Room, by Emma Donoghue

A frustrating aspect of this blog is not being able to easily search for a title to see what others have posted about a book you've just read -- and I know I am late in coming to this book, which several people recommended. I was having trouble with the concept, as one is supposed to, I guess, of the narrator being a five-year-old confined his entire life to a single room with his mother. Although I must say, I thought the novel was about her confining him, like the true story not long ago in this area, rather than of her being a victim as well. Having picked the book up, I put it down only when I had to and finished it in record time. Jack is destined to be a voice that will be resonate for years, like Holden and Huck and Scout's voices do. Ma herself is not long out of childhood when she is abducted and sealed away for her kidnapper's use. Her coping mechanisms allow her to raise her son (her second child, a daughter having been born dead when the cord wrapped around her neck during the unattended birth) to live within his confinement and almost thrive in it. Just how difficult it is for her to keep it all together, with an occasional descent into a day or two of being "gone," when she retreats into an almost catatonic state, is obvious in the second part of the book when they have escaped from their tormentor. For her, it is a return the world and people she has known and a media nightmare. With Jack safe, she allows herself to succumb the despair that she has fought for years. For Jack, who as not even developed the ability to see distances, his eyes having never focused further away than a few feet, it is a strange, overwhelming, magical, and often terrifying world. That he is able to begin to integrate into the larger world is a testimony to his own inner strengths and the foundation his mother's fierce, protective love has given him. A unique and fascinating tale with much to teach us. 321 pp.

The English Assassin

The English Assassin by Daniel Silva  386 pp.

This book is the second in the series featuring art restorer and Mossad agent & assassin, Gabriel Allon. After being given an art restoration assignment in Switzerland, Allon arrives to find the owner of the painting, Swiss banker named Wolfe, lying dead in a pool of blood. This begins a tale that criss-crosses Europe as Allon investigates connection between Swiss banks and art works stolen by the Nazis, many from Jews who were sent to the gas chamber.  During the course of the investigation, Allon's sources of information are killed off one by one and he is being stalked by a former British military officer turned assassin--an assassin who had been trained by Allon years earlier. Allon also must protect Wolfe's daughter, a concert violinist, who is also on the hit list. In spite of all the beatings, killings, kidnappings, and illegal activity the ones who come off looking bad in this book are the Swiss. Silva did a lot of research into the shady WWII activities of the supposedly neutral country and the Swiss belief that if they did anything wrong it doesn't matter because it was so long ago. 

After reading this book, it makes me glad my husband's Swiss ancestors were farmers who left the country in the early 1800s.    

The imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman

In 1953, and Atlanta businessman named Cyrus Ott arrives in Rome to discuss starting a new English-language international newspaper with an expatriate married couple he knew twenty years previously. The episodic chapters in the book trace the fortunes of both the paper and those who work for it, and three generations of the Ott family's involvement in their investment. From a shaky start, the paper reaches a respectable circulation over the years, but another "character" in the book is the decline of the newspaper industry itself during the past decades, as other media, and more importantly, online publication, changes the way news is delivered and written. At times comic, at times tragic, and always somewhat quirky, the interconnected chapters focus on one or another of the paper's employees and owners. One comes to understand and care about them -- even the unfortunate bassett, Schopenhauer, and the odious Rich Snyder. 288 pp.

Life

Life by Keith Richards 564 pgs.

What can you say about Keith Richards? Another frustrated librarian want-to-be who couldn't hack it so learned to play the guitar instead. I guess it worked out pretty well for him in the end. I think the book mentions that he has had some success.

Keith Richards life is about what you would expect. Some of his escapades have made it into the news. I would probably not have even read this but just kept hearing about it everywhere. In the end, I enjoyed the book which seems honest and tells a bit about what he was thinking. - Christa

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together/Bryan Lee O'Malley

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Graphic Literature, Fast-Paced Action, Video Game/Comic References, Relationships. 216 Pages

Wow!!! I can't believe it's taken me four graphic novels to realize that the biggest difference between graphic novels and traditional novels are that when reading graphic novels, you can crank out a whole series in a weekend if you really want to. Already, I have tackled Bryan Lee O'Malley's 4th Scott Pilgrim installment- Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together.

If you're reading this, chances are you have read at least one of my previous Scott Pilgrim posts where I profess my undying love for the artwork and narrative style, so excuse me for skipping over it and saying that O'Malley's work remains consistent in Volume 4. Obviously by this point he learns that if it's not broken, there is no need to fix anything. I should also mention that the plot of the story is now much more of a surprise for me, because the 4th book is where the movie plot and the graphic novel plot really diverge. I mentioned in my review the last volume that a few things in the graphic novel were left out of the movie, but volume 4 takes it to a whole new level, because with the exception of the main villain (Ramona's evil ex-...girlfriend half-ninja Roxanne Richter) the storyline was entirely independent from the film adaptation. Obviously the books are going to have a more detailed story because if the movie was going to follow the books frame-for-frame, it would be a 6 hour movie (which I wouldn't be totally opposed to, but i'm kind of a nut like that...) but I looked it up online and it turns out that the screenplay for the movie was being written while O'Malley was putting the finishing touches on the 4th book, so obviously this is where the changes will be most prominent.

