Here’s what I read from April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2003, organized by category.
Non-Fiction:
The Ditchdigger’s Daughters, Yvonne S. Thornton and Jo Coudert, read by Fran Washington (A)
This book made me cry more than once as the author told the story of her life. I appreciated getting a glimpse into what it was like to be an African American woman who succeeded in becoming a doctor, and the hopeful and inspirational tone was a good antidote to the negativity in the world right now.
The Virgin and the Mousetrap, Chet Reyno, read by Robert Sevra (A)
I liked this collection of essays about science because of the images it put in my head in answer to questions I hadn’t thought to ask, like “What if the earth were the size of a bowling ball?” and “What would people do with cesium-137 if they didn’t know what it was?”
Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger, read by Jay Robertson (A)
I was surprised when the prologue seemed to ruin some of the suspense in this book, but as I got into it, I realized it’s not really about how the games come out or what happens to individual players but about the culture that surrounds the season. I stayed interested throughout, for the football parts and the town parts and the history parts. This was the rare audio book that I was tempted to bring inside and listen to when I wasn’t driving.
Green Behind the Ears, Faith Addis, read by Briony Sykes (A)
I decided to find out how the second season of the Addis’ holiday camp went. The text on the jacket contained spoilers, but that was okay because this isn’t the kind of book where the suspense is the main attraction. I could still enjoy the anecdotes.
The Year of the Cornflake, Faith Addis, read by Briony Sykes (A)
I enjoyed hearing how this couple achieved their goal of opening a holiday camp for children in Devon, even though I have no desire to do such a thing myself. The reader on this tape was very good, which I especially appreciated because I had to abandon listening to the last book I tried because the reader just annoyed me.
A Little More About Me, Pam Houston
I liked this collection of essays because it gave me a window into the life of a woman much more adventurous than I am. The only story I didn’t like was the last one. I understand why it was there, but it bothered me. I would have made a different choice than the author did in the story, and because it was a situation that I might be in someday (unlike trekking at 16,000 feet in Bhutan) that made me feel like I didn’t understand this woman as well as thought I did. It was like I’d made a new friend and then found out that we had a serious difference of opinion that put a damper on the whole relationship. It was disappointing. I still will look for her other books, though.
Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris, read by the author (A)
This audio book needs a warning label: “Use caution when driving while listening to this book, as it may cause you to laugh so hard you cry and cannot see the road.” I’m in awe of his ability to make even the unfunny funny: drug addiction, getting his cat put to sleep. I was sad when I finished the last tape and wished for more immediately.
Cold Zero, Christopher Whitcomb, read by Jonathan Marosz (A)
This book took me somewhere I’ll never be able to go in real life, inside the FBI. Not just the FBI, but the Hostage Rescue Team. It kept me interested for the long drive down to Indiana and back.
On Writing, Stephen King, read by the author (A)
I checked this one out because I remembered that Jackie liked it. I liked it too, even though I have no plans to write for a living. I haven’t read any Stephen King since high school, so the references to his books were mostly lost on me, but I really enjoyed the biographical bits. I always like to hear how other people do their lives.
Your Best Year Yet, Jinny Ditzler
This was recommended by a friend who had really good results putting this program into practice. So far, I haven’t managed to do more than just read the book, so I can’t say how well it might work. I found the tone to be a little on the perky side, but that’s better than it being a little too dull.
Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, John Shelby Spong
I borrowed this from my father-in-law in order to get a different perspective than I get in the small bible study I attend. Raised a Unitarian, I learned almost nothing about the Bible growing up, so now I’m trying to catch up. I liked this book, with its history of how the Bible was put together and theories about the authors of the various books and proposals on how this document can be used in a modern world; it was very thought provoking.
Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (BC)
I found this depressing, full of things I’d prefer not to be reminded about. It has not kept me away from McDonald’s and Taco Bell, though.
Fiction:
Persuasion, Jane Austen, read by Jill Masters (A)
I checked this out under the influence of The Usual Suspects and ended up liking it a lot. At first, I was put off by the phrasing, which probably sounded fine to readers who lived when the book was written, but which I sometimes had trouble with. I think I would have done better with this in print, where I could more easily go back over passages to get their full meaning. Then I got in to the story and the language issues weren’t a problem anymore. Based on this introduction, I’ll probably read more Austen.
Griffin & Sabine, Sabine’s Notebook, and The Golden Mean, Nick Bantock
This set was a birthday gift from Mr. Karen. He knows I like interesting visuals, and these books certainly had them. I was glad to have all three books to read at once, so I could soon satisfy my curiosity about what happened next.
Felicia’s Journey, William Trevor (BC)
I must stop reading reviews on Amazon; several of them spoiled the suspense of the early chapters of this book for me. Still, there was enough tension in the rest of the book, with some unknowns never quite revealed, to keep me interested. I ended up liking this a lot more than I thought I would based on the descriptions I’d heard that it was dark and sad. It was, but somehow it also left me with a feeling of hope. Maybe that’s due in part to it being almost spring here, when my mood lifts regardless of what I’m reading.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
I bought this one because a lot of people raved about how good it was. I did like it, but I wasn’t tempted to stay up all night reading just so I could see how it turned out. I wonder if I’ve lost my capacity to do that, to get lost in a book. Maybe it’s not the books; maybe it’s me.
