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confederacy of dunces
john kennedy o'toole
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| I've always been told to read this book. I was told that it was my boyfriend's ex-wife's favorite book, so that stopped me for a bit. Then at my girl's slumber party several of the girls expressed oohs and ahhs over it, so I read it. It was a hard book to finish, but I'm glad I did. It has a very nice ambiance. After I read it I thought, "maybe I wouldn't be a great book publisher" because I don't know if I would have thought it was "the next huge thing". It was sort of anti-climatic when I finished, but the characters have really stayed with me (which is rare). I guess I liked the world created. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend
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a garden of earthly delights
joyce carol oates
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I've been a little afraid of reading Joyce Carol Oates, ever since college when I had to dissect "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" front and backwards. There's nothing like a college lit class to turn an entire author's genre into a buzzkill. So, for my first post-college foray into Oates, I choose "Earthly Delights" and was not disappointed. Oates takes a good hard look at society, gender roles and the relationships we form throughout our life in this first novel of the so-called "Wonderland Quartet" (Earthly Delights was published in 1967, followed by "Expensive People" in 1968, "them" in 1969 and "Wonderland" in 1971).
Earthly Delights follows Clara from her birth to her death and how men shape her life (or do they?). From her initial days as a migrant worker's daughter, to her time with Lowry during her teenage years (who dusts her off, helps her get a job and eventually knocks her up) to Revere, a married man who "keeps" her until the death of his wife and then marries her and finally, the fourth force in her life, her son, Swan, we see Clara grow and change and adapt to what life hands her. Beautifully written conversations and lovely descriptions. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2007 [link] |
recommend
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children of god go bowling
shannon olsen
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| This is Olsen's second novel, her first being the funny and kooky "Welcome To My Planet: Where English is Sometimes Spoken". Her newest book picks up the autobiographical aspect of her first novel with the character "Shannon Olsen" traversing the route of therapists and group therapy in an effort to combat panic attacks and her question of "Will I spent the rest of my life alone?". Interspersed is an on-going struggle with her mother Flo (apparently called "one of the great moms of American fiction" by Garrison Keillor) and her thoughts on whether her best male friend is "The One". Hilarious and touching and sad, Olsen is proving herself to be an engaging and funny author. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
February 2005 [link] |
recommend
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fried butter
abe opincar
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This book originally caught my eye because - well, fried butter - YUM! Opincar's slender little book contains vignettes from his life all revolving around food. Everything from the pungent chopped liver he makes for Passover, the pomegrante trees he used to climb when he was a kid and some ripe, sweet tomatos he once had in Italy, served only with olive oil and sea salt. He relates food to his travels around the world as well as his relationships with friends, family and loves. By the end, I too started thinking about how special food reminds me of different times in my life. A rich, buttery read.
(Thanks to Adina for this generous birthday gift. I'm so happy to have it on my bookshelf.) |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
September 2004 [link] |
recommend
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my kind of place: travel stories from a woman who's been everywhere
susan orlean
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Susan Orlean is one of my favorite writers - she has been on staff at The New Yorker forever and most of the articles appearing in this collection are from The New Yorker (as well as Conde Nast Traveler and Backpacker). Her style of writing is straightforward and informative and she never leaves you hanging with unanswered questions - she always knows just what to ask and report on.
In this book, her articles range from a journey to taxidermy championships to an article about a woman in New Jersey that was keeping tigers in her home. Also included is a great article on the "Papaya" shops in NYC (why papaya and hot dogs) and a fun little essay on the randomness of the Sky Mall catalog. Great fun. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
December 2005 [link] |
recommend
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the accidental connoisseur
lawrence osborne
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Subtitled "An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World". Osborne admittedly has no palate for wine and so he takes off around the world to visit vineyards in France, Germany, Italy and California to find out just what makes wine so special. He finds out that it's combination of dirt, grapes, weather, location, individual taste and perceptions - basically, everything under the sun. And while he doesn't actually aquire a super sensitive taste for wine on his journey (one taster claimes he can taste "chicken coop" in a wine. very strange.), he gets to drink an awful lot of fine wine (a 1998 Opus One which can be $100 (a Cab blend) to $2k (Cab Sauvignon) a bottle), meet some very interesting people (Robert Mondavi or, as Obsborne calls him, Bob Mondavi) and see some gorgeous vineyards to boot.
(Thanks to Rich Robot for this lovely birthday gift...now where's my Opus One?) |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
September 2005 [link] |
recommend
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