Fervent Reader

My son’s best friend uses a Dave Murray strat, so the boys have really been interested in Iron Maiden recently. They both started playing guitar at around the same time (just a few months ago) and are still really into it. I’m not sure why an 11-year-old needs such an expensive guitar, but he’s not my kid, so whatever.

Anyway, because of the Dave Murray guitar, the boys have been checking out a lot of Iron Maiden videos on YouTube. Videos are fine and all, but I want my son to be a reader, so I’m thinking of buying him this Iron Maiden book. I just have to screen it first to make sure it’s age appropriate and not filled with too many typical band/groupie stories!

Here are the current NY Times Bestsellers in a handful of the more popular categories:

Combined Print & E-Book Fiction:
WALKING DISASTER, by Jamie McGuire
FEVER, by Maya Banks
STARTING NOW, by Debbie Macomber
SIX YEARS, by Harlan Coben
THE HOST, by Stephenie Meyer

Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction:
LEAN IN, by Sheryl Sandberg with Nell Scovell
PROOF OF HEAVEN, by Eben Alexander
GULP, by Mary Roach
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, by Ben Carson with Candy Carson
WILD, by Cheryl Strayed

Hardcover Fiction:
STARTING NOW, by Debbie Macomber
MANUSCRIPT FOUND IN ACCRA, by Paulo Coelho
LIFE AFTER LIFE, by Kate Atkinson
THE BURGESS BOYS, by Elizabeth Strout
SIX YEARS, by Harlan Coben

Hardcover Nonfiction:
LEAN IN, by Sheryl Sandberg with Nell Scovell
GULP, by Mary Roach
CARRY ON, WARRIOR, by Glennon Doyle Melton
THE GREAT DEFORMATION, by David Stockman
SECRETS OF SILICON VALLEY, by Deborah Perry Piscione

Paperback Trade Fiction:
WALKING DISASTER, by Jamie McGuire
FEVER, by Maya Banks
THE FORGOTTEN, by David Baldacci
WORLD WAR Z, by Max Brooks
THE WITNESS, by Nora Roberts

Paperback Mass-Market Fiction:
THE BEST OF ME, by Nicholas Sparks
THE WANDERER, by Robyn Carr
DELUSION IN DEATH, by J. D. Robb
CALICO JOE, by John Grisham
THE LOST YEARS, by Mary Higgins Clark

Paperback Nonfiction:
PROOF OF HEAVEN, by Eben Alexander
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, by Ben Carson with Candy Carson
WILD, by Cheryl Strayed
THINKING, FAST AND SLOW, by Daniel Kahneman
AMERICAN SNIPER, by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice

Summary (from the publisher): Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century—1951—in the middle of the United States—Des Moines, Iowa—in the middle of the largest generation in American history—the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)—in his head—as “The Thunderbolt Kid.”

Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality—a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and OF his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson’s earlier classic, A Walk in the Woods, will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends.

Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.

Reaction:

I usually love Bill Bryson, but felt that something was off in this book. Sure, the familiar writing style shines through and there are several laugh-out-loud lines scattered throughout the pages, but Thunderbolt Kid simply didn’t have the same flow or cohesiveness and Bryson’s other works.

In reading other reviews, I learned that many fans agreed with me. One popular opinion was that Bryson was trying too hard for laughs and kind of lost his way at times. I think this is as good an explanation as any, because the prose certainly wasn’t as tight as I’ve come to expect from the author.

Anyway, even though Bryson was born more than two decades before me, I could still identify with many of the experiences he wrote about in this book. I especially liked his descriptions of home life, and how a kid knows every inch of a house and what’s inside every drawer, closet, or cupboard due to having nothing else to do on long summer days except explore. I was the exact same way as a child of the early ’80s, and clearly remember spending hours sifting through the junk in my basement or attic. I knew the whereabouts of things that my parents didn’t even realize they still had, and could find anything in a flash. Like if my dad needed one of his rarely used USDA approved levelers, he’d just ask me to go get it instead of trying to find it himself.

I also liked reading about Bryson’s school days and how he wasn’t exactly a brilliant scholar (or even regular attendee). It just goes to show that the course of your life isn’t permanently set by what you achieve (or fail to achieve) in high school. Not every success story plays out in exactly the same predictable way.

Of the things I disliked, the most prominent was the lack of insight into Bryson’s family life. He talked most about his father, a famous baseball writer in his own right, and a bit about his absent-minded but well-meaning mother. Yet his siblings remained shadowy figures throughout (even now I can’t quite recall how many he had). This might have been due to the age difference between “Billy” and his brothers and sisters, but still… you’d think a childhood memoir would include more details about his home life and family.

