My reading continues at a pretty alarming rate; I am reading regular books, but have also taken to listening to several audiobooks to fit in some more knitting time. Some of my favorite moments lately have involved sitting at my table, knitting in hand, and the audiobook transporting me far away – both in space and in time… other favorite moments are with book in hand, curled up in my living room chair…
In the interest of making this a readable post (and to keep your attention!) this is only a review of the recent FICTION books that I have read in recent weeks. These reviews are the same review that I posted over on the Goodreads website, in case you are following me over there. (I love that site!) I plan to write more about my non-fiction books in an upcoming post.
- Waiting: A Novel
by Ha Jin
A very poignant story set in Communist China from the 1960s-1980s. The main character, Lin, has an arranged marriage to simple and sweet Shuyu. She is extremely generous and a very hard worker, but the educated Lin is ashamed of her illiterate peasant status, and never brings her to the city where he is works as an army hospital doctor. Lin is a very passive character, and so incredibly rational, that he never lets emotions come to the surface… a nurse in the hospital, Manna, sets her sights on Lin, and over a period of years – eighteen years! – Lin and Manna carry on a non-sexual affair. He promises Manna every summer that he will divorce Shuyu on his visit home in order to marry her, but always comes back still married for one reason or another.
… the patience of Shuyu and Manna form the central themes of the book, while the rationality of Lin is the third part of the theme.
The style of writing is so simple – reminiscent of some of Hemingway’s work. After speaking with a co-worker about this book a few days later, she drew a parallel to the American novel Ethan Frome 
Simple sentence constructions, and no inner monologues for the characters and no in-depth descriptions of the surroundings. It was refreshing, in a way, to read such a minimalist approach. I really appreciated the glimpse of the psyche of the Chinese mind and how the propaganda of the Party was SO prevalent in every act and deed.
- In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith
I so enjoyed books 1-5 of this series (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Collection
This was a delightful book to come back to – there were many things that happened in this volume of the series. I so enjoy how Mma Ramotswe can make the best out of situations – even ones that are so painful for her, and how the books are eternally optimistic. I so enjoy the simplicity of discussing pumpkins for ten minutes, and the mechanics of the little white van. Botswana sounds like such a wonderful place.
- The Good Thief
by Hannah Tinti
After reading several good reviews, likening this work to Dickens or Mark Twain, I picked it up at the library. The orphanage, the hopeful young protagonist with a propensity towards petty theft, the handsome rake claiming to be a relation, the “con” jobs… it really was an amalgamation of Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and Huckleberry Finn. The young and hopeful orphan is Ren, who only has one hand, and the handsome conniving rake is Benjamin Nab. After an “adoption” from the orphanage under the pretenses of a long-lost uncle, they team up with another con man and travel around New England swindling and conning (the best scene for me was when they make an “elixir for misbehaving boys” and sell it at a town fair that essentially makes the kids high and strung out on opium) before settling in to their new occupation of “resurrection men” – grave robbers for the local doctor’s cadaver supply.
It was an entertaining read. I suppose I was expecting more from it, but it was enjoyable all the same.
- The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet
by Reif Larsen
Five stars because this was one of the most unique books I have ever come across… the story itself is a first-person narrative by T.S. Spivet (Tecumseh 
Sparrow, the first name passed down four generations), a 12-year-old cartographer and illustrator. The story begins just before T.S. receives a phone call from the Smithsonian that he has been awarded the very prestigious Baird fellowship as “America’s Illustrator”, in residence at the Smithsonian. Being 12-years old, and too ashamed to mention this, he decides to set off on a cross-country hobo journey “riding the rails”. He lucks out when he finds a train car carrying Winnebagos, and he lives inside of one of them for several days. The journey across the country allows him to reflect even further on his fractured home life, and the recent tragedy of his brother’s accidental death. By the time he reaches his destination, the story is nearing the end, and even through his wünderkind genius, you see that T.S. is still a child, and really just longs for his family and his home.
