Book Twentyone: American Pie

American Pie: Slices of Life (and Pie) from America's Back Roads, Pascale Le Draoulec



If you don't expect this to be an end-all-be-all exploration of all kinds of pie across our great nation, then you'll be pleasantly surprised. But, if you were, say, expecting this to be written by a pie expert (she's not), or that her cross country journey would be at all planned out (it's not), or that she offered anything new or insightful about pie (she doesn't), then you will be pretty disappointed. It's really just a sweet and simple story about a woman who decides to take a road trip with a friend to eat pie and write about her journey. The book is ultimately successful in that I really just wanted to a big old slice of pie while reading the whole thing. But it's a bit of a disappointment when you realize how little pie she actually tries on her journey and she often doesn't even comment on the pie once she finds it. But, there's a whole lot of recipes and some photos scattered throughout, and, hey, it's a book about pie!

Book Twenty: Birthing From Within

Birthing From Within, Pam England and Rob Horowitz



This was clearly not the book for me, I should have known that from the start. Even though I sometimes fall on the hippie side of the spectrum, this was just way too much out-there-hippie-craziness even for me. I ended up skimming a lot of this, particularly the sections on creating birth art, which were surprisingly numerous. No, really, like it was a huge portion of this book. Seriously, how much birth art can one pregnant woman make?! I'm sure there are ladies who benefit from this, but I honestly don't need to draw a picture of a bunch of scary male doctors coming at me with knives to know that there are elements of the delivery process that scare the crap out of me. And there were so many horrifying birth stories in here, I'm not entirely sure what the purpose was. Obviously, I know every woman experiences birth in her own way and I don't want to dismiss anyone's individual story as not valid, but the taste left in your mouth after finishing this is that having a hospital birth is horrible and you will be in control of nothing and even if things go "fine" you will still suppress feelings of being violated and ignored that will only surface later when you create yet more terrifying birth art. I guess what I'm saying is, too much negative, not enough positive! And the positive in the book is often trite examples of other culture's birthing traditions with little explanation on how to apply it to your own experience. (Ms. England does throw in the gratuitous "hospital births are fine!" and "it's okay if you choose to use pain medications!" but I didn't really believe them, given the focus of the rest of the book.)

There is a somewhat extensive section on pain coping techniques that seemed actually helpful, though I wasn't actively following along with the exercises. Mostly because I know that we'll have a doula and we'll be doing exercises like this together for our birthing prep. So, why bother duplicating efforts, right? But yeah, aside from that, I don't feel like I got a huge amount out of this. Because I'm not going to be doing coyote howling or creating a birth statue to bring to my birth anytime soon.

Book Nineteen: Fair Play

Fair Play, Tove Jansson



This is sort of a novel, sort of short stories, sort of autobiography (I'm guessing)... but pretty much entirely amazing. Sure, I'm prejudiced in my love for Tove Jansson, but I'm going to say that this little book is absolute loveliness. It's about two friends (can we assume they're lovers, even if it's not explicitly mentioned?), Jonna and Mari, in older age, artists, who live across the attic from each other. Each short chapter is a little episode in their life together, like watching B-movies together to spending time on their own island (just like the island in The Summer Book) to creating and discussing their art to traveling together in America. There's no back story to explain their relationship, no real thread that connects these chapters, other than the two women's friendship and the art that ties them together. The last line is particularly beautiful.

Read-a-Thon Wrap-Up and Mini-Reviews for Books Thirteen to Eighteen

Well, I made it nearly 19 hours before completely pooping out. Just being in bed lulled me to sleep pretty quickly, but I don't regret it. I had a great Read-a-Thon and feel good about my 18+ hours of reading (and eating and napping). I imagine with a child entering this family in the next couple of months I won't have that kind of leisure time for many, many years. So it was a last hurrah, of sorts.

A Gate at the Stairs, Lorrie Moore



A young college student takes a job as a nanny to an unsettling couple who are adopting a biracial toddler. That's pretty much the plot here, despite the fact that some weird shit goes down in this book. This is filled with classic Lorrie Moore stuff: self-deprecating characters, sarcasm, wit, clippy dialogue, and the most devastating of human tragedies. Given that it has been years and years since I've read Lorrie Moore, I ate this up. Highly recommended.

The Other Side of the Island, Allegra Goodman



I've always known Allegra Goodman as a fantastic adult novelist and short story writer, so I was tickled to discover this book amongst the YA fiction. It's just another post-apocalyptic tale with a teenage heroine, this time the world seems to have been devastated by global warming and the only inhabitable areas of islands created from what remained from the sinking of the continents (I'm guessing at this since it wasn't explicitly described in the book). The world is ruled by the Earth Mother Corporation and islands have been enclosed so that weather can be controlled, and the everything stinks of fascism gone very, very wrong. It's not that this wasn't a horrible book, but I kept thinking, "Allegra Goodman is a much better writer than this." And the climax felt way too rushed and obvious. Not a bad read (in fact, a good Read-a-Thon read) but not great either.

