the writing is fantastic and I'm glad I stuck it out. Again, I am only about 25-40% through it but it is going well.

Finally, I recently started The Slave by Isaac Bashevis Singer. It is a pretty dark tale but very interesting. Singer tells his story of Jacob, a Jewish man who survives the Chmielnicki massacre, in a folk tale sort of way. The predominant faith represented is Judaism, but there is also a lot of superstition and pagan ritual weaved throughout. I will keep you posted.

TSS Week 30

A good friend and colleague lent me The House of the Spirits weeks ago because we like to discuss books together and she thought I would like it. I was eager to read it because I have heard such great things about Isabel Allende's work but had never read any. I finished the novel yesterday and I am so glad that I read it.

The House of the Spirits is about a Chilean family's trials and triumphs. Allende is all about the details and small nuances of her characters which, while it annoys me in some other authors, is endearing and captivating in her work. I constantly looked forward to returning to the novel when I had a few spare minutes to read. I got lost in it.

The family encounters great suffering as their country undergoes extreme change (the coup d’etat of 1973), which each character seems to contribute to in his/her own way. This novel is often cited as an example of magic realism, which is a fantastic element that really adds to its appeal for me.

TSS Week 29

After These Things is an excellent sequel to Only Human, Diski's novel about the biblical Abraham and Sarah. After These Things picks up with Isaac, their son, and his children and grandchildren. If you are familiar with the Bible, you know about Isaac and Rebekah, their twins, Jacob and Esau, and Jacob's adventures with wives Leah and Rachel. If not... it's pretty interesting reading.

It was done extremely well, just like the first novel, though at first I had a hard time latching on because I didn't like Isaac and Rebekah the way I liked Abraham and Sarah. Jacob didn't do much for me either, though of course I fell in love with the maltreated Leah, because what women without extreme coquettishness and beauty does not relate to Leah? The Bible says even God had pity on her.

I also liked that God was not a character in this novel. He was in the previous one, and he was anthropomorphic enough to be annoying. Although Diski introduced "the Editor" as narrator (which was an interesting contrivance), this character didn't do much for me and ultimately became a distraction.

TSS Week 28

I am still reading After These Things and I am enjoying it, but I do skip around a lot (in terms of books) so today I will talk a bit about the other ones I've started.

1. Twilight

People have been at me to read this series for ages. Everyone raves, regardless of age. I decided to bite the bullet when my colleagues started raving as well. I am sure I will like it because for all my literary pretense, I do enjoy pop lit (e.g. Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code). Only about 25 pages in but it is good. I have seen the movie so no surprises in the book so far.

2. The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers

I was looking for guidance on how to structure my novel and I asked for advice from my local writing group, the Austin WriterGrrls. One person who responded recommended this book, and I just started working on it. It is fabulous! The author, Christopher Vogler, brings together Jungian psychology and the work of Joseph Campbell to isolate a story-telling pattern that has been around since the days of early myth and prevails, even now, in popular novels and films. It has served as a great guide for me and I feel it would resonate with anyone who is a consumer of pop culture. Still in the early stages, though, so we shall see!

3. Les Miserables

I have been reading this novel for a while now, but I recently let it go for a bit because I was frustrated with a lot of sections on French history that were hard to follow. I wonder if Hugo did not envision his novel as being a classic worldwide? Did he expect only his countrymen and women to read it, or was he trying to educate the rest of us? I have come to a point where I skip or skim the parts that are not relevant to the plot, so it is going well once again. Terribly interesting story, from what I can remember of the film.

Please note that I am not complaining about sections on Napoleon or the French Revolution, only the stories about mayors and small-time scandals. It doesn't interest me enough to do the work to look it all up, and from what I can see, it is not essential to the story.

Book Meme

I found this meme over at The Bluestocking Society and thought I would give it a whirl. Feel free to take it and do it yourself too.

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?

I like both kinds of paperback, though I like trade slightly more.

Bookmark or dog-ear?

I bookmark to remember where I left off, and I dog-ear to remember what I want to reread and write down.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?

I don't alphabetize. I'm more into how they look on the shelf (by size and all).

Keep, throw away or sell?

I only keep if it is life-changing (otherwise I would have more than I have room for). Otherwise I let people mooch or give away. What kind of person throws away books?

Keep dust jacket or toss it?

I'm not big on hardcovers but when I have them, I keep it.

Last book you bought?

I'm Not Scared by Niccolò Ammaniti. Impulse buy for $1!

Last book someone bought for you?

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.

What are some of the books on your to-buy list?

