Stacia's books

3.5 stars. An entertaining riff on the McCarthy era told in letters, articles, & telegrams by characters both real & imagined (& who are mostly located in Paris). Quite fun. If you enjoyed the movie "Midnight in Paris" (a complete gem of a film), you may get a kick out of this book. Different time period but a similar vibe.

A brutal novella of a murderous couple. Perhaps an Argentinian form of "Natural Born Killers"? One extreme act is just the beginning of the descent. Oddly compelling.

I planned to read this twice: First time in the 'normal' chapter order (chapters 1-56); second time using the 'hopscotch' order (starts with chapter 73, then 'hopscotches' through the 56 chapters read previously along with many additional chapters that are not included in the 'normal' linear reading). In reality, I finished the normal order reading, plus a chunk of the hopscotch order.

At this point, I think I just have to set Hopscotch aside for the foreseeable future. I feel like I've been wading through it forever & still have a long way to go. I'm just not into it anymore (at least at this point)....

A few thoughts...

Reading it in the 'normal' order: It's a dense read w/ many references that probably whizzed right past me. Parts were good, the prose is gorgeous (sometimes), & I loved the few ending chapters. But, overall, I didn't like any of the characters & didn't really care for the story (not really much of a plot). It has a rather pessimistic view on life, imo. I'm so-so on the novel in that version.

Reading it in the 'hopscotch' order: It's still a dense read, but more interesting w/ the extra chapters interspersed. I can really appreciate the talent needed to create a book that can be read in various orders & still have some semblance of sense. It reminds me of all the little details in a surrealist painting by Dali -- so many little pieces & touches to make it one picture or a different one depending on how you view it. Really it takes a massive amount of skill, dare I say genius, to pull it off correctly. So, I see the beauty of the structure. I love the beauty of the structure. I also like that flipping to the various chapters in the hopscotch order actually interrupts your reading flow enough that you have a few extra seconds to mull over what you just read while you're searching for the next section. The slight mental breaks work wonderfully within this framework. However, I still don't like the characters & I still don't like the story. And, really, why does it bug me that these folks are in their 40s & behaving these ways? I don't know, but it does; it seems like they're acting like 'intellectual' & pretentious 20-somethings, but it gives me a different view to find that at least some of them are in their 40s during this story. So, though I love the structure, the framework, it's just not enough to keep me compelled to read. Total between both readings (the completed 'normal' order & partially completed 'hopscotch' order), I've probably read over 500 pages. I feel like I have a lot invested in the book but that I'm not getting much in return at this point. Shrug.

So, I'll have to call it a partial success with very cool execution, but not a story that I like.

Capote is a master of American writing....

2.5 stars. Parts of the book were relatively interesting, but I think the overall narrative suffered because of the author's meandering, jumpy style (along w/ the fact that she often had pretty stringent political asides about "current" politics -- current for the time of the book's writing, i.e., the presidency of George W. Bush -- which, imo, would turn off some readers).

Fabulous historical fiction taking place in Sweden in the late 1700s (around the time of the French Revolution). Though I thought I could see where the story was going very early on (& I was worried it might not be too engrossing if I could already see big plot points), I was pleasantly surprised as the novel took some unexpected turns, taught me about various topics (some Swedish history, the history of fans, etc...), & kept me enthralled until the end. Definitely recommended, especially for fans of historical fiction.

I liked this book because it embraces a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle (something that is not covered in so many diet/health books). Also, I think she does a great job at explaining (in layman's terms) why eating certain things are good or bad for you, how your body processes different things, etc.... A really good basic text for learning why you need to eat better.

A caveat -- sometimes, her conversational style (while usually a great way to convey info) veered into hip/teenager-style speak, other times into sailor-speak (aka swearing). It didn't really bother me, but I think it might turn off some. Also, her pages about the 21-day cleanse are definitely aimed specifically for females, though the nutritional background & info that are the bulk of the book are great info for anyone.

