The world's worst library books

My sister-in-law sent me a link to a website appropriately named Awful Library Books, which rounds up the worst library books out there, most of which are hopelessly and hilariously outdated. Made me giggle.

An update to my wish list for new books:

Too Much Happiness: Stories, by Alice Munro. I almost always love Munro. Her stories are often little gems. I'm looking forward to savoring these.

Wolf Hall: A Novel, by Hilary Mantel. I'm interested in learning about Thomas Cromwell, and this won the Booker this year, and the buzz is good. It's on my list.

My Wish List Grows Longer...

All of a sudden there are so many new books out that I want to read. I'm coveting them. Good thing my birthday is coming up, maybe I can convince the hubby to spring for some of these.

Here's a partial list of the books I'm drooling over:

The Lacuna: A Novel, by Barbara Kingsolver. Here's the review in the New York Times Book Review, by Liesl Schillinger, which ends with this nice bit: "The Lacuna can be enjoyed sheerly for the music of its passages on nature, archaeology, food and friendship; or for its portraits of real and invented people; or for its harmonious choir of voices. But the fuller value of Kingsolver's novel lies in its call to conscience and connection."

The Children's Book, by A.S. Byatt. Here's a review and interview with A. S. Byatt from NPR station WBUR in Boston. In it, Byatt calls this novel, "the one I find easiest to love." It is said to be long and rambly with lots of characters, but I'm in. I'm definitely going to get a copy of this one.

Invisible, by Paul Auster. The review in the New York Times Book Review, by Clancy Martin, ends with the superlative, "It is the finest novel Paul Auster has ever written." I have liked some of Auster's novels, and not responded to others, but certainly want to read his finest. Onto the list!

Lit: A Memoir, by Mary Karr. This is a new memoir by Karr, who was mesmerizing in her first memoir, The Liar's Club. I didn't read her second book, but I hear this one is really amazing. Susan Cheever says it is a serious book about motherhood, faith, alcoholism, and more in a NY Times Book Review podcast.

Hello husband? You listening? Book store gift cards are nice, too.

Fabulous blogging friends at the Festival of Books

What an amazing day! Amazing is what happens when you make a date to meet a bunch of your favorite bloggers IRL at the fantastic Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Yes, that's the kind of day I had yesterday. I got up early, left my husband in charge of the kids (or was it my kids in charge of my husband?), and headed over to the UCLA campus for the fabulous Festival of Books.

And then I met Trish from Hey, Lady, Whatcha Readin'?, Lisa from Books on the Brain, Amy from My Friend Amy, Ti from Book Chatter and other stuff, Natasha from Maw Books Blog, Jill from Fizzy Thoughts, Wendy from Musings of a Bookish Kitty and her husband Anjin (note to Anjin--just checked out your blog and saw that we could have had quite a conversation about WoW and the new patch--my husband, sons and I play, and I'm a lvl 80 night elf druid...so, we'll talk another time!), and Florinda from The 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting and Randomness. Wow, such talented and lovely women! It was so great to meet them, and to share the day with them. I'm just bummed I missed dinner...but had to get home to make sure nobody burned the house down while I was away.

The panels I attended were very entertaining. A bunch of us started the day with "Status Update: Social Networking and New Media", with Otis Chandler, Wil Wheaton, and Sara Wolf. Otis Chandler, founder of Goodreads.com, was very interesting about the online book-loving community, and on making reading more of a social experience. Wil Wheaton, blogger and tweeter extraordinaire (and "Wesley Crusher", for those of you Star Trek: TNG fans) has a gazillion followers on Twitter (okay, 489,100--but wow!) and had some very interesting things to say about self-publishing, print-on-demand books, and the importance of the fact that in the new media of social networking, the users own it, and they define how it works. The other panelist, Sara Wolf, is a dance critic and e-zine creator, but I just wasn't interested in her "constellation" of stuff.

After that, we had a quick lunch together, and then I went alone to hear Marilynne Robinson in conversation with Susan Straight. I happen to love both writers, and they had a wonderful conversation about themes of Robinson's work, including race and the hidden abolitionist history of the midwest, and they also talked about the writing process for both of them, which I loved hearing about!

Next I joined back up with some of my blogging buddies again and we went to see the panel "Fiction: Window on the World", with Muriel Barbery, Vanina Marsot, Jonathan Rabb, and Lisa See.

I immediately got a girl crush on Muriel Barbery, who spoke in French and had a translator, and was completely charming. All four writers spoke about the importance of place in their novels, as all are set in foreign cities (well, foreign to us--Barbery writes about her own city of Paris, and so does Marsot, who lives both in this country and there).

