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party of the century
deborah davis
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| I had heard/read about Truman Capote's famed Black and White Ball and, never getting the full story, just assumed it was something he hosted every year. In reality, it was only one party back in 1966 and people are still pissed that they weren't invited. This book is a really great look at Truman Capote's life, the social scene of New York in the 60s and this fabulous party. Only Capote's nearest and dearest were invited - all 540 of them and apparently there was no real rhyme or reason to his madness. The party was thrown in honor of Washington Post publisher Kay Graham and also to celebrate Capote's smash novel success with the long-time-in-the-making "In Cold Blood". Female guests knocked themselves out searching for fancy white or black dresses and men just made do with tuxedos. Everyone had to wear some sort of mask and while some went overboard (one comissioned four masks from two different designers), Capote just wore a thirty-nine cent domino mask from F.A.O. Schwarz. The party STILL gets coverage even now in magazines as photographers and designers pay homage to the black and white theme and while some, even P. Diddy, have tried to replicate the party, no one has even come close to the original glamorous soiree. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2007 [link] |
recommend
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blue girl
charles de lint
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| This is one of Charles de Lint's most fun books in years. It's largely a departure from his usual style–it's a young adult novel, and doesn't feature any of his Native-American-style-spirit characters in it, but that doesn't mean it's not really good. Our protagonist, Imogene, is a down-to-earth wild girl who moves to a new highschool and decides to make one new friend. She chooses Maxine, her exact opposite (tame and polite), and it turns out that being friends enables them to balance each other out. But the course of true friendship never did run smooth, and things get majorly messy when (at Halloween, no less) some spirits get hungry for Imogene's soul. Add in a ghostly love triangle, five cranky ex-hobbs, and the usual highschool drama, and you get a fast-paced read told from several points of view. I highly recommend it. |
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reviewed by: victoria |
October 2005 [link] |
recommend
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maynard and jennica
rudolph delson
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| This book is all over the place, and I mean that in a good way - it's a totally crazy, fun read. I normally don't like books like these – ones told from the perspective of different characters, but this was likable because the characters were so funny and the dialogue so witty. (It also helped that there was a character list in the back) Set in NYC, it tells the story of how Maynard met Jennica – and how they break up and everything in between with the supporting opinions of everyone in their lives – mothers, fathers, grannies, ex-wife (for green card reasons only) – it's immensely kooky and entertaining. This is one of those rare "relationship" books that could appeal to men and women. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2008 [link] |
recommend
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cat attacks: true stories and hard lessons from cougar country
jo deurbrouck
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Do you like stories about cougars attacking humans and trying to eat them? If so, Cat Attacks is the book for you. Jo Deurbrouck and Dean Miller have assembled a great collection of cougar attack stories and conversations with the people involved (usually the ones that didn’t get eaten).
Cougars are clever and fast hunters, and I was amazed at how often the victims had no idea that they were being hunted until it was too late. If I lived in cougar country, I’d pick this book up so I would know what I was up against (and to make me completely paranoid when I took out the trash at night). |
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reviewed by: rich |
January 2004 [link] |
recommend
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way through the woods
colin dexter
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I read this book because the author was recommended to me
by an Englishman who scoffed at my like of the Ruth Rendell
series. This Dexter author is pretty good. He's somewhere
above the Richard Jury series that Martha Grimes writes.
This book was very satisfying in places. I enjoyed
the "character thrusts" that the author made such as
showing us that men do indeed appreciate women. It was a
nice little yarn. .. nothing too deep. A nice romp in the English
countryside. It all starts when a Swedish student goes
missing and she's hot hot hot! |
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reviewed by: kristen |
March 2001 [link] |
recommend
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the brief wonderous life of oscar wao
junot diaz
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This one of the best books I've read in a long time. Diaz presents us with the brief but wonderous life of Oscar de Leon (you learn about the Wao part later in the book) and the most interesting aspect is that in order to learn about Oscar, you must first learn about his grandmother, his mother, his sister and his native land, the Dominican Republic. The story is practically a primer on the DR's long and riotious history of crazy dictators and violent government. It's also a beautiful testament to the strength and spirit of Dominicans. Told through a hilarious, slangy, hip narrator (Oscar's old roommate) and full of Spanish words I had to look up, one quarter of the book is footnotes! Love is all to Oscar and he risks his life going after it. Memorable characters and a deeply moving and memorable book.
