Last week, I was lucky enough to see award-winning Sherman Alexie, author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, speak at Johnson County Community College. I’m so glad the college made this event open to the public (and free!). Alexie’s talk was titled “The Absolutely True Story of the Author of the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and focused on Alexie’s own childhood growing up on an Indian reservation.
Of course, growing up on an Indian reservation wasn’t all fun and games. Alexie’s family and most of the other families on the reservation lived in abject poverty. His family didn’t have running water or electricity until he was seven years old. Alexie had 42 permanent teeth. Because the Indian Health Service only did dental work once a year, he had to have the 10 extra teeth pulled all at one time. The white dentist thought that Indians only felt half as much pain as white men and prescribed pain killers accordingly. But Alexie has the skills of a stand-up comedian and even though he was talking about some really sad things, his talk was incredibly funny.
Some highlights:
*The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was the second most challenged/banned book last year. The number one most challenged/banned book was the children’s picture book about gay penguins.
*It’s been published in 78 countries and he just signed a deal to have it published in Iran.
*The impetus for Alexie asking if he could go to school off of the reservation came when he was in seventh grade and saw that his math book had his mother’s name it.
*He described Indians as being “indigenous to the land but immigrants to the culture” of America.
At the end of his presentation, he was asked questions that JCCC students had submitted ahead of time. One question was about which events in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian really were true. He answered the question by speaking about how human memory is never accurate because we are the unreliable narrators of our own autobiographies. To illustrate his point, he had the audience close our eyes and then shout out what color his pants were. The majority of shout-outs were wrong.
He was also asked why he finally agreed to let his books be released as e-books. He didn’t really answer why but he talked about how seeing what strangers are reading gives a glimpse into their humanity and he’s sad that e-readers take that experience away.
If you ever have the chance to see Sherman Alexie speak, I highly recommend that you do. In the meantime, you can follow him on Twitter at @Sherman_Alexie and get little snippets of his wit and wisdom.
March 13th, 2012 in
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No One Is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s description:
In 1939, the families in a remote Jewish village in Romania feel the war close in on them. Their tribe has moved and escaped for thousands of years- across oceans, deserts, and mountains-but now, it seems, there is nowhere else to go. Danger is imminent in every direction, yet the territory of imagination and belief is limitless. At the suggestion of an eleven-year-old girl and a mysterious stranger who has washed up on the riverbank, the villagers decide to reinvent the world: deny any relationship with the known and start over from scratch. Destiny is unwritten. Time and history are forgotten. Jobs, husbands, a child, are reassigned. And for years, there is boundless hope. But the real world continues to unfold alongside the imagined one, eventually overtaking it, and soon our narrator-the girl, grown into a young mother-must flee her village, move from one world to the next, to find her husband and save her children, and propel them toward a real and hopeful future.
I had to use the publisher’s description of No One Is Here Except All Of Us because it was such an unusual book; I was having a hard time summarizing it in my own words. It took me a while to get used to the style in which this book is written. The story is told in the style of a fable or folktale. Things happen that aren’t entirely realistic and people speak in stilted, simple sentences. Once I accepted this book for what it was, I really enjoyed it. The prose is wonderful and descriptive – heartbreaking at times and dryly funny in some places. Once I got used to the style, I found the flow of words almost relaxing in a way. Even though some terrible things happened, it was presented in a calm manner. It’s so hard for me to explain. You’ll have to read it for yourself and let me know if you felt the same way. I highly recommend that you do!
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(I received this book courtesy of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.)
March 9th, 2012 in
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Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Sam thinks he’s just an ordinary fry-cook at Plumpy’s in Seattle. When he learns he’s actually a necromancer, a whole paranormal world he never knew existed is revealed to him. Douglas, the head necromancer in charge, is none too happy to learn that there is another necromancer in town. He kidnaps Sam, locking him in a cage with a female werewolf. Can Sam figure out how to use his powers to escape Douglas’s clutches?
Sherman Alexie’s blurb on the cover of Hold Me Closer, Necromancer says it best, “This is a SCARY funny book OR a FUNNY scary book. In either case, it is a GREAT book. I LOVE IT.” I agree – Sam’s narration is full of really funny, sarcastic slacker humor. At the same time this book is full of suspense. A little romance between Sam and a sexy werewolf is thrown in as well.
My one complaint is that I constantly had Elton John’s Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer running through my head constantly as I was reading it. It was worth it though!
