February, 2020 Reading: A Nice Mix
I always make a preliminary sketch in my mind of what my reading month will look like, and guess what? The end-of-the-month sketch hardly ever matches up! It's like drawing a picture of Brad Pitt and coming up with Laurel and Hardy. Of course I can't complain; I had a great reading month. Not as many books as I had hoped -- and I always hope for 10+ a mostly futile hope -- but a nice mix. Nothing I disliked or DNFed, which is always a bonus.
1. Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell. I think this may be my favorite Gladwell book so far. Gladwell takes a close look at people who became supremely successful in their fields. Are they one-of-a-kind special cases that sprang from nowhere? Gladwell investigates and finds that along the way, there were people and circumstances that helped these people achieve their zenith. It doesn't happen in a vaccuum. For example, with hockey players, the earlier you're born in the year, the better your chances are of ascending to the NHL. The Beatles played eight hour gigs night after night in Hamburg, providing them with the now-familiar 10,000 hours of practice to become experts. Same with Bill Gates. He went to an affluent high school with an involved PTA who bought computers, and he had the opportunity to spend thousands of hours getting to know them. What about Asians being better at math? Does it all go back to rice farming? And how is rice farming different that the farming generally done in the United States? And how does that impact our education system? A fun read. My brain always feels pleasantly hopped up after an outing with Malcolm Gladwell. I'm sorry it took me so long to discover him.
2. Me - Elton John. This is everything a memoir should be: Warm, gossipy, honest, funny, slightly self-deprecating. Also, I could actually hear Elton John's voice in my mind's ear. I'd been looking forward to reading Me for months, and it was such a treat. If I were to rank my reads for February, this would be number one.
3. LaRose - Louise Erdrich. I'm not sure and I'd have to look back through almost 30 years of keeping records of what I've read, but I think this is the first book I've read by Louise Erdrich. The novel begins with a tragedy that impacts two families, one family's attempt at atonement, and the ways they move through their grief. Erdrich's prose is as clear and clean as water. Her writing is heavily character-driven, which I love, but sometimes, LaRose seemed overly people-y; I had to turn back to earlier passages to remind myself about who this character was and how they were related to the main characters. Adding to my enjoyment, there was one section featuring the two male protagonists that reminded me of Raymond Carver. It took a while, but I'm now a Louise Erdrich fan. Looking forward to reading more of her novels. Many thanks to Unruly Reader for sending LaRose my way.
4. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee. I revisited the classic novel for the first time since 9th grade English class, and it was like reading a whole new book. I honestly did not remember huge sections. This is probably because of the amount of time elapsed, and also because as a 14-year-old, I wouldn't have had as much background knowledge (don't educators refer to this as scaffolding?) to retain relevant and sometimes subtle interactions. Also, multiple viewings of the 1962 movie probably took its place. It's one of those circumstances in which I'm okay with that.
5. Patti LuPone: A Memoir - Patti LuPone. I enjoyed this book in much the same way I enjoyed Me. Patti LuPone is delightful. She makes you feel as exhilarated and exhausted as she is during the run of a musical. She's delightful (oops, already said that. oh well, it's true!) and bitchy and not at all shy about settling scores. She's definitely earned that privilege. I would welcome a second volume updated to include the musical War Paint, in which Christine Ebersole as Elizabeth Arden faces off against Patti LuPone's Helena Rubinstein.
1. Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell. I think this may be my favorite Gladwell book so far. Gladwell takes a close look at people who became supremely successful in their fields. Are they one-of-a-kind special cases that sprang from nowhere? Gladwell investigates and finds that along the way, there were people and circumstances that helped these people achieve their zenith. It doesn't happen in a vaccuum. For example, with hockey players, the earlier you're born in the year, the better your chances are of ascending to the NHL. The Beatles played eight hour gigs night after night in Hamburg, providing them with the now-familiar 10,000 hours of practice to become experts. Same with Bill Gates. He went to an affluent high school with an involved PTA who bought computers, and he had the opportunity to spend thousands of hours getting to know them. What about Asians being better at math? Does it all go back to rice farming? And how is rice farming different that the farming generally done in the United States? And how does that impact our education system? A fun read. My brain always feels pleasantly hopped up after an outing with Malcolm Gladwell. I'm sorry it took me so long to discover him.
2. Me - Elton John. This is everything a memoir should be: Warm, gossipy, honest, funny, slightly self-deprecating. Also, I could actually hear Elton John's voice in my mind's ear. I'd been looking forward to reading Me for months, and it was such a treat. If I were to rank my reads for February, this would be number one.
3. LaRose - Louise Erdrich. I'm not sure and I'd have to look back through almost 30 years of keeping records of what I've read, but I think this is the first book I've read by Louise Erdrich. The novel begins with a tragedy that impacts two families, one family's attempt at atonement, and the ways they move through their grief. Erdrich's prose is as clear and clean as water. Her writing is heavily character-driven, which I love, but sometimes, LaRose seemed overly people-y; I had to turn back to earlier passages to remind myself about who this character was and how they were related to the main characters. Adding to my enjoyment, there was one section featuring the two male protagonists that reminded me of Raymond Carver. It took a while, but I'm now a Louise Erdrich fan. Looking forward to reading more of her novels. Many thanks to Unruly Reader for sending LaRose my way.
4. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee. I revisited the classic novel for the first time since 9th grade English class, and it was like reading a whole new book. I honestly did not remember huge sections. This is probably because of the amount of time elapsed, and also because as a 14-year-old, I wouldn't have had as much background knowledge (don't educators refer to this as scaffolding?) to retain relevant and sometimes subtle interactions. Also, multiple viewings of the 1962 movie probably took its place. It's one of those circumstances in which I'm okay with that.
5. Patti LuPone: A Memoir - Patti LuPone. I enjoyed this book in much the same way I enjoyed Me. Patti LuPone is delightful. She makes you feel as exhilarated and exhausted as she is during the run of a musical. She's delightful (oops, already said that. oh well, it's true!) and bitchy and not at all shy about settling scores. She's definitely earned that privilege. I would welcome a second volume updated to include the musical War Paint, in which Christine Ebersole as Elizabeth Arden faces off against Patti LuPone's Helena Rubinstein.
3 comments:
I hear you on Louise Erdrich! She isn't the only author where I really wonder why I hadn't read her books before? So little time, so many books... I've only read The Round House but I The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse and maybe a couple others?
Ruthiella, I think those are all at my library.
I'm just finishing "Outliers." Fascinating. Plan to read all of his books.
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