I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t get to spend as much time reading as I used to. Pretty much the only time I open a book anymore is right before I fall asleep at night, which is to say I maybe get one or two pages in before slumping into an openmouthed, snoring coma.
Therefore, I really don’t want to spend my minimal amount of reading energy on an “eh” book, you know? And while I feel kind of bad making recommendations for or against books here (such a totally subjective topic), what the hell, let’s talk about the best things we’ve read lately — and the don’t-waste-your-time ones, too.
Best recent reads:
No Country for Old Men. You saw the movie (or you should have, because wow), now read the book. I have a new appreciation for the film, because it so faithfully captures the tone of this amazing novel. Sparse, grim, funny, it’s all there. This man can write like no one on else, and while I’ve only read two of his other books (All the Pretty Horses and The Road), I plan to eventually make my way through them all.
The Glass Castle. A fantastically detailed, nearly unbelievable account of the author’s eccentric upbringing with two batshit-crazy parents. Hilarious, tender, dramatic, and with no real sense of bitterness or shame. This is a short, entirely entertaining read, and if it turns out not to be 100% true — a la James Frey — I don’t care one bit.
The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup. This collection of 20 essays by Susan Orlean (author of The Orchid Thief [also, subject of Adaption] and New Yorker staff writer) profiles various people from the unknown to celebrities. Published in 2000, the subjects include then-underwear model Marky Mark and teen sensation Tiffany, as well as Tanya Harding and Bill Blass — but it doesn’t really matter who she’s talking about, every essay is fascinating and perfectly crafted.
Disappointments:
My Sister’s Keeper. To be fair, I probably would have liked this book more if I hadn’t had my expectations built up by all the people who recommended it to me. I was initially drawn in by the unique subject, but I thought it got annoyingly diluted by the various side plotlines. As for the ending, while I don’t certainly don’t require a Hollywood perfect wrap-up, without getting into spoiler territory I found it highly unsatisfying.
Look Me In the Eye: My Life With Asperger’s. This is a memoir by John Robison (brother of author Augusten Burroughs), detailing his life with Asperger’s Syndrome. I kept losing interest in this, maybe because of the dry nature of the author’s style. It’s a great look into the thought processes people with this condition tend to experience, I just couldn’t stay engaged with it.
Then We Came to the End. I really wanted to like this, because I recently bought it as a gift for a family member, but despite being reviewed as “wildly funny”, “brilliant”, and “compelling”, I didn’t find any of those descriptors to be true. The use of the first-person-plural was initially interesting but I found it alienating after a while, the story never drew me in, and it lacked the sharp snark I had hoped for.
And there’s my $.02, worth just about exactly that. What have you been reading lately that you’d recommend — or recommend against?
We read My Sister’s Keeper in our Book Club, while I was five months pregnant. Without getting into the spoiler, OHMYGOD, I was a wreck for a week.
Sarah | March 5th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Have you tried The Memory Keeper’s Daughte, The Namesake, or Water for Elephants ? Those three are my top reads of the last year - maybe ever.
AndreAnna | March 5th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Should read DaughteR
AndreAnna | March 5th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Ditto Water for Elephants. I had a ton of people tell me to read it…I’m reading it now and it’s FLYING by (bonus for not having much time to read).
Shannan | March 5th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Water for Elephants. I loved that book.
Merideth | March 5th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Man, I was so traumatized by The Road that I couldn’t even START No Country For Old Men.
A friend on the Internets recently recommended Beach Music by Pat Conroy (author of Prince of Tides), and I loved it. Not exactly a new release, but definitely worth reading.
Tessie | March 5th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
You know, reading is completely subjective, true, but I can’t help mentioning that although The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is very well-written (she knows her way around a sentence) it’s also very slow. I got through the first 100 pages imagining everything would pick up, but it never did. I finally got through it but it’s not something I’d recommend–only because there are so many books out there that are more engaging.
And I’m going to pick up No Country for Old Men now, before I see the movie.
She Likes Purple | March 5th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I’m on my 2nd book by Jonathan Tropper called The Book of Joe. That, and How to Talk to a Widower are both amazing and I plan on reading the rest. The two books I read before this, The Center of Everything and How to Be Lost were both good, but not life-changing. Have you ever read The Liar’s Club by Mary Karr? It’s what I measure every memoir against.
Kim | March 5th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I loved The Glass Castle and my husband loved No Country for Old Men (I didn’t read it, but I did read The Road and really liked it).
Have you read But Enough About Me by Jancee Dunn? That was a fantastic book!
Another book I loved was Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl. She describes food so that it all sounds delicious, even things I would never eat in a million years!
Wendi | March 5th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Dude. Water for Elephants is not all that (and, as they say, a bag of chips). In fact, I found it to be too precious and hard to follow - not to mention it has a completely unbelievable and smug ending.