Lisa See spoke about her new novel Shanghai Girls, which I am interested in for many reasons, not least of which is that it is set in two worlds I'd like to explore--Shanghai and Los Angeles from 1937 to 1957. During the question and answer period she recommended a novel, and I immediately scribbled down the information: The Age of Dreaming, by Nina Revoyr. It is set in Los Angeles in the 1960s, but is about a film star from the age of silent films. I'm going to be on the lookout for this one!

The book Jonathan Rabb spoke about is his newest novel, Shadow and Light, a sequel to his earlier novel Rosa, which tells the story of Rosa Luxemburg, a socialist who was murdered in 1919. His books depict the particular world of Berlin between the wars, a world that also sounds fascinating to me.

Muriel Barbery spoke through a translator about The Elegance of the Hedgehog, which has been a runaway hit in Europe, and which I just read for my book group and reviewed. She spoke about the genesis of the character of Renee Michel, the surprisingly intellectual concierge, who also made a brief appearance in Barbery's first novel. As I remember, Barbery said she struggled with the voice for the concierge, who spoke simply, until her publisher reminded her that as a novelist, she could make the character speak any way she wanted. And thus the intellectual concierge was born.

Vanina Marsot spoke about her novel, Foreign Tongue, which is set in Paris. It is about a Los Angeles native with dual citizenship who, after a bad break-up, runs away to Paris, and becomes a translator. She examines the differences between the cultures through the difficulties that come up during translating a novel from French to English.

After the panel, I wanted to buy another copy of The Elegance of the Hedgehog so that Ms. Barbery could sign it, but the book had already sold out! Annoying! But Lisa recommended Vanina Marsot's book, Foreign Tongue, so I bought that and had it signed. Ms. Marsot was very nice, and I'm looking forward to reading her book. I also got to say a quick hello to Ms. Barbery, and told her I loved her book. So that was good!

All in all, it was a magical day. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did, and I'm looking forward to having a reunion next year.

Holiday books for my son...update

Everyone was so lovely when I asked for advice about what to buy for my 12-year-old son for the holidays (we do a little Chanukah and a little Christmas in our family--Chrismukah?  With a visit from Chanuklaus?).  Thank you, everyone!  Now I have a wonderful list that will hold us for the next few gift-giving occasions, at least.  

So far I have bought him a copy of Neil Gaiman's latest, The Graveyard Book, and J.K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition.  Yes, that's the standard edition, not the fancy-schmancy, super-expensive collector's edition.

My younger son (age 9) is a little easier to buy for, as I've already been through it with my older one.  But he was thrilled to receive HIS OWN copy of Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) from his cousin, and never mind that we already have a set of the whole series, because this is HIS OWN copy.  I forget that he gets so many hand-me-downs, that even a used book doesn't feel like his own, poor kid.

I am also giving my younger one two books by Kevin Henkes, Sun & Spoon and The Birthday Room, because he liked Words of Stone so much.  

I also received a nice present from my husband for my birthday--a Kindle: Amazon's Wireless Reading Device.  It arrived a little late because it was backordered, but I've had it now for a few weeks.  I've hesitated before writing about it, because I wanted to get used to it before I said anything.  But I'll tell you what I think a little later...now I've got to go and have some latkes with a little eggnog!

Begged, Borrowed, and Stolen

Okay, I didn't beg, borrow, or steal these books. But I didn't pay for them, either! I'm trying not to actually acquire books at the moment, because the piles next to my bed are threatening to engulf me while I sleep. And I figure I'll save my book-buying for the holidays (see last post), so I'd better start saving some money now. So the books on this pile are either from a publisher or a gift...oh yeah, one is actually borrowed. So the pile grows...

The Blind Assassin: A Novel, by Margaret Atwood--on my list for a long time, I borrowed this to read for the Orange Prize Project challenge.

Purple Hibiscus: A Novel, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie--I loved her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, so I thought I'd read this for the Orange Prize Project challenge, too.

Who by Fire: A Novel (P.S.), by Diana Spechler--I thought the family that this book is about sounded extremely dysfunctional and would make me feel much better about my own family.

To Catch the Lightning: A Novel of American Dreaming, by Alan Cheuse--I decided to take this review copy partly because I like NPR commentator Alan Cheuse's on-air book reviews, partly because I was intrigued by the idea of a novel based on the life of photographer Edward Curtis.

Mother on Fire: A True Motherf%#$@ Story About Parenting!, by Sandra Tsing Loh--Loh is a local writer, performance artist and radio personality here, and she's often quite funny, so I'm looking forward to laughing while reading this unusual mommy memoir. I'm also looking forward to feeling less alone as a parent. I hear you don't have to have kids to appreciate this book...

Vacation Reading

Here's a photo of the beach in Malibu, where we went to visit old friends of my husband's yesterday. If you click on the picture, and look closely, you can see one of my sons waving at me, and the other one ignoring me, while they boogie board.

