It's time for my February book trip post. Last month I read eleven books. Eleven! Apparently, I needed a lot of escapism. Although, a couple of those I DNF'ed on (did not finish), but we'll get into that later in this post.
1.) The first trip I took was to Scottland by way of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped". I love this book. As you know, I love most adventure stories, and this was no exception.
2.) The second book trip I went on was "Winter" by Ali Smith, it is the second book in her season series. I thought it was only appropriate that I read it in the correct season. Anyway, I didn't love it as much as I did "Fall", but it was still pretty interesting.
3.) The third adventure I took was to Vietnam and the Philippines and some other places around the world during the Vietnam War era with "Tree of Smoke" by Denis Johnson. I normally like Denis Johnson's work, but this one did not hold my interest, and it was really, really, looooooong. I didn't know you could make the Vietnam War boring, but he managed it. Mostly, because he needed to edit a couple of hundred pages out of it. It had so many conversations and incidents that didn't need to be there. By about the halfway point, even with some skimming, I was done. I didn't finish it, so maybe it got a lot better later on, but life is too short for me to find that out.
4.) "These Things Hidden" by Heather Gudenkauf is a book my daughter asked me to read when she was still in high school. I finally got around to it last month. It's a YA novel, in the vein of Jodi Picoult and written by a woman from Iowa. It was an easy and quick read. I did have to laugh at the end when the young woman main character talks about maybe moving to Wellman. What the hell is there to do in Wellman for a woman in her early 20's?
5.) The fifth trip I went on was to England in the 1800's with "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens. I have only ever read an abridged version of this novel in 9th grade. I loved this book. I'm sure I'll reread it many times in my life. Pip! Pip!
6.) "Ms. Marvel" by Wilson Alphona Herring was my next adventure. This graphic novel took me to NYC in the time of superheroes. I loved it. I can't wait to read more.
7.) I read "Winter's Bone", by Daniel Woodrell for my seventh book. I loved the movie, and I really liked the book too. It took me to Southern Missouri among scary clans of meth makers (Scary Clans of Meth Makers just might be my new band's name).
8.). The eighth book I tried to read was "Seating Arrangements" by Maggie Shipstead. I thought it would kind of a beach book, but it was not. It was about a rich person wedding on the East Coast, and all of the people were horrible, nobody was funny, and the biggest problem the dad had was not getting into some rich people country club. I just couldn't finish it. Again, that whole life's too short thing... If you ever want to read a fun beach book about rich people also written by an Iowa Writer's Workshop grad, I highly recommend, "Eligble" by Curtis Sittenfeld instead.
9.) My ninth book trip was all over the place with another Iowa Writer's Workshop guy in Charles J. Shields' "And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life". It was an interesting biography. I found out so many things I didn't know, like the last year that Kurt Vonnegut lived in Iowa City, he rented a house about a block from where we lived when the girls were younger. Also, he wasn't quite as cool as I had hoped, but whoever is, really?
10.) My second to last book trip was scary and hard to read, but very well crafted. It was "The Vegetartian" by Han Kang (another Iowa Writer's Workshop graduate). The novel takes place in South Korea, and it is about a woman, who, because of brutal dreams, becomes a vegetarian. She is abused in so many ways and ultimately asks, "Why is it such a bad thing to die?" It's not exactly the feel good book of the year, but it is fascinating, and so well written. I'm not sure if I would recommend it to people, but it is definitely worth reading...If you can stomach it.
11.) The last trip I took was to the ocean outside of Cuba with Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea". I'm not usually a Hemingway fan, but I did like this story. It was also great escapism from Iowa in the Winter.
So, eleven is a lot of books to read in a month, but don't worry, I'm reading an almost 900 page novel this month, so my book count should be one hell of a lot lower for March.
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