Just What the Librarian Ordered

Although I read quite a bit, it's not everyday that I find a book that I enjoy so much I can't put it down, but yet don't want it to end. I am always getting asked by patrons for Emily Giffin's books, so I decided to see what the fuss was all about. Giffin would be considered "chick lit," which I enjoy, but really good chick lit doesn't come along every day. Something Borrowed is Giffin's first novel, and in my book, qualifies as really good chick lit. I was hooked from the very beginning. The main character Rachel, is facing her thirtieth birthday and is still single. On the night of her birthday party, she ends up sleeping with her best friend Darcy's fiance, Dexter. Now, I'm not usually sympathetic to characters who do this sort of thing, so I thought I might end up hating the book. But it turns out that Darcy has not always been that great of a friend to Rachel, and I actually ended up rooting for Rachel. With the wedding date approaching, Rachel finally delivers an ultimatum to Dexter: call off the wedding or their relationship is over. Usually I can predict the ending to this type of novel right away, but I will be honest-I truly wasn't sure which way things would go until the very end, which is refreshing. Rachel does start to verge on the I'm-truly-happy-now-that-I've-found-someone-character ("I feel freer with Dex than I ever did when I was single. I feel more myself with him than without."). Barf. If there had been much more of that, I wouldn't have been able to tolerate it. But it's a good story with a satisfying ending.

Giffin has three more novels, Something Blue, Baby Proof and Love the One You're With, which I will definitely be reading. I will have to pace myself though, and save her books for when I desperately need a good relaxing read. They are sure winners.

The White Mary

When I read a review in Publisher's Weekly of Kira Salak's novel, The White Mary, that described it as a blend of Heart of Darkness and Tomb Raider, I knew I had to read it (Laura Croft is awesome!). Although I enjoyed the book, I did not see any resemblance to Tomb Raider. More Heart of Darkness, but unfortunately, no Laura Croft. The main character, Marika Vecera, is a journalist who has covered many of the most dangerous places on earth. When the journalist who inspired her career choice, Robert Lewis, supposedly commits suicide, she sets off for Papua New Guinea to investigate a claim that Lewis was seen alive in the remote jungle. Marika spends weeks trekking through the dangerous jungle, battling leeches, swarms of mosquitoes, and dysentery. When she finally finds Lewis alive, she attempts to understand the reasons for his staged suicide.


This is Salak's first novel, however she was the first woman to traverse Papua New Guinea, which she wrote about in her nonfiction account, Four Corners: One Woman's Solo Journey Into the Heart of Papua New Guinea. She draws on that experience to create the great detail found in this novel. Her descriptions of the jungle were exceptional and I really got a great sense of the location and Marika's struggle to beat the jungle. Papua New Guinea is not a place many people know much about, so I enjoyed reading about the people and how they live. Salak is a talented writer and I enjoyed the novel so much that I picked up Four Corners.

Correction

Michelle Watters of Flapart (mentioned in yesterday's post), informed me that the website's shopping cart provider had a default of $20 for international shipping. She informed me that this was a mistake. International shipping charges are $8.50 for one cover and $10.50 anything more than that. The website should be fixed to reflect the correct charges.

Cover Art

Do you ever find yourself peeking at other people's books to see what they are reading? I do it all the time. I like to keep up with what people are reading. And I like to silently gloat to myself when I see someone reading something I have already read ("Eat, Pray, Love? I read that months ago. That is sooo last year!"). What if you saw someone reading How to Murder a Complete Stranger and Get Away With It? Don't worry-it's not a real title. It's Flapart. Michelle Waters came up with the idea of creating "misleading reading" book covers when her husband said "wouldn't it be funny if you were sitting on the subway reading a book and on the front cover it said, How to Murder a Complete Stranger and Get Away with It? Imagine what people around you would think." She has created many amusing book covers that run about $6 each, that should make the person sitting next to you on the airplane look twice. I think this could add some amusement to my vacation next month.* Some of my favorites:
Do-It Yourself Dentistry
How to Impersonate an Engineer
How to Steal From Your Neighbor and Get Away With It

*I just tried to order a few of these covers. It seems that the company is based in Canada and charges a $20 international shipping charge to anyone outside Canada. For a $5.99 product? No thanks! Too bad.

Warner Brothers Ruins November

I think November is a great month. The weather is getting cooler and the air smells crisp and fresh. We watch football games, rake leaves and eat pumpkin pie. And many of us look forward to the release of the latest Harry Potter film. But Warner Brothers has decided to ruin November this year by delaying the premier of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince from November until July 2009! Fox News has tried to suggest that the delay was triggered by Daniel Radcliffe's nude appearance in a Broadway play, which Warner Brothers doesn't want tarnishing the "virginal" image of Harry Potter. But alas, the delay seems to be driven by money. The studio claims it is still trying to recover from the prolonged writers' strike and a summer release of the movie will boost its box office potential. I think this is a terrible thing to do to the fans. We have been eagerly anticipating this movie for months, especially since we have no more books to look forward to. Warner Brothers is not hurting for money and this movie will be a success at the box office, no matter when it is released. But because the studio thinks it can make a few more bucks for their already overpaid executives, we have to wait another 8 months! Thanks for ruining November for me, Warner Brothers. Lame, really really lame.

This Land is Their Land

When Barbara Ehrenreich published Nickle and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, it was a real eye-opener for me. Of course, I was younger then and more naive, but I totally ate it up. Bait and Switch: The Futile Pursuit of the American Dream was good, but it didn't affect me like Nickle and Dimed. Maybe I was just more jaded by then. But I enjoy her writing, so I was eagerly awaiting the audio version of her latest book, This Land is Their Land: Reports From a Divided Nation. I don't usually listen to nonfiction on audio (for me, nonfiction requires more attention than what I usually give to audiobooks), but the book is narrated by Cassandra Campbell, who is one of my favorite narrators and I figured I would be hanging on her every word.

The book consists of several essays that cover what is wrong with America-mainly the growing gap between the rich and the poor. The essays are interesting and timely and have a touch of sarcastic wit to them. One of my favorite book bloggers, Citizen Reader, reviewed this book as well and I agree with her that the collection feels hastily put together. Some of it felt like just a reiteration of what she has said in her other books. Citizen Reader suggests Deer Hunting With Jesus: Dispatches From America's Class War by Joe Bageant as a better read, so I think I'll give it a try.

The Golden Compass

I had not read Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass before it was made into a movie. I liked the movie, but was still confused by a few aspects of the story. When I was told by two different people that the audio version of the book was outstanding, I thought I would give it a listen. The book is narrated by a full cast and is absolutely outstanding. (Although they should have used Ian McKellen as the voice of Iorek Byrnison, as they did in the movie.) I'm not going to even try to sum up the story here-there is just too much going on. But Wikipedia has a good summary, if you aren't familiar with the story. For a children's book, the story is complex, with many characters and complicated concepts (I'm still confused about Dust). This is a wonderful story to listen to, and something the whole family can enjoy during a long car ride.