Erin Reads – Page 67 – Notes on Books & Life

My Week in Books: December 12-18

My Week in Books

Welcome to my weekly Saturday feature here at Erin Reads, where I highlight new books that have entered my life, what I’ve been reading, and what’s happened on Erin Reads over the past week.

New Acquisitions

I have a mix of newly acquired books to share today: some new, some used, and some for review.

Purchased at a Borders in Chicago that was going out of business:

Follow the River by James Alexander Thom: I read this novel, about a woman who is kidnapped by Shawnee Indians and then escapes, years ago and loved it.
Ballistics by Billy Collins: I don’t read much poetry, but I love Collins’s combination of accessibility and depth.

Purchased from the Half Price Books clearance section (I can never resist!):

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann: The line for the audio is quite long at the library, so I picked up a hard copy of this novel I’ve been meaning to read for quite some time.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery: I love the audiobook of this novel and am happy to have a hard copy as well. (Yes, I loved it that much!)
Hyde Park Gate News by Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, and Thoby Stephen: A book of the newspaper Virginia Woolf and her siblings wrote as children.

Received from Frances at Nonsuch Book:

Skippy Dies, Part 1: Hopeland by Paul Murray: I’ve been wanting to read Skippy Dies, and having Part 1 should give me enough of a taste to decide if I’d like to read the others.

Received for review:

Original Sin by Peg Kingman: Received from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program, Original Sin is the story of a slave woman who, after 18 years of freedom in the East Indies, returns to America for unknown reasons.
Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran: Set during the French Revolution, this novel should have some character overlap with Sandra Gulland’s Josephine B. trilogy, which I loved.

Read This Week

During my recent trip to Chicago, I zipped through Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan, which I enjoyed. I also read a bit of Queen Hereafter by Susan Frazer King, which will be published later this month. I’m nearly finished with The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and have been pondering which classic off my list to pick up next.

On audio, I finished Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson. I started The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, which I’m enjoying very much so far, but I doubt I’ll finish its 15 discs before I head home for the holidays!

Erin Reads Recap

In my Sunday Salon post, I talked about the challenges I would join, were I joining challenges, and how they fit my reading goals for 2011.
On Monday I reviewed Daring to Eat a Peach by Joseph Zeppetello.
Tuesday I announced my acceptance of the TBR Dare!
I talked about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll for my weekly Wednesday Classics Reclamation Project post.
On Thursday, I reviewed Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan.
Finally, yesterday, I shared my thoughts on the audiobook of Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork.

Your Turn!

How was your reading week? Do tell!

Thoughts on “Marcelo in the Real World” by Francisco X. Stork (Audiobook)

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (cover)

I hadn’t heard of Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork until I read a review of it by Amanda from the Zen Leaf. In the comments, Amanda mentioned that she thought Marcelo would be interesting in audio form, if it was done well. I decided to give it a shot.

About the Book:

Marcelo has just finished his junior year of high school when the novel opens. He has a cognitive condition that’s something like, but not exactly, Asperger’s Syndrome, and he has attended a special school his whole life. The school owns therapeutic horses, and Marcelo’s summer job is to help care for them.

Then Marcelo’s father, a prominent lawyer who thinks Marcelo can do better, proposes an agreement. Marcelo will work in the mail room at his father’s law firm for the summer. If he succeeds in this “real world” environment, Marcelo can spend his senior year at the school he’s always attended. If not, he will be mainstreamed at the local high school. The latter is something Marcelo most definitely does not want.

Marcelo reluctantly settles into life at the law firm. He tackles each assignment with the aim of succeeding so as not to be mainstreamed for his senior year. Marcelo does end up learning a lot; more, in fact, than his father might have anticipated or desired.

My Thoughts:

Marcelo in the Real World was a very interesting novel. Honestly, I thought it was written for adults. Having never seen the book, I didn’t realize it’s intended to be YA until I saw it listed somewhere as “grade 8 and up.” The book certainly contains plenty to keep an adult engaged.

I either loved or hated every character in this book. I loved Marcelo, his mother, his sister, and Jasmine; I hated Marcelo’s father, Wendell, and most of the rest of the law firm staff. And yet most of them were more rounded than clear-cut good and evil. They all seemed very real, and I could understand their motivations and inclinations, even if I didn’t agree with them. (Except for Wendell, who is a slimy, evil young man, period.) For instance, Marcelo’s father: I wasn’t sure he’d made the right decision forcing his son into the “real world,” but I could see that he really did think it was in Marcelo’s best interest. And vice versa, the “good” characters all had their flaws.

The novel was both tough and rewarding. It was hard to watch Marcelo come up against the “real world,” trying to navigate situations I would’ve hated to be in myself. It was disheartening to witness some of the other characters’ reactions to Marcelo, often treating him like an idiot who could be easily manipulated. But it was also rewarding to see Marcelo work through the things he didn’t understand and, ultimately, do what he needed to do.

