rahniREADS (July '09)

This was a STANDOUT month--here's three cheers for looking to one's own shelves for good reads! Five out of the eight books I read this month were just outstanding (I didn't count the reread in my tally). Ironically enough, all five were books from my own collection, some of which have been listlessly gathering dust for several years, due to shabby neglectfulness on my part. See, there is a valid reason for buying stacks of books at a time, even when you know that you can't give them all the proper attention they deserve. One rainy July, you just may need an unread, uncracked spine to settle down with. My goodness, I found myself marveling (rather boastfully), what good taste I had when I picked out these books! Of course, it's all too true that I've chosen some dreary duds as well, but not in this fine selection of past purchases! Okay, bragging has ceased. Read on.

(P.S. I'm so bitter right now because somehow I erased my comments on How Soccer Explains the World as well as Paris to the Moon, and now have to retype those entries! Grrrr . . . )

Magic Hour - Kristin Hannah**1/2
~Psychiatrist loses street cred, gains life~
(Library book) Not as good as the other Kristin Hannah book I read. An okay read, but I'm thinking that I'd like others of hers better. That's pretty much all I have to say about this book. Not so eloquent today, I guess. ;o) (Fiction, Modern day, Northwest>IYLRMO Jodi Picoult, Maeve Binchy)
The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss*****
~Simply the best current fantasy available~
(Owned for 6 months before cracking open) You know, I purposely didn't read this book after I bought it. Thought I'd be smart and wait until the second book of this trilogy came out before testing out the first book. Sarah G. has been enthusiastically campaigning for me to read this novel for well over a year now. So what do I do? Wait until I have a fun vacation planned and take a 722 page book with me (sorry, Chandra!). Such actions do not make for social houseguests. Poor niece and nephew--it took me over an hour to read the last 7 pages because I tried to multitask entertaining children with ignoring said children. It's a delicate balancing act. Extremely engrossing book--the next one is due out in October! Unfortunately, I did not know that pertinent bit of information before I read it. I just assumed (with no actual knowledge) that book two was out. At least while I've been waiting I've successfully pressed it on my friend John. I feel a little bit bad about that, though, because--though I mentioned it was the first book in a trilogy, I purposely did not mention that no subsequent books were published yet. (Fantasy>IYLRMO George R. R. Martin, Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan)
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens****
~French Revolution targets family, heroics ensue~
(Owned for years before cracking open) My first unabridged Charles Dickens! A success! I've discovered something that millions of people already know (obviously)--Charles Dickens was a fabulous writer. Memorable characters, shrewd social commentary, humorous conversations, witty wordplay, well-woven plot. Lately, the B&N Classics fixture has been targeting me with a reproachful look when I pass it by. As much as I love books, as much as I love to read, I realize that I have neglected the classics. The closest I've come to most of them are those square kid abridgements that have a picture every fourth page. (My 7th grade English teacher was not pleased when I tried to claim that I had already read Captains Courageous--even though it was just 64 pages.) So I decided I needed to read a Dickens. Of course, I took it easy on myself and chose one of his smallest--and one which I had (back as a little tyke) already familiarized myself with. I was a bit hesitant to approach this tome--my last foray into the unabridged classics left me feeling like I had learned something dispiriting about a childhood friend. Three Musketeers was a much more beloved tale when left to ruthless abridgemets, or on the big screen. Nothing but a bunch of partying idiots who weren't hugely patriotic and easily distracted from their quests by slight insults that must be challenged. Move on! I did. But Dickens did not disappoint. I believe I'll check out Bleak House or Great Expectations next. (Fiction, Classic, Historical England>IYLRMO Oscar Wilde)
The Splendor of Silence - Indu Sundaresan****
~Half-American/Indian daughter learns family's past~
(Owned for close to 2 years before cracking open) After finishing Great Expectations, I wasn't ready for current American fiction, so I turned an author I'd read before and could trust to tell a great story. Strangely enough, though I loved her first two books (The Twentieth Wife and Feast of Roses), and had actually bought this next book qute a while ago, I'd never even read the synopsis on the back cover. When you think of WWII fiction, does India spring to mind? Even Burma? I mostly think of Western Europe, or perhaps the Pacific theatre. Not the troubles experienced in Asia. I learn so much from every book Sundarensan writes, plus, the stories are worthwhile, the characters well-developed, and the settings are so real you want to take shelter when you read of the sand storms. I exclaimed to my sister, Amber, "This book is fantastic! What a great read!" She regarded me somewhat bemusedly and replied, "I know. I've read it. You bought it for me. Awhile ago." In fact, it was a rather ironic exchange, seeing as how I introduced her to this author, and now she has overtaken me! I can't wait to read her next novel--The Convent of Little Flowers! (Fiction, WWII India>IYLRMO Jhumpa Lahiri,The Alchemist)