Ship Fever, Andrea Barrett (BC)
I found these stories very melancholy. I wonder if I’d read them during sunny May rather than grey February if I’d have fallen in love like the reviewers quoted on the back of the book did. I wasn’t astonished; I wasn’t amazed. I was glad I stuck with it, though, because the ending of the last story was very satisfying.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie, translated by Ina Rilke (BC)
For a story about re-education during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, this was surprisingly light and even funny in spots. The ending took a twist I wasn’t expecting, and I found myself wanting to know more about how things had turned out, both of which are good things in a book, if a little frustrating.
Because of You, Lisa Walker
I really could have done without the bad things happening to animals in this book; someone needs to start a campaign to put warning labels on for things like that. The animals aren’t the focus of the story, though; it’s about a girl growing up in a dysfunctional family (well, of course, they make the best fiction). I thought it ended just as it was getting interesting– what’s this girl finally make of her life?
Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracey Chevalier, read by Ruth Ann Phimister (A)
I loved this book! The descriptions, even of mundane details, were wonderful and really put me in that world. The reader was a much better fit for this book than for Zombies of the Gene Pool and didn’t bother me at all.
Strand of a Thousand Pearls, Dorit Rabinyan, translated by Yael Lotan
I enjoyed reading this, but feel like I missed a lot of the meaning. At least I’m hoping I missed a lot of the meaning, because the ending just seemed to trail off, not really resolving anything.
Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, read by [TUS] (A)
Listening to this was extra fun because I got to hear the voices of people I previously knew only through words written on screens; I am grateful to Lynda for putting the whole project together. When I first got the CD’s, I listened to a sampling of each track so I could hear all the different accents, but it was much nicer to hear the whole thing, to be able to settle into each person’s voice for a whole chapter. I thought I knew this book, having read it so many times as a girl, but I was surprised to find there are guinea pigs in it. Not in starring roles, of course, but they’re there.
The Club Dumas, Arturo Perez-Reverte, translated by Sonia Sota (BC)
Another good one. This was serious and made me think and also had an interesting story. I didn’t get all the allusions and themes, but I also didn’t feel like it was all over my head and inaccessible, so I never felt like giving up on it.
The Wind Done Gone, Alice Randall, read by the author (A)
I liked this. I’m glad I didn’t read the blurb on the back cover until I’d finished listening to it, as it gave away several major plot points. It was interesting to see another view of the world Scarlett and Rhett lived in, and now I want to reread Gone With the Wind.
Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert (BC)
I found this just as depressing and exasperating as when I read it the first time back in college.
Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (A)
I liked this one up until the last few chapters, which felt very abrupt compared to the slower pace of the rest of this lengthy book. Part of my annoyance might be due to not liking the ending; abrupt might have been okay if things had turned out the way I hoped.
Kate Atkinson’s Behind the Scenes at the Museum: A Reader’s Guide, Emma Parker
I felt I needed some background in order to lead the book club discussion, and this helped.
Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Kate Atkinson (BC)
This book made me feel a little dumb, because I didn’t pick up on the clues as to the nature of one of the really bad things that happen in the story. I blame the author for telling me upfront about another of the really bad things, lulling me into a false sense of not having to pay that close attention. Mostly, I liked this one, and some of the scenes really resonated for me.
House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski (BC)
This took a long time for me to finish, with its intertwined stories and footnotes and appendices and sheer bulk. I’m sure I missed a lot, and maybe will reread it someday to see if it’s easier the next time through. It’s a rich and clever book, not a straightforward read. My favorite part was the placement of the text on the pages to mirror the physical spaces being experienced by the characters in some passages; that was something I hadn’t seen before.
Written on the Body, Jeanette Winterson (BC)
This one mostly annoyed me, but at least it was short. Perhaps it would have frustrated me less if it were longer, if the author had added missing details such as the gender of the main character. I like to create pictures of scenes in my mind as I read, and it bothered me to not know whom to cast in the lead.
Fluffy Fiction:
Fatal Inversion, Barbara Vine, read by William Gaminara (A)
I chose this book because the mystery centers around events that took place in the summer of 1976 in England, which is the same time as Faith Addis and her husband had the first season of their holiday camp in Devon; the idea of reading fiction set in the same time and country as the nonfiction I’d just finished appealed to the part of my brain that likes to make connections. It turned out to be a pretty good story, too, even though I never did come to really care about the characters. I didn’t find out until after I’d finished that this was written by Ruth Rendell using a pseudonym; I liked it better than the short story collection of hers I read several months ago.
The Surgeon, Tess Gerritsen
Helen at the office passed this along to me– a peace offering, perhaps? It was a quick read and a good vacation book. The crime story was well done, if a little gruesome at times, but the romantic subplots were less compelling and less believable. I would have coupled different characters than the author did, too.
