Monthly Archives: June 2014

A Sunny Homecoming

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Susan

Thomas Wolfe once wrote that you can’t go home again. I know what he means, but part of me says why the heck not. This week I’ve been back visiting my folks and roots again (see photo above), which I always really enjoy. I grew up in Southern, California, but my adult, married life is in Canada now, a world away. In between, I spent years in Texas, Colorado, Washington state, Virginia and D.C. All these places were great, but there’s so many memories in one’s hometown; is there not? I feel younger, and healthy here, too. What about you — do you still enjoy going back to your hometown?

This week I intend to finish Kate Morton’s thick-ish novel “The Forgotten Garden” on the plane back tomorrow as I have no time to waste with piles to read. I read her book for my book club, which we’ll discuss on Tuesday. It’s sort of a light, summer read but quite enjoyable nonetheless as Morton spins an engaging tale about family secrets.

Meanwhile, I picked up two used, nonfiction books on sale here that look devourable. First, the 2010 biography of “Cleopatra” by Stacy Schiff, which I’ve wanted to read since going through a Rome phase sparked off by our trip there last fall. That was followed up by the “Rome” TV series from 2005 and 2007, which we spent the winter watching on DVD. Who doesn’t want to know more about Antony and the mysterious Cleopatra? Yes, count me in.

 

I also got J.R. Moehringer’s 2005 memoir “The Tender Bar,” which I’ve heard raves about for years. It seems a juicy read. Someone wrote he’s the “best memoirist of his kind since Mary Karr.” Hmm. Is this true? Have you read “The Tender Bar”? I recall Mary Karr’s “The Liars’ Club” being bleak but I’m hoping “The Tender Bar” is sweet and a bit funny, too. We’ll see.

Until next time, happy reading. Continue reading →

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A Preview of June Releases

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Susan

We are half way into the year now — so how is your reading going? Mine has slowed a bit but I’m looking to rectify that with the plethora of new novels coming out this month (see list at right).

But first, I’m taking in Australian Kate Morton’s 2009 novel “The Forgotten Garden,” which I’m reading for my book club this month. It’s about an abandoned child on a ship going to Australia in 1913 whose identity is pieced together as the book goes on. I’m not sure this is my typical genre to read, but Morton seems an engaging and natural storyteller, making it worth while for summer reading on the back deck. (Apply sunscreen as needed.)

In new novels out this month, I’d have to say I’m most interested in Tim Winton’s novel “Eyrie” because I’m a big fan of Winton’s and will read whatever he writes. Coincidently, like Morton, he’s an Australian, too. So far, I’ve read Winton’s novels “Dirt Music” (2001) and “Breath” (2008) and his excellent short story collection “The Turning” (2005). The great thing too is the author is coming to our city’s annual book festival in October and will speak there. So I definitely plan to have “Eyrie” read by then and have him sign it, which will be quite a thrill. Apparently, “Eyrie” is about a man who’s struggling to accomplish good in a world run amok who becomes broke and encounters a woman from his past and her preternatural son who are in desperate need of help. Hmm. Can he help them? I will have to find out.

Next up, I’m interested in Lily King’s new novel “Euphoria” about three young anthropologists in the 1930s caught in a passionate love triangle that affects their lives. It’s based loosely on the real life of Margaret Mead who studied native tribes in the territory of New Guinea, where the novel takes place. “Euphoria” has received high marks, and for those like me who are interested in Mead’s life and work and anthropology in general, it might be just the right historical novel to dive into.

Another book I plan to check out is “We Are Called to Rise,” which is a debut novel by Laura McBride. It’s set in Las Vegas and is about three lives that collide and are bound together by a split-second mistake in which a child’s fate hangs in the balance. What happens next is said to restore one’s faith in humanity. Hmm, I’m quite curious about this emotionally powerful tale, which has received such positive feedback from readers and authors alike. Will it affect me the same way?

Other honorable mentions this month include Lisa See’s latest novel “China Dolls” about three young women who meet at a San Francisco nightclub in 1938 and become fast friends, relying on each other through changing wartimes. “China Dolls” reminds me I need to read this author again after enjoying her 2005 novel “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.”