My latest good read and recommendation to you - albeit nonfiction - is Fast Beauty: 1000 Quick Fixes. I know the product whore in you will LOVE IT.
Jamie | March 5th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
She Likes Purple: I felt the exact same way about the Memory Keeper’s Daughter - sloooow going.
Kim: Yes, loved the Liar’s Club. Ditto Cherry.
Wendi: Ruth Reichl is awesome! Her books are so much fun to read.
Linda | March 5th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I liked Water for Elephants, but it wasn’t the best book ever. And I’ll cop to being one who loved My Sister’s Keeper - I like all her other books, too, though. I think my faves of hers (Jodi Picoult) are Salem Falls and Second Glance. (Warning, though, Second Glance shifts points of view a lot, and from my friend who is a lunch-hour reader, that makes it hard to follow unless you read bigger chunks.)
I recently read The Kite Runner, and liked it. And I’m working on Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, which isn’t too shabby.
Finally, I will second the recommendation for anything Pat Conroy has written - The Lords of Discipline was my favorite of his, but they’re all great.
GoingLoopy | March 5th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I just read Robert Rummel-Hudson’s Schuyler’s Monster cover to cover on Saturday. It’s a great read even if you have read all his blog entries.
I need to go back and re-read it, but I have said for years when forced to name a favorite book that Barbara Kingsolver’s the Poisonwood Bible holds that title.
My sister (who used to pay me to read books for her in school) introduced me to the beauty of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Mandee | March 5th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I just finished “An Arsonist’s Guide to Writer’s Homes in New England” by Brock Clarke and it’s wooooooonderful.
Miranda | March 5th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
I have read the same 3 Cormac McCarthy books & really liked them!
Recommendations I can think of:
FICTION
The Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
(and because I liked that I just read Black Swan Green, which he also wrote, which I also liked), The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt (why is this so unsung?!by the way, it has NOTHING to do with the Tom Cruise “movie event” or whatever), and this is WAY dated, but The Secret History by Donna Tartt was my favorite book one summer. The Keep by Jennifer Egan. The Secret River by Kate Grenville (kind of dark, but I found it really readable). And it’s not light, either, but Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth is one of the best English language books I’ve read. Uh, not to oversell it.
NONFICTION
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick,
and I really liked Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, but talk about a downer. Yeesh.
launchingsloth | March 5th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I just want to say how refreshing it is to see that no one has recommended “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” For a while there, it seemed like the default answer to your question.
Leah | March 5th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
I really liked Look Me in the Eye - I was very curious about the author after reading about him in his brother’s books (Augustin Burroughs - ALL of his books are fab).
Water For Elephants - good, yes it is.
Eat, Pray, Love - good.
Holy Cow - another good one.
Liv | March 5th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
I just finished “I Capture the Castle” and adored it. If you’re a fan of Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters, it’s a really safe bet.
Tamara | March 5th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
I’ve been re-reading all the Maeve Binchy books, and I love them more each time I read them. (In fact, the first time I read each one I was kind of “meh” about them.)
Swistle | March 6th, 2008 at 2:41 am
My favorite two books this year were Glass Castle and Bel Canto (by Anne Patchett). If you haven’t read that one, I’m quite sure you will like it.
I also hated, was bored with, and then loved Life of Pi.
Also, I just read Eventide, the follow up to Plainsong by Kent Huraf. The characters in these books will be with me for a long time.
Also, I LOVE Ruth Reichl and Anthony Bourdain- I’ve been reading him since before he was “somebody”.
Lastly, have you read Empire Falls? Excellent.
Marie Green | March 6th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Ugh, My Sister’s Keeper. The ending actively PISSED ME OFF. Actively. I mean, COME ON. COME ON COME ON COME ON.
And The Memory Keeper’s Daughter was meh for me, too.
You know my feelings on Mary Karr, so I’ll spare you that rant (short version: I think she’s a first-rate bullshitter, and given that I was her student for a while I have some first-hand experience with which to make my judgment, but I know! No one cares! It’s just that I don’t particularly love her as a person.)
Have you ever read Michael Chabon? His wife, Ayelet Waldman, is a hateable cow after her whole NYT essay and blog, among other things, but Chabon shouldn’t be judged by his wife. “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay” is … well, it is, actually, amazing. As is “Wonder Boys” and “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.”
jonniker | March 6th, 2008 at 3:02 am
I loved the The God of Small Things, Life of Pi, Middlesex, The Poisonwood Bible…not exactly new releases but that just means you can get ‘em cheap on Amazon.
Also Me Talk Pretty One Day was super fun.
