Each year one of my New Year's resolutions is to read at least two books per month. One book has to be of a quality, literary nature. The other book can be, well, less quality. When I first started the resolution, I indulged in the guilty pleasure of reading trashy novels like those written by V.C. Andrews. However, I've outgrown that type of book, so it's a moot point. Some years are better than others, as far as keeping with the resolution. This year is not fairing too well. I also have a goal of trying to read the book before I see its movie. An * designates a book that I read in order to permit myself to see the movie.
January Shopgirl, Steve Martin. |
March Ordinary Life: Stories, Elizabeth Berg. She is my favorite author. I was so glad when she came out with this book of short stories so that I could study them more in depth for the writing of my own short stories. |
April Rapture of Canaan, Sheri Reynolds. This is one of my favorites that I try to reread about once a year. |
May *The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Rebecca Wells. I thought this was an okay book, but didn't warrant all the rave reviews that I've heard. To me, it was just another book about a troubled mother/daughter relationship that's writing was mediocre. I think that Amy Tan's writing in The Joy Luck Club, also about mother/daughter relationships, was superior. |
June *Little Altars Everywhere, Rebecca Wells. This prequel to The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood disturbed me because the characterization of Viv was so starkly different.b She changes from a sympathetic character to a Divine Secrets she is portrayed as a sympathetic, depressed chain smoking, alcoholic, abusive (both physically and sexually) mother. The movie, of course, which incorporated both books, didn't touch on the sexual abuse at all and in the end has Viv and Sidda living "happily ever after" which was not the case in the novels. |
 True to Form, Elizabeth Berg. This is the third book in a series (Surable Goods, Joy School) about Katie, an army brat. She is now 13. Excellent book. Can't say enough about Elizabeth Berg. |
July Drowning Ruth, Christina Schwarz. This was a book that Oprah Winfrey chose for one of her selections. Now, that really doesn't matter one smidge to me, but I needed a book and was at Half Price Books and saw it and recognized it. What sold me was that it takes place in Wisconsin. I liked the book. The critical scene is drawn out throughout the breadth of the book, which left me wondering throughout if Amanda actually committed murder or if it was indeed an accident. The shifts in perspective and in time was well handled. |
October White Oleander, Janet Fitch. Again, another Oprah booklist book. I swear I don't choose books because of her. This I chose because the movie is coming out and looks good and I always try to read books before I see the movie. This was a great book. The storyline was tumultuous. There was a lot of play on colors, especially white and blue. There were also a lot of allusions to other pieces of art, both art and literature, that I was unfamiliar with but made to be curious about. One thing I noticed, the main character's name is Astrid and she is an artist, her mother is a poet. If you rearrange the letters of her name, it spells out "artist." I thought that was clever. I am a sucker for that kind of thing. |
 Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt. How did I not read this as a child? Again, this is another book that I read because a movie of it has been made. It was quite a nice book filled with a lot more depth and layers than I expected. There aren't really any surprises. I was pleased with it, though. I think at some point I will reread it, if after watching the movie I still don't understand all the references to toads. It may be just for the culmination of what Winnie does with the spring water, but I think there is more to it. It warrants another read through since I read through it quickly to make sure I read it before I see the movie. |