September - This Month in Reading

Wow, I think I might have gotten my reading mojo back! At the end of August, I said I wanted to read 4 books to match August, and in reality I read 9 - hooray! I was able to focus somewhat on my reading challenges so that was good.

Now that we are about to be in the best month of the year, I have to turn my attention to challenge reading. In fact, let's do a quick check-in:

Back to the Classics Challenge: 3/12 books read (yikes!!)
Color Coded Challenge: 4/9 books read
TBR Pile Challenge: 9/12 books read
LGBTQIA Challenge: 2/5 books read
Mount TBR Challenge: 21/60 books read

As you can see, my lack of reading earlier this year really puts me in a bind for these. I should have 45/60 books for the Mount TBR Challenge for one thing - 39 books will now have to be crammed in to my reading for the next 3 months for that challenge alone - luckily most of the books I have identified for my challenges work for that one. I think I will have to have a more organized approach to these challenges, so I will try to complete the Color Coded Challenge first, then move on to the Back to the Classics Challenge. I'm hoping I can cram all that reading (or at least most of it) into October - wish me luck!

How is your final quarter of 2017 reading shaping up?

The Given Day - Dennis Lehane

This book is a classic Library Sale find: it looked interesting on the shelf, I happily paid 50 cents, and then... it got set on the physical TBR pile and got dusty. After reading it, I kind of get why - the time period in which the book is set (early 20th Century) is interesting to me, and the back cover description seemed interesting but also possibly depressing, and the book itself is just over 700 pages (!) so it's not a casual, quick read.

Now that I have finished it, I can say that although I liked some of the characters I think the same story could have been told in far fewer pages. Some of the subplots just seemed unnecessary, and many scenes in the book just ran long when I didn't think they needed to. So although I enjoyed it for what it was, on the other hand, I have mixed feelings in general.

Rainbow Boys - Alex Sánchez

So this book is the polar opposite of a 2,000+ year old treatise on waging wars, ha ha. It's a well done YA novel about three high school age young men who are all grappling with their sexuality. I discovered this book in a fortuitous library catalog search and I am go glad I did! I found the characters engaging and the writing style was compelling - this was a fast read that covered a lot of ground. I really liked the characters, and I liked how the author was able to have three situations that young people can really relate to and show how many individuals react to challenges. Apparently there are two sequels, so maybe next year I can use them for the Color-Coded Reading Challenge :) Recommended.

The Art of War - Sun Tzu

This book really is what the title states - it's the author's method of waging war. I remember when it was a fad to read this book in the 1980s, when "big business" was really getting out of hand and corporate takeovers, etc., were a norm - I think all those MBAs and finance majors got a kick out of thinking that they were some kind of "warriors" with briefcases and contracts instead of actual weapons (although I suppose people do, or can, use things like contracts as weapons quite a bit....). In any case, although of course it's mainly geared toward actual warfare, there are some things I suppose one could apply to daily life, such as this:

During the early morning spirits are keen, during the day they flag, and in the evening thoughts turn toward home. 
And therefore those skilled in war avoid the enemy when his spirit is keen and attack him when it is sluggish and his soldiers homesick. 

Here's another 2 that are very relevant:

One anxious to defend his reputation pays no regard to anything else. 

and

If he is of a compassionate nature you can harass him. 

I feel like I see these things in action all around me these days.

To be honest, based on the topic, this book wasn't something that I was super interested in, but all in all, with the introduction, notes, and other info that was included, I ultimately found it interesting from a historical perspective.

Main Street - Sinclair Lewis

Oh my, what a wicked satire this is. To tell the truth, I have known people, more than I like to admit, that are EXACTLY like the people described in this book. EXACTLY. The strange insistence that their town is the BEST.TOWN.EVER!!!1!!!11!!!!, the constant comparisons of the town to the nearest big city (with the town always coming out on top, of course), the automatic assumption that if you are from said big city you're some kind of silly know-nothing full of dumb/useless ideas force fed to you from eggheads in ivory towers, the lack of interest in anything beyond a few safe topics (cars, sports, town gossip) - and of course, an insistence that anyone who isn't as prosperous as the town's people think they should be is just lazy - or, of course, a foreigner.