Check out some of Diaz' writing in The New Yorker archives, including an excerpt titled same as the book. Unfortunetly, most of his fiction is not online yet. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
October 2007 [link] |
recommend
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bladerunner or do androids count electric sheep
philip k. dick
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| While stoop shopping with my neighbors, Chris and Christina, they would always look for Philip K. Dick books. I asked who he was and they said "only the best science fiction writer ever". At my friend, Matt Johnson's house, I saw a copy of this book and asked to borrow it. It was a very good world. I greatly enjoyed it. Very quick read (for me three days). Now I'm looking for my second book of his to read. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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a scanner darkly
philip k dick
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| This is one of Dick’s later novels, complete with his requisite themes of identity and reality. Set in the near future (at least the near future for 1977, when this was published) A Scanner Darkly follows the tragic-comic misadventures of a nark named Fred. Fred takes on the identity of small time dealer of a drug called Substance D, Bob Arctor. Things get complicated for Fred when he receives his new assignment: investigate alleged drug dealer Bob Arctor. One of Dick’s later novels, and inspired by events and people from his own life, this is a harrowing novel about addiction and identity. It gets off to a slow shaky start but quickly gains momentum and becomes a lot of disorienting fun as the narrative voice becomes very nebulous as the lines between Bob and Fred become more distinct. |
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reviewed by: JohnLawton |
July 2004 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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eye in the sky
phillip k. dick
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OK ever since I was walking to stoop sales back in Brooklyn, NY and Chris
and Kristina were so rabid to find books by some "cool science fiction
writer whose books are mostly out of print". I promptly checked out "Do
Androids Dream when they sleep" (see archives). Ahhhhhhh I loved the
ambience of a cynical world taken over by numbnuts. This "Eye in the Sky"
is my second K. Dick book. It was utterly fascinating in it's attempt at
letting you see inside people's actual minds...like seeing and feeling and
being influenced just as they are (similar to a Vulcan mind meld no doubt).
I also enjoyed the futuristic stuff and the tone. The only problems were
that the book sort of tapered into "huh?". Perhaps the ending was a joke.
This would be an excellent book to read in the Winter when you have loads of
time to read. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
October 2000 [link] |
recommend
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the year of magical thinking
joan didion
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It seems macabre to say that I was riveted to Joan Didion's slim memoir "The Year of Magical Thinking" but I was. Her account of her husband's sudden death from a "massive coronary event" – although not so "sudden" as Didion's husband, John Dunne, had a history of heart problems – and the days, months and year that follow is moving and raw and so heart-wrenching (I'd like to think that Didion would find the use of "heart-wrenching" ironic). The title comes from her initial thinking of not giving away his shoes because he'd need them when he "came back". She spends everyday going over minute details from their 40 years of marriage to find some little moment that could've changed the outcome of their life together, hence, her "magical thinking".
As her husband dies, their daughter is also in a coma recovering from septic shock and during the year, she gets ill again, gets better and gets on with her life. Didion intermingles this emotional rollercoaster of life and death throughout the book. Just weeks before the book came out, their daughter fell ill again and died at the age of 39 but Didion chose not to edit any of the text. The hardest thing is that after reading this book, I now know what Didion is feeling after the loss of her only child. Certainly not an uplifting book, but I found comfort in Didion's airing of her emotions and thoughts about death and will file them away with my continually changing views of life and death. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
March 2006 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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i love you, beth cooper
larry doyle
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| This is such a guy's book, but I still found it totally hysterical. Doyle is a former Simpson's writer and now writes for The New Yorker. This book has all the elements of a geek movie - unpopular valedictorian Denis Cooverman takes his chance at commencement to profess his love for head-cheerleader Beth Cooper. Surprise surprise, Beth Cooper and her two friends ("The Trinity" to Denis and his friend, Rich) stop over at Denis' later that night and become embroiled in a turf war with Beth's meathead boyfriend that culminates into a Humvee being driven into the front of a mansion, Denis getting the crapped kicked out of him repeatedly and a heavenly make-out session with Beth, which, for Denis, has made up for all the bullying he got throughout school. Painfully funny if only because it's chockfull of great high school moments, who hasn't loved a Beth Cooper or a Denis Cooverman? |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
September 2007 [link] |
recommend
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rebecca
daphne du maurier
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| When my current boyfriend told me about being married before and as I caught glimpses of her life, I remembered this book and actually re-read it. As much as it does have a bit of the cheese factor, it was an excellent book for seeing how jealous women can be. I felt exactly the way that this mousy second wife felt. Oh I've been there. |
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reviewed by: kristen |
September 2000 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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house of sand and fog
andre dubus iii
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I've been afraid of this book for so long - it's an Oprah Book Club selection and it was made into a movie with Jennifer Connelly - see why I'd be scared of it? But I finally read it and could not put it down until I read every word on the last page. I found the book to be very well-written and to have characters with amazing depth. The narration goes back and forth between three characters which is usually annoying to me but here it works and is done effortlessly.
