Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan

I picked up this book because my local library was running a book discussion on this book on a Tuesday night, and I thought I might go. While I did not attend the discussion group (alas, no baby sitter), I am glad I read the book. It was a nice way to spend an evening.

The book chronicles almost an hour by hour telling of a Red Lobster that will be closing its doors for good at the end of the night. The protagonist and voice through which we read the story is the manager, Manny, and he relates all the challenges (getting food and equipment ready on time, dealing with unreasonable customers, and handling touchy employee relations) through this some- what emotional night for him. Add the fact that business has been hampered by a snow storm. This turns out to be a good thing because it gives him time to reflect on the people that he has worked with for so long and how their lives have become intertwined, including Jacquie, a past love interest that he fears will walk out of his life forever at the end of the night.

I had to laugh because there are so many stereotypical characters in this book that it made it so much more believable for me. I have worked in the restaurant industry, and I recognized some of my fellow employees: the professional, hard-core waitress, the swearing bossy but efficient cook, the silent workers in the back, the female college student people hate, the sneaky bartender, the manager that has family issues... often children out of wedlock... and usually in some time of love triangle :) odd how similar.

I have not read any of Stewart O'Nan's books before, but I must say that I love the picturesque descriptions and emotions conveyed in his writing. The book opens as such "Mall traffic on a gray winter's day, stalled. Midmorning and the streetlights are still on, weakly" (1). Wow. That are two well crafted sentences. He draws you into the scene in should an eloquent way that it always is surprising that you find yourself responded to a book about Red Lobster in such a way.

This book in itself is a good study in human nature. Manny, the main character, is multi faceted throughout. He questions his situation (professional and personal); he tries to do the right thing; he ultimately cares for all that have worked for him; and like many, he struggles with the challenges of life. You find yourself really connecting with him and hope that he finds peace in his life.

This is a quick read... but beware.. you will probably want to go to Red Lobster when you are done. I did, and funny thing... one of my friends was talking about how she had a gift certificate to the restaurant and she hoped she could use it all before they close... :)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

I love to judge a book by its cover and this one is intriguing. Not only is the cover faded shades of blue stripes, but the book jacket gives little information as to what the book is about. How can you not want to pick it up and read this book? Simply put it is about a 9 year old that is the son of a German Commandant of the Nazi Army. His father is assigned to oversee the operation at the concentration camp of "Out-With". While living in this new home, in Poland, the boy longs for his friends and the familiarity of his old home in Berlin, Germany. He begins to feel jealous of all the people that he sees outside his window hanging out with their friends in a town over the fence. He even notices how they all wear striped pajamas. Eventually, he meets one of these town’s people, a boy his age with the same birthday, through the fence and they become friends. It is the similarities and naivety of their friendship that is the strength of this story.
Originally, I thought that the book was aimed at a audience of middle schoolers, but after much reflection, I am not so sure. The writing style is simple and straightforward with nine-old terms and mispronunciations that I wonder if a middle schooler would get the references. Additionally, while the book takes place during the Holocaust, it gives very little factual information about it. The book is presented as a fable, and I think reads as one should. The problem for some is that it deals with the Holocaust is a way that is simple and straightforward, but it doesn't make it any less emotional or moving. I assigned it to my college class (soon to be English teachers) to read as a piece of historical fiction, but what grabs me about the book is that while it is a book that takes place during the Holocaust, it is much more than a book about the Holocaust. If you want to read about the Holocaust from the German perspective read The Book Thief. If you want to read about the concentration camps read Night. This is a book about "fences" about discrimination, about the dangers of being naive, about truly looking at people for who they really are not as society judges them. On the inside of the book jacket, if you read the hardcover, it states, "Fences like this exist all over the world. We hope you never have to encounter such a fence." This is a powerful thought and a powerful message that is wrapped in a straightforward "fable-like" package that I believe makes it all the more powerful. To say that it is "the Holocaust for Dick and Jane" (which is how it has been critically labeled) is to miss the purpose and stylistic elements of this novel. I mentioned to my classes that I would love to teach this book to high school age students WITHOUT telling them what it is about. I believe that from the beginning there are many hints as to the where and when of the story, but I think it is not until the first official "Heil Hitler" on page 54 would the reader know for sure that it is takes place during WWII. I think approaching the novel this way helps the true message to the story come to the fore front. Friendship should know no boundaries of race or creed or country.

I love the ending of the story:
And that’s the end of the story about Bruno and his family. Of course all this happened a long time ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. Not in this day and age.

Yeah... right.
Did anyone else read it? What did you think?

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

I finally finished a book for one of these challenges. I must say it took me forever because I really didn't feel like connected with this book at all. The basic summary is tat somewhere in South America at the home of this unnamed country;e vice president there is a birthday party for a powerful Japanese businessman. This particular businessman enjoys the singing of a famous opera soprano... who happens to be hired as entertainment at this birthday party. The entire party is taken hostage as some terrorists/ guerrillas take over the house of the vice president hoping to capture the president, who happen to stay home to watch his favorite soap opera. What follows is an unbelievable telling of the relationship forged between the hostages and their captors.

