Book Buying Ban = FAIL

It is official.  I have fallen off the wagon and bought books.  I am so sorry but I just couldn't help myself.


First, I have to back and report something truly tragic:  brilliant author Jasper Fforde, creator of the Thursday Next series, was in Texas last Friday!  He appeared at a book signing at BookPeople (the world's best independent bookstore), in Austin, Texas, hipness capitol of the world (well, at any rate, south of the Mason-Dixon Line).  BUT I MISSED IT!


I did NOT find out about this amazing event until 7:30 p.m. Friday.  Jasper Fforde's appearance began at 7 p.m., and Austin is a 75-mile drive.  You do the math.  There was absolutely no way I would make it in time, much less get a wristband and actually get a book signed.  I was crushed.  I love Thursday Next.  If you have not heard of this series, here is a brief description, copied from Goodreads:


Welcome to a surreal version of Great Britain, circa 1985, where time travel is routine, cloning is a reality, (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem, militant Baconians heckle performances of Hamlet, and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection, until someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature. When Jane Eyre is plucked from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday must track down the villain and enter the novel herself to avert a heinous act of literary homicide.


It is both bizarre and brilliant, and if you're a classics lover with an open mind, you'll probably love this book.  Needless to say, I was horribly disappointed not to attend this book signing, and I had to console myself with a signed copy -- I was already planning on going to Austin on Sunday for my quarterly Jane Austen Society meeting (at which we discussed Lady Susan and ate lavender scones, which I made from scratch!)  And not only was the book signed, it came with this cool postcard (downloadable here):

So, I went to Bookpeople and succumbed to the book-buying madness.  Not only did I get Thursday Next #6, I also broke down and bought Martin Chuzzlewit -- I will get around to reading this with the online Dickens group!  I will!!  As soon as a I finish Villette and The Three Musketeers (which I'm loving, by the way).


And today I had a 40% off coupon from Borders and $10 in Borders bucks since I upgraded my membership, so the book-buying ban went by the wayside.  Of course I could have just given it to my children or husband, but where's the fun in that??  Instead I bought The Post Office Girl by Stephan Zweig, which ended up costing me about $1. I've wanted to read this since NYRB Reading Week (sadly, I did not participate, but added countless books to my TBR list).  


So how is everyone else doing with the TBR Dare?  Anyone else breaking their book-buying ban?  I was really doing well up until now -- I'd only bought ONE tiny little book at the library book sale!  Well, I'm going to do my best as long as I can hold out.  I think I need to resolve to stop adding books to the TBR list as well -- but I'd have to stop reading blogs and that's just not going to happen.  Sigh.

One Two Theme! Challenge

I swore I wouldn't sign up for any challenges other than the TBR Dare, but then I found Alexandra's challenge after linking to her blog (see -- I really do read comments and explore other people's blogs -- I find such great stuff that way!)  It sounds like a fun way to attack my TBR list. Basically, you choose your own challenges, by theme.  For the first theme, you choose one book; the second has two; the third has three; and so on.  For any theme with more than two books, at least one must be non-fiction.


Here are my themes and possible reads, mostly drawn from my TBR shelves:

1: China

Peony or East Wind, West Wind by Pearl S. Buck

The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Mildred Jung Chang

Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

2: World War II
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Berniers
A Bell for Adano by John Hersey
Few Eggs and No Oranges by Vere Hodgson (see, I knew I could sneak at least one Persephone in!)
Nella Last's War by Nella Last

3:  Food
Chez Moi by Agnes Desarthe (also France)
The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater
Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antoine Careme by Ian Kelly
Untangling My Chopsticks: A Culinary Journey through Kyoto by Victoria Abbott Riccardi
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Chef by Jaspreet Singh

4:  France
My Life in France by Julia Child
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant

The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Perfume From Provence by Lady Winifred Fortescue
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser
Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik
Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or The Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
The Drinking Den or Germinal by Emile Zola

In other words, I need to read (at least) one book about China, two about WWII, three about food, and four about France.  I feel like my themes aren't particularly original but the whole point is to find a reason to work on the owned-and-unread pile.

