"My Brilliant Friend"

This brilliant book takes place in a rough suburb of Napoli in the early sixties. It's told through the voice of a young girl who really resonated with me. She's super sensitive and has a close bond with another girl her age. This book tells her story from roughly age 10 through 15. As I was nearing the end of the book I realized this is the first of four books. How wonderful is that? I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books. Unfortunately, there are a ton of holds at the library. I just may have to buy these books on-line!

""Commonwealth""

Just finished her latest book and it's outstanding. What can you say about a book who's first sentence is: "The Christening took a turn when Albert Cousins arrived with gin." If you've read any Ann Patchett, you you know she's one of the most wonderful writers in the English language. What I love about her, is every novel she's written is from a totally perspective. And I've found that quite rare in authors these days.

"Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan

What an amusing book. It tells the tale of a young man who gets a job in a mysterious bookstore. It's open 24/7 but almost no-one ever stops in. The shop is filled with ancient books which are hardly ever checked out. Members of a secret society borrow books occasionally, to try to decode the texts they contain. As the book progresses we find out it's all part of a group of scholars who've been working on decoding the books for over 500 years. I won't give away any more of the plot, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

                                                        

"The Best of Herb Caen: 1960-1975"

I heard about Herb Caen many years ago while reading a guide to beer. In it, Herb Caen referred to Rainier Beer as "The Green Death" which I thought was pretty funny.  It wasn't until recently that I came across his name again. Herb wrote the foreword to Trader Vic's autobiography, which was brilliant. He painted a colorful picture of San Fransisco during the war years, when Trader Vic was getting his famous restaurant off the ground.

This is one of several compilations of Herb's writing, spanning his long career with the San Fransisco Chronicle. His essays deal with all things S.F., from descriptions of the oddball inhabitants, to various events, building projects, and city planning. He's witty, an enthusiastic booster of the bay area, and laces his articles with clever puns, One of my favorite pieces is his version of a generic opera which is truly laugh-out-loud funny. This collection deals with an era in which the city was going through some major transitions. You can tell it's written by someone with a great deal of love and understanding of one of America's most interesting cities.

Here are a couple gems from the book:
"...where happiness is just a thing called dough, and don't knock it, buddy, we all knead it, sour or otherwise."
"Haight Street, that graight street..."
"In the Tenderloin, the bars closing, throwing more flotsam than jet-setters into the streets."

"The Road to Little Dribbling".

If you're into humorous travel narrative, then you already know about Bill Bryson, I'm guessing. He's absolutely the master. He's an American who grew up in Iowa, poor thing, then travelled around Europe as a college-aged kid. Bryson fell in love with England and an English lass and ended up staying in Briton for over 40 years. He's written many travel books including "A Walk in the Woods". However, his best books are his observations on the English people--chiefly "Notes From a Small Island", and now this book. What a funny, yet enlightening read. He mixes a ton of history into his books. Enjoy!

"Frankly Speaking" Trader Vic's Own Story"

Okay, I'm only about half way through his autobiography, but this is a fun book. He totally shoots from the the hip and tells it like it is. He had a gritty childhood. But he's a very entertaining writer, and very colorful as well. When I finish the book I'll do an update. But look for a used copy of it on Abe.com and you won't be disappointed.

Well, I finished the book and it was very entertaining. Half way through it, Vic includes a bunch of recipes, which I thought was odd. Then he goes on a huge rant about his fight with the VA about how little they were doing the the Viet Nam vets. But it did end up on a positive note. Amusing autobiography.

"The Revised Fundamentals of Giving."

In this case, I watched the movie first and later heard how great the book was. So I did it in reverse and wasn't totally disappointed. The book introduced many more characters and a much more involved plot. But I thought the movie was really well done. In fact, it had many more laugh out loud moments and I rarely laugh out loud at either movies or books. In the end, I'd recommend checking out both. Very funny material.

