Allen Ginsberg's "Indian Journals"...part 1

Since I'm only halfway through the book...it looks like this one is going to be a two-week project. I initially read "Indian Journals" during a summer break from college, while floating in the pool. I was going through my "Beat" period, obsessively reading everything I could get my hands on by Kerouac, Ferlinghetti, Ginsberg and their compatriots. I was writing more then too, which is why I picked it up. I'm hoping to give myself a jump start to get writing again. The journals begin in November 1961 with Ginsberg's arrival in India. It's a mishmash of journal entries, dreams (some drug-induced, some not), and poems with a handful of pictures mixed in. Best line so far: "It isn't enough for yr heart to break because everbody's heart is broken now." More next week, after I've had a chance to finish the book...

"The Nimrod Flipout " by Etgar Keret

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories. I laughed my way through a lot of them and was touched by a few. "Fatso," the first story in the book, features a man in love with a beautiful woman who inexplicably turns into "a heavy, hairy man, with no neck, with a gold ring on his pinkie" every night. I was intrigued by "Dirt" which offers the following alternative: "So let's say I'm dead now, or I open a self-service laundromat." It goes on in this manner, offering two alternate fates...and leaves you wondering which one is true. My personal favorite was "Glittery Eyes" about a young girl who wants her eyes to be glittery. She gets the idea from a boy in her class who has glittery eyes. His explanation of why his eyes are glittery was heartbreaking. I wanted to give him a hug. Shrinking parents, lost dogs, twin brothers married to twin sisters...this book is full of crazy characters in wacky situations. His style reminded me of Douglas Adams and Tom Robbins, both of whom I'm a big fan. Next week...Allen Ginsberg's "Indian Journals" - a reread from college that I picked up at the library last week. I grabbed it in an attempt to reconnect with when I was at my most creative, writing-wise. Of course, I had a lot more free time on my hands then...but I'm trying to discipline myself to do more writing and less sitting in front of the television.

Bringing back the Book-a-Week blog

In the interest of getting my creative juices flowing again...and clearing out some of my to-read list I've decided to resurrect this old blog.

So, without further ado...this week I'm reading "The Nimrod Flip Out" by Etgar Keret. It is a collection of short stories, which is not usually my favorite genre, but I couldn't help myself when I saw the title. 

When I was reading Prince Caspian with my nieces and nephew, Ally kept insisting that Nikabrik the dwarf's name was Nimrod.  Add to that the image on the cover: a man in a pink bunny suit holding a gun, and I was sold. Starting it tonight while I'm at Ally's dance class.

Catching up again...two more books

I really do have good intentions of keeping this weekly...but life keeps getting in the way! So...here are two weeks worth of reviews:

A Version of the Truth by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack is about Cassie Shaw, who tells a big lie on her resume to get a job as an assistant in a psych department. It's an interesting story, although I have to admit I didn't love Cassie as a character. A good read in general, though.

Last week I read The Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook. After Noreen discovers her so-called boyfriend tricked her into taking a company buyout, she finds herself unemployed with a lot of time on her hands. She takes up walking and quickly bonds with two of her neighbors to form the Wildwater Walking Club. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone!

Up next...A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White...

Real Murders by Charlaine Harris

So my book last week was Real Murders by Charlaine Harris. I am filling in time with her other series since I have now read every Sookie book available. Real Murders is the first in the Aurora Teagarden series. Aurora (Roe to her friends) is a member of the Real Murders club - whose members meet monthly to discuss...real murders. Each member takes a turn outlining the case of an old murder. On the night of Roe's turn, a fellow member is found dead...in a manner that matches the very murder Roe was to discuss. It quickly becomes clear that the members of the club are being targeted...and Roe begins her own investigation.
I liked the book, and will probably continue reading the other books in the series, but it was not one that I found myself desperate to get hold of the next book. If they have it at the library on my next trip, I'll pick it up, but I don't think I'll be running out to buy a copy.

As a follow up to last week, I did make myself a list of 40 things to do before I turn 40. I am keeping notes on my activities and contemplating turning it into a book...assuming I actually do all 40 things. One item is to re-read Ulysses. That will not be one of my book-a-week books. If memory serves, it took me forever to read it for my senior seminar class in college.

This week I'm reading "A Version of the Truth" by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack. It's my latest acquisition from paperbackswap.com

The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski

I picked up "The Next Thing on My List" by Jill Smolinski on a late afternoon trip to the library. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just grabbing whatever caught my eye. This one was a good pick.

In The Next Thing on My List, June Parker is the driver in a car accident which kills her passenger, Marissa. She discovers that Marissa has written a list "20 things to do by my 25th birthday" - and sets out to complete the list for her. The items on the list range from fun & frivolous (wear sexy shoes, dare to go braless) to serious (change someone's life, make a big donation to charity). June works her way through the list and finds herself on the other side of Marissa's 25th birthday with a new community of friends and a chance to make her own list.

As a habitual list maker, this book really appealed to me. I make daily lits - a work to do, a home to do, shopping, etc. But the summer I was 28, I made one of these lists. I was newly divorced and vacationing, alone, in a cabin on a remote lake in Maine. I was floundering...wondering what exactly was my next step. I was, frankly, bored at work, trying to become a writer, and living back home with my parents and brothers while paying off the mountain of debt we had acquired in my name while I was married. It was, to say the least, not the best time in my life. And so, one very hot afternoon, I pulled out a notebook and made a list of 30 things to do before I turned 30...which gave me just over a year to accomplish all of the items.
I don't recall if I did all 30 or even what they all were), but I got a lot of them done. Like Marissa's list, some were frivolous - I remember listing "Read Breakfast at Tiffany's and watch the movie" and some were serious - "Move out, buy a bed." Each time I accomplished something, I felt good. And I have to say, by the time I turned 30, I was in a much better place than I had been when I made the list.
Now...soon to be 37...I wonder if I should make a list of 40 things to do before I turn 40...and what things I'd put on it if I do...
Anyone else out there ever made a list like this?

Double Shot Tuesday

No...I don't mean I'm drinking shots with my dinner. I have no idea if 94-HJY still does double shot Tuesdays (where they play two songs in a row by the same artist all day), but I always liked the concept. And since I'm behind...again...I'm doing two reviews today.

Two weeks ago I read "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde. Set in a slightly alternate-universe England, it is the story of Thursday Next, a "LiteraTec" in the Spec-Ops forces. Very quickly she is drawn into a mystery involving a stolen first edition manuscript...and discovers that her uncle has invented a means of traveling into books and interacting with the characters. Ultimately, she finds herself in the text of Jane Eyre (no surprise, given the book's title). I found The Eyre Affair to be very Hitchhiker-esque...and given that The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy has been on my shelf of favorites for quite a while, I've picked up the second in the series "Lost in a Good Book"...looking forward to reading it!

Last week was "The Girl Who Played With Fire" - the second in the trilogy by Stieg Larsson. This time Lisbeth and Mikael are taking on the sex slave trade - and solving a murder while they are at it. Again, I found the first couple of chapters slow going but soon found myself involved in the story. The plot twists didn't surprise me quite as much as they could have...but were still interesting. Looking forward to picking up the third.

I find myself reading a lot of series lately. My book club is discussing The Hunger Games this month, and I am looking forward to reading Catching Fire as well. In a recent conversation with my niece she mentioned that she prefers series over stand-alone books...because if it's not a series you don't get to find out what happens next. I love it!

Anyway...this week I'm reading "The Next Thing on my List" by Jill Smolinski. I will try to get the review posted on time next week!