In the beginning we meet Behrani, a former General in the Iranian army who fled Iran under death threats and took his family to CA. They've been living on their savings in a very opulant in order to marry off their daughter. In reality, they're running out of money and while Behrani wears a suit to "work" every morning, he's really working for the Highway Department during the day and a mini-mart at night. He takes a chance on a property that is being auctioned off and hopes to make three times what he paid. Enter Kathy Nicolo who inherited the house from her father and has no idea she owed any taxes on it (turns out to be an accounting error). Her husband has just left her and she's a recovering coke head and alcoholic. She starts a romantic relationship with a married police officer who tries to help her get her house back and there's just one tragedy after another as they attempt this. It's not a happy book. At its core it's about greed and money and regret. and the clash of Middle Eastern and American culture. The shocking turn of events will keep you up past your bedtime eager to finish this book. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2006 [link] |
recommend 2 thumbs up
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poems seven: new and complete poetry
alan dugan
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As I was perusing the library on one of my perfect Saturdays with just me, me, me, and plenty of space and beauty... I looked through the new non-fiction section. I was vaguely looking for new books for two of my new fascinations: Buddhism, spirituality, and bipolar. I saw poetry and remembered that poetry was in non-fiction. I always thought that was odd. So then, I grabbed a few. I saw this normal looking older geezer-looking person on the cover of the otherwise-coolly titled tome: "Poems Seven" . Then inside the jacket I noticed that the write-up was something like "best poet in post-wwI"... so I'm thinking epic, rhyming poetry with images of shells and dead limbs and drab green men and the noise of war. Non, my friends. This poetry is high. It is naked. This poetry is from a real human being without any cover. This may be the most beautiful poetry I've ever read. I have only read 30% of the book - by rough estimate.
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reviewed by: kristen |
March 2002 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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funny in farsi: growing up iranian in america
firoozeh dumas
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Froze Dumas' "Funny in Farsi" is a lighthearted and sweet memoir of her years spent in California as well as in Iran. Her family first moved in CA in the 70s and their acclimation to American life is hysterical – from learning English to her father's love of Disneyland and Las Vegas, Dumas recounts stories of her youth with love and a bit of incredibility at her parent's behavior such as when her father appeared on the show "Bowling for Dollars". Not only does he bowl his worst game ever, the family can't ever remember a contestant only winning seven dollars. Dumas also writes about the difficulty people have with their names – she doesn't divulge her maiden name (Dumas is her married name - she married a Frenchman) but tells of the time at a doctor's office where she was called "Frizty DumbAss". She also mentions her cousin Neggar's name loosely translated as "She Whose Name Incites Riots".
Coupled with her recollections of time in the states are stories about Iran, before and after the Revolution, as well as stories of the close-knit ties Iranian families have and her family is no exception. Her husband's family had issues with his marriage to a Muslim and eventually, they lose contact with them. It's their loss, as Dumas is funny, warm and a gifted storyteller and writer with a wonderful family and that translates brilliantly into any language.
