Books 91-100 for 2009

91. I'm Pregnant! Now What Do I Eat?
92. I'm Pregnant! A week by week guide.
93. What To Expect When You're Expecting.
94. What To Expect When Your Wife is Expanding
95. The Mayo Clinic Guide To Pregnancy
96. What to Eat When you're expecting.
97. Baby Talk: What to expect that first year
98. Father's First Steps
99. Diaper-Free Before 3
100. You and Your Baby Pregnancy: A week by week guide

Writing Down The Bones- Goldberg (Book #90)

Eh. This is a book about writing advice. Maybe its useful for someone afraid to write, who doesn't now how to begin the process of simply getting words down. She talks a lot about writing prompts and spontaneous writing but I'm writing short stories and novels and the advice seemed obvious and unhelpful. The main points, told over and over again in 100 different ways is "write", "don't be afraid of writing", "be honest". Got it.

Crooked Little Heart- Lamott (Book #89)

I feel bad giving this book a low rating because I think some people will love it but it just wasn't for me. This is a book about a family and insights into their dysfunctionality. I was shocked to learn this book has been assigned reading in 9th grade english. The story is fine in and of itself but I think I've read too much of Lamott's autobiography in memoirs to be able to read the story as fiction and not just small vignettes about her real life. I think I prefer her memoirs to her novels but I will give her one more try in the fictional arena.

Happier- Ben Shahar (Book #88)

I truly enjoyed this book written by a Harvard professor on the science of happiness. The book emphasizes finding meaning and purpose in your life, that money does not equate happiness, and remembering that this is it, this life we have, and to be happy we need not wait for a goal to be fulfilled, life is the journey. All of this is cliche but he does it a lot more thoroughly. I think its a must read for people who are confused about where they are in their lives and are searching for what they must do to be happy.

The Age of Grief- Smiley (Book #87)

I enjoyed Jane Smiley's writing in this book. She deftly captures human emotion and my favorite in this short story collection was her novella, the namesake of this book which has been made into a major motion picture, "The secret lives of dentists."

Traveling Mercies- Lamott (Book #86)

Are you noticing that when I like an author I start devouring everything they come out with? This is why I read this book, Lamott's thoughts on faith. She is Christian, I am Muslim but I was curious as to her thoughts on faith in general and that is pretty much what she focused on. This book is a series of vignettes on different areas of her life and her thoughts about God's hand in those moments. Its a nice gentle read, some parts made me get choked up, some made me laugh. I thought it would focus a little more on the struggle so I was a little disappointed but that was my expectation, not a promsie she made.

Gourmet Rhapsody- Barbery (Book #85)

I love reading books that focus on the little things such as books by Alexander McCall Smith but I was disappointed in this book. This is a novel about a food critic who is both loved and hated. We find him on his death bed trying to remember a flavor from his past and we see his childhood and other musings on food. The story also has stories from others in his life. There are too many characters and its hard to know when you start reading whose perspective you are reading. A few titles do tell you but most just have random headings and how am I supposed to know who is narrating when there are at least 10 different narrators in a very slim book? I can tell some will find this book to be a deep and loving reflection on food, but I was not particularly impressed.

American Primitive- Oliver (Book #84)

Sometimes you will sit with a slim book of a mere 60+ pages for months, while you devour 400 page mammoths in a few simple days. I've been reading this book of poetry since at least February but have only today forced myself to sit down and complete it. I love poetry and I love reflections on nature and I know a lot of people love Oliver, she won a Pulitzer for her poetry! But I just could not get into her poems. Some were indeed beautiful but on the whole it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Operating Instructions- Lamott (Book #83)

I like Anne Lamott and as I've shown in my book reading selections of this year, when I like an author I start reading everything they write (Russo, Tropper, etc). I heart this book. Its an honest insight into the first year of raising a baby as a single woman and I found the book both hilarious, honest, and heartbreaking.

Bird By Bird- Lamott (Book #82)

Since I'm in the process of revising my manuscript I figured I'd re-read this book again. I did not like it that much the first go around but I think I liked it more this time. I think my needs were different then, as opposed to now. Then, I wanted to know how to get published and how to write a good book. She isn't writing about this. She's really just writing a long book that essentially boils down to this: believe in your writing and don't give up even if you think it sucks. Also, write the truth. It was a nice read now and a good reminder that all writers struggle a little, even successful ones.

I am Neurotic- Kong (Book #81)

This is a humor book based on a blog (www.iamneurotic.com) where people post anonymously about neurosis they have. It's a quick light read with interesting confessions.

Tell Me Something True- Cabo (Book #80)

This is a book about a girl whose mother died in a plane crash. She lives in LA with her movie producer father and visits her grandmother in Columbia each year and revisits the memories of her mother. The premise of the story is there is a lot more to her mother that she never was told and the book's blurb says "what happens when you find out everything you thought was true was a lie?" Except that's not true. There is something she didn't know about her mother, but its not earth shattering and it does not invalidate any other part of her life. The story pushed itself as being way more dramatic than it was and I found the constant POV changes a little distracting and unnecessary.

