Monday, September 14, 2009

Recently Read

Standard disclaimer - go ahead and skip this if you want to.

1. Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas - Novel about a Colorado mining town in the 30s - interesting and enjoyable. I like this author's books.

2. The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson - I really enjoyed this memoir by a local author (and newspaper advice columnist), although I cried my eyes out reading the "Livestock in the Kitchen" chapter. A short, very interesting read.

3. King of the Hill by A.E. Hotchner - Memoir about a boy growing up in St. Louis during the depression - Funny, sad and really, really good.

4. Tell Me Where It Hurts by Dr. Nick Trout - One day in the life of a veterinarian - good.

5. As Hot As It Was You Ought To Thank Me by Nanci Kincaid - I got quite a way into this before realizing I'd read it before - Hello, old age! Still, it's a good book about a small southern town.

6. Bitsy's Bait and BBQ by Pamela Morsi - Novel about a small Ozarks town. A little formulaic, but still very enjoyable. There was a sex scene tossed in toward the end, which was kind of odd, because the rest of the book was basically rated G. It reminded me of the movies "Stir of Echoes" and "Sling Blade", both of which threw in sexually charged scenes right at the front of the movie, I guess to make sure they'd get an R rating. Not sure why you'd do that with a book, though - especially at the end. That being said, I DID like this book. (Just in case the author's googling!)

7. Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenburg - Nonfiction about a man whose 15 year old daughter becomes mentally ill. Interesting, but I guess I've just read one too many of these "family member goes insane" books - after a while they're all the same.

8. Everybody Into The Pool by Beth Lisick - Brief, humorous essays about modern life - funny.

9. Hannah's Dream by Dianne Hammond - Novel about an elephant in a run-down zoo - I really, really liked this one.

10. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audry Niffenegger. Confusing ("Clare is 28. Henry is 36, and 41.") and kind of sappy. Meh.

11. The Curing Season by Leslie Wells - Novel about an abused woman with a crazy husband. Interesting.

12. Democratic Camera by William Eggleston - Coffee table book. This was an interesting guy - He was a photographer who claimed that he thought all his pictures were equally valid - He'd let other people pick which ones to exhibit, because he thought they were all the same, quality-wise.

13. That Went Well by Trent Dougan - Memoir about growing up with and caring for a mentally disabled sister - Interesting.

14. Black Flies by Shannon Burke - Novel about an EMT in Harlem based on the author's experiences - Very good.

15. Jellicoe Road and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - A lot of people recommended these two Young Adult books. The problem I have with YA books is, well ...... they were written for kids. I mean, I'm sure if I was 14 I'd really enjoy this type of book, but I'm not and I don't. Sorry!

So! That's it for now. I'm hoping that with the move behind me, I'll be able to settle down and do a little more reading. Any suggestions?


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That comment about YA books--yeah, I tend to think the same way. I just don't get it. A lot of my friends who are avid readers love reading YA books, but I didn't even like reading those types of books when I was a YA :) I preferred Stephen King when I was a teen.