2013 Reading Goal: Bird by Bird

My latest book on my 2013 reading challenge is Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird.

Rating: 5 stars

For some reason, I have never gotten around to reading this book until now. I am a big fan of Anne Lamott...mostly only because I fell in love with the book, Traveling Mercies, several years ago. I've tried to read a couple of her other books but never connected with them as much. Even so, I still call myself a big fan of Anne Lamott. And this book reminded me why I do.

I checked this book out from the library and immediately regretted not owning it. I used 22 sticky notes to mark passages/pages/excerpts that I adored...and that was me being conservative.

This book is a guide to writing. A very helpful, funny, and practical guide. But Lamott is able to do so much more with it then just tell you how to write. She tells you why it is so important to write and to read. 

Throughout the book she tells these stories that are dark, haunting, and beautiful. She shows how important the process of writing is...both for ourselves and as readers. She writes, "Because for some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world...Books helps us understand who we are and how we are to believe....they show us how to live and die. An author makes you notice, makes you pay attention, and this is a great gift."

She inspires us to find the truths inside ourselves that need to be told. That need to be added to this conversation. She says, "You need to put yourself at their center, you and what you believe to be true or right. The core, ethical concepts in which you most passionately believe are the language in which you are writing. Telling these truths is your job. You have nothing else to tell us."

So much of what she says makes me love books even more. I love the idea of connecting with the truths that other authors have inside them. I love the idea that I'm seeing whats important to someone else...what they've noticed and seen to be true. Lamott writes, "Becoming a writer is about becoming conscious. When you're conscious and writing from a place of insight and simplicity and real caring about the truth, you have the ability to throw the lights on for your reader." I love those moments that I have in books and I love the idea that it comes from the author really caring about the truths inside and around them.

She wants us to wake up, look around, and care for the people around us in order so that we can be more truthful in portraying the world around us. She says, "I honestly think in order to be a writer, you have to learn to be reverent. If not, why are you writing? Why are you here?" So she shows us some examples throughout about the times when she has reverently watched and been apart of the world. From one especially beautiful story, she says, "...there is still something to be said for painting portraits of the people we have loved, for trying to express those moments that seem so inexpressible beautiful, the ones that change us and deepen us."

In the last paragraph she sums it up perfectly when asked the question of why writing matters. She says, "Because of the spirit, I say. Because of the heart. Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul."

My 4th lesson of 2013 is:  Find the truths that are important to me so I can add to the conversation that I love so much. The best way to do that is by reading, watching, and listening to the world around me. And by being disciplined in writing. Every day!

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As I mentioned in my 2013 goal, I’m reading mostly women lit that focuses on women authors or complicated, strong female characters this year. Here is the list of my previous book reviews that I've done on this journey:

First: Madame Bovary.
Second: Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress.
Third: Patron Saint of Liars.

Part 2: Reading List of 2012

So way back on Day 1of this blog, I wrote a long explanation of why I read so obsessively. I won’t rehash all of that again but feel free to check it out if you missed it. And then on this day I showed you Part 1 of my reading adventure for 2012. And now today I give you part 2! I originally thought my goal for 2012 would be 50 books but I passed that and now am striving for 75. We'll see...my tracker says I'm 2 books behind...

* indicates a favorite

** indicates a super favorite

32.        St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell                     Short Stories

I was so intrigued by Swamplandia! that I wanted to read some more of Karen Russell. This is a collection of her short stories—one of them being a short story that inspired Swamplandia!. It is very strange going from reading a fully fleshed out story to then going back to the original sketch of it. The stories themselves were unique and intriguing…just didn’t quite have the finesse that I was expecting. I loved the title story, though, and also the one about the sleep disorder camp.

33.       *Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai                               Young Adult Fiction/Poetry

My sister-in-law let me borrow her copy of this book and I took it home and read through it that very night. It is a very engaging story about a girl and her family fleeing from the Vietnam War and trying to adjust to life in Alabama. The book is written from ten-year-old Ha’s perspective in free verse poetry and really achieves that confusion and turmoil that she feels as she adjusts to her new life and deals with memories of the past.  