Marcelo in the Real World is definitely a book that makes you think. I felt very much in Marcelo’s shoes as he navigated the world of the law firm. It’s taken me a while to write a review because I’ve been pondering what I wanted to say. I don’t find it to be an easy book to write about.

As for the audio, I really liked reader Lincoln Hoppe’s interpretation of Marcelo. My one complaint was that his pace was sluggish, enough so that I listened to the second half of the book double speed and had no problems adjusting. This is one of those books I think I would like better as an audiobook, were I to read the novel and compare. I always like first person narration on audio because it feels like the character is speaking to me. But listening to Marcelo’s narration went a step further, making me feel like I was actually inside his head. He talks through a lot of his thoughts in a very logical way, which makes them easy to follow (not at all like stream of consciousness) while simultaneously giving insight into Marcelo’s unique thought process. You see the world through his eyes while also applying your own “real world” knowledge to situations that are new to Marcelo.

If you like novels with interesting narrators or that give you plenty of food for thought, I think you’d be happy with Marcelo in the Real World. I’m certainly happy I read it and was enthralled by the story as it unfolded, even if my thoughts here come across as only lukewarm!

Your Turn!

If you’ve read Marcelo in the Real World, what did you think? Is there another book with a unique narrator that you enjoyed?

Thoughts on “Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares” by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan (cover)

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan came with me on my recent trip to Chicago. It made for light, engrossing, festive reading…even if I did have to struggle to keep my giggles to myself!

About the Book:

It’s just a few days before Christmas when Dash comes across a red Moleskine notebook tucked beside one of his favorite authors in the Strand, a sprawling bookstore in New York City. Intrigued, he opens it and reads:

“I’ve left some clues for you. If you want them, turn the page. If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.” (p. 4)

Needless to say, Dash turns the page. Eventually he learns that the notebook belongs to a girl named Lily. The two teenagers begin a series of dares, sending each other to odd places or assigning off-the-wall tasks. As each dare is fulfilled and the notebook is passed back and forth, Dash and Lily get to know one another through their written words alone.

My Thoughts:

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares was a quick holiday read. I loved the passing of the notebook and the dare that came with each exchange. The whole story was quite creative, written in chapters that alternate between Dash’s perspective (written by Levithan) and Lily’s (written by Cohn). The jacket flap says that Cohn and Levithan emailed chapters to one another without planning out the story, so it sounds like even they didn’t know what, specifically, would happen next. Perhaps because of the authors’ collaborative style, the book didn’t feel contrived.

I really liked Dash. He was articulate and smart and witty, even if he did lack quite a bit of holiday spirit. Lily, on the other hand, was brimming with Christmas cheer, yet overall she seemed a little too sappy and helpless and naive. Which is fine, but I don’t believe she’s the kind of person with whom Dash would have been particularly impressed. As the red notebook situation progressed, I felt less and less like Dash and Lily could ever be compatible in any way.

I enjoyed some of the secondary characters: namely, Boomer and Ida. Boomer is Dash’s friend and is, essentially, a big happy puppy dog. His kindness and friendliness reminded me a little of Tiny Cooper from Will Grayson, Will Grayson, though with less drama, and I couldn’t help but smile when he popped up in the story. Ida is Lily’s great aunt and a splendid woman. She’s just far enough removed from Lily to be cool, more of an accomplice at times than a motherly guardian. The interview in the library was one of my favorite scenes in the book.

There were moments when involuntary laughter escaped my lips despite my efforts not to draw attention to myself on the plane. Almost all of these bits were in Dash’s chapters. For instance:

“I had always felt that mittens were a few steps back on the evolutionary scale–why, I wondered, would we want to make ourselves into a less agile version of a lobster? But my disdain for mittens took on a new depth when looking at Macy’s (Macy’s’s?) holiday offerings.” (p. 29)

In addition to enjoying the rather entertaining mental image provided by those few lines, I love that Dash ponders the possessive of “Macy’s.” It’s just the sort of thing his bookish self would do.

Overall, Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares was good Christmas-y fun. The story is engaging, as is one of the characters, at least, and there are plenty of good scenes. I’ve not read Cohn and Levithan’s other collaborations, but I would consider giving them a go next time I’m after this sort of book.

Your Turn!

If you’ve read Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares, what did you think? Should I bother with Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist or Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List? And, in the spirit of the red notebook, what is your best Christmas memory?

CRP: “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll (Audiobook)

The Classics Reclamation Project is my personal challenge to read and enjoy the classics. Each Wednesday, I post about the classic I’m reading at the moment.

I’m still smack dab in the middle of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I spent most of last week traveling, and there was no way I was going to lug around the all-in-one edition I’ve been reading! Instead, I listened to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, read by Jim Dale.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published in 1865. It is a whimsical and bizarre little tale about a girl named Alice and what happens when she follows a rabbit down a rabbit hole. There is much changing of size, meeting of nonsensical creatures, and general bewilderment.

