Summer Book Review

Where have I been?  I have been reading some wonderful books.  Classes are out for the summer, so that means time for reading books – books that I CHOOSE!

First, I started with Miranda July’s “No One Belongs Here More Than You,” a collection of short stories.  I really REALLY wanted to like it, but after a while, I got really bored with it.  I don’t know how something so imaginative can quickly grow tiresome, but it did.  I didn’t finish it.  I think I’ll get back to it someday.

Then, it was Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers: The Story of Success.”  Excellent book.  Gladwell’s New Yorker pieces have always stood out for me – any time I find myself entertained while reading about sports you can bet that there’s great writing involved (I could care less about sports).  Read this book!  The most memorable thing from it, to me, was that you’re safest in an airplane being piloted by the most inexperienced crew member.  The reason?  Because that means that the pilot (or “boss,” to the rest of the crew) is co-piloting, so when he pipes in with words of caution, people tend to listen better.  I’m no Gladwell, so if that made no sense, go read the book! 

I tried to follow it up with Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” but it was much more serious and a bit more confusing… and maybe I just needed a break from statistics?  The discussion about Baltimore’s syphilis pandemic (epidemic?) was interesting enough though.  I haven’t given up completely – it’s still on my nightstand.  Then again, so is a dusty copy of Great Expectations… sheesh.

At a friend’s urging, I read Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,” and I could not put it down – I finished it in 3 days.  Everyone loves a good survival story… and when you add in a post-apocalyptic setting, even better.  Some images from that book will be in my mind forever.  If you are a non-reader or have issues committing to a novel, try this one.

After watching the trailer for the upcoming Oprah/Tyler Perry movie (wait, just hear me out here!), I decided I couldn’t wait for the movie and had to read the book (which would probably be better anyway).  Oh, the book is “Push” by Sapphire.  If I had to describe this book in one word, it’d be real – each and every one of these characters is believable.  In fact I think a few of them went to my high school.  If I had two words? Heart-breaking – no doubt about it this is a sad survival story.  This isn’t about triumph over hardship; it’s about the process to it.  And the hardships themselves.  Anyway, I get the feeling that the book will have a deeper impact on me than the movie, but either way I will be watching it in November.

Right now I’m a little more than halfway through Haruki Murakami’s “Kafka on the Shore,” a book I bought a few years back and never read.  I think the 470 pages of small font really scared me off (ha!  I love making fun of 21-year-old me.) – I’ll admit it still kinda does, but at this point I’m into it and not really counting pages anymore.  Plus, you can NOT beat cameos by Johnnie Walker and Colonel Sanders, talking cats, fish raining from the sky, ghosts – all in a beautiful Japanese setting.  Craziness.  Unexpectedness.  This book is like a dream, but one of those ridiculous dreams that you wake up laughing at.  Like the time I dreamt that Jane and I got stuck in an Army drill on post and she lost her hair to an explosion.  She had Benjamin Franklin head!

Ok, one last book.  After a stroll through Target last month, I found Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book… flipping through, the pictures really grabbed my eye.  The BF bought the book for me (he’s no dummy…)  So far I’ve made the Vanilla Chai-Tea mini-cupcakes (NOM, great with coffee!), and the hummingbird cupcakes (excellent) – I’ll be trying a few more for parties this weekend, including pineapple flowers.  I’ll try to get some pics and post them.