34.       **A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith                                        Classics/Fiction

This is a reread for me as I first read it in high school. I liked it then but LOVE it now. It is such a quiet story—but so strong. Francie Nolan is such a great character as she is always trying to find the beauty in the broken world around her. I feel like I can’t articulate much more about it without confining it, so all I can say is if you haven’t read this one…read it!

35.       Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You by Sam Gosling                 Nonfiction/Psychology

I was really excited about this book because I think that the subject is pretty fascinating! The author is a psychologist who pokes around dorm rooms, offices, and bedrooms to see what he can learn from them. The idea was there—but it just got to be a bit boring. It is such a FUN idea but I think he ended up trying to make the book more scientific/educational than I was expecting.

36.       **The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie by Mary Ann Shaffer             Historical Fiction

I felt so lost when I began reading this book because it immediately jumps into letters being exchanged from people who I had no idea who they were! The entire book is written in letters actually, but it surprised me how easily I picked up the storyline and the characters. After a couple pages in, I was hooked. The book is set in the time period of London trying to emerge from the destruction of World War II. It is about Juliet, a writer, who begins to correspond with a group of people who lived in Guernsey (a small island off of London) during their occupation by the Nazis. It is such a great story…both from a historical perspective but also from a reader’s perspective! It is so engaging—and what a cast of characters! Go read it!

37.       Casino Royale by Ian Fleming                                                                     Adventure/Fiction

So not my typical read…but my husband read it while we were on vacation and suggested it to me after I finished my own book. I decided to read through the first couple pages to see what it was all about…and low and behold, I ended up finishing it shortly after. It was fun to see James Bond in print and compare it with the James Bond of the 2006 movie version with Daniel Craig. It was a bit tough to put up with all of the 1953 stereotypes…lots of mentions on how women shouldn’t be in the professional world. Ugh!  Not sure I’d be up for reading the next one, but who knows!

38.       Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? By Jeanette Winterson      Memoir

What a great title! I could hardly pass this up with a title like that. I was really expecting a witty, gritty memoir but ended up being slightly confused during a lot of it. I never read her story, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and in many ways this book seemed written directly for the Oranges readers. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read Oranges first as the stories inside this one are very powerful—just a bit disjointed without having the base of the first book.

39.       The Red House by Mark Haddon                                              Fiction

This book was a little confusing at first because Haddon jumps not only from character to character but he also jumps to excerpts from the books that each character is reading—all happening within paragraphs of a chapter. As I got into that style and got to know the characters better, I could settle into it a bit better. The book was a lot darker than I was expecting. I was expecting it to be a bit like This is Where I Leave You—but in a hard way to describe, it was heavier. The story of the book is about an estranged brother and sister spending a week together with their families in a house. The characters of the book seem pretty normal but somehow it seems like every possible struggle is being dealt with—insanity, affairs, sexual orientation, guilt, manipulation, and lots more. A book that made me think about it after I finished, but not necessarily in a good way.

40.       The World to Come by Dara Horn                                            Historical Fiction

I’m having difficulty writing about this book. When I finished it, I gave it a 4/5 but as I look back on it…I’m not sure I really did like it that much. It was a good read and I enjoyed the folklore, layers, and characters of the book. It just didn’t stick with me as much as I thought it was going to. The beginning was strong, but it just sort of petered out a bit.

41.   The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker              Science Fiction

This was a book that was really strange to go from reading it then back to reality. Whenever I put it down, I had to reorient myself to days that were still 24 hours long, birds still flying in the sky, and strawberries still being readily available. This is a coming of age story of girl who deals with normal stuff like boys, not being popular, and her parents fighting. Yet, there is nothing normal about her world as the “slowing” has begun. Nicely written and definitely thought provoking.