And yay! She has another book that was published last year: "Laughing Without an Accent"! |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
July 2009 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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the birth of venus
sarah dunant
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| This almost never happens to me with a book, but alas, to does happen: I could not not not finish reading this book! It captured my attention at the beginning (covent, dying nun who reveals a tattoo snaking from her shoulders to her stomach and thus we begin our story) but it slowed down so much right around the time we meet a freaky artist sneaking out of his patron's house at night to either visit prostitutes and/or murder people (it takes a LONG time to find out which). The young main character (who may or may not be the old nun at the beginning of the book) marries a man who is actually in love with brother (and everyone but she knows). And she might be in love with the artists. As long has he's not a murderer. And on. And on. |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
May 2007 [link] |
recommend
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but enough about me: a jersey girl's unlikely adventures among the absurdly famous
jancee dunn
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| Jancee Dunn chronicles her rise from lowly editorial assistant at Rolling Stone to kick-ass writer taking inventory in Madonna's office bathroom's medicine cabinet in this funny and charming memoir. From her humble roots in New Jersey to hanging out with rock stars who try to persuade her to do heroin (Scott Weiland and yes, Dunn happily mentioned names every chance she gets in an refreshingly unpretentious way), Dunn is completely in awe of the path that led her to her dream job. Between each chapter, Dunn gives tips of the trade on connecting with her writing subjects including bringing up unusual topics such as Dolly Parton's love of Velveeta cheese which resulted in Dunn being invited to Dolly's private apartment adjoining her office for a processed cheese snack. Dolly also gave her a hunk to take home which Dunn stashed in her freezer as a souvenir. Dunn also writes about her family – the world's sweetest family, really – and lovingly reminisces about growing up in the 80s. I'm looking forward to her recently published memoir "Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?" |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2009 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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the big love
sarah dunn
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| This comedic look at love jumps right in when Tom runs out to get mustard for a dinner party and doesn't come back and Alison starts ruminating over "the big love". The story never reaches the depths the reader would like to see but is filled with funny scenes and monologues that are true to life. The ending is typical - doesn't anyone get sick of the girl ALWAYS getting the guy? |
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reviewed by: lisa may |
August 2005 [link] |
recommend
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102 minutes: the untold story of the fight to survive inside the twin towers
jim dwyer
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By Jim Dwyer & Kevin Flynn
This is one of those accounts, like Philip Gourevitch's "We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families", that you really don't look forward to reading.
(Not to equate 9/11 with the Rwandan genocide.)
You already know the horrifying outcome, and it is difficult to even think of the event in abstract terms. To focus in on actual first hand accounts of actual people (some who made it, most who didn't)with jobs and families and desks and routines inside those towers, is almost too much to bear. Dwyer and Flynn have constructed an amazing narrative from countless personal anecdotes, voice mail messages, cell phone conversations, emergency communications, emails, instant messages, text messages, etc., that tells of the first hand struggles of coming to terms, and dealing with, the horror and the enormity of what happened that Tuesday morning in September.
This insight, many might argue, is exploitative and disrespectful. However, Dwyer and Flynn, both veteran reporters for The New York Times, never sensationalize these accounts. Instead, they bring honor to so many of the people that have remeained faceless, nameless to those of us who viewed the event from the distance of our living rooms.
There are the anecdotes of people risking or giving their lives to save another, and amazing anecdotes of survival, and as we all know, too many anecdotes of efforts that could not overcome the enormity of the situation. Most importantly, the authors uncover the history of building codes in NYC, and are not afraid to point fingers at the politics (from the building and fireproofing of the towers, to the lack of post-1993 emergency procedures and communication ugrades) that may have resulted in far more deaths than were necessary.
This is an important and fascinating account. |
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reviewed by: ericS |
March 2005 [link] |
recommend
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chronicles vol.1
bob dylan
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Not so much a biography or memoir as it is a carefully and sometimes frustratingly selected offering of particular reminisces; this is a surprisingly warm well written piece of hucksterism. Does the man have an impeccable memory or is he just blowing us lyrical smoke? A little of both I think. But I really didn’t care as I found myself enjoying this book way more than I’d thought possible. With a couple of chapters dedicated to his early years, his self imposed exile in Woodstock, and the making of the late eighties album “Oh Mercy” (really??) this is a great read that in the end actually works to humanize Dylan.
Half the fun of the book is the digressions he goes on when trying to tell about a particular period in his life. One of my favorites involves him staying in the home of a couple of Lower East Side early bohemians. While describing their library Dylan offers up an anecdote about how some years later he would visit the Tolstoy estate when in Russia and how a tour guide allowed him to ride Leo’s bike. The book is full of great stuff like that. While the “Oh Mercy” chapter does go on a little too long, it is interesting nonetheless in shedding some light on the most recent incarnation of Dylan and the carefully thought out strategy behind his constant touring and reworking of his older songs.
Since the book is called “Chronicles: Vol 1” I can only assume this means we have more entries to look forward to in the future. Although I do feel it is a bit of a missed opportunity that he apparently doesn’t read the audio book himself (Sean Penn handles that task), for that would have truly made a great holiday gift for someone.
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reviewed by: JohnLawton |
November 2004 [link] |
recommend 1 thumbs up
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