I have not posted anything new recently, mainly because I got irritated with the way everything sounded when I read it back over. I felt like everything sounded snarky, and - if not snarky - petulant, or at the very least, self-centered. So I stopped for a while, to figure out how else to write, and about what. That last part is very important, because I also felt like I was starting to write about the same things, over and over.

It took a while to come to me, but I eventually saw the light - it seems obvious, but I finally acknowledged that the long-standing affair that I have been having since I was four with reading is a full-fledged mistress (or would it be mister?), a relationship extrodinare second only to my husband,and sometimes not even him.

So I like to read. So what?, I thought. I like to do other things - shop, talk on the phone, and Facebook (amazing that this is now a verb), but I don't feel compelled to write about those things. But reading is something different. It is the undercurrent to whatever I do. I tuck a book into my purse wherever I go, even when it is unlikely that I will find a spare moment to read at the family barbeque or birthday party. I am known for having my nose buried in the pages of my book during my lunch hour. On the rare nights when I am left to my own devices in an empty house, the television sits, forlorn and unpowered, as I snuggle with my book, my wine, and my pug-dog on the couch.

I realized that I wanted to write again, and when I finally hit upon writing about what I read, it was like a choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus - or at least a mild shock, the kind you get when you don't dry your hand completely and go to unplug your blowdryer. Of course - I will write about what I read. Even at the risk of this blog becoming a kind of serialized, glorified book report. 

People may not be interested in this subject, and that is understandable. I wouldn't read a blog about Assassin's Creed, or Halo, or whatever videogame my husband is currently obsessed with. But if writing a blog about his Playstation 3 exploits made him happy, I'd tell him to go for it, and that is what I am telling myself too. For the record, this won't be anything formal. There will be no Criticism, I won't give Dissertations or Equivocate about the merits of Chaucer vs. Some Old Middle English Writer. I'm just going to write about whatever I have just finished reading (or not, if I didn't like it). So let's get to it:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

My mother-in-law recommended this book to me. I didn't know what to expect, but for some reason I was afraid of having a Water-For-Elephants experience. A friend of mine recommended that I read that particular book, and guaranteed I would love it. I didn't. I made the mistake of recommending it for my book club (before having read it), and when the time came to talk about it, the discussion lasted about 5 minutes, because that is about how much content is in the book. I don't know why I thought TGLAPPPS was going to be like Water for Elephants, but I am very glad it wasn't. This is a novel written entirely in letters (or "epistolary form", if I want to sound snobby). It's about the Nazi occupation of the island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands off the coast of England during World War II. It centers around a writer, Juliet, who is trying to recover from the war and figure out what she wants her next book to be about. She gets a letter from someone on Guernsey because he has a second-hand book that used to belong to her. They share a love of reading, and he introduces her to the members of the literary society that was formed on the island as a way of surviving under the occupation. 

I liked this book so much I couldn't put it down. It takes a subject that I knew nothing about - who knew that a part of England was taken over by the Third Reich? - and adds details and context, enough that I want to get a non-fiction book about this aspect of World War II. And it shows both sides of the story, in a way. As the islanders tell Juliet their stories, they talk about the German soldiers who weren't the monsters that have become the standard vision when you think of a Nazi. They talked about good things the soldiers did, in having to spend four years on an island with its locals, as well as the bad. They also talked about the bad things the islanders did. And throughout the novel, Juliet toys with her love life, befriends a parentless child, and becomes more and more immersed in the life of Guernsey. 

I told my parents that this book was like pumpkin pie - it's not so heavy as a full, 5-course meal; it's fluff, but substantial fluff, and well-done on top of it all. Just like you can eat pumpkin pie for lunch and it will keep you full for a long time, I felt like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society kept me full and didn't leave me thinking I should be reading (or eating) something else to feel well-rounded. 

Favorite quote: "Do you suppose the St. Swithin's furnace-man was my one true love? Since I never spoke to him, it seems unlikely, but at least it was a passion unscathed by disappointment." 

Also:

Shopgirl, by Steve Martin

Yes, "the" Steve Martin. I have read it before - actually, twice - but am re-re-reading it, this time out loud to Mike, when we are in bed before going to sleep or doing other things. This is not the kind of book you would think Steve Martin would write. But he writes it so well that I love it. It really does make me think of poetry in prose form, punctuated by very dry, hilarious observations. It is about Mirabelle, a girl in her late twenties who hasn't really come into her own yet. She sees herself as an artist, and her day job is behind the glove counter at Nieman's in Los Angeles. Life picks up for her when she attracts the attentions of two men - an older man, Ray, who sees her as something between a sex toy and a real person, and Jeremy, who is in his mid-twenties and doesn't really see anything clearly, much less Mirabelle. But since Mirabelle doesn't see herself clearly, he gets a lot more leeway than he would with anyone else. 

This is a book that explores relationships, and people's failings in relationships, and how some people come to want real relationships.  That sounds deep, and it is. There are also some very sad descriptions. But there are also some absolutely laugh-out-loud funny parts - mostly observations. The tone of the omnicient narrator is a bit ironic, a bit affectionate, and very interested in taking apart every little detail. It makes for a fun comparison between men and women and how they think. 

Favorite quote: "Jeremy's thought process is so thin that he has the happy consequence of always ending up doing exactly what he wants to do at all times. He never complicates a desire by overthinking it, unlike Mirabelle, who spins a cocoon around an idea until it is immobile. His view of the world is one that keeps his blood pressure low, sweeping the cholesterol from his relaxed, freeway-sized arteries. Everyone knows he is going to live till age ninety, although the question that goes begging is, 'for what?'" 

And finally: 

The Distant Land of My Father, by Bo Caldwell

I am only including this book because I really should include books that I don't like, just to be fair. The book is about a woman reflecting on growing up in Shanghai in the 1930s, with a father who, although white, considers China his homeland and runs some ellusive business. The plot sounded good when I read and ordered it on Amazon, but the writing seemed a bit infantile and simplistic. I don't mind simple writing - Shopgirl is a great example of writing that is simple, but has substance - just don't talk down to me. I felt talked down to by the narrator in TDLOMF. Even though the narrator and main character starts out the novel as a small child, the reader doesn't have to be treated as a small child as well. Plenty of books focus on children without talking down to the reader (The Secret Garden; Ender's Game; Mr. God This Is Anna). I couldn't get into the story and immerse myself in pre-war China the way I wanted to because I felt condescended to. I eventually put it down to read something that made me feel less obstinant, like Dear Abby. 

(Least) Favorite Quote: "The day before, he [my father] had told me that a war might be starting, but that it was far, far away, and that it wouldn't affect us. He said there would be a lot of talk about it, but I wasn't to worry because we were safe and sound. Nothing would change." I learned about cliffhangers in my 4th grade English class - this one is a doozie. 

I also read Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, but I don't want to talk about that yet since my book club is reading it.

I'm open to suggestions for books to read....