The story itself garners about 3 out of five stars for me – much of the journal entries about his family history were completely unnecessary and superfluous, and I skipped over large sections; however, it was the illustrations and the book design, and the humor and emotions woven throughout that topped this rating to 5 stars for me. That, and I have never seen anything this unique. That alone deserves the highest marks. Nearly every single page of the 300+ page novel has intricate and detailed illustrations and maps, drawn by T.S., that correspond in one way or another, to the overall story. Some are ridiculously funny – one of my favorites was the drawing and measurements of the angle of his little brother’s fist pumps, and some are so advanced – demographic maps, sound waves, etc. The illustrations and maps make this book a true gem.
- The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
by Katherine Howe
Listened to the audiobook – not sure whether that had a true effect on my rating, although the narrator’s voice annoyed me at times…
The story had an interesting premise, but quickly devolved into banalities and stereotypes: grad student down on her luck in life and in relationships, discovers a family secret dating back 300 years, meets a guy, dramatic events unfold… it just seemed like there was nothing new and exciting here. Connie, the protagonist, seems to have a real chip on her shoulder regarding some people and groups… some of the things she said and did seemed immature, unethical, and generally unlikable.
On a personal note: for goodness sake, the whole notion of archivists and librarians as being annoyed by patrons and “shushing” all the time is SO overdone. Did this book really have to add to it with each archivist or librarian the protagonist met? Sure, I am sensitive to that as an archivist myself, but come on.
Not sure about the time of this story either – it was never clear why the modern side of the story took place in 1991. Was it to nearly coincide with the anniversary of the Salem witch trials in 1692? If so, that was never expressed. The date seemed random, and there were a few times when I thought to myself, “was that around in `91?”
However, I kept on listening, somewhat curious how it was all going to end up. Part 2 was better than Part 1, but I was left shaking my head on this one. There are better accounts and novels about the witch trials and/or colonial New England.
…more book reviews to come… I can’t help myself. I think it is the schoolgirl mentality with my summer reading lists. I am at my most rabid reading rate during the sweltering summer days! (and if you happen to be so very curious, you can check in with my multiple daily updates over on Goodreads!) By the way: anyone have a Kindle or a Sony Reader? I am intrigued and would love to know more… let me know in the comments 
I have a first-generation Kindle (a 2008 Mother’s Day present I received after much hinting!). I’m happy to give you details — it definitely has good and not-so-good qualities. I *love* your GoodReads updates, by the way. I swear, after all the copying I do of things that you inspire, I hope you don’t think I’m a stalker!
I have a hard time getting into audio books, my mind wanders too much! But the library has them so maybe I will give them a try as I’m not getting much reading done.
I am loving Goodreads, as you know since we follow each other over there. I started listening to a couple audio books from the library and love that media, especially for the knitting it allows. Where are you getting your audiobooks from? Library? Online?
Thanks for the reviews, L!
I must look into audio books to listen to whilst spinning. My reading time is either coursework or I fall asleep!! I love the blue yarn in the previous post.
I also recently finished Deliverance Dane and was expecting to like it more than I did. It is interesting that you mention not liking the narration – one of the things I disliked most about the book was that the author chose to occasionally represent the Boston/New England accent phonetically, one of my serious pet peeves. I’m wondering if that choice is what affected your dislike of the narration.
I love reading your reviews — it really helps me to read your clear and concise assessments before I commit.
My honest-to-goodness Kindle thoughts – I love mine and can’t imagine life without it. The drawback is now my husband and oldest son love it too. Oh no! However, their choices have led me to some interesting reads as well, so when I don’t have possession of it, I’ve still got plenty to read when I do get it back. The instant wireless delivery (via Amazon.com) is awesome; I’ve not regretted any of my purchases yet. I’ve heard a lot of pros and cons since I bought mine but I wish that I had also researched a Sony e-reader. My understanding is that both use the same e-ink technology. The reading experience is very similar (again, from what I hear, not from actual side-by-side comparisons). The eBook group on Ravelry was a wealth of information and there are some enthusiastic Sony owners there to balance out your research.