While I must admit, I did want to flip ahead to find out what happen at the end. I was annoyed that I had so many pages to read to get there. I am not sure what I missed when it came to this book because many people have cited the development of characters and the language as elements that they really love about this novel. I am just indifferent.

Behind as ALWAYS

Okay, so I just finished some more books for my Adolescent Literature class (see my post under my blog "Books That Don't Suck" which causes me to amend my name list. I am really struggling with getting all this reading done. How do people do this with kids?

B can now be The Boy in the Striped Pajamas or The Book Thief... hmmm....

My book= my name

Okay this is what I have so far...


Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang
E
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
E
Cirque du Freak: Vampire Assistant by Darren Shan
C
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

Not very impressive so far is it? I'll keep working on it. Suggestions anyone?

I am trying to write a review of Lauri Halse Anderson's book Speak for my adolescent lit blog. I love this book for so many different reasons that I am having a hard time writing about it. Does that make sense?


~Rebecca

Naming Conventions Challenge

September 1, 2008 - ???

Maria at Reading My Way Through Life is hosting the Naming Conventions Challenge. This one has lots of flexibility built into it - including the length of the challenge and number of books you will read.

Here it is:

1) Write down your first name (or whatever name you usually go by)

2) Do any or all of the following:a) For each letter, pick an author whose last name starts with that letter.b) For each letter, pick an author whose first name starts with that letter.c) For each letter, pick a book that starts with that letter.

3) Books can be cross-overs from other challenges, but each book can only be used once in this challenge. Authors may be repeated though.

4) The challenge lasts one month per letter of your name.

To sign up leave Maria a comment on her post about the challenge.

Too bad my first name isn't Sue. :)

Rebecca

New Classics Challenge

I have decided to just jump right in and join some challenges. Here is one that I think everyone that loves to read can enjoy.

August 1, 2008 - January 31, 2009

Joanna from Lost in a Good Story is hosting her first challenge! The New Classics Challenge is based on Entertainment Weekly's list of new classics (1983-2008).


Copy the list (which Joanna has pasted here) and bold the titles that you have already read.
Choose at least 6 other books from the list , read and review them between 1 August 2008 and 31 January 2009.

Post links to your reviews at Joanna's blog.
In January 2009, cast your vote for which one of the 100 books on the list is your favorite (and write a post on why). One person will be the lucky winner of the book with the most votes.To sign up, use Mr. Linky at the post about the challenge!


Here is the list with my bolded. Can you tell I have been reading the classics over and over for the pat ten years! Hurray for the English teachers! :)

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

I need to search my shelves because I know that I have purchased many of these books with the intent to read. I think that is how I am going to pick my six.

16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)

Wow. I just dug all these books off my shelves and many of them have bookmarks on page three. ot a good sign. I must have started them at some point and just couldn't do it. This is really going to be a challenge for me. Add a crazy toddler, three CRAZY dogs, a part time job and a college literature course... I hope I can do it, but more importantly I hope I have fun trying. :)

Rebecca

Here we go...Lit Flicks Challenge

Per some advice that I read on another blog... duh... I am going to join a challenge. Do you think this will become something else to stress about?

So the challenge is this:

RULES1. Challenge runs from September 1, 2008 to February 28, 2009.

2. Read 5 books/pieces of literature that have been made into movies.

3. Then watch at least 2 of the movie adaptations of the works you read.

Books

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Holes by Louis Sacher

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Memiors of a Geisha

Movies

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Book Blogging

Where have I been? I have blogging about my dogs for a couple of years, but who knew people blogged about books! Mostly it has been therapy for me because lets face it, I live in a small three bedroom ranch with a husband, a toddler, 3 border collies, and 3 cats. Who wouldn't be crazy? Still life has so much to offer, and I can never say no to something of interest, so while I now teach part time at an university in the city, I also work with a goose chasing company (hey, when you have border collies you find yourself doing crazy things). I also work as a dog trainer because when you adopt all rescue border collies, you learn A LOT about training a dog. :) So with that, I still am amazed at all the book blogs I have recently found on the internet! I can't wait (although I am feeling a little overwhelmed) to get started. Are there any book blogging mentors out there? I think I need one.

I don't remember not reading and loving books. When I was little I use to takes piles of them to bed with me, and during the course of the night, they would one by one hit the floor. Nice little surprise for my parents that sleep under me. With this love, I ended up teaching high school English, which does not do much for ones love of reading. I had little time, and kids passionately HATED many of the books that I loved. It was sad; although I must say I loved teaching high school. I miss it... a lot.

I am now at a point in my life where I busier than ever (see above paragraph about kid, pets, husband, and part time jobs), and it would be easy to putting reading aside. Hey, I already did that with running. :) Anyway, I hope blogging is what I need to help me hang on to my love.

~Rebecca