May I Gently Suggest, #4: Winter Break Edition
February 25, 2012
This week was Henry's winter break, a time that is usually marked by gloom, slush, bickering, claustrophobia, and late nights surfing Priceline looking for deals on tropical vacations. This year, however, it's been sunny and warm and we've been going out for frozen yogurt and walks in the park. Thanks, climate change! My enjoyment is mingled with terror, much like this frozen yogurt is mingling with chocolate chips! (And yes, I realize that neither frozen yogurt nor chocolate chips are Paleo. I was reminded of this afterward, painfully. Ouch.)
Onward!
I just finished 1Q84 and I enjoyed the hell out of it, I'm pretty sure. It's still too freshly read for me to figure out completely how I felt about it, but I will tell you that it's worth reading. It's long--over 900 pages--but not especially dense. I finished it quickly, thanks to insomnia, which enabled me to read at such hours as 3 am and 4 am and Why the Hell Am I Still Conscious am. Did any of you read it? What did you think?
When I wasn't making my way through 1Q84, I got to read my friend Matt's story. Matt is an incredibly talented writer (see: The Book of Right and Wrong), and "The Advocate" is just as funny and heartwrenching as his other work. You can enjoy it here for only 99 cents--free for Amazon Prime members. Download! Go!
If you're at all interested in watercolor painting, you need this book. I got this from my talented dad, who started me on this watercoloring obsession and also supplies me with free watercolor supplies and endless tips. Sadly I cannot gently suggest my father to you, as he is not for sale or rent. But this book is a fine companion, if not as huggable.
Finally, may I gently suggest Childbirth 101? Eden and I co-hosted this series, which is both amusing and information-packed, for those of you about to give birth or considering doing so in the future. (Or if you just want to reminisce?)
All Amazon links contain my affiliate code.
Reader Comments (11)
I, too, just finished 1Q84 and have since figured that I only stuck with it because I borrowed it from the library as an e-book and it was a race against time to finish it before it disappeared. Let me state that even though literary fiction is my first choice genre-wise, I DO enjoy occasional sci fi and fantasy but this left me fairly cold. Not sure if it was the translation or the repetitious descriptions or just that I didn't really care about the characters, but I stopped a couple of times to google reviews and read their gushiness disbelievingly. I must be the only one who didn't like it.
After such negativity, let me recommend The Odds by Stewart O'Nan, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi Durrow, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn West and The Good American by Alex George. That is an eclectic mix but all good.
I just finished a book I thought I'd recommend here if anyone is looking for a light, easy, quirky novel that reads like a memoir. Especially enjoyable for those who are dog lovers. Walking in Circles Before Lying Down by Merrill Markoe. Easy reading silliness.
I just watched the whole Childbirth 101 series and LOVED the "Momz on the Streetz" section, as well as the one in the birthing tub. You guys are hilarious.
And I also just ordered the book, you both should collaborate on more things :-) .
Thanks, MissRed! I agree that we are a good team.
I also just read Q-teen 84 ( as I have been saying it in my head the whole time) during the middle part of what has been almost seven weeks of European travel. I should say first that I love Murakami more than almost any other writer, living or dead (I even have a line of text from one of his short stories tattooed around my wrist) and I think there is no finer while-in-transit-or-in-unfamiliar-places reading -- i always read or re-readmsome Murakami when travelling. But I liked it very very very much, and I will definitely read it again, probably multiple times. While I like his short stories better than anything, and Kafka On The Shore is probably my favourite of his novels, I still, also, enjoyed the hell out of this.
AUGH I was hoping someone else would have asked this, but where did you get your shoes? I respect your miiiiiiiind, I promise!
HB, what shoes? The ones from the video?
I'm guessing you mean from the video.They're Franco Sarto, but I don't think they're around anymore! I looked and looked.
Looooved 1Q84. I love pretty much all of Murakami's writing. Don't know exactly why. There's some weird kind of solace in it. For whatever reason, I just trust wherever he's going. I really loved Tengo and Aomame. And the two moons! And the dowager. And the rubber plant. And the goldfish and the slide. I have no objective opinions here.
(Miss B, what's your tattoo?)
@Tana -- It is a line from the story 'On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning' (which is the first story in the collection The Elephant Vanishes) -- Potentiality knocks on the door of my heart.