Mea Culpa

One and a half months into this blog, and I've already messed up.

I forgot Love Is A Mix Tape.

I meet an author, and I forget to include his book in my January recap.

Poor Rob Sheffield. If he remembers me from his book signing, and then he were to read this, I would understand completely if he hated me forever.

So yes, I read Love is a Mix Tape in January - mostly in one day, actually, which may have been why I did not include it. It certainly wasn't because it was the most horrid book I ever read - because it was not! LiaMT was a hilarious, touching tribute to music and Rob Sheffield's dead wife, Renee. While there was some generational gap-induced fly overs of cultural references (he was married for five years at about the time I entered high school. However, he looks like he's about 21 now, which is so unfair - I already have some white hairs, grr), the central core of the book rang clear. Rob Sheffield was in awe of two things: his wife and music. One has been gone for ten years, but he'll always have the mix tapes.

There once was a time I spent laboriously cataloging and tracking down all the songs used on a particular show I liked. It was the 90's, and I was a teenager with a radio and a dual cassette deck. I could make an entire tape of one song if I wanted, and I often taped hours of my then favorite radio station. Thankfully, my taste in music has improved and there are newer, better, faster ways of getting what you want in your music library. However, I still have yet to completely embrace MP3s and reject CDs - old habits die hard.

While I may not be obsessed like my coworker D is with Rob Sheffield, there is a part of me that will always be a geeky teen yearning to capture every second of Garbage's "Only Happy When It Rains" on my latest tape. So it was delightful to find myself in a room with about forty other music and mix tape devotees one January evening listening to Mr. Sheffield himself read from LiaMT. There were four of us, all in varying degrees of mix tape addictions. L was probably the least affected, while J and I tied for 2nd. I'd read the book, and thoroughly enjoyed it, but wasn't sure I wanted it signed, J got into it, but not enough to buy the book at full price (yes, we were at a competing bookstore....shh!). D was full on fangirling Rob, but she maintained a calm facade.

In the end, I gave J my book so she could have a signed copy. I was going to hang back with L, but she and D pulled me up to the front, where I tried to invite Rob to our store to sign stock, but he quite possibly thought I was hitting on him. Note to self: always have business cards in your wallet - ALWAYS. D and J introduced me as their coworker, and we chatted about how LiaMT is up for an award given out by the store we work for, how it was one of our Best Books of 2007, yadda yadda. And then I have to confess that I don't have a business card on me, which is why I'm going to hand him a piece of paper with my email and phone number on it. I swear, Rob, I was not trying to pick you up. Although, you were adorable, and D would have taken you home if she could.

I think I know why I didn't remember this in my January post. I was trying to block the whole embarrassing episode from memory. So I apologize to you, Mr. Sheffield, and vow to you, my reader, and myself never to forget a book again.

And yes, I still listen to Garbage when I'm in a bad mood.

January, or The Month in Which I Buy One Book But Think About Many Things

January 2008

Books Purchased:
The Sweet Far Thing - Libba Bray

Books Received Gratis:
Angelica - Arthur Phillips

Books Read:
The Sweet Far Thing - Libba Bray
We Thought You Would Be Prettier - Laurie Notaro
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen


I look like a slow reader. January 2008 is skewing my reputation as a fast reader. Admittedly, I'm not as fast as L or E, both of whom have train rides to and from work that give them additional reading time (and they have the ability to read on the T without getting motion sick, which happens instantly to me. Right. Overshare.) I swear I read more books in December. Despite the holiday craziness, I had more time to read because I was not doing my normal job, but just focusing on getting people to buy tons of books. Sure, I was working 10 hours a day, but when I got home it was much easier to read. And then I had lovely vacation time where I spent all day reading. Now it is back to the grind, and I'm reading less.

