Book Speed Dating Round Three

I came up with the idea of speed dating my books when my GoodReads "To-Read" Shelf passed six hundred items.  I remembered Nancy Pearl's advice that you should give a book 50 pages, and decided to try doing so with a pile of books from the earliest items on my to-read list (started in 2009.)  I did two successful speed dating projects - one in June of 2011 and one in April earlier this year in 2013.  They are getting closer together, and for good reason.  This is a great way to get the books I don't actually want to read out of my house!  I spent some time compiling a third pile and decided to tackle it as part of NaNoReadMo.

There is no rhyme or reason to this pile other than the date they were added to my to-read list.  I accidentally gathered more than I intended, but it worked out okay.  Some I finished right away, and others I discarded without even giving them 50 pages.  I'll explain why in the list below.  If you want more detailed reviews, please see my GoodReads profile.  Copying and pasting it all here seemed redundant.

Books finished right away:

• Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki (graphic novel, from a now closed publisher in Toronto)
• Lying Awake by Mark Salzman
• Cleaving by Julie Powell
• Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

Books Still Listed as To-Read, because I like them enough to continue:

• Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
• Mirrorshades by Bruce Sterling
• The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
• People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
• The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
• Glasshouse by Charles Stross
• Shards by Ismet Prcic
• In the Woods by Tana French

Books I'm Uncertain About Only 50 Pages In, but I'll keep reading (they deserve a second date at the very least):

• Atlas of Unknowns by Tania James
• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
• The Ten Thousand Things by Maria Dermoût

Books I've Abandoned Officially
(Please note these are my own impressions, and they might just not be my thing! That's the point of a speed date - gut reaction, decision MADE. I'm rather proud of how many I've rejected, actually.  I need the space!)

• Spooner by Pete Dexter
  Not my thing, and by page 4, I had already grown weary of his use of racial slurs.
• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
  You say precocious, I say obnoxious.
• Lit by Mary Karr
  Because I'm not very interested in reading about someone ruining their life.
• A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
  Just not compelling, no idea why it's on the list to begin with.
• Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler's Ninth Symphony by Lewis Thomas
  A book of essays that is probably out of date at this point.
• The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
  It made me feel impatient.
• It's Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive by Evan Handler
  While he has had major setbacks with cancer, I wasn't that interested in what he had to say.
• Ariel by Steven R. Boyett
  I was all in until the talking unicorn showed up.
• The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa
  Seems more like a summary of a plot than an actual story.

What's next?  Well, I'm trying to decide between getting another speed dating pile together or finishing some of what I started!  Probably both.  I have some time off coming in December which would be perfect for another pile.

The Poetry of the National Book Award Longlist 2013

I know the shortlist has already been chosen for the National Book Award, but I committed to reading the entire longlist, and read it I did!  I used the list-making powers of NaNoReadMo to finish up reading them, and I'm finally ready to discuss the poetry category as a whole.

I have taken the list from the National Book Award page and rearranged it.  You can view the shortlist, and eventually the winner (on November 20), back over on their website.

My picks to win (okay, there were two I truly loved. I'm not a judge; I don't have to choose!):

Lucie Brock-Broido, Stay, Illusion (Alfred A. Knopf) - read my review here

From "It was always autumn in the paraphernalia of my laudanums...." to her poem about wisteria, I was enchanted from cover to cover.  This is what I want in my poetry - resonance, fine craftsmanship, emotion, and beauty.

Roger Bonair-Agard, Bury My Clothes (Haymarket Books)  - read my review here

These poems made me wish I shared the poet's background so they could be claimed as my poems too.

Other favorites:

Matt Rasmussen, Black Aperture (Louisiana State University Press) - read my review here

A painful set of poems largely dealing with the poet's brother's suicide.  Grief, trying to find your way after loss, it's all here.  Not easy to read, but worth it.

Mary Szybist, Incarnadine: Poems (Graywolf Press) - read my review here

Martha Ronk, Transfer of Qualities (Omnidawn Publishing)- read my review here

Not-so favorites

Frank Bidart, Metaphysical Dog (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) - read my review here

I just couldn't connect with this one, made up of poems with a frequent theme of aging.

