November’s Books & A Link Up Reminder

I did a bit of traveling this month so I picked up some easier reads than in previous months.  And because I spent quite a bit of time in planes and cars, I was able to get through five of them. 

Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill

I have a confession to make; I like to read Stephen King.  I know he doesn’t tackle women’s issues like my beloved Margaret Atwood, but I like him.  I re-read the Dark Tower series every few years and remain a huge fan of It, The Talisman and The Stand.  Well, Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son and that’s how I ended up reading this book.  It is a horror story and it wasn’t bad, but I definitely prefer his father’s work.  That being said, if you like horror and think King is overwrought (he is NOT, btw), you might like Hill.

Bangkok 8, by John Burdett

This is a mystery novel set in Bangor, Maine.  Hahahaha, just kidding.  It’s a mystery novel set in Bangkok, Thailand and is a quick, easy read.  As long you don’t mind the narrator telling you all the things you don’t understand because you’re a spiritually unenlightened Westerner.

Bangkok Tattoo, by John Burdett

This book is the sequel to Bangkok 8 and is narrated by the same Thai police detective who thought Westerners were unenlightened jerks in the first book.  He still thinks Westerners are unenlightened jerks.

Boomsday, by Christopher Buckley

Wow.  Okay, the premise of this book is horrible, but given the current issues facing Social Security, you can see why the author came up with it.  It being a plan to incentivize baby boomers to euthanize themselves by a certain age to keep the Social Security Administration, and the Federal Government, from going bankrupt trying to pay social security to the millions of boomers set to retire all at once.  It was... interesting.  Buckley is, of course, the author of Thank You For Smoking, so it’s very much a satire, but it was still a disturbing one.


Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

 

I'm guessing there is not a lot I can tell you about this book that you'd don't already know.  Unless, of course, you've been on an ice breaker in the North Pole for the past five or so years without any access to the internet or a library.  In which case, welcome back and read this book.  Start with The Hunger Games first though, okay?  As for me, I just re-read this book in preparation for watching the movie sometime over this long holiday weekend.

I'm not sure which of these book will be my inspiration for my Literary Stylings Link Party, but it is definitely still on for Tuesday and I hope you all can join in!  Want to learn more about it?  You can find the rules, such as they are, here.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Literary Stylings # 5: The Blind Assassin

Damn it, I just realized I completely missed the opportunity to dress like an assassin.  And, alternatively a peach woman, a lizard man or a mute slave girl; man, this was a great book.  Instead, I'm wearing an outfit based on what the narrator and her sister wore before the narrator married rich and was outfitted in silks and furs and silk-lined furs (and probably fur-lined silks):

This look is an amalgamation of an outfit that plays a pretty prevalent role and of a pond that also gets a lot of mention in the book.  The outfit in the book is a modestly cut velvet dress with a white collar. The pond has lily pads, statuary and, in my mind, swans.  So, of course, I layered my jeweled Peter Pan-collar sweater over my swan print dress:

Basically this outfit is meant to represent pre-wedded-Iris (the narrator), as the pond was at her ancestral home (she was given a rock garden at her new one) and she wore the dress prior to her marriage but never after.  Also, before she married money, she came from a family that used to be wealthy but had fallen on hard times; for me, the jeweled collar on this sweater represents a little money, but not much:

Again, if you haven't read The Blind Assassin, I strongly recommend it.

And now it's your turn; please to add your link below!

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!  And thanks, as always, for playing along!

Gracey

October’s Books

Hello, Party Peoples!

This is your better-late-than-never reminder that my always exciting Literary Stylings Link Party is coming up on Tuesday the 5^th.  If you want more information on this rockin' good time, you can find it here.

So, October was a very strange and stressful month for me and I’m afraid I didn’t get around to reading many books.  In fact, I only read two.  But, I figure this will allow me some room to talk more about them. 

Let me start by saying that, happily, this time around I enjoyed both of the books that I read.  More or less. 

Please to allow me to explain that last bit.

The first book I read is The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan:

According to Wikipedia, “a panopticon is a type of institutional building designed by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century. The concept of the design is to allow a watchman to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) inmates of an institution without them being able to tell whether they are being watched or not.  (Wikipedia goes on to say that Bentham thought the panopticon design would be great for all matter of institutions, including daycare facilities!  Seriously.)

If that definition and daycare suggestion doesn't quite help you picture what we're talking about, this is a panopticon:

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about the book.  As I said, I enjoyed this book.  It was heartbreaking at times, but I think that just means the author did a good job.

The novel is about a troubled youth named Anais, who is sent to a panopticon institution.  Anais believes that her life is not really her life but is part of an experiment where she is under constant surveillance by the watchers.  As you can imagine, being sent to an institution designed to keep you under constant surveillance is not easy to handle for someone who already suffers from the sort of paranoia Anais suffers from. 

The author did a good job with this concept and with Anais’ voice.  Really, my only complaint about this novel is that it is written in the Scottish (I think) vernacular and I have the hardest time reading things in vernacular without saying them aloud.  Fagan wasn’t as difficult to read as Irvine Welsh, but I did a LOT of mumbling to myself as I read all the “cannae” and dinnae” statements in this book. 

Also, just as a warning, in case you’re thinking a book about a 15-year old heroine would be a great book for the young reader in your life, this is NOT a YA novel.  At all. 

The other book I read is Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin:

Yes, more Atwood.  What can I say; she’s one of my favorites.  Although, having read both her futuristic fiction (The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood) and her historical fiction (Alias Grace and The Blind Assassin), I think I prefer the futuristic fiction.  Don’t get me wrong, The Blind Assassin is a lovely novel, just as Alias Grace was, but I prefer the others more.