Rating:

As I said above, I usually love Bill Bryson’s books. However, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid left me disappointed. It was still entertaining in places, but didn’t have the usual Bryson charm to carry me through joyously from beginning to end. Some sections were a chore to read, which should never be the case with this author. I give the book 3 stars out of 5.

Plot summary (from the publisher): Summer, Edith Wharton wrote to Gaillard Lapsley, “is known to its author and her familars as the Hot Ethan.” One of the first American novels to deal frankly with a young woman’s sexual awakening, it was a publishing sensation when it appeared in 1917, praised by Joseph Conrad, Howard Sturgis, and Percy Lubbock, and favorably compared to Madame Bovary. Like its predecessor, Ethan Frome, it is set in the Berkshires, but the season is summer and the story is that of Charity Royall, a New Englander of humble origins — passionate, forthright, and proud — and her torrid affair with Lucius Harney, an artistically inclined young man from the city. A novel that “breaks, or stretches, many conventions of women’s romantic love stories and in the process creates a new picture of female sexuality,” as Marilyn French writes in her introduction, Summer is “a clamorous and ecstatic affirmation of the joy of sexual love no matter what it costs.” Bold in conception, rich in imagery, and provocative by implication, it was one of Edith Wharton’s personal favorites, and stands as one of her greatest novelistic achievements.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• This book provided an interesting look at early 20th-century social conventions regarding sexual conventions and the stigma attached to “loose” or “dissolute” women.
• The foreshadowing regarding Julia’s rumored trip to the abortionist was obvious, but still well done. Even though I knew it was coming, I still felt for Charity when she had to go there herself.

Disliked:

• The publisher’s description refers to a “torrid affair” between Charity and Lucius, but that phrase hardly fits. Even taking into account the constraints of writing in 1917, this was tame, tame, TAME. If you’re expecting anything even approaching Madame Bovary’s infamous carriage ride through the streets of Paris, forget it!
• Charity was such as bland heroine. She pretty much just accepted everything that happened to her, from the pregnancy to Harney’s betrayal to marrying Lawyer Royall. It’s hard to get behind such a passive protagonist.

Rating:

Summer by Edith Wharton deserves to be read as part of the author’s larger body of work, but doesn’t do very well as a standalone novel. I couldn’t help but think that a “romance” novel with characters as boring as these wouldn’t stand a chance of getting published today. I know that’s not exactly a fair comparison because of the different moral constraints, but you get my point. I give this book 3 stars out of 5.

Plot summary (from the publisher): Mystery writer Ariadne Oliver has been invited to Woodleigh Common, where a Hallowe’en party is underway for a group of local adolescents. One of the guests is a young girl known for telling tall tales of murder and intrigue. When the girl is found drowned in an apple-bobbing tub, Ariadne wonders just how tall her latest tale was. Which of the party guests wanted to keep her quiet? Unmasking a killer this Hallowe’en isn’t going to be easy for Hercule Poirot – there isn’t a soul in Woodleigh who believes this little storyteller was even murdered…

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• Poirot was involved in the investigation nearly from the beginning. I much prefer this formula than the one that has him showing up close to the end and solving things in just a few chapters.
• Christie spent a great deal of time emphasizing the fact that Joyce was a liar, so I figured that the girl didn’t actually witness a murder. But I couldn’t make the same leap as Poirot and conclude that the girl must have been repeating a story from her best friend Miranda (“We tell each other everything.”). Christie played fair with this point. The clues were there for the astute reader to pick up on.
• The broken vase/spilled water was another clue I should have picked up on. I thought Rowena Drake had indeed seen the killer and that she was simply lying/covering for the person. I had no idea that she was actually the killer herself and used the spilled vase as a plausible explanation for her wet clothes. It should have been clear that she was the killer — if only because Poirot said the killer must have had wet clothes and no one else at the party did.
• The book was blissfully short, as are most Christie works.

