book report

Sometimes it feels like I have the entire collection of the Brooklyn Public Library checked out and sitting in stacks in my living room. Anyway, for the last, oh, really long time, I've been plowing through them, as evidenced by "recent reads" list on my sidebar. As a book-loving blogger, I sorta feel like it's my duty to tell you about them. So here is a long overdue book report. I'm going to let amazon.com tell you what the books are about (just click on the linked titles) and, because I'm pretty sure my apartment was blown away last night all the way to the frigid South Pole by the bitter winds whipping off the bay, which left my fingers in a frozen state, I'm going take it easy and just share my thoughts concerning them.

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
Pretty much the most fabulous book about reading EVER. Seriously, if you are as devoted to books and the reading of them as I am, you need to check this book out. If you want to know more about what I thought, see the post I wrote about it here.

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Also fantastic. It's a memoir written in encyclopedia format, which - hello?! is totally and utterly creatively awesome. Added bonus? It's hilarious. Because I want to be in the same Cool Club as Rosenthal, after I read it, I wrote a post mimicking her style (which was as fun to write as it was to read her book...seriously, I think she's onto something with the encyclopedia format).

The Epic of New York City by Edward Robb Ellis
Even though it took me, like, three months to read, I give it two thumbs way up. Heck, if I had a green thumb, I'd throw that one up high as well. Maybe I'm just biased because I call this place home now, but seriously, it's a great narrative history of the city covering from its discovery by Verrazano in 1524 up until its publication, roughly in the middle of the 20th century Civil Rights movements. It's not boring to read (which, again, as a history major, I might be biased here) because it's told in story format and looks at glimpses of the lives of actual citizens to tell the larger story. And where else would you get to pick up fascinating tidbits such as the fact that Broadway was built over an old Indian warpath and that the extravagant Waldorf-Astoria hotel was built because of an Astor family feud?

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
If you're into memoirs about squalid childhoods, you'll probably like this one. It's a page turner that leaves you wondering what possessed this girl's parents to think like they did. It will also make you want to kick her parents in effigy because, seriously -- if your kids, who are starving to the point that they'll dig for food out of the bathroom garbage cans at school, find a two carat diamond ring amidst the trash on the family property, you DON'T chose to wear the ring because you feel you've been denied pretty things instead of cashing it in to feed your children. Come on.

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
I liked this one, even though I'm not in the age group targeted to enjoy it (it's a collection of essays about aging). But Ephron is funny and she writes about New York City, which, yeah, appeals to me. There's also an excellent essay in here about reading, which ranks up there with Ex Libris.

Big Fish by Daniel Wallace
For those whom this might be an issue for, yes, the book DID come before the movie. And yes, I thought the book was better (which is really saying something because I LOVED the movie). As I read it, I felt like I was sitting on a rickety Southern porch listening to some old guy in a rocker tell me tall tales. Wallace's written voice in this book is superb.

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
This is a children's classic, written in letter format (which is almost as fun as encyclopedia format) that I should have read a long time ago. But then, I'm a sucker for turn-of-the-century coming of age stories.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham
I loved the movie that this book was based on, so I thought I'd give the book a try. It was beautifully written, and I could almost hear the movie's soundtrack (which is hauntingly gorgeous) playing in the background as I read. I also loved how the lives of the characters were so intertwined. But the homosexual lifestyles of some of the characters got a little tiring for me.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan
Also picked this one up because I loved the movie, but, even though the book was good, I think the movie did a better job portraying the overall mood of the story.

The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches by Jeff Yeager
I liked his frugal philosophy and his idea to go on "fiscal fasts" (a pre-determined period of time where you deny yourself the spending of any money) every once in a while. He's a funny, straightforward guy whose mouth, I think, could use a good wash with soap.

A Little Bit of Paris by Jean-Jacque Sempe
A wordless book of cartoonish sketches of life in Paris, as depicted by the famous New Yorker artist, Sempe. A lot of fun to browse through.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
Like many of you, I spent many wakeful nights reading this one, but it was a newborn, and not necessarily the story, that kept me up page-turning. Despite that, though, yes I loved it.

A Chainless Soul by Katherine Frank
A biography of Emily Bronte. Depressing, as are most biographies of the Bronte's, especially as she argues that Emily was suffering from anorexia, which I'm not totally sure I agree with. But I'm a sucker for that family and devour anything and everything written by or about them.

In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd
This was a second reading, so yes, it's that good. And oh so funny. If you liked A Christmas Story, you'll love this book. It's Ralphie and the leg lamp and bb gun and so. much. more.

The Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante
An excellent book on how to write a story. I think it's often used as a textbook, but that didn't seem to stop me.

The Baby Book by Dr. Sears
A good resource for the days when parenting is confusing.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Read this because everyone else was. However, I think I might be the only person on the planet who hated it. I seriously spent the entire book waiting for it to get fantastic like everyone told me it would. But, no. Still waiting. So I won't be reading the rest of the trilogy.

Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld
Never had a chance to make any of the recipes (because apparently everyone else in Brooklyn wanted to check this book out from the library, too), but they were intriguing. Don't know, though, that I'd ever have the energy to puree all those vegetables.

All righty then. There's my report. And now the next time you're wondering what book you should pick up the next time you're itching to read something, you have a whole slew of options. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go clean my "recent reads" list and start fresh.