wastelands

just finished "wastelands" for last month's book group, which goes along with mom's latest reads in terms of genre. i am a big fan of post-apocalyptic movies so it's not surprising that i was a fan of the short story format. there are familiar names like orson scott card, cory doctorow, and stephen king in this collection. i think post-apocalyptic sci-fi can be difficult to take in large doses (like "the road"... what an intense book) so i liked the short story format because it was only 5-15 pages of feeling sorry for the characters, then moving on to the next, haha. overall i'd definitely recommend it. not something i'd pick up on my own but i'm glad it was chosen for the month's read.

2 down, one to go!

Just finished the 2nd book in the trilogy that started with Life As We Knew It.

Sometimes sequels and trilogies are not as good when you get to the second and third books, but this one delivers. Now I'm anxious to get to Number 3!

This is a story about the same moon event from the first book - only it's about what happens in New York. It's "doomsday" for sure, but since it's a young adult novel, it's not graphically horrific.

A good, quick read - put it on your list for summer!

I need to stop reading and start getting things done!!

I bought this in the bookstore at the airport because I was afraid I'd finish the book I brought with me - and I did finish it, so I was glad to have a book on hand.

I tend to like Chinese-themed novels - and this was no exception. However, the quality of the writing was uneven. The story is quite compelling, but as often happens in many novels I read, it seemed like the author went along telling a good story - and then felt the need to hurry up and finish it - and got a little sloppy.

This is about a young woman and her mother who come to New York from Hong Kong - seems like the 70's or 80's - and they live under terrible conditions and work in a sweat shop. The daughter decides that getting a good education is the only way out - so she excels academically. But there's a sad love story there too - with a kind of O'Henry twist at the end.

I think I need to stop starting books and get through the end of the school year before I start up again!!

Another good read - with more to come!

Marcie suggested this to me - a student in one of her classes was reading it and recommended it, so she gave it a look see - and liked what she saw. It is young adult science fiction, and it has won some prizes. It was a good read - there were some weak spots in the plot, but by and large, you were drawn into the story - it was tough to put down.

The basic premise is that the moon has been hit by a large asteroid that bumps it slightly off its axis - and so the gravitational pull is all out of whack - tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes - and young Miranda and her broken family need to figure out how to survive in a world gone crazy.

And there are 2 sequels - apparently it was written as a trilogy.

I think a nice trilogy is just right - not too many, like a series that goes bad after the 3rd or 4th book. But just enough to keep you going for awhile.

It worked for me!!

Louder Than Words

I bought this book a couple of years ago at the book fair. I had no idea that the author was a former Playboy centerfold!! I had no idea who she was at all in fact!

I also had no idea that the book itself was something of a rant against vaccinations and other suspected agents!

But her style is loose and easy to read. Sometimes it's funny - if you can believe that.

And after she finally got the therapies and programs she wanted for her son - she was incredibly diligent in applying them at home too - which is a lesson all parents could benefit from.

The diets, and rants are less absorbing.

I thought it would help me understand some of the students I have with autism. I suspect it could help me understand their parents though!

And she contacted the LDS Church - and had two elders come and give her son a blessing. And they taught her once too and she took a Book of Mormon. They came often to her house - that part was funny to read - she kept telling them it wasn't a good time to teach her - finally she said yes and took a lesson.

Only one lesson though!

Like I said, it was a different book.

She dedicates the book to lots of doctors, teachers, therapists "and the Mormons!"

An odd sort of story . . .

I go to Curves about 4 times a week. They have shelves for your bags and purses. And many people put magazines and books on these shelves for others to borrow and then return. I can never pass a pile of books without going through them, and I came across The Accidental Tourist in late January. I enjoyed reading it - when I returned it, I was hoping there would be something that might catch my eye.

Alas, there was nothing but pulp fiction, tawdry romance, lackluster mystery novels, and some questionable aging best sellers of no particular note!!

Until the other day when I saw this one - and the book jacket said it had started out as a short story in the New Yorker. The New Yorker does indeed have some good fiction - sometimes. Mostly it's odd or strange. Sometimes it's right "on the money" though. I don't recall reading this one, but the book itself, though odd and strange, had some redeeming qualities.

I had never heard of it before - and the author's sister is Aimee Bender - the reviews mentioned that fact as if it was a fact of some note - and I'd never heard of either Karen or Aimee Bender!! So maybe you've all heard of it/her/them and I'm just a "day late and a dollar short" once more.

I would not go out and buy it - but I would check it out at the library. It's about a woman with a mentally retarded daughter - growing up in the early 50's in LA - the families are Jewish. In the course of one actual day, the stories of three generations are told. It was pretty insightful in its portrayal of mental handicaps and how society used to deal with them. And it is also an insightful portrayal of love and family dynamics.

You could put it on your list - but maybe not at the top!

Don't bother!

My book group chose this - or rather someone suggested it and I didn't object strenuously enough!! (I was pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy anything by Richard Paul Evans!!)

I went to get it from the library and it was on hold until 2 days before we were supposed to meet. Then the reference librarian called and said it was at the Sierra Madre Library. I was going to drive over there but decided that with gas prices the way they are, it might be cheaper to get it from Amazon. So I did. That was Tuesday - I ordered it that night - and it came today!!

Harry is working late, so I sat down and started reading it - broke for dinner and then finished it. (It's a very skimmable book, btw!!) I think I read it in 3 1/2 hours - 3 1/2 hours that could have been better spent surfing the net!! Or maybe playing Solitaire!!

I often joke around about books of this caliber and say "I could write that." But you know, I couldn't write that. I could never come up with such drivel!!

It's in diary form - a man loses his wife, his business, his house, his cars - and then decides to walk to Key West, Florida. There are the de rigeur "other-worldly" elements. There are panic attacks, a homeless man without hands, a suicide survivor who "understands," and it looks like there's a female interest on board - something for the sequels I am sure.

And her name is Angel!!!

hotel at the corner of bitter and sweet.

I just finished this last night and I really enjoyed it. It's the story of the relationship between a Chinese boy and a Japanese girl during WWII in Seattle. It's a clean read and I would easily recommend it to anyone (Grandma Mary might like it!). After I read it I decided to do a bit of research on the author, Jamie Ford, and discovered that he is LDS. The bio bit about having 6 children tipped me off:).

Anyway- if you've read it let me k now what you thought!

Also, I finished Hannah Coulter, after Hannah recommended it, and I think it might be my favorite read of 2011.

Don't "neglect" this one!

After reading and enjoying Still Alice, I was anxious to read her next book. (There was a teaser chapter at the end of Alice.)

This was a compelling read. Well-written, and very informative about a neurological condition with which I was not familiar. But the story that was the framework was what made the book worth reading - the question of how much sacrifice is too much sacrifice for a life-style that may not really be desirable.

The story gives new meaning to the phrase, "stop and smell the roses."

This needs to be on your "must read" list!!