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what
I read in: 2005 2004 |
Friday,
September 28, 2001 Finished Sojourner truth: a life, a symbol. At first I was put off by the content because Truth was so spiritual, and there was a lot of information about her preaching and involvement in spiritual communities. Eventually the text paralleled her life and progressed into her abolitionist & suffrage interests. I was unconvinced that she was a feminist until nearly the conclusion of the book. It was difficult to see her evolution from Isabella to Sojourner Truth. I kept looking for benchmarks along the way and they just weren't there. I read the first chapter of Split second by Alex Kava. It promises to be a great read, but of course, we will see... I picked up Evidence
against her by Robb
Forman Dew--a winner of the
national book award-- and Rick
Bragg's latest Ava's
man. They'll go into the queue and eventually be
read. I've not been terribly satisfied by the books I've read lately.
I'm sure it's because some are so poorly written and only faintly
engaging. I may change my reading habits by indulging less in cotton
candy type books. A woman's gotta have some fun, so I'm sure to keep
reading essentially pleasurable books, but I will shift my focus toward
more literary fiction and try to squeeze in a few biographies each
month. Wednesday, September 26, 2001 I did relatively well reading during my vacation. I completed five books. Wind done gone, Film strip by Nancy Bartholomew, Good life by Keith Scribner, Female intelligence by Jane Heller, and Copy Kat by Karen Kijewski. I'm currently reading Sojourner Truth: a life, a symbol by Nell Irvin Painter. I'm not
sure whether to just rate the previous
5 books I read, or what.So
here goes.... Wind done gone was interesting,
but not my favorite.
Film strip was
just a fun mystery read, brain
candy.... a good vacation or airplane book. Good
life was meatier
than any of the other books. Based on the true-crime kidnapping
of an oil
executive, the author gives a credible psychological fiction
type thing. Sorry I'm not more coherent, but I've only had a few
sips
of this morning's
coffee. Copy Kat was not to my taste. Hey, that's
better than saying that it's crappy. The writing is okay, but
it's just not
to my
taste. She's one of these writers who uses each sentence as a new
paragraph. And, I just didn't like the way she handled the main
character
and
her thought processes. I bought the book used, because I finished
up the library books I took with me to Hilton Head. Desperate
for something,
I recalled a shop in Coligny Center that has a paper book exchange.
Guess I would have enjoyed one of those Richard North Patterson
books better, or even the Tom Clancy (I actually liked the one
that I read
a few years ago, believe it or not). I like a meaty book, and
Kijewski's novel was quite sparse. So I have a second paperback
in that same
series that I'll probably never read. Again, desperation, and
certainty that
I would finish the first one and again be wanting for a book
to read. Actually, Copy kat took me an inordinate amount of time
to
read because
it was truly odious. Thursday, September 13, 2001 Accidentally left Iron Shoes at work over the weekend so I didn't get to read it at all. I did start Dorothy Cannell's The thin woman last weekend, and finished it up Wednesday night. It was really good for a British novel. Good characters, plot, and setting. I may read more of them as time goes along, but there are so many books I want to read (so many books, so little time...) And, my pc crashed yesterday so I lost my files, one of which was a 4 page list of books I want to read. Ah well, such is life. It's really unfortunate that my pace is slowing down. But, next week will be my vacation, so hopefully I will devour a book and a half per day. I began Ray Suarez's book The old neighborhood: what we lost in the great suburban migration, 1966-1999. It was okay, and I think I would have enjoyed reading it some other time. I have to be in a certain mood to really get into certain non-fiction. I started Alice
Randall's Wind
done gone yesterday while
relaxing on my front stoop. Here's the first
chapter; a blurb
from Salon; and news
from Bookweb. There have been
several news stories surrounding the book's possible infringement
on copyright laws since it tells another side of life in Margaret
Mitchell's Gone
with the wind. Actually I think her
house gets more attention that she does. Wow, I didn't realize
that she has a stamp,
too. There's probably a lot that I don't know about Mitchell since
GWTW isn't my favorite book. I read it gosh in junior high and remembered
it being somewhat tedious because I got bored with all the landscape/sunset/sunrise
descriptions. And, I've not wanted nor needed to read it a second
time. Haven't had much time to devote to reading this week. Too much interior painting going on. Did squeeze in Kathy Reichs's newest novel Fatal voyage, which was really good. Takes place in western NC, Bryson City..., which is about 50 miles east of Tennessee. Other than the nasty stereotypes about mountain folk and librarians, I muddled through. Although it was doubly irritating, I really thought this was her best book so far. I enjoyed the one about the nun's bones in Quebec (Death du jour), but didn't really like the other about the motorcycle gangs (Deadly decisions), blech! An interview with Reichs wherein she mentions her childhood reading was primarily Nancy Drew (try this if the 1st link doesn't work) and those chipper Hardy Boys. The latest press release from UNC-Charlotte...Though she's listed as faculty in the Dept. of Anthropology, she's listed as being on indefinite leave. It lists her email as kjreichs@aol.com Oh, and I did begin that Lerone Bennett book, and my main question so far is, did he have an editor? The writing is atrocious. In the meantime,
I started Iron
shoes, in which the main character is a library
clerk at an under funded library. Molly
Giles, the author is interviewed at Bookpage.
This book is also recommended
by Salon. Although I love to read
about librarians, it is merely coincidence that I'm reading about
librarians in fiction.... It’s more difficult to do that on purpose,
unfortunately. My pace has slowed. However, I did read 2 chapters in Richard Maruis' A short guide to writing about history, which is infinitely readable, entertaining, and ultimately educational. Then, I read Donald Wright's African Americans in the colonial era: from African Origins through the American Revolution (The American History Series). Really enlightening. I learned so much, and it was really well written as well. For fun reading I finished Slow River by Nicola Griffith. I read Blue place sometime last fall, I believe. I hoped that my library would purchase her other books, but so far they have not. I've had to rely upon ye olde standby-Interlibrary Loan. But, Blue place was rather haunting. I still recall the imagery and character, Aud, who I imagined in my mind the whole time as Angelina Jolie. Although the woman in the photo on the book jacket looks like a model, there's something in her manner/carriage that reminded me of Angelina. I found an interview with Griffith at January Magazine. The next book I'll start reading is Forced into glory: Abraham Lincoln's white dream by Lerone Bennett, Jr. And, I've got another Nicola Griffith ILL to retrieve from my local public library. Lots of reading to do, so little time!! |