Kylie's Book Log

Book: 1
Title: Landing
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: General fiction, gay/lesbian fiction
One-sentence summary: Two women, a stewardess and a nervous passenger, meet over the dead body of a fellow passenger on an airplane. Naturally, a long-distance romance develops.
Why did you get this book? It's by Emma Donoghue.
Do you like the cover? Because it is by Emma Donoghue, I scoured abebooks.com at intervals in the months before publication in order to find one of the bound galleys that they distribute to reviewers. So the cover's just plain blue. I'll be curious to see what the real cover looks like.
Did you enjoy the book? I did. It's not my favorite of her books, but I have yet to read anything by her that I did not like very much.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Haha, I've read everything she's written, including some plays that were never actually published - I emailed her for them. (I actually did an interview with her, and I needed to read the plays for that. It's a long story.) As soon as I hear that she has a new book coming out, I'll start scouring abebooks for that.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? I think I'll probably buy a copy when the paperback comes out, since bound galleys are ugly, and send this copy to PaperbackSwap or something.
Anything else? This one's a contemporary novel about a long-distance romance, much more in the style of the short stories in Touchy Subjects than anything else she's written. Stylistically, I wouldn't say it has much in common with Hood - it's a little closer to Stir-Fry, but overall it's a bit more... I'm not sure what the word that I want is. Sedate? Settled? You can feel that the author was older and more mature when she wrote this, and it also makes sense knowing that her marriage started as a long-distance relationship. I won't pretend I didn't miss the passionate, tinged-with-psychosis melodrama of the relationship in Hood, but I liked the book.
Scale of 1 to 10: 8
Number of pages: 321
Total pages for the year: 321 + whatever I read before

Book: 2
Title: The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Author: Kim Edwards
Genre: General fiction, women's fiction
One-sentence summary: A doctor, delivering his own child, learns that said child is actually twins, and that one of the twins has Down's Syndrome. He tells his wife one of the twins was stillborn, then instructs the nurse to bring the Down's child to an institution; she refuses, skipping down and keeping the child as her own; the doctor's family falls apart under the weight of the secret; the nurse gets to raise the kid and no one ever blames her even though she abducted the kid without telling the mom. O-kay.
Why did you get this book? I was staying at my parents' house for a week because we had a mouse problem in our apartment, and I ran out of books to read so I plundered my mom's book collection. It was either this, a Doris Kearns Goodwin-style history book, or something by Dean Koontz, and I was in the mood for fiction. (Unsurprisingly.)
Do you like the cover? Eh. It's some sort of a diaphanous white shirt floating against a black background. I don't get what it has to do with the book and I don't find it particularly intriguing, but I don't actively dislike it either.
Did you enjoy the book? More than I thought I would, actually, given that I had virtually no choice in selecting it. It's women's lit, probably a cut below Anita Shreve but a cut above Jodi Picoult. Pretty small cuts though. The characters aren't terribly well defined and some of their actions are therefore not terribly convincing, but the plot's compelling enough that I finished the book.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Yes, she is, and I probably won't read anything by her again, unless she publishes something relating to subject matter that I'm interested in.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? I think I should probably return it to my mom.
Anything else? Not really.
Scale of 1 to 10: 7/8
Number of pages: 432
Total pages for the year: 753

Book: 3
Title: Saying Grace
Author: Beth Gutcheon
Genre: General fiction, women's fiction
One-sentence summary: See below.
Why did you get this book? This is another one I read because I ran out of books while I was at my parents' place. It's actually a reread - I first read it ages and ages ago, and barely remembered it. When I moved to college I left it at home, I think out of some vague sense that it wasn't the sort of book a Harvard student should be seen to have on her shelf. (If you are thinking I was a little shit, well, I probably was, but keep in mind I was also terrified...)
Do you like the cover? It's all right. A pastel-y sunrise-y thing.
Did you enjoy the book? You know, I really did. This is another women's lit book, and sometimes that genre bores or annoys me, but I liked this one a lot. It's about a private middle school in California whose principal is dedicated to a bunch of now-passe ideals, the main one being that children should be encouraged to live up to their own potential and value their own role in the world without any exterior comparison to or competition with other children. Kind of ironic that I left this one at home because I thought the Harvard students would laugh at me, really. Anyway, it gets into the interior lives of several of the students and teachers at the school and delves much more deeply into the principal's life, twinned with her attempts to hold the school together in the face of an alpha-dog-type school board president. Some of the little vignettes from the students' and teachers' lives are interesting, but there's one subplot in particular that's really chilling. I kept wishing she'd write another book based entirely around that subplot, though I suppose it works best in small touches.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? I read Still Missing ages ago as well. That was a book about an abducted boy that seemed written to be made into a TV movie, and, indeed, it was. As for reading something else by her, I actually went to Amazon to try and see if any of her other books appealed to me, but none of them did. Thank God for that Search Inside the Book feature.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? I would like to keep it, but I think I accidentally left it at my parents' place. Whoops.
Anything else? Hmm. Don't think so.
Scale of 1 to 10: 8
Number of pages: 320
Total pages for the year: 1072