Betsy-Tacy, Maud Hart Lovelace



Just another one of those classics I never read as a little girl. And I'm sure I would have loved it. This book is nothing but sweetness and love. And sugar and spice. You get the idea. Nothing really happens, aside from Betsy and Tacy becoming best friends and having little adventures around town and being super adorable and just the kind of daughter I want to have. I'll keep this to read to my daughter and pass down to her.

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, Patton Oswalt



Is this as funny as Patton Oswalt's stand up? Nope. But is it still funnier than 99% of humor books? Absolutely. There's lots of random essays inside, from true (I hope) stories about family and childhood and being a young stand-up comic, to plain silliness including a comic about vampires, greeting cards, and a D&D poem. I totally heart you, Patton.

Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, Paul Gallico



Mrs. Harris (pronounced 'Arris) is a London charwoman who one day sets her heart on owning her own Christian Dior gown. So, naturally, she gambles and saves her precious money for several years in order to save up enough to travel to Paris to buy herself a gown. It's a simple story, but honestly, really sweet. Everyone Mrs. 'Arris encounters on her journey can't help but be touched by her and she seems to spread her natural good cheer everywhere she goes. There are lovely little illustrations speckled throughout this original edition I was reading, and even though you can guess that she probably gets her dress in the end, you'll still be surprised at the outcome.

Bossypants, Tina Fey



I'll just admit that Tina Fey is my hero, so she can't really do any wrong in my eyes. This book is everything she is: funny, charming, silly, gross... perfect. There are some lovely personal stories and a lot of frankness about how she got where she is. I loved seeing behind the scenes on 30 Rock, one of my favorite shows. And hey, this is the first e-book I've ever read! The experience was pretty ok (easy to hold, light, convenient) but I'm not sure I'll switch permanently. I found I was reading much, much slower on the iPad than my pace with regular books, even though the pages seemed the same length. And and iPad doesn't smell nearly as good as a nice, worn-in paperback.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Eighteen

Currently reading: Bossypants

Pages read last hour: 27

Time spent reading this hour: 30 minutes

Consumed this hour: Just words

Reading location: Bed!

Pages read so far: 908

Total time spent reading: 736 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs, The Other Side of the Island, Betsy-Tacy, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris

Thoughtsicles: Still awake! Thanks to the hilarity of Ms. Fey. Or perhaps my desire to try to make it to 1000 pages before I throw in the towel. Or maybe it's the sweet sounds of the Swing Years on KUOW keeping me going. Either way, I'm cozy and happy and still plugging away.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Seventeen

Currently reading: Bossypants

Pages read last hour: 34

Time spent reading this hour: 35 minutes

Consumed this hour: Cherry vanilla ice cream

Reading location: Sofa

Pages read so far: 881

Total time spent reading: 706 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs, The Other Side of the Island, Betsy-Tacy, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris

Thoughtsicles: I'm not sure why I'm sharing the disaster that is our kitchen right now, but it seemed like a good idea when I took the picture. Anyhows, this is the aftermath that is Read-a-Thon.

Also, Bossypants is just continuing to validate my crush on Tina Fey.

Also, I started this hour with all the energy in the world, but quickly crashed. Could it be the ice cream? Or maybe just the fact that I am tired? I think I am headed for bed to do some more reading there, and see if nature takes its course. If you don't hear from me, you can probably guess what happened.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Sixteen

Currently reading: Bossypants

Pages read last hour: 61

Time spent reading this hour: 45 minutes

Consumed this hour: Pasta salad

Reading location: Sofa

Pages read so far: 847

Total time spent reading: 671 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs, The Other Side of the Island, Betsy-Tacy, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris

Well, consider me charmed by Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris! I picked this up last year, maybe, at Powell's purely because the cover was so sweet and am happy now that I did. This is great Read-a-Thon fodder what with the sweet story, happy characters, charming illustrations and lovely moral.

Even happier, C just surprised me by downloading Tina Fey's Bossypants onto the iPad, so I've dived right into that. This is the first book I've read on an iPad and so far it's a pretty great experience. Also, there is now ice cream for me to consume.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Fifteen

Currently reading: Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris

Pages read last hour: 63

Time spent reading this hour: 50 minutes

Consumed this hour: Strawberry kefir

Reading location: Sofa

Pages read so far: 786

Total time spent reading: 626 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs, The Other Side of the Island, Betsy-Tacy, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

Still feeling delighted and content and happy knowing there's food in the house. It's getting dark outside and it's starting to feel cozy in here again. I'm betting I can keep this up for a couple of more hours, but not sure how much more than that will be possible.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Fourteen

Currently reading: Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris

Pages read last hour: 44

Time spent reading this hour: 35 minutes

Consumed this hour: Chips and guacamole!

