Books, Glorious Books!

I thought for awhile the blog could be a good place to record the books I read, but ultimately I think this is not a bookblog even though I rank reading as my all time favorite activity. What a dork. This information, notwithstanding, I did read a few good books over my spring break while I procrastinated painting my family room (which I did start painting today, and I am kicking myself for not getting it done earlier-- it looks good!) Still, I don't want to get into lengthy reviews here, just a quick shake n bake.

No further ado, here's the books:

1. Little Children by Tom Perrotta: Pretty fast read and biting insights into suburban life; I can't speak to the realism or not because I am not quite yet part of a play-group, child raising crowd. Still, I like Perrotta and this was a good book.
2. Almost French by Sarah Turnbull: Fan-damn-tastic. I loved every single moment of this book. It's her story of moving to Paris and trying to "fit" in. She's an Aussie, and her candor and keen eye make this a super read. I loved it. I wish we could out to dinner with her when Partner and I are in Paris.
3. Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst: This book was not what I thought it was going to be. I was intrigued-- Sometimes I seriously believe that my cat Eli wants to speak to me. Another fast read. Moral of the story: Dogs should not talk. (My mother gave me this book to read and we discussed it-- a talking dog would be detrimental to its place in the home. You know when everyone is mad at everyone in the house? It's awful. But there's the dog-- the dog who cannot speak and take sides. Everyone has a friend in the dog, precisely because the dog cannot speak.)
4. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. My favorite of the week. In that same I Am Charlotte Simmons genre, but I liked this better. And I liked Charlotte Simmons. I finished this book this morning and I have been thinking about it since. I devoured this book, almost whole. The narrator's voice, Lee Fiora, is so heartbreaking. I could see my own high school insecurities in her, but I am happy to report I wasn't quite as neurotic as Lee. I did not go to a prep school, but instead an upper-middle class public high school that was definitely fraught with some of the very same issues the narrator deals with in this book. I loved the signs that a girl came from a family with money-- I totally recognized them-- for example, a floral bedspread. No doubt. Silver frames with pictures of families on top of ski slopes. Absolutely. So fantastic. I wish I hadn't finished it. Don't you just love/hate when that happens with a book??

That's it, but I still have two days left. Of course, tomorrow I'll be back in the bar to watch rugby, and Sunday is paint finishing, so I don't know that I'll quite get through another full book before the break is so dreadfully over.