"Welcome to My Planet, Where English is Sometimes Spoken," Shannon Olson
This book started out better than it ended. Not that it didn't end well, but it changed dynamics. It began with this fucked up character involved in confusing situations - you know - real life. As one of these people, I appreciated the realistic approach it had. It just slowly lost it's edge... fizzled out a bit. I would still read it, simply for the first half and well, you have to know what happens after that, right?
"Sex and the City," Candace Bushnell
I honestly like the show more than the book, but I think that's just because the columns were organized so strangely. The narrator is not Carrie and the character of Carrie was even more crazy and unlovable than the SJP Carrie in the late seasons of the show. It was interesting to get more background on Mr. Big, but I'm sad that I didn't get that with the others. The characters were all changed up and a departure from the girls in the show, so it wouldn't have been helpful anyway. I'll really give it up to the show here - they took this book and ran with it, in a very awesome way. Of course, to Ms. Bushnell's credit, the first couple of chapters were word for word the script for the first season, so she isn't the worst, she just could have done much more.
"The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," Rebecca Wells
I LOVED this. If you like Southern lit, you HAVE to read this. The relationship between the mother and daughter, and the mother and friends is beautiful. The visuals are astounding, and I cried left and right. This is one of my new favorites because of its simple yet wildly intricate story.
"Bright Lights, Big City," Jay McInerney
The 2nd person narration is really what made this a good book. I, admittedly, had to have a dictionary beside me, even if the book was small in length. Jay has a really well-rounded vocabulary, but doesn't use it out of context - even when I had to roll over and look in the Oxford edition I have, I didn't feel like an idiot. I felt like he was trying to enlighten me somehow. The disenchantment of the main character (YOU) was relatable, though he still had bounds of optimism left at the end. I recommend everyone read this, simply because it's a new classic and I feel everyone should experience it.
"Valley of the Dolls," Jacqueline Susann
I felt like I was opening the head of someone from this era and gazing down into their brain. It was pretty intense from the get-go, but not as drug-centered as I thought it would be. It really circled around the 3 main characters and their struggles in show business, something that interested me as a former drama nerd. It was actually pretty depressing - no fairy tale - but it seemed very believable, even in it's craziest moments. When the drugs did finally show up in the plot line, they still didn't overwhelm the reader. They seemed like another character, introduced when her time was appropriate. I must admit, I was disappointed it wasn't grittier and more drug-fueled, but I'm a little dark when it comes to my literature.
"The Story of 'I Love Lucy'," Bart Andrews
A good example of literary journalism, I had to read this for prep on my literary journalism class in the fall - not assigned, just thought it would be a good idea. I also really wanted to know about some specific episodes and about their marriage, and I got it all. Informative yet entertaining, an updated version (published in like 1977 or so) would be helpful!
"The Secret Life of Bees," Sue Monk Kidd
This novel was about as cute as everyone said it would be, but I think it's for the younger reader. Not necessarily a tween, but just younger than me. I cried, but not as much as everyone said I would, and I thought the climax of the novel was only important if you were at just the right age. She did write well, though, and her visuals were astoundingly accurate - something I find important (and divine) if you're describing the south, especially in the summer months. Being able to take me there - even if it's already summer in NC - is important because I've lived them!
"The Time Traveler's Wife," Audrey Niffenegger
This book was just as good as I was told it would be - I was surprised by all of the the romance in it, though, because of the type of readers that suggested it to me. I figured it would be more sci-fi or something - I can't put my finger on what my notions were then. The romance is well done though, because you feel the anguish of the two characters and therefore, it's realistic even with the time traveling element. I finished this at 4 in the morning, sobbing uncontrollably beside my boyfriend. I looked at him differently for the next couple of hours, but I won't say too much so to keep the story a mystery for those who haven't read it! I'm not really sure what my opinion on the ending is, but I still like it.
"Atonement," Ian McEwan
JUST as sad as the movie, but now I have a greater appreciation for both. Another one that had me crying throughout, another good example of real love rather than that of the fairy tale variety. His pretentious language can get a bit boring though, so I actually recommend seeing the movie first if you feel like you'll get lost in the waves of old-fashioned language.
"I Am Legend," Richard Matheson
Completely different from the movie, the book is actually made of up of the "I Am Legend" novella, followed by a lot of other short stories. They all read like Twilight Zones, and I love that kind of stuff. It scares you because of the psychology of it all rather than physical threats. Come to find out, Matheson wrote a lot of episodes of "The Twilight Zone." How about that?
"Intensity," Dean Koontz
I got this book solely for the purpose of all the memories attached to it. Whitty got a copy from her grandmother when she was 9 and she would select racy passages for us to read together. She actually got in trouble with the legendary Ms. Lester because it was "indecent for a 4th grader to possess." It was - who cares? We've always read too old for our age. Anyway, it really is a good thriller, Dean Koontz just isn't really an amazing writer. He's a little too pretentious, using large words that aren't merely difficult, but so obscure that you can't understand why he just won't use simple language. It's almost as if he tries to create a masterpiece of literature while also attempting to shock and scare his reader - that can't happen. Fear is simple. I would recommend the read (since I took extra precaution with security before sleeping last night) because it does induce a since of dread, but I'm not sure how much of Koontz's writing I'll read after this.
And because I only read one book in that horrific school year, I'll tack in onto this list:
"Honor Thy Father," Gay Talese
This was the first nonfiction look inside the Mafia EVER, so it was pretty intense. This rounded out at almost 600 pages, so it was tiring and sometimes a little overbearing, but overall, I found it interesting and realistic. Talese told the story from multiple perspectives, which helped me out a lot. It made me realize, though, that the Mafia is not as glamorous and action-packed as we've been led to believe. It's a lot more about loyalty and love than you'd ever think organized crime could be.
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