This month’s reading felt very male. XY.
THE POLYSYLLABIC SPREE by Nick Hornby
A year of his columns from The Believer, chronicling a year
of reading, and reviews of what he read. Chatty, funny, smart… bibliophilia
without the pretension. A pleasure.
BROOKLYN by Colm Tóibín
What a disappointment. This book was recommended by so many
people whose reading tastes I respect. Please tell me what I missed. A naïve
Irish girl comes to the New World and becomes a New Yorker. Sweet and clear… but
pretty much just a melody with no real harmony, undertones or any real
surprises.
THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE HER by Junot Díaz
Well, he’s got his voice back. I loved Drown, fell right into Díaz’ smartass characters and his smartass
language. Waited for a follow-up, but Oscar
Wao didn’t do it for me. The writing felt self-conscious, and I didn’t buy
the teenage characters. (Job hazard for a middle school teacher?) This is How You Lose Her felt authentic,
again. And I was hooked
on getting a peek at the ‘sucio’s’ side. The writing in parts of this story collection is
a little too True Confessions-esque, but most of it is raw and magnetic.
Lonely Planet Colombia
Lonely Planet Cambodia
Where to next?
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