I'm off the first part of this week for my first Readcation of the year. Spring Break has reached our university, even if spring hasn't exactly reached Wisconsin. I don't have much planned other than reading and maybe culling some books and transcribing some book notes.
Last week I finished:
While the Millennials have their Mindy Kalings, Generation X has Jen Lancaster. I've loved her books for a long time, and I still have a backlog of her memoirs to get to. When her most recent memoir came out at the same time as her new YA novel, I didn't understand why there was no publicity. This was cleared up on the first essay of the book in which she tells her fans her agent was having trouble shopping her memoirs to publishers because Millennials aren't interested in "old Jen Lancaster". It just about broke my heart. So, this book is self-produced, but it is every bit as good as her most recent books, The Tao of Martha and I Regret Nothing. Lancaster is one of the few authors who makes me literally laugh out loud. Some make me guffaw in my head, but I LOL at Lancaster's work. But her books also have depth and great heart. She doesn't have as many serious moments as Jen Hatmaker or Melanie Shankle, but she gets you to the same place. I always feel just a little more in control and okay about aging and addressing my fears because I know that I'm not the only one doing it. In Stories I'd Tell in Bars, Lancaster recounts stories about things I have zero interest in (having anti-aging injections, taking a Sandals vacation, going on a ride-along with police officers, etc.) but that in her hands are interesting and pretty darn funny. And she's at her best when she writes about her psychotic and geriatric pets. I'm not normally a fan of alcohol-laced stories or stories that include a lot of swearing or talk of reality television shows, but I make exceptions for my friend Jen, because she makes everything fun. Maybe it's because she also has the same fondness for pearl necklaces and loafers that I do. The only thing I didn't care for about the book was the last "bonus" chapter that was a screenplay involving a sorority housemother in the witness protection program. Just wasn't interested in this in the least. Also, there were numerous typographical errors in the book that I neurotically corrected in my copy. But overall, I was so glad to have another Jen Lancaster experience, and it reminds me to get to my backlog of her memoirs. My rating: 4 stars.
P.S. Jen, if you need a copyeditor, I'll work for free. And I know, "if free, you take."
As you know I love to read anything about the White House, presidents, or first ladies. Ian Randal Strock's Ranking the Vice Presidents and Ranking the First Ladies have been on my book list for a long time, but it wasn't until I happened upon a copy of Ranking the First Ladies at a used bookstore, that I finally started one. This is a list of 50 or so rankings of first lady trivia from Martha Washington through Michelle Obama. Strock writes about such things as The First Ladies Who Served the Shortest Terms, The Most Married First Ladies, The First Ladies Who Were Related to Presidents (Other Than Their Husbands), and The First Ladies Who Were Firstborn Children. It was all quite fascinating to me, being an American history junkie. It did get necessarily repetitive at times, just due to the nature of the information, but I learned a lot, too. Strock wrote a previous book of presidential facts, so he has a lot of background information on not just the first ladies but also on their husbands. In The First Ladies Who Were Related to Presidents (Other Than Their Husbands), for instance, I was amazed to learn just how many first ladies President Obama was related to. Granted, these are not simple relations like "third cousins" but more along the lines of "19th cousins, three times removed," but still, I found it fascinating. If you're a history buff who likes trivia, this is a wonderful book. If you're not, it might drive you a little nutty. I loved it. My rating: 3.5 stars.
I dearly love Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, set in Bostwana. I recently finished book five, The Full Cupboard of Life, on audio, and I loved it. In this installment, Mma Ramotswe is asked by a wealthy woman to check on several suitors to determine which might make the best husband, and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is thinking it might be time to finally wed Mma Ramotswe. I've listened to them all so far on audio, and I highly recommend the audio versions. The narrator is just wonderful, and the stories are fun to follow. If you begin this series, I suggest working through them in order. Although there is always a recap of previous plot points, the books do build a bit on the previous books, and it's fun to have them unfold in order. The books examine morality and tradition a great deal, so if you like that kind of story, you'll find a soul mate, here. My rating: 4 stars.
This week I'll be reading:
I saved Force of Nature to read during my time off. I like to read thriller/mystery books in as few sittings as possible to get the full effect. I loved the first in the series, The Dry, and I'm very excited to begin this one.
Last week I started:
I started my re-read of Shauna Niequist's Present over Perfect last week on Kindle, in an effort to re-read at least five books this year.
I also began Kelly Corrigan's Tell Me More when I finished Stories I'd Tell in Bars a little early last week, and I didn't want to begin Force of Nature before Readcation.
I'm also reading:
I'm not sure I'll make it through all 800+ pages of All the Odes this month. I might need to carry it over to next month. Which is fine. It's a lot of odes.
I am working my way through France Is a Feast, Paul Child's photos of wife Julia Child and France, and I've stalled a bit on Heating & Cooling, but I plan to return to it this week.
My current audiobook:
I started Empire Falls last week, and I'm loving it. It's something I've wanted to read for awhile, and I finally picked up the audio. It's a mildly depressing story, but it's done so well.
No comments:
Post a Comment