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listersgirlA very abbreviated version of Booktalk today, because I am a slacker and let the list grow too long for in-depth analysis and thoughtful plot summaries.
Deborah Blumenthal Fat Chance
It sucked! Oh, wait, you'd like more? Ok, the book was about an overweight writer who is nationally famous for her columns on fat acceptance. Because of these columns, she gets asked to consult on a movie starring her favourite actor, and she freaks out and secretly goes on a diet and exercise plan in order to lose weight before she meets him. More things probably happen, but I didn't even get halfway through, and only that far because I was on the subway and had nothing else to read. The plot was contrived, sure, but mostly the writing itself was atrocious. Hideous, even.
Ann Douglas Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas
This book was advertised as being a female Mondo Canuck (which I love to pieces, never mind that it's a bit out of date now), but it was more like a fluffy feminist pop culture book with a Canadian spin, at least for the first half, which had themed timelines (motherhood, fashion) that sometimes had to stretch too hard to find the Canadian link. Bu the second half of the book, which had short sections on Canadian women in different fields, was more interesting.
Ben Elton Dead Famous
A funny satire of reality TV, mostly of the Big Brother variety. And there's a murder, too! My only complaint would be that the author seems to be watching different shows than I've seen, at least based on concepts like the fact that everyone always acts thrilled and relieved to be the person voted out. Based on the few episodes that I've seen, the bootees can't stop crying. But maybe the British versions are different. Oh, and I thought the police were oddly underwritten, but that might just be because I've read so many police procedurals. So complaints.
Elyse Friedman Waking Beauty
I can't decide if I enjoyed this or not. I think I'm going to go with "not", since I seem to be in a picky mood right now. It was about a woman (self-identified as ugly) who wakes up one day a complete raving beauty, and how this changes her life. Parts of it were interesting - how people reacted differently to her, and how much easier it was do things like get work - but there was just something about the whole thing that irritated me.
Christopher Moore The Stupidest Angel
Funny and fabulous! Really, the best Christmas book ever, and everyone should read it, although it's even funnier if you've read his other books (and if you haven't, hie thee to a library!) because he brings back characters from Lamb, Island of the Sequined Love Nun and Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove.
Audrey Niffinger The Time Traveller's Wife
Oh, I loved this. I was completely hooked, and couldn't put it down, even going so far as to lug the hardcover around with me everywhere in case I had a chance to read. Without giving anything away (hopefully), Henry is an accidental time traveller - he can't control when or where he goes, but both seem to be emotionally related - and Clare is the woman he meets and falls in love with. The book is non-linear, showing them meeting at different times in their lives, and it's fascinating, both emotionally and intellectually.
Terry Pratchett Going Postal
Fabulous Pratchett goodness, this time centred around a con artist who is offered a choice between death and management of the crumbling postal system in Ankh-Morpork. Really funny, and I loved the characters.
Miriam Towes A Complicated Kindness
As Amazon says, teenage angst, Mennonite-style. Nomi is a teenaged girl living with her father in a tiny Mennonite town in Manitoba, trying to hold herself and her family together after her mother and older sister flee. Funny and full of Lou Reed references, Nomi's musings are sometimes painful and sometimes way too meandering, but worth reading.
Jeanette Winterson The Passion
I liked this, but I wasn't blown away. So many people have raved about the author, though, so I'm going to pick up another of her books and try again. I just found that I felt very removed from everything happening on the page.
Deborah Blumenthal Fat Chance
It sucked! Oh, wait, you'd like more? Ok, the book was about an overweight writer who is nationally famous for her columns on fat acceptance. Because of these columns, she gets asked to consult on a movie starring her favourite actor, and she freaks out and secretly goes on a diet and exercise plan in order to lose weight before she meets him. More things probably happen, but I didn't even get halfway through, and only that far because I was on the subway and had nothing else to read. The plot was contrived, sure, but mostly the writing itself was atrocious. Hideous, even.