Reading location: My trusty sofa

Pages read so far: 723

Total time spent reading: 576 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs, The Other Side of the Island, Betsy-Tacy, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

Happy to have chosen this delightful little book. And happy to have some delicious snacks by my side. I think the outside time did me good, I'm much less sleepy than I was this afternoon and feeling more comfortable. Have I mentioned that I'm pregnant? And that sitting hurts my tailbone? And that I can't lie flat or on my stomach? And that I have to get up and pee every half hour? Oh wait, I probably have. Sorry.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Thirteen

Currently reading: Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

Pages read last hour: 60

Time spent reading this hour: 45 minutes

Consumed this hour: A finger scoop of peanut butter, three bites of cottage cheese and several glasses of water

Reading location: Yeah, I'm just going to stay here on the sofa

Pages read so far: 679

Total time spent reading: 541 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs, The Other Side of the Island, Betsy-Tacy, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

Got desperate for snacks, as you can see. Fortunately, as I stepped outside at the end of the hour to get some fresh air and take a tour about the garden (aren't those checkerboard fritillaria neat?) C came home with a couple of bags of groceries. Yay for awesome husbands!

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Twelve

Mid-Event Survey:



1. What are you reading right now?
Zombie Spaceship Wasteland by Patton Oswalt

2. How many books have you read so far?
Three

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Honestly I have no idea what I'm going to read next. Just taking it one book at a time.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
I pretty much turned down every offer of going out or doing something fun today. Because nothing is as fun as the Read-a-Thon!

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Not really. Though an interruption sounds kind of nice right now. Maybe I should call my mom back.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
Just how insanely tired I am compared to last time. I'm sure it's just the fact that I'm pregnant, but wow. So tired.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope! I'm loving it.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
I should have prepared more this time around. I have food in the house, but didn't really stock up on good snacks. In fact, C just went out for food because I really needed some more ice cream. And chips. I also should have given my book choices some more thought, but so far it's working out pretty good.

9. Are you getting tired yet?
Indubitably.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
Taking an hour to read while soaking in the bath is pretty rejuvenating. Highly recommended.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Eleven

Currently reading: Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

Pages read last hour: 35

Time spent reading this hour: 25 minutes

Consumed this hour: The last five bites of the mint chocolate chip ice cream

Reading location: My precious sofa

Pages read so far: 559

Total time spent reading: 446 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs, The Other Side of the Island, Betsy-Tacy

Thoughtsicles: Patton Oswalt and ice cream: two great things that go great together. Wish I had more ice cream, though.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Ten

Currently reading: Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

Pages read last hour: 34

Time spent reading this hour: 30 minutes

Consumed this hour: Leftover lasagne

Reading/sleeping location: Sofa

Pages read so far: 524

Total time spent reading: 421 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs, The Other Side of the Island, Betsy-Tacy

Things I learned this hour: Two books I've read today have name-checked Bridge to Terabithia and I just have to give into napping when the feeling overtakes me.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Nine

Currently reading: Betsy-Tacy

Pages read last hour: 75

Time spent reading this hour: 40 minutes

Consumed this hour: Nothing

Reading location: Bathtub

Pages read so far: 490

Total time spent reading: 391 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs, The Other Side of the Island, Betsy-Tacy

Well, that was a delightful hour. I soaked in the tub for a while and finished up Betsy-Tacy. Now I'm settling in to my next pick and will be enjoying some lunch. Have I mentioned how hungry I am?

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Eight

Currently reading: Betsy-Tacy

Pages read last hour: 71

Time spent reading this hour: 45 minutes

Consumed this hour: Field roast, cheese and cracker snack plate

Reading location: Sofa party continues!

Pages read so far: 415

Total time spent reading: 351 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs, The Other Side of the Island

Do I feel a little sheepish that I am essentially reading a children's book right now? Sure. Is that preventing me from enjoying it? Not at all! I have wanted to read these books for ages, and I have a more urgent desire now that I know I will having a daughter of my own in a couple of short months. I feel slightly more fortified having had a little snack plate of field roast, cheddar and some crackers, and happy to have finished another book (even if the ending felt a bit rushed). One third of the way there!!

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Seven

Currently reading: The Other Side of the Island

Pages read last hour: 66

Time spent reading this hour: 47 minutes

Consumed this hour: Water

Reading location: Sofa party!

Pages read so far: 344

Total time spent reading: 306 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs

Thoughtsicles: I have a reading buddy now! C has joined me on the sofa with his fancy Russian novel (NYRB, no less!) and I am still plugging away at The Other Side of the Island. Wishing now that I had better snacks on hand because I am seriously hungry. Reading is hard work, don't you know?

