Are you a habitual reader?

In the paper this a.m., there was a blurb about a new website, Habitual Reader. You can enter your profile, review books and read book reviews. They also are looking for book blogs to add to their blogroll. Also, it is associated with Komenar Publishing, so there are opportunities for writers, also. Check it out.

Review: The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

*possible spoilers

I did end up finishing this book, although in my previous post I complained that I didn't like it very much. It got interesting on page 179, long after when I would normally put a book down in disgust. I kept trudging, because I usually love the Man Booker winners so much, and I wondered if it was just my mood. Also, the writing was undeniably very good, causing me to turn down certain passages to save. But there were several things that I didn't like about the book, and that would cause me not to recommend it.

1. The characters were not very well drawn. You just don't get a sense of them. Eventually, as the book goes on, you get enough snippets here and there to put together why this person is acting this way and why that person is acting that way. But it's a long time coming. You don't get any sense at all of a characters inner world. Also, the book goes back and forth from India to New York and you are never sure when starting a chapter where you are or from whose viewpoint you are seeing the world.

2. The book is set around some sort of unrest between India and Nepal in the late 80's. The author writes the book as if everyone knows what that was all about. I had no idea what the background or issues were in this particular conflict, and I still don't!! There isn't any sort of explanation or development of the setting and activities surrounding the characters. I get some sense the Nepalis were mistreated and that is why Gyan, one of the characters, is tempted to join their side. But I don't really get any glimpses into what the background of that is, except to know that he was poor. If you know anything about this period of history, as Lotus Reads does, then I think you'd enjoy the book more.

3. It was, quite simply, boring. Nothing really happened. My emotions never got engaged. I didn't care. I think Kiran Desai is a wonderful writer and I feel bad saying my opinion of the book, but it is what it is. So to possibly atone, I'll leave you with a few quotes to show the beauty of her writing:

Biju stood there in that dusty tepid soft sari night. Sweet drabness of home -- he felt everything shifting and clicking into place around him, felt himself slowly shrink back to size, the enormous anxiety of being a foreigner ebbing -- that unbearable arrogance and shame of the immigrant. Nobody paid attention to him here, and if they said anything at all, their words were easy, unconcerned. He looked about and for the first time in God knows how long, his vision unblurred and he found that he could see clearly.

Biju hung on to the metal frame of the jeep as it maneuvered through ridged gullies and ruts and over rocks -- there were more holes in this road than there was road and everything from his liver to his blood was getting a good shake. He looked down over at oblivion, hurried his vision back to the gouged bank. Death was so close -- he had forgotten this in his eternal existence in America -- this constant proximity of one's nearest destination.

Conversations with heroes

Today I attended a lecture at the Berkeley Rep called "A Conversation with John Gottman". John Gottman is one of my heroes. For a long time, those of us who are couples therapists just went along with intuition as our guide. No one really knew what made relationships successful or not, they just went with what their intuition told them about relationships. So born were things like "active listening" in which one person talks and the other listens and repeats it back, and those types of things.

Turns out that doesn't really work for relationships. And the person who found that out - or one of them - is John Gottman. He's actually been doing research for 20 years now on what makes relationships work and he's willing to be proven wrong. He claims he can predict with 94% accuracy whether a relationship will survive or not, based on certain factors.

If you are interested in self-help books about relationships, his books are highly readable for the public. His lecture today was also highly entertaining and informative.

If you want general information about couples relationships, read "The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work" (you can still read it even if you are not married)

If you want information on relationships, both couples relationships and with your friends, children and co-workers, read "The Relationship Cure".

If you want to put these principles to work on your parenting, read "Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child".

And if you want to read about how children affect your relationship (there is a 60% drop in marital satisfaction after the first child) and what to do about it, read his latest "And Baby Makes Three".

*cross posted on my non-book blog.

Having trouble

I'm having a terrible hard time reading "The Inheritance of Loss". This book recently won the Man Booker Prize and I have not read or seen one negative comment about it. Everything I have seen has been on a raving wild scale.

I'm about halfway through. I could never pick it up again and I wouldn't miss the fact that I didn't find out what happened. I really feel like I'm on another planet from the rest of the reading public.

Has anyone else had this reaction to this book? I was so looking forward to reading it and am bitterly disappointed.

Book Meme

I used to really dislike memes, but lately, I'm kind of enjoying them. Here's a great one I found on In Spring It Is The Dawn.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?

Definitely trade paperback. I like the size, the weight...everything. And I can read them in the bathtub, which is something I have a hard time doing with hardbacks.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?

Brick and Mortar all the way. I go on Amazon to check out ratings and such, but try not to buy from them. I LOVE small independent bookstores, and we're losing them!

Barnes & Noble or Borders?

Well, if I have to go to a "super" bookstore, I'd choose Barnes and Noble. Mostly because there are no convenient Borders nearby. But those superstores are all the same to me.

Bookmark or Dogear?

Both. I really try to use a bookmark. I try. But sometimes, it has to be dogeared. You don't misplace your fingers, if you know what I mean.

Alphabetize by author Alphabetize by title or random?

