Looks like a blast!
So far, I've got a handful crossed off:
So far, I've got a handful crossed off:
Memoir: "Girl Walks into a Bar" by Rachel Dratch. Very funny read. I'd definitely recommend springing for the Audible narration. Dratch does it herself, so she knows the precise intended delivery of her jokes and such for her anecdotes. Very different from what I've been exposed to from her in the past. She's got a lot more room to breathe and explore some different kind of humor. I'd recommend it.
Turned into a movie: "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk. One of those things I'd been meaning to get around to forever to see how it differed from the film. As people often discuss, it hasn't aged particularly well, but Palahniuk's writing's super sharp here. Oddly for a minimalist, I really recommend this more for the writing, more than the plot or character, a lot like Palahniuk's "Snuff," which consists of three guys standing in line, but is still very funny.
Read in One Day: "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" by Shirley Jackson. By the author of the very popular "The Lottery," this is a really fun book. Very atmospheric and highly sessionable at just over 150 pages. Very strongly characterized first person narration.
Translated from Another Language: "Headhunters" by Jo Nesbø. The author of the very successful "Harry Hole" series, I hadn't read anything by him before. I saw the movie on Netflix and was curious about what was going through the main character's head during the story's events. Nesbø doesn't disappoint. The narration's really funny and very readable. I love Roger Brown's smugness and general debonair attitude. A Norwegian Patrick Bateman.
A Sequel or Next in a Series: "Death Ex Machina" by Gary Corby. The latest in the Athenian Mystery series is a blast. I love Corby's sense of humor and attention to detail. Like the others, the book's a murder mystery set in ancient Greece. I can't wait for "The Singer from Memphis" later this year.
Reread because it was so good: "Stiff" by Mary Roach. Like a lot of the nonfiction books I read, I put this one on my chopping block for research purposes. I was gathering information for an RPG character who worked in the death industry, so Roach's book about the history and contemporary goings on regarding medical cadavers seemed like a natural fit. Like all Roach's stuff, it's informative and very funny.
Recommended by a Friend: "Hate List" by Jennifer Brown. My brother recommended this and I loved it. It follows the girlfriend of a school shooter in the aftermath of his murder-suicide at their school. The emotional complexity here was really exciting to me. It really focused on the aftermath rather than the event itself, which was new to me.
Not doing too bad so far.
What are you all reading this month? Have you read any of these? What did you think? Let me know in the comments. I'm always on the lookout for new stuff.
I will join in the Bingo game!
ReplyDeleteBingo scored across the top, and I need just one more for a diagonal top right toward bottom left.
Memoir: "Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science" by Atul Gawande. Gawande is a first generation Indian-American, Rhodes Scholar, and surgeon. His memoir captured the mixture of bravery, self-doubt, and skill required for an surgeon making his way in a demanding job.
Turned into a movie: "Slumdog Millionaire" by Vikas Swarup. Who didn't enjoy this thrilling movie about a devastatingly poor boy with a brilliant drive to win?
Been on your nightstand forever: "The Pacific and Other Stories" by Mark Helprin. OK, I admit I still haven't read it. I know this is illogical. I like short stories but I am intimidated by a thick book of them and I am irrationally irritated when one of them is a "dud". I prefer a longer book to be a novel so the narrative drives me to completion. Someday, Mark Helprin, someday.
Read in one day: I could only do this for a pretty short book, so: "Edmund and Rosemary Go To Hell" by Bruce Eric Kaplan. It is a picture book for adults by a famed cartoonist whose work is often seen in the New Yorker. What is heaven on earth and what is your idea of hell? Edmund and Rosemary come to some poignant conclusions.
Received as a gift: "The Dot & the Line" by Norton Juster. A romance in lower mathematics. A tiny illustrated book, makes you think that you can see love anywhere your path leads you.
Set in your home state: "Kill You Twice" by Chelsea Cain. This series about the damaged detective Archie Sheridan and his ghosts (living and dead) takes place in Portland, Oregon. Not many books are set there. A mystery of the more gruesome and graphic genre.
First-time author: "The Pericles Commission" by Gary Corby. I read this on the advice of Lochlan, and liked the protagonist's blend of idealism, bravery, and common sense. The ancient Athens setting was fascinating and I plan to read the sequels. Funniest feature is that the protagonist's annoying and pesky little brother is Socrates (yes, THAT Socrates) and when Socrates says, "brother, I've been thinking" his brother snaps back that too much thinking isn't good for you.
Translated from another language: "Misterioso" by Arne Dahl, translated from Swedish. The most striking thing to me was the completely different way the Swedish society sees the actions of the policemen. Our hero managed to bring a hostage crisis to a nonfatal end, and the way he was attacked on several fronts for doing so was so odd to me.
A sequel or next in a series: I read a lot of sequels. The most recent book in a series was "The Heist" by Daniel Silva. His international spy Gabriel Allon pulls off a wonderful art heist for a good cause in this book.
Won a book award: "The Long Way Home" by Louise Penny. This particular book might not have an award, butt Penny has won the Agatha Award 4 consecutive years 2007-2010 and 5 Anthony Awards for her books about thoughtful Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté de Quebéc.
Those are all the bingo spaces I can fill today! I hope more readers join in.