The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie (#4, Fiction)

I think I missed the boat on this one. Either that, or this book missed the boat.

Every now and then I caught a glimpse of an interesting story, or I suddenly had the desire to keep reading to find out more about this "Enchantress". But, whatever grabbed hold of me, quickly let go, and I was back to just wishing I could finish it and move on to the next book.

There were a lot of characters and twists in time and place that made me have to think extra hard about who was talking and whether they were in the present or the past. A bit more work than desirable.

I would like to think that because this was a book club pick I will be able to hash out my issues on Saturday. Unfortunately, I have a sneaking suspicion that this book was unable to hold the interest of many book club members. I predict a 30% completion rate.

The Terror by Dan Simmons (#3, Fiction)

I started The Terror a year ago and threw in the towel after about 200 pages of nothing satisfying happening. My sister recommended this book to me and having greatly enjoyed Ahab's Wife, another book suggestion from her, I took a chance and tried to read this 700+ page book while completing the 50 books in a year challenge. Needless to say, when I wasn't making headway on it, I abandoned ship, leaving Captain Crozier and his frozen crew aboard the Terror for greener, shorter pastures.

Not in a rush to finish books this year, I decided to climb aboard Terror and give Dan Simmons and his very technical, very descriptive writing another chance. I struggled a bit getting back into the story but there are definite moments of brilliance. Certain characters start to grow on you and it gets harder and harder as the men keep dying from scurvy, or from attacks from the creature stalking the men. I think I kept reading because I really just wanted to know what the hell the thing on the ice was that kept killing the men.

As my sister said, there were several twists in the storyline that were highly shocking. And the last 100 pages made it worth slogging through 600 pages to get to. The explanation of the creature on the ice was highly satisfying but I do think that Simmons could have tightened his prose. The Terror shouldn't have been 700+ pages. I found the endless descriptions of the ships and the cold tiring. I wish the whole book could have been as good as the last 100 pages.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (#3, Contemporary Literature)

I have read a lot of books. Some of those books have been perverse--Tropic of Cancer, or filled with sex-scenes--Outlander, but I had yet to encounter a book like Lolita. A book where I am both completely disgusted and sympathetic with the narrator at the same time. And then I am disgusted with myself for being sympathetic....am I a monster?

I think that is part of the beauty of the book. Beauty? Um... or maybe, you know, what makes it so unique. There is this narrator telling us his story, about his lust for young girls-- it's gross and obscene, but his rationalizations to himself work on the reader! Yes Humbert, you aren't that bad, I mean, she didn't know you were getting off while she was sitting on your lap--SO KIND OF YOU.

I did get kind of bored about 2/3 of the way through. I think it was because by that point it had turned into straight up molestation. A 13 year-old and a 40 year-old--and she also starts referring to their escapades as rape, which makes his side not so easy to rationalize anymore.

As I rode the metro reading some of the more dirty scenes I found myself blushing a bit, sort of darting my eyes around wondering if anyone nearby had read the book and knew that I was at "that" scene. Could they read my mind?

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (#2, Fiction)

Maybe trying to do my write-up for Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns while watching American Idol was not such a good idea. This was January's book club pick and I really don't know what to say about it. It was a typical New York Times Bestseller. Hosseini knows how to tell a gripping story and to keep the prose fairly sparse but he can't avoid a cliched ending.

Aside from certain cliched turns in the storyline, I found Hosseini's second novel an interesting snapshot into the lives of Afghan women. The most shocking part were the dates at the beginning of each chapter. This mistreatment of women is happening right now, currently. I found myself appalled at the brutality the two main characters suffer at the hands of their husband and it was hard to read those particular scenes. Living in a society where husbands are not allowed to beat their wives and women enjoy social freedom, it is hard to even fathom living in one where I would be required to cover my entire body with a burka and to not be allowed to go anywhere without a male escort. If anything, Suns gives its readers a reason to be thankful for the United States being what it is, economic downturn or not. Our wallets may be hurting but at least our homes are not being torn apart by rocket attacks and our women are not being beaten into submission.

Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman (#1, Nonfiction)

What an appropriate book to start the new year. I am planning on becoming a nomad this summer and Rita Golden Gelman's Tales of a Female Nomad really gave me the travel bug. I want to visit the Galapagos Islands and I want to live with a family in Bali and teach the local kids English. I want to traipse through the jungle, observing orangutans. I want to live in New Zealand and eat fresh mussels everyday.

While I did not enjoy Gelman's writing style--it was a little too sparse and distant at times--I did enjoy sharing the journey with her. Her travel stories were interesting and I admire her for having the guts to live her life as a nomad. I admire her for living an extraordinary life and sharing it with the world.

If you liked Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love you will like Tales of a Female Nomad, especially if you thought Gilbert was whiny and annoying. Gelman is neither, and while Gilbert's novel is more fluffy and written, Gelman sticks to the facts. She doesn't exaggerate or embellish and this is perhaps what makes the book so refreshing.

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut (#2, Contemporary Literature)

I'm not exactly sure what to say about this one. It was not nearly as random at Tom Robbins, yet still absolutely bizarre.

It started out intriguing and seemed like it was going to be at least moderately straightforward, but then it just kept getting a little bit more and more odd. Not odd in a bad way, just odd.

I was looking at reviews of the book and I found one that quite simply sums up how I feel about Galapagos. The reviewer said something to the effect of, "you keep reading, waiting for the big, suspenseful twist to happen, and it never does." That is exactly how I felt! On the back you read about this Apocalypse occurring and a new civilization being born from a group stuck on the Galapagos; yet, 3/4 of the book takes place before they even get to the island. I suppose I expected more about the "new" generations. Although, I suppose the point is that the "new" line evolves into much smaller-brained, fish-like being, so there really isn't all that much to tell.

It was interesting, random, and funny. I found myself laughing out loud a few times on the metro yesterday... it was definitely worth the time.

Deception Point by Dan Brown (#34, Lame)

I sadly end my 2008 list of books with Dan Brown's atrocious bomb, Deception Point. I tried to think of some witty way of saying how shitty this book was--you know, something with deception in the title but horrid fiction does little to inspire me and I drew a blank. I actually finished this before Christmas and stayed up late one night while I was home in New York reading to find out what the huge deception was.

It was underwhelming and awful and I am annoyed I close out the year with such a sham of a book. There is a reason I stay away from this type of book--it always disappoints. I even thought about not posting about this misstep but alas, I must truthfully record all of my literary endeavors for the year. Perhaps this will inspire only quality reads for 2009!

The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington (#1!!!!, Classic)

Annnnnnnnnnnddddddddddddddd.... back to #1 again. Hello 2009! What little treats do you have in store for me? One could only imagine when it comes to me. Six new places to live? Another new job? Fame and fortune? Maybe the start of a new master's degree? We will see, we will see.

You can find this book on the Harvard list of the 100 greatest novels of all time. I had never heard of it, and honestly, I'm quite surprised. The book has all those classical themes that would go perfectly in a high school or college English class: the rise and fall of an American family, industrialization, hubris, dark suspense and a not entirely happy or unhappy ending

I swung back and forth from loving the book to hating it. But, it wasn't actually me loving or hating the book it was more me loving or hating the characters. OH the incense I felt for Georgie Amberson Minafer, and then he goes and totally surprises you!

I recommend it.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (#35, Fiction)

I bought this book for my niece for Christmas. As she was engrossed in a mystery series my Mom bought her I couldn't help but pick it up and begin reading it.

It is a very cute book and it does a great job of teaching vocabulary (without being obvious).

Now, for real, on to some adult books :)

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (#34, Fiction)

A lovely little series here that I was completely wrapped up in for about a week!

The end was a little bizarre, but I think she made it all end pretty well. I can't believe that I missed the whole imprinting twist! That is just totally staring the reader in the face! And I missed it!

I think it's better for me to not have a whole completed series when I find the first book. Although reading is great and all, my mental health can't really handle my reading addiction. I started the first book on a Thursday and finished the last one on the following Wednesday. Keep in mind I also worked each of those weekdays...

Time to move on some big kid books for awhile...well... after my next post actually...