Notes on Some Books

It feels like it's been a while since I've posted. The reason? I've got a new job!

A year ago I ended my ten year tenure with Barnes and Noble* and started working at a high end grocery store. Six months ago I transferred to a different store for a promotion. And just a few weeks ago accepted a new position in a new department at this same location.

Whew!

It's been hectic and busy and tiring and great!

I've still been reading, and here are some notes on some books...

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
I wanted to read this when it first came out, it just looked fun. I finally took it out of the library and read it. It IS fun. Buster and Annie are brother and sister in The Fang Family, parented by Caleb and Camille, who engage in performance art with their children. They basically create planned public spectacles and watch the fallout from the reactions of the unwitting public. From infancy, Annie and Buster (A and B) are involved in their parents' "art". The book switches back and forth from Annie and Buster as adults (with some serious family fallout of their own to deal with) to some of the Fang's pieces from their childhood. Slated to be a movie, this was a fun read.

Casebook by Mona Simpson
Miles, a 12 year old boy, and his best friend, Hector, spy on their parents. They try to uncover what's going on in the parents' relationships as parents split up and move on. Simpson captures the feeling of being a kid with huge family stuff going on, how there is not knowing how it's going to turn out, wondering what ending relationships mean and at the same time just being a kid. Good read.

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
This book has been getting a lot of buzz, and for good reason. Oyeyemi captures mood and character brilliantly. Told from the point of view of three girls/women, this is lovely.

To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others by Daniel Pink
I read this as I was preparing for my interview for this new position, and got some great insight into how we operate, not just in retail, but also in life and relationships. His premise is that by connecting with other people, being empathic, we are more likely to sell (which isn't just selling stuff for money, but helping persuade people, or even just sharing an idea). Pink says that selling is so much more than the stereotypical being pushed (hard) into buying something you may or may not want. Easy to read and enlightening.

Prescription for Nutritional Healing: A Practical A-To-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements
This is a great resource for my new job (vitamin/supplement buyer), and I am learning a LOT! The book is huge, and I find I'm using it as a reference book rather than reading it straight through. SO glad to have it.

Bark: Stories by Lorrie Moore
It's hard to create a world in a short number of pages, and Moore does this brilliantly here, as in her previous collections of stories. She's a writer worth reading.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
There are some excellent teen books that I wish weren't categorized as teen books because then I think more adults would read them. This is one of them. It alternates points of view between Eleanor and Park, two high school kids. Their relationship develops through books and music, and progresses through some pretty serious challenges. Eleanor and Park feel like real people.

Ruby by Cynthia Bond
Ruby shows up in a small, Southern town after being gone for many years. She seems damaged, and many of the townspeople don't know how to react to her strangeness. Ephram awkwardly tries to gain her trust, as her return reminds himself that he has loved her for years. Not always an easy book to read (I thought of some of Toni Morrison's writing as I read this), it is harsh and lovely.

Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
Koch is the author of THE DINNER, a deliciously dark look into the lives of two couples and their children. I'm halfway through SHWSP, and it has a similar feel. Marc Schlosser is a family practitioner whose famous movie star patient has just died. Was Marc culpable? Like THE DINNER, this is narrated by the main character, brilliantly revealing layers, each one darker than the one before.


                        

              

What are you reading?

*This link will tell you more about my decision to leave the bookstore - http://notthenewyorktimesbookreview.blogspot.com/2013/06/i-found-dime.html

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Books On My Radar

It seems as though I always have books on my radar. Usually they show up on my radar after I've seen them on a list, or read about them on a blog, or talked to people about what they are reading (by the way, what are you reading and loving? I'd love to hear!). Ideally I like to see the book in person before ultimately deciding to read a particular book. A book can be more or less inviting in person, even if someone else raves about it.

There is also the right book for right now. I know that when I am dealing with a lot in my life (like a new job, for instance, which I have been dealing with lately. Learning curve, learning new routines, new co-workers, new duties and responsibilities), I find that I am less able to focus, so books that require a little more effort may not work well for me when I feel scattered or stressed.

There are of course books we have here at home that are TBR (To Be Read), but that stack may contain titles that are different than the books that are on my radar.

Here are some I'm interested in right now...

Bark: Stories by Lorrie Moore
Lorrie Moore is a luscious and luminous writer. I'm not a huge fan of short stories, at least I rarely find myself reading them, but short stories in the pen of Lorrie Moore are wonderful. BARK is her first collection of stories since 2010.

The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham
There are authors whose works are eagerly anticipated, no matter what the subject matter because I enjoy their writing so much. Michael Cunningham falls into this category. THE SNOW QUEEN comes out in May. Looking forward to it!

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
Emma Donoghue is another author in that category. I loved ROOM. She actually has many more books that I would like to explore as well.

                    

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
This has been on my radar for a while. I have seen it, picked it up, put it down again, but it keeps popping back up. Have any of you (reading this blog) read it? What did you think?

The Ruins (Vintage) by Scott Smith
Recommended by John Green (who wrote The Fault in Our Stars, which I loved), this looks like a great thriller. I love me a good thriller.

Death Comes for the Archbishop (Vintage Classics) by Willa Cather
Also recommended by John Green, about religion in America. I am interested.

Remember Me Like This by Bret Anthony Johnston
My partner just received this as an ERC (Early Reviewer Copy) from librarything.com. It looks a little dark and intriguing. I read the two page prologue and someone is dead (are we going to focus on the people who saw the dead body? or the discover who died? I do not know.) Some books that come as ERCs are more interesting after they arrive and we can see it in person, and others are less so. This one is definitely more interesting.

                       

Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawk
This guy travels around Ireland with a refrigerator. I'm not sure why he takes a fridge as a traveling companion, but I'm sure it makes for an interesting trip!

Andrew's Brain by E.L. Doctorow
There are a few friends who, when they recommend books, I tend to take notice, as we seem to share similar taste in books. This book was recommended by one of those friends. It looks pretty interesting.

The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
That same friend recommended this one. This has been on my radar for awhile. I may need to just get this one already.

The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine
He is a brilliant author. I, THE DIVINE is one of my favorite books, and this is another of his I'd like to read.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Oprah's most recent recommendation, my partner just read this and enjoyed it.

Enormous Room (02 Edition) by e.e. cummings
This is cummings's first book, not as popular as much of his other works, but he wrote this based on his experience as a prisoner of war in World War I.

And then I went to Costco and picked up a book (that I didn't buy, I mean I literally picked it up and looked at it and put it down again)...The Silent Wife that seems similar to Gone Girl, in that the story is told alternately from the wife's and husband's point of view and something is terribly wrong in their marriage, but even so, it didn't grab me in the first couple of pages. At least not on that day. It is still on my radar.

I DID, however, pick up (as in pick up and buy) a copy of Carol Cassella's new book, Gemini. I just recently read her first book, Oxygen, about an anesthesiologist in Seattle who loses a young patient on the operating table. She is blamed, but is she negligent? It's a bit of a medical mystery, well done and intriguing. Gemini is about an ER doctor who deals with a Jane Doe patient. That's pretty much all I know, and the first few pages started out well.

                    


What books are on your radar? Leave a comment here on the blog or on the blog's facebook page, NOT The New York Times Book Review! Thanks for stopping by!

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