I really didn't want to like a book called Where The Crawdads Sing, a title that makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth every time I hear it. But I really didn't want to like a book called Where The Crawdads Sing, a title that makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth every time I hear it. But the amount of 5-star reviews and recommendations made me feel like I was short-changing it some, so I queue'd up for the audiobook last year (it was a long wait; I was like #386 or something).
As soon as the story began, I knew I had been very wrong about this one. It's such a heart-warming read from the get-go. You learn about "the marsh girl" Kya Clark, and how everyone in her life has abandoned her. How she survives on her own in Barkclay Cove, North Carolina, selling mussels and smoked fish to a local supplier in order to buy grits, gas for her boat, and matches. Her only companions are the gulls at the beach, which she feeds daily. The marsh eventually becomes a part of her. She's feral, scrappy, but also deeply shy and sensitive.
While the town views her as an oddity and an outcast (she drops out of school after one day to avoid bullying, and easily dodges visits from truant officers), she does make a few very strong connections in her life--two of which play a huge part in the plot. There is also a murder mystery interwoven from the start (the book jumps between 1970 and 1950). And herein is my only real "issue" with the book - I don't know if I needed the mystery and subsequent courtroom case - it felt a bit rushed, like author Delia Owens didn't want to focus on this part of the story either. Even at Owens "worst" however, the story is still a pleasure and incredibly compelling. 5 stars because I flew through the first half, but as a whole, this is still a highly recommendable read....more
This wasn't a 5-star read, but in terms of what I was hoping for in a food memoir, this book was pretty damn close to perfect. I come from magazine puThis wasn't a 5-star read, but in terms of what I was hoping for in a food memoir, this book was pretty damn close to perfect. I come from magazine publishing, and also had a food blog for a number of years, so to have a full book devoted to Ruth Reichl's tenure at Gourmet magazine felt like I won the motherlode.
I'm not sure how Reichl got away with being as honest as she was, but there's all sorts of juicy tidbits included in this all-too-quick read: the amount of secrecy with which Conde Nast approached her hiring; her last days at the New York Times as a food critic; the endless expense budget, limo drivers and clothing allowance at Conde Nast; her coup when it came to hiring writers like Ann Patchett and David Foster Wallance (one of my favorite sections involved deciding if/how to publish DFW's submitted piece on killing a lobster; spoiler: she publishes it); the blurred line between publishing and editorial; her disdain for Epicurious, the online site that had rights to all of Gourmet's recipes; and of course, the rise of the internet and subsequent collapse of magazine publishing.
What made me keep pinching myself was the ease and frankness with which Reichl talked about actual people and colleagues: like when she auctions herself off to dinner (one of the ways she decides to play nice with Publishing/Advertising) and neglects to ask the winner, a well-known hedge-fund manager, enough questions about himself (this is an easily Google-able Bill Ackman), the revolving door of publishers who couldn't make their numbers, the art director who was fired, etc. etc. It's all deliciously laid out in here, like one of Gourmet's gorgeous food covers.
If you come from magazine publishing, and have the Food Network on more than is probably healthy, then this is surely a memoir to check out....more
My mom emailed me to tell me she thought I'd like this one.
Sorry, Nancy. I've read this before, it was called The Girl on the Train. Or The Woman in CMy mom emailed me to tell me she thought I'd like this one.
Sorry, Nancy. I've read this before, it was called The Girl on the Train. Or The Woman in Cabin 10. And I didn't care for those much either. In short, this was forgettable.
I'll give this one some points because of a few twists at the end. But I think my bigggest problem with this genre (the I'm-not-sure-if-what-is-happening-is-really-happening genre) is I can't stand when the narrators are making such BAD decisions. And there were cringeworthy decisions throughout, ones that I just couldn't relate to (and I'm not talking about the main character's alcoholism and agoraphobia; I'm talking about her decisions regarding key players around her).
A marvelous performance by the audiobook reader made this go down pretty smooth, however. ...more
When I first made my foray into running, my husband’s favorite thing to say when I asked him if he wanted to go for a run with me was, “Yes! Yes, let�When I first made my foray into running, my husband’s favorite thing to say when I asked him if he wanted to go for a run with me was, “Yes! Yes, let’s absolutely go for a half-hour run so we can talk about it for three hours!�
I was very much in that beginner “talk-more-than-do� phase (still am).
Well, it turns out Haruki Murakami and I have something in common. This book is very much him talking about running. And training. And rest. And mental and physical obstacles. Parts of it are almost diary form. I was constantly reminded of my husband’s favorite quote.
That said, it was not a bad thing at all. I really enjoyed his thoughts. The book was the perfect length (a little over 4 hours), so it didn’t get repetitive or monotonous. It was very insightful. I listened to it on a few runs, which was surprising perfect (I normally listen to questionable rap music to keep the pace up). It really made me want to try a fictional Murakami as well.
