back to the lake, back to the books

So just like last year, I went home to the family cottage this summer and devoured a few books. Here is my reading list and my impressions of the books:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - You know sometimes you just want to read non-fiction? Well this one fit the bill - fascinating story, well written, a subject matter that is not too heavy yet makes you think, interesting characters, and so on. Plus it validated my choice never to become a doctor. Well choice might be a bit overblown ... I got 51% in grade 11 biology which pretty much prevented me from ever going into any type of scientific field. The story is about the HeLa cells - the first human cells to grow outside of humans. These cells were then used in various medical trials that ultimately led to the polio vaccine, treatment for cancer and parkinsons, etc etc. The real story though is about her family, with the ultimate question of the book being an ethical one - is it immoral to use human cells without permission, even if they have led to scientific breakthroughs. It also got me thinking about the commodification of our body. Really interesting stuff. But it wasn’t until page 130 or so that the author explained why it was that Henrietta’s cells grew were able to be successfully cultured in the lab while so many others had died. The answer? There is none. Really. This brings me back to my earlier statement about grade 11 biology - the problem I had with biology in high school still exists today - you just have to accept certain facts. There is no explanation for them, it just happens. I’m always searching the root cause of things, the series of steps that enables certain events - in biology events just happen. They are the root cause and that’s it. Case closed.

The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb - I really enjoyed this book. Love Camilla Gibb. This was an easier read than Sweetness in the Belly, not quite as heart-wrenching, but equally lyrical. Set in Vietnam, with the war, politics, art and food woven throughout. One of the main characters sells Pho on the street and the vivid description of how he makes his soup had my mouth watering on almost every page. Needless to say that while reading all I wanted was Pho and so as soon as I landed back in Calgary I hit up the closest Vietnamese restaurant to devour a bowl.

When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman - The first part of this book is quite funny - like laugh out loud funny. The description of the main character’s struggle with God and then her school play were very amusing. The sad story of her best friend’s mom and her brother’s struggle with love were also very touching. Then the characters grew up, they became quite serious and far less interesting. I definitely lost interest in the second half. Too bad - such promise! But apparently Kate Middleton was reading it this summer too! Such kindred spirits we are ...

Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane - As previously mentioned I love a good mystery. Watched the Lincoln Lawyer on the plane and I highly recommend it. This one is a sequel of sorts to Gone Baby Gone, which I never read, but did see. It was a quick read, with good dialogue, but kind of a dodgy storyline, that I never really bought into. But whatevs, it kept my interest for the day.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer - I’m not sure why I had never read this book before. I really enjoyed his first book (Everything is Illuminated) and the History of Love, by his wife Nicola Kraus is one of my favourite books. I think I’ve picked it up a million times, skimmed through the pages and decided it was bit too precious, so never took the time to read it. Glad I finally gave it a go - was surprised at how engrossing it was. At times it feels a bit contrived and somewhat like he’s trying too hard, but all in all I enjoyed it. They’re making a movie of it right now - have no idea how that’s gonna work. It has really random characters, with fantastical backstories, and is not set out in a linear fashion at all.

grammar nerds unite

It's been awhile since I've read a book in one day (okay not that long, since I was home over the holidays and I burned through the latest Michael Connelly book my dad had been given for Christmas), but last weekend I read The Imperfectionists, which has been glowingly reviewed both here and here. I don't really have a lot to add, except that I thought it was great and enjoyed almost every character's story.

One of my favourite characters is the corrections editor who has compiled what I think would be awesome - a compendium of grammar rules known as The Bible. It contains a list of common errors, stupid acronyms (i.e. GWOT - global war on terror) and rules (like when to use that vs which). I think it would have made a great companion piece to this book. I love it when a sentence is written in a grammatically correct fashion. It's a little quirk of mine for which I can than my mother, as she was something of a grammar nazi when I was growing up. And while I definitely do not always use perfect grammar (in fact there are probably multiple errors in this post alone) I judge people who have poor grammar. There, I said it. It's true. I am a grammar snob and I'm okay with it. Back when I was doing the online dating thing it was a pretty big problem. Typos are forgivable, the improper use of the English language is not. Except of course when it's not your first language. But really, that's the only exception.

So imagine my pleasure when I found out that Friday was National Grammar Day! Seriously, it made my week. And just for your viewing pleasure, here is a video that was making the rounds on Facebook that illustrates my point about the importance of finding a man who appreciates the importance of grammar and spelling. Not to mention steering clear of warthogs.

some boots and some books

So I made it through the weekend with my mom. I have some new boots (pictured at right) and a new winter coat to show for it. And I think I only snapped at her once. And we had some good talks. And some good food. And some good wine. So all in all, a good visit.

I also lent her a book, which brings me to my latest reading list. I've been on a non-fiction/memoir kick of late. Here is what I have been reading:

• Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man by Bill Clegg. The author is a literary agent who has a seemingly great life, but is addicted to crack. The majority of the book chronicles his paranoia as he met with dealers, got high, had sex with random men, moved from hotel to hotel and thought he was going to be arrested. The paranoia part was interesting. The reviews talk about how it's a great account of "one man's descent into the hell of addiction." And while it certainly is hellish, I still don't know that I understand how someone can get there and live there and think that it's a better way to live than clean. I suppose they're so messed up they can't really make that distinction. So a hellish life, certainly. But how he got there, I still didn't get it after reading the book.
• Open by Andre Agassi. This is the book I lent my mom. She took it back to Ottawa to lend to my dad, because I think he'll really like it too. This was a good book. Fascinating really. I always wonder with memoirs how revisionist they are - did he really have second thoughts about proposing to Brooke Shields as he was proposing to her, or is it just easier to remember it that way 6 years later. At any rate, how he became the famous athlete we all know is a great story. It's one of those books that you look forward to getting back to reading after you put it down.
• I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max. HC read this book while she was in Palm Springs and kept BBMing me little tidbits. She told me that all women should read it so we know what assholes men are. The book is made up of anecdotal stories about Tucker Max and his friends out partying, drinking to excess, sleeping with random women and insulting said women and others. I think a lot of people would find it offensive and shocking. I can't say I really did. A lot of the stories were quite humorous, which I think was the intention of the book. And while Max speaks abhorrently of women, a lot of the women seem to act equally ridiculous, so whatever. I didn't finish it though, mainly because I got bored of all the poop stories. I don't really enjoy reading about disgusting bowel movements. I will say however, that I really do hope that they serve beer in hell, because I'm pretty sure there will be a reserved seat at that bar for me.
• The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I haven't been at my best lately and so thought I would take a shot at reading a quasi self-help book. I started reading it a few months ago and am only on page 91. There goes my attempt at self-improvement. The book jacket describes it as a woman's 12 month adventure "test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier." The problem is that she starts it in January and frames "becoming happy" like a New Year's resolution. As such is just become a check list of things to do. Reading it just made me feel bad about myself because my closets aren't organized and I'm not very efficient on weekends. Thanks tips, I don't need a book to tell me that. And now it's being turned into a TV show, starring Charlotte from Sex and the City. I'm pretty sure I won't waste PVR space on it.
• Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin. The subtitle is "the inside story of how Wall Street and Washington fought to save the financial system - and themselves." I think this is a book I'll be reading for awhile. It's 500+ pages on the financial crisis. Lots of concepts that I don't fully understand, but I'm trying. When you read about people taking helicopters to work and thinking that a $30 million a year pay cheque being fully explainable (really?) you can begin to understand why middle America is so upset. And why they hate the bailout. And why they hate Obama. And how it came to be that there was an legitimate campaign ad centred around one of the candidates, who for some reason had a shot at actually becoming a US Senator, declaring that she was not a witch. Okay that last bit might be a bit of a stretch, but it is all connected. And the the book is interesting. Not riveting though. But then again, I'm not sure any book on the financial system would be.

So that's me. And those are my mini reviews. Oh and tomorrow's high is -33 with the windchill. Awesome.

another lake, another list

Continuing on with the lake and lists theme, last week I spent most of my time sitting on the dock at the family cottage, reading. 7 days, 4.5 books. Herewith are my thoughts on said books:

1. One Day by Alex Nicholls. One of the reviews on the cover was from Nick Hornby's blog, stating that it is a perfect beach read for people who don't do beach reads. Awesome, because this is me. Great book. Immensely readable as they say. It tells the story of a close friendship between a guy (Dexter) and girl (Emma) who meet on the last day of university in 1988 and it revisits them every July 15th for 20 odd years. It was smart, funny, timely, sad, etc ... everything you want in good fiction. Great characters, although I do think that the way Emma pines after the bad boy shows that she was written by a man and Dexter's feelings for her a bit too predictable. Still loved the book though. This story about it made me laugh, as I did read it in humid weather and now the cover is permanently curled up. Also, it's being made into a movie - starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.


2. Plague of Secrets by John Lescroart. Paperback mysteries are a guilty pleasure of mine. I have always read them ... especially ones with recurring characters. They are great for a rainy afternoon, a day on the dock or an airplane ride. I figure the fact that I read actual literature makes these flimsy paperbacks acceptable. My go-too authors are people like Michael Connelly, Deborah Crombie, Elizabeth George, etc. This one was pretty good ... I particularly like Lescroart's website which promises "real people ... real suspense."


3. Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. Subtitled "Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime," this book was fascinating. It is a pretty serious book - 400+ pages on politics, but I raced through it like it was an US Weekly. Which I guess is not that surprising, seeing as it has been criticized for veering into gossip (incidentally this review is from Michiko Kakutani, the real life person who reviewed the fictional Carrie Bradshaw's first book on Sex and the City). There are no footnotes, as the book is based on over 300 interviews and rather than naming their contacts, the authors fall back on "deep sources." As a quasi-historian, I appreciate sourcing material when necessary, but this book reads like fiction, and I think footnotes would have gotten in the way. It was a great read. Also makes me wonder if anyone would ever bother writing a book this interesting about Canadian politics. In the era of Harper, I'm thinking not.


4. Family Album by Penelope Lively. I'd never read anything by Lively, but she has written 16 books, including a Booker prize winner (Moon Tiger, which I will now go out and buy). This book was also quite good ... the story of a family of 6 children, as told at various times by various people in the family, not at all linear, slightly chaotic, kind of like the family. At one point it seems like the family secret is going to be much worse than it actually is - the false suspense is kind of a cheap trick, but that is the book's only flaw really. She's a lovely writer and I recommend it for sure.
5. The End of Energy Obesity by Peter Tertzakian. I'm reading this book for both work and because I have a personal interest in how to create a more sustainable energy framework. I haven't finished this book yet ... I would read 2 chapters after completing every other book I read during my holiday. It's a pretty interesting read - the whole point of the book is to figure out how societies can continue to maintain their quality of life while at the same time reducing their dependence on traditional fossil fuels. I've heard Tertzakian speak at a few events and I think he is a very smart man, not to mention a great speaker. The book is not overly academic or dry ... instead it's full of metaphors and examples that apply to everyday life. Makes it much easier to "get." Here's a cool video that summarizes the book.