Random. I can't be bothered.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?

I guess you'd call it sell. I trade my paperbacks on www.paperbackswap.com. I keep first edition hardbacks, obviously. I would never (NEVER! Are you crazy?) throw away a book!

Keep dustjacket or toss it?

Keep.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?

Usually remove it. I'm just not good at keeping them nice. And if I manage to do it, my 1-year old would destroy it.

Short story or novel?

Novel. I've never been good at the short story.

Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)?

I'd have to say anthology. If I have to read short stories, I'm going to snore if they are all by the same author.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?

I guess Harry Potter. I'm not really crazy loopy over either of them. I've lost touch with my inner child, I guess.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

I always aim for chapter breaks and am sometimes distressed when this can't be accomplished. But I do have a one-year old, who doesn't always understand that I have 'two pages left' when he's poopy.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?

'It was a dark and stormy night'. Can't stand 'once upon a time'. I spend my life as a psychotherapist trying to convince people that life is not 'once upon a time'.

Buy or Borrow?

Buy, if it's a first edition, or if I can trade for it on paperback swap. Borrow if the library has it, and I don't have any money/credits, and especially if it's one I suspect I won't want to necessarily own.

New or used?

I love new books. But, alas, my husband is not an obsessive book lover and has requested that I not spend our children's entire college fund on books. So, I borrow. My mom buys me a BookSense giftcard each year for my birthday. And, of course, I buy used when I find a great first edition that I love.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?

All three. I love Bookmarks magazine for book reviews; I live for recommendations from all my blogger friends; and I can get lost in a bookstore for hours on end.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?

I like tidy endings. I sometimes understand that it just couldn't possibly be realistic, but I'm still mad at being left hanging. Life is hard enough; give me a happy ending any day.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?

I want to say ANYTIME! but that's not really the way my life works. I sometimes do get to read in the afternoon when my baby is napping. But more often than not, I read at night after they've gone to bed. Why do you think I stick to the 8 p.m. bedtime, for crying out loud?????

Standalone or Series?

Standalone, without question. I sometimes start a series, but end up quickly tiring of the same author, same formula. In fact, even when it's not a series, I often tire of reading too much of the same author.

Favorite series?

One series I haven't tired of is the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. These make me laugh out loud every single time. The first one is "One for the Money".

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?

I love "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell. It was a bookclub favorite a few years ago, but I never heard a great buzz about it. It is - see below - one of my favorite books of all time.

Favorite books read last year?

See my post of 2006 books and favorites at this link.

Favorite books of all time?

Too many to count. But among them are: Shogun by James Clavell; The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay (and the sequel, Tandia); The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell; The Kite Runner and so many more.....

Two Book Reviews

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel Amen: I read a lot of professional journals and books in order to educate myself, and be of help to my clients. Most of them I get from the University libraries in order to get the information without having to buy the book. Every once in a while, I get one that must have a spot on my office bookshelf. This is such a book.

This is not necessarily written for the professional. Dr. Amen educates the reader about different parts of the brain (deep limbic system, basal ganglia, etc.) and which parts are associated with which disorders. There are chapters on depression, anxiety and fear, inattention and impulsivity, worry and obsessiveness, and more. Dr. Amen gives very specific actions to take in each case, and also explains the medications and how receiving a medication that affects the deep limbic system might not work for you if, say, your problem is in the basal ganglia. He uses the SPECT scan to take pictures of a brain in action and educates about how you can specifically diagnose using this technique.

If you have - or know someone who has - a mental issue like depression that hasn't seemed to respond appropriately to medication, this might be a book to read. Me, I just found it utterly fascinating.

An Unfinished Season by Ward Just: I first heard of the author Ward Just reading Nancy Pearl's Book Lust book. I had never ever heard of him. Since that first time, it seems like I see his name everywhere. He has much newer books and ones that are more acclaimed. I can't remember why I chose this one to put on my 'to be read' list above any other. But I know I wanted to read one before I decided whether to put more of his books on the list.

I really liked this book. It was hard to read after just finishing Shantaram, which is action-packed from cover to cover. This is not action-packed. This is a character study. You know, one of those books where nothing much actually happens, but you get inside a character's head for a period of time and really get to know him.

In this case, you get inside the head of a 19-year old socialite boy in suburban Chicago in the Eisenhower era. You follow him around for a summer, getting a picture of Chicago, falling in love, working for a newspaper, and so forth. The writing is great, and I'll definitely read Ward Just again. He's a master of one-liners. Here are a couple of my favorites:

"I was astonished his shadow had followed me all this way."

"I thought it was hard in this world to know what it was you didn't know, and now there was one less unknown unknown."

The 40th California International Antiquarian Book Fair

If you live in California, and have never been to the California International Antiquarian Book Fair, you are missing out! It rotates from year to year, one year in San Francisco and one year in Los Angeles. This year it is February 16-18. It helps to be a book collector, but you needn't be to enjoy it. I just love seeing all the book dealers, and the incredibly old, expensive books on sale. And last year, I met Ray Bradbury! So that's worth the trip in itself. Anyway, check it out.