Andrei Codrescu, So Recently Rent a World, New and Selected Poems: 1968-2012 (Coffee House Press) - read my review here

Pretty scattered, very reaction-based, not a style I tend to like.

Brenda Hillman, Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire (Wesleyan University Press) - read my review here

An example of focusing more on the intricacies and less on communicating an idea.

Diane Raptosh, American Amnesiac (Etruscan Press) - read my review here

An interesting concept but not as connected to me as the reader.

Didn't finish:

Adrian Matejka, The Big Smoke (Penguin Poets/Penguin Group USA)

I know it is on the shortlist, but I couldn't find a way into the poems about the boxer Jack Johnson.

NaNoReadMo List of Reading (Envy)

I know that as soon as I've prescribed myself a list, I will want to read something else, but here are my tentative plans for NaNoReadMo.  I'm breaking the books down into categories and linking to them in Amazon because they make it easy!  I also made a shelf in GoodReads for this month so I could track my progress. I'm going to come back to this list and cross items out that I have either finished or abandoned.

Poetry from the National Book Award Longlist
(I meant to have read these all by now, and I have three left.  It will be nice to finish up that project.)

1. American Amnesiac by Diane Raptosh 
2. Transfer of Qualities by Martha Ronk 
3. Stay, Illusion: Poems by Lucie Brock-Broido 

Books for Book Clubs
(I may have a slight book club problem because this is a pressing list of books that will be discussed within the month of November!)

1. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker - International Book Club (in person)
2. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra - 21st Century Book Club (in GoodReads; also a National Book Award finalist)
3. The Brothers K by David James Duncan - Misfit Readers (in Facebook)

Books for the Podcast
(I think I'm scheduled for two SFF Audio podcasts in November, which means reading books in preparation)

1. Goslings by J.D. Beresford (link goes to audiobook)
2. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Books from and about Turkey
(Technically the year of reading Turkish literature is from a book group in GoodReads called The World's Literature, but it's a category of its own, and I'm behind! I want to catch up. The year is almost over and we'll be moving on to another region!)

1. Dog Tails by Aziz Nesin
2. My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk
3. The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk
4. The Three-Arched Bridge by Ismail Kidare (from the side fighting the Ottomans off!)
5. Turkish Reflections by Mary Lee Settle
6. Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux 
7. Yes, I Would...: An American Woman's Letters to Turkey by Katherine Branning 

Books up for Review
(I get cookbooks, audiobooks, and books through NetGalley for review, and I'm always trying to stay on top of it.  Reviewing the cookbooks means making at least 2 things from each (some I've dabbled in already), audiobooks take time, and I'm not sure I'll get through this list in a month! That's what NaNoReadMo is about.)

1. Butter Baked Goods: Nostalgic Recipes From a Little Neighborhood Bakery
2. Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round
3. Wintersweet: Seasonal Desserts to Warm the Home
4. Gluten-Free Bread: More than 100 Artisan Loaves for a Healthier Life
5. Martha Stewart's Cakes: Our First-Ever Book of Bundts, Loaves, Layers, Coffee Cakes, and more
6. One Bowl Baking: Simple, From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts
7. Snackistan: Street Food, Comfort Food, Meze: Informal Eating in the Middle East & Beyond: Street Food, Comfort Food, Meze
8. Actors Anonymous by James Franco
9. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
10. Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield
11. The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara 
12. Crux by Ramez Naam
13. Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon (audio)
14. Rivers by Michael Farris Smith (audio)
15. Dissident Gardens by Jonathan Lethem (audio)
16. Mastering the Art of French Eating by Ann Mah (audio)
17. The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin, read by Meryl Streep (audio)
18. Aimless Love by Billy Collins, read by Billy Collins (audio)

This list is already getting pretty long.  I'm also going to sprinkle some book speed-dating throughout the month (I have Speed Dating Set 3 all ready to go!). I have an entire bookshelf of practically untouched books, one per state, for that Around the USA idea I started out with this year (whoops), and I have a few audiobooks I haven't touched yet.  This will be a great month of reading!

Kickoff Post for NaNoREADMo

In the past seven years, I have participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) six times.  Six times!  It's a rush, I've met great people through it, but eventually I had to just come to terms with the fact that I'm a far better reader than writer.  I was starting to not really have fun doing it.