42.   Big Sur by Jack Kerouac                                                 Classic/Memoir

I think this is a book that intrigued me more in the idea of it than the actual book. Here is Jack Kerouac, the king of the Beatniks, growing older, darker, and more depressed. He got this wild fame from On the Road, and you see him trying to keep up with it. He runs himself ragged with alcohol and wild nights. There is a darkness in this book and it leads right into a breaking point of insanity. Few can write in his style—but the raggedness and sincerity of it only added to the heartbreak of the story.

43.   Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte                       Classics/Fiction

What a dark and moody story this is! It is a story of a passionate love that makes them and everyone around them miserable. It is nicely layered and could definitely be read over and over and still pick up new angles. Just not sure it will be me who will reread it…

44.   **Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin                    Classics/Fiction

I was poking around on my mom’s ipad one day when I stumbled upon the e-books that she has on there. I was interested to see if I could tell a difference between reading on an ipad compared to my nook. So I started rereading Pride and Prejudice. And then pretty soon I didn’t care at all about my experiment and was completely absorbed in reading it. The only thing that jolted me out of the spell was when the low battery alert came on. Then I ran downstairs and got my nook and finished it on there! I’m convinced that this book is more fun to reread than it is to originally read it. I knew that the good stuff was coming so I was pulled right through it. Ahh, what a great book. Ever since I read it, I just want to reread it, watch the movies, and then reread it again.

45.   *Villette by Charlotte Bronte                    Classics/Fiction

I have to admit—this is one of those books that probably a third of the way in, I wasn’t sure if I could finish it. I had loved Jane Eyre so much and this was...much harder to read. It was slow, I didn’t know if I liked/could trust the main character, and it kept refusing to give me all of the details that I wanted. BUT, I went online and started reading about the book to give me a little bit better understanding. As people raved about it, I decided to give it a 2^nd chance. I learned to appreciate the artistry which Bronte writes—that she chose to represent Lucy that way so we could see how restrained she is and how fearful of opening herself up to the world. As the book goes on, we start to see and understand Lucy better but she still often refuses to really show how she felt. Bronte deals with some heavy theology and philosophy in this book which gives it a rich feel to it. I’m glad that I stuck with it—but I wouldn’t recommend it to the faint of heart!  

46.   Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange                     Fiction

My sister-in-law is the biggest Pride and Prejudice fan that I know of. For her birthday I gave her this book which is the story told from Mr. Darcy’s perspective in diary format. I then borrowed it from her to read it myself! It started off and I thought it might be too hokey for me…like it was just not going to work. Then soon enough, I just got sucked right into it. It is a light, fun read. Having just read Pride & Prejudice a few days before, it was a nice salve for the itch for more Pride and Prejudice! No, it isn’t Jane Austen, but it is fun to see things from Mr. Darcy’s perspective.

47.   Emma by Jane Austen                                   Classics/Fiction

My least favorite Jane Austen story so far. I usually appreciate when an author gives their characters faults, but Emma was just a little too annoying for me to really embrace. I did like the 2^nd half of the book a lot better but jeesh, it was rough going there for a bit in the beginning!

48.   *The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle    Classics/Fiction/Mystery

I have to admit…the BBC miniseries Sherlock was what inspired me to start reading this. And I’m glad it did because the book is full of fun, short mysteries that reminded me of my love of Jessica Fletcher and Dr. Haledjian.

49.   *Little Women by Louisa May Alcott                      Classics/Fiction

What a great story of a family of girls coming of age! I really was not expecting to really connect with this book as it is kind of simple and full of morals. But, it is a quiet and peaceful read that has depth to it. It is a book that had me thinking about it many times after I finished it.

50.   *The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros                            Fiction

A great little book about a girl growing up in Chicago—trying to get a grapple on living in a house on Mango Street that isn’t everything her parents had dreamt and promised of. It is told from her perspective which gives it innocence. Cisneros gives the gritty but also the beauty.