Plan B- Tropper (Book #79)

If you scroll the list of my recent reads you'll see Tropper's books quite a bit. When I like an author I tend to devour their entire list of published books. This was the last of the books I had yet to read by Tropper. I must admit that as is the case with most authors who I read extensively I begin to see themes and though this is kind of cool, it also sometimes can feel like you're reading a variation of the same story again. I can't hold this against Tropper with this book as this is his debut novel, so any books I subsequently read are instead, variations of this, not vice versa.

This is a book about a group of 30 somethings who are very close and are all at various stages in their lives, some sucessful some not so much. They are drifting apart but come together out of concern for one of their friends who appears to have a drug problem. Hilarity and deep moments ensue.

I enjoyed the book as I've enjoyed most of Tropper's books which have a good dose of reality and deep reflection along with laughter at the small absurdities of life.

Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz- Acosta (Book #78)

I should start by saying I doubt I am the target audience for this book, so though I did not particularly love it, that's not to say a Spanish-American reader would not love it. This is a story about a woman whose husband just left for reasons we only find out later, and has to deal with her two children. Diego, the eldest is trying to be the man of the house while he deals with a crush on his friend's sister, and Carmen is furious, a ball of anger at her mother who she perceives to be the reason that their father left. The story trails Ana as she tries to make sense of her marriage, her children, her dreams and an artist on campus whom she is attracted to. I don't mind books that sprinkle other languages into the dialogue but this book took it a step too far. Also, I thought the author focused too much on the daughter-mother hatred and then summed it up in a matter of a paragraph or so at the end. I would have liked more exploration and understanding of the marriage and the husband's reasons for what he did.

How To Talk To a Widower- Tropper (Book #77)

I told you, when I find an author I start reading everything they write, and considering the last few books are Tropper books you should not be surprised that again I'm reviewing a book by the same guy. One interesting thing about reading an author's entire work is you begin seeing trends in their writing and the same has been true for Tropper. This novel is about a 29 year old widower grieving his wife's death and writing a monthly column about it. He also is being pushed into dating and dealing with his stepson, a 16 year old sullen kid who is a trouble make but deeply hurt. It's a book about love, and grief and family and he certainly can nail the topic of grief quite accurately.

Everything Changes- Tropper (Book #76)

When I find an author I like, I tend to stick with them for a little while so this is the second Tropper book I've read in the span of a few weeks. This one is about a 32 year old guy working at a nondescript job engaged to a beautiful young woman and who is afraid he might have cancer. The story follows as his estranged father shows up to possibly reconcile, he deals with the potential ramifications of cancer, a job he hates, and being in love with someone other than his fiancee. Though it all sounds ho hum run of the mill, the story is beautifully told and the man can write laugh out loud funny dialogue like few can.

Fortune Cookie Chronicles- Lee (Book # 75)

I feel triumphant finishing this book as I've been reading it for at least four months now. It's not the book is bad by any means, its just that its a book exploring Chinese Fortune Cookies and Chinese restaurants in the US and around the world. Interesting, but by its nature, not a suspenseful page turner. Lee has written an interesting book with fun facts and history about not just Chinese restaurants and fortune cookies but also about Chinese immigrants. Their stories were the ones that kept my attention the most. Overall, a bit lengthy read for me simply due to the topic, but well written and entertaining.

This is where I leave you- Tropper (Book #74)

I was afraid this book would be bulky and heavy like Jonathon Franzen's The Corrections but this was instead a well-written funny book about family. Judd, the main character is in the middle of a divorce and his father died. He is at his childhood home with siblings he rarely sees and with whom he has much built up resentment. This sounds like really heavy duty stuff, and it is but its told so well that you end up feeling uplifted in every way. I plan to read many more of this author's work!

The Blue Notebook- Levine (Book #73)

This is a haunting and disturbing novel written from the perspective of a young girl in India sold into prostitution. The author is a white male from the U.S. but reading it you can't believe anyone but the 15 year old Batuk is telling her story. Through her journal we learn how she was sold into slavery at the age of 9 by her father and we travel with her through the nine years of slavery she endured. The scenes towards the end get very ambiguous and I wish I knew more about what happened in the ending sequences but wow was it a gruesome horrific situation. I hope I can get the image out of my mind. Levine writes beautifully and heartbreakingly. All royalties the author gets from the US he is donating to the center for missing and exploited children.

The Weight of Silence- Gudenkauf (Book # 72)

I saw this book at Borders and felt intrigued by the title and the cover page. As I stood there a salesperson approached me and said this book was flying off the shelf like hotcakes. I assume this is a very good thing so I did what most people would do, I requested it from the library. This is a very easy read about a girl named Callie, a selective mute who has not spoken since the age of 4. She lives wit her mother, brother Ben, and an abusive alcoholic father, Griff. The story shows her being led into the woods by her father on a drunken angry rampage, and then we see that she does not come back. Neither does her neighbor's daughter and best friend Petra. The story focuses on what happened to each of these children told from each persons point of view. I enjoyed this suspenseful tale very much.