One other thing I want to touch upon is the realization that I had about halfway through this volume. I noticed when reading the first volume that each Scott Pilgrim book has a recommended age logo that states they are for Teens: Ages 13+. While I will agree that the first three volumes fit that age group perfectly, this 4th installment had me wondering. Is a 13 year old (and let's be real here, younger kids than 13 are reading/have read Scott Pilgrim. I personally have checked these books out to kids as young as 10-11) really going to be able to understand the humor of Ramona's 4th evil ex being a remnant from her lesbian phase in college? Furthermore, the characters spend an awful lot of time in bars drinking and make references to how fun it is to be drunk. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not in any position to judge people's decisions on what is morally right and/or age-appropriate (after all, I am the guy who pranced around the staff area of the library showing off the "How Animals Have Sex" book I found on the donation shelf yesterday) but I just think that some of the content may be a little mature for middle schoolers. I'm not saying the content should be changed---just the advisory label on the back. If a kid wants to read something, they're going to get to read it regardless of what warnings we put on the book, this however, doesn't mean that the publisher shouldn't at least TRY. That being said, I also realize how ridiculous it is for a parent to tell a kid "you can read the first three books in this series but then you have to grow up a little more before you can keep reading". Needless to say, I'm torn.

I should however mention that Scott Pilgrim really does "Get it Together" in this volume and along with all the humor there are some seriously good messages about growing up, being in an adult relationship, getting a job, and taking care of one's own living situation. I'm not saying that readers are going to go out and get a job just because Scott Pilgrim did, but if a parent is going to be really upset about the content, they should know that there are good lessons about growing up as well.

Well, this post certainly has made me feel holier-than-thou and pretentious. Maybe I've grown up a little bit while reading, but more likely than not I just felt like ranting about something. No worries...on to the 5th book!!!

PS...if I post about the 5th book today/tonight then I need to stop reading and go out and do something

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness/ Bryan Lee O'Malley

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Graphic Novel, fast-paced action, comic violence, music, humor 192 pages

I find it very appropriate that Bryan Lee O'Malley's third entry in the saga of Scott Pilgrim is named after the Smashing Pumpkins album "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" because although music has been a part of the series thus far, the music doesn't really take center stage until this installment. At the end of the last book, we learned that Ramona Flowers' third evil ex-boyfriend and Scott Pilgrim's ONLY evil ex-girlfriend are both members of the underground rock sensation The Clash at Demonhead. This sets up the third book perfectly, because the plot of the third book takes place either AT concerts or in preparation for them. I also think the title fits perfectly with the mood of the book, because the characters are constantly second-guessing themselves and at this point in the story I think you could scour every main character in the book and not find two shreds of self-esteem to rub together.

O'Malley's narrative form and artistic style still work together beautifully. The artfully simplistic illustrations still manage to keep the story in the foreground while rewarding the intense reader with more goofy "easter eggs" (I'll only list one of my favorites this time: In the bathroom of legendary Canadian concert venue Lee's Palace, there is a poster right above one of the urinals that reads "WE ADVERTISE IN BATHROOMS BECAUSE WE KNOW YOU LOVE TO PEE"). I also like that Vol. 3 is the first graphic novel of the series that CLEARLY has a lot more to offer story-wise than the film that the series inspired. While I certainly am not undermining the first two volumes, I must say that reading them felt an awful lot like reading storyboards for a rough cut of the first hour of the Edgar Wright film. Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness changes things up and includes many events, locations, and characters (a fan favorite left out of the film is Lynette, the robo-armed drummer of Clash at Demonhead).

FAIR WARNING TO ANY AND ALL VEGANS, THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH WILL OFFEND YOU. MY APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE. I REALIZE THAT IF, IN FACT, SOMEONE WHO READS THIS IS VEGAN, THIS DISCLAIMER WILL ONLY MAKE THEM WANT TO READ FURTHER, BUT IT WAS WORTH A TRY.
My favorite aspect of the third book is evil ex number 3, Todd Ingram. This cocky vegan bassist provides hilarity on every page he is featured. Obviously a lot of this humor comes from O'Malley's decision to give Todd psychic powers that stem from his vegan diet. Being a college student, I have had many friends experiment with veganism and although they all take to it differently, the one thing they all have in common is the "i'm better than you are 'cuz I won't eat anything that had/has/has the potential to have a face" attitude. O'Malley displays this perfectly in Todd with his condescending description of ovo-lacto vegitarianism. Todd's vegan powers range from telekinesis to levitation and even make his hair stand up in the standard comic-book "I have super powers and you don't" style. The vegan jokes don't stop until the very end, and although I don't want to give anything away, the last vegan joke is without a doubt the best (hint: vegan police).

