À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for September.

Bought:

  • Iodine, by Haven Kimmel*
  • Indignation, by Philip Roth*
  • Home, by Marilynne Robinson*
  • Ballistics, by Billy Collins (poetry)*
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson*
  • Generation Kill; Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War, by Evan Wright
  • One Bullet Away; The Making of a Marine Officer, by Nathaniel Fick

Read:
  • The Man Without Qualities, Vol 1, by Robert Musil (mostly read in August but not finished until Sept…)
  • Dead Boys, by Richard Lange
  • Sway, by Zachary Lazar
  • Iodine, by Haven Kimmel

*That was one expensive trip to the bookstore!!

Best of August

The best movie I saw in August would have to be the ONLY movie I saw in August which is ridiculous and pathetic but that’s something for a different post, eh? Yeah, so anyway, that’d be Wall-E, which was fine but animation isn’t really my thing.

The best book I read in August was The Likeness by Tana French. It’s somewhat of a sequel but you don’t really need to have read the earlier book to enjoy it; different main character.

The best gig I went to in August was Great Lake Swimmers.

My favorite tunes in August were the songs that wound up on my current favorite playlists.

Random personal highlights: (Only) one day at Lollapalooza (this time around); Silvia came to Chicago two weekends in a row! Woot!; Hot Doug’s with Cinnamon. I actually went to KIP twice, if you can even believe that. And then there was this little thing I went to called Dragon*Con (which also encompassed a week long trip to Georgia to crash the Happy Pants home).

Lowlights? I don’t know, looking back it seems like it was a fairly decent month. Maybe bursting into uncontrollable tears about 15 minutes after meeting my crush? Fun times (poor Carrie and Cat).

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am…

Eating: Complete crap. If it has a gajillion calories and absolutely no nutritional value, then I’m eatin it.

Making: Nothing really. Not right this second anyway.

Reading: “Sway” by Robert Lazar, a fictionalized account of the convergence of the Rolling Stones and Charles Manson. Just started today. Good so far. Kinda dreamy/druggy.

Watching: Just a few days into the week and I’m way behind (I was out of town! Get off my back, man!). Have only watched this week’s episodes of Gossip Girl (I love Vanessa and Nate together!!) and Fringe (I like this show more than anyone else. But it’s pure Pacey love); DVR also has latest eps of Terminator, The Closer, two eps of The Cleaner, and I think there was something else also to catch up on. Uh oh. Really need to go see Tropic Thunder THIS WEEK. Can I manage it?

Listening to: Band of Horses. I hadn’t listened to them in awhile and they were SO FUCKING GOOD at Monolith this weekend. Ethereal and spooky and yet rocking.

Japanese Crime Novels

recommended by Becky (no, not you Becky, my cousin Rebecca Becky):

  • “The Salaryman’s Wife” by Sujata Massey
  • “All She Was Worth” by Miyuki Miyabe
  • “Out” by (Natsuo Kirino? I think)

Books to Think About

I greatly enjoyed the two Tana French novels (1, 2) I read based on Jessica Lee Jernigan’s sidebar recommendations.

Here are two other comments she has up right now that I want to remember to check out.

What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn
JLJ: Spooky, funny, harrowing, heartbreaking. One of the best books I’ve read in awhile.

Prince of Annwn by Evangeline Walton
JLJ: I am almost always horribly, horribly disappointed in fantasy novels. But, so far, I’m enjoying this one.

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for August.

Bought:

  • The Likeness, by Tana French
  • I Was Told There’d Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley
  • Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer
  • Darkest Fear, by Harlan Coben

Read:
  • The Likeness, by Tana French
  • Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer
  • Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There, ed. by Jason T. Eberl
  • Unmentionables, by Beth Ann Fennelly (poetry)
  • Break In, by Dick Francis (re-read, many times over)
  • Bolt, by Dick Francis (re-read, many times over)
  • The Hob’s Bargain, by Patricia Briggs

Fantasy: The Hob’s Bargain, by Patricia Briggs

Another – typically as you might expect from who the author is – completely entertaining, engrossing fantasy novel.

Dear Ms. Briggs,
Every book of yours I read just breaks my heart a little bit more than the last one. The characters are so enticing; smart and funny and strong and so many other things that you wish people were in your real life. I just want their stories to go on and on and on…
Seriously,
I want to marry Kith, do you know a real him for me?,
Duff.

Finally.

I think this is the best (baking) cookbook review I’ve ever read.

I’m so OVER stupid people going on and on about how hard things are. Or patronizing, say for random example, SHITTY bakeries that sell SHITTY TASTING BLAND AND STUPID cupcakes* and oohing and aahing over them because good lord cupcakes are just sooooo hard to make FROM SCRATCH.

People are idiots. I’m so over them. Baking is a stress reliever. Just ask Maida Heatter.

*If you’ve ever walked to my apartment, I THINK YOU KNOW THE SOURCE OF THIS FRUSTRATION.

YA/Fantasy: Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer

The fourth in the sparkly vampire series, I really struggled to get through this one. Not that I didn’t finish it the same day I started, but that I found myself very annoyed with it early on and really pushed through only because I just HAD to know how it ended.

The first three I whipped through in a weekend and found them exhilarating and entertaining DESPITE the sloppy writing. So perhaps I had a harder time with this one because I wasn’t already on Bella’s emotional rollercoaster when I started. Whatever the reason, there were a number of things I just found too ludicrous here to really enjoy. But I sort of wondered going in if that would be the case.

As an adult, I can see all the weaknesses. As a teenager, I’m sure I would have [purposely] completely overlooked them and been swept right along.