For my first book in the World Citizen challenge, I selected the memoir Falling Leaves: The True Story of An Unwanted Chinese Daughter, by Adeline Yen Mah. Someone gave this book to me eight or nine years ago, quite oddly in response to the fact that I was then reading (and enjoying) Memoirs of … Continue reading World Citizen Challenge: Falling Leaves
Category: Book Review
Reader’s Journal: Isabella Moon
Being somewhat new to the thriller genre, I want to say first that I realize I might not be this author’s ideal reader. Authors, of course, don’t really get to choose who their readers are, unless they publish and distribute their books themselves. Even though I was hopeful--I really wanted to like this book--I find … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: Isabella Moon
Reader’s Journal: Goldengrove
I very rarely abandon a book. Sometimes I will set a book down because I am distracted or not in the mood for it, but usually I have every intention of picking it up again. Abandoning a book, for me, is a deliberate and aggressive act. I do it because I feel like the author … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: Goldengrove
Reader’s Journal: Delicate Edible Birds
Several years ago, bookstore shelves suddenly seemed crammed full of story collections about twenty- and thirty-something mini-skirted women who were unable to love, unable to hold down a job, unable to commit, unable to lose weight, unable to find a boyfriend. After tearing through four or five of these collections--all interchangeable, really--I found myself unable … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: Delicate Edible Birds
Reader’s Journal: The Stone Diaries
Many years ago, I planned to write a dissertation centered around Lawrence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, in which the main character tries to set down his entire life story, day by day, from the moment of his conception to the present day. Several conundrums face Tristram, not the least of which … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: The Stone Diaries
Reader’s Journal: Deluxe
*Note: I'm planning a separate post on the chapter in Deluxe about perfume, "The Sweet Smell of Success."Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, by Dana Thomas, was on my reading list since it hit bookstore shelves back in 2007. What a time for me to decide to pick it up! When I bought my copy … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: Deluxe
My Life in France
Originally published June 23, 2006. I finished this book last week, and I’ve been trying to find the time to write a little review of it, but I keep getting pulled away by other things. I remember The French Chef being on the television when I was a very little girl (it came on either … Continue reading My Life in France
The Glass Castle
Originally published June 10, 2006. I just finished reading The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls for my “real-life” book club. Every month a different person picks the book, and this was not my month to choose. I probably would have chosen Julia Child’s new book, or perhaps a novel. These days, everyone has a memoir. … Continue reading The Glass Castle
The Bright Forever
Originally published May 11, 2006. One morning a few weeks ago, I was cruising the Books section of the NYT online and saw that the Pulitzer Prize Winners for 2006 had been announced. I don't pay much attention to prizes because so many good books are overlooked every year (really, it's so much worse than … Continue reading The Bright Forever
Reader’s Journal: Shiloh and Other Stories, by Bobbie Ann Mason
Bobbie Ann Mason is one of those authors whose works I'm always meaning to read, but when it comes right down to picking out books and reading them, I forget about her. When I was casting around for titles to put on my Short Story Challenge reading list, her name popped right into my head, … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: Shiloh and Other Stories, by Bobbie Ann Mason
The Evening Reader 