Encyclopedia of an ordinary life

I typically read fiction. Lots of it.


The book ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AN ORDINARY LIFE (Crown Publishing , c2005, ISBN 1-4000-8046-0) by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is probably my favorite read this year. (The year is not over yet but up next is some medical thriller that I don't think will be as profound or enlightening.)


And it's not fiction.


It's one woman telling the story of her life through encyclopedia entries and it is wonderful.

I liked the format, the content and the style in which she writes. So many entries resonated loudly within me and my assistant and I chuckled heartily over one part in particular.


The first sentence from the forward:

I was not abused, abandoned, or locked up as a child.

The Colorado Kid

Stephen King's latest book, THE COLORADO KID (Hard Case Crime, c2005, 0-8439-5584-8) has had some tongues wagging in my immediate reading circle of friends. Some people like it, some hate it and with good reason. King himself says in the afterword that this would be the case. I enjoyed it but not as much as some of his other works. I did, however, like the first sentence.

After deciding he would get nothing of interest from the two old men who comprised the entire staff of THE WEEKLY ISLANDER, the feature writer from the Boston Globe took a look at his watch, remarked that he could just make the one-thirty ferry back to the mainland if he hurried, thanked them for their time, dropped some money on the tablecloth, weighted it down with the salt shaker so the stiffish onshore breeze wouldn't blow it away, and hurried down the stone steps from The Grey Gull's patio dining area toward Bay Street and the little town below.

I like a sentence that comes together like that!

I've been sick for the better part of a month but I'm back on an upswing so I'll be back to posting. Please stay tuned...

I'm lovin' it!

Okay, well the last couple of books that I've read have been non-fiction, not mysteries which is why I've been so late in posting. But, I did just finish the book,DON'T EAT THIS BOOK: FAST FOOD AND THE SUPERSIZING OF AMERICA by Morgan Spurlock which is a very scary look into the fast food industry, slaughterhouse practices, and a bunch of other really disgusting things that sums up to this mystery: Why do people still eat this stuff? The first sentence?

Don't do it.

Then, today, while reading some of my online "journals" I came across this picture that I wanted to share:

It comes from this blog and I wish I had an artsy-fartsy patron who'd make one for me. Maybe I'll print the picture off, hang it up and beg.

Anyone who works in a library can appreciate it, I'm sure.

I did.

Hackers abound!

My lastest read, THE BLUE NOWHERE, by Jeffery Deaver (Simon & Schuster, c2001, ISBN 0-684-87127-0), is the book featured today.

It is a chilling work of fiction (?) related to hackers, crackers, phreaks and all of the scary things that people can access and do with a computer related to YOU!

This book was recommended to me by a library patron and although I've read all of Deaver's Lincoln Rhymes' books, I remember when this one came out that I had too much to read and reading about computers just didn't interest me at the time.

I'm glad it was recommended. What a very, scary (in a realistic way) book. It really made me want to think twice about what I do on my computer and more fearful of what these computer geniuses can make appear as things I might be doing on a computer. Be afraid, be very afraid! This book is fabulous storytelling!

The battered white van had made her uneasy.

AI

I am a big fan of AMERICAN IDOL and I've watched every season since the Kelly Clarkson phenom, picking the winners year after year. So, it didn't surprise me at all that the title and then subject of this book caught my interest.
From Alesia Holliday's debut, AMERICAN IDLE(Dorchester Publishing Co., ISBN 0-505-52654-9):

It doesn't matter who wins.

Not a great sentence, but a pretty fun romp. Kinda trashy in a fun, girly-giggle sort of way. Don't expect me to read alot of these, though.

Creepers is a keeper

I recently finished the book, CREEPERS (CDS Books, ISBN:159315237X)
by David Morrell, a won ARC copy from here. I looove to win books.The first sentence?

Creepers.

Pbblttth! (I always like to see how other people try to spell the sound of a mouth raspberry.) That's a stinky first sentence!

However, the topic of the book was amazing! Wonderful! It interested me in a subject like no other books have in quite awhile. What you may ask, has me so excited?

Asbury Park, New Jersey, a once thriving community turned ghost town, and Urban Exploration! Two, count 'em two, very interesting concepts and although I didn't care for the first sentence, CREEPERS is a keeper. I'm glad my copy is autographed!

Confession Obsession

Well, I'm not really obsessed but I liked the rhyming scheme to it.

My book choice for today was a fun read from last month. It wasn't a book I would typically pick up, let alone read, but it sounded like fun in a review that I read, and it was. Melanie even sent me a magnet to add to my collection on my filing cabinet at the library. From CONFESSIONS OF SUPER MOM (Dutton, ISBN 0-525-94910-0) by Melanie Lynne Hauser:

Every superhero has an origin.

It had been a strange month because I read both this and CARPE DEMON (Berkley Books, ISBN 0-425-20252-6) by Julie Kenner. Both books were much lighter fare from my typical reading agenda, but I enjoyed them both.

Fear not, everything I've read this month has been much darker and grittier. So far...

It said What?!?

This is a great example of how a first sentence can completely affect the read of a book. The author, Robert Tanenbaum, who I regularly recommend to my patrons looking for something in the vein of John Grisham is the author featured.

A patron returning Grisham's latest, asked for something similar since she had read all of his books. I recommended several authors, including Tanenbaum, noting his books are a series. She picked several paperbacks off the shelf, read the backs and came to the counter with two. The same afternoon she returned the book, told me that the book disgusted her and asked why I would recommend such an author. I was genuinely surprised. The author typically writes suspenseful courtroom/legal dramas and I've never had any complaints before. I opened up the book to the first sentence of the book, FALSELY ACCUSED:

With a wet and embarrassing sound, a sound like no other, a human brain came loose from its skull and, dripping thick, clotted blood and fluid, hung suspended in the hands of the chief medical examiner of the City of New York.

What!?! Oh my goodness...

I was truly stunned. I expect this type of writing from Bentley Little or maybe Muriel Gray but Tanenbaum?

Oy Vey! Uff da! And all that!

I love a debut

I adore debut novels. Some of my all time favorite reads have been debuts. I typically continue to read the author if I enjoy their first book. Sometimes I am pleased, other times I'm disappointed but to be fair I return again, always remembering how much I enjoyed that first wonderful book.

The book I'm currently reading is turning out to be a great read as well.
From IMMORAL, a debut by Brian Freeman:

Darkness was a different thing in the north woods than it was in the city.

I have also come to love blogs. I wasn't sure at the beginning, but having my own had made me really appreciate those that do it and do it well.

I have included the blogs that I read regularly on the right-hand side under the archived posts. Take a look. You might find something fun.

Beginner's Luck

I actually searched through books looking for a first sentence to go along with a link I wanted to share. I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, but the following sentence could certainly apply.

From Laura Pedersen's novel, BEGINNER'S LUCK:

Was there ever a single moment about which you later wondered, "What would my life be like now if that hadn't happened?"

Who hasn't?