January: Books Read
Mission: To read (finish) at least 52 books during 2012
Status: 6/52 read
Notes on Books Read:
1-3) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo/The Girl who Played with Fire/The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
At some point, I acquired a (probably free) mass market copy of the first book in this series, and dutifully placed it on my mass market shelf for when a time came that I felt the need to read this book, and perhaps the rest of its series. I do this with things that are overly-hyped (Bolano, Harry Potter, Golden Compass, etc.), I give them time. Too many people who I know had read this book and tried to talk with me about it over the holidays that when it came time to choose what to read next, I figured it was time. I was instantly hooked-- and aggravated that I was, in fact, hooked. Larsson's writing isn't great, and the fact that it's a translation, I'm sure, doesn't help. But his stories are compelling. I found myself disappointed that the man had died after writing these, despite his inability to let his characters eat something/drink coffee without telling his readers what exactly they ate, who asked everyone else if they wanted coffee, and who poured the coffee.
4) If Not, Winter: Fragments by Sappho trans. Anne Carson
I was surprised by how quickly I wanted to read this book, and then again surprised at how much each segment of writing made me want to turn to the back and read an extensive footnote about what was there, where it came from, and what it may have been part of/about.
5) Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: a memoir by Rhoda Janzen
I read this for my book club. I didn't particularly like it. I liked the appendix best. Not really my speed.
6) The End of Beauty by Jorie Graham
I should have liked this book more, but I fell out of love with it because it took me too long to read. I loved it in the beginning, and I think Graham is a masterful poet. But the end poems were at best too vague or dense for my patience. The early poems were on point, and I felt blessed to have discovered this book.
Status: 6/52 read
Notes on Books Read:
1-3) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo/The Girl who Played with Fire/The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
At some point, I acquired a (probably free) mass market copy of the first book in this series, and dutifully placed it on my mass market shelf for when a time came that I felt the need to read this book, and perhaps the rest of its series. I do this with things that are overly-hyped (Bolano, Harry Potter, Golden Compass, etc.), I give them time. Too many people who I know had read this book and tried to talk with me about it over the holidays that when it came time to choose what to read next, I figured it was time. I was instantly hooked-- and aggravated that I was, in fact, hooked. Larsson's writing isn't great, and the fact that it's a translation, I'm sure, doesn't help. But his stories are compelling. I found myself disappointed that the man had died after writing these, despite his inability to let his characters eat something/drink coffee without telling his readers what exactly they ate, who asked everyone else if they wanted coffee, and who poured the coffee.
4) If Not, Winter: Fragments by Sappho trans. Anne Carson
I was surprised by how quickly I wanted to read this book, and then again surprised at how much each segment of writing made me want to turn to the back and read an extensive footnote about what was there, where it came from, and what it may have been part of/about.
5) Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: a memoir by Rhoda Janzen
I read this for my book club. I didn't particularly like it. I liked the appendix best. Not really my speed.
6) The End of Beauty by Jorie Graham
I should have liked this book more, but I fell out of love with it because it took me too long to read. I loved it in the beginning, and I think Graham is a masterful poet. But the end poems were at best too vague or dense for my patience. The early poems were on point, and I felt blessed to have discovered this book.
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