Disliked:

• The big one, of course, was the motive for the murders. Christie acknowledged as much herself by having Ariadne Oliver repeatedly say, “Would anyone really kill just for that?” So as far as I can make out, Rowena Drake and the architect Michael Garfield originally killed the au pair girl Olga so they could get their hands on the rich woman’s (Mrs. Llewelyn Smith’s) money, buy a remote island, and make a beautiful landscape garden there?? But Miranda witnessed them disposing of the body. Rowena thought someone was watching them, but couldn’t figure out who. Then when Joyce blabbed at the party about seeing a murder, Rowena sprang into action, thinking this was her witness. Yeah, I’d say that’s pretty thin and contrived!
• The book was boring in many places. The lengthy description of the quarry springs to mind, as do various witness interviews that seemed to just go in circles without producing any new developments and descriptions of the party set-up. Did we really need to hear about the local store’s burlap aisle runner selection to get a feel for the decor? It was hard to get into the story.
• I still don’t like Ariadne Oliver. She seems flighty and useless in an actual investigation. Why was that particular character necessary for this novel? Was Oliver popular with Christie’s fans when Christie was still alive?
• Christie didn’t really produce any viable suspects in this one, instead settling for speculations about a “sexual deviant” on the loose. I think murder mysteries are more effective when there is a roomful of named suspects, each with a good, solid motive for killing the victim.

Rating:

I haven’t really enjoyed Agatha Christie’s later works, and Hallowe’en Party was no exception. It felt like Christie was just going through the motions with this one, and though it was still entertaining to a point, it’s not something I’ll ever read again (or even remember beyond next week). I give this one 3 stars out of 5.

Summary (from the publisher): Elaine Moore, a veteran teacher in Eagle River, Alaska, is a firm believer that the classroom is, first and foremost, a community—and that learning is best when shared in a circle of peers. When one of her students, ten-year-old Seamus Farrell, is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, Elaine, her students, and her innovative methods of teaching are put to their most severe test. Elaine’s Circle is the true account of this small-town teacher who led her fourth-grade students through the biggest challenge of their young lives. This book provides a heart-wrenching, intimate look at the utterly remarkable achievements of this dedicated teacher, a supportive community, and a group of children who rallied to make Seamus Farrell’s impending death an unforgettable lesson about life.

Reaction:

I enjoyed getting to know the pupils from Ms. Moore’s 4th grade class in Room 112 at Ravenswood Elementary School. I thought Elaine’s approach to teaching was fantastic, and loved all the little things she did to draw the best from her students, such as going on field trips to give the non-bookish students a chance to shine, etc.

The best part of Elaine’s class was Circle Time, where everyone would gather in a circle on the floor and talk about topics that were important to them. Practically anything was okay, as long as the students had something to share and were respectful of each other. This helped build a very strong sense of community and companionship within the classroom.

Room 112 faced its greatest challenge when Seamus Farrell, one of the energetic, likable leaders of the class, was diagnosed as having an inoperable brain tumor. According to Seamus’ mom, his greatest fear was not being sick and dying, but being forgotten by his friends and classmates. Elaine made sure that didn’t happen. She and the students of Room 112 made cards for Seamus and even set up a tutoring system whereby they would visit his home during their lunch hour and help him keep up with homework.

It was heartwarming to read about such actions performed by 10-year-olds. Elaine decided from the beginning to be honest with the kids and deal with Seamus’ condition in an honest yet sensitive way. As a result, they all learned important life lessons in the face of a classmate’s death.

Rating:

This isn’t the kind of book to read if you’re seeking literary merit. Instead, it simply provides a glimpse inside one special classroom in small-town Alaska during one memorable school year. Despite the tragic outcome, this book manages to be heartwarming and hopeful. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Plot summary (from the publisher): A charming tale of the battle between bourgeois repression and radical romanticism, E. M. Forster’s third novel has long been the most popular of his early works. A young girl, Lucy Honeychurch, and her chaperon—products of proper Edwardian England—visit a tempestuous, passionate Italy. Their “room with a view” allows them to look into a world far different from their own, a world unconcerned with convention, unfettered by social rituals, and unafraid of emotion. Soon Lucy finds herself bound to an obviously “unsuitable” man, the melancholic George Emerson, whose improper advances she dare not publicize. Back home, her friend and mentor Charlotte Bartlett and her mother, try to manipulate her into marriage with the more “appropriate” but smotheringly dull Cecil Vyse, whose surname suggests the imprisoning effect he would have on Lucy’s spirit.

A colorful gallery of characters, including George’s riotously funny father, Lucy’s sullen brother, the novelist Eleanor Lavish, and the reverend Mr. Beebe, line up on either side, and A Room with a View unfolds as a delightfully satiric comedy of manners and an immensely satisfying love story.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• Lucy Honeychurch is a surprisingly good protagonist. Her character arc from the beginning of the novel to the end is clear, and the reader can appreciate and understand her changing perception about “class distinctions” and social conventions. Despite being young and relatively inexperienced, she was capable of independent thinking, which allowed her to change.
• The secondary characters were rather memorable and funny. I love Freddy and Miss Lavish, and even have a soft spot for Charlotte because I fully believe that she was responsible (in her own way) for getting Lucy and George together in the end.
• I liked that traveling was identified as a means of expanding one’s worldview and character. I think that aspect of traveling sometimes gets overlooked these days, as people are more interested in simply vacationing, getting a souvenir t-shirt, or postcard printing. Italy changed Lucy in profound ways that affected the course of her life. Can you say that Disney World has a similar affect?

