Huh...will ya look at that!

Yep, that's me!  You should all go vote for me when the time comes (I'll let you know).

Tonight, the most fascinating thing this yoga teacher is doing is trying to decide on a cocktail.  I'm at that point in the school year where I've been contemplating what to drink for over an hour and I'm still thirsty--kind of like when you go to the grocery store starving and get nothing to eat because you have too many options.

Red wine?
Captain diet?

Do I have to choose??

Tomorrow is the last day of school....I....can....do....it...... :-)

Book #33 Cell by Stephen King

Well, I began the year with King so it only makes sense that he is the author of my last read of the year. I made it a third of the way through my goal, 100 books in 12 months. I read 33 books in 11 months. I'm stopping this year's book plan early so that I can start fresh on Jan 1.

Anway, Cell. Cell was a good read, but incredibly "plotted." Much moreso than King's other works of late, which have been primarily character driven. It's a modern version of The Stand, although more pop culture than epic.

Without saying too much, I liked it but found it to be not up to King's normal writing talent, although the gore level was certainly pronounced. I would probably not have read it but for my allegiance to King. It was a good read, but definitely a beach book.

So ends the reading plan of 2006!!

Book #32 A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris

A Yellow Raft in Blue Water is, without question, one of the most moving books I've ever read. I remember in college when Dorris committed suicide, everyone was reading this book. My favorite professor held a book discussion about it at her house, and I just couldn't manage the read at that time.

It is the story of three women: Rayona, her mother Christine, and Christine's mother Aunt Ida. The stories are told separately but intermingle with common events. Each voice is unique and striking. It starts out with Rayona, who is a teenager, and all of the questions about why her mom and grandmother do what the do are answered through them in subsequent parts.

Every woman should read this book. It is who we are, with all of the complications of relationships, of motherhood, of family, obligation, men, and emotion. It is absolutely stunning that the book was written by a man, that Dorris had such deep insight into the complexity of female relationships amongst ourselves.

I will read this one again...I have a feeling that with the knowledge of what came "before" I'll be able to understand more thoroughly what happens. This book was a beautiful reading experience.

Book #31 Rash by Pete Hautman

The thirty-first book of this year's book plan was Rash by Pete Hautman. It's a futuristic novel and looks at a world where safety and law have taken over to the extreme. Bo, the protagonist, is a doll but I didn't connect with him as much as I did with the protags in Invisible and Godless. I think the difference was that Hautman had to sacrifice some character in order to develop this new world--the U.S.S.A.

I enjoyed the book...hell, Hautman wrote it and I'd read anything he wrote and probably love it...but it did leave me a little cold. Part of me wonders if that was the intent. This was not a "feel good" book as much as it was a cautionary tale, kind of 1984ish. I would totally recommend it, the writing is up to Hautman's usual wit and strength, but you do need to be in the right mood to read it. A cautionary mood? Perhaps... And maybe this isn't quite the right book for the holiday season.

Book #30 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

The Harry Potter addiction continues.....

I read the third book in the series on Saturday, hunkered down in the Red Chair of Sleep in my comfy sweats, while I avoided writing of nearly any kind. It was blissful.

I went to 1/2 price books in AV last night and bought 11 books (because I'm insane) and am midway through three of them already. Books have been a great escape for me during the stressful application process. I've found I can only write for an hour or so before coming dangerously close to a panic attack, and reading brings me back from the edge.

So, JK Rowling, I'll be continuing with book number four after I finish A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, which is addictive for a whole different reason.

Book #29 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

It's official: I'm addicted to Harry Potter. Having just finished the second in the series (and worked very hard to avoid the movies all weekend because Erica and I are going to watch them in order as we finish the books) I can't wait to start the third one.

I read these faster than my brain can take them in, and my eyes keep trying to ruin the suspense for me by flying to the end of the page rather than reading line by line. I have to physically cover up the words I haven't read, something I haven't needed to do since junior high.

I know I've said this before, but READ THESE BOOKS. If Harry Potter was older (yeah, and real) I'd totally marry his ass.

Book #28 Invisible by Pete Hautman

I selected Invisible by Pete Hautman this past Friday night after hearing him read in Minneapolis. He said that the character Shin from Godless (another fabulous book) kept trying to be the main character so he took Shin, changed him a bit, and made him the main character in Invisible.

Invisible is a super quick read but it's deep, moving, and absolutely fantastic. There are 37 chapters and it was on Chapter 30 that I had an earthshattering revalation, one that made perfect sense and I could believe I hadn't seen it before....but I was wrong. There was a revalation, just not the one that I thought it was. I love it when that happens.

Hautman is a brilliant writer, and I adore him even more now that I've met him. He's down to earth, funny as hell, and very personable. I bought several of his books, so expect more reports from them by the end of the year!

Book #27 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I finally bit the bullet and bought the first Harry Potter book. I avoided them because of the hype, but I began to weaken when I heard that Stephen King was begging Rowling not to kill off Potter in the next (final?) book. If it's good enough for King, it's certainly good enough for me.