Book: 4
Title: Jennifer Government
Author: Max Barry
Genre: General fiction
One-sentence summary: A near-future dystopia in which the world has separated into US-affiliated territories and non-US-affiliated territories, capitalizm is the supreme governing force, tax has been abolished, and actual government can't do a thing about crime, poverty or anything else without raising private funding to do it.
Why did you get this book? It was a Christmas present, but I Amazon wishlisted it because I'd seen it around in bookstores and it looked funny.
Do you like the cover? Definitely. The barcode on the girl's cheek is awesome, and it almost feels like a copout when you find out in the book that it's an individual person's tattoo and not something the government requires that everyone wear for easy identification. 'Course, once I read the book I figured out the government can't really require that people do much of anything.
Did you enjoy the book? Definitely. Great concept, interestingly executed. My only objection is that although it's funny, there were parts that left me much too horrified to laugh at the satire... though I suppose that's not really a complaint either, since it means the author had me involved.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? New to me, yes - I think it's his first book? As far as I know he hasn't written anything else.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it. This'll be a reread at some point.
Anything else? This was one of those books that you're just delighted with for the first fifty pages or so because the concept is so fresh and the writing is good and the wit's razor-sharp. Then after fifty pages you start asking questions about this fresh new concept, and then after another fifty you figure out the writer isn't necessarily going to answer your questions. Then, if you're me, you turn to your girlfriend and start asking a bunch of questions about economics and the practical limits of capitalism, and you get sidetracked in a discussion of whether government is necessary to set interest rates if for no other reason, and you never do get a lot of your questions answered. But at the end of the book you're still chuckling over how capitalism is spelled "capitalizm" because spelling words with s's rather than z's isn't the American way; and you note to yourself that the author never explained that to the reader, just trusted you to get it, and how much you like that sort of thing, and overall, how much you liked the book. And... the end.
Scale of 1 to 10: 8/9
Number of pages: 336
Total pages for the year: 1409

Book: 5
Title: Wild Seed
Author: Octavia Butler
Genre: Science fiction/fantasy
One-sentence summary: An ageless creature that survives by killing humans and commandeering their corpses attempts to breed a society of people with psychic abilities, but meets his match in an ageless woman with supernatural powers to heal and transform. Something like that. It actually makes a little more sense when you read it.
Why did you get this book? Because it's Octavia Butler, and the plot seemed slightly less bizarre than that of the other books of hers I looked at. I've been working through her books, from the least bizarre (Kindred, Parable of the Sower, and Parable of the Talents) on up.
Do you like the cover? I do, mainly because the person on it is so androgynous that when I asked λ to pick one sex or another she said if she had to pick she'd say it was a girl, and I said if I had to pick I'd say it was a boy.
Did you enjoy the book? Yes, although it certainly was strange. I am not really a sci-fi kind of girl.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No, not new to me, and yes, I will, although from the summaries, like I said, they just seem to get weirder from here on out.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it. This is another one that will be a reread.
Anything else? Just that everyone, especially anyone who's interested in science fiction or feminist literature, should read Octavia Butler at some point. That, and I'm sad that she's dead.
Scale of 1 to 10: 7/8
Number of pages: 288
Total pages for the year: 1697
Bonus! There's a sequel! I totally didn't know that, I'ma get it.