Disliked:

• George Emerson didn’t strike me as a decent love interest. Not because of his “class” or income, but because he was constantly brooding. He was interrupted on the verge of suicide at least twice and seemed to derive zero joy out of life. How long would Lucy be able to keep someone like that content? I’m glad she didn’t marry Cecil, but George didn’t seem like much of a prize either.
• Cecil was such a boring prig that I would have liked to have seen more of his and Lucy’s early interactions. Why did she agree to marry him in the first place? That’s kind of a mystery to me. Even though her eyes hadn’t been opened by Mr. Emerson and Charlotte yet, Lucy should have known on her own that Cecil wasn’t for her.

Rating:

I first read A Room with a View in college, and liked it so much that I even went out and bought a Baedeker’s guidebook for Florence (despite having no intention of visiting that city) just so I could be a little bit like Lucy. I don’t remember what I was enthralled with back then, but find that Lucy’s maturation is the most rewarding part of the book now. This is a character-driven novel that is worth a read even though it’s not Forster’s best. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Plot summary (from the publisher): In this fourth novel in Lisa Black’s captivating suspense series, forensic investigator Theresa MacLean finds herself embroiled in a case in which high-powered defense attorneys start turning up dead.

When Marie Corrigan, a Cleveland defense attorney with a history of falsifying evidence, is found dead at the Ritz-Carlton, most would agree that she had it coming. Before entering the crime scene, Theresa knows she’s walking into a forensic nightmare—for hotels are teeming with trace evidence. But what she finds is even worse than she imagined.

Then two more bodies show up in quick succession, and Theresa’s investigation takes on a whole new urgency as authorities suspect they have a serial killer on their hands. But as she searches for the connection between the victims, Theresa begins to fear that both she and her daughter are closer to danger than they realize. And a mother will stop at nothing to protect the life of her child.

Warning: Major spoilers below!

Liked:

• I thought the author played fair in terms of distributing clues throughout the book. Once the killer was revealed as the mother of Jenna (the raped/murdered teen whose “killer” the newly murdered defense attorneys helped set free), I was surprised but did not feel cheated in the least because the clues were there.
• The pacing of the novel was pretty good. There were a couple of boring spots, but overall the action was consistent and kept me turning the pages.
• Theresa MacLean seemed like a decent protagonist. She wasn’t a superwoman know-it-all (which I HATE). She was smart and competent, which is far more believable.
• I liked that the Rachel/William thread ended up tying in with the main plot. At first I was worried that the author was just wasting time having Theresa fret over her daughter’s new boyfriend who was accused of rape and murder as a juvenile. I thought it would simply lead to inane bickering between the characters. However, the fact that the attorneys’ deaths were directly related in the form of misguided revenge made the whole subplot worthwhile.

Disliked:

• I realize that the main character (and author) are forensic scientists, but I thought way too much time was spent going over the details of how Theresa documented the crime scene — especially when it came to Sonia Battle’s death. That scene felt like it took forever and really ground the action down to a complete halt.
• The book was a bit predictable in places. For example, the first time Rachel led Theresa up to the observation deck to meet William, I knew someone would die by falling off the building.
• The author was way too vehement in her distaste for defense attorneys. Theresa and her cop friends practically cheered the killing of Marie Corrigan, and even given a second and third chance to modify her reaction, Theresa refused to do so. Instead, she persisted in saying the world was better off without Marie in it. I found that extremely hypocritical coming from a woman who spent most of the novel worrying about the possible death of her own daughter. Hey, Theresa: Marie was someone’s daughter too, ya know.

Rating:

Defensive Wounds was my first Lisa Black novel, and based on the entertainment value I found in the book, I’m willing to give some of her other work a try. I think I read that this book was actually the fourth in a series, so maybe I’ll go back and try to read the rest in order. While Defensive Wounds brought nothing new to the table as a police procedural, it was better than a lot of similar titles I’ve read recently. I give it 3 stars out of 5.

