Rather creepy Agatha Christie stand-alone.
Monday, June 27, 2011
The Psychopath Test, by Jon Ronson
Fascinating book by the funny and intrepid Jon Ronson. He ventures into prisons and psych wards to find out what exactly a psychopath is, and despite coming out with no clear answers, gives a great read with a lot to think about.
Bright Lights, Big Ass, by Jen Lancaster
Quick and very funny. Jen Lancaster in chicago, don't really have much else to say about it.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Withering Tights, by Louise Rennison
As a HUGE fan of Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholson series, I was so excited to read this, and even more so when I realized that Tallulah Cassey is Georgia's cousin, but I have to say that the book fell a little short of my high hopes and expectations. Tallulah, whose parents seem inexplicably more up-market than Georgia's family, is off to Yorkshire to study dramatic arts for the summer, but it's never really clear why- she doesn't seem to really have any passion for theater, and never takes the program seriously at all. While there, she makes friends, and of course, boyfriends, but I felt her character fell into the "oh I'm SO TALL and SO THIN with SUCH GREEN EYES and SUCH SHINY HAIR, why, I'M A TROLL, and boys will never like me" trap- which is so annoying and overdone and at this point such a ghastly cliche. One of the things that made Rennison's voice so authentic in her other YA books was that Georgia came across as a real girl, and relatable, while Tallulah did not.
It is a shame, because the set-up had a lot of potential, and coming from such a talented author, could have been a great young YA read, but as it was, it was a bit grating, and Tallulah's silliness annoyed rather than enchanted.
In the Rooms, by Tom Schone
Drunk New York writers, and drunk New York literary agents. AA, manipulation, redemption- boring.
Clouds of Witnesses, by Dorothy Sayers
Super annoying Dorothy Sayers mystery. I would like her books so much more if it weren't for hero Peter Wimsey being such a supercillious ass.
The Magnolia League, by Kate Crouch
Southern debutante paranormal YA - interesting mix! Set in Savannah, this is the story of what happens when Alexandria Lee's mother dies in an accident in California, and she has to go to Savannah to live with her grandmother. Having grown up on an organic produce and weed farm in Humboldt county, Alex is initially very uncoomfortable with the white gloves and curtsies, but when she is fully initiated into the Magnolia League, she finds that it can be very tempting to join in the dark and glamorous world her mother fled.
The Patriotic Murders, by Agatha Christie
Pretty good Agatha Christie, a Poirot one with diplomatic complications with the evocative fictional Ruritania.
Elephants Can Remember, by Agatha Christie
Not one of Christie's best Poirot mysteries, and it included the bizarrely addled Ariadne Oliver, who rarely improves a book.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Bumped, by Megan McCafferty
YA dystopia with an interesting premise. Decline of fertility across the globe has led to teenage pregnancies being not only desirable, but highly rewarded. Melodie and Harmony, twins separated at birth, have been raised very differently, but both struggle with the pressure to get bumped. Melodie, a "pro", has been sponsored by a wealthy couple to carry their baby- a six-figure signing bonus, college tuition, and a car- while Harmony was raised by Godseekers in a cultish area called Goodside, and feels that only God should dictate breeding. Interesting, and for the most part well done, but the end was so sequel-ready that it left me annoyed and unsatisfied.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress, by Debra Ginsberg
Pretty terrible book about (surprise) being a waitress. Much like Caitlin Kelly's Malled, this went on and on about what it is like to be a waitress (or a retail worker) with no surprises- you mean, waitresses bring food to people at tables? no way.
But, at least Ginsberg actually seemed to like, in many ways, what she did, and tried to make an interesting book out of it.
But stil, ugh.
Spoiled, by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
After her mother dies, 16 year old small-town Indiana girl Molly Bix discovers that her birth father is Hollywood action star Brick Berlin, and moves to LA to live with him and his other daughter, celebutante Brooke Berlin. Culture clashes and sibling rivalry lead to tabloid shenanigans and ultimately personal growth.
Spoiled was a quick treat of a read, with a light skewering of Hollywood and a refreshingly clean and good natured tone.
Well drawn supporting characters, including Molly's mother Laurel, added some depth, but the two sisters at the heart of the plot really made the frothy tale work.
Looking forward to the authors' next book!
Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray
Satire stretched too far and too long.
When a plane carrying the Miss Teen Dream contestants crashes on a tropical island, the 13 surviving girls create a new society based on more than lipgloss, and when it turns out that their adventures are tied in with dire doings by Ladybird Hope, a Sarah Palin-esque eeevil politician/leader of the Miss Teen Dream empire/Corporation henchperson, the girls use newfound confidence to overcome. A boatload of lost reality tv pirates and some clever spoofs on advertising helped lighten it, but this was just so message heavy it choked me going down.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
French Leave, by Anna Gavalda
I can't help but feel that maybe I was either expecting too much or too little from this, or that something got lost in the translation from French, but I don't see why this was such a massive European bestseller and so highly praised.
Bohemian bourgeois siblings abandon their family (and one brother's striving, annoying wife) at a wedding, and set off on a road trip to meet up with another brother, who is working as a guide at a chateau. The 2 sisters and 2 brothers have a fun weekend, and... that's the book.
It's one of those books where I feel like the failure is mine somehow- if so many people love it, I must be missing something (see: A Visit from The Good Squad, by Jennifer Egan, or Room by Emma Donohue- oh, no, you can't, because despite starting them both about 5 times, I could not force myself to finish them). At least this was very short?
Exit Through The Gift Shop
Funny, thought-provoking, bizarre, and overall fantastic movie about... street art? commercialization of a counter-culture movement? imposters?Aspiring film-maker Thierry Guetta begins compiling hundreds of hours of footage of street artists creating their ephemeral work. Gradually, some of the biggest artists, like Shepard Fairey, realize that his filming is capturing some rare and valuable scenes of them at work. When Guetta meets the anonymous god of street art, Banksy, Banksy convinves Guetta to try his own hand at creating art, and to turn over the footage to Banksy.
In an unbeleivable switcheroo, Banksy the artist becomes the film-maker, and Guetta the (addled? insane? genius?) film-maker reinvents himself as a top street artist- who then opens a VERY successful commercial exhibit.
This was just wonderful.
2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America, by Albert Brooks
Interesting and creative near future satire, from THAT Albert Brooks, the actor/writer.
In 2030, medical advances, including cancer being cured, have extended the length of life to a point where younger Americans feel they have no opportunities, but are only working to support "the olds", and the dismal American economy thrums along on support from China, and social unrest haunts the nation. President Bernstein is already at a loss as to what to do, and then a 9.1 earthquake in LA sets a number of plots into motion.
This was good, but too much was going on to get genuinely involved in any one thread. Clever, but not a stand-out.
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