Samedi the Deafness

There seem to be three unofficially sanctioned responses to this book: You may heap praise on the author for his brilliance, you can say that you didn't understand it but it's probably brilliant anyway, or you can say that you didn't understand it and you're a little pissed off about that. I'm really not sure which camp I fall in. Really, reading this book was kind of like watching a David Lynch movie. David Lynch movies can be very enjoyable if you're aware that you're watching a David Lynch movie. You know that there are layers you're supposed to get, if you're clever enough, and even if you aren't clever enough you can enjoy the story and certain elements for what they are and the way they're presented. The problem is that I wasn't aware that I was watching a David Lynch movie. As a result, I found myself unfulfilled on the promise that I was given in the first chapters. Samedi the Deafness gives the illusion that it is a spy thriller -- a mystery -- that will be unfolded over the course of its 300 pages. That's not to say it isn't a spy thriller / mystery, or that it isn't resolved in the end, but it didn't play out in the way one expects it to. I don't like to read the "dust jacket" review before starting a book, but in this case it would appear that I should have. This book really wasn't the book I was lead to believe it was, and as a result don't feel very qualified to give it a rating, or make a recommendation about whether or not one should read it. The book is what it is.

Samedi the Deafness, by Jesse Ball

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I'm a little conflicted about how to rate this book. I'm really trying hard to stop throwing out four- and five-star reviews so much, but this book really did move me more than most books do. It's a really well told story on the nature of dealing with and moving past loss, and how different people handle the loss of a loved one. It's one of those books that I'm really glad I read, yet I'm not sure I would recommend to just anyone. Some may find it simply depressing, or even emotionally manipulative, but I found it to be really sweet and thoughtful.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer - 

Along Came a Spider

I very vaguely remember watching this movie a decade or so ago, and I know this series has a couple dozen books, so it has to be good. Right? Wrong. I was, however, genuinely curious about how it would wrap up, so I did manage to read clear to the end. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling you that this is the story of a kidnapping by a supposed schitzophrenic sociopath. And, of course, the big question is whether or not he's really schitzophrenic or just faking everyone. Really, though, I just didn't care. Like all of the other characters, he just wasn't at all believable. Granted, it is the first in the Alex Cross series, so maybe Patterson's writing has improved since this one was released, but I'm really not all that interested in finding out.

Along Came a Spider, by James Patterson - 

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1. V8
2. Ethiopean food
3. Peaches
4. Mad Men

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Five weeks into 2012, and I'm already ahead of the game! Following a year where I only read four books, I'm looking to increase my pace to a one-a-week schedule. During weeks one through five, I managed to finish a total of eight books. The following is a brief, spoiler-free review of what I've been reading the past few weeks.

The Maze Runner Trilogy

Of the four books I read in 2011, three of them were young adult fiction. Just about everyone has read the Hunger Games trilogy by now, and I'm no exception. On the heels of these books, which I enjoyed greatly, it was recommended that we try the Maze Runner series as well. The general feel of the series is very similar to that of The Hunger Games. Thomas, a teenage boy, wakes up in an walled-in glade with forty or fifty other boys. None of them remember how they got there, and they are surrounded on all sized by an enormous maze. They have spent the last two years trying in vain to solve the maze when Thomas shows up. In the days following Thomas' appearance, though, everything changes forcing them to up their efforts very quickly.

If I hadn't read The Hunger Games, I might think more highly of this series. The idea in general is an interesting one, it just felt very poorly executed. Don't get me wrong, it's a very engaging series, and I read through it very quickly. All three books are a very easy read, but easy isn't always good. The best way I can describe the series is that it was a great idea that I wish a better author had tackled. That said, the author is working on a fourth book -- a prequel -- and despite my lukewarm feelings about the series I will probably read that as well.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner - 
The Scorch Trials, by James Dashner - 
The Death Cure, by James Dashner - 

The Road

It's no secret that I like depressing books. This is my second time reading this book through, and I can absolutely say that it has become one of my favorites. It's the story of a father and son in post-apocalyptic America, trying to make their way east to safety. If you're reading the book just for the facts of the story -- the state of the world they are in and the events that happen to them -- it is incredibly dark and depressing. What I love about this book is the bond between father and son and the father's steadfast determination to watch out for his son and get him to safety, no matter the obstacles. Even in the face of near death and starvation, over and over, he puts the wellbeing of his boy before his own. While it is absolutely a sad story, I always find a strong element of hope that there exists something in our human nature that can push good to the forefront even in horrible circumstances.

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy - 

A Short History of Nearly Everything

This one is a minor cheat. I started reading this in early November, but put it on the back burner a month later, only to return to it this past month. A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson, it a fairly comprehensive view of the history of everything we know about the world we live in, from a layman's perspective. Bryson points out that we grow up knowing about the layers of the earth, volcanos, evolution, space, atoms, etc. but there are so many things that go unanswered. Like, how do we know how old the universe is? What causes ice ages? If an atom is made up of mostly empty space, how does everything hold together?

I enjoyed what I learned from this book, but as you might expect from a book with such diverse subject matter, there were parts that I had to force myself to read through. I found myself really enjoying the parts about geology, space, and our universe's origins, while barely staying awake during the parts dealing with quantum physics, atoms, and molecular studies. Regardless, the fact that a non-scientist like Bryson dedicated some serious time to answering these questions for other non-scientists is greatly appreciated. It's a bit of a commitment, but it's worth a read if you're at all curious about the state of science and how we know what we know about the world today.

A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson - 

Of Mice and Men

After lagging behind January on several books, we decided that we would pick a book and read it at the same time. When I finished up A Short History of Nearly Everything, January still had a day or so on her current book. I sorted my "to read" list on Goodreads by length to pick out the shortest one, and Of Mice and Men turned out to be it. It's the story of two migrant field workers, George and Lennie, who travel to various farms to make a living hoping to one day save up enough money to buy a little place of their own where they can "live off the fatta the lan'." Lennie is a mentally disabled oaf of a man, and George does his best to look after him as they travel around working the fields. It's a great -- but not happy -- story and at barely 100 pages it really should be on everyone's reading list.

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck - 

The Night Circus

I loved this book. I recently realized that, when rating books, I have a tendency to be a little too generous with five-star ratings and almost never dole out one- or two-star reviews. Consequently, I have decided that I won't give a five-star rating to any book that I have only read once. That said, I think The Night Circus could one day be a five-star book for me. I knew almost nothing about the book when I started reading it and I'm glad I didn't spoil it by reading the dust jacket intro. In that spirit, I won't say much except that it's the story of an extraordinary circus at the turn of the 20th century which is the site of a battle between two magicians and their students. The Night Circus was as magical and enchanting as you would expect a book about a magic circus to be. I believe this is Erin Morgenstern's first novel, which is very impressive given the quality of the writing. I will say, though, that the last 10% of so of the book lost me a little. I'm not entirely sure I'm on board -- or even very clear -- with the resolution, but the first 90% was so enjoyable that I'm sure I'll be back for a second read before too long.

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern - 

Solaris

Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem - 

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Life moves a little slower when you add a child to the family. I like to get my annual photo slideshow out right around the end of the year -- preferably a few days before, but usually shortly after. This year's took a little longer to get together, but the result is a pretty solid look at the first year of our larger Team Soell collective. Enjoy!

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