Plot summary (from the publisher): Will Freeman may have discovered the key to dating success: If the simple fact that they were single mothers meant that gorgeous women—-women who would not ordinarily look twice at Will—-might not only be willing, but enthusiastic about dating him, then he was really onto something. Single mothers—bright, attractive, available women—thousands of them, were all over London. He just had to find them.

SPAT: Single Parents—Alone Together. It was a brilliant plan. And Will wasn’t going to let the fact that he didn’t have a child himself hold him back. A fictional two-year-old named Ned wouldn’t be the first thing he’d invented. And it seems to go quite well at first, until he meets an actual twelve-year-old named Marcus, who is more than Will bargained for…

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

• This was my first Nick Hornby novel, and I was very impressed by the writing. I especially enjoyed the witty little asides that his characters (particularly Will) were always tossing out. The way Hornby handled their internal dialogue made the characters more interesting than they were on the surface.
• I’m glad that Will and Marcus’ mom didn’t end up together (wasn’t that the route chosen by the filmmakers?). They were far too much of a mismatch and that kind of ending just screams “Hollywood”. Having Will and Marcus remain in each other’s lives while Will pursued a different woman was a sensible and believable choice.
• It was refreshing to come across a character who did nothing with his life and was completely unapologetic about it. Will had zero ambition, didn’t need any, and didn’t care what other people thought about his lifestyle (for the most part). He was the kind of guy who bought patagonia synchilla jackets and other trendy gear not because he was into outdoor sports or anything, but just for the hell of it. That’s not how I would want to live, nor would I be proud if a child of mine turned out like that. But in a novel? Sure, why not.

Disliked:

• I thought the Kurt Cobain stuff was a bit over the top — and this is coming from a former Nirvana fan. The near-constant references to Cobain (particularly in the latter half) not only dates the book, but also turned the Marcus-Ellie friendship into a boring mess.
• Speaking of boring, the author lost his way somewhere along the line and never quite found the right track again. The story starts out wonderfully, and I couldn’t wait to read about Will, Marcus, and their very odd relationship. But then the lack of a real plot became very apparent and problematic, making long stretches of the book far duller than they should have been.
• I wasn’t too keen on the apparent message Hornby seemed to be sending about conformity and fitting in. He basically (through Will) says that Marcus has to fall in line and become another sheep/slave to fashion trends if he wants to make it through school without being bullied. What a depressing and cynical outlook.

Rating:

While the main storyline in About a Boy fizzled out well before the end, I still managed to enjoy the book (at least somewhat) due to Hornby’s writing style. And since I’ve heard that this isn’t even anywhere close to his best work, I’m certainly interested in giving someone else a try. As for About a Boy, the plot goes adrift at about the midway point and turns never quite follows through on its initial promise. I give this one 3 stars out of 5.

Here are the current New York Times Bestsellers in a few of the more popular categories.

Combined Print & E-Book Fiction:
ALEX CROSS, RUN, by James Patterson
WAIT FOR YOU, by J. Lynn
THE STORYTELLER, by Jodi Picoult
GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn
SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks

Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction:
LEAN IN, by Sheryl Sandberg with Nell Scovell
PROOF OF HEAVEN, by Eben Alexander
AMERICAN SNIPER, by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, by Ben C. Carson and Candy Carson
UNTIL I SAY GOOD-BYE, by Susan Spencer-Wendel with Bret Witter

Hardcover Fiction:
THE STORYTELLER, by Jodi Picoult
GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn
ALEX CROSS, RUN, by James Patterson
A WEEK IN WINTER, by Maeve Binchy
BREAKING POINT, by C. J. Box

Hardcover Nonfiction:
LEAN IN, by Sheryl Sandberg with Nell Scovell
SUM IT UP, by Pat Summitt with Sally Jenkins
UNTIL I SAY GOOD-BYE, by Susan Spencer-Wendel with Bret Witter
KILLING KENNEDY, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
SALT SUGAR FAT, by Michael Moss

Paperback Trade Fiction:
LIFE OF PI, by Yann Martel
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, by E. L. James
WORLD WAR Z, by Max Brooks
FIFTY SHADES DARKER, by E. L. James
FIFTY SHADES FREED, by E. L. James

Paperback Mass-Market Fiction:
THE INNOCENT, by David Baldacci
DEFENDING JACOB, by William Landay
THE THIEF, by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott
SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks
YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW, by Lisa Jackson

Paperback Nonfiction:
PROOF OF HEAVEN, by Eben Alexander
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, by Ben C. Carson and Candy Carson
AMERICAN SNIPER, by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice
QUIET, by Susan Cain
DRIFT, by Rachel Maddow