Books We’ve Read Lately
Who are we kidding…we just like the way this one sounds.
Sunday, Feb. 5, 8:50 PM — Erin says:
Umm, what? Just ’cause you are in school, girly girl, doesn’t mean you should pooh-pooh the pleasure reading. Here’s my partial list of good books from the last few weeks:
* On Beauty, Zadie Smith. Her White Teeth was amazing and this one was even better. Didn’t read Autograph Man, the book she wrote in between, but On Beauty was compelling, witty, and real. Loved it. Thanks to Julie Cucchi for loaning it to me.
* West of Then, Tara Smith. Part of what seems to be my recent interest in memoirs (allegedly, this one is true) and once again, another Julie Cucchi pick. Interesting tale of a woman who grew up in Hawaii and her difficult relationship with a flighty, drug-addicted mother.
* Name All the Animals, Alison Smith. Julie, again. Another memoir, another powerful story. A young woman loses her brother, figures out her sexuality, and does it with grace, wit, and wisdom.
* A Million Little Pieces, James Frey. I know, it’s controversial. I know, it’s fabricated. I know, Oprah is pissed. Whatever. True or not, this is one of the most compelling, page-turning books I’ve ever read. I have to admit that I’m irked at Frey for lying, but I’m in awe of his writing. Glad I read it before the scandal erupted.
I’ll be back soon with more.
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 10:02 PM — Erin says:
Almost forgot Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell. This book, to a certain extent, provided some of the inspiration for this blog. Well, at least the part where I was inspired to hound Marti to get her pal to actually put up the site for us. Julie, our heroine, is in an uninspired job and facing a late-20s, early-30s midlife crisis. She decides to cook her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year and starts a blog to chronicle her progress. A witty, charming book that is a masterful meal in and of itself.