I believe it’s just another excellent reading experience – it won’t take the place of “real” books or audiobooks – it just puts more choices at your fingertips! I’m a huge supporter of authors and indie bookstores and I’m also not apt to stop buying books at places like Powells.com since buying my Kindle (autographed copies are my secret addiction). What it does allow me to do is read those newly-released novels that I typically can’t get very quickly through the library and don’t necessarily want to pay $25 for the hardcover copy when I know I’ll just read it once.
I hope that helps a bit!
yay thanks for more reviews…I read “City Of Thieves” because of your last book related post…..really enjoyed it (despite the brutal aspects)…..so happy to have some more recommendations!
I’ve tried the Sony e-reader at my local library (they have this promo where you can use it for an hour or so) and I have to say that I’m not impressed. It doesn’t have search function and even though the display is good, the way it blinks and the time it tooks to change pages annoyed me no end. So pity, I was really expecting to like it. I do really love my Palm m505, though. It doesn’t have the e-ink technology, but the screen can be lighted at will and it allows me to read in pretty much every lighting condition. I think I will wait a while before upgrading to e-ink devices.
I’m also a fan of Mma Ramotswe. I just caught up on that whole series. Have you read any other Alexander McCall Smith? I love all his series, but the two favorites for me are Ladies No 1 Detective Agency and the Sunday Philosopher Club. I’ve also been listening to a lot of audiobooks this summer and I’m going back to old favorites that I’ve read the traditional way and now get to hear someone read to me. I love The Poisonwood Bible which I’m listening to know. I have other Barbara Kingsolver audiobooks on hold right now at the library and also plan to listen to The Secret Life of Bees. I haven’t listened to the Mma Ramotswe books, but will have to give them a try. I have found audiobooks to be such a wonderful experience when I love the narrator’s voice. I think Jim Dale made the Harry Potter books so much fun to listen to.
I also wanted to mention that my library has an online download for audiobooks as well as the CD’s you can check out. I just tried this for the first time and it was great. The audiobook went right into my iTunes and on my iPod. It was a very easy process. The book automatically is “returned” to the library after a length of time. If you haven’t finished it you can check it out again. This is a great option if your library has it. You don’t even have to go to the library at all!
Thank you for the recommendations! I have been a fan of Ha Jin for a very long while, and Waiting is one of my favorites of his. I’m only on the second book of the “Ladies Detective Agency” collection, and completely agree with you about the narrator – she gives the most delightful Botswana accent to all the characters, she’s perfect! This is the second time this week that The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet have been recommended to me, and I so wish it was out on audio! I would love to listen to it.
i loved and have read all the ladies detective agency books. it gives you such a wonderful taste of african culture. did you see the hbo series? it really matches the books well.
i love my kindle (2)! it may take awhile to get used to it, but now i just take it with me wherever i go, and i prefer to use when reading in bed, its light, and it stores 1,500 books! one of the great things is you can “sample” about 30 pages before you actually buy something.
i like good
making my second pass through the tales of the otori series by lian hearn. these are magical books. i am sucked in again and again. i have a sony e-reader (can’t get the kindle here in canada) and i have absolutely no complaints. i have not bought a hard copy book since the beginning of the year. this is huge for me. i have worked in magazine publishing for the last decade (and was recently laid off due to the economic situation hitting media) and i truly think this is the future.
try the otori series – i don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
sorry – one additional thought on the sony e-reader…even if the kindle was made available in cda, i truly don’t think i would get it — i don’t need another service to pay for on a monthly basis. wi-fi is great but it’s not free….
i don’t mind having to sync my reader to my laptop once i purchase a book. i do it for music with my ipod…
just my two cents…
j
“Not sure about the time of this story either – it was never clear why the modern side of the story took place in 1991. Was it to nearly coincide with the anniversary of the Salem witch trials in 1692? If so, that was never expressed. The date seemed random, and there were a few times when I thought to myself, “was that around in `91?””