This book is the first in a series (the next book is due out in September) but this story was self-contained so you can read it without feeling like you need to commit to the entire series (you’ll want to after you read it though!). Also, there is an e-book out now called Necromancer: A Novella that is Ashley’s story. Ashley is a really cute, funny character in Hold Me Closer, Necromancer so I’m betting that the short story about her is great. It’s free in the Amazon Kindle store right now.
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March 1st, 2012 in
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Forgotten by Cat Patrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Every night while London Lane is asleep, her memory of that day is erased. The only thing she can “remember” are events that haven’t happened yet – the future. She relies on the reminder notes she writes herself before every bed every night and her best friend Jamie to navigate the world. One day she meets Luke Henry, a cute new boy at school. For some reason, she can’t see him in her future memories. At the same time, she is starting see disturbing images that she doesn’t understand. Will London ever remember the past or understand her future?
This book reminded me of the movies Memento and Fifty First Dates. However, I thought Patrick’s twist on short-term memory loss with having London able to see her future was fresh and original. This book has elements of both romance and mystery. I have seen other reviews gushing about how dreamy Luke is. I would agree but since I’m a thirty-seven year old woman and Luke is a teenager I think it would be creepy if I gushed. I’ll just say that I thought he was very sweet and I enjoyed his relationship with London.
The mystery has to do with the images of a funeral that London starts seeing around the same time that she meets Luke. This resolved with a twist that I didn’t see coming. The ending left me wanting more – I think partly because I didn’t want to say goodbye to London.
Overall, this was a great first novel from Cat Patrick. I’m looking forward to reading her next book when it comes out in May.
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February 28th, 2012 in
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Legend by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In a future dystopian world, the United States is divided into the Republic and the Colonies. The Republic has been at war with the Colonies for years. June is a fifteen year old prodigy – she is already a top soldier for The Republic. When her older brother Metias is murdered the prime suspect is Day, a fifteen year old rebel who is The Republic’s most wanted criminal. When June hunts down Day, she learns the truth about what the government she works for is really all about.
Another young adult dystopian! I can’t believe how popular this genre has gotten. I think Legend is great addition to the YA dystopian club. It’s fast paced and unpredictable. I did have some trouble picturing some of the settings as they were described. Luckily, this didn’t hamper my enjoyment of the story.
Some of the reviews I’ve read have criticized the importance of the roles that the two fifteen year old characters have in The Republic. I had no problem suspending my disbelief and accepting that two fifteen year olds can change the world. After all, fifteen year olds are the primary audience for this book – of course they want to read about kids like them kicking some butt!
I believe this is the first book in a series; I’m not sure how many books are planned. I expect that future books will reveal more about how the United States became divided and at war with itself, as both the reader and the main characters are ignorant about what happened in this book. I highly recommend this book for dystopia fans.
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February 23rd, 2012 in
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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
A mysterious circus travels the world and arrives in various locations without warning. This magical, unique circus with several black and white tents filled with wondrous sights and experiences is only open from dusk ’til dawn.
Unbeknownst to the circus patrons, two illusionists, Celia and Marco, are embroiled in a fierce competition and the circus is the battleground. As the circus continues to travel, Celia and Marco come up with more and more magical feats, trying to top each other. They have both been trained for this contest since childhood but neither one realizes how high the stakes actually are. The stakes become even higher when they fall in love with each other.
The Night Circus was filled with lush descriptions and beautiful prose. Morgenstern does a wonderful job of creating a magical, fantastical world that has an eerie darkness to it as well. The novel weaves back and forth through time – I had a little trouble following the timeline at first. Luckily, each chapter begins with a heading with the date and it didn’t take me long to get the story straight. I loved the world of The Night Circus and I felt like I was a part of that world while reading it. I was delighted to learn that Summit Entertainment has bought the film rights – this book will make a great movie.
The Night Circus was Morgenstern’s first novel – I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
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February 22nd, 2012 in
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All the Flowers in Shanghai LP by Duncan Jepson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In 1930s Shanghai, women didn’t have much control over their lives. When 18 year old Feng’s parents arrange for her to marry into the Sang family, it doesn’t even occur to her to object. She must do what is expected of her. Unfortunately, Feng is very naive and doesn’t have any idea what her wifely duties will entail. Being visited by her new husband night after night wears her down and turns her bitter. She comes up with a terrible plan to exact revenge on her husband and his family.
