So, September is over. Thank goodness for that. It was not a good month in so many ways, including, unfortunately, reading. I only read 7 books, which brings me to 75 for the year. That means I need to read 25 in the next 3 months, which is kind of a problem because those are busy months. I'm starting to think I won't make it to 100. I must throw off all this negativity and think good thoughts about reading. We shall see.
Anyway, here is the list:
69. One True Thing by Anna Quindlen. My first Anna Quindlen book ever, and no, I didn't like it. I did not find the main character at all believable, nor the town, nor her parents, etc. I've decided that I don't need to worry about Anna Quindlen's books -- she's not my type of writer.
70. Firestorm by Nevada Barr. A mystery set in Lassen National Park, which interested me since we spent part of our honeymoon there. But the story's not really much about the park, more about a fire that takes place there. OK, nothing special.
71. Casanova's Chinese Restaurant by Anthony Powell. The fifth book in the 12-part series. Not his best. I already have the sixth book out of the library.
72. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. This was one of my birthday books. It's definitely not my favorite of Sedaris's collections (that would be Holidays on Ice). But there were a couple of laugh-out-loud moments, and the piece about his brother's new baby was really touching. I also found myself identifying with the piece about when he was a kid and it snowed a lot, and he and his sisters were off school for a few days, and their mother went out of her mind and locked them out of the house. Sounded just like something I would do. It cheered me up to think that if I ever do, boos will probably be OK, maybe turn out to be famous comedy writers.
73. That Monster by Daniel Stallings. This is a collection of mostly poetry, self-published by one of the younger members of my writing club. Although I have strong reservations about self-publishing, I have to admit there are some really affecting pieces in here. For instance, there's a poem about having his backpack stolen in middle school -- that sounds like a silly topic, but the actual poem is very moving. His writing is best when he taps into childhood angst.
74. Private Demons: The Life of Shirley Jackson by Judy Oppenheimer. I gobbled up this interesting biography, but as with most biographies, it left me wanting to know more. Maybe the best thing to do would be to read her books again, or perhaps there's one I never read -- will have to check through my old lists.
75. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I exchanged one of my birthday books for this one, wanting to know what the hype was all about. I did enjoy the book, though I thought she missed the opportunity in the "Eat" section to point out that the Italian food supply is probably much cleaner and more real than the American food supply and that's why she felt so good after eating it for a few months. I think it's interesting that the book has been a big hit in the US, since it's basically a paean to Eastern religions and the value of making up your own religion out of bits and pieces of this and that, which is total anathema to fundamentalist Christians. Who I was under the impression were running the country. But maybe I have been in Ridgecrest too long.
Well, I have stacks of books piled up by my bedside -- we'll see whether I can read any of them in October.
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