Book: 6
Title: The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade
Author: Ann Fessler
Genre: Women's studies, sociology
One-sentence summary: True stories of teenage mothers who were persuaded, coerced, or forced to give up their children for adoption in the '50s and '60s.
Why did you get this book? It caught my eye in a bookstore, I read a few pages and got hooked. This was another Christmas present, though.
Do you like the cover? It's fine. I think the title is amusingly long-winded, though.
Did you enjoy the book? I did. Though, honestly, it got really depressing after awhile, because all of the stories ended the same way: no matter how promising it seemed at first, no matter how much the boyfriend promised to marry the girl and get a good job to support them (which he did, sometimes), in the end the parents always made the girl give the kid up for adoption, and she was always traumatized. Later in the book you got some reunion stories, but just once I wanted to read about a girl whose parents said "We love you and we'll support you in whatever you want to do, and don't listen to all those people who tell you you're not a fit parent, because you are." I mean, the things people said to these girls - about how they were awful people who'd make awful parents, about how the only thing they could do would be to give their kids up, and that if they didn't give them up they were selfish, and plus, they'd have to pay [xinsane amount of money that the girl most certainly didn't have] - it's just awful. Plus, it's really creepy how narrowly defined the word "rape" was back then, and how many of these stories are of women who got pregnant through rape and who then had to accept being called "slut" and "whore" by everyone they knew.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Yes, she is. It would depend on the subject, whether I'd read her again.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it.
Anything else? This book, for me, is one of the most interesting additions to the abortion debate, mostly because that's not what it's trying to be. I mean, I'm sure the author had that in mind, or else Roe v. Wade wouldn't be in the title, but it doesn't make its way into the book that much. The thing is, though, that pro-lifers always hold "adoption" aloft as the trump card - "if you don't want your baby, just give it up for adoption!" - and this book really underscores that there is no "just" about that decision. It hammers home that once that pregnancy test comes up positive, if you hadn't been planning on having a child, there are just no easy choices from there on out. I don't doubt that some of these women would have had abortions if it had been legal back then, and I'm sure some of them would have been more traumatized by abortion than adoption, and some were probably more traumatized by the adoption than they would have been by an abortion, and no matter what, it was going to be damned hard. I think I took a few main things from this book: a.) no one has the right to pressure a pregnant woman to make a specific decision about what to do with her pregnancy, and b.) education about and open access to birth control is a must. Oh, and it also made it clear to me that if I ever decide to adopt down the line, I'll want to be very careful about how I do it, and take as many steps as possible to ensure that the birth mother was not pressured into the decision and that the process is as open as possible.
Scale of 1 to 10: 8
Number of pages: 368
Total pages for the year: 2065

Book: 7
Title: Night Watch
Author: Sarah Waters
Genre: General fiction, historical fiction, gay/lesbian fiction
One-sentence summary: Waters traces the stories of three couples - one gay, one lesbian, one straight - through WWII-era London. Backwards.
Why did you get this book? It's Sarah Waters.
Do you like the cover? I do, although I wish it kept the same design from her previous books.
Did you enjoy the book? Yes, very much.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No. Yes.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it, definitely. Reread.
Anything else? Just... read this. It's wonderful. The first thing you should know is that instead of being set in the Victorian Era like all her other books, this one is set in World War II. She's as good at WWII-era as she is at Victorian stuff, though I must confess to enjoying Victorian trappings better. But this is really a breakthrough novel for her. It's interesting, she tells the story in three segments, which are presented in backwards chronological order - last section first and so on. And it's a fascinating choice, particularly for an author whose previous books drew so much strength from their intricately woven plotting and propulsive storytelling. At the beginning of this book, you know most of what you need to know about what happens to the characters. There are a few surprises here and there, mostly about how a specific thing comes to be, but mostly, you know where it's going. What you find out as the book progresses is *why* it's going there. You know the characters' stories from the beginning; it's the characters' lives, their selves, that you learn as it goes along. It's beautifully done. Strongly recommended.
Scale of 1 to 10: 9/10
Number of pages: 544
Total pages for the year: 2609

Book: 8
Title: Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last
Author: Susan Juby
Genre: YA fiction
One-sentence summary: Alice MacLeod is a geek and attempts to write a screenplay while getting way more dates with way more guys than any geek would ever get in real life.
Why did you get this book? I'd read a couple of other books in the series - the first and second. I don't know if this is the third book or not.
Do you like the cover? I do, although it pissed me off until I got far enough into the book to realize that the totally-not-suited-to-the-character dress that is depicted on the front is actually a dress she wears in the book. Also, I'd really like to know why it is that cover art for kids' books is almost always designed specifically for that book - like, they hire an artist to draw/photograph a scene taken directly from the book - while cover art images for adult books are so often pulled directly from gettyimages.com. No, really, they are. I'm always amused when I see two adult novels with the same picture on their cover, particularly if they come out around the same time... anyway.
Did you enjoy the book? Yeah, it was cute.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No, and yeah, probably, although I wouldn't go out of my way. They're fun YA books though.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping.
Anything else? This is like a geekier version of those Georgia Nicolson novels about camels who steal nuddy-pants and eat nunga-nungas or whatever the hell. I much prefer this character, myself.
Scale of 1 to 10: 8
Number of pages: 320
Total pages for the year: 2929

Book: 9
Title: After
Author: Francine Prose
Genre: YA fiction
One-sentence summary: In the wake of a school shooting, the students at a nearby high school find an eerie new atmosphere descending as repressive rules are enacted and students who misbehave start disappearing one by one.
Why did you get this book? It's Francine Prose.
Do you like the cover? Yeah, I do, actually. It's kind of striking.
Did you enjoy the book? Loved it. This is actually a reread for me, though I just bought it recently. The first time I read it, I really liked the storytelling, writing, characterization, etc., but I kept thinking - this wouldn't *really* happen. I mean, it *hasn't* really happened. The book is about a school shooting, and a Stalinesque dystopia that results as the school administration and personnel take steps to "ensure the children's safety and well-being in the wake of this traumatic event" or whatever. I'm thinking, dude, there have been school shootings, and we're not living in a Stalinesque dystopia yet. I mean, things have definitely gotten a little nuts out there - remember that girl who wrote a story about a school shooting in her private diary and got expelled from school for it? - but this is a bit much. It wasn't until the second read that I got the whole 9/11 parable thing. Then it started to make more sense. Duuuuuuh, Kylie.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Haha, I think the Francine Prose section of my bookshelf may be the biggest author section I have. It's a tossup between Emma Donoghue and Francine Prose - I have everything Emma's ever written, but Francine has written more stuff.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping, though I passed it on to λ to read.
Anything else? Recommended.
Scale of 1 to 10: 9
Number of pages: 336
Total pages for the year: 3265

