Almost There...

14.75 down, .25 to go~

I panicked a few days ago that I was never going to make my goal with a week left before school. Then, suddenly, a quick weekend read and 2 books down in 1 day! With 3 days left, I need to read 1/4 of a book...

After the disappointment of Americans in Paris, I went for an old standby, Marian Keys, and The Brightest Star in the Sky. Her books aren't going down in history, but it's always a quick read with interesting characters, and I like the Irish dialects (which I then imitate for several days after reading).


The Other Wes Moore: I figured I should jump into something heavy with school approaching. The premise of this book--2 boys from the same neighborhood with similar situations take different paths in life--was enticing, but the story itself wasn't as compelling as other similar stories. The author also makes a point to say he doesn't know what the differences were that lead to his success and the other Wes Moore's downfall, but it seems pretty apparent: the author was born to 2 adult, educated, parents and strong family structure who constantly monitored him (even after his father died from illness) while the other Wes's biggest role model and most dependable family member was his drug dealing brother. I think a better side focus for the book would have been how the system failed the other Wes--and the author does mention towards the end that the other Wes was actually smarter and a lot of the author's success grew out of family connections and contact versus luck or natural ability

Daughters of the Revolution: SPOILER ALERT: I read this in one day, so that tells you the writing at least was good. I enjoyed reading but when I was finished I just sort of went "huh?" It was a good story interweaving the characters, but you realize at the end you don't really know any of the characters. It's alluded to that the daughter doesn't eat, but why? The mother sleeps with the daughter's boyfriend and that's it? There's no other mention of it? The last chapter reveals connections and announces the theme of poverty vs privilege, but then it's over, just when you want to know more! In the end, all these women react in different ways to freedom, and in the end they just have to take care of the men anyway!

Tangent: I feel like a lot of the "real" books I've read lately follow the same trajectory...people try to be individuals and explore their freedoms but end up disillusioned and right back where they were before, just a little less happy. And often there's a drawn out narrative of a character's perception of their own death or demise. I'm thinking the last book, Tinkers, A Visit from the Goon Squad, Freedom...

It reminds me of an article I just read about the allure of young adult literature, which I find myself enjoying a lot lately: "The tone of YA lit is often different: there’s less retrospection, less melancholy and nostalgia. Often, though not always, YA lit is more story-focused." That disillusioned melancholy and nostalgia is what I can't stand, so I turn to nonfiction, chick lit, or YA. As an English major/teacher, I feel a little embarrassed, but as a reader I want to enjoy myself...at least it's not romance novels!