Books

What I Read in July

August 4, 2015 by Abbigail Kriebs 4 Comments

Can we take a moment and appreciate that it is the END OF JULY already?!? Woah. Actually, while you’re reading this it is probably already August… or maybe even several hundred years in the future and you’re part of an alien race that has somehow stumbled upon the long-quiet blog of mine and are curious as to what people read back in the “dark ages” of the 2000s. Either way, welcome!

I keep beginning my monthly wrap-ups with the word “busy” – and I hate that word, but I don’t know how else to describe the summer I’ve been having. It’s been full, chaotic, and mostly wonderful. Lots of running around, spending time with friends, tons of hours at work for both Scott and I. I’ve currently got 99% of the laundry done at home and it feels like such an accomplishment. Woo, adulthood.

Anyway – July was crazy and lovely and all sorts of sunny. And I got a fair amount of reading done, too. Here’s what I read in July:

Fiction

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart – E. Lockhart is a master storyteller. I can’t say that I liked this book, but I read in awe of her ability to tell only enough of the story to keep the reader racing along, but not enough that you know the whole picture until the very end. If you are at all a writer, read this book and see how well manages to walk the line of telling without telling.

The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion – Earlier this year I read The Rosie Project for book club and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the sequel less, but if you at all fell in love with Don Tillman’s quirkiness in the first book, give the second a chance for a light summer read. My full review here.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – I loved this book. Loved it. Set during WWII, the novel follows the lives of two young people, one German and one French, as their lives spiral closer and closer to each other. Lyrically beautiful and of a scope that felt ambitious even as I read it, I recommend this title to everyone – and can see why it won the Pulitzer. My full review here.

Nonfiction

Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling – This is the transcript of a graduation speech that J.K. Rowling gave, mixed with lovely graphics and some cool typography. It’s worth a read for anyone who likes to dabble in graphic design, just to see how the designer interpreted the words. I’ll be sharing a few photos from the book soon.

It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War by Lynsey Addario – This memoir follows conflict photographer Lynsey Addario through her first gigs as a freelancer in South America to covering the War on Terror, Somalian refugee camps, and more. It was a fascinating read, and I’ll be sharing a full review soon.

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari – I had no intentions of reading this book, but my book club selected it for the month of August. It was a fascinating look at the cultural norms of dating today, both in America and other countries around the world. It’s interesting to see how we react as a whole to an increase in the choices we have when it comes to selecting a partner, and how it is not always directly proportional to our happiness in the end.

Still plodding through:

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. This one is taking awhile, and for good reason. Lewis packs a lot into this defense of the faith, and I am trying to wade through slowly.

What are you reading this summer? Anything I should add to my list?

A Very Bookish Birthday

July 28, 2015 by Abbigail Kriebs 4 Comments

Scott had been acting a little odd. He was “slightly grinning” a lot when we asked me questions about my schedule. He planned a birthday dinner out with friends a couple of weeks in advance. I thought it was just him getting in on the calendar in what was shaping up to be a hectic summer, but no: he was colluding with my friends.

And they threw me the coolest birthday dinner ever: one where they each brought a book that they loved to give to me.

My friend Jamie gifted me The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. I loved reading this book in middle school – and I’m pretty sure I’ll love it again when I read it soon. Cassie surprised me with a title I had never even heard: Tales of the Otori: Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn. Cassie’s a big fan of strong characters, and I can’t wait to dive in and meet Takeo and Kaede. And my friend Sue gifted me with a gorgeous box set of The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Trilogy from J.R.R. Tolkein, after I confessed earlier this year that I had never completed the series [hangs head in shame]. I’m giving the whole series another try, starting fresh, sometime this year.

And Scott tied it all together with his gift of The Book Map – a gift suggestion he lifted from my own blog. The scoundrel.

It was a very bookish birthday, an evening in which I felt spoiled, loved, and completely embarrassed when the entire restaurant sang to me. Par for the course. :)

I think 28 is going to be a good year.

Have your friends ever surprised you with gifts that were the perfect fit for your personality?

Story in Review: The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

July 16, 2015 by Abbigail Kriebs 6 Comments

After reading – and loving – The Rosie Project (my full review here), I couldn’t wait to dive into The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion.

The novel leaves off where the last ended: Don and Rosie have moved to New York City, with Don taking a job at Columbia as a visiting professor, and Rosie committing to finish her dissertation there. The major inciting incident occurs in the first chapter: Rosie announces to Don that she is pregnant, and Don, well, reacts in true Don fashion: with charts and processes and all things that a pregnant woman doesn’t want to hear. The rest of the novel is the story of the pregnancy, Don’s attempts to deal with the idea he is going to be a father, and Rosie’s attempt to handle a dissertation, a potential residency and being a mother of a newborn whose father is a bit unconventional.

I have to admit, I liked this novel less than the first one. I felt like while Don was trying, in his own way, to be a husband and soon-to-be-father, he didn’t receive good advice from his friends and definitely didn’t receive the benefit of the doubt from Rosie. I also feel like Rosie was unfair in her treatment of him, knowing the man that she married would react differently to a pregnancy than most and that he had the best intentions all along. This was one of those books where I just wanted everyone to sit down in a room and talk it out!

It was enjoyable, nonetheless, as Don’s antics and narration are truly hilarious at most moments. This book still elicited some full, out-loud laughs from me as I read it.

Favorite Quotes:

“The reduction in room numbers, combined with marriage, meant I had been thrown into closer sustained proximity with another human being than ever before.” – p. 3

“It was incredible that tho such dissimilar people had become a successful couple.” – p. 6

“The dean of science in Melbourne was extremely concerned with the public image of the university. It seemed to me that having a homeless person in charge of the department of psychology would be, to use her habitual expression, ‘not a good look.'” – p. 8

“I am aware that not everyone shares my view of the value of planning rather than allowing our lives to be tossed in unpredictable directions by random events.” – p. 16

“Other than the amendment to beverage management, life would be unchanged.” – p. 23

“It defies belief that a person’s emotional state could be deduced from such an inconsistent set of messages.” – p. 37

“A society of Rain Men would be dysfunctional. A society of Don Tillmans would be efficient, safe, and pleasant for all of us.” – p. 42

What made it a good story? Getting to see Don react to new situations, and learn to manage them in his own way and with his own style.

What could have made it a better story? I feel like this story paints everyone in a poorer light than the original. Don is less able to overcome obstacles. Rosie is less understanding of Don. I also feel like the novel is paced oddly – I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like there are too many threads that don’t necessarily all wrap up at the end. If you like the first one, I think the second is still worth a read, but not a must. It’s still OK, but not great.

Have you read The Rosie Effect or The Rosie Project? What did you think?