Book: 10
Title: Wake Up, I'm Fat!
Author: Camryn Manheim
Genre: Memoir
One-sentence summary: Society ain't easy on fat girls, but getting to like yourself is worth it.
Why did you get this book? Because I like Camryn Manheim, and I am also fat.
Do you like the cover? Any cover with a picture of Camryn Manheim in a bathing suit on it is okay by me.
Did you enjoy the book? I did. It didn't give the impression of being ghostwritten, which means that it deserves credit for being pretty well-written. (Not to insult Camryn's intelligence, but it's rare that I don't get that ghostwritten feel from a celebrity book, and Carol Burnett's is the only celebrity memoir I have ever read in my life that I would class as "well-written" without a qualifier. So. Anyway.) I like CM's attitude, and the anecdotes rang true.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? I doubt she'll be publishing anything more, but if she did, I'd check it out, sure.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping.
Anything else? YOU'RE GORGEOUS, CAMRYN! THANK YOU FOR DEDICATING YOUR EMMY TO ME! Next time you might want to rethink who you pick to write your introduction, though. Rosie O'Donnell is entirely incoherent, and you have way more class than she does anyway.
Scale of 1 to 10: 8
Number of pages: 304
Total pages for the year: 3569

Book: 11
Title: The Rottweiler
Author: Ruth Rendell
Genre: Mystery
One-sentence summary: Someone is garroting young girls on the streets of London. Whodunit and why?
Why did you get this book? It was for sale on the bargain table at Brookline Booksmith, and I've read and liked Ruth Rendell before.
Do you like the cover? It's blue. Kinda snazzy.
Did you enjoy the book? I did, although it wasn't flawless* - there were a few false steps, like ( spoiler - not a terribly specific spoiler, but a spoiler all the sameCollapse ). But I was interested in the characters, and that's a very big thing with me. It was definitely enjoyable.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No, I'd read Piranha to Scurfy, which was great, particularly the title story, and House of Stairs, which bored me even though it was a lesbian novel. I'll read her again - I have a copy of one of her other books lying around somewhere.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping. I rarely pass on books unless I *really* don't enjoy them or can't get into them.
Scale of 1 to 10: 8
Anything else? Don't think so. Good book, though.
Number of pages: 352
Total pages for the year: 3921

*I do think it is possible for a book to be flawless or near-flawless, though I do not think it is possible for a book to be perfect. That is to say, I think it's possible for a writer not to make any technical missteps in plotting, characterization, writing, etc. throughout a book, but it isn't possible to write a book that is so good that it couldn't possibly be better. A book can do everything it does perfectly, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be more than it is. If you see what I mean. Maybe I'm not making any sense. It's all academic anyway, and I am boring.

Book: 12
Title: An Artist of the Floating World
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Genre: General fiction, historical fiction
One-sentence summary: A Japanese artist whose works were prominent during World War II looks back over his life, political beliefs, and body of work in the years immediately following the war.
Why did you get this book? It's Kazuo Ishiguro. (I give that answer a lot. "It's [xauthor]." Maybe I should branch out?)
Do you like the cover? Yeah, it's fine. I like the Vintage imprint and the general design traits that all the Ishiguro books share.
Did you enjoy the book? I did, although I gotta tell you, if Ishiguro ever writes a book that is *not* about a person at the end of his/her life looking back over his/her achievements and recognizing his/her own fatal flaws as well as the fundamental meaning of life that had eluded him/her all along, with a healthy dollop of emphasis on the unreliability of memory, I'ma shit bricks. I mean, he does a great job with that, but he just always does the same thing. Never Let Me Go changed up a lot of the externals, but at core, it's the same book.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No, I've read everything he's written except The Unconsoled. I don't think I'll read that one, because the reviews I've read of it haven't been very good, but I'm sure I'll read some of his future writings.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping.
Anything else? This is a book I would have done better with if I knew anything about World War II-era Japanese history. I mean, I know they sided with the Nazis, and... that's it. If you're interested in that subject, though, you should read this.
Scale of 1 to 10: 8
Number of pages: 206
Total pages for the year: 4127