Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Not only am I one of the last people in the world to read this book, I'm one of the few who didn't like it. And I really wanted to like it. I generally enjoy reading and learning about life in the Middle East but this book just did not grab me.
One problem was my fault – I haven't read all of the books she and her girls have and they played an important part of the story. But I also found the sequence of events confusing – it's not entirely chronological. I found Nafisi's writing style to be detached, almost arrogant and therefor I found myself not really caring what happened to her personally. I would have like to have known more about each individual girl in her reading circle.
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April 1st, 2010 in
Books |
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These photos from The Science Center in St. Louis crack me up because it looks like the boys are being chased by ferocious dinosaurs and are completely oblivious to their dire situation. This dinosaur exhibit is coming to Union Station on May 1 so we'll get to see it again!
This dinosaur is about to bite Cash's head off – Look out Cash!
Run for your lives boys!
West isn't afraid to stand up to the giant beast.
April 1st, 2010 in
Cash,
West |
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The boys had a blast at The Magic House in St. Louis. Cash said his favorite part was the giant three story beanstalk:
West said his favorite part was the auto-repair shop:
Here's a few more pictures of the fun things the boys did:
March 31st, 2010 in
Cash,
West |
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The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Molly Marx has died tragically at the age of 35 and finds herself in the Duration, watching her loved ones cope with her untimely death. This book's concept is similar to The Lovely Bones but it definitely has a lighter tone. As Molly looks in on her friends and family trying to solve the mystery of how she died, she remembers her past and the events leading up to her death.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters will well-developed and interesting. Molly was funny and flawed, just like a real person. Some of the decisions she made in her life drove me crazy but I liked her anyway. There was plenty of humor throughout to keep the story from turning too depressing. The narrator of the audio book was great; she brought the characters to life in just the right way.
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March 30th, 2010 in
Books |
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West: Mommy, my underpants have a pocket that leads to my leg!
*****
West
did fairly well on the nine hour drived back from Indiana today but as
soon as we pulled into the garage tonight, he burst into tears and
cried, "That drive was too long!"
*****
Cash: Mommy, my underwear is playing hide and seek with my bottom!
*****
Phrases Cash has learned from his new teacher: "a little dab'll do ya" and "diddley-squat"
I've taken a little unintentional break from blogging the past couple of weeks. Last week was the boys' spring break. We drove to Indiana to spend time with Granddad and MaMaw and stopped in St. Louis on the way there to go to The Magic House and The Science Center. I'll have more posts later in the week detailing our adventures.
On Friday I had surgery to have a lipoma (aka fatty tumor) removed. It was deep in my lower back so I had to go under general anesthesia. Travis and the boys have been taking great care of me this weekend. I thought I'd get a ton of reading done while laid up but the Vicodin (ah, sweet Vicodin) is making it hard for me to concentrate. I've gotten all caught up on my reviews though and hope to get caught up on the rest of my blogging. So stay tuned – I have a lot of posts scheduled for the next couple of weeks!
March 28th, 2010 in
Sunday Salon |
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Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This book was a retelling of Cinderella from the Fairy Godmother's point of view. It takes some liberties with the original Cinderella story. In this book's version, the Fairy Godmother was young and beautiful like Cinderella. She majorly screwed up when trying to help Cinderella get to the ball and was banished to live as a human on earth as punishment.
The beginning and middle of this book was so slow I had trouble maintaining interest. The last twenty pages were exciting – I would have expanded this section and fleshed it out more. I spent most of the book waiting for something to happen and when it finally did, it was over in a flash.
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I've decided to join another reading challenge, even though I'm not doing the best on my other challenges. This one is low-pressure though because it's on-going with no deadlines!
The challenge is to read the book published under the Putnam imprint Amy Einhorn books. I've already read The Help and I liked it so much I decided to read the other books published under the imprint. You can sign up at Beth Fish Reads if you'd like to join me.
March 18th, 2010 in
Uncategorized |
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Paperback Publication Date: April 1, 2009
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Arnold “Junior” Spirit is a Spokane Indian living on the rez. One of his high school teachers persuades him to transfer from the reservation high school to the local white high school so he can get a better education. Arnold encounters grief from both Indians and white people for this decision. One way he copes with the stress is to draw cartoons, which are included in the book.
This book was funny and heartbreaking at the same time. It addresses the issues of racism and white privilege without being heavy-handed. Any teenager who reads this book will learn a lot without even realizing it and they will have some laughs too.
(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn a wee bit from qualifying purchases that allow me to offset the expenses of running this blog. Thanks for your support!)
March 14th, 2010 in
Books |
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The Help by Kathryn Stockett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was truly wonderful. Set in 1960s Mississippi, it's the story of white society women and the black maids they employ. All sides of the relationship are explored, good and bad. In a lot of ways the domestics were just a small step above house slaves.
It's told in three different voices – Aibileen, an older maid; Minny, a hot-tempered maid who has trouble keeping quiet and Skeeter, a Junior Leaguer who doesn't fit in with her circle of high-society friends. This book had quite a bit of humor in it too; it was just fantastic all around.
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March 11th, 2010 in
Books |
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