Literary Lollapalooza January 2009

A brief introduction: This is an idea that I ripped off from my good friend Ryan who just successfully completed one whole year of these without ever missing a month. I so enjoyed reading about what Ryan was reading that it inspired me to be a copycat. This is my lame attempt at what he does effortlessly.

Some things that you might notice: I tend to alternate between heavy, thoughtful books and what might be otherwise called fluff, or genre fiction. I like books, have a large stack waiting for me, and I tend to think of them in terms of food. The heavy, thoughtful books are my entrees, the ones in-between are light trifles meant to cleanse my palate. This quite often translates into a non-fiction/fiction dichotomy, but that is not always the case. The truth is I read whatever I want to read at any given time, just like you.

This is Literary Lollapalooza Jan, 2009

Books Borrowed: Beckett in Performance

Books Bought: Take the Cannoli- Sarah Vowell, Burning Chrome-William Gibson, Captain Freedom-G. Xavier Robillard, Crossing to Safety- Wallace Stegner, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh-Michael Chabon, Bloodsucking Fiends-Christopher Moore,

Books Read:

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain –

I picked this book up for a couple of reasons. I had seen both this and its sequel Heartsick around and was interested based solely on curiosity. Then Stephen King added the two books to his top ten books of the year list in EW. Now I was going to read them no matter. Finally, add in finding Heartsick for $3.99 in our Bargain Blowout sale. That did it: put the nail in the coffin. Not only was I in, but also had to immediately pony up the $7.99 for the paperback of Sweetheart.
The story is a crime thriller in the tradition of the Hannibal Lecter series. But this is no tired retread. Cain manages to take what should be a “been there/done that” crime thriller and turn it into a fun, terrifying, horrifying, thought-provoking and heart-pounding read. Trust me: it’s a page turner in the literal sense. I finished in a couple of days. And I’m no speed reader. (It took me two months to read American Wife).
The story centers on Archie, a middle-aged homicide detective in semi-retirement, and his life’s work, a beautiful and manipulative serial killer, his greatest collar and also his greatest obsession. You see, she managed to kidnap Archie and then relish in his torture, always keeping him from the brink of death for weeks. Now Archie has a special relationship with his former captor, and can barely keep things together enough to function in polite society. It is only through heavy doses of medication and weekly visits to her that he can keep his world in check. Now Archie is working on a new case, a serial rapist/murderer who targets young girls. He has no choice but to give in to the advice of his greatest obsession.
I highly recommend this book. I have yet to read its sequel (but I will soon), but this is high octane reading. I have rarely had as much fun while simultaneously being grossed out, intrigued, and turned on. This is no “Lecter repeat”. Cain manages to create wholly believable and wholly invested characters in what could have easily been a knock-off. I look forward to what promises to be an on-going series featuring this fractured homicide detective and his greatest victory/obsession.

America and the World by Zbienew Brezenski and Brent Scowcroft with David Ignatius.

I had heard good things about this long before even reading the dust-jacket.
I had a few reservations. For one, I’d never read this sort of pragmatically political book before, not even read much politically besides left wing diatribes and Woodward’s Bush series. So naturally I was afraid that this book would be over my head.
Luckily, this was surprisingly easy reading. And I only had to look up a couple of terms and ask a couple of questions from people with more political acumen than I to get through the book.
Bottom Line: This is REQUIRED READING for ANYONE interested in the future of our great country. Brezesinski and Scowcroft, two of the leading foreign policy advisors alive anywhere got together with journalist Ignatius, who mediated an ongoing conversation about American foreign policy, past and future. These two great political minds, one a Democrat, the other a Republican, spent their days offering advice, discussing, and arguing over what the next (read current) administration should be doing in the world at large to secure American peace and prosperity in the years to come.
The first surprising thing about this book is the clear, unfiltered, and easily understood language with which these three men speak. Besides a few foreign terms or ideas the language is very easily understood plain speak. Gone is the lofty language one might expect from top foreign policy thinkers. These guys are talking simply, truthfully, and quite compellingly from their experience, wisdom, and instinct about how to navigate the increasingly troubled waters of the 21st Century.
The second, and most surprising thing about this book is how often these two very different, partisan political thinkers agree on how to proceed with every major country in the known world. The exceptions are the few times that they actually disagree, so rare, in fact that they are thrown into sharp contrast. One can easily see that what lies at the base of the very few disagreements these men share are in a deeply laid ideology. A stark difference, mainly laid out in terms.
What is obvious after reading this, is that America must take a decisive lead in the future of the world, from all aspects. But what both men earnestly urge is careful listening, and thoughtful, steady, and yielding leadership when it comes to dealing with our foreign leadership. The book serves almost as a foreign policy checklist, listing clearly and carefully each major player in the world stage, and what should be done to ensure a lasting peace. Let’s hope our new administration heeds their words carefully.

Dog On It by

I came by this one honestly, having picked up a free advanced reading copy at work. It looked interesting, featured a positive quote from Stephen King on the cover, and after reading the first couple pages I decided it would be my next read.
Dog On It is the first in what the publisher promises to be a new series of mysteries. The subtitle announces that it is “A Chet and Bernie Mystery”.
Here’s the skinny: This is a fun and somewhat mindless read. Mindless is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it’s exactly what I’m after. This hit the spot perfectly.
The gimmick of the series is that Chet, of the eponymous title, is in fact a dog, the loyal and devoted friend and partner to private detective Bernie Little, and he is also our narrator.
This leads to lots of fun bits about color and scents, and while Chet does a good job of keeping us apprised of the case at all times, he is still a dog and still subject to a few doggy sidetracks as well, a.k.a. chasing rabbits, getting a good scritch behind the ears, or involuntarily growling at a nearby cat.
In the end, this is not groundbreaking fiction here. However, it is clear that the author has a deep love and respect for dogs, and knows a great deal about them as well. Though the story might come across a little cliché or one-dimensional, it is still worth reading due to the infectious excitement of the canine narrator, Chet. Chet is what sells this book. Chet will be what sells the series. If you own a dog, have ever owned a dog, and enjoy mysteries, you will like this book. If you wrinkle your nose at the thought of a dog narrating, please ignore this book. Not all books were meant to change the world. Some are meant to make us smile. This is one of that variety.