The best and yet scariest part is when the characters talk politics. This book was originally published in 1920, but in all honesty it's the same nonsense being spewed today. Help the poor?!?! Why, that would be SOSHULIZM!!!!!!!!!!!1!!11!!! Unions?!?!?! SOSHULIZM!!1!!!11 Sound familiar?

To get more specific about the book itself, I liked the main character and felt a lot of sympathy for her. It's hard to start over anywhere, but it's infinitely harder to come from a larger place and start over in a smaller place, in my opinion and in my experience. The book did seem to run a bit long for my taste; I felt like the author made his point and the story could have been a bit shorter. But all in all this was illuminating and I would like to read his other books.

Death Comes for the Archbishop - Willa Cather

WOW, readers - just WOW. I am now a Willa Cather superfan. She has once again bewitched me with her ability to create living, breathing characters out of paper and ink, and place them in settings I had no real prior interest in that I now wish I could see for myself.

It's funny, because on paper this book has little to interest me. It's basically a novel-length character study of the titular Archbishop, covering the many years he presides over New Mexico, when it was still a new territory for the US. However, once I started reading it I could barely cope with having to put it down. Something about her writing creates a direct link to images in my brain, and I feel instantly immersed in the story. I cannot wait to read more of her books. Highly recommended.

The Oracle of Stamboul - Michael David Lukas

This is one of the last of the Borders Last Day Sales books, and after reading I kind of see why it has been gathering dust on the TBR pile. I really wanted to love this book - the premise and setting seemed so interesting, but....

You know the expression, "there's no 'there' there?"Apparently it was originally a Gertrude Stein quotation, that has, over the years, taken on the meaning of "something that has nothing at its core." This book has no "there" there. The book has a cool cover, the jacket copy sounds interesting, the main character(s) seem interesting, the setting is interesting, but ultimately, nothing comes of any of it. Things are made a big deal of and then dropped. Characters disappear when it's convenient, and for no good reason. And to top it all off, the ending is ambiguous. Sigh.

Unfortunately I can't recommend this one.

Auntie Mame - Patrick Dennis (Spoilers?)

As a big fan of the film Mame, starring Rosalind Russell, who even enjoys the Lucille Ball musical version, I can't believe it has taken me this long to read this book. Yet another lucky Library Sale find, this was just what the doctor ordered. The semi-subtitle printed on the cover, "An Irreverent Escapade," sums it up neatly - it is definitely irreverent. It's also sort of a joyous escapade, one I'd dearly love to visit, Jasper Fforde Book World style.

As a film fan, I will say that the second half of the book diverges significantly from the film versions, but that is not a bad thing. I kind of like that the book is its own entity. And to be honest, the films' changes make way more sense from a narrative point of view, unifying the story and providing a more obvious narrative arc. I will let you know that one of the signature film lines is conspicuously missing from the book, so kudos to the stage or screen adaptor who coined it, it fits beautifully, and is one of my favorite quotes.

Apparently there is a sequel to this book; I might have to check that out. In any case, this is a fun little romp and I recommend it.

Six Feet Over: Adventures in the Afterlife - Mary Roach

Another lucky Library Sale shelf find, this book is apparently the UK edition - I guess the US title is Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. Regardless of the title, the subject matter was fascinating. The author looks into how people have described and believed in an afterlife, and how in the last couple of centuries scientists have been trying to ascertain if there is any such thing, and if we can somehow prove it. The most entertaining part of this book was the part related to the fad for "mediums" and "seances" in the late 1800s/early 1900s, and how some skeptics tried (and succeeded!) to debunk them and their (literal) parlor tricks. I have rapidly become a big fan of this author and I am happy that there are more of her books out there for me to discover. Recommended.

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal - Mary Roach

I've really become a fan of Mary Roach after reading this book - she has a way of breaking down complicated scientific topics into entertaining and easily understood portions. And yes, some of this information is gross, but the writing makes up for it. I have another book by this author on my TBR pile too, so looks like that one might have to be next up!