2011: Book 8

Little Children by Tom Perotta

368 pages

Completed 2/7/11

Let me begin by saying that I am 95% positive I already read this book; as I got to a major turning point in the novel, I smacked myself when I realized that it was SO familiar, I must have read it. However, I'm also pretty sure I saw the movie with Kate Winslet...so, I couldn't really tell you. However, I guess I must have enjoyed both, because I read this cover to cover, barely pausing.

A town plagued by unhappy marriages, bratty kids, a paroled child molester, a vigilante, and illicit affairs, this novel was so, well, good. I really have nothing to complain about. Without giving away the story for those who have not read or seen the story, Perrotta somehow makes it possible to connect with all of the characters, good and bad.

2011: Book 7

The Almost Archer Sisters by Lisa Gabriele


272 pages

Completed 2/3/11

A novel about two sisters, their bond, and the unraveling of it after one betrays the other in an unthinkable way, Gabriele's talent made me forget that these were fictional characters. With one sister escaping to New York City and the other remaining on the family farm in Canada with her wise, hairdresser father, husband, and two young sons who need constant attention, the two sisters' world rarely mesh...until they do in an unpredictable way.

While the ending bored me, the novel itself was pretty good; nothing to rave about, but I enjoyed it well enough.

2011: Book 6

Slackjaw: A Memoir by Jim Knipfel


256 pages

Completed 1/31/2011

This memoir about Knipfel's descent into depression and blindness, intermittently disrupted by his punk lifestyle and attitude, was well-written, and a quick read, but not a book I'd recommend. Although the lack of self-pity was commendable, I didn't feel like I gained anything from this read.

A few years ago, I read Cockeyed by Ryan Knighton, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Entertaining, and chock full of dry humor, I thought it'd be interesting to pick up Slackjaw; it seemed so similar, and I figured I'd enjoy it. I don't know if it was the fact that if I knew Knipfel in real life, he would annoy me, or if his attitude was just too abrasive for my liking,  but I just wasn't as drawn to this memoir as I was Knighton's.

2011: Book 5

War by Candlelight: Stories by Daniel Alarcon


224 pages


Completed 1/28/2011

Since reading the collection of short stories, Love Begins in Winter, my interest has been piqued towards a genre I normally am not drawn to. This collection of Central and Southern American-based stories are touching, but not moving.

Many of the stories left me wanting more; most seemed to have ended in such an awkward point in the story, that is was almost annoying. That being said, I did enjoy the book. With one exception; one VERY big exception. When a story began with a murdered dog and a group of boys chasing down more victims, I literally slammed the book shut and debated whether to continue. It took me three more days to pick the book back up and simply skip over the story. This is so not like me; I force myself to read books cover-to-cover, and so I felt so odd doing it. But the cruelness and unexpected violence mid-book was too much to handle.

2011: Book 4

Ambulance Girl: How I Saved Myself By Becoming an EMT by Jane Stern


240 pages

Completed 1/24/2011

I don't know whether it was the book or whether I was starved for a book, but I sped through this memoir. The tale of a depressed, middle-aged woman who, despite her claustrophobia, fear of illness, and overall disgust with bodily functions, decides to become an EMT to get her out of her slump. Faced with the aforementioned issues, as well as being a rare woman in the field, as well as heavy, Stern takes us through her triumphs - and defeats with poignancy.

I was pretty interested throughout this book - short snippets of odd cases, brief moments of humor - but when she took a turn into depression, the book lost my interest. Although an important part of the story, I was kind of annoyed by how sorry she felt for herself; same goes for her relationship with her shrink. Once the book began delving into her marriage problems, I was lost completely. Luckily it didn't last long, and the memoir finished well.

2011: Book #3

Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story by Isabel Gillies 

261 pages

Completed 1/9/11


Honestly, I was drawn to this memoir simply because it is written by the actress who plays a detective's wife on one of my favorite television shows, Law & Order SVU. Even more honestly, I really enjoyed this book; Gillies manages a well-written book and managed to hold my attention. The wife of a poetry professor who moves her and her two young sons to Oberlin, OH (read: middle of nowhere), she seems to be living the idyllic life. New friends, a gorgeous dream-home, dabbles in the college community, Gillies is content.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, her husband decides it's time to leave the family. The aftermath that results - despair, anger, relocation, denial, an investigation - lends itself to an intriguing book. Meshed with her Wasp-y upbringing and insistence that her husband stay to work things out, Gillies manages to present quite the good book.

2011: Book #2

The Book of Revelation by Rupert Thomson


272 pages

Completed 1/5/11

This was one of those books that has been sitting in my bookshelf FOREVER so I decided to just start reading it. Based on a dream the author had, the story of a male dancer drugged and kidnapped by three women and held and sexually tortured for eighteen days and the subsequent effects of it on his life is a bizarre tale that somehow became a page-turner.

I feel as if I do not want to reveal too much of this book's story, because as the reader, I didn't see the majority of it coming. While unpredictable, the plot line remains fluid, and I never once regretted picking this one up. Yes, a bit bizarre and graphic in the early chapters, but watching the narrator's life as it unravels and reassembles is presented in such a way that you just have to know what happens next.