So, bloggers, what do you think?  Good choices?  Any recommendations?  Anything that will help me whittle down my unread book pile is a good thing, right?  And how is everyone else doing on the TBR dare?

TBR Readathon Results and TBR Dare Update

So, there was a TBR Readathon over the weekend (hosted by Unputdownables)  and I did my best.  W hat was I thinking, signing up for a Readathon the same weekend as my book groups, the Superbowl, and the Latin competition???  Seriously.  After my good start on Saturday with about 250 pages read, I kept falling asleep reading on Sunday.  But perhaps it was my reading material.  I did eventually make some progress, but it seemed like the whole day was bits and pieces of this and that.  Here's my final results for the weekend:

• Farewell Leicester Square by Betty Miller -- read about 2/3, approximately 230 pages
• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry -- completed, about 150 pages
• Villette by Charlotte Bronte-- 49 pages (still more than 500 to go!)
• The Virago Book of Ghost Stories -- completed, read about 100 pages over the weekend

I guess it's not a bad total for a weekend, but nowhere near what I was hoping and not nearly as much as last spring -- I did finish two novellas and an enormous graphic novel, but I guess I can't compare that.  Next Readathon I want to book a hotel room and read all weekend.  And order room service! (Well, I can dream, can't I?)

And as for my TBR Dare Challenge -- I've completed 16 books so far this year, of which three were rereads.  Of those,  seven were books from my TBR shelves, which isn't bad. It's approximately 50% of my reads which is what I was hoping for.  Last year I completed about 130 books, and only 28 were unread books from my own shelves -- approximately 22% owned books versus library books read!   I'd love to read ONLY from my shelves this year, but I just know it won't happen.  Between book groups and volunteering at the library, I am constantly assaulted by the temptation of books.

Regarding the book-buying ban, I've been pretty strong.  I've been to bookstores several times since January 1 and not purchased anything for myself (presents for others do not count.  And I am NOT buying books for myself and pretending they're presents, I swear.)  My one digression so far was at the library's book sale last week -- I found a tiny little Trollope that I just could not resist!  It is a 1950 edition of Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite, in a cute little pocket size, from Oxford University Press.  It was only $1 and I felt the need to make an exception for Trollope -- seriously, could you blame me?

And how did everyone else do over the weekend?  Lots of books crossed off the TBR list?  And is anyone else trying a book-buying ban, and have you been successful so far?

TBR Readathon Update 1

Sunday morning already and I didn't post any updates yesterday.  What I thought would be a quiet day reading was not so much.  Not only did I have my classics discussion group yesterday, it was also the Jane Austen Book Group, and it was movie day.  I had originally planned on staying only a little while since I wasn't optimistic about the movie adapation -- fittingly, The Jane Austen Book Club, which I read and reviewed (briefly) last month.  Despite the changes made by the filmmakers, I quite enjoyed it.  And of course since it's held at the library, I had to stay afterward and help clean up and ended up chatting with my librarian friends. . . it was 2:30 by the time I got home!

Then at 4:30, it was off to the high school for the awards from the annual Latin competition.  My daughter is in the eighth grade, but her class is high-school Latin so they were allowed to compete.  She had a lot of fun but the awards were delayed which meant a long wait in a loud gymnasium with uncomfortable bleachers. . . I did bring a book, naturally, but it was hardly optimal reading conditions.  When we finally got home I did get some reading done after dinner. Here's what I got finished:

1.  Finished A Raisin in the Sun for the classics discussion -- about 100 pages, but it's a play and it was really fast.

2.  Finished the audio book of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day -- I only had a couple of chapters, and I finished it easily while driving to and from the library.  I read it last year but I'd always wanted to listen to the audio version, narrated by Frances McDormand who played Miss P. in the movie adaptation.

3.  Read three more stories from The Virago Book of Ghost Stories, about 40 pages -- I only have one story left and it's finished.  The final unread story is The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell.  For some reason I've been avoiding it, I'm not sure why because I love Gaskell.  I guess I'm saving the best for last.