I have hundreds on my to-read list, but to buy and own? I can't think of anything off the top of my head.

Collection (short stories, same author) or anthology (short stories, different author)?

Collections.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?

Harry Potter!

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?

All day reading? :) But seriously... nighttime.

The books you need to go with other books on your shelves?

I'm not sure what this means. Honestly, the last thing I "need" is more books :)

Do you read anywhere and anytime you can or do you have a set reading time and/or place?

I carry books everywhere just in case. I mostly read before bed but I also read when I am waiting for someone or alone in a restaurant or something.

Do you have seasonal reading habits?

No, not really.

Do you read one book at a time or do you have two or more books going at once?

Multiple, multiple, multiple. Forget one or two, it is usually more like five.

What are your pet peeves about the way people treat books?

I don’t like checking a book out of the library and finding food on the pages. That skeeves me out.

Name one book you surprised yourself by liking.

"The Metamorphosis." I didn't expect to dislike it but I didn't expect to be so blown away either.

How often do you read a book and not review it on your blog? What are your reasons for not blogging about a book?

I'd say of ever 3-5 books I read, I blog about one. The reason is laziness.

TSS Week 27

Goodreads now has a way to blog your book reviews with a simple HTML code plugin. That is kind of cool. I might start doing that :) Here is the latest one:

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars

The New Yorker said that this novel depicts an India that is "like the Wild West on acid." I didn't get that at all. Honestly, I enjoyed the story and felt compassion for some of the characters, but I didn't enjoy this novel like I expected to. I am weary of all of the Indian literature out there that focuses exclusively on corruption and poverty, as if there is nothing else that India has to offer. I have read many Indian bestsellers and I would like to see the beauty of India for once. We have corruption in the United States too, but it is not what every American novel focuses on. Is there only a Western market for Indian tragedy?

I may need to move out of the realm of what is popular in order to find this. Suggestions are welcome!

I also started reading After These Things by Jenny Diski. I was pleasantly surprised to find it in the library one day, having read and enjoyed Only Human a while back. Only Human was a novel about the biblical Abraham and Sarah, and After These Things is a sequel of sorts, focusing on Isaac, their son, his wife, Rebekah and their twin sons, Jacob and Esau. If you are familiar with the Bible, you probably know all of the intrigue that surrounded these people and the stories. I was really excited to find this novel since I am a real sucker for Biblical fiction from secular sources. (They tend to humanize and make sense of stories I grew up with.) Anyway, I am 1/4 of the way through and enjoying it. I think that after I finish I may need to reread The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I love that novel and it has been many years since I read it. It focuses on Jacob's daughter, Dina, so it seems like a natural next step in the saga.

TSS Week 26

I read A Tale of Two Cities in high school about 10 years ago and have been meaning to reread it ever since. After watching some TV programs on the French Revolution I decided that it was time. I am so glad that I did. A 15 year old simply cannot comprehend the beauty that is this novel.

Very few books have ever made me cry, and this is one of those select few. One of the best things about it, aside from Dickens' powerful prose, was the fact that he did not make it good vs. evil, black vs. white. The reader feels sorry for the despised poor who are so sorely misused that they live their lives in misery. S/he also feels sorry for the aristocrats who are being carted off to the guillotine in droves. There are no right answers, and there are no easy explanations. Everyone is a victim, and everyone is a villain.

While I'm at it, I am going to read another work that is set during the French Revolution: Les Misérables. I know it is a monster and I usually can't hack those but DailyLit emails make everything manageable.

TSS Week 25

Crime and Punishment is a philosophical novel about human nature, morality and Russian society at the time it was set, although one could argue that such struggles can take place in any society at any time. I don't know that the following description contains a spoiler, as you can probably find this information on any book jacket, but if you intend to read Crime and Punishment without any knowledge of it beforehand, skip the rest of this review.

Raskolnikov, the protagonist, commits murder fairly early in the book. He kills an old pawnbroker woman he despises along with her sister, who is an innocent bystander who happens to walk in while he is committing the crime. He kills them with an axe. It's gruesome.

This happens so early that the entire novel centers around the aftermath. Will Raskolnikov be caught? Many seem to suspect him. Will he crack and confess? He certainly borders on madness and insanity throughout. Does he feel any remorse? Well, he certainly justifies his position, drawing on philosophy, history and his own intellect to excuse himself. Do we buy his reasoning? Ah, that is the question.

