I really don’t know what to make of this book.  It’s as if the book hasn’t made up its own mind regarding what kind of book it is. At times I’m puzzled. For example, the main theme of the book is supposed to be the powerful friendship between two women but the friendship is described only from the point of view of one of the two women. I can’t figure out what made this relationship work like it did. There is also a bit of confusion when reading – often its not clear if a statement is something that the heroine actually said or just thought to herself.

On the other hand, at no point did I think of giving up on the book. You can see some elements of the story becoming related and I have to see how it plays out. In addition, the author surprised me. I like that in a book. One of the first story lines is related to a tragic event. When it becomes painfully clear that this chain of events will end badly the author acknowledges that the reader knows it and really doesn’t want all the gory details and takes the tale into the future (in case someone actually didn’t get it the sad event IS mentioned later on at some point).

Still haven’t finished it (my pace of reading slowed down considerably now that I’m back at work full time!). Will add a postscript when I do finish it.

Monday: Finished the book last night. I must admit I didn’t know what to make of the ending either. I was glued (stayed up until the last words were read) but was left feeling that I didn’t really understand the point which was being made. Rather a bewildering situation for me!

I chose a book this week by its cover. I thought I didn’t really do that (except for books that their covers STRONGLY hint that  you might  find them hidden under a mattress. I don’t take those). But then I began thinking about it. Maybe I DO do that and what’s so wrong with that?

I don’t really like reading blurbs on the back cover of books as they tend to give too much of the plot away. I try to stop reading the blurb after a sentence or two but I don’t always succeed. I’ve put many a book back on the library shelf because I’ve felt that I know to much and can guess the rest. Its better to examine the front cover and the first page of the book, or even open the book to a page chosen randomly and to read a paragraph.

This week the title “The Book Borrower” caught my eye (by Alice Mattison). You can imagine why! Then I saw a review on the cover that compared the author to Margaret Atwood, whose books I really enjoy. That was enough for me!

So, now you know what next week Saturday’s book will be about! I’ve only read about 10 pages and still don’t have an opinion. More next week!

This book was recommended to me by my friend Vicky Loras and after enjoying “Freakonomics” last summer I was quite interested in reading it. I was no longer under the illusion that such books were only for people good at math and science.

I would like to point out that this is a book I now own (a gift I exchanged) and not a library book. I know I have mentioned often how I’m all for library books but this is the kind of book it is good to own. It isn’t meant to be read all at once, the author says it explicitly in the introduction (or was it the first chatper?).So I’ve been reading it, bit by bit, for the last month or so. I need time to take in what I’ve read before starting a new topic.

Each chapter is thought provoking and about issues related to every day life. It is very readable and the author does try to infuse humor into it. While all the topics are interesting (so far at least, have not finished it yet), some topics are REALLY interesting! This weekend I read about proctastinating and being addicted to email…

Besides reading, we went on a great trip up north this weekend. Here are some random photos from our trip which I found interesting:

No, I haven’t forgotten my own rule of not reading two books by an author that I like in a row. I’ve often regretted it when I ignored the rule in the past.

So, this isn’t quite in a row, I read two other books in between (since I was listening to an audiobook by Margaret Atwood, I’m not counting that one). But the fact that I had seen this new (2011!) book by Ann Patchett just waiting for me on the library shelf coupled with the fact that my vacation is almost over was too much to resist.

I DID have a crsis though, somewhere around chapter three.

The general storyline about a doctor going off into the depths of the Amazon Jungle in search of a doctor who sounds as if she had lost her grip on reality seems like a nod to Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness.  Since I haven’t fnished the book yet I’m not completely sure how much of “a nod” it is but that didn’t bother me.  Conrad is extremely difficult to read and reading Patchett flows so easily!

What upset me was “the formula”. Think: succesful good loking female doctor, who doesn’t really have a life besides work, with a dark secret in her past (which is connected to the doctor in the jungle) who then goes on a journey. So I was really concerned. I wondered if after all my excitement this would be a book I wouldn’t want to finish.

But I underestimated Ann Patchett. I CAN NOT predict what is going to happen next and this is not tear jerker. It isn’t Bel Canto which I found more magical, but there is no way I’m going to miss a single page of this book.

I’ve already read two thirds of the book. Whatever the ending I don’t think I’ll be disappointed. Even a recognized formula is different in the hands of a master.