To be fair, The Sweet Far Thing - which I had (im)patiently waited all of December for - was 820 pages long. That will take me a while, especially when my body thinks snuggling down under my covers means it's time to sleep and I'm unconscious after three or four pages. TSFT was worth savoring, though, and it's length meant that for most of January, my nightly read was something extra special to look forward to. Even now, two weeks later, Bray's characters refuse to fade away into the background. TSFT was sumptious and brilliant, and I want to reread the whole trilogy again.

After TSFT, I felt spoiled. What book could I possibly read that I would enjoy as much? Sure, I've got a shelf full of old stand bys - Pride and Prejudice, Sorcery and Cecelia, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell... (Sensing a theme yet?) - but I wanted to read something new. So I picked Laurie Notaro's We Thought You Would Be Prettier off the shelf. It was a case of 'and now for something completely different', as We Thought is a collection of humorous essays and rantings of Laurie Notaro, the founder of the Idiot Girl's Action Adventure Club. While some of her essays were hilarious - like "National Stupidity Day" where screams at the stupid customer in line ahead of her at FedEx who wants them to track her package, for which she has no tracking slip and cannot even remember when she mailed it - most of the book was a let down. Quite possibly this was because I read it right after TSFT, and it fell victim to the curse of the rebound book - the one that you read after a really great book so that the following book has a better chance of surviving.

This time, I was smart. I turned to Jane - Jane Austen. Having seen Masterpiece Theatre's adaptation of Northanger Abbey as part of "The Complete Jane Austen", I knew what would pull me out of my post-TSFT depression. The story of Catherine Morland, a young girl with a head full of gothic novels and an overactive immagination, Northanger Abbey was a perfect foil to TSFT. While TSFT is a gothic, Jane's signature wit infuses NA with a loving critique of the genre. Indeed, Catherine comes to discover that gothic novels are often overblown fantasies, and her innoncent belief in them almost ruins her chances at love with the witty and charming Henry Tilney. Masterpiece Theatre's adaptation was cleverly done, with mini-fantasy sequences representing the effects of so much reading on someone with a fertile imagination like Catherine's (if she could've only read TSFT, her brain would have exploded from fantasy overload). Both the book and the movie were absorbing and satisfying, event if NA is not Miss Austen's best work.

Speaking of Jane, we're almost half way through "The Complete Jane Austen". Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park have all aired and tonight we get to see "Miss Austen Regrets", which is based on Jane's own love-life, a topic that many new books are delving into since Anne Hathaway's rather wretched attempt at portraying the venorable Ms. Austen in "Becoming Jane". Unfortunately, both "Persuasion" and "Mansfield Park" were terrible adaptations. While "Persuasion" at least had some watchable actors, "Mansfield Park" suffered from bad casting (Billie Piper did try, but she's no Fanny Price), bad direction, and a hideous script. "When did Masterpiece Theatre become Crap-piece Theatre?" my friend B asked after MP aired. Hopefully "Miss Austen Regrets" will be good, and possibly somewhat historically accurate (though Tom Lefroy is not mentioned at all in the write up, and even if he wasn't her Mr. Darcy like "Becoming Jane" suggested, he was a documented part of her life. And he was played by James McAvoy, mmm). Thankfully, they're not attempting to rewrite Pride and Prejudice and are airing the Firth-Ehle miniseries version.

So that is January, a month in which I bought only one book, but read three. Next I'll be reading The Dead Fathers Club for my bookclub and then hopefully tucking into Angelica, which I was thrilled to see at the bottom of the last ARC box we got. February's a short month, but I think I can improve upon my stats from January. We'll see if I'm right.

The Sweet Far Thing

WARNING: Do not read this if you don't want to see overt references to the events in The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray.

I have a problem. Readers will know it well. You've just finished an absolutely fantastic book and now you need something new to read....only, nothing will compare to what you just read. You could chose a perfectly good book to follow up the great read, but it will suffer a fate worse than a fate worse than death because it pales in comparison to the book you just finished.