I liked Alice. She struck me as being a sensible child. She clearly enjoys making up conversations and debates with herself, which I thought was cute. She takes pretty much everything that happens to her in stride, which is impressive, seeing as she has some extremely odd adventures. The adventures themselves were just a tad too wacky and directionless for me. It seemed like Alice just wandered around aimlessly for a while while inexplicable and unrelated things happened to her.

As for the story, I was a little disappointed, though for a rather silly reason. I vaguely recall the Disney adaptation from many years ago. I was quickly reminded of what I didn’t initially remember as the story progressed. The Disney version stayed incredibly close to the original story, which was a bit of a letdown. There weren’t many new things for me to discover.

There were some parts of the story I quite enjoyed, though. My favorite was when Alice and the Gryphon visit the Mock Turtle. Not only do the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle describe and then demonstrate the Lobster Quadrille, which is a dance involving lobsters, but the Mock Turtle also sings the “Beautiful Soup” song, which is thoroughly entertaining as rendered by Jim Dale.

At a few moments, Carroll’s narrative style reminded me of Lewis’s style in The Chronicles of Narnia. These were usually while Carroll was describing something Alice was thinking or an aspect of her character. Both authors were skilled at writing for/about children, and both had powerful imaginations. Though I like the stories of Narnia better, I enjoy the prose in both.

The audiobook I chose was narrated by Jim Dale, who did the Harry Potter books (no small feat!). He was a delight to listen to and did an especially amazing job with the character voices; I could hardly believe it was the same person speaking. His pacing fell right at that comfortable spot where it neither drags nor rushes, and the drama with which he infused his reading kept the story moving along nicely. The audio is only about three hours long, and it definitely went by quickly.

I have the other Alice book, Through the Looking-Glass, on order at the library and plan to listen to it as well. I’m curious to experience a Carroll novel without so much previous knowledge of the plot. (Though I know that at least Tweedledee and Tweedledum, who are actually part of Through the Looking-Glass, appeared in the Disney movie Alice in Wonderland.) I think it was my familiarity with the story that kept me from loving Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and not some fault of Carroll’s. Though I was never overly fond of the movie, so perhaps it’s just not my sort of book!

Two tangential comments before I wrap this up: First, did you know what Lewis Carroll’s real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson? I did not. I wonder how many authors’ names are actually pen names to which I’m completely oblivious? And second, talking about one author with the last name of Lewis and another with the same name as a first name is confusing to type!

If you’ve read (or want to read) anything by Carroll, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I Dare. Do You?

I briefly mentioned the TBR Dare in my Sunday Salon post, as part of a list of challenges that will form the basis for my 2011 reading goals, even though I’m not officially joining them. But, since it’s a challenge (of sorts) in which I’m actually participating, I wanted to give the TBR Dare its own space.

TBR Dare Badge

On December 5th, Ready When You Are, C.B. sported the post title: Sunday Salon: The TBR Dare. Are You Brave Enough to Take the Dare? I was intrigued. Challenges, I’ve seen. Readalongs, yes. But a dare? A dare has elements of danger and adventure which its tamer counterparts often lack. I read on.

The Dare

The instructions on the TBR Dare page are simple:

Make a resolution to read only the books in your To Be Read stack for as long as you can in 2011. Start on New Year’s Day and see how long you last.

There was some discussion in the comments of JoAnn’s TBR Dare post about whether the dare was a sort of book-buying ban. It seems that it is not. Instead, the idea is to read only from your TBR stack, regardless of whatever else you buy.

The TBR Dare appeals to me because I have so many unread books. I move often enough that I really should love each and every book I drag around the country with me. I’m sure I’ve been carrying around some dead weight; I’m also sure there are some gems hiding in my piles that I would gladly move time and time again, if only I knew they were there!

The Particulars

I have a TBR list as well as TBR books on my shelves, and the two do not necessarily overlap. I don’t track my TBRs digitally; instead, I use a spreadsheet to note recommendations or reviews of books that interest me. So for me, I’m counting either books on my TBR list or books on my shelves that are unread. I don’t have a precise total of how many books that includes, but it’s high.

Books I acquire after January 1st that are not on my TBR list as of New Year’s Eve are not eligible for the TBR Dare. Books I add to my TBR list after January 1st are also ineligible. That means I’ll have to get better about my record keeping, but only for three months!

As most of the books I anticipate needing for challenges, readalongs, or projects are already on my TBR list, if not my shelves, the only exception I see myself making is with ARCs. I don’t review a ton of them, but I do like to try to post reviews around the release date. Should something turn up that will be published before the dare’s official end, I might have to read it anyway.

The Pledge

In short: I accept the TBR Dare. I pledge to read only books from my TBR list or shelves from January 1st to April 1st, 2011, with the exceptions listed above!

What About You?

Are you planning to participate in the TBR Dare? Or do you have similar goals of your own? Any books I should be sure to add to my TBR pile/list before January 1st? Speak now, or hold your peace until April 1st!