The other characters and lesser narratives that run through Crime and Punishment really invite the reader in. I might be alone in this opinion, but I found it hard to care much about Raskolnikov. Get caught, don't get caught, it didn't really make much difference to me. He is not likeable or hateful - he just left me ambivalent. But throw in a sister, a mother, friends, etc. who are affected by his choices, and now I care deeply. And by the end, I am on the edge of my seat, wondering what will happen.

The fact that I'm long-winded means I loved it. It made me think about a lot of issues, and I'm sure there was much I didn't understand that would merit a re-read in the future. My only complaint is not with the work itself but with the version I read via DailyLit emails. I think the translation of that version was poor. Also, Russians seem to have a lot of names, so it was hard to keep track of characters. (For example, Raskolnikov's real name is Rodion Romanovitch, and he is sometimes called Rodya, yet often called Raskolnikov.) But other than that, I definitely recommend it.

TSS Week 24

I just finished reading Inventing a Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson for the U.S. Presidents Reading Project. I really enjoyed the book because I love American history, even though I don't read it as much as I should. The only thing that really hurt it - and this is a big deal - is Vidal's inability to focus. Though this is my first Vidal read, I know that he is a political firebrand. That is not what I take issue with. If you would like to talk at length about how the Bush administration has ruined America, go for it... in a book about the Bush administration. All too often I will lose myself in 1776 with its colorful characters and tempestuous events, only to be yanked out as Vidal takes some 'prophetic' insight from Benjamin Franklin, et. al. to prove that Bush is a hack. Not once, not twice, but often. One of his major points in this book, published in 2003, is that George W. Bush fulfills many of the fears of the founding fathers. Again, it is fine to make that argument, but not in a book that presents the founding fathers and the birth of the nation as its subject matter.

Aside from the present day pontifications, Vidal also jumps around on the founding fathers themselves. One minute, John Adams is president... the next, he is back at the Continental Congress trying to get the others to break with Britain. These are not flashbacks - the story is just told in chunks and pieces. It is very hard to find a thread to hold onto.

Publishers Weekly summed it up best when they said, "This book was surely intended to be thought provoking. Unfortunately, it provokes more thought about its author than its subjects."

Now that I've been all negative, I have to say, it was so well written and captivating that I never once thought of putting it down, no matter how much the flaws annoyed me. I would read Vidal again - I just hope this interjection of political opinion into historical biography is not a pattern with him.

TSS Week 23

I just finished The Hundred Secret Senses, which is now one of my favorite Amy Tan novels, rivaled only by The Bonesetter's Daughter. Yes, I love The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife and Saving Fish From Drowning - I love any Tan story I come across - but The Hundred Secret Senses (along with The Bonesetter's Daughter) really stands out.

Olivia, the narrator, is the American-born daughter of a Chinese man and an American woman. When her father is on his deathbed, he reveals to his wife that he left behind a daughter in China and asks her to retrieve and raise her. Enter Kwan, Olivia's older half-sister who believes that she has "yin eyes" and can see and speak to ghosts.

Olivia struggles her whole life to ignore and dismiss Kwan's superstitions until her marriage is crumbling and she, her estranged husband and her sister find themselves on a trip to China together. The ending is extremely poignant and bittersweet without being unrealistic. Tan plumbs the depths of issues like life and death, reincarnation, history, soul ties, relationships and culture in this story, and I just ate it up.


I'm also rereading The Catcher in the Rye for some volunteer work I do at the library. Is it just me, or does that novel get better every time you read it? Maybe I am just getting older and smarter, and can actually see the genius in the handiwork instead of loving it because Holden curses (which is why I loved it when I first read it in high school). Okay, that's not entirely true, but it was certainly part of it - going from reading authors like Dickens and Shakespeare to J.D. Salinger, someone whose work is dated for a child of the 80s and 90s but just as timeless as those other masters, was a breath of fresh air. Holden cursed, he thought most of the adults around him were morons, and he struggled with not fitting in and not being understood. He made me love him from the very first reading.

Now that I am older, there is only more to love - Holden's concern for protecting the innocence of children, his mourning for the loss of his own innocence, his struggle to understand a complicated and "phoney" world. When I first read Catcher, Holden was my peer - now, he is a child to my adult. It is strange to view a character from such a shifting lens. Yet I have a feeling I will still be reading Catcher when I'm 80, and I will still be finding new layers to love.

TSS Week 21

The Book of Lost Things reminded me of two stories I have encountered before: The Chronicles of Narnia and the film "Pan's Labyrinth." In reality, it is quite different than both, but there are strong commonalities:

• a child escaping from his early 20th century war-torn world into a fantasy land
  
  
• the fantasy land experiences all have deep philosophical meaning
  

I enjoyed Narnia (though I haven't finished it) and I enjoyed Pan's Labyrinth - likewise, I enjoyed The Book of Lost Things. I don't think it deserves all of the hype it has gotten, but it was a good read.