This wouldn’t be for everyone, but for me, it was an almost perfect listen....more
I’m 1600+ pages invested in The Kingkiller Chronicle, yet no kings have been killed in this series. There’s good stuff, though. And terribly random stI’m 1600+ pages invested in The Kingkiller Chronicle, yet no kings have been killed in this series. There’s good stuff, though. And terribly random stuff.
And a great quote about traveling:
“No man is brave that has never walked a hundred miles. If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the greatest leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet introspection.�
The quote immediately reminded me of Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting, when he lays the smackdown on Matt Damon’s character Will, reminding him he’s just a snot-nosed little kid who’s never been on a plane, or seen the Sistene Chapel, or really been in love.
Similarly, Kvothe follows his professor’s advice early on in The Wise Man’s Fear to go out and experience the world (and avoid getting punched in the face by his classmates for all of his smug “How do you like them apples?� antics in the process). The intent is to become Kvothe/Kanye 2.0: stronger, better, faster, smarter - not just book smart, but street smart. A “Go see about a girl� Kvothe, if you will. Oh, and to maybe secure a patron. Cause university ain’t cheap.
What follows are over 1000+ pages of his adventures. There is a Thor: Ragnarok feel to it, lighthearted mini-stories and subplots in different locales: with some locales registering way more successful than others. (There’s a good 200 pages of Kvothe with the Fae where I put the book down for a solid month, not really caring what happened to him anymore).
In between adventures, we continue to return to present-day innkeeper Kvothe, who is narrating his story to the Chronicler.
This took me a WHILE to finish. I found myself tearing through hundreds of pages, then putting the book down for weeks and weeks. Way more uneven than The Name of the Wind, yet never a bad yarn. Just a little over-indulgent for my liking. I’m finding the whole, “Kvothe is good at anything,� kind of annoying, but I do appreciate it up against present-day Kvothe, who is a shadow of his former self.
So much is still unresolved at Book 2’s end, I fear the page count of the final yet-to-be published Book 3. (Maybe that’s the real Wise Man’s fear.)
3.5 stars when compared to Book 1. A book that takes me months to finish is never a great sign, but there is still some epic storytelling in places....more
I visited a wolf sanctuary in Pennsylvania for the first time last year. I enjoyed the visit, but it went from "nice" to "must-see" shortly before leaI visited a wolf sanctuary in Pennsylvania for the first time last year. I enjoyed the visit, but it went from "nice" to "must-see" shortly before leaving: A wolf down the hill began howling. Within seconds, another one joined in. Then another. I was further up the hill and observing a white wolf liaising about in the shade. She listened to the howls intently, started to grow restless, and finally, threw up her head, letting out her own distinct howl. This went on for about a full minute. It gave me goosebumps (it gives me goosebumps just writing about it). I asked a volunteer beside me, also speechless with the warm fuzzies, why the wolves were howling.
She shrugged. "To communicate? That's just what they do." She paused and said, "We close the sanctuary shortly after this tour and that's when they get fed. It might be a hungry howl."
Thus started my fascination with wolves, leading me to queue up a bunch of subsequent wolf tours and documentaries.
American Wolf is fascinating in its own right. Not so much the content—while excellent, I think I need to be watching the wolves to get the chills—but how the information was presented. The format was nothing short of brilliant. It starts with a chapter from the hunter's perspective, right before he pulls the trigger on a wolf (one you just know is not just any wolf). Then you hear about the wolves of Yellowstone National Park, and the rangers and enthusiasts, like naturalist Rick McIntyre, who track them obsessively. You learn why the farmers hate them, making the material more even-handed. You hear about the politics. Sprinkled within this content, however, are chapters from the wolves themselves, put together from copious note-taking by the park's observers, who took pleasure in wolf-spotting every single day. It gives personality and story-telling to the famous wolves of Yellowstone, particularly O-Six, who reached near superstar status on social media. So much so that at long last, when the book returns to the hunter about to pull the trigger on the wolf mentioned in Chapter One (and you know who it is), I had tears in my eyes.
Powerful material. (But again, not as powerful as seeing these creatures in the wild.)
My favorite quote from the book was ironically in the forward, from Margaret Atwood:
”All stories are about wolves. All worth repeating, that is. Anything else is sentimental drivel.
All of them?
Sure, he says. Think about it. There's escaping from the wolves, fighting the wolves, capturing the wolves, taming the wolves. Being thrown to the wolves, or throwing others to the wolves so the wolves will eat them instead of you. Running with the wolf pack. Turning into a wolf. Best of all, turning into the head wolf. No other decent stories exist.�...more
All you could want from a domestic thriller: very well-written, lots of whodunnit elements... I enjoyed it immensely the whole way through and looked All you could want from a domestic thriller: very well-written, lots of whodunnit elements... I enjoyed it immensely the whole way through and looked for any excuse to listen to the audiobook. Great twists.
Still, there’s something about this genre that leaves me feeling a bit empty inside after reading. Is it the case of “fun but forgettable?�...more
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