All the Flowers in Shanghai is definitely not a feel good book. Feng makes hard choices that I didn’t agree with and she really isn’t even all that likeable, especially in the middle of the book. I did enjoy Feng’s relationship with her handmaiden Yan. I would love it if the author wrote a follow-up about what Yan’s private life was like. In spite of my issues with the main character, I found the story interesting and engaging. I appreciated learning what life in China was like, especially for women, in the early 20th century. Learning about all the ritual and ceremony that was part of the culture then was fascinating.
I’m glad I read this book. I’d like to read more books about China to learn even more about the history and culture there.
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(I received this book courtesy of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.)
February 16th, 2012 in
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Last week I reviewed Ira Levin’s A Kiss Before Dying. This book has been made into a movie twice – once in 1956 and once in 1991. Today I’m going to review the 1956 movie starring Robert Wagner and Joanne Woodward.
A Kiss Before Dying is a very hard book to adapt to the screen. A good portion of the book’s suspense is due to the fact that the reader doesn’t know the identity of the killer, since the reader cannot see the killer’s face and his name is not mentioned. In the movie, the viewer knows who the killer is from the beginning so there is no surprise reveal later on. This movie version leaves out the character of Marion all together. I think if Ellen would have had the same fate as in the book and Marion was in the movie, that the killer would have been shown to be more calculating and sociopathic.
Since this is a 1950s film noir, the score is almost obnoxious. There were so many screechingly dramatic musical sound effects that it was almost comical. I can’t really fault this individual movie for that as I think that was the common practice of the time.
Overall, I thought this was a good movie in and of itself but I didn’t think it was a great adaptation of the book.
Speed Shrinking by Susan Shapiro
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Speed Shrinking is the story of self-help author Julia Goodman. Julia’s addictive personality is under control until her best friend gets married and moves away, her therapist also moves away, and her husband goes out of town for an extended period for work. Julia falls apart and goes on several cupcake binges. Now she might look fat when she goes on tour for her latest book, which is about overcoming food addiction. Julia decides she needs a new therapist to fix her up.
I read this book for my book club. The woman in my book club who picked it chose it because it had several blurbs on the back promising that it was a “laugh-out-loud delight” and “hilarious”. None of us in book club found this book even mildly amusing, let alone laugh-out-loud funny. Julia is so self-absorbed and obsessive that she is completely unlikeable. Her interactions with her therapists are repetitive and get her (and the reader) nowhere. She never really learns to dig deeper and end her superficial obsession with the numbers on the scale.
This book is the first work of fiction by Susan Shapiro, who has written several self-help books herself. It reads like a memoir and I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s autobiographical. If that’s the case, I wish the author would have just written a memoir instead of trying to present this book as a lighthearted, funny chick-lit book. Cause that it ain’t.
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February 14th, 2012 in
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A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin
Narrator: Mauro Hantman
Length:8 hours and 44 minutes
Publisher: AudioGO
Release Date: October 11, 2011
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A young college man is dating Dorothy, the daughter of a wealthy copper tycoon, hoping to marry her and eventually inherit her father’s money. His plan hits a roadblock when Dorothy tells him that she’s pregnant and they must marry right away. Not only that but her father will disown her for getting pregnant out of wedlock – that means no money for the young man. The only way the man can get out of this predicament is to kill Dorothy. If only that was the end of his problems…
A Kiss Before Dying, first published in 1953, is Ira Levin’s debut novel. It won the 1954 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Levin is a master of suspense and this novel does not disappoint. He does not reveal the identity of Dorothy’s boyfriend in the first part of the book, referring to him only with pronouns. When Dorothy’s sister Ellen goes hunting for her murderer, the reader is right alongside her discovering clues and trying to figure out who the killer is. I was on the edge of my seat and as confused as Ellen about who was the murderer. Even after the identity of the killer is discovered the suspense continues right up until the very end.
I listened to the audio version of this book. I thought the narrator, Mauro Hantman, did an excellent job. He was able to convincingly voice all of the characters – from tough as nails Leo Kingship to soft spoken naive Dorothy. I especially loved the voice he gave Gordon Gant.
I highly recommend A Kiss Before Dying.
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(I received this audio book courtesy of the Solid Gold Reviewers program at Audio Jukebox.)
February 10th, 2012 in
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