I’m currently reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and haven’t decided whether I like it yet. It’s starting out slow and if it doesn’t pick up I’m gonna hafta put it down.
amber | March 6th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
They’re older, but I always revisit/recommend The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Guide and Me Talk Pretty One Day when I need a giggle. Laurie Notaro’s first book was her best, I feel, and I could either see the events happening or actually had them happen to my friends and I in our 20s… good times.
They’re collections, but oh so satisfying in a regular-fiction way. Bonus: can pick up and put down easily b/c they’re short, perfect for parenting.
Water for Elephants, Bel Canto, Sister’s Keeper were all disappointing book club reads (but oh MAN did we have great discussion/arguments), but I second Capture the Castle for a fun read.
Em | March 6th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I totally agree about Then We Came to the End. I was underwhelmed.
Recommended:
non-fiction–Starbucked, by Taylor Clark.
stories–My Life in Heavy Metal, Steve Almond
Erin | March 6th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Trying to get through “Love in the Time of Cholera” but it’s a slow, rather unengaging read (thus far).
Julie | March 6th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I really hate to fall into the Oprah Book Club crap, but some very cool boys i know recommended “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett, and i loved it.
Eat pray Love was very good too.
But i think the ideal books for you would be anything in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett… they are hilarious, and best yet- have Zombies in them!
Poppy | March 6th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
One more: The Pleasure of My Own Company - by Steve Martin. I never knew he wrote until I saw Shopgirl and saw his writing credits - fab book, fab I tell you.
Liv | March 7th, 2008 at 12:10 am
I recently read “These is My Words” and I loved it. It’s about a woman who lives in Arizona in the late 19th/early 20th century.
I’m reading Suite Francais for my book club right now and I like it. I have a hard time putting it down, but I’m not sure if I love it.
I read “A Thousand Splendid Suns” before this one and loved it. I joined a book club after talking to somebody else whose club was doing this in May. I’m going to miss the meeting because I’m doing a Ladies Who Launch workshop, but I’m glad to have finally found a book club.
Amy
Mom to 3
http://www.sofiabean.com
AmyE | March 7th, 2008 at 12:22 am
Well I couldn’t get through Water for Elephants because I couldn’t stand reading about animal abuse, so it wasn’t for me. I also recently abandoned Atonement - irritating, predictable, and frustrating.
Probably should take my rants with a grain of salt though because I’m more of a fantasy/sci fi lover. Lately, however, I have been reading a lot of Dennis Lehane - he wrote Mystic River and is a master of the noir detective genre. Everything I’ve read of his is a good dark detective novel, Mystic River being the best so far.
Maggie | March 7th, 2008 at 12:29 am
if you loved Kite Runner and a Thousand splendid suns you will also love the Bookseller of Kabul. I just passed on my copy of the Glass Castlel which I loved and Hated, well, hated the parents so much but its a good read for moms who feel a bit insecure at times about their chaotic mothering styles (esp when life throws us so many curveballs). Also enjoyeRunning with Scissors for the sAME REASON>>>Jumpar Lahari (Namesake Authro) worte a really good short story collection forgot the name. that’s it for now, enjoyed reading the notes here.
bettermom | March 7th, 2008 at 5:02 am
If you like fantasy/sci fi stuff, and you’re not looking for something hot off the press, try Clive Barker stuff. It’s been AGES since I read them, but I remember thinking Weaveworld and Imajica were really cool books. Except if you’re looking for something shorter to read…these books look a little bit like War and Peace sitting on the shelf. But I read them in, like, tenth grade or something, so I can’t imagine that I’d find them to be a terribly complicated read now. (Although, who knows, I may very well have been significantly smarter in tenth grade, having a two-year-old now.)
Danell | March 7th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Queen & Country graphic novels by Greg Rucka, plus his two novels about the same characters - Private Wars and A Gentleman’s Game.
GJR | March 11th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
I’ve been reading John Connolly lately and even though his novels are kinda dark- I like them a lot. My favorite of his novels is The Book of Lost Things -which is a fantasy novel but all his other books are all murder/violence/mayhem and hey gay assassins.
And hey if you still haven’t read any Neil Gaiman novels you should get crackin on those.
Emblita | March 14th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Memory Keeper’s Daughter was a “meh” for me. It seemed like the author was trying to drag it out.
When I want a good read, I go for the classics usually. They never disappoint. But I do keep an eye on The New Yorker book reviews in case something with a fascinating topic comes up.
kerri | March 28th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
First, I totally agree with “These Is My Words” I loved it, and read it twice.
Second, Jodi Picoult seems to be in the “love her” or “hate her” category.
Third, check out “Shadow Divers” for a really interesting, different non-fiction. It’s about deep-sea divers looking for a lost U-Boat off the coast of NJ. LOVED. IT
Di | April 5th, 2008 at 1:07 am