Snooki Vs. People Who Read: A Venn Diagram

 

Books I Wish I Read As A Kid

Let me preface this post by telling you I read a lot as a kid; I was all about Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl, The Babysitter's Club Series and The Borrowers. But as an adult looking back I realize there are a few key titles I wish I'd read when I were small:

1. Little Women (Alcott): This seems to be a childhood favorite among many and I have yet to read it. Although I do have it lined up for my classics challenge for a children's classic.

2. Ramona and Beezus (Cleary): I took my 5 year old niece to see this movie and we both loved it.

3. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (Blume): This is probably the most popular banned book in the children's genre. I never read any Blume.

4. The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis): By the looks of the movies, I think I would have enjoyed the books.

5. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis): Another classic I missed.

6. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs (Barrett): Another movie I saw with my niece that was adorable.

7. Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery): I feel like this is right up there with Little Women.

8. A Winkle in Time (L'Engle): A fantasy book I think I would have liked as a kid.

9. Le Petit Prince (Saint-Exupery): I read this as an adult in French, but I think I would have appreciated more as a child.

10. Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt): Again, I liked the movie and would have enjoyed the book as a kid.

*The above photo is me and my sister circa 1989. I'm the one wearing the rockin' yellow suspenders.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

Dreaming of Baghdad by Haifa Zangana

Haifa Zangana was a young woman in Iraq during the Baath regime as led my Saddam Hussein in the 1970's. As an activist who recognized the catastrophic potential of this regime, Zangana became as resister who was eventually captured. Dreaming of Baghdad is the true story of Haifa Zangana's imprisonment and torture in Abu Ghraib.

I was hoping to learn more about the Baath Party and the organized opposition that Haifa Zangana was a part of, but the book focuses on her imprisonment and her memories of growing up in Iran. It is also an account of her struggles with these memories after she is released and her yearning to return to the Baghdad she knew as a young child; a city that had celebrated it's new found freedom from British rule and lauded openness; a city that has changed so dramatically that the place Zangana remembers is one that no longer exists.

On a personal level, writing this book in the 1980's was my way to gain courage to look at the past, record it, examine it's values and mistakes, and to recapture its happy memories. In the process I liberated myself from the pain, sadness, disappointment, shattered dreams and obsession with the past. Writing helped me to return to the present, to celebrate life without fear, and to regain joy and human feeling.

The author notes that Dreaming of Baghdad may be the first published book written by an Iranian woman that details the the experience of imprisonment and struggle against the Baath regime. I think that fact alone should make this a book many people should read.

Publisher: The Feminist Press, 2009

Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann

Quite simply, this book is what I consider to be a masterpiece. It won the National Book Award in 2009 which means a lot has been said about this book. It's been featured on other blogs and has been reviewed by important newspapers. Most of these outlets have written about this book more eloquently and more intelligently than I could. So I direct you to the above links, but I will say this: Colum McCann's Let The Great World Spin is a book that I will recommend over and over again to readers who appreciate literary fiction. It is a book that explores the human condition and our connection to each other and the world in such a beautiful and truthful way and I will not forget it for a long time.

Publisher: Random House, 2009

Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence Read-Along

Beth over at Bookworm Meets Bookworm is hosting The Age of Innocence Read-Along and I just signed up! The Age of Innocence won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921. Until now I've only read Wharton's Ethan Frome and I'm excited to tackle another one of her titles.

The read-along will be split into two parts - Book One and Book Two - and will take place from February 2nd to March 2nd. There will be a post for each section:

If you are interested in participating (and I think you should!) you can sign up at Bookworm Meets Bookworm.

Let The Great World Spin: First Impressions

I am currently about half-way though Colum McCann's Let The Great World Spin and I'm blown away. First of all, the book is nothing what I expected it to be. I thought it was a fictional take of the true story of the French acrobat who walked across the gap between the twin towers on a tightrope in 1974. While the story includes this tightrope walker, I would hardly call him a major character. Rather, his story is what seems to be the connecting thread joining McCann's other characters together. Secondly, this novel is composed of so many truths that relate to me that I can't help but love every word. It's full of so many layers I am already planning to reread it.

In short, I am finding Let The Great World Spin to be altogether brilliant and I don't want it to end. I'm going to savor this one.

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger

The Night Bookmobile was originally published as a series of installments in the London Guardian. In 2010 it was published in its entirety as a book. Ever since I read the first few installments of The Night Bookmobile in The Guardian I've wanted to get my hands on this book. Then my wonderful sister bought it for me for Christmas and I have been saving it for a cozy night.

I've been a fan of Audrey Niffenegger since The Time Traveler's Wife, a novel that I really love. After reading Her Fearful Symmetry I knew that Niffenegger wouldn't disappoint me. The Night Bookmobile is not less magical than her earlier works. The book centers on one woman who comes across a bookmobile late at night. After stepping inside she soon discovers that this bookmobile houses everything she has ever read.

This is a story that book lovers can appreciate. It's fun and nostalgic, but includes a dark twist that is consistent with Nifenergger's work. It touches on the solitude that comes along with reading and what one gives up to continually read. It also explores the magic of books themselves - the deliciousness that is holding a book in your hands, petting the spine and turning the pages - and the enjoyment of revisiting books from our past. It highlights the idea that what we read makes us the people we become.

This is a short graphic novel so if you come across it, I'd suggest taking 30 minutes out of your day to read it. It's worth it.

Publisher: Abrams, 2010

New Books Make Me Happy

You know what makes me even happier than new books? New books that are half-off. Which is why Half Price Books will forever be my happy place. The loot:

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton: I picked this one up for my classics challenge (19th century classic). Set in the upper-class society of New York City in the 1870's and focuses on a couple's pending marriage. It also won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921.

Sula by Toni Morrison: I've read a few Toni Morrison novels (The Bluest Eye and Beloved) but that was a few years back and I think it's time to revisit her. Sula traces the lives of two black heroines from their close-knit childhood in small-town Ohio through their sharply different paths of womanhood.

Zola by Thérèse Raquin: In an effort to read more worldly lit, I chose to try Raquin. Zola follows a woman trapped in a loveless marriage who embarks on a turbulent affair.

Dreaming of Baghdad by Haifa Zangana (non-fiction): Zangana tells her story as a resister to the Baath Party as led by Saddam Hussein and her eventual imprisonment and torture in Abu Ghraib.

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood: I am slowly making my way through Margaret Atwood's 13 works of fiction. Cat's Eye is "a breathtaking novel of a woman grappling with the tangled knot of her life".

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri: I may be one of the last people to read this novel. It examines the immigrant experience in America.

Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz (non-fiction): A cognitive scientist explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other and humans.