These books are like crack.

I read the first one in two sittings, and immediately went out and bought the second. I'm trying to pace myself. The quality of the writing is decidedly young adult, but that's okay because that's what they're billed as. The themes and struggles that Harry goes through are as timeless and ageless as can be.

I'm a big, big fan.

Book #26 The Shining by Stephen King

In anticipation of Lisey's Story, I read a King book I've never read before, The Shining. I've seen both movies, the Kubrick version that King hates, and the mini series that King wrote the screenplay for.

The book was such a fantastic surprise I'm mad at myself for not reading it before. It's not King's best work in terms of writing quality, but in terms of story and characters, I absolutely loved it. I wasn't scared by it, but I would have been if I hadn't seen the movies. I was definitely dulled by having those experiences prior to reading.

It's rare that I get surprises from King and this was definitely one. If you haven't read it, do it today!!

Book #25 Forged by Fire by Sharon M. Draper

Forged by Fire is the second in a trilogy by Sharon Draper. The first was Tears of a Tiger, book #15, which I enjoyed so much I went out immediately and bought the other two.

I have to say, I was disappointed. This is difficult for me to say because all of the other 24 books I've read so far I totally dug and would recommend. I read Forged by Fire in an evening and there were several problems with it.

1. The book was more telling than showing. There were scenes, sure, but the book covers a teenager's life from age 3 to age 17 in about 150 pages. Whole years were summarized, which you would have to do, but I think it was unnecessary to begin at age 3. Begin at age 10 or somewhere around there.

2. Too much happened in those 150 pages...almost too much to be believable. I know that it's possible that everything in the book would happen to one character, but it's damn unlikely, and that unlikliness made me keep thinking "come on!" rather than feeling sympathy for Gerald, the main character.

Draper says that she wrote the two books subsequent to Tears of a Tiger because kids wanted to know what happened to the characters from that book. So, Forged by Fire focuses on Gerald, a minor character from the first book, and Darkness Before Dawn (the third book) focuses on Keisha, the girlfriend of a main character in Tears of a Tiger. I guess those characters weren't compelling enough to me to want to know about their lives...even though interesting things happened to them.

In short, I don't recommend reading this book. Tears of a Tiger was absolutely fantastic and should be read by all teenagers. Forged by Fire won a number of awards, but I don't see the beauty in it.

Book #24 Why Men Love Bitches by Sherry Argov

Book #24 was a reread from several years ago. It's a sort of version of The Rules, but with an edge. The subtitle is "From Doormat to Dreamgirl--A Woman's Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship."

When I went out to Vegas to visit Jessie after Brett had given me my diamond necklace and I was pretty sure I'd marry him, I read it while Jess was at work. Thought I'd make sure I kept him around. I did not get to put any of my new knowledge to use, however, because he picked me up at the airport, drove me home, carried my suitcase into the house and promptly dumped me.

I decided to read the book again more as a refresher course. I think that a lot of times women get complacent and we need to remember that there's a balance between independence and dependence on men. I'm happy to report that I've found my balance again. The book is all common sense stuff, and I think is written more for stalker-type women than normal chicks like myself (like, do I really need to be told not to call a guy 20 times in an evening?) but it's nice to see it in print, and to see things in different ways than I might have thought.

It's a good beach book, a good book to share with your girlfriends, but quality literature it ain't.

Book #23 Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

Motherless Brooklyn was recommended to me by Greg, and it is, without question, one of my new all time favorite books. The narrator, Lionel Essrog, has Tourette's Syndrome. He gets caught up in a murder mystery that involves mobsters and things that are significantly out of his control.

What I loved about the book is that Lionel is so easy to love. I just wanted to take him home with me and put him on a shelf. From the opening paragraph until I closed the book I cherished his companionship. It's the type of book I want to study to see how Lethem came up with such a compelling and loveable (but not totally perfect) narrator.

I just found out, via the internet, that a movie of Motherless Brooklyn is being made to come out in 2007 with Edward Norton as Lionel Essrog. YAY.

Read this book. For sure.

Book #22 How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author by Janet Evanovich

I took a break from Middlesex and Suite Francais to read my second Janet Evanovich book in just a few months. The book is an easy read; it's basically a long Q & A divided into various sections. I knew a lot of what she was talking about already, which helped me realize that I know more about writing than I think I do. It also taught me quite a bit because she writes genre novels. The questions were from readers/fans but most were quite savvy.

Although I'm on book 22 and it's pretty clear that I'm not going to make my goal of 100 books in a year, I'm very pleased with how my plan is going. I've read both fiction and non-fiction, I've read thirteen authors (so far) that I had never read before, and I've read genre, literary, and young adult literature. My real goal behind 100 books was to read more and to diversify my reading. I've already done that.

That, of course, will not stop me from trying (although I'd need to read pretty much a book a day) to complete my goal.