4.  Started a new Persphone Book, Farewell Leicester Square -- I made some real progress, 109 pages!  I know I posted earlier I was going to read Flush, but I grabbed this one instead.  I joined the Persephone Reading Group on Goodreads and this is the February read.  (Last month was Few Eggs and No Oranges which is more than 600 pages, and I haven't even opened it.  I'll try to get to it in time for Persephone Reading Weekend).

So -- I still haven't tackled Villette but I did read about 250 pages total.  Not bad for a Saturday when I was actually out and about since I couldn't lock myself in a room and read all day.  I hope to get more reading done today since I don't really watch the Superbowl!

TBR Readathon

It's a Readathon weekend hosted by Wallace at Unputdownables, and it's the perfect opportunity to complete a few books off my TBR shelves.  I do have a book group meeting tomorrow, but I should have lots of time to get some serious reading done.  Here are some of my choices: 

From top to bottom:

1.  A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry -- my book group selection for tomorrow -- I'd better get this one done tonight! 

2.  The Virago Book of Ghost Stories -- I started this one last week during Virago Reading week, and I only have five more stories left.  Should be an easy one to finish. 

3.  Flush by Virginia Woolf -- it's short, it's a Persephone (though not this particular edition) and Amanda from The Zen Leaf chose it for me as part of our reading swap.

4.  Mrs. Craddock by W. Somerset Maugham -- because I'm in the mood for some Maugham.  The Painted Veil is one of my favorites and I was tempted to check out some Maugham today while I was volunteering at the library.  But I was strong and resisted -- got to work on my own shelves first! 

5. Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer.  I have a whole shelf of nonfiction books and I love animal stories.  I've been thinking about elephants since I went to the zoo the other day (it was in the 70s on Monday -- and today we had a snow day!  Go figure.) 

6.  Villette by Charlotte Bronte -- Not the whole thing!  Just about 30 pages for this week's Readlong entry.  I'm behind already! 

7.  Love and Kisses and a Halo of Truffles: Letters to Helen Evans Brown by James Beard.  This is one of the books on my TBR shelf I've owned longest, so I really want to make some progress.  I started this volume of letters the other night, and I don't know if I'd want to read the entire thing straight through but it's fun to read a few at a time.  It's all about food and recipes so it makes me really hungry. 

So -- is anyone else participating?  What are you reading?  I'll try and post updates but it'll only be once or twice a day.  

Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber

Crescent is one of the many books that have been filling up my TBR shelf for years, staring at me every time I walk by with a library book. I finally picked this one up since it's on the pile of the books I've owned the longest -- more than six years of being schlepped from house to house.

I think the fact that I've owned this book for so long, I really, really wanted it to be good.  I read more than 100 pages and I just wasn't in love with it, but I still forced myself to finish it.  I hate to admit defeat.  And yet, if I finish a book I didn't like, I get really annoyed with myself for wasting the time on it. I am at best ambivalent about this book.  I'm not sorry I read it, but I can't say I recommend it either.

This is the story of Sirine, a 39-year-old chef who has never found true love.  She is blond and beautiful and half Iraqi, and her parents died when she was 10, leaving her to be raised by her Iraqi uncle.  She doesn't know much about her heritage except through her cooking, which is wonderful.  Many men flock to her because of her looks and culinary talent, but she drifts from man to man.  In Crescent, Sirine may find true love with Hanif, a mysterious Iraqi scholar and friend of her uncle.  There are other men in the story, including the flirtatious Aziz, a renowned poet; and Nathan, a photographer with a lot of emotional baggage.

I think the problem with this book is that it may have been overly ambitious -- just too many elements that didn't seem to come together at the end.  There's the love story between Sirine and Hanif; the big mystery about Hanif's past; Nathan's erratic behavior; Sirine's quest to learn more about her Iraqi roots; et cetera, et cetera.  Plus, lots of descriptions of food, since Sirine is an amazing chef.  And did I mention every chapter begins with an excerpt of a tale told to Sirine by her uncle?  There's a lot going on here, probably too much.  For me, the book lost focus.

The biggest flaw I found in the book were the characters -- honestly, they just weren't all that interesting.  Sirine, the heroine, is 39, a fabulous cook, and beautiful.  That's pretty much all I can say about her.  Oh, and she still lives with her uncle, which is weird since she's nearly 40, and of course, because she is so stunning, many men fall in love with her, but she doesn't seem to get attached to any of them.  Her parents died when she was young so I guess that is the reason why.  Plus, there were some plot elements that were quite obvious and contrived, and the ending seemed tacked on.