The Piano Shop on the Left Bank - Thaddeus Carhart****
~Piano's history and allure eloquently explained~
(Owned for several years before cracking open) A conversation with my sister. "I'm reading a really great book about this American ex-pat who lives in Paris and passes this little piano store every day, wondering about it but never allowed entrance. So he tries to gain entrance into the exclusive back room, and you learn all about the history of pianos, etc., etc." I raved. Pause. "You know," she said, "Hearing that summary, if I didn't actually know you, I'd think that you had nothing to do all day." In fact, I had worked an eight-hour day, walked the dog, visited with a sick friend (and brought homemade--well, "Betty Crocker mix homemade"--brownies to said friend) and cleaned out my car (not a short project). Having no real ear for music, despite m a n y years of playing the violin and dabbling on the piano, I was quite captivated by Mr. Carhart's tale. I've never heard anyone describe music so eloquently, and with such an infectious enthusiasm. I'm always grateful to the authors who can keep my undivided attention through a book, but especially when the book centers on a topic that I'm not particularly interested in (I remember the same thoughts after having read Nick Hornby's soccer memoir Fever Pitch, or Michael Lewis' Moneyball). Good writing, indeed. (Non-fiction, Paris, pianos/music>IYLRMO The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Paris to the Moon (of course))
Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (Book Club re-read, see April '09 rahniREADS)
Paris to the Moon - Adam Gopnik****
~Writer raises young son in Paris~
(Owned for several years before cracking open) One of my favorite quotes from this collection of essays about yet another ex-pat in Paris, though this one writes for The New Yorker. (Questioning a friend as to why the women are fanning themselves at a haute coutre event that is unseasonably cold) "She looked around the salon and made the encompassing shrug-and-pout-and-flex-your-hands-from-the-wrist French gesture that in the context meant that the apparent absurdity of the act of fanning yourself in the cold is no more absurd than the whole enterprise of traveling to Paris to look at clothes that you will never wear, displayed on models to whom you bear no resemblance, in order to help a designer get people who will never attend shows like this someday to buy a perfume or a scarf that will give them the consoling illusion that they have a vague association with the kind of people who do attend shows like this—even though the people who attend shows like this are the kind who fan themselves against July heat that happens not to exist." (p. 130) Oh, and when he describes his young son rising from his pram ("a cobra in mittens") and swaying to the hypnotic tunes piped overhead the department store's PA system! I love it. (Nonfiction, memoir, Paris>IYLRMO Idyll Banter, by Chris Bohjalian)
How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization - Franklin Foer**
(Owned for several years before cracking open) I'd always liked the cover of this book and the title. I still like the cover and the title--though I doubt the veracity of the rather dubious claim the latter makes. I think I should have stuck with Thomas Friedman when it comes to globalization theories. Despite the catchy name and interesting metaphor, the only thing I really feel that I learned from this book is to never attend a soccer game outside the U.S. (a point I don't think Mr. Foer was trying to make--nonetheless, it stuck). (Non-fiction, Current Affairs, Globalization>IYLRMO Thomas Friedman, Benjamin Barber)
Twenties Girl - Sophie Kinsella ***
~Londoner connects with kindred dead aunt~
(Borrowed from B&N within two weeks of its release) Much to my surprise, I loved Kinsella's Shopaholic book series when I read it last year. Such fluffy fun! I was kind of relieved to find some ChickLit that I enjoyed, because I constantly get asked for those kinds of recommendations at the store. I can never knowledgably answer such queries, however, because I've never read Jennifer Weiner, Candace Bushnell, Jane Green, Emily Giffin, etc., etc. Reading Sophie Kinsella hasn't converted me to the Sex and the City crowd, however, but I'm glad to have an author somewhat in that same genre (but cleaner) to offer to the single-city-girl readers. Shopaholic will always be my favorites of hers (if her stand-alones to date are of any indication), but this was a fun, light read as well! (Fiction, Modern day>IYLRMO well, all the authors listed above, though I haven't read them)

(IYLRMO = If you liked/Reminds me of . . .)
***** READ IT RIGHT NOW!
*** Would definitely pass it on to others--highly recommended
*** Better than most
**1/2 (Shrug) Nothing that sticks with you, but fine afternoon reading
** If you're stuck on a deserted island and cloud-watching isn't your thing
* BURN in a fire if you're stuck on a deserted island (even if it's a hot, tropical island)