Booktalk

[listersgirl]

Margaret Atwood The Year of the Flood

Awesome. It's a companion book to Oryx and Crake, in the same dystopian style, and I couldn't put it down.

A.V. Club Inventory

The subtitle says it all: "16 films featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls, 10 great song nearly ruined by saxophone, and 100 more obsessively specific pop-culture lists". From the ridiculous to the serious. Highly entertaining.

Roger Bennett & Jules Shell Camp Camp: Where Fantasy Island Meets Lord of the Flies

I got this book ages ago, and stored it somewhere to read and forgot about it. Oops. It's supposed to be a nostalgic look at the ridiculousness of summer camps, but to me they sound horrifying. I'm so glad I never had to go. (I did go once to an overnight camp - Courtney Youth Music Camp. I was 11, I think. There was almost nothing for me to do - I wasn't any good, so I wasn't in any ensembles and had far too much free time. I vaguely remember having a good time, until 2 days before the end, when one of the older girls in my cabin decided to tell this boy that I liked him (I didn't even know who he was) and his whole cabin made fun of me for the whole day. I was so miserable I left the day before my parents were coming up to get me - I took the 4 1/2 hour train ride down the island by myself.)

Kathryn Borel Corked: a Memoir

I enjoyed this memoir of a woman trying to connect with her (highly irritating, I thought) father on a wine trip through France, but I know the author somewhat through work, so I was awfully uncomfortable reading her really personal moments. Elevator awkwardness!

Suzanne Collins Catching Fire

Someone should fire the person who wrote the blurb I read for this book (the sequel to Hunger Games), because it sounded really boring, and I almost didn't bother continuing on with the series. But it wasn't boring - I liked the emphasis on the unrest in the districts, and it definitely made me curious to read the final book in the trilogy.

Douglas Coupland Generation X

I re-read this for Canada Reads - it had been so long that I couldn't remember anything about it. And I have completely mixed feelings - I didn't like it as much as many of his other early works (and I didn't think it was a great choice for Canada Reads), but viewed as a piece of revolutionary writing history, I could appreciate it for being the forerunner to a lot of stylistic devices I love.

Tana French In the Woods
Tana French The Likeness

I often say I don't like mysteries, but I think what I don't like is "random person solves the mystery" type books. Mysteries like these, with intricate details of the police investigation, are quite fascinating. Especially here, where the investigating officer has a personal connection to the case, and everything become psychologically tangled.

Nick Hornby Juliet, Naked

Fantastic, if a somewhat forgettable. Sometimes I feel like Nick Hornby doesn't write women well, but I loved his female main character here. The book is about a guy who is completely obsessed with a now-reclusive rock star, and his girlfriend, who ends up having email conversations with the musician. Totally enjoyed it.

Ann-Marie MacDonald Fall On Your Knees

I re-read this for Canada Reads too. It's one of the most beautiful, terrible books I've ever read, about a broken family in Cape Breton in the early 20th century. Read it, but not in public if you're a crier.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Shadow of the Wind

The discovery of a rare novel by an obscure author leads to a twisty quest for information that draws attention from all the wrong people. A compelling adventure read.

Comments

[starfishchick]

Ooh, I'm glad you liked 'In the Woods'. (I didn't like 'The Likeness' nearly as much but there is a new one by Tana French out this summer? Fall? that I plan to read.)

I am one of the only people I know who hasn't read 'Fall On Your Knees'...

[listersgirl]

I just put the newest one on hold at the library - they don't have it yet, but soon hopefully!

[sh1mm3r.livejournal.com]

Haaa I think my review in Goodreads of Juliet,Naked is almost verbatim what you said. Good, but forgettable. :)

I read the Zafon in the wrong order, dang. I got The Angel's Game free from the publisher and liked it enough to try The Shadow of the Wind, I just haven't gotten to it yet.

I haven't posted my reading in here for a while, perhaps you will inspire.

[listersgirl]

Post your reading! It's excellent for library holds inspiration. :)

[anglaisepaon.livejournal.com]

I haven't read Juliet, Naked yet, but I couldn't agree more about the way Hornby writes women. Which hasn't stopped me from reading his books... :)

[listersgirl]

I know - I was so reluctant to read this one, because it was a female lead, but vestra told me it was good, and I trust her, so.