51.   *Persuasion by Jane Austen                       Classics/Fiction

I really enjoyed this book because it had a sense of maturity to it. No, Anne is not a feisty Elizabeth Bennett, but she has had heartache and has learned from it. She’s a relatable character who is more level headed and restrained than some of Austen’s characters. Plus, I think the story line is great—how awkward to be in such a close social setting with a former fiancé! I’m not sure I like it as much as Pride & Prejudice but maybe with a rereading I’d put it up there…                                          

52.   *The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd             Spiritual Memoir

This book has been so thought provoking for me. The book is about Kidd’s journey of being a traditional Southern Baptist that begins to realize how so much of her religion is from a man’s perspective. It is her journey of beginning to unlearn and relearn who she is and what she believes.  Throughout her own journey, she weaves fantastic quotes and stories throughout. I couldn’t always connect with every part of the book, but I do feel lucky to have read this book at this time in my life.

Part 1: Reading List of 2012!

So way back on Day 1 of this blog, I wrote a long explanation of why I read so obsessively. I won’t rehash all of that again but feel free to check it out if you missed it. Instead of doing one big one at the end of the year, I thought I’d split it up a bit…so this is part one of my Reading Extravaganza of 2012!

* indicates a favorite

** indicates a super favorite

1.       Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell        Fiction—Coming of Age

 I was intrigued about this book because it is set around the Kalamazoo River which is where my parents live.  I thought it might be like the female version of Huckleberry Finn—how cool would that be? There were parts of this book that I liked but overall it was pretty dark throughout with a too cheery ending for my taste.

2.       **The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan         Fiction/Poetry

Oh I loved this clever little read! Each chapter begins with a word and then what follows is an expert of a love story that gives that word meaning. While the story is particular to one couple, it somehow delves into the universality of love.      I would definitely recommend this read but my one advice is to have a dictionary nearby!

3.       Wildwood by Colin Meloy         Young Adult/Fantasy

This book had every single element that should make for a great adventure story but it just felt like it was trying too hard. It was still a good read but I did feel disappointed a bit by it. The illustrations by Carson Ellis were amazing, though.

4.       The Little Bride by Anna Solomon         Historical Fiction

I really liked the historical significance that this book portrayed—about a young Jewish girl traveling to the West as a mail order bride. But her selfishness made it tough to like her.   Even more so, I found myself getting so frustrated with how she acted. It just felt like this book had a bad mood surrounding it.

5.       Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier         Historical Fiction

This is a story that I’ve been hovering around for several years and finally got around to reading. I was very intrigued by this book as it is a fictional story based around the real Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer and his famous painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring. It was quite simple in its prose but I was immediately drawn into the story, the household, and the painting.

6.       **The Fault In Our Stars by John Green         Young Adult

This book had me on such a rollercoaster of emotions—either I was bawling or I was laughing. Green has taken two very real kids who are living with the dark cloud of cancer looming above them—and shown a story of love, humor, and grace. Heart wrenching? Yes. But the questions about life, death, and love are so beautiful that it makes up for any smeared mascara. 

7.       It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini     Young Adult

This was an interesting book to read right after The Fault in Our Stars as it dealt with another smart kid who grapples with the bigger questions in life. He is a bit unlikable in his teenage self but at the same time, his struggles with the pressures of life make him very relatable and easy to be sympathetic towards. A very good read about mental illness in ourselves and loved ones.

8.       All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost by Lan Samantha Chang         Fiction

I was quite intrigued by this story while reading it. It drew me in—but quietly. It was one of those books that I finished but kept thinking about for weeks after. I can’t say it is my favorite, but it definitely is worth reading for any writer/artist/poet.

9.       Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling        Nonfiction/Humor

I think I was on the library’s hold list for this book for roughly….7 months. I was sooo looking forward to this book and for the most part, I was satisfied. The beginning of the book was really good—especially her stories about growing up—but the funnies did start to drift off towards the end.  Still gave me plenty of chuckles, though.  

10.   The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean         Historical Fiction

This book took me a long time to get into it because it bounces back and forth between the present day story and the story set in Leningrad in ’41. The story of Leningrad during the war is so interesting that I kept getting frustrated when we’d leave the story to go into the present day lives of the characters.   Towards the end of the book, I began to appreciate the jumps a bit more and could see the importance of seeing the present day story, as well as the old. Overall, it is a good read about a story you don’t always hear about.

