Read 52+ Books in 2007

Well, I’d been shooting for 100, and I’d even had them all planned out on the calendar, but holiday preparations cut seriously into reading time.

67. Tears of the Giraffe (audio)
68. Cry of the Kalahari
69. Lion in the Valley (audio)
70. How to Eat Like a Hot Chick
71. Orlando (audio)

I Feel Bad About My Neck, by Nora Ephron [review forthcoming]
A Tuscan Childhood, by Kinta Beevor
Miracle and Other Christmas Stories, by Connie Willis [review forthcoming]

Currently reading:
Tears of the Giraffe (audio)
A Wrinkle in Time (a reread, will not count towards list)

Moll Flanders and
Painted Truth

Newly in progress:
I Feel Bad About My Neck
A Tuscan Childhood

A short little book that chronicles a family’s history (covering 5 generations) through yearly holiday-time (news)letters. A long with the good times and bad, the author also shows the progression of technology, religious adherence, and societal expectations.

Far from being a perfect family, those portrayed here have very authentic problems, trials, and failings. Of course, we do not get to know the characters very deeply, as only so much reality can go into a Christmas letter. Many of the letters include a recipe; funny [because I am a real recipe hound], none of them were noteworthy enough for me to copy before I send this on. I’m guessing they are Very Southern in nature, and I’ve yet to really find that particular cuisine enjoyable. YMMV.

59. Endangered Species
60. Cider House Rules

Next up:

The Christmas Letters
[finish] Lovedeath (if I can find it!)
A Tuscan Childhood

50. Dracula, Bram Stoker
51. Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman
52. Round Ireland with a Fridge, Tony Hawks
53. First Six Weeks: Baby Tips (Little Terror series), Charlotte Preston and Trevor Dunton
A nice, quick read (perfect for the fact that new parents don’t have time to read), only a few questionable pieces of advice, which may actually be a factor of the published date of the book [it’s nearly 10 years old].

The points I found lacking: when listing the “cons” of formula feeding, they missed the ones about future weight gain and risk of developing diabetes; I also don’t understand what they mean by stating that babies don’t cry at will for the first 3 months—that just doesn’t sound right, or at least not how I’d describe what’s going on with the crying. The author also suggests highly diluted orange juice to treat constipation, whereas my sources say that citrus juices should not be introduced so early. They also talk about the safe use of covers (in the interest of preventing SIDS), whereas now, someone’s come up with sleepsacs, which are much safer, and quite easy to find.

I do like how the author reminds the parents to keep communication lines open, and that she’s honest about the energy level that’s to be expected.

54. Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
55. Puss ‘n’ Cahoots, Rita Mae Brown
56. Best Advice on Life After the Baby Arrives, iVillage
I’ve been a member of iVillage from about a year after its inception (in ‘95). I’ve pretty much always found its content useful, and it’s one of my primary internet resources when I’m looking for the latest findings regarding health. I did not, however, rely on it as much for new parenting help; now that I’ve read this book, I wish I had checked into that section more often. The book includes a wide breadth of topics, but doesn’t go very deep with them. This is actually a plus for the new parents who can’t make the time to read. Also, the physically small format makes it a good candidate for reading while captive during feeding time ;)

57. The Black Dahlia, James Ellroy
I’m not sure how I feel about my chosen reading sequence. I was originally going to read my non-fiction titles on Elizabeth Short, but when I came across the Book-to-Movie Challenge, I decided to bump this one up the pile. Besides, I felt like I’d kept it on my shelf long enough; I really need to get more of my BookCrossing trades moving on.

Anyway, I have no idea how much of this book is based on the facts of the case, and I’m not certain that it matters. As a stand-alone murder mystery, the plot works just fine; twists galore and loose ends wrapped up nicely. I will say that I thought that the first 60 or so pages, while well-written, didn’t seem relevant to the story. This was frustrating while I was slogging through Ellroy’s character development, but now that I’ve finished, I can see that he needed that space to also set up a few important plot points.

Ellroy’s novel read with a very Spillane-like cadence, but the fast-paced plot served to make this distraction fade away. His character were well-drawn, and easy enough to track [I personally have a problem doing this—an effect of MommyBrain, I’m certain].

58. The Fourth Trimester, Amy Einhurn
Over all, this book had some pretty good advice. I did have a few major quibbles, mostly with tips related to medical advice:

The author poo-poohs Kegels; she really shouldn’t have. She could have given better advice about breast pain (there are solutions, and red flags). I’d suggest Depends over sanitary pads, especially for the first few weeks, and especially if bed-resting after a C-section. Get the stool softener, and don’t wait for them to ask if you’ve BM-ed. Formula-fed babies are not necessarily “fine” (I’m referring to weight and diabetes problems later in life). Use wet baby washcloths for all non-poop diapers. If circumcising, one really needs to do all they can to make the baby comfortable and not believe the doctor if they say the baby doesn’t really feel anything.

Currently reading:
Endangered Species, Nevada Barr
Cider House Rules, John Irving

47. House of the Seven Gables
A good classic, read as part of the R.I.P. challenge. Interesting to note the social standards of the day, and the style of the romance genre of that period (well, at least compared to the softporn of today).
48. Children of the Night
Got caught up in this one, and read it overnight (and of course paid for it the next day. Thank goodness my mom is here visiting, and took care of my kid. I really like this series, and wish that Lackey had been able to continue it (of course, with the recent vampire-boom, I wonder if she has some new ones under wraps)
49. Danse Macabre (King)
The hazard of reading non-fiction books is the tendency to pick up more titles to read, which just makes the reading list situation so much worse. No, I haven’t yet calculated how many years it will take me to read all my books (assuming no more incoming), but I’m sure it’s a scary ridiculous amount. My only complaint about this book: it’s over 25 years out of date. King needs to write volume 2. Seriously.

Next up:
Dracula (due Monday for group)
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (R.I.P. Chunkster Challenge)
Love in Vein II (R.I.P. Sunday short story)

44. Bloody Bones, Laurell K. Hamilton (for the Readers In Peril challenge): Anita Blake series, good read, as it still has a plot (compared to later efforts), so I’m told.

45. A Country Year, Sue Hubbell: Audio rental, short essays, many about beekeeping.

46. Dragons and Kings, Jackie French Koller: Children’s chapter book, started this series while working for the APL, thought that perhaps the writing would mature and be less melodramatic as the series progressed; poor husband had to sit through it, too, as listening to this was a stay-awake-during late-night drive tactic. If this isn’t the last, I won’t be reading any others.

The next few up (in no particular order):
The Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told (Rick Beyer)
Dracula (Bram Stoker)
I Feel Bad About My Neck (Nora Ephron)
House of the Seven Gables (Nathaniel Hawthorne)

40. Remember Me: A Lively Tour of the New American Way of Death
41. Hostile Hospital (audio)
42. The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers (audio)
43. For Whom the Bell Tolls

I am so behind on reviews, it isn’t funny!

35: Grapes of Wrath
36: Stone Work
37: The Thirteenth Tale
38: The Vile Village
39: Alternadad

Currently working on:
The Hostile Hospital
Lovedeath

Will be starting soon:
For Whom the Bell Tolls