I remember last summer a bunch of bloggers I know and love (really, kisses to all of you) blogged about the concept of "summer reading". I remember some of the bloggers were, shall we say, disdainful about the term "summer reading", as they didn't get why reading in the summer should be different than reading any other time.

I understand their argument, but as I've been nearing the start of my only actual summer trip, I've been thinking a lot about what books I want to bring, and I've realized that I do think differently about books to read on vacation, summer or otherwise.

First of all, I always have to think about something light yet immersive to read on the plane. I'm not the world's most comfortable flyer, so if I can concentrate on a book at all, it needs to be something that really grabs me. Sometimes that's a tall order. Then I need to make sure I have enough books to interest me for the week that I'll be gone, but I don't want to lug hardbacks, especially now that the airlines are making us pay for every bag.

I've pulled a few things from my tottering book pile for my trip to Cape Cod next week:

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, by Maggie O'Farrell
The Photograph, by Penelope Lively
The Blue Flower, by Penelope Fitzgerald
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson
Oleander, Jacaranda: A Childhood Perceived, by Penelope Lively
The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel, by (you guessed it) Amy Hempel

But clearly this is overkill, so I'm going to have to whittle down the pile so that it will fit into my luggage. So obviously I need your help.

Does anyone have any favorites here? Anything I have to take, or absolutely shouldn't, on this list? Or do you have another suggestion that I need to go out and buy immediately? (I have a couple of coupons, so I might actually do it!)

Let me know what you think!

Windfall of books

I just love it when books fall into my lap. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, there's nothing better. Here are a few books I've acquired with little effort, and absolutely no money, lately.

Less Than Angels, by Barbara Pym. I've been on a Pym jag lately, so I mooched this on BookMooch. I recently mooched and read Pym's Quartet in Autumn, which I really enjoyed. Of course, I haven't reviewed it yet, but I'll try to get to it...

The Mercy Rule, by Perri Klass. This was sent to me by a publisher, unsolicited. This new for me. It's a novel by a doctor/novelist/mother, a combo that interests me, and I've heard her novels are nicely character driven.

We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver. I've wanted to read this ever since I read Shriver's later novel, The Post-Birthday World, which I really enjoyed. This book, about a mother and her violent child, has intrigued (and scared) me for a long time. I borrowed this one from a friend.

The Suicide Index, by Joan Wickersham. Another book from the publisher. This is a memoir of a daughter's exploration of why her father committed suicide, and again, this is an intriguing and scary subject--I'm definitely interested in reading this.

Mommy Wars, by Leslie Morgan Steiner. I've been meaning to read this and several other books on motherhood for a long time, but I tend to grab a novel instead. This is a collection of essays by different "fiery" women about working and motherhood, and the work-family balance. I acquired this from a friend who was cleaning out her bookshelves, and was about to give it to charity. Since it was something on my list, I snagged it!

This has been a crazy week, with little time for reading or blogging. The flowers and the bottle of champagne you may be able to spy in the picture behind my stack of books are from a wedding shower that I helped host at my house yesterday. But I did manage to finish Joseph O'Neill's Netherland, which I really enjoyed, and will write about soon.

New books, big flowers

Isn't summer supposed to be slower than the rest of the year? At least, if you're on the school calendar it should be, right? Not so much, here. The kids haven't settled into a routine yet, and all three of them seem to be going different directions at once, and I'm the chauffeur. Needless to say, I haven't had much time for blogging. Though I seem to have had some time to acquire new books...

What I Loved: A Novel, by Siri Hustvedt. I'm a little afraid of this book, because I know it includes the death of a child--a subject I tend to shy away from.

The Blue Flower, by Penelope Fitzgerald. Mooched. Recently read and enjoyed Offshore, so I'm looking forward to this one.

The Last Days of Dogtown: A Novel, by Anita Diamant. I enjoyed The Red Tent, and have heard good things about this one.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris. Because he's a funny, funny man.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. Loved the movie Smoke Signals, and have always wanted to read something of his. I may pass this on to my son.

The Photograph, by Penelope Lively. I have her memoir, Oleander, Jacaranda: A Childhood Perceived. Which I haven't read. But thought it would be good to pair with her fiction. And a friend was giving it away, so I grabbed it...

Matrimony: A Novel, by Joshua Henkin. A signed copy from the author. Wahoo!

Can't wait to start reading!

Our garden is going crazy these days, and I'm not so hot at tending it. The sunflowers have taken over!

Off the wagon

I went off the book diet big time. You know how it is, you get a coupon in the mail, a couple of BookMooch books arrive, you spend a gift card you forgot about, and boom, you've got a big new stack of books. Of course, I'm thrilled. To heck with the diet, anyway. It's amazing my resolution lasted this long.