The Great Forgetting

If you're up for a wild ride between fiction, fantasy, and conspiracy theory, this is your kind of book. It's hard to describe. It's basically about the fact that a secret group has altered history and made people to forget what's happened over the past 100 years. It's a fun book and you do get wrapped up in the story. It starts out petty believable and gets crazier and crazier. I'd like to read his earlier novel--I'm guessing it's great.

"The Condition"

Here's one to avoid. Based on the spine, I thought this would be a great read. Didn't turn out so. It started out great, taking place in one of my favorite locations, "The Cod", as I like to call it. Well, the interesting scenes in Cape Cod devolve into your typical book about academia. I gave up after a couple chapters and some quick peaks into future chapters. Don't waste your time. What's disappointing is this was one of the staff recs. at the library.

"Just Kids"

I finally got around to reading Patti Smith's first autobiography. What an interesting book indeed. It's a fascinating look into her life in the late sixties and early seventies in New York City. She discusses her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe and chronicles the art and music scene of that era. I was surprised to find out just how straight-laced she was. My favorite line in the book is when she's rehearsing for a play and the director says to her, "You don't shoot up and you're not a lesbian. What do you actually do?" She's a gifted writer, although what would you expect from an artist, poet, and singer-songwriter? Just reading about her encounters with Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Todd Rundgren is reason enough to dive into the book. Now I can't wait to read her most recent one.

"Bel Canto"

The thing I love about discovering a new author is that I have so many good reads ahead of me. When I read "Bel Canto" several years ago, that's exactly how I felt. And I was pleased learn that she had written several books. And unlike most authors, each of her books is written from a totally different voice. I really don't know how she does it. 

Bel Canto tells the story of a South American embassy that's taken over during a party by a group of armed militants. It's loosely based on a true story. The government won't give into their demands and they end up staying for nearly a year. It's beautifully written and goes into detail about the relationships that develop between captors and their captives. If you enjoy it, be sure to check out the rest of her novels. Every one is a great read. 

"The Museum of Innocence"

This wonderful tale by the Turkish author, Orhan Pamuk, paints a beautiful portrait of Istanbul in the early 1970s. Describes the city, the nightlife, and the rituals to such an extent, you feel like you've been there. It's also the tale of a young man who has a torrid love affair with his cousin. When she marries someone else, he pines for her for years. Interestingly, the author assembled a detailed diorama for each chapter of the book as he was writing it. And as a result, he opened a fascinating museum which contains all the dioramas, each on a true piece of art. I was lucky enough to visit the museum last year--however it was before I had read the book, so much of it was lost on me. 

Mr. Pamuk also published a book titled "The Innocence of Objects" which includes photos of all his dioramas, historic photos, and explanations of how they relate to his story. Well worth owning, if you enjoyed his novel. 

"H is for Hawk"

Another work of non-fiction that I found fascinating. It's about a woman who deals with her father's recent passing by training a young goshawk. She describes in great detail the interesting world of falconry--both her dealings with her goshawk and the history of falconry. She also tells the story of T.H. White who, along with writing "The Once and Future King" also wrote "The Goshawk". It's a look into the private life of a troubled man. 

"The Boys in the Boat"

The cover pretty much sums up this wonderful book. It tells the story of a bunch of back country Washington state boys who end up at the University and on the crewing team. It focuses on one boy, Joe Rantz, but follows their quest to with the National Championship and ultimately, their bid to compete in the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany Berlin. I rarely read non-fiction, but I found this story infinitely compelling. I couldn't wait to finish it. At times, the action read like a fast-paced action flick. And he gives you a hint of what's to come of the horrors of Nazi Germany. What a well written, and well researched book.

I must confess, I've taken several rowing classes and own a rowing machine which I use almost every day. So I can relate to these rowers in a way. It is the ultimate workout.

 I predict, this will be turned into a movie in a year or two. But the book will still be better. I just wished Costco carried it!