A gripping, gritty, immediate, darkly funny, & disturbing tale of life in modern-day Karachi. Hanif tackles some big issues (horrific treatment of women, role of men, violence, castes, religion, medical care or lack thereof,...) & presents them in a very real, touching, sometimes funny, sometimes ironic, sometimes horrifying, & eye-opening manner. Sadly, I think Hanif has probably painted a fairly realistic portrait of daily life for many in similar situations to the main characters. Definitely worth reading if just to open your eyes to lives that may be quite different from what you know.

Ahhhhh. Big happy sigh. What a wonderful & enchanting little book. Simply delightful.

3.5 stars. An odd & fairly riveting mix of innocence & fun amid the macabre & inhumane. It's also a fascinating study of being civilized vs. uncivilized (in respect to children vs. adults, 'civilized' folks vs. pirates, etc...), moral vs. amoral, & thoughts/perceptions vs. reality. It can be read as an entertaining tale or as something deeper with plenty to chew on.... Definitely not a kids' tale, rather a tale of kids & pirates for adults.

3.5 stars. A lovely written version of oral histories of NW Coast tribes (of North America); the histories (herstories) have been kept & passed on through women in this matriarchal society. The tales range from origin stories to modern-day musings/retellings of the importance of keeping knowledge alive by sharing the wisdom. Enlightening, uplifting, & heartbreaking at the same time. It's like you are listening to someone speak, but through your eyes.

Stream-of-consciousness writings of 21 year-old American Sally Jay having fun & frolicking in 1958 Paris on her uncle's dime. Plenty of adventures, gossip, falling in & out of love on a whim, mishaps, & interesting people. A light, airy read & a pleasant way to spend time reading a book....

Certainly a quick, easy, mindless read. I don't normally read this style book & I'm not the type to try to figure out mysteries ahead of time, but I figured out various parts of this plot ahead of time. It's ok if you're looking for entertainment of the action movie variety....

3.5 stars. Filled with lovely prose & luscious descriptions, "The Twelve Rooms of the Nile" is an intricately-researched historical fiction novel. I thoroughly enjoyed Shomer's detailed depictions of both Florence Nightingale & Gustave Flaubert, as well as her gorgeous descriptions of Egypt itself. Seemingly, quite a few people have enjoyed the sections about Nightingale more than the ones about Flaubert; I have the opposite opinion -- I enjoyed the parts about Flaubert & sometimes felt slightly vexed at Nightingale's intermittent whiny attitude. Shomer's writing is lovely & complex (at times more of an extended character sketch than much of a plot).... Recommended especially for lovers of historical fiction &/or Victorian-style travelogues in exotic locales.

The edition (which I got from the library) is a lovely one. It has black & white photographs throughout that are historic photos of San Francisco in 1928, showing locations as Sam Spade would have seen them. Love it! (Published by North Point Press, ISBN 0-86547-156-8/cloth, 0-86547-157-6/paper).

This is the classic noir detective novel to which others aspire. Worth the adulation.

Again, I have to point out that the version I read (published by North Point Press) is just amazing -- filled with period black & white photos of San Francisco locations that are in the novel. The "On the Photographs" section in the rear of the book gives lots of detail about the research that went into finding the photos, determining a timeline for The Maltese Falcon, & specific info about every photo included. Kudos to North Point Press! They deserve huge praise for such a gorgeous, neat edition of an American classic.

This is not my normal reading fare, but I picked it up as part of a Dewey Decimal Reading Challenge (000s). So far, I'm finding it to be an entertaining look at conspiracy theories around the JFK assassination. I saw Oliver Stone's JFK movie so long ago (& don't remember many specific details about it), but this book somehow reminds me of the Stone movie....

Update: I finished the book & found it somewhat funny & entertaining. The JFK conspiracy stuff was mostly nothing new to me; I'm not as familiar with the various alien theories out there, so some of that info was new to me. Belzer covers various conspiracy theories, makes plenty of cynical/snide/funny interjections, & includes a bibliography of his source materials. Relatively fun if you're looking for a quick, easy overview of JFK & alien conspiracy info. (Isn't that kind of thing on everyone's reading list? LOL.)

P.S. I'm giving it two stars because, while it was fun & easy to read, it's not like it's high literature or anything. Hope the aliens don't abduct me or the Men in Black show up at my door for saying so....