Books and Whatever

Dear Loestrin 1.5/30,

You are way too strong for my fragile endocrine system, and you are seriously fucking up my mojo. I think we need to break up.

Sincerely,
Lorie

I am reading The Lovely Bones right now and wonder why it took me so long to get around to it. It’s incredible, and so captivating that I stayed up way too late last night reading it. I probably could have finished it, but practicality told me I should get some sleep. In some ways, it has been especially difficult to read at times, more so even than one might expect, because we have recently been so close to the deaths of teenagers ourselves that some of the sentiments expressed hit a little too close to home.

Up next I have Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, and after that I may give One Hundred Years of Solitude another shot. I can’t seem to make it through that one, even though I’ve owned it for a few years now. And no, I didn’t get it because of Oprah’s stupid book club. Incidentally, I was home with Ginny when Oprah announced that The Heart is a Lonely Hunter would be the next book on her list, and I immediately remembered how much I hated that book when I had to read it in high school. In looking at it on Amazon, though, it seems like something I would enjoy, and so I kind of feel like perhaps I need to read it again with an adult’s perspective.

Also, I had no idea that my refusal to sign up for the SuperUltraAwesome Savings Card would be the straw that broke Winn-Dixie’s back.

11 Replies to “Books and Whatever”

  1. I've only read this current entry of yours, so I'm not sure what other books you've read. However, I would recommend “Lucky” by the same author as “The Lovely Bones.” (Alice Sebold) It's really a wonderful book. And I, too, enjoyed “The Lovely Bones.” Take care.

  2. I have to second the recommendation for Sebold's “Lucky”. It is the true story of the author's own rape, written before “The Lovely Bones”. Well worth checking out.

    I tried reading “Wicked” a few weeks ago and could not get into it at all. “Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister” is so much better.

    And for McCullers – I recommend “The Member of the Wedding”.

  3. Can't refer any good books because I'm still working on that damn Harry Potter series.

    Anyways, just wanted to let you know, I FINALLY saw “Amelie” last night! You were right, I absolutely loved it and now I want to live in Paris.

  4. I started reading the Lovely Bones and it totally freaked me out and I could not continue reading it for fear of it causing even worse nightmares than I already have.

    If you feel like reading something a little lighter after this one, try something from Sophie Kinsella. I have read all three of her Confessions of a Shopoholic series (can you guess what would have drawn me to that title?), and just yesterday I read her newest Can You Keep A Secret. They are very easy reads…I did read that entire book yesterday afternoon/evening, but they are funny and cute and might be just what you need after reading a heavy book.

  5. Gosh, I'm still gonna recommend anything by A.S. Byatt or Nick Hornby — two very different writers, but the only two whose oeuvres I have completed in their entirety…

    Wish I had some good pill related suggestions.

  6. it' s funny, i disagree with elizabeth. i found wicked to be easier to read than confessions, though i liked both very much. wicked goes on for a while, but it' s easy to become absorbed in, while confessions seems to take a while to get started. either way, enjoy!

  7. Wicked is so much better than Confessions. The story isn't all set out neatly, there are so many loose ends in Wicked that stimulate conversation. Confessions is so neatly laid out that at the end you're left with “Heh, well that was good.” I mean really, any book ballsy enough to conclude with book discussion questions regarding the nature of evil. Or perhaps that's just me… it seems that many people I talk to want all of the loose ends tied up, that the moment anything is left hanging in question then that only points out how poor a writer the author is.Of course on the other hand, I'm writing all of this and in a few hours you'll write a new entry and this comment will go unread. Oh well.

  8. Hugo, I adore Nick Hornby – in fact, I own most of what he's written. Don't know that I've read anything by Byatt, though.Ginger, I read Confessions a while ago but never got around to the others – thanks for reminding me!

  9. i'm always a step behind, i swear. someone needs to add on their blog a section of books that are great because i have just the darnist time finding one myself and by the time i get to something like middlesex everyone and there mothers uncle has read it and i feel like the kid who didn't get a nintendo till hammer pants were out. so, just a suggestion…i think someone should do just for me…because that's what the blog world should be about…me.

    i'm sitting here at the library with “the everlasting story of nory” by nicholas baker in front of me. i chose it for the cover. point should be taken.

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