Quick reviews of books I haven't read.

Now that's the kind of expertise you visit Citizen Reader for, isn't it?

Through no fault of my own, I'm coming up against all sorts of library due dates for books that I really wanted to read, but which I have to return before I get the chance. The first such book is Angela Miller's Hay Fever: How Chasing a Dream on a Vermont Farm Changed My Life. I did read the first few chapters of this one, which seems to be a completely typical "driven city person tackles life on farm" narrative. Miller is a literary agent who still works several days a week in New York City, but who has also been moonlighting as a farmer and goat cheese maker on her Vermont farm for the last several years. The writing was okay but nothing special (it's actually co-written with another author, Ralph Gardner Jr., which isn't often a very good sign) and I must admit that I'm getting a little weary of the "back to the land" genre. I was particularly annoyed by this title because I don't understand how a woman past the age of sixty could have the energy to commute four hours back and forth to NYC once a week, be a high-powered literary agent, and also farm on the side. Where do these people get all the drive?

I was also annoyed by this, on the jacket's front flap copy: "Angela Miller and her husband set their sites on a charming nineteenth-century farm in Vermont." I know that's not the author's fault, but still...hacky. I will not be getting this one back.

The second book in question is Stephen Prothero's God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter. I only read the Introduction of this one, but I totally want to get it back and read it someday. I think Prothero's a good writer about religion; knowledgeable and open and not necessarily connected to any one dogma; I particularly enjoyed his earlier title Religious Literacy. And I like no-nonsense paragraphs like this one:

"Yet we know in our bones that the world's religions are different from one another. As my colleague Adam Seligman has argued, the notion of religious tolerance assumes differences, since there is no need to tolerate a religion that is essentially the same as your own. We pretend these differences are trivial because it makes us feel safer, or more moral. But pretending that the world's religions are the same does not make our world safer. Like all forms of ignorance, it makes our world more dangerous." (p. 4.) Awesome.

The last book that has to go back is a novel, David Nicholls's One Day, a new novel by the British author of the novel A Question of Attraction (which I really enjoyed, and which was made into an equally enjoyable movie, titled Starter for Ten, starring James McAvoy). I really wanted to read this one, and now I'm just not in the mood for its love story, told over the course of twenty years. Perhaps some other time.

Comments

[sherry]

Do you like Nick Hornby's novels? "One Day" is more than a love story. It's about lives and relationships set in the London area throughout the late 80s & through the 90s. I think you'd like it. I'm giving away three copies at my place.

[Ruthiella]

I am totally looking forward to reading "One Day". I ripped out the review in Entertainment Weekly and stuck it on my fridge. I will have to check to see if my library has a copy available. I read the book about mixed tapes by Nick Hornby (the title escapes me) and liked it a lot.

CR, I enjoy reading about books you didn't read as much as I enjoy reading about those you did read.

Hey, not to put too much pressure on you (given your delicate condition and all), but when is the next Ménage?

[nan]

The part-time hobby farmer thing is irritating for all kinds of reasons -- I grew up in a rural New England town and our neighbors with dairy farms never took a vacation or even a day off. We had goats (and horses and a kennel of dogs we bred and showed) and one thing I learned early is that animals are most definitely NOT part time. So if you're still pursuing your high powered NY literary agent career that means someone else is taking care of the animals while you're doing that. Ergo, you are not a farmer.

Of course these days I barely have the energy to ride my bike three blocks home from the library after work so maybe I'm just jealous.

I second the recommendation on One Day, but beware -- it is harrowing. More harrowing than Hornby's fiction, or that of Tom Perotta, another Gen-X social novelist (I wonder why they're all men -- weird when this is traditionally women's lit territory, right?). Thanks for the pointer to Starter for Ten -- I just added it high up on my Netflix list!

[Venta]

I'm with you, Nan & CR, on the books about the "back to the land" books. Yes, I'm jealous that I'm indoors during the day, but if you're going to do it, do it right. I'm still chuckling over your remark a couple months ago, CR,: "Anytime you grow something for just the one season, I can call you at most a gardener." That pretty much sums up these types of books for me. Yes, my jealousy makes me mean spirited. What are you going to do?

[Citizen Reader]

Sherry,
I do like Nick Hornby, but his NF much more so than his novels. I do really like David Nicholls, and I know there's more to "One Day" than a love story per se, I just wasn't feeling it right now. I'm happy to wait until I'm in a better mood for it, and when it's not overdue, so I don't have to hurry it.

Ruthiella!
Hey, a menage is actually a real good idea, delicate condition or not. Let me think on it. Any book suggestions for this time around?

Nan,
Well, in all fairness, Miller is up front that her husband and staff do a lot of the farming, and they're trying to make it into a bigger goat cheese-making concern. I'm still stymied at how anyone even wants to farm part-time--especially this summer, when we hit 90 and humid here. I've never been so glad to be OFF the farm, which is a horrible attitude, but let's face it: a farm is no place for a lazy Citizen Reader.

And ooh, "Starter for Ten"! McAvoy's such a cutie! I hope you like it. I liked both it and the novel. P.S. I wanted to link to your "One Day" review but didn't want anyone to come up against any spoilers accidentally--when I read it I'll link to you and warn there's some story revealed there.

Venta,
You be mean-spirited all you want. I can relate! :) I salute the "back to the land" types, but as previously noted, I'm too lazy for that to be a real option. I must find some way to grow a little food in town here, although the thought of battling weeds and insects in even a mini-garden doesn't do much for me. I love the city girl luxury of not worrying about rain, heat, insects, weird ground fungi and tomato blights, etc.

[Sarah]

The agent/farmer probably has her husband drive, or someone else, while she texts, tweets, cuts deals, whatever. You know, getting all of the work done en route to arcadia where your life will be both simpler and completely changed. BAD day at work. Sick of other people's problems.