And yet I have a room full of unread books.  Before they take over the house, I have turned them into a challenge.  Join me.  Read mo(re)!  National Novel Reading Month has been declared by yours truly! 

How to participate:

1. Read. More than usual. 
2. Talk, blog, or tweet about it.  Write reviews or save them for after the month. Take pictures of your piles, if you want. I know I will.
3. Make lists of what you might read, even if you don't stick to them.  (Sorry, this is a requirement.  I like lists and therefore I require that you make one. Muahaha.)
4. Comment on this post so I can follow what you're up to.  Friend me on GoodReads.  Follow me on Twitter.  Whatever it takes.  I'm now your reading cheerleader, and I'm bringing snacks!

That's about it.  Read more.  Dedicate time to it. Plan for it. And get through a pile or two!

(Stay tuned for my reading list for NaNoReadMo!)

Thoughts on the Booker Longlist and Shortlist

I had originally planned to pick my shortlist for the Man Booker Prize before it was announced, but I peeked and it's done, so now I will just ruminate on both.

The books making it to the shortlist this year, along with my thoughts:

1. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
   I read 100 pages of this mighty tome in an egalley, and just never went back to it.  I'm not sure I've given it a fair shot, but I have to admit that the subject matter (New Zealand gold rush) is just not very interesting to me.
   
2. Harvest by Jim Crace
   I read 1/3 of this book and abandoned it, just nothing happening in all that time. This feels like a bad pattern.
   
3. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
   I got to read this one early too, and thought it was trying to do too much at once.  The two parallel stories are interesting but the "Time Being" element didn't really work for me.  Unfortunately, it's central to the success of the novel!
   
4. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
   I'm just about halfway through the audio version of this book.  I like Lahiri, but this story is trying to span so much time that it isn't saying a lot to me.  It's too bad because some of the characters are compelling, and I'd like to spend more time with them, go deeper.  Instead it reads a bit shallow.
   
5. We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
   Haven't tracked down a copy of this one yet.
   
6. The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín
   I didn't connect with this one when I read it the first time, but it's a slim novel and sometimes it takes a few reads.  I'll get a copy of the audiobook version, read by Meryl Streep, and give it another try before the winner is announced.

Who do I think will win?  I think they want to award it to Tóibín since he hasn't won yet, but that book isn't very impressive to me.  I can't really pick until I've read the Bulawayo.

But wait, what about the books that were leftovers on the longlist?

I am SO disappointed the Tash Aw book didn't make the shortlist (read my review!).  Five Star Billionaire is one of the best books I've read this year.   The others include Almost English by Charlotte Mendelssohn (I just got a copy), The Kills by Richard House (I didn't care much for this crime novel), The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris (Haven't tracked this down yet), The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan (a lovely sad novel), TransAtlantic by Colum McCann (I felt ambivalent about this one although I know a lot of readers who loved it!), and Unexploded by Alison MacLeod (just got a copy of this one too.)

Now I'll try out the few that didn't get chosen and perhaps honor them with a reading.  How about you, what were your impressions of the books on the shortlist?

Where do you get reading ideas? Podcast Edition

A friend asked me yesterday which podcasts I listened to, or what other ways am I getting ideas of books to read.  I started listing them and thought hey, this would make a great post!  In fact I had so much to say, I'm only going to talk about podcasts this time around.

• KCRW Bookworm - absolute favorite.  I want to be Michael Silverblatt or just hang out with his brain.  My only problem is that I don't like to listen to the episodes until I've read the book they're discussing, so seeing the new interviews keeps me adding to my list.  If you aren't a person who subscribes to podcasts, you can also keep up with them in Facebook.
• New York Review of Books - okay I'm a bit of a podcast fraud because I've only listened to this once or twice BUT I have friends who think it is great.
• NPR Books - I'm more likely to read the website than listen, but that's just because I have a short commute.
• NY Times Book Review - Great stuff here!
• SFBRP (Science Fiction Book Review Podcast) - Luke Burrage listens to or reads science fiction books and then reviews them.  I save these for after I've read the book too.  He also has a group in GoodReads.
• SFF Audio - I end up reading so many books I wouldn't have read otherwise because of my involvement with SFF Audio.  This can span from "hurry up you have 24 hours to read a 400 page book and discuss it on the air" to "nobody wanted this review audiobook and it sounds slightly interesting."  Since I coordinate reviews there, I'm always getting ideas from other people of even more books to read.  
• Sword and Laser - I've been a dedicated follower of Tom and Veronica for years and years.  I love their author guides and they often talk about upcoming releases.  I also end up reading books with the group that I never would have picked.  Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, anyone?
• Others - from time to time I listen to SF Signal, Geek's Guide to the Galaxy, and some very specific topical podcasts like Re:Joyce. 