That’s just a personal preference though; The Blind Assassin is really very good.  It’s sort of two books in one and it’s a mystery as well as historical fiction and I highly recommend it.  This was a book that I couldn't stop reading because of how well it was written.  Atwood’s device of setting a novel-within-a-novel added to the mystery and worked very well.

So, why do I prefer the futuristic fiction?  Because I’m afraid of the future.  I don’t mean the future as in tomorrow, or next week or even next year.  No, I mean the future as in 2033 when things get all dystopian and stuff.  And, like anyone else who watches/reads scary stuff, I like that little frisson of fear.   For example, Oryx and Crake?  Just the ChickieNobs Nubbins alone scare the crap out of me.

And don’t get me started on The Handmaid’s Tale; seriously terrifying stuff.  Speaking of which, I guess there is a new cover for it now?  Have you guys seen this?

Isn't that both horrible and perfect for the book? 

Anyway, read The Blind Assassin, it’s good.  And if you like dyslit (dystopian literature), read Atwood’s futuristic fiction; there are frissons galore.

And don’t forget to join in on Tuesday!

Happy Saturday, All!

Gracey

Literary Stylings # 4 - Obvious Orange

Quick confession.  This dress:

... has nothing to do with this book:

The author and her fellow inmates didn't wear orange, they wore khaki.  Most prisoners nowadays don't wear orange.  They wear head-to-toe khaki or denim and only wear orange when they're being transported.  Because the bright color makes the inmates easier to locate if they try to escape.

But, obviously there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to wear orange.  Especially in a fruit print:

Fruit also has nothing to do with this book.  Except, wait... yes, the author ate as much fresh fruits and vegetables as was available to her in an attempt to counteract all the starch our penal system feeds prisoners.

So, there we go.  My fruit dress represents the author's attempt to stay healthy during her prison stay!  Yay, me!

And now it's your turn; you can link up below:

Happy Tuesday, All! Gracey

Literary Stylings Reminder

Hello Dearest Reader Friends!

This post is just a friendly reminder that it's nearly time to link up to the Fashion for Giants Literary Stylings Link Party.  Per usual, the party will be held the first Tuesday of the month, which is next Tuesday, October 1st, and will be open for linking all week long.  You can find more information on this awesome literary adventure here.

Here are the books I'll be choosing from for my look.

This month, I read Kapitoil, by Teddy Wayne:

Image via goodreads.com

This was a good book but not necessarily one I enjoyed reading.  I will try to explain.  The lead character, Karim, is from Qatar and is really quite lovely but most of the other characters were not.  It got to the point where I dreaded his interactions with the mostly horrible Americans he came into contact with.  And from the stand point of this challenge, there really wasn’t much inspiration there so I don’t think I’ll be using this one.

 

I read The Roaches Have No King, by Daniel Evan Weiss:

Image via www.bookfever.net

The Roaches Have No King was… interesting.  But, I think the author’s device of writing from the POV of a roach back-fired on him in the end.  The book got increasingly graphic and, well, disgusting as it progressed, and by the end I was no longer sure what point the author was trying to make.  It got drowned out in scatological observations and inter-species sex.  And although those two things might make for an interesting challenge look, I think I’ll probably end up going a different route.

I read The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth:

Image via thebooksmugglers.com

The Midwifewas an absolutely lovely book.  Jennifer Warner isn’t the best author in the world but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this book.  I’m delighted she put her experiences in East End London after World War II down on paper because the stories are wonderful.  I definitely recommend reading it and I’ve heard the PBS series, Call the Midwives, is pretty darned good as well.

And I'm finishing up Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, by Piper Kerman:

Image via goodreads.com

The author of Orange is the New Black, Piper Kerman, isn’t exactly a great author either but she gets her point across and I’m glad she wrote the book.  Like Warner, Kerman doesn’t try to glamorize her experiences and both are honest even when it doesn’t portray them in the best light.  I definitely recommend this book and have heard this series is pretty good too.

My Literary Stylings outfit this month will most likely be based on one of these last two books unless I come into possession of some cockroach-colored patent leather and then, well, my choice is obvious.

What about you, Reader Friends?  Have you chosen your look for next Tuesday?

Gracey

Literary Stylings # 3: Valeria's Last Stand

As I mentioned before, one of the mere three books I read last month was a weird-and-not-in-the-good-way book called Valeria's Last Stand, by author Marc Fitten:

I guess it was supposed to be a comedy, but I don't see how making every single character in the town hateful was funny.  I don't know, maybe I missed the point.  Has anyone else read this book?  If you haven't, I don't recommend it, but if you have, can you explain it to me, using small words, please, in the comments?

Enough about the book though.  Well, maybe a bit more.  There is a lot of talk of produce in the book as the titular character, Valeria, grows the best produce in town and constantly reminds everyone of the fact (seriously, she is horrible).  There is also a lot of talk about color, the color of the fruits and vegetables, especially peppers and turnips, but also of the crockery made by the local potter.

Well, when I saw this dress in Goodwill a couple of weeks ago, the colors instantly reminded me of the colors in the book:

And the chaotic print reminded me of the muddy, chaotic prose of the book:

Happily for me, crazy, chaotic print on a dress makes me much happier that crazy, chaotic writing.  Seriously, that book made me feel like this:

Pretty sure that was the look on my face the entire time I was reading it.

But, it did inspire me to buy this awesome dress, which I paired with a braided belt (also via Goodwill) and ankle strap flats (Hive & Honey via Piperlime) and a chunky necklace:

I chose this particular necklace because the large beads are actually clay, you know, like a potter uses and there is a potter in the book.  Also, it's pepper-colored and peppers play a large role in the book so I wore it.

Because, even though the book was terrible, it really did inspire this entire look.

And now, it's your turn.  You can link your literature-inspired looks below: 

 

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey