more travel season reads

Travel season means lots of time spent in my car, which means lots of hours of audiobooks!


Is anyone here really surprised that my favorite reads of the last couple weeks are both written by the incredible C.S. Lewis?

Yesterday I read The Great Divorce, and it was really stunning. A fictitious view of the limbo between heaven and hell and the choices people make there. While reading this one, I was once again struck by that same old thought of how delightfully brilliant Jack Lewis is, and I wish that I could think the way he did. I loved this book, once I got into the flow of it. It's very dialogue-based with very little description (hey, sounds like a book by me!), so I had to just drill in on the conversation, and once I did, I was walloped. I love you, Lewis.


I also zipped through The Last Battle again recently, listening to it while going on walks around South Dakota. For those of you who don't know, The Last Battle is very likely my favorite book (do you like how non-committal I am?). It's the seventh and final book of the Chronicles of Narnia, and it's the absolutely perfect way to conclude the series. I have one question about the theology of the book, but all in all, I adore this book. If you haven't read The Chronicles of Narnia before, what are you waiting for? You should be ashamed of yourself. :-)





Yesterday I finished The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, a story about a girl who wakes up from a year-long coma with no memories of her family. That sounds interesting enough, but I was pleased to find that it actually took place in the future--something like 2086. It had lots of secrets and twists in it, and while I was somewhat dissatisfied with the ending, I appreciated the creativity in this book and all the bioethicial questions it brought up.






David Sedaris has a new book out! It's called Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, and it's not really like anything he's ever written before. It's a book of stories about animals but with that hilarious David Sedaris kick to them all. I zipped through this book, and it was good, but it made me really miss Sedaris's laugh-out-loud memoirs. If you could do with a little irreverance and a lot of laughter, go read Me Talk Pretty One Day or Holidays on Ice. Or, well, really anything written by him. He's a comic genius.







I was especially intrigued by Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper because it is based on a TRUE STORY about a girl named Anne who was hanged but then "came alive" on the dissection table. Um ... yeah. I had to give this one a go. Not the greatest writing, but still very, very interesting ...








Finally, I also just read Damage by A.M. Jenkins, a story about a popular kid with depression. It was ... depressing. But a good description of what it feels like to suffer from depression. I suppose if I were going to give a recommendation for a "good depression story" (sounds like an oxymoron, but really, it's not), I'd suggest that people read Ordinary People by Minnesota's own Judith Guest.

BILLY COLLINS TOMORROW!

I get to see/hear/meet my favorite poet Billy Collins!!!

The man is absolutely brilliant, and I can't even think of what I will say to him when I ask him to sign my book.

What would YOU say if you met your favorite writer?

Steve Hely, the author of the novel How I Became a Famous Novelist, used to be a writer for the David Letterman Show, and honestly, this book is just power-packed with hilarity. It's seriously like every sentence is funny. He reminds me of Anne Lamott, or even moreso, David Sedaris, both of whom can make me laugh outloud.

This book is about a lazy bum named Pete who decides to write a famous novel to upstage his ex-girlfriend at her wedding.

If you are a writer, you will especially enjoy this book as Hely completely lambasts writerly cliches.

I also read The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury this week. Interesting loosely interconnected stories about space travels to Mars. I wanted to love it, and while I enjoyed it, The Martian Chronicles had a difficult time holding my attention. In my opinion, if you want the ultimate book-reading adventure in space travel, you need to turn to good ol' Jack ...

C.S. Lewis' space trilogy-- Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength-- are absolutely incredible.

OOSP will make you think. Perelandra will explode your brain (it has been something like four years since I first read it, and I think I am only now ready to re-read it). THS, my favorite of the trilogy but also the hardest to get into, will make your mind whirr and take a second look at "progressiveness."

These books tell the story of Dr. Ransom, a philologist who travels to Mars and Venus, and what he finds there. The third book takes place on Earth. These are theological sci-fi books and incredibly brilliant.

Brilliant. Oh Jack Lewis, I love you.

travel = audiobook time

Look Again by Lisa Scottoline ... it was like a grown-up version of The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney. :-) I really liked it!

Ellen has an adopted son, three-year-old Will. Then one day she sees his face on a missing child flyer. What would you do?

Favorite quote from TFOTMC: "The kiss was long. And serious. Serious like my hair, thought Janie."

Hahahaha!

I also read Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman, selected for Oprah's Book Club. It started off like a modern Wuthering Heights ... soap-opera-ish passion. Then it dissolved into straight-up adultery. And it wasn't even awesome writing. Waste of my time, Oprah. Thanks.

writing hiatus

Sometimes I don't write because I have writer's block. Sometimes I don't write because things just need to sit and stew a while.

That's how I feel right now. I'm reading a ton, and I can feel the words brewing inside of me, gaining strength. One of these days I am going to sit down on the computer, and the words are going to fly out of me like sweet sparrows.

In the words of Zusak, "Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain."

an Enger day

Today I finished reading So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger for the first time. I also finished Peace like a River by Leif Enger for the millionth time.

My take: So Brave just can't compare to Peace. It really can't.

Some highlights from Peace: "He was like a small, hot, talkative planet."

"Fog inquires first at wrists and ankles."

From So Brave: "In the meantime Siringo was a living hero, rising from the smoke like a leathery old god out of Homer."

It wasn't as bad as reading I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak after reading The Book Thief. That was an all-out let-down, a complete disappointment.

I am not even condemning So Brave, Young, and Handsome. It's just ... those who have read Peace like a River know what Enger is capable of, an envy-inducing piece of literature, glorious imagery, and hilarious characters. While I read So Brave, I missed Swede. :-)

confidence-booster

Yesterday afternoon I started and today I finished
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.

The best thing about this book is that it reminded me that I am a decent writer. :-)

I am also re-reading Peace like a River by Leif Enger, which is masterful and gorgeous. If you read between its lines, it says, "You will never write something as good as me."

But thankfully I read Summer I Turned Pretty, which shouted, "But you can certainly do better than this!"

I do have to confess though that I am a fan of brooding, moody boys like Conrad in this story. What is wrong with me?