BOOKS I RE/READ OCTOBER 2004
"The Fortress of Solitude" by Jonathan Lethem
I don't know why I couldn't get into this book. I just thought it was boring. I haven't finished it, it's still on my nightstand, but I'm not exactly chomping at the bit to give it another go just yet.
"The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
I read this book out of curiosity, because one of the authors was a year ahead of me at my med school, and given that the book was so prominently displayed in every book store I wandered past, I wondered what all the ballyhoo was about. A good book with an interesting plot--obvious comparisons have been drawn between this book and Dan Brown's stuff, but there's a lot more interpersonal and emotional development that's much more thoughtful than what Brown is putting out. Of course, with all this chit-chat about feelings, it also a lot less exciting.
"The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll" by Jean Nathan
This book is straight-up People magazine fodder. Part biography, part gothic novel, part psychoanalysis, it's a book you can read in one sitting and still have room for a few magazine articles afterwards. But it did leave with with a definitely unsettled, creepy feeling.
"Box Office Poison" by Alex Robinson
This is another great graphic novel because it creates an intricate community of friends and acquaintances with believable characters and real lives, from the mundane to the earth-shattering and everything in between. And, it's a whopper of a book that'll take you at least a few days to finish. I like that. Also recommended is the after-thought sequel/prequel/outtakes volume, "BOP!"
"Magical Thinking" by Augusten Burroughs
As always, entertaining, but this is Burroughs as his most Sedaris-like. Not to say that all gay men with long-term partners writing about their lives in New York are all the same, but the tone he strikes between humor and horrified introspection is very similar to that of our ex-pat in Paris. But hey, there's room for both of them.
"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden
Much more absorbing than I thought it would have been. An interesting history lesson, a peek into the inner workings of a secret society, and a little romance. The romance was my least favorite part, and I thought the happy ending was very pat, but the rest of it was fascinating.
I don't know why I couldn't get into this book. I just thought it was boring. I haven't finished it, it's still on my nightstand, but I'm not exactly chomping at the bit to give it another go just yet.
"The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
I read this book out of curiosity, because one of the authors was a year ahead of me at my med school, and given that the book was so prominently displayed in every book store I wandered past, I wondered what all the ballyhoo was about. A good book with an interesting plot--obvious comparisons have been drawn between this book and Dan Brown's stuff, but there's a lot more interpersonal and emotional development that's much more thoughtful than what Brown is putting out. Of course, with all this chit-chat about feelings, it also a lot less exciting.
"The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll" by Jean Nathan
This book is straight-up People magazine fodder. Part biography, part gothic novel, part psychoanalysis, it's a book you can read in one sitting and still have room for a few magazine articles afterwards. But it did leave with with a definitely unsettled, creepy feeling.
"Box Office Poison" by Alex Robinson
This is another great graphic novel because it creates an intricate community of friends and acquaintances with believable characters and real lives, from the mundane to the earth-shattering and everything in between. And, it's a whopper of a book that'll take you at least a few days to finish. I like that. Also recommended is the after-thought sequel/prequel/outtakes volume, "BOP!"
"Magical Thinking" by Augusten Burroughs
As always, entertaining, but this is Burroughs as his most Sedaris-like. Not to say that all gay men with long-term partners writing about their lives in New York are all the same, but the tone he strikes between humor and horrified introspection is very similar to that of our ex-pat in Paris. But hey, there's room for both of them.
"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden
Much more absorbing than I thought it would have been. An interesting history lesson, a peek into the inner workings of a secret society, and a little romance. The romance was my least favorite part, and I thought the happy ending was very pat, but the rest of it was fascinating.
posted by Michelle Au at 4:20 PM
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