Zombies of the Gene Pool, Sharyn McCrumb, read by Ruth Ann Phimister (A)
I wished for faster pacing; as Mr. Karen said, you could fall asleep for five minutes at a time and not miss anything for most of the book. I did like that I wasn’t able to predict the plot twists, even though I had a lot of time to anticipate them. Surprises in a suspense story are always good. I didn’t care for the reader much, but she wasn’t so bad I couldn’t listen.
Backhand, Liza Cody, read by Jill Tanner (A)
This was the second Anna Lee mystery I’ve listened to. There were more secrets in this one, and unlike in the first book I listened to, I wasn’t let down when I found out what they were. Much of the book takes place around Tampa, Florida, and it was fun to hear descriptions of places I’ve been. The scenery was accurate, but some of the details of the plot just didn’t make sense. Why make it a point to discuss how Anna is going to pay for a hotel room with her own credit card and then have her register under an assumed name she just makes up on the spot? That’s not going to work. Later Anna, who’s hiding from her client and the bad guys, just up and answers the phone at the condo, where both the client and the bad guys know she’s staying. If she were a ditz, okay, but she’s not. Things like that need to be explained or they niggle at me.
The Cat Who Lived High, Lillian Jackson Braun, read by George Guidall (A)
The opening of this book didn’t have nearly the same dramatic effect for me as it would have if I hadn’t already listened to later installments in the series. The ending, however, surprised me, and I thought I’d heard enough of these books to know how they’ll turn out. It’s more entertaining not to know, so I was pleased.
Under Contract, Liza Cody, read by Jill Tanner (A)
The deep dark secret in this book turned out to be something a lot less interesting than what I’d guessed it might be, so that was disappointing. Evidently, this is one of a series of mysteries featuring Anna Lee, who works for a private security firm in London. When I run out of The Cat Who… books to listen to on my commute, I might check out more of this series, since it the plot wasn’t so complex that it required my full attention.
Husyman’s Pets, Kate Wilhelm
This was a quick read. I found it in the science fiction section at the library; it turned out to be more focused on the fiction part than the science part. It read more like a mystery, actually. I enjoyed it, yet wished for more detail.
The Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association, Loren D. Estleman, read by George Guidall (A)
I almost didn’t finish this one. The narrative jumped around in time, so what should have been suspenseful sections were ruined because I already knew how things would turn out. I found the supporting cast more engaging than the hero and kept wishing the focus of the story would shift to tell me more about the other characters.
Piranha to Scurfy and Other Stories, Ruth Rendell (A)
I almost didn’t finish this one, since some of the middle stories just didn’t entertain me. I’m glad I stuck it out, because one of the last stories was set in a very intriguing place that made me think about how I’d react if confronted with the same circumstances. Any book that makes me think is worthwhile.
The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gilman (A)
The second book in the series and another pleasant suspense story.
Day of Reckoning, Jack Higgins, read by Frank Muller (A)
This is another trashy novel for men, with lots of explosions. Not realizing it was a series about one character, I was confused when the guy I thought was the main character was unconscious for chapters on end. I was pleasantly surprised at the competent and active female characters, since I’d been expecting bimbos or eye candy only in a book like this.
Artistic Differences, Charlie Hauck, read by George Guidall (A)
I picked this one up because it looked like fun, and it was. Not necessarily believable, but then again what do I know about life in Hollywood?
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gilman, read by Barbara Rosenblat (A)
Mrs. Pollifax books are another way I get my light reading fix. This one is the first in the series, and it was nice to finally get the full story of the start of Emily Pollifax’s career as a spy.
The Cat Who Went Up the Creek, Lillian Jackson Braun, read by George Guidall (A)
This series is one of my light reading standbys, so when I see one at the library I haven’t read I grab it. Now I’ve read enough of them that I can tell who the “disposable ensigns” are going to be, so I’m not surprised when bad things happen to or are done by them. The number and nature of the serious crimes that occur in the small community that serves as the setting for the later books is really hard to believe, but it’s nice to listen to the stories anyway and see what the continuing cast is up to. I got what I expected from this book, a nice pleasant read.
The Run, Stuart Woods (A)
Stuart Woods books are a guilty pleasure. They seem like the manly version of the trashy novels I read in college. The thing I liked best about this book was spotting the minor characters that also appeared in the other Stuart Woods books I’ve read. I love making connections like that; it lets me feel like the world is an orderly place.
When I first started in May, 2002, my pages looked like this. It’s one of the standard Diary-X templates only slightly modified.
In September, 2002, I got all fancy and slapped a logo on the page. I did the logo myself, inspired by Quidam, after searching all over creation for an existing bitmap that looked like what I wanted.
In June, 2003, I finally got a real design, based on one done by PooDesigns.
Now, I have a very similar look, but the CSS behind it is all new and spiffy.
Sign up if you want to get e-mail when I update. You will also get occassional bonus mail between updates. Just fill in your information in the boxes below then click the “Sign me up” button.
Powered by WordPress