The reason I have this problem is Libba Bray's The Sweet Far Thing. TSFT is the third installment in her brilliant Gemma Doyle trilogy. If you haven't read either A Great and Terrible Beauty or Rebel Angels, go out and buy all three books right now. Much like one of my all time favorite books, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, the Gemma Doyle books are confections of magic set in bygone eras of England. For those of you unfamiliar with Gemma and her pals, here's a primer: Girl living in India during the reign of Queen Victoria. Girl's mother is hunted down by a mysterious magic baddie. After Mum's death, Girl gets sent to spooky finishing school in England full of catty girls and long buried secrets. Girl discovers magical realms that she and her friends can enter, but all is not as it seems in this world and danger abounds.

TSFT, the long awaited finale to Bray's trilogy, was incredibly satisfying. As the novel opens, Gemma and her friends Felicity and Ann have returned to Spence after Christmas. Having defeated the big bad in Rebel Angels, all should be peachy for the girls as they head towards their debuts, or in Ann's case, a position as a governess. But Gemma is having doubts about the success of their victory and she cannot enter the Realms, much to Felicity and Ann's dismay. Time is quickly approaching for Gemma to make an alliance with the creatures of the Realms and return the magic that she bound to herself. The East Wing, which has long lain in ruin after the fateful fire during Gemma's mother's days at Spence, is being rebuilt.

Finding a hidden doorway in the ruins of the wing, the girls are once again able to enter the Realms and see their friend Pippa. Soon, however, Gemma finds herself in a struggle for the magic, the Realms, and her sanity as The Order, The Rakshana, and the inhabitants of the Realms grapple for control. As Gemma's tolerance and ability to fend off all threats and advances starts to wear, the girls hear whispers about the Tree of All Souls hidden deep in the dangerous Winterlands. This may be the answer they need - or their very undoing.

Publisher's Weekly called TSFT "a huge work of massive ambition," and at 819 pages, it is. Bray's masterfully crafted worlds and vibrant characters live up to all your hopes and fears for Gemma & co's adieu. Structured like a five act play - Bray, a theater major, was inspired by Shakespeare's tragedies (specifically Macbeth) - TSFT unfolds like those prize balls where you unwrap and unwrap uncovering little treasures on the way to a kick ass present in the center. As the suspense builds slowly and tantalizingly, Ms. Bray's genius emerges. Much like Gemma, who senses something is rotten in the state of Denmark but is unable to act, the reader is desperate for their suspicions to be confirmed as their thumbs start pricking faster than the speed of light.

With the corset metaphors, the heartbreak, and the kick ass girls, TSFT is pitch perfect. Gemma's confusion and isolation surround the reader and the horror comes on such quiet feet that you're terrified long before the climatic battle. All the characters played their roles with charisma, but it was Felicity, who I had been suspecting would betray Gemma, who was truly dazzling. Her acidic tongue and habit of prancing around the Realms in chain mail stole my heart. Fee is far and away my favorite character (sorry, Gemma!), and I am glad I was wrong about her.

As the final installment in a trilogy, TSFT could have been the weakest link. Often, I've been disappointed by authors who start off brilliantly, but succumb to the need for a neat ending. Bray was true to her characters and world in TSFT, and the result is a strong finale that surpasses the promise of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels. Had she gone with a more 'traditional' ending, TSFT would not have worked so well. In fact, Bray discovered that scores of her fans were a bit upset with the resolution to Kartik and Gemma's relationship. Many wanted Gemma to have a happily ever after, but that would have ruined the entire book. I'm thrilled that there is a gorgeous trilogy with tough heroine that isn't going to end up with the guy. While she deserves some happiness after all she's gone through, the end to Gemma's story is rightfully bittersweet, much like the feeling of finishing TSFT.

