Backlog Part Two (of Three)

Julia Child by Laura Shapiro

This book is part of the Penguin Lives series of short and excellent biographies. I like them partly because they remind me of the first books I really loved- a series of dramatic historical fiction biographies. There's no fiction here, but they're succinct, and that's a selling point to me. Sometimes I don't want to know every little thing about someone's life: I'd prefer a good overview with some choice details. This book delivers on that premise. I learned things about Julia I never knew (she eschewed the local/organic food movement in the 70s; she had several plastic surgeries) and the author also gave a good sense of how passionate Julia was about food and France. I especially liked this excerpt:
"Today there appear to be two kinds of good cooks: those who want to impress people and those who want to feed people. The meal may be delicious in either case, but you can always tell the difference, in part because it's written across the face of the cook when he or she presents the platter. "Admire me," some of their expressions seem to say. "Here, this is for you, let's eat!" say the others." Julia definitely fell into the latter camp.

ps. This book is a nice companion piece to My Life in France by Julia Child and Julie and Julia by Julie Powell (an account of the author's effort to make all of the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking)

pps I also recommend the Penguin Lives Elvis Presley biography by Bobbie Ann Mason.



Crossing California by Adam Langer

I loved this book. It was one that I didn't want to end, but I was also continually curious to see what the author would do. The characters are outstanding-- the book centers around three families in 1979 in Chicago. We get chapters from the various kids' perspectives, and from the adult ones. I was hugely impressed by Langer's ability to make each character so well formed. He also does a magnificent job in weaving together all of these narratives. I thought the book was hilarious and sad and intricate and hopeful and altogether wonderful.

Backlog Part One (of Three)

I'm a slug for not posting in October.
That said, I kept a list of what I read, so I have plenty of fodder.

First, two books by authors I like that didn't live up to their usual work (in my humble opinion):


The Overlook by Michael Connelly
At first, I started reading more mysteries because they're my mom's favorites, and I love being able to talk about them with her. Now I've really grown fond of a lot of mystery authors, and Michael Connelly is near the top of that list. His books featuring Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch are always suspenseful and well done. That said, this book was my least favorite of all of his I've read. It started as a serial in the New York Times, and this seemed apparent to me. The end seemed kind of uninspired and the book as a whole was not nearly as cohesive as his work usually is. I do recommend this book, just not highly, and I'd recommend any of his other books over this one.



(Not that You Asked): Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions by Steve Almond

I have been a fan of Steve Almond ever since I read his book Candyfreak, which is about his extreme love of candy. I went to see him do a reading from the book, and he brought candy for the whole audience, which really endeared him to me. I went on to read his two short story collections, My Life in Heavy Metal, and The Evil B.B.Chow. I particularly enjoyed Which Brings Me to You, a novel in two voices that he co-wrote with Juliana Baggott.
I think that essay collections are often dicey propositions. I always seem to find myself thinking, "Haven't I read this essay before?" only to find that half of the collection has been previously published elsewhere. Plus, inevitably some of the essays are not as good as the others.
As with the Connelly book, I would still recommend this latest offering from Almond. It has some hilarious essays-- he has a stinging wit with a particular talent for self deprecation. The essay about resigning from his teaching position at Boston College after finding out that Condi Rice was their commencement speaker was one of my favorites in the collection. The essays about baseball I found to be a bit snoozy, but that may be my personal bias.