Well, kids, it's a much more modest book list this month. At one point, I had no books out from the library, which has not happened since I got my library card two-ish years ago. So, without further ado, here they are: The October books.
The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket: This is the eleventh book in the Series of Unfortunate Events. (The twelfth came out at the end of October, but I'm like 79 on the list for it.) This was the first book that actually ended with something other than complete and absolute misery. I really enjoyed this one. The siblings have to travel on a submarine to a cave. They encounter deadly mushrooms and treachery. I think these books are so fun, and I know it's a morbidity in me, but I love them.
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis: This is a short little book that I finally purchased after re-reading it many times from the library. It's a very good little book about C.S. Lewis's internal struggle after the death of his wife. This book always makes me feel better. It makes me cry, too, of course, but it always makes me feel connected to others again, and that's what I needed. Sometimes, I need to remember that I am not the only person on the face of the planet who has suffered a loss of a loved one. Sometimes I get so consumed with it, I like to believe that I'm the only one who understands (an arrogant view point which this book always cures me of).
Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott: I finally finished this book. I started it like three years ago and put it down. I picked it up again and zipped through it. Three years ago, it seemed so meloncholy. I think it picks up in the second half, but I also think that it's very different from her other fiction. Personaly, I appreciate Lamott's non-fiction much more than her fiction. The non-fiction always has me laughing. I did like Hard Laughter, though, which was fiction based on her real life. On the whole, if you're going to read Anne Lamott, I wouldn't start with this book. Start with Traveling Mercies or Bird by Bird.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Anne Brashares: This was a fantastic little story (geared more towards girls). It was the perfect book to read before I went to NYC. The story is all about these four girls and how they spend their first summer apart. It's a coming of age story centered around the journey that a pair of jeans they've decided to share over the summer takes.
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis: This book changes me every time I read it. I would say that this is my favorite of the Chronicles of Narnia. It's all about the last days of Narnia and what happens. If you think of The Magician's Nephew as the story of Genesis, then this book is Revelation.
Well, that's it for the reads this month, peeps. Enjoy!
Posted by LoWriter at November 1, 2005 08:49 AMcomment on Anne Lamott - i love her too. but i would recommend Rosie and Crooked Little Heart for fiction over Blue Shoe. i love how her women in her fiction, (and when she talks about herself) are these wonderfully falliable, strong women.
anyways, short list for me too. i was gone or busy every weekend and i picked lots of long books to read, and i am almost done, but not quite. if October is short, November will be long!
Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans - the McSweeney's "best of" book.
if you havent ever read McSweeney's online, please do it. i love irony. i love sarcasm. i love chastising. and, i love a good blonde joke. this book has it all, folks. including a rant on why the Death Star is unenvironmentally safe. witty, wry and made me want to write some of my own. maybe later, when i'm less cynical...
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
this is my 3rd read of the good doctor's genius. my favorite part about thompson's writing is his ability to make your senses explode. even the Rum Diaries, which was written in the 50s, before he discovered drugs, was tangible to every one of them. sometimes you cant help a re-read. sometimes the books make you read them. this was one of them.
next month: Scarlet Feather by maeve binchey, Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Mr. Muo’s Traveling Couch by Dai Sijie
Posted by: dr gonzo at November 1, 2005 11:32 AMThe one book I really have to reccomend this month was The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. He served in the Vietnam war and it his story, sortof. It's more about people than about war, it's amazing. I didn't understand why my coworker wanted me to read it so badly until I read it.
Posted by: 10lees at November 1, 2005 11:37 AMI LOVE The Mistress of Spices. It's one of my all time favorite books. I keep looking for it in the used section at B & N. (Bear in mind that this was during my India reading period where all I read were books by Indian authors.)
Posted by: Lo at November 1, 2005 01:53 PMLo, now you can fully regret not coming to the book fair. Chitra spoke, and it was a lot of fun!!!
Posted by: dr gonzo at November 1, 2005 03:47 PMWHAT?!?!? DAMN IT! Now I do fully regret it. Was that the weekend my sister came here?
Posted by: LO at November 1, 2005 05:18 PMyes. yes it was.
Posted by: dr gonzo at November 2, 2005 11:23 AMYou've listed some of my favorites! Yeah for October.
I stumbled upon "A Series of Unfortunate Events" two years ago, but have not kept up. Only read through the first four or five. I really should pick that up again. After "Brothers Karamozov" I keep saying, "After the Brothers K." But, let's be realistic, that is one book I may never finish (only because I keep loosing it, and by the time I find it again, think I should start over again...)