The new books are in front of the beautiful flower arrangement that my husband sent me when I was feeling sick last week. If you click on the picture, it should enlarge it enough so you can see what the books are. But here's a list anyway:

The Uncommon Reader: A Novella, by Alan Bennett. I had heard quite a bit about this book, by one of my favorite playwrights, both from book bloggers and in the press. Then I read Stefanie's review of this novella, and it reinforced my desire to get it.

In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson. I read and enjoyed his Notes from a Small Island a few years back, so I thought I'd mooch this, since I'm interested in the land down under.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, by Maggie O'Farrell. This has been on many of my blogging friends' lists of favorite books, and it sounds like something I'll like, so here it is.

The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel, by, you guessed it, Amy Hempel. She's one of those writers I've been hearing about for years, but haven't got around to yet. Now I have no excuse.

The View from Castle Rock, by Alice Munro. Alice Munro has always been a favorite of mine, and I've been looking forward to this for awhile.

Oleander, Jacaranda: A Childhood Perceived, by Penelope Lively. This is another author I've discovered through blogging. This is a memoir of her childhood in Egypt, which sounded fascinating.

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, by Oliver Sacks. One of my favorite scientists writing on the extreme effects of music on the brain. I got this from my public radio station's "book club", another offering I think I will enjoy.

I'm noticing I have quite a variety of types of book here--a novella, two books of short stories, a novel, a memoir, a travelogue, and a non-fiction work about science. That's unusual for me, it's usually just a pile of novels! I'm really looking forward to reading all of the above, but I've got a few things ahead of them on the pile, so it may take me awhile...

He's Arrived!

Shhh, I'm reading. I'm finally in the Harry Potter loop. My copy arrived from Amazon.co.uk yesterday, and I'm finally actually reading the book everyone finished last weekend.

I always get the UK edition, because that's how I was first introduced to Harry. My mom brought back a copy of the first book from a trip to England, and I got hooked. Now it's a nostalgic thing.

And I like the cover art and the size of the book better than the U.S. editions. Plus I like the English spellings, and the fact they don't switch out "jumper" for "sweater", and that other little Britishisms survive. Does anyone else have an opinion about U.S. vs. English Harry Potter cover art?

My son (age 11) is already in the middle of the U.S. edition, because he just couldn't wait any longer for the UPS truck, and I'm cool with it if he spends his money on books. Fine with me.

And I have a new stack of books, some courtesy of BookMooch.

Imani at The Books of My Numberless Dreams wrote temptingly about this Arden edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series) so I had to get it.

And Sarah at Book Buff in Oz and bookfool at Bookfoolery and Babble both mooched Anita Brookner's Hotel Du Lac at the same time I did, which I thought was funny. I suggested a tiny book group discussion :)

A while back Matt at A Variety of Words and John at The Book Mine Set, and probably more, but I don't recall, read Blindness (Harvest Book) by Jose Saramago, and I remember being intrigued by the reviews and discussions the book sparked. So here it is on my pile.

Lotus at Lotus Reads wrote a review of Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time which I thought was wonderful. She always reads such thought-provoking books.

I read about this book, I, California by Stacey Grenrock Woods, on a local website, and it sounded like a funny riff on Southern California.

Annie Dillard's new book The Maytrees: A Novelis out, so my husband got that for me. I feel like I must have read about this on someone's blog--let me know if it was you...

Water for Elephants: A Novel seemed to be everywhere, so that was a no-brainer.

And now I've got another pile of books to keep me busy for quite some time.

Just When I Thought It Was Safe...

There are more books to buy! I read the New York Times Book Review this morning, with my coffee, and of course I saw a couple of books that I want to get. But I'm just going to have to wait to buy these, because I have really gone overboard lately with the book-buying.

But this caught my eye: Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression, by Mildred Armstrong Kalish. Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote the memoir Eat, Pray, Love, writes a very nice review of this memoir of a childhood on a farm during the Depression. The book sounds lovely, and upbeat, despite the hard times of its setting. Looks interesting.

Also there's a review of Marianne Wiggins's new novel, The Shadow Catcher (the first chapter is excerpted here in the NYT Review of Books). This one interests me for many reasons. First, I've always wanted to read Wiggins since I heard stories of her life with Salman Rushdie while he was condemned under the fatwa and living in hiding. Second, she has moved to Southern California, and this book is partly about L.A., and the west, which is always interesting to me as a setting. Thirdly, the book is about the photographer Edward S. Curtis, whose pictures of American Indians in the early 20th century have always fascinated me.

The photo at the top of the post is by Curtis, of "Joseph–Nez Perce," or Hienmot Tooyalakekt (1841-1904), commonly known as Chief Joseph, who was a leader of the Wallamotkin band of Nez Perce, and it's in the Collection of the Library of Congress, which is definitely worth checking out. The book review is positive, so of course this will have to go on my list.

What to do, what to do? I'll just have to wait until I can reasonably buy more books...or I can hit the library, as Dewey so wisely points out :)