I had the same thoughts while reading this book. The only reason that I could come up with for the 1991 setting was that there was possibly more information learned about the actual Salem Witch Trials and the people involved in them sometime around 1992 that would conflict with the story or characters Katherine Howe used. I haven’t taken the time to check into this at all, though, so it’s just a shot in the dark. The one thing that immediately pulled me out of the story each time was how Connie was always in flip-flops and they were pointedly mentioned multiple times. Granted, I was still pretty young in 1991, but I know that flip-flops weren’t nearly as popular then as they are now. With as much as Connie’s cut-off shorts and other clothing items (reminiscent of the early 1990′s) were mentioned, I’m surprised that Katherine Howe didn’t have her wearing Doc Martins (sandals) or something more fitting of the time.
All in all, I agree with you completely on this book. It started off pretty good, but got more and more fiction-y towards the end and almost felt like Katherine Howe got tired of writing so she just quick threw together the last few chapters of Connie’s story. I did really like her writing-style for the chapters that took place around 1692, though, and enjoyed the ending to that part of the book.
I saw Katherine Howe speak. She said she set the novel in 1991 because it was pre-internet and research was done the old-fashioned way, with a card catalog, etc. That allowed for Connie to spend time in the actual library where some of the story took place.
I forgot to say that Katherine Howe talked a bit about knitting during her talk. She said her town Marblehead, MA, is a direct democracy and all the interested citizens get together at the middle school cafeteria to discuss snow removal, etc. She said the meetings can be long so people take their knitting to work on while participating. It wasn’t clear if she herself knitted, but apparently knitting was happening!
[...] have also recently joined Goodreads, which I found through one of my favorite blogs, Lolly Knitting Around. This website is so exciting! I can’t wait to read people’s reviews and find new books to read! [...]
Thanks for the reviews. I’ve been thinking about adding some fiction to my summer reading list, so this is great timing!
I have an iRex Iliad, which I bought instead of the Kindle because it can take regular pdfs and allows me to annotate them. I love it for traveling, for reading while knitting, and for the ease of downloading a book. I honestly didn’t think I could ever fall in love with an e-reader, and it definitely doesn’t replace curling up with a good book, but sometimes it’s nice to have a book you don’t have to prop open (reading at breakfast?), and the tablet screen annotations are really nice, too.
It’s definitely easier to get books for the Kindle, as Amazon has a bit of a stranglehold on e-books, but you can use any Mobipocket format, and it is possible to convert Amazon books if you have an iPod touch or an iPhone. For ease of obtaining books, the Kindle definitely wins; it was the tablet screen that sealed the deal on the Iliad for me. I looked first at the Sony reader because of its price, and really didn’t think it was worth buying, considering how little functionality it has.
They won’t replace books, but the e-readers are nice to read on (and this from someone that will.not. read on a computer screen), and it’s great to be able to take 20 books with me on an airplane!
I know this is an old post but I just ran across it and wanted to add my thoughts on the Kindle. I’ve had one for a few months and I love, love, love it. Received it for a gift and was somewhat leery but I couldn’t do without it now. I have the Kindle 2, I understand the Kindle 3 is coming out for the holidays but will be an 8 1/2 x 11 screen mainly directed, I believe, to newspaper and magazine subscribers. It’s so thin, so easy to operate. Great for reading at the kitchen bar at lunch – no pages to try and hold down. I love the ease and speed and cost of purchasing a new book. We do travel a fair amount and what could be more perfect. I’ve read it on beaches atop glaring sand with no problem. If I had to come up with a complaint it would be you can’t download free library books to it. But that’s really neither here nor there for me. I (reluctantly) loaned it to a friend for a week so she could try it (obviously a GOOD friend – I hated being without it) as she was so curious and said she didn’t think she’d like it as she loves her books. She ordered one the day she returned mine! Another nice feature you might enjoy is any book on the kindle can be turned into an audio book. So there you go! AND I’ve made 2 covers for it using this pattern http://junie-moon.blogspot.com/2009/07/kindle-2-bag-sewing-tutorial.htmlthat just couldn’t be cuter. Bonus.
It’s not something you would use exculsively as there’ll always be the book loaned by a friend, one you already have but haven’t read yet, etc. But I will only buy for the Kindle now.