Ann Douglas Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas
This book was advertised as being a female Mondo Canuck (which I love to pieces, never mind that it's a bit out of date now), but it was more like a fluffy feminist pop culture book with a Canadian spin, at least for the first half, which had themed timelines (motherhood, fashion) that sometimes had to stretch too hard to find the Canadian link. Bu the second half of the book, which had short sections on Canadian women in different fields, was more interesting.
Ben Elton Dead Famous
A funny satire of reality TV, mostly of the Big Brother variety. And there's a murder, too! My only complaint would be that the author seems to be watching different shows than I've seen, at least based on concepts like the fact that everyone always acts thrilled and relieved to be the person voted out. Based on the few episodes that I've seen, the bootees can't stop crying. But maybe the British versions are different. Oh, and I thought the police were oddly underwritten, but that might just be because I've read so many police procedurals. So complaints.
Elyse Friedman Waking Beauty
I can't decide if I enjoyed this or not. I think I'm going to go with "not", since I seem to be in a picky mood right now. It was about a woman (self-identified as ugly) who wakes up one day a complete raving beauty, and how this changes her life. Parts of it were interesting - how people reacted differently to her, and how much easier it was do things like get work - but there was just something about the whole thing that irritated me.
Christopher Moore The Stupidest Angel
Funny and fabulous! Really, the best Christmas book ever, and everyone should read it, although it's even funnier if you've read his other books (and if you haven't, hie thee to a library!) because he brings back characters from Lamb, Island of the Sequined Love Nun and Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove.
Audrey Niffinger The Time Traveller's Wife
Oh, I loved this. I was completely hooked, and couldn't put it down, even going so far as to lug the hardcover around with me everywhere in case I had a chance to read. Without giving anything away (hopefully), Henry is an accidental time traveller - he can't control when or where he goes, but both seem to be emotionally related - and Clare is the woman he meets and falls in love with. The book is non-linear, showing them meeting at different times in their lives, and it's fascinating, both emotionally and intellectually.
Terry Pratchett Going Postal
Fabulous Pratchett goodness, this time centred around a con artist who is offered a choice between death and management of the crumbling postal system in Ankh-Morpork. Really funny, and I loved the characters.
Miriam Towes A Complicated Kindness
As Amazon says, teenage angst, Mennonite-style. Nomi is a teenaged girl living with her father in a tiny Mennonite town in Manitoba, trying to hold herself and her family together after her mother and older sister flee. Funny and full of Lou Reed references, Nomi's musings are sometimes painful and sometimes way too meandering, but worth reading.
Jeanette Winterson The Passion
I liked this, but I wasn't blown away. So many people have raved about the author, though, so I'm going to pick up another of her books and try again. I just found that I felt very removed from everything happening on the page.
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no subject
Date: 2004-12-21 12:51 pm (UTC)"And you, little guy. I don't even know what the HELL you are."
"Fruit bat," said Roberto.
AHAHAHAHAAAA!!! ROBERTO!
Ahem. Anyway.
Odd that you didn't like The Passion.. you and I are normally pretty close on books and it's one of my favorites.. hopefully one of her others will be better for you... Oranges are Not the Only Fruit is her most famous. Here's hoping.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-21 01:13 pm (UTC)I'm definitely going to try some of her others - I think the problem was that I couldn't get into the parts of the story narrated by the soldier, which, since it was the first section, meant the whole thing started off slow for me.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-21 01:06 pm (UTC)I was so irritated with Waking Beauty that I dropped it on my sister's coffee table and pretended it wasn't mine. What a bundle of overworked ideas.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-21 01:15 pm (UTC)Life is too short for bad books!
no subject
Date: 2004-12-21 01:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-21 01:20 pm (UTC)And the fact that you're still writing when you're that close to vacation PROVES you have writing ability. Most people would just say, "Have read books. Sucked, sucked, good, etc." So, you see, you're still the best book-listersgirl.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-21 01:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-22 06:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-21 02:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-22 06:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-22 02:50 am (UTC)My favourite Jeanette Winterson is Oranges are not the Only Fruit, because it's the funniest and most grounded. But I also liked The PowerBook of her more fantastical books.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-22 06:38 am (UTC)And I'm glad to hear a recommendation for The PowerBook - it's sitting on my to be read shelf.