11.   Hitler’s Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti         Historical Nonfiction

I grew up reading a lot of books about World War II and the Holocaust so I was a little suspicious that I had already read all that would be in this book…but I was wrong. This is a really good look at how Hitler understood the power of young people and how he went about manipulating them. A very important read!

12.   Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela         Fiction

This story took me a while to get into and I often thought about putting it down and moving on to something else. But I’m glad I stuck with it! As I got more comfortable with her writing rhythm, I started getting to know the characters, their motives, and their culture.

13.   Feeling for Bones by Bethany Pierce        Young Adult Fiction

A thoughtful look about a teenage girl suffering with anorexia as her family crumbles around her.  A good subject but…I wanted more from the book. The writing somehow kept me at a distance the whole time I was reading so it was hard to really connect with it.

14.   Hector and the Secrets of Love by Francois Lelord        Fiction/Philosophy

This was a very fun, light read—all while asking some big questions about the nature of love. Lelord has a very interesting writing style—almost like a children’s story—which makes it seem like a lighter book than it is. My hubby gave me this book for Valentine’s Day—and it proved to be a good find!

15.   Player One by Douglas Coupland         Fiction/Apocalyptic

Douglas Coupland doing what he does best—asking big questions and examining our society as if through a microscope. He addresses a lot of the same issues that concerns him in his previous books but it still was very thought provoking. The book is set immediately after the price of oil sky rockets so the world is amidst chaos. As a big fan of Coupland, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you haven’t ever read any of his books…don’t start with this one.

16.   *Jim the Boy by Tony Earley        Historical/Young Adult Fiction

I have to admit…I thought that Jim the Boy was a pretty lame title. And then the cover….woof. But I am so glad that I picked this book up. It is such a beautiful, simple story of a boy growing up in a small town. Quiet scenes fill the book with a strong presence and feel. One of the most surprising reads so far. I liked it so much I bought three copies and gave two away!

17.   The Blind Contessa’s New Machine by Carey Wallace        Historical Fiction

This is based on the true story about the invention of the typewriter.  This book almost feels magical to me—as the main character is a free spirited child who loves the natural world, her freedom, and imagination. As she begins to lose her eyesight, she learns to love and experience the world differently. There are some bothersome qualities of the book but after meeting Carey Wallace and thoroughly enjoying who she is…I can easily overlook them!

18.   Great House by Nicole Krauss      Fiction/Short Stories

This book intrigued me because it all revolves around one desk. Each short story mentions/focuses on the same desk and ultimately all of the stories do intersect at the end.  I really wanted to love this book because I loved The History of Love so much. But…it was a bit too disengaged for me. It wasn’t quite a collection of short stories and it wasn’t quite a novel.  

19.   *The Truth About Celia by Kevin Brockmeier        Fiction/Fantasy

This is such a clever book as it is set up as a book inside of a book. There are two cover pages—the real one and then the fake one introducing the book that the fictional Christopher wrote after his daughter disappeared. This story delves into fantasy in such an easy and believable way. It is about Christopher dealing with his daughter’s disappearance, trying to explain why she left, reliving her last known moments, and coping with life afterwards. This is such a smart, quick read.

20.   **Here if You Need Me: A True Story by Kate Braestrup       Memoir

Oh I loved this story. Kate Braestrup is funny, charming, honest, and a great story teller. This is the story about her husband suddenly dying in a car crash and her taking over his dream of being a chaplain for the game wardens in Maine. It is a mix of stories about grief, love, chaplain hood, and the Maine game wardens.  Ugh, so good!! Read it!

21.   *Blankets by Craig Thompson       Graphic Novel/Semi-Autobiographical

So this book is massive. Really massive. I picked it up from the library and wasn’t quite sure that I’d be able to read the whole thing…but then I sat down and read the entire book in one sitting. The book is set in Wisconsin and deals with a young man growing up and dealing with new love, faith, loneliness, identity, and all the joys of adulthood. Oh and did I mention that his drawings are terrific?!