How about you?  Which podcasts send you off to read a book?

Speed Dating Report #2

As promised, my report on the second speed-dating project of 2013 has arrived!  The books I tested include everything from that original pile* plus Lionel Shriver's Post-Birthday World, since it came in the mail the next day.  (Paperbackswap.com is such a great website, highly recommend for getting used books!)  Last time, I put a brief thought under each title.  Today I will report on the date with that book - at least 50 pages, most of the time.

Fernando Baez - A Universal History of the Destruction of Books
This book is excellent, well-researched and written by the Director of the National Library of Venezuela after he had personally experienced locations where books and libraries had been destroyed, either from political or weather disasters.  It got to me more than I expected, and I actually wiped away a few tears.  Successful date!

Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Strange Pilgrims
I ended up reading one story each night before bed.  All of the stories were about people from Latin America in Europe, and there were more instances of ghosts and magical realism than I expected, even considering it is Marquez.  In his longer fiction, those elements are present but not as prominent; in his short stories he can really explore the weird.  I loved it! 

Doris Lessing - The Grass is Singing
I promised myself I wouldn't feel bad for not calling a book back, no matter the reputation or the reason I was going to read it in the beginning.  This one didn't grab me, I've already read a book set in Rhodesia in the past year, and I've had better experiences with Lessing's later novels.  I will let this book find a new girl.

Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary
I've put this one off for years, expecting it to be difficult or dense to read.  Instead I found myself enjoying it and even the tiny print flew by.  I might put it on hold until I'm done with Infinite Jest (I'm not sure how many books of density I can handle at once) but I'll definitely read this one.

*Paul Theroux - Ghost Train to the Eastern Star
I swapped this one out for The Great Railway Bazaar, the predecessor of Ghost Train.  I didn't want to put it aside for other dates!  I only got as far as his stop in Istanbul, and considering my Turkish focus this year, that was a great moment.  He also talks so much about writers and food that I'm going to have to start over and take notes.  I had put off reading Theroux for a while and now I'm kicking myself, if he's someone you either love or hate, you can mark me down for LOVE.  I can't wait to get back to this.  Maybe tomorrow!

Curtis Sittenfeld - American Wife
Yeah, I abandoned this one although I did make it through 50 pages.  I saw a review that described the main character (based on Laura Bush) as "limp lettuce" and that's pretty accurate.  I'd be making excuses to leave this date early.

Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth
A quick read, not as good as The Power of Now, but because I knew it'd be quick I've already finished it.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Shadow of the Wind
<3 <3 <3
I'm not going to wait to read another book I'm sure I'll love.  What was I thinking?

Ellen Gilchrist - The Writing Life
This isn't what I expected.  Somehow Gilchrist has escaped my knowing, but she is a prolific southern writer who studied with Eudora Welty.  The small chapters are individual essays.  She didn't really become a serious writer until she was grandmother-aged, so her perspective is pretty unique.  I enjoy hearing her story even if I don't always identify with it.  And since this comes from the library, I'll be finishing it soon.

E. L. Doctorow - Ragtime
I'm not sure what to say about this book.  It is the most likely to become a book I abandon despite not saying it failed my speed-dating exactly.  The style is the hardest part - short sentences abound, which makes it feel abrupt the entire time.  He throws in a lot of famous people, but some of them were interesting (Emma Goldman was my favorite so far!).  One review describes it as American History told in the lens of 1970s radicalism.  Okay, maybe I'll go out with him again.  :)

Speed-dating books is fun, although I didn't discard many!  I'm already gathering books for the next round, so stay tuned!