Maybe beautiful characters don't really need that much development or back story.  But seriously, umpteen descriptions of her beautiful blond curly hair are not a substitute for character development.  Within the first couple of chapters, Sirine has multiple men falling all over themselves to be with her, often at the same time.  Frankly, this bores me.  I'd much rather read about flawed, well-rounded characters that aren't so pretty.

There were a few elements of this book that I did like.  The writing is pretty good, and I did rather like the recurring story told by Sirine's uncle.  That was the most interesting thing in the book, and I wish the author had just stuck to that.

TBR Update and Two Book Group Selections

Well, we're into the second week of the New Year, and I've already fallen off the TBR wagon -- I came home from vacation with three library books to read for my real-life library discussion groups!  Maybe I should say that I haven't even gotten on the TBR wagon yet, because I had already committed to these.  I really could not bear to schlep three hard-cover library books in my carry-on luggage, and I wouldn't have had time for them anyway. Besides, when I first committed, book group selections were the exception.  Yes.  That is my story, and I'm sticking to it.

And now I must admit to another small transgression -- the no-buying book-ban for three months.  Sigh.  I was not going to purchase any new books for three months, until April 1.  However (hangs head in shame) I did put in a purchase for some new Persephones on January 1, so I guess I've broken that rule already.  But I do think I have a pretty good excuse -- I got some Christmas money that I really wanted to spend on Persephones, and I seriously didn't have time to purchase the books safely before January 1.  I was a little squeamish about making an online purchase at a public computer at my hotel, and I had so little time with family I didn't want to be rude and start shopping on my sister's computer.  So I was delayed slightly.  Internet security is a good excuse, isn't it?  Oh, I hope I can forgive myself.  I will extend my book-buying ban until April 2 as punishment.  I promise.

As far as the library book-checkout ban goes -- I only checked out three books, and all of them were allowed according to my previous rules:  one of them, Eleanor and Franklin: An Extraordinary Marriage, had been on hold before the ban started (of three total) and two were book group selections.  One is a play, A Raisin in the Sun, and the other is a reread, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

So -- I reviewed my first book group selection, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, in yesterday's post, so I'm quickly going to mention the other two.  The first one was Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey.  Yes, a Western!  My first authentic Western, for my classics book group.  But I just could not get through it.  I read about 84 pages and I really had no desire to go on.  I know book groups are about expanding your horizons, getting out of your comfort zone, etc., but I got really bored with the endless descriptions of canyons.  It seemed extremely predictable, and I felt like I'd expanded my horizons enough for one week with Oscar Wao.  So that was one abandoned book I can cross off my to-read list forever.  I felt a little bad because I was the one who suggested it, but life is too short.

Instead, I did pick up the selection for my other book group selection, The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler. Yes, three book group meetings in one week!  That's just the way it turned out because of the schedule.  Usually it's one the first week of the month and two the second.  I don't always read the selection for our Jane Austen book club, but I was cranky one day and needed something easy to read during lunch.  I had actually read this book several years ago when it first came out, and was disappointed.  I did like it much better on the second reading.  I don't know what I was expecting the first time around, but I got so much more out of it this time.  It's not a straight sequel or retelling of a Jane Austen novel, and I really liked that.

The book club has six members and six monthly meetings, and the novel is really six intertwining stories which are loosely related to a Jane Austen novel.  It took me a little time to figure out the connections, and I liked that.  I think the author did a good job of not making it a literal reinterpretation.  Plus there was a lot of background and quotes about Jane Austen, which I also enjoyed.  Our group is supposed to watch the movie adaptation next month, but I'm not as interested in that because I've heard there were a lot of changes from the novel -- plus some of the actors are much too young which changes the whole dynamic of the book, and I find that irritating.

So -- on to the TBR challenge now that I've crossed the book club selections off the month's reading list. I've already started Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber, which I've owned since 2004.  It's starting out slowly but I'll give it time.