Spoon Fed - How Eight cooks Saved My Life by Kim Severson

At close to 250 pages, this is a great read that you can do in a day. It's a memoir of a food writer who has spent time in San Francisco & New York, whose work led her to meet some heavy-hitters in the food world. While I've only ever heard of one of those names (Racheal Ray), it was pretty interesting to read some of the anecdotes and encounters that shaped her life & career. I loved her style of writing, as well, she made room to include recipes that I'll definitely be trying out.

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Part 1 (13/52)

This was a belated resolution of mine, and I like that other people have book-related resolutions for the year as well! Here's my list so far:

disliked (-), neutral/ok ( ), liked (+), loved (♥)

1. The Good Women of China - Xinran (+)
2. Dreams of Trespass - Fatima Mernissi (reread) ♥
3. Cockroach - Rawi Hage
4. A Secret Between Us - Daniel Poloquin (abandoned) (-)
5. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
6. The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf - Mohja Kahf
7. The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca - Tahir Shah ♥
8. Barnacle Love - Anthony De Sa
9. Boys in the Trees: A Novel - Mary Swan (+)
10. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (+)
11. Shanghai Girls - Lisa See (+)
12. Atmospheric Disturbances - Rivka Galchen ♥
13. The Great Karoo - Fred Stenson ♥

Vanishing & Other Stories - by Deborah Willis

A rather cliche world of writers, artists, bicycles with baskets, tofu, drinking wine from mason jar glasses, professor husband sleeping with wife's artist friend, teenage girl sleeping with weatherworn cowboy, groom sleeps with bride's younger sister on wedding day, prof sleeping with her young student- the writing is good but the collection comes across as pretentious. This was nominated for a GG award???

The Great Karoo - Fred Stenson

War novels are not usually my thing. (*yawn*) I took this out from the library because it was a GG's nomination but I was ready to quit this before I even started. I finally picked it up to fill the gap after Atmospheric Disturbances, and then, surprisingly, I couldn't put it down. I can't say why exactly I loved this book, but I did. It was long, and slow, and all about war, set in South Africa during the second Boer War. But it was also a page-turner, and had a great plot, and was beautifully written and thoughtful. Definitely glad I read this one.

Atmospheric Disturbances: A Novel - Rivka Galchen

I definitely recommend this book, it was just so good! It is one of those rare books that brings such originality to the idea of what a novel should be that it made for a fresh and pleasurable read.

The middle-aged psychiatrist protagonist believes his wife has disappeared, and has been replaced by... a doppelganger. Conspiracies with dogs, doppelgangers, weather, and wacky mix of science and literature and psychology ensue, right up to this book's final confusion, I mean conclusion.

Creative, smart, funny, eccentric, complicated- sound like the perfect date? I can tell you I certainly enjoyed taking this one to bed for 3 nights in a row.

However, I'd be interested to hear what other people think of it, as a lot of reviewers on amazon really didn't like this book.

Shanghai Girls: A Novel - Lisa See

I didn't feel like with this book that Lisa See was very good at getting into her characters in terms of the time and place in which they were placed- I felt like her characters mannerisms and ways of speaking and thinking were far too modern for the 1930's era China that they were set in. But even so, she tells a good story that effectively draws the reader in and once I was hooked I found it an engaging read through to the end. I also have to give her credit for the open ending to the story, which I always find a frustrating but compelling finish to a book. She is a good story-teller, and her subject matter is always interesting, but most of all it made me want to pick up an Amy Tan book, whose subject matter is similar, but whose writing I find a little bit, well, better.

100 Books in 2010

I forgot this Blog existed and since it seems to have fallen into disuse, I am going to use it to track the 100 Juvenile books I plan to read in 2010. Please feel free to offer suggestions. I am doing this for two reasons: first, I want to make myself read 100 Juvie books form myjob. How can I advise people if I don't read the books myself; the second reason is to practise using social networking technologies. Since I am very 'old school' I cringe at public postings yet without actually using these technologies I become disadvantaged at my job. So I am hoping no one except me (& a very few of you) will read my posts. I can always edit them out if they become too cringable. Best of luck to me in accomplishing my goal.