A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Ain't it the truth? But seriously....before taking on this classic volume of short stories I had never read anything by Flannery O'Connor. I knew she was popular for her Southern-style classic literature, but that was all I knew. Honestly, I have been disappointed. I really didn't enjoy it. I couldn't find anyone in the stories that I cared about besides the innocent children and the dialogue is so annoyingly mid-century southern that it was hard to read-'n' word included. I am completely open to trying her again if someone has a suggestion of another work. Until then, I am done with her. Too many other good books to get into.

Sing Them Home

Oh how I wanted to like this book! I thoroughly enjoyed Stephanie Kallos' first novel Broken For You and eagerly anticipated something else from her. Sing Them Home is long, lacking in sympathetic characters, and not interesting. I think there was supposed to be a mystery, but I didn't even really care and had basically figured it out by the time of the great revealing. Set in Nebraska, the three Jones children (now grown up) are re-facing the disappearance of their mother during a tornado during their childhood. Their father has passed away and they meet for his funeral. Nobody knows what happened to their mother, Hope, and their lives are tainted by her absence and the mystery attached to it. Sounds intriguing enough....but the plot and the character development and the themes just never get 'there'. And did I mention that it's long?

Quote from Gary Shteyngart author of Super Sad True Love Story

"As wonderful as film is, it still requires a camera lens. It does not allow you inside the mind of its creator, whereas a book still does. That experience requires a deep train of concentration and that deep train of concentration is what is being slowly chiseled away at by instant gratification forms of media."

Then We Came To The End

I believe the review that got me interested in this book described it as "hilarious". One reviewer on Powell's Books site referred to it as the best book he's read all year. All I can say is.....Seriously??? The book is set in Chicago in an advertising agency in the early part of this decade. As clients are lost the employees employ tactics to make themselves look busy. Nothing funny there. The unnamed narrator is one of these employees and this person makes observations about his or her fellow co-workers. Most of these people are rather pathetic and there are too many of them to really keep track of and make a connection with. Nothing funny there. Not interesting either. I think Joshua Ferris' has some potential, so I'm not writing him off yet, but I recommend that this one be skipped.

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

Laurel Hawthorne is a wife, mother, quilt maker, and possibly a person who is visited by ghosts. She lives in a gated neighborhood in Pensacola, Florida and has spent her whole life trying to protect herself and her family from the ugly realities of the world. Specifically, she has tried to shelter herself from her mother's hometown of DeLop, Alabama, an old mining town that is the picture of poverty and crime. The book opens with Laurel being visited by the ghost of Molly, one of her daughter's friends. Molly leads her to the body floating in Laurel's swimming pool--Molly's own. Laurel becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Molly and why her own daughter won't talk about it. She invites her crazy sister Thalia into the mix, which provides some comedy in an otherwise tragic situation.
Joshilyn Jackson does an excellent job of keeping the story moving and keeping the reader interested. I didn't feel that it hit a stall the way some books do. She wrote the characters very well. In fact, I think she may have written a character as being on the Autism Spectrum, but without stating it directly. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming is a mystery and a family drama. If you're in the mood for one or both of those....read this book. (Powell's has it in paperback for $6.95 right now.)

My Absence

Well, I checked out this blog a couple of days ago and realized that it's been about 4 months since I last posted. Yikes! I had been very busy with the end of school, yes, but I think there is another reason why I haven't written about a book in that time. The main reason why I haven't been writing recommendations is that I haven't been inspired by any of the books I've read. I didn't want to restart my posting with a so-so or a NO recommendation. Well, during the last week I finished a book that I feel that I can write positively about. So read on......!

The Uncommon Reader

A short novel (novella), The Uncommon Reader was a total delight to read. I don't use that word much, but I guess I am inspired by the British here. As the book opens Queen Elizabeth stumbles upon a bookmobile and checks out a book so as not to seem rude. She also meets someone on her kitchen staff, Norman, who ends up helping her change her life through books. Not everyone in her life is happy about her newfound love (reading), but the Queen has a change in priorities. Although a seemingly dry pretense, this novella clips along nicely offering the reader a chance to look into the life of royalty as well as relating to a fellow reader.