Well, onto books which has kept me plenty occupied lately. I've become completely engrossed with trying to read as many books as possible. There are so many great reads that have come to my attention recently and with the weather changing to fall, curling up with a new book and mint tea is just the right thing for me! I've received so many great recommendations from my book club friends and NPR is always reviewing a new book, or three (!) that my reading list just keeps growing and growing. We're lucky here in Eindhoven to have a book store with English books, but I still find myself gravitating towards reading on the kindle or the kindle app on my phone. Sign of times changing or just circumstances necessitating change?
Well anyway, rather than writing full reviews of the books I last told you about, I've (very briefly) summarized my thoughts on them here.
The House of Spirits - I actually wrote a review of this one. See my review here.
The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America - The Unwinding re-tells the tales of everyday and unusual (public figures, famous musicians, politicians) people in today's world through the economic downfall in 2009 (beginning in the 1970s through 2010-ish). The book does not provide an analysis of these stories, George Packer leaves the reader to draw one's own conclusion. Most, if not all stories do not end on an upbeat note, most are left in a state of despair with uncertain futures or in a spinning cycle of making poor or unwanted choices. While I could not personally relate to these stories, I did find their perspective interesting. I enjoyed learning about the housing crisis in Florida and also about Dean Price's quest to make fuel alternatives main stream. I found the story of Joe Biden's aide very depressing (also learned a lot about Joe Biden) and really wanted to shake him by the shoulders and wake him up from such a disappointing career.
This book is not a feel good book and I also never found myself reading it just before bed, it was a middle of the day read when I could squeeze it in (which is probably why it took so long to get through!). Some story lines were especially dry and towards the end of the book I found myself reading it just to finish it. While I think it's interesting and worthy of your time to be educated of the state of things, be aware that it's a slow read and not an enthralling read.
Half Broke Horses - Another novel by Jeanette Walls. I picked up this book after reading The Glass Castle: A Memoir (which I previously reviewed here). Half Broke Horses is a novel about the life of Jeanette Walls grandmother, Lily Casey. Lily Casey's life centers around the South (Texas, Arizona) where life was hard, weather conditions were harsh, and making money was not easy. This book is a decent and very quick read, but unlike The Glass Castle, it's not a stand alone brilliant novel. I was interested in this book to understand Jeanette Walls' mother's upbringing, but this novel did not shed the light I was hoping it would bring. Interesting novel, but I recommend The Glass Castle over this one.
In the meantime between my last post and this post, I also read two more stories:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald) - Another book that came to my attention by a friend. I was curious mostly because I love the movie. As it turns out the short story is very different and less positive than the film. In general a fun short story, one that has some interesting life lessons intertwined. It's interesting to see that a three hour film could be generated from an ~20 page short story.
Those Who Save Us - A novel by Jeanna Blum about a daughter's journey to uncover her German mother's story during World War II. This novel was another fast book club read, but I have to say I was conflicted with the book. There were brilliant, eloquent quotes in this novel, but some of the writing was lacking depth and the same eloquence that other passages had. The story line at times felt a little to convenient and forced. On the other hand, I couldn't put the novel down, I read this book in less than a week, so there must have been something brilliant that kept me coming back. The theme 'those who save us' is prevalent in the novel and each set of characters that interact play a role in saving each other. In general I found this to be a good and fast read, but if you'v read World War II novels from the Germany perspective before, this one is probably not worth your time.
On my Nightstand:
I have started Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, but to be honest, it's not begging for my attention and has therefore taken a backseat on my reading list. Recently, our book club has chosen next month's book and I've become completely engrossed in this one, The Favored Daughter: One Woman's Fight to Lead Afghanistan into the Future by Fawiza Koofi. So, that brings me to my next topic, what's on my nightstand?
Besides The Favored Daughter, next up are Brick Lane by Monica Ali and The Son by Philipp Meyer. I chose Brick Lane for our upcoming trip to London over the Thanksgiving holidays (no, Thanksgiving is not celebrated in the Netherlands, but we will have friends visiting for the holiday). The Son has recently been reviewed by some book blogs (here's one) and I recommended it to my husband who has been reading it. My hope is that he will finish it and I can pick it up after him.
All images from amazon.com
Well, that's it for now, until next time... Happy Reading!