Oh, and hey, if you're a writer OR if you dig Janet Evanovich, check out her book How I write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author. It's infused with her humor and all of her examples are from the Stephanie Plum books!

Book #21 Godless by Pete Hautman

Well, this book report is coming to you via my desktop, because my laptop is sick AGAIN. My dad says that I don't need a new computer, but whose computer breaks down three times in just over a year? Someone who needs a new damn computer.

Anyway, on to Godless by Pete Hautman.

I picked this book up after being named honorable mention in the Mentor Series. Hautman is one of the mentors and he writes both adult and young adult novels. Godless is about a teenage boy, Jason, who begins to question his religion and then decides that the town water tower is his god. He creates a religion and goes throw a microcosm of what religious leaders must go through: he has his followers but he gets into a whole lot of trouble.

It's a great read. It won a National Book Award, and it deals with a lot of issues that everyone faces. I was really pulling for Jason. He does dumb stuff, but it's the type of dumb stuff that makes perfect sense in the context of everything going on.

Check this book out!

Book #20 King Dork by Frank Portman

Another young adult novel, Jodi recommended King Dork to me about six times, so I finally went out and bought it. I finished it tonight, and I'm going to miss this narrator.

It's the story of a misunderstood and unpopular (though that's the understatement of the span of humanity) teenage boy who finds his deceased father's copy of Catcher in the Rye and uses it to find out who his dad was, since his alcoholic, tranquilized, depressed mom doesn't talk about him.

Trouble is, I see this kid every day...or I will starting September 6th. It always saddens me in a way when I read y.a. novels where I know the kids, because it reminds me of how huge the gap is between "Us" and "them," and how detrimental teachers can be to students, even unintentionally.

Read this book. I thought the first 110 pages could have been shortened to about fifty (I think I said that in a different post) but starting on page 111 I couldn't put the book down. Literally. Walked around the house reading it.

It's also cool if you like music, because Chi-Mo (not the narrator's real name, again, read the book) is in a band and is almost as music savvy as our girl Jodi.

I'm reading two books now: Middlesex and Oryx and Crake. More updates to come!

A brief return to Book #13...

Book #13 was The Dead Fish Museum by Charles D'Ambrosio. Myfanwy Collins gave an amazing review of the book here on her blog. Read it, but don't read it back to back with mine because she makes me sound like a two year old just learning to speak!

Book #19 Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

I'm sure that part of what is ailing Jodi is that she's still reeling from the knowledge that I made it to age 30 and 2 months without reading Catcher in the Rye. Well, I've now read it, and I'm going to put it in my ever-growing list of favorite books.

Holden Caufield is nothing like I expected. The book was nothing like I expected. I love the way he talks, his repetition for emphasis, his feelings on pretty much everything. I laughed, I hoped, I got nervous for him, and at the same time, as a 30 year old, I wanted to push him a bit too.

Holden is like a student I had a few years ago. Too smart for his own good, he would act out occasionally and make stupid decisions, but he also read Ulysses in less than 13 weeks. And really READ it, he didn't just buy the cliff notes version and fake a paper on it.

I'm so glad that I finally read this. I bought King Dork at Jodi's recommendation, and she told me it was necessary to read Catcher first, so I did, and it was definitely its own reward.

An update on Reading Plan 2006

Waaaaaay back in January I wrote about my reading plan for the year. As a refresher, here's the deal.

In one calendar year (so by January 30, 2007) it is my goal to read 100 books. I've gone for variety, some have been over 500 pages, some have been novellas. But all of them are books that I have wanted to read for some time and haven't for various reasons.

You may notice that I'm at only 18% completion for my goal, yet more than 50% through the allotted time. Have faith, people! I believe in myself, and book #100 will see me before January 30!

I'd best go read now, though, yeah? By the way, the book du jour is Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides.

Book #18 In Persuasion Nation by George Saunders

Well, it didn't quite make it as book 17, but 18 is close enough.

In Persuasion Nation is an amazing short story collection. I read it basically back to back (as short story collections go) with Charles D'Ambrosio's new collection, The Dead Fish Museum, and it's amazing how different they are in terms of writing style.

My favorite stories in this collection were "Jon" and "The Red Bow." However, I loved reading the whole book. George's stories need to be read more than once...at least by me. I pick up the humor first, because it's obvious, but there's so much else to pick up in terms of theme (good theme, not oogie English class theme) and commentary. I'll need to read it again at some point and when I do I'll get more out of it, different stuff, than I did this time.

This is a mark of a great collection--I already can't wait to read it again.

Book #17 Claws by Will Weaver

This is a book assigned to students by one of our English teachers. The kids rave about it and so I decided to check it out. I started it this morning and finished it in a few hours.
I love Will Weaver. He's down to earth, intelligent, and a generous guy with his time. This is the first book of his that I've read, and there were some aspects that really impressed me.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, even if you don't make a regular practice of reading young adult lit. The issues in the book are real and they're handled without deus ex machina or twists. Pretty straightforward and the way life is.