B.T.W-What is the idea behind printing books with rough, uneven ends of pages? This is one of them. I don’t see the point of that…

Note from Monday afternoon: Finished the book. Totally did NOT predict the ending. Glad I read it!

I read this book in less than a week. Perfect book for a vacation. Could be dangerous to read when you have a lot of work to be done – it is quite hard to stop reading!

If you had been able to see me while reading you would have mainly seen a huge grin plastered over my face. Wild book, amusing and sometimes downright laugh aloud  funny. The cover quotes are so apt, such as:  “A Swedish black novel that reads like a road trip with Forrest Gump at the wheel”. TRUE!

The only thing that is a pity is that it is a bit too long. The author, Jonas Jonasson writes beautifully with a clever storyline.I think it would have been better with a few of the twists of the plot (particularly in the last part) left out. It just can’t remain as funny and surprising (which the book IS!) with so many twists of the plot.

This book seems to beg for a movie version. Can I pre-order tickets?

It’s not surprising that I’m reading this book because a friend recommended it. Isn’t that what happens when you talk to people about books?

What I find amusing is that the friend who recommended this book by an Israeli writer (originally written in Hebrew) is Vicky Loras, my Greek / Canadian friend currently living in Switzerland who read the book in English!

I’ve read quite a few books by Amos Oz, but not recently. After his mind boggling autobiography “A Tale of Love and Darkness” (which is not an easy read, by the way,  but so very powerful) I sort of felt that after reading such a book the author’s other works would pale beside this one.

This book was written 10 years before the autobiography (which came out in 2004) It isn’t as good as some of his other books but is still very good. I think one of the things I enjoy best about Oz’s books is that he deals with the enormous complexity of relationships without a need to resort to techniques I despise – techniques such as “your uncle is really your father”, etc.

If Vicky enjoyed it then I’m sure the translator was good (I’m reading it in Hebrew). The (impolite word of your choice) editors of the Hebrew edition (1994) are required to supply a title in English on the back side of the front page. They wrote : “Don’t Pronounce it Night”. Happily the translators dealt with the title better!

Someone mentioned this children’s book to me a few days ago and I was immeditaly flooded with a memory of pleasure. I remember very little of the plot of the book but have a distinct memory of LOVING it and reading it more than once.

I spent time today reading about the author. I had no idea the book was first published in 1906! That explains why she called herself E. Nesbit and not Edith. I also was unaware that she had written such a large number of books including books for adults. I’m positive that I also read “Five Children and It” as a child but the other names don’t ring a bell anymore.

By the way, turns out the book is a Puffin Classic! LOL!

I wonder: are children today still reading it?

I can’t stress enough how great a writer I think Atwood is. The powerful way in which she uses words, the way more information is slowly fed to us is keeping me completely hooked.

It wasn’t my first choice as an audiobook (you may remember that I had wanted to listen to Patchett’s Bel Canto, which I then found in the library!) because I had a misconception that an audiobook should be a comparatively “light” book. Not true! A  good reader (the reader here is excellent!) makes all those thoughts and descriptions come alive. When Iris wonders about something, you HEAR the wonder in her voice and so much more!

Really recommend this and recommend the exprience of LISTENING to this book!

This book is so very very good. I can’t put it down. I feel like dropping EVERYTHING until I finish it.

The author got me completely hooked by the end of the first page. What a mesmerizing mix of humor, drama and a touch of suspense.

A bit of magic too.

Sooo good.

I certainly never imagined that during these busy days of graduation events I would end up with a “triple feature” for Saturday’s post.

It started off last Saturday, when I began the book “Reading Lolita in Teheran” by Azar Nafisi. The title and the topic sounded really attractive to me; women finding comfort in literature under a repressive regime. I was really looking forward to reading this book!

However, I was very disapponted. I do not like the way the book was written and could get no farther than the first few chapters. The topic seems so full of potential but I could not read this book.

So I moved on to “That Old Cape Magic” by Richard Russo. Much better! Although not as WOW of a book as “Empire Falls” was, I enjoy his tale involving academic types, screenwriters with the familiar backdrop of New England (cape refers to Cape Cod, of course!). Russo really writes well! Still reading this one.

Meanwhile, I finally resolved the big “audio book debate” and am happily listening to “The Blind Assasin” by Margaret Atwood. I guess all is well that ends well after all! More about THAT book next week. The laundry really piled up with all these events I’ve been going to lately so it seems there is a lot of listening in store for me this week!