Reading doldrums.

I am once again in the reading doldrums, where I've got a few books going but nothing is really lighting my fire, which makes me not feel like reading at all. (Always a very strange sensation.) Mr. CR blames the selection of books I currently have home from the library--"you have crappy stuff home right now," he noted the other day, with all the nuance of a true critic--but I think the reading doldrums are just something you go through every now and then no matter how many great books you have access to.

So, nothing to report today, which makes it as good a day as any to remind everyone of our upcoming Book Menage discussion, featuring Stacy Horn's true crime nonfiction The Restless Sleep, and Rick Geary's true crime graphic novel The Borden Tragedy. Our discussion will start on Monday, November 30, which is getting much closer than one might think. Remember: Anyone who participates is entered in the drawing to win the two books for the next Menage, so invite your friends, and we'll party this puppy up proper.*

*I have no idea what that means. I just like alliteration.

Comments

[Nora]

Have you rever read anything by Ruth Reichl? I just read and enjoyed her Garlic and Sapphires.

[Johnmiedema1]

Have you seen the Book on Fire, the new book by Keith Miller (The Book of Flying). This should ignite your reading juices.

[Citizen Reader]

Hey, Nora, John:
I didn't expect suggestions, but what a good idea. (Can you tell I'm a woman of inaction? When faced with the doldrums, I kind of just wait for them to be over, accidentally--wait a sec, you mean I could actively seek out other books and try to end the doldrums myself? What a good idea!)

Nora, I have read Tender at the Bone and parts of Garlic and Sapphires, but something about Ms. Reichl didn't do it for me. I think I'd have to revisit the books to remember why, or maybe I will try Comfort Me with Apples. What did you like about G and S? The food descriptions or her writing style? Thank you for the suggestion nonetheless.

John, I have not seen (and I have never heard of) Keith Miller, but I will look into it. Always exciting to hear a new name. Is he Canadian?

[Venta]

Hey, CR!

Perhaps a funny, heartbreaking, wickedly cynical and overall a great (but long) YA novel will get you going: Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes. I'm hoping high school librarians will dare to put it in their libraries.

[Citizen Reader]

Bless you, Venta. I've been in the mood for some good YA; someone at the library yesterday suggested the Ruby in the Smoke series by Phillip Pullman, and although I am no Pullman fan, I was considering it. But perhaps I will try this one first! Thanks--

[J.S. Peyton]

The reading doldrums happens to me at least once a year. I feel your pain. It's always an awful experience. Usually I reread a few pages of a tried and true favorite to get me back in the spirit of things, or I'll pick up something completely different and return to the others later.

[Citizen Reader]

J.S.-
Thanks for the commiseration. I seem to be hitting the doldrums a bit more frequently lately, which is weird, because, really, I've had the luck to read some incredible books this year. It IS awkward, because reading is both my job and my only hobby, so when 8 p.m. rolls around and I don't feel like reading, god it's weird. I just tap on my fingers and think, maybe I should find a back-up hobby or something, but luckily the doldrums usually pass before I have sufficient energy to develop a second interest.

Your comment on reading the familiar rings true--in the past week alone I've been through Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It, Martin Millar's Suzy, Led Zeppelin, and Me, and the kids' books The Westing Game and Harriet the Spy. And it's actually been kind of enjoyable; almost worth the doldrums.

[Nora]

I liked the way that Reichl dressed up as different characters to disguise herself in restaurants, and how she took on the characteristics of them when she did. It made me think about the way in which people's presentation of themselves really affects how other people respond to them. I was entertained by how Reichl almost became jealous of one of her characters, because everyone seemed to like the character better than her, and sympathized with her discovery of some not-so-nice characters within herself.

For a good novel with a young adult protagonist, check out Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky when it's published (I think in March, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait). I just proofread it and it blew me away.

[Johnmiedema1]

Keith Miller is a new and very talented writer of all things bibliophiles love. His writing is like gentle poetry, which each phrase a delicious turn. I highly recommend The Book of Flying. I'm about 1/3 through The Book on Fire; also excellent. I think he's from the UK.

[Citizen Reader]

Nora,
Ha! I never really thought of that aspect of it. (I'm too lazy to dress up at all, much less in different characters.) I'm always so busy thinking about the server's side of things that I forget about the served--very interesting. Thank you for describing the book's appeal to you.

Thanks also for the suggestion of Broken Glass Park. I'm glad you got to proofread something you enjoyed!!

