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Lost Wisenheimer Frog Now Fallen History
Jul. 4th, 2010 02:10 pmThe Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly
This was a marvelous novel, full of retold fairy tales (even creepier than the originals) and serving as a fairy tale in and of itself as well. Another one for the "you can be dark and sad without getting all The Magicians about the ending" bookshelf. I loved the resonances in it, but also the quirky bits that felt like they could ONLY have belonged to this book, or at least that only in this book could they come together in such an inventive way. I'm not really doing it justice, because it was so immersive that, while I was reading it, I was only in the story, and not thinking about what I thought about the story. I recommend it.
Wisenheimer, by Mark Oppenheimer
Fun! Memoir of being a highly verbal little kid and then a teenager heavily involved in debate. I was completely unsurprised that it was so fluidly written;). I do love "here is what was important to me when I was growing up" memoirs.
(105/200)
City Dog, Country Frog, by Mo Willems, illustrated by Jon J. Muth
Jon J. Muth could illustrate the telephone book and it would be worth reading. In this case, the text is good too. Shades of Ecclesiastes...
(106/200)
Fallen, by Lauren Kate (ARC)
Trashy teen novel about OMGangelsandreincarnationandbadboysandfatedlovechangingthecourseofhumanhistory. That said, it was pretty fun desultory summer afternoon reading. I'm pleased the sequel will be out in a few months.
(107/200, ARC bank at -7)
And Now We Are Going to Have a Party, by Nicola Griffith
This book was put together in SUCH a nifty way. Five small chapbook-like volumes, repros of childhood artifacts, *scratch-and-sniff* cards (I know! Awesome!), and some letterpressing. Also a CD! In a lovely box. And the autobiography contained within all that shininess is brilliant in that Nicola Griffith way where everything seems like it just flows along completely naturally and was effortless to write. Except if that were the case it wouldn't be nearly so effortless to read. Very very interesting, very very shiny. (I do wish the binders had used a different glue, since I plan on rereading it and all my five volumes are halfway-to-falling-apart already, but that's a minor thing. And might just be a fluke of my copy.)
(108/200, 9/100)
Henry Steele Commager: Midcentury Liberalism and the History of the Present, by Neil Jumonville
I only tracked down this book because I wanted to see the picture of Evan Commager (the subject's wife) with their kids. But then I started reading it more or less by accident and got hooked. Not by the *language* of the writing, which is just adequate, but by the story in it: someone's whole intellectual flowering told in the context of their family life, the history of the time, other people's careers in the same academic and public arenas... fascinating. Also interested to read a biographer trying to be middle-of-the-road about the McCarthy era, since everything else I've read about it has been by people like Doris Lessing and May Sarton who were all "AAAAAAAAA MCCARTHY EVIL AAAAAAAA". Which, you know, I sort of think is right. But it was good to get some wider context.
(109/200)
This was a marvelous novel, full of retold fairy tales (even creepier than the originals) and serving as a fairy tale in and of itself as well. Another one for the "you can be dark and sad without getting all The Magicians about the ending" bookshelf. I loved the resonances in it, but also the quirky bits that felt like they could ONLY have belonged to this book, or at least that only in this book could they come together in such an inventive way. I'm not really doing it justice, because it was so immersive that, while I was reading it, I was only in the story, and not thinking about what I thought about the story. I recommend it.
Wisenheimer, by Mark Oppenheimer
Fun! Memoir of being a highly verbal little kid and then a teenager heavily involved in debate. I was completely unsurprised that it was so fluidly written;). I do love "here is what was important to me when I was growing up" memoirs.
(105/200)
City Dog, Country Frog, by Mo Willems, illustrated by Jon J. Muth
Jon J. Muth could illustrate the telephone book and it would be worth reading. In this case, the text is good too. Shades of Ecclesiastes...
(106/200)
Fallen, by Lauren Kate (ARC)
Trashy teen novel about OMGangelsandreincarnationandbadboysandfatedlovechangingthecourseofhumanhistory. That said, it was pretty fun desultory summer afternoon reading. I'm pleased the sequel will be out in a few months.
(107/200, ARC bank at -7)
And Now We Are Going to Have a Party, by Nicola Griffith
This book was put together in SUCH a nifty way. Five small chapbook-like volumes, repros of childhood artifacts, *scratch-and-sniff* cards (I know! Awesome!), and some letterpressing. Also a CD! In a lovely box. And the autobiography contained within all that shininess is brilliant in that Nicola Griffith way where everything seems like it just flows along completely naturally and was effortless to write. Except if that were the case it wouldn't be nearly so effortless to read. Very very interesting, very very shiny. (I do wish the binders had used a different glue, since I plan on rereading it and all my five volumes are halfway-to-falling-apart already, but that's a minor thing. And might just be a fluke of my copy.)
(108/200, 9/100)
Henry Steele Commager: Midcentury Liberalism and the History of the Present, by Neil Jumonville
I only tracked down this book because I wanted to see the picture of Evan Commager (the subject's wife) with their kids. But then I started reading it more or less by accident and got hooked. Not by the *language* of the writing, which is just adequate, but by the story in it: someone's whole intellectual flowering told in the context of their family life, the history of the time, other people's careers in the same academic and public arenas... fascinating. Also interested to read a biographer trying to be middle-of-the-road about the McCarthy era, since everything else I've read about it has been by people like Doris Lessing and May Sarton who were all "AAAAAAAAA MCCARTHY EVIL AAAAAAAA". Which, you know, I sort of think is right. But it was good to get some wider context.
(109/200)