All in all, with the third volume, Bryan Lee O'Malley succeeds in not only grabbing your attention, but lifting it in the air and shaking it around a bit. I highly recommend it.

Witches / Bill Willingham et al.

Witches by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, et al. (Fables vol. 14). 192 p.

Finally we get back to the interesting stuff, after last volume's digression which I did not enjoy at all. Someone called the Dark Man has destroyed Fabletown, so all of the human-looking Fables have had to move to the Farm, where the animal-looking Fables had been living. We learn some of the Dark Man's history, and follow the titular witches as they follow various paths--Frau Totenkinder sets off to look for answers (and gold), Baba Yaga tries to escape now that she's regaining her powers, and Ozma moves to consolidate power and take over leadership. Geppetto plots, King Cole frets, and Bufkin the flying monkey plays hero. Plus we get to visit Flycatcher's peaceable kingdom to catch up on events there. Altogether a much better read than last year's The Great Fables Crossover. I was particularly glad to see Fly again--he's one of my favorite characters.

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The Polar Treasure / Kenneth Robeson

The Polar Treasure by Kenneth Robeson (Doc Savage #4, June 1933). 122 p.

My plan was to read one of these a week, but I'm going to have to dial it back to one a month--they're not nearly as much fun as they were when I was a kid, mostly because it's harder for me to ignore the problematic stuff. In this one, that's mostly the plot. A blind violinist took a pleasure cruise on which everyone was killed, including his wife and young daughter, and he only survived because he was rescued by a benefactor, who asked him not to mention the disaster to anyone. And for 15 years he never does! Not only does he ignore it--except when mourning for his lost family--no one ever asks him about it, either! For 15 years! I mean, I expect some plotholes in my pulp, but come on. I'm perfectly happy to accept Doc killing a polar bear bare-handed (see cover), but I can't swallow that plot point.

First appearance of: Doc carrying explosive chemicals in false molars. Doc using tiny fingertip needles under fake fingertips to inject knock-out drugs by merely touching others.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn/ Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Coming-of-age story, historical fiction 224 pages

If one were to engage me in conversation any given day at work, I would (without much prodding) begin to piss and moan about how hard things are for me being a full-time student and still working 30 hours a week at the library. I will let loose cries of injustice that would put a mob of Egyptians to shame (too soon?...yeah I kinda thought so too. Oops...). I am perpetually in a state of keeping my fingers crossed in the hope that someday, somewhere, my unique circumstances will provide me with an advantage of some sort. That time...is now. I am allowed to count books I read for school towards my reading total in the book challenge!!! HOORAY!!!...Yeah it may not be the Nobel Prize, but I'll take what I can get.

The first of these books that I read was Mark Twain's classic- "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". I think this is also a great literary classic to blog about because Mr. Twain has been getting a lot of publicity with the recent re-release of his autobiography which contained information that he specifically requested not be revealed until 100 years after his death. Personally, I found most of these revelations underwhelming but that doesn't make me any less of a Twain fan. Call me old-school, but a little Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer never hurt anybody.

While rereading Huck Finn, I was presented with an excellent opportunity to go back and actually enjoy something I was forced to read in high school and appreciate it for what it is--a true work of art. Not only is Twain's narrative style extremely compelling, but unlike many other authors of his time, his jokes are still laugh-out-loud funny to today's readers. This may be the future English teacher in me talking, but I would like to extend a challenge to all my fellow U-City bloggers (as well as any non-blogger who is reading this...hi Dad) to pick up something that you had to read in high school and give it another shot. It is much more rewarding to read a literary classic when it's on your own terms and you don't have to write a paper or take a test over it. I was able to rediscover what I loved not just about Mark Twain, but what I loved about the great American novel in the first place. I believe that this experience was not unique to just me, and I hope that anyone else who reads this entry will decide to follow suit and learn for themselves why that crotchety old lady teaching English your junior year pushed you so hard to read that one book...

The lover's dictionary: a novel, by David Levitman

In the Acknowledgement's on the final page, one learns that the author originally gave this short novel, in an earlier form, to several friends as a Valentine's Day gift. And it would make a good one for others to consider. Arranged from A-Z in short vignettes, the author traces a love story by defining each word chosen at the top of the page. From these fragments, the reader can reconstruct the romantic relationship between the unnamed narrator and his partner from its genesis through the stages of its maturing -- and reflect upon love, our connections with others, and our own stories. Here's an example near the end of the book: yarn, n. Maybe language is kind, giving us these double meanings. Maybe it's trying to teach us a lesson, that we can always be two things at once. Knit me a sweater out of your best stories. Not the day's petty injustices. Not the glimmer of a seven-eighths-forgotten moment from your past. Not something that someone said to someone, who then told it to you. No, I want a yarn. It doesn't have to be true.... And another, in its entirety: antsy, adj. I swore I would never take you to the opera again. 211 pp.