The book starts with an introduction to David, a 12-year-old English boy. In the first few chapters, his mother dies of an illness. Strangely enough, this remains my favorite part of the entire novel because of the way Connolly tackles the monster that is grief with the simplicity in which it presents itself to children.

Beyond that, David - a bookworm we can all love - finds himself losing touch with reality and delving into books, which eventually leads into this new fantasy world. Grimm's fairy tales have been culled for material, and Connolly's retellings are done well. In the same vein, the novel is quite dark... it is not a children's story. I found it to be a worthwhile statement on coming of age, loss and morality.

TSS Week 20

I finally finished Frankenstein. It is a tragic story and though the monster is supposedly the villain, I found him very sympathetic (more so than Dr. Frankenstein). The plight of the outcast and how it drives them to do evil things made me think of those kids who are relentlessly teased until they shoot people in their schools. Not that the violent acts are justified, but that they are realistic consequences of human isolation and rejection. I wonder if this was part of Shelley's point, that crimes and the people who commit them should not be viewed in a black and white fashion.

I also found it interesting how Dr. Frankenstein and the monster came to depend on each other, even in enmity. After all, when the Dr. is hunting the monster down and becomes weary, the monster leaves food for him to keep him going. Perhaps it was a desperate need for any kind of interaction, especially with his creator, but it intrigued me.

Also, as if you have been waiting with baited breath (hee hee), my review of Blue Genes has been published in Estella's Revenge.

TSS Week 19

I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last night. What a ride. I do feel that sorrow that comes with the end of a favorite series. In fact, it just reinforced for me (as a writer) how gifted writers are when they can make you care about their characters. Really care. As in, these characters are friends of yours that you think about long after the books are over. J.K. Rowling has written a Lord of the Rings for my generation. The series is definitely a classic, to my mind.

Here come the spoilers, so please don't read if you don't want the book... you know, spoiled.

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I can't tell you how happy I was/am that Snape was vindicated. I knew I loved him for a reason.

Part that made me cry: When Percy returns to the Weasleys.

I particularly like Stephen King's review of the final book and the series in general.

TSS Week 18

This week I am still working on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It is an audiobook on 17 CDs and I just began the 6th one. Part of me is dying to get right through it and find out what happens, but the other part of me wants to take it slow because I will miss this series.

I read more than half of Wide Sargasso Sea in the last week or two. A friend recommended it after Jane Eyre, and it is on the 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die list. It just wasn't doing it for me, though, and I finally put it to rest.

I'm also still reading Parachutes and Kisses, which is very good. I'm reading it so slowly because of the 300+ page book curse that is on me. The length makes me lose interest - not enough to drop it, but enough to take forever to read it. That wouldn't be a problem except I am forgetting and mixing up all of the protagonist's lovers.

Finally, I am reading Frankenstein for the first time through DailyLit emails. Boy, is it good! It seems to be a commentary on the danger of scientific advancement, which today makes me think of the danger of continual technological advances. I'm not anti-technology - in fact, I love it - but it's hard not to look at this character who overreaches, thinking that it is all he ever wants in the world, and lives to regret it. Makes you wonder.

TSS Week 17

This week, I have been totally captivated by a memoir I am reviewing for Estella's Revenge. It's called Blue Genes by Christopher Lukas. It delves into his family's history of mood disorders, focusing specifically on his mother's suicide when he and his brother Tony were children and then again on Tony's suicide as an adult. I don't want to say too much about it because I do have to write that review, but I just love it. (And isn't that a great title, to boot?)


Aside from that, I am working on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm also really enjoying that (naturally :) but am very sorry to see the series end. This is one of those powerful series that rarely comes around. Personally, I am not ashamed to love books that are trendy. For example, Dan Brown's novels - I know a lot of people who wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole, but I really enjoyed them. (Okay, there are tons of glaring flaws in writing and plot, but I couldn't put them down, and that says something.) Also, on another note, the Harry Potter audiobooks read by Jim Dale are fantastic. I'm hoping he's recorded Lord of the Rings because his accent and sheer talent are sounds for this American's sore ears.

I'm also still working on Pride and Prejudice. It is slow reading because it's coming in daily e-mail installments. I'm just not blown away. I'm not even all that interested in what will happen next. It has really become an issue of I'm almost done and I want to be able to finally say I've read this, but I won't ever read it again. Oh well.