John,
You had me at "bibliophiles."

[Nora]

I'm way too lazy to dress up too! That was part of the appeal.

[Venta]

I love Harriet the Spy!!! When I was a kid I read it all the time - something I haven't been able to do since. The characters were so wonderful, and it was so heartbreaking when the kids read Harriet's journal. I wanted to be Harriet - I wonder if that's where my life of crime obsession began.

[nancy]

I am at present reading the As it happens files by Mary Lou Findley. It's hilarious. Ms. Findley used to be a co-host on the As It Happens radio show on CBC Radio 1 and she has a lot of stories to tell of her time there, along with highlighting some of the lighter and more eccentric interviews. Laughed til I cried.
Perhaps it's more of a Canadian interest item, but the interviewees are from all over the world, and AIH is known for being able to suss out the eccentrics in the world.
Nancy

[sherry (nite swimming)]

I made a decision yesterday about the lack of enthusiasm for what I was planning to read. If I don't look forward to it, I don't have to do it. Specifically, I was set to read the new John Irving book. I was excited to have it from the library so fast (score!) but, I've read what seems like a lot of fiction lately, none that has lit my fire either. I just feel hungry for nonfiction. So, I'm returning the Irving book, which I'll get to someday when I'm in the mood for some Irving-type fiction. It was starting to feel like homework or something.

[Citizen Reader]

Venta, I love Harriet too. It's BRUTAL when the kids read her notebook. And I am the only person around who kind of wants to be Ole Golly?

Nancy,
You had me at "Canadian."

Sherry,
Yup, it's no good forcing the issue. Always better to take a book back and get it back when you're more "in the mood." You got some good nonfiction on hand or are you looking for suggestions? Might I suggest "Mom's Cancer" by Brian Fies? Sure, it's a graphic novel, but it is a memoir, and a damn fine memoir at that.

[Citizen Reader]

By the way, Sherry, do come back sometime and let me know what you think of the new John Irving. Two friends always want me to read him but I can't get through the Owen Meany book to save my life. Maybe his new one would work better?

[sherry (nite swimming)]

Confession: I never made it through Owen Meany. Loved Cider House Rules, Hotel New Hampshire & Garp.

Thanks for the suggestion of Mom's Cancer. I'll check it out.

[Jessica]

Are you for crime fiction? I can't remember. I'm reading Nemesis by Jo Nesbo and WOW! Scandinavian detective stories for me!

My current stack is really exciting me, but that's probably because my family are coming and I don't want to think about the housekeeping and referreeing implications of that.

[bybee]

I really liked The Borden Tragedy because of the superb layout of the house.

[Citizen Reader]

Sherry,
That makes me feel a bit better. Maybe I'll try The World According to Garp instead. And do let me know what you think about Mom's Cancer, if you read it.

Jessica,
I'm not a huge crime fiction reader, but I like them when they're well done. I will look into "Nemesis." (I love that word, by the way, and loved it as an Agatha Christie title.) I did enjoy the few Wallander programs I saw on PBS, starring Kenneth Branagh, too.

Bybee,
Fascinating! I can't wait to talk that graphic novel over. It was kind of a weird house, wasn't it? And that poor maid, sleeping on the stuffy top floor. Yuck.

[Rachael]

CR, Have you ever read Losing the Garden? It's not a happy book, but it's one that lingers (for better or worse). I actually argued with that one while I was reading it.

PS Reading the Borden book now. Wowza!

[Donna]

I remember you said you liked labor history. This is not quite that, but try "The Woman Behind the New Deal" which is a bio of Frances Perkins, Sec. of Labor and first woman in the Cabinet. Kind of overwhelming what she accomplished.

[Care]

Had to stop by and tell you I saw an article in the paper about a mock trial for the Lizzie Borden case! but it was yesterday so I missed it. The newspaper was from Wed. :(

[Citizen Reader]

Hey, Rachael,
Just got "Losing the Garden" at the library. Again, when it came in on hold, I thought, why did I get this? So I'm glad I re-read these comments and give you the credit you're owed! I hope to get it read in the next few weeks.

Donna,
Thank you for the suggestion! I tend to love labor history from the laborers' side, but I think old Frances's heart was probably in the right place, so I would like to read her bio. Thanks!

Care,
Wow, it's still making news, huh? If you remember what the article said you'll have to share it with us next week during the menage. Thanks! it's so handy to have someone over there at the epicenter, so to speak, of that story!