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Six

Currently reading: The Other Side of the Island

Pages read last hour: 76

Time spent reading this hour: 55 minutes

Consumed this hour: Water

Reading location: I have not budged from the sofa

Pages read so far: 278

Total time spent reading: 259 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs

Thoughtsicles: Ah, a good, long stretch of mostly uninterrupted reading! I think I'm enjoying my book, but unsure where it's going. Or maybe I know exactly where it's going. Either way, I feel nervous for this book. Hmph.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Five

Currently reading: The Other Side of the Island

Pages read last hour: 60

Time spent reading this hour: 50 minutes

Consumed this hour: Tea, eggs and toast

Reading location: Sofa

Pages read so far: 202

Total time spent reading: 204 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs

Thoughtsicles: C got up and made me some eggs and toast and so I am happy.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Four

Currently reading: The Other Side of the Island

Pages read last hour: 20

Time spent reading this hour: 15 minutes

Consumed this hour: Tea

Reading location: Sofa

Pages read so far: 142

Total time spent reading: 154 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs

Thoughtsicles: I decided not to fight it and just took a little nap. Honestly, I slept horribly last night so these extra few minutes of mid-morning sleep were like pure gold. I could have slept for hours, though.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Three

Currently reading: The Other Side of the Island

Pages read last hour: 42

Time spent reading this hour: 45 minutes

Consumed this hour: English muffin, tea

Reading location: Sofa

Pages read so far: 123

Total time spent reading: 139 minutes

Books completed so far: A Gate at the Stairs

Thoughtsicles: Still insanely sleepy and am drinking way too much decaf tea in hopes that it will trick me into feeling like I'm having caffeine. And, thus, I am peeing constantly, since my bladder is also now the size of a pea. But I adored A Gate at the Stairs and still count Lorrie Moore as one of my favorite authors. I thought I would move on to something less heavy so I chose this YA novel, but now I'm realizing this isn't necessarily light stuff, either.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Two

Currently reading: A Gate at the Stairs

Pages read last hour: 37

Time spent reading this hour: 44 minutes

Consumed this hour: Tea, cereal

Reading location: Sofa

Pages read so far: 81

Total time spent reading: 94 minutes

Books completed so far: Still none!

Thoughtsicles: Holy cow, I just got so insanely sleepy, even doing that briefly-falling-asleep-then-jerking-wildly-awake again. I probably should eat more than the incredibly plain kamut cereal I had... English muffin to the rescue! And, hey, look, it's light outside now!

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour One

Currently reading: A Gate at the Stairs

Pages read last hour: 44

Time spent reading this hour: 50 minutes

Consumed this hour: Two cups of decaf tea

Reading location: Sofa

Pages read so far: 44

Total time spent reading: 50 minutes

Books completed so far: None!

Thoughtsicles: This is lovely. Sure, I'm pretty sleepy, but the house is so quiet, and the birds are going crazy outside and my tea tastes great. And Lorrie Moore is, as always, totally killing it.

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour Zero

Currently reading: A Gate at the Stairs

Thoughtsicles:

I'm up, I'm rocking my decaf tea, I've got the last 100 pages of this awesome Lorrie Moore novel to finish to kick off my day of reading and I'm feeling great about the Read-a-Thon!

Read-a-Thon Eve

Yay, another Read-a-Thon is nearly upon us! I'll admit, I'm probably not as prepared for this go-around. I will blame that on my pregnant belly and super-fatigue from having taught all day today. And (again being totally honest) I wasn't really thinking about which books I wanted to read ahead of time, so this stack is culled from what was just lying around the house. You may recognize some books in there that I didn't get around to last Read-a-Thon... perhaps they will be more appealing this time?

And I'm still doubting my capacity to make it as long as I did last time. This pregnant body tells me that when it's time to sleep, it's really time to sleep. And I have no caffeine on my side this time, either. Double yikes! But otherwise I've cleared my day of all distractions, and just having the luxury of spending time at home with a stack of books is enough to make my giddy with excitement.

See you all at 5am!

Book Twelve: Exile

Exile, Denise Mina



Maybe I just like these books because everyone is constantly making and drinking tea. Or maybe it's because they're freaking awesome. In fact, it occurred to me in the midst of this second mystery featuring our heroine Maureen O'Donnell, that the Garnethill trilogy is really a much better version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. As much as I enjoyed the first of that series, the rest of it kind of fell apart for me, feeling as if Stieg Larsson let the story get away from him. Denise Mina, on the other hand, always feels to be tightly in control of her characters and the plot. And I appreciate that. Now I just wonder, why aren't these more popular?