Then there’s “The Book of Unknown Americans” by Cristina Henriquez, which is said to be a passionate and powerful story about a handful of hispanic immigrant families living in the U.S. Author Billy Lynn calls it a “triumph of storytelling,” and from what I hear, it might just be a novel about the immigrant experience that’s too important to miss.

Lastly if you want suspense this summer, “Those Who Wish Me Dead” by Michael Koryta could be just the thriller for you. I’ve read it’s quite breathtaking, about a 14-year-old boy who witnesses a murder and is hidden in a wilderness skills program where the killers are trying to reach him. Yikes, run!

In movies this month (see list at left), “Fault in Our Stars” raked in an impressive $48 million on its opening weekend. I liked the John Green novel it’s taken from so I hope to see it. You would think a tale about two young cancer patients in a relationship would turn out too maudlin or weepy, but apparently like the book, the movie does well to make it more life-affirming and witty. What did you think, have you seen it?

The other dramatic movie that might be worth seeing is “Third Person” by the same director (Paul Haggis) who did the movie “Crash” years ago. It’s about three love stories that end up being interconnected in some way. It has a notable cast with Liam Neeson, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody and James Franco among others and looks quite intense so I will likely see if it’s any good.

Lastly in albums for June (see list at bottom right), it’s always good to see Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders back singing again. This time solo, too. I like her new song “Dark Sunglasses” but I’m not sure of the entire album “Stockholm” just yet. I need to hear some more. I’m also curious about listening to David Gray’s new one “Mutineers.”

What about you — which books, movies, or albums out this month are you most looking forward to? Continue reading →

Posted in Top Picks | 8 Comments

The Giver

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Susan

This was my first time reading Lois Lowry’s 1993 award-winning, young adult novel “The Giver.” It’s a slim book, which is coming out as a movie in August, starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes, and even Taylor Swift among others. I was curious about the book and had to check it out. Perhaps a few of these older novels such as this one and “Ender’s Game,” which have recently been made into movies, are trying to follow-up on the coattails of the young-adult movie audiences for “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent.” The young-adult medium is sure the rage these days, though perhaps it’s always been pretty popular.

The movie trailer of “The Giver” appears to expand on the book and take some liberties with it. It gives off a sort of “Handmaid’s Tale” creepiness, too. And like that novel, and “Brave New World,” “The Giver” takes place in a utopian society in the future where things are tightly controlled, restricted, and not at all what they seem.

The community in “The Giver” has taken away hunger, war, suffering, unemployment, and sickness but has also eliminated color, music, and love. A selected handful of “Elders” control whom people marry, which children and jobs they get, and when they will be “released.” Choice has been restricted, and life follows a “Sameness” plan, where even people’s capacity for memories is eliminated and borne instead by a “Receiver of Memories.” He alone knows the past, but is now an old man who is called upon to train a successor.

Jonas is the eleven-year-old boy selected to be the next “Receiver of Memories.” But as he trains with the old man (the Giver) he comes to realize from the past the possibilities of what life once was. He’s able for the first time to see color and feel warmth, and becomes disillusioned with his family and the community for how it is. Ultimately it’s when he discovers a hidden chilling truth about what’s going on, that he decides to hatch a plot to change the “Sameness” and escape the community’s pain-free, sterile world.

It’s an interesting little book, which spookiness has stayed with me for awhile after. It’s not that “The Giver” necessarily blew me away with its storytelling or its message but its cautionary tale of such a colorless society is simply and straightforwardly told, and I followed Jonas eagerly to the depths of his journey of discovery. I’ll be looking forward to see how the filmmakers handle this utopian-turned-dystopian tale. Judging by the old man (the Giver) on the book’s cover, I haven’t exactly been able to picture Jeff Bridges as him, but we will see. As long as the movie captures some of the book’s eeriness and forewarning, it might just work.

What about you — have you read this Newbery Medal winner? And what did you think? Do you plan to see the movie? Continue reading →

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