22.   *Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork      Young Adult

This book is about 17 year old Marcelo who has an autism-like condition. His father pushes him into dealing with the real world and what follows is an addicting story about experiencing the joys and pains of living. Marcelo is a unique character who should not be missed…so go read it!  

23.   *Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool       Historical Young Adult

This is a great read that is cleverly written. The story is set in two different time periods that are connected by newspaper clippings. At first I thought this might be too confusing and wasn’t sure I was ready to remember all the character names, story lines, etc. But it quickly drew me in and I was right there next to Abilene as she got in trouble, explored, and tried to figure out the story behind her dad and the town of Manifest, Kansas. Abilene is a spirited little girl who helps a small town remember who it is.

24.   Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea      Fiction

I don’t listen to audiobooks very much but this one I happened to listen to while I was busy sewing one night. I really enjoyed listening to it because there were a lot of Spanish sayings and names that were fun to listen to. It wasn’t my favorite story….but it was fun to listen to.

25.   *See Me Naked by Amy Frykhom      Nonfiction

This book looks at nine different stories of how the Christian portrayal of sexuality has affected their lives. This book definitely added a new and interesting voice to the discussion of sexuality, religion, and moral living. Fykhom writes a terrific last chapter that gives a new way to view our sexuality and to help us remember that embracing our body can actually lead us into a richer relationship with God. She shows how we can overcome the harmful beliefs that many of us have from growing up in the church and live a fuller Christian life. While some of the stories were pretty extreme cases—I really appreciated the conversation that Frykhom started.

26.   **Lovely, Raspberry by Aaron Belz        Poetry

This is an awesome little book of poetry! I must have read at least half of them out loud to my husband (while he was trying to read his own book—oops!). They are so dry, so unexpected, so unpretentious. It reminds me of why I like poetry—how fun it can be!

27.   House of Prayer No.2 by Mark Richard       Memoir

An interesting story about a boy who is plagued with deformed hips. It is a mix of coming of age, dealing with a perfectionist father, a race against time (doctors said he’d be lame by age 30), and losing and finding his faith. A very intriguing story…but the second person writing was way too distracting for my taste.

28.   The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier       Fiction/Fantasy

I am a fan of Kevin Brockmeier. I think he is very clever and is willing to push the boundaries in writing fiction. The Illumination is about a world that is filled with people who glow from their wounds. If someone has a cut finger, the cut would glow. If someone has lung cancer, their chest would glow. But throughout the book, a private journal of one lined love notes gets passed from one person to the next so you end up seeing how each person deals and struggles in this new world. Some of the stories were harder for me to connect with than others, but overall I love the idea of the book and loved many parts of the book—if not in its entirety.

29.   Marriage and Other Acts of Charity by Kate Braestrup       Memoir

This is my second book by Kate Braestrup and it is my second favorite of hers. This book is about her experience in her first marriage, her experience as a chaplain dealing with marriages, counseling and divorce, and then ultimately about her second marriage after being widowed. She is completely honest about her journey on figuring out how to love—and it is appreciated! It didn’t have the same depth as her first book, but it was still a good read about choosing to love every day…and it is full of nuggets of wisdom for a newbie at marriage!

30.   **Imagine by Jonah Lehrer      Nonfiction

This is a book that makes me want to talk about it in every conversation that I have. It is so interesting! Lehrer looks at misconceptions about creativity, how the brain works, what motivates creativity, and much more! He has lots of stories inside that helped draw me through as I am not much of a nonfiction reader. A nice, light read that has definitely affected how I think about creativity!

31.   Swamplandia! By Karen Russell      Fiction

Hmm…this is a tough book to summarize what I think about it. For one thing, I loved the title. I wasted no opportunities at saying Swamplandia! outloud. I also wasted no opportunities at reading this book. I was drawn in and sucked all the way through the alligator wrestling, family struggles, and the dark crannies of the swamp. It is a bit gloomy and disturbing, but so original that I couldn’t help but be intrigued. Immediately after reading it, I put her book of short stories on hold at the library…always a good sign about a good book.