Finally, I have a moment of pure book geekdom to share. Among the many people thanked in Liba Bray's acknowledgements for TSFT are two authors I've had the pleasure of meeting - Jo Knowles and Cecil Castellucci. Not only was I chuffed to actually know two people in an author's acknowledgements, but I was the one who broke the news to Ms. Knowles. Moments like that remind me how much I love my job. Now, I'm off to read Ms. Austen's Northanger Abbey in hopes Catherine Morland can help me recover from TSFT. I think that if Catherine read Libba Bray's books, she'd die of imagination overload...

New Year, New Whatever...

A few months ago, I read Nick Hornby’s Polysyllabic Spree. A collection of essays Hornby wrote for his column in the Believer, TPS is a year in books. The premise, that Hornby - best known for his lad-lit titles About a Boy and High Fidelity - as an author and avid reader, has more books than he can possibly read. Each month he purchases heaps of books and only reads a few. Included in Hornby’s genial ramblings about literature, life, and the pursuit of more bookshelves are some gleefully brilliant witticisms like his realization that “if I’ve forgotten everything I’ve ever read then I can read some of my favorite books again as if for the first time,” and his demi-rant about the spare school of style which he asserts is an attempt to make writing a more masculine (and thus proper-er) job. All in all, TPS is more a collection of essays than a book. Lacking an overall coherency beyond the stated premise of man vs. monthly flow of books, it did not cover the theme I had hoped for - what does one learn from all this?

At the risk of committing one of the most egregious sins in writing (or at least journalism), I need to move on from Hornby before I do indeed bury the lead. TPS inspired me. I, too, suffer from Hornby’s particular strain of bibliophilia. Despite the fact that my bookshelves are dangerously overloaded and I have little time to read, I cannot stop purchasing books. I buy loads and loads, often at the risk of my bank account balance or my brain cells (this latter part comes into play in used bookstores and library sales where my oddly strictured willingness to read almost anything leads me to purchase trashy titles due to their relatively low cost). As the author events manager for a large bookstore in Boston, I’m constantly thinking about books and getting free advance copies of new titles. Combine these facts with the thought that had been rolling around in my head for a while that I’d like to try my hand at book reviewing (because who wouldn’t want to get paid to read books and then say what they thought about them?) and the end result was my desire for a book commentating blog.

What is book commentating? I won’t call myself a reviewer. Reviewers have two rules that I am willfully going to break in this blog because they do not suit my purposes: (1) Being Current - You can’t review a book that was published six months ago, let alone six years ago, and expect to remain a reviewer. They’re supposed to write about the newly published, newly released, or newly opened so that everyone else can stay home and form opinions from what the reviewer tells them so they can save time rather than risk that trial (and possible error) themselves; and (2) Remembering The Audience - Reviewers have to keep in mind that people will read what they say and possibly send them hate mail. Actually, they have a responsibility to be interesting and relevant to their audience. I could care less about that since this blog is about me and what I read. I don’t need to sell newspapers with this blog, and I won’t lose my day job if I don’t have any readers. Book commentating then, is reading a book and then reporting on said book (hm, sounds a lot like those horrid book reports we all used to do in school). With my qualifications, and just enough vanity to think what I have to say matters, this blog should be fun for me and hopefully entertaining for you, dear reader.

As this is the first of the new year, and invariably at this time I start thinking reading resolutions, it might be a good idea to set my intentions to paper, so to speak. Last year, I said I wanted to read more non-fiction and more classics. I succeeded with the non-fiction (although non-fiction was still a fraction of what I read compared to fiction), but failed with the classics (I never did get past the first page of Wives and Daughters, and I think that was the only classic attempted). Similarly this year I hope to broaden my book knowledge through three goals: (1) to read a better variety - non-fiction, classics, perhaps the odd book I’d turned up my nose at before; (2) to give new books a chance (but not to the point of forcing myself to read something dreadful, there is after all a finite amount of reading time for me so why waste it on anything less than fabulous?); and (3) to think about what I’ve read and write about it here.

So, with that said, on to the next…

(Many thanks to R for titling this blog. L, I loved your idea too, but I think you need to write that one!)