52 Titles Falling Behind

52 Titles Challenge Weeks 34-41 “Falling Behind”

What have you done this summer? What haven’t I done? Between gardening, canning and laying my patio, I barely had time to concentrate on my new full-time job. And before some of you point to me as an example of the recovering economy, please note that I was unemployed or under employed for three years and if it wasn’t for scraping together some freelancing and having a supportive spouse, I would be on the streets and not writing this post.

But enough of that, the good news is that I am employed and that I’m still getting my reading done, mostly. There are weeks when it is a real challenge. But I feel good because while I may not finish on time, I have kept my promise to read more and I have learned a great deal in the process.

52 Titles Challenge:

Week 35, Sept. 12- 18: “The Dream Life of Sukhanov” by Olga Grushin.
I re-read portions of it because I just couldn’t get the story out of my head. I found myself constantly questioning not so much whether Tolya’s dreams are real or imagined but more about the sacrifices all artist’s, especially in these times, must make in order to simply live. What do we give up in order to maintain a semblance of security for ourselves and for those we love?

Weeks 36 – 37, Sept. 19-October 2 “Nightwatch” by Sergei Lukyanenko

Obviously, I love Russian writers cause I tend to read them a lot. I don’t read a lot of sci-fi, fantasy, urban horror or gothic novels and to be honest, I was turned on to this book by the movie. As such I feel like my opinion of the book is clouded by my sincere love of the movies. Maybe my inability to connect with the Anton of the book’s stems from my appreciation of Konstantin Khabenskiy‘s portrayal. Or maybe I just have a horrible translation, which wouldn’t be the first time. I remember reading a version of “Crime and Punishment” that would have made the author choke with tears.

Weeks 38, October 3-9: “Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives” by Brad Watson I absolutely love it when you pick up a novel in a bookstore based on the title, get sucked in by the first page, and finish it satisfied. There are several wonderful stories in the collection. My favorites include “The Misses Moses” and of course, “Vaccum” which is the opening story and starts,

“The mother told the boys that she was much unappreciated in this house. She was just like a slave. She pushed the vacuum cleaner back and forth on the floor at their feet where they sat on the sofa. They had been trying to watch a western show on the black-and-white television before she had turned on the vacuum and begun to shout her words over its howling motor….”

Week 39, October 10- 16: “An Object of Beauty” by Steve Martin. Yes, that Steve Martin. I love Steve Martin but I loath this book. No, I wasn’t expecting funny. I was expecting something other than a whine-fest and boredom that was this book. I adore art history but even that as a framework couldn’t salvage this book. The main character, Lacey, is completely and utterly unlikable and Franks barely registers as a character on the page. I really loved the inclusion of the paintings in the book but when you turn a page and are disappointed to not see a picture, you know there’s something seriously lacking in the book.

Week 40, October 17-23: I went to a wedding and read many fine travel brochures, magazines and in-flight catalogs. Apparently, if you get bored flying you can buy some seriously bizarre things.

Week 41,  October 24-30: “Breakfast of Champions” by Kurt Vonnegut Sometimes when you read something really, really bad, you need a literary cleanse. Vonnegut is my go-to guy when I need a humorous, slightly offensive and dark and truthful look at life.  Weirdly, this is the first time I have read this book. I adore “Cat’s Cradle” to the point where I am on my third or fourth copy. And while this is no “Cat’s Cradle,” it had some real gem of moments and now I really want to scream something random that my creator (or the universe) won’t expect, “Goodbye blue Monday!”

Until next time, Happy Reading!

~Editor