Book meme (or An Impossible Task)

“There is one thing on which we are agreed: There are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere.” – The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield

Books as torture? I don’t think so, but this meme is and it involves books. How do you narrow down 4 books to recommend to people in the following categories? If you’re the kind of person whose mother used to say would read a gum wrapper over and over and over if that’s all she could get her hands on, recommending only 4 books is nigh on impossible, especially in no more than 30 words. But, I’ll give it a shot.

Fiction – Gosh, where to begin? I’m tempted to choose Tale of Two Cities or Pride and Prejudice because they’re my two favorite books of all time. But let’s be honest, if you haven’t already read them, you probably wouldn’t just on my recommendation.

• The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield- It’s very mysterious. I couldn’t even fathom the answer to the mystery until it was revealed. Jane Eyre is a theme throughout and it kind of reminds me of it.

Autobiography – I would choose The Color of Water by James McBride, but my friend Diane chose that one. I read a biography of Marie Curie which was pretty good, but my choice is:

• Change Me Into Zeus’s Daughter by Barbara Robinette Moss – A young woman growing up impoverished in the South, her face malformed due to poor nutrition and lack of medical care, wishes to look like Zeus’s daughter Aphrodite.

Non-Fiction – This one is easy.

• Manhunt The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson – A fascinating, detailed, and action-packed story of the plot to kill Lincoln, Johnson, and Seward and the manhunt that took place afterwards.

Any Genre – An oldie, but a goodie. I’ve read it about 5 (or more) times. Forget the movie, the book is so much better.

• The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger – He is a master storyteller. It’s totally engrossing and compelling. Although you know what happens, you can’t help but hope it ends differently.

Twilight - Vampires for Teenagers

My sister has me listening to the audiobooks of the Twilight series. She adores them. I’ve never seen her like this about anything before. I’ve just finished the first one, and I have to say the writing is a little amateurish. It’s nothing I haven’t told Cori, so I won’t be putting my thoughts about her favorite book on front street without her knowing about it. It’s not the best vampire book I’ve ever come across, but it’ll do. I liked Dracula by Bram Stoker best. It’s so eerie and moody.

Twilight is the teenaged girl’s vampire novel. Bella, the heroine, is a teenager, and her boyfriend Edward was made a vampire when he was only 17. He, of course, is achingly handsome and much deeper than anyone else she’s ever met. She thinks she’s a plain Jane, but she’s obviously attractive enough to catch the eye of at least four guys within the first couple of weeks at her new school, and they’re all tripping over each other to ask her to the dance (even though it’s actually a Sadie Hawkins-type dance). So, I’m thinking she’s not so much of a Plain Jane. Some of the plot points are very Sweet Valley High. I remember hearing an interview with Francine Pascal (the creator of the Sweet Valley High series) on NPR on All Things Considered or Fresh Air, one or the other. She said that she learned a long time ago that all books written about teenagers had to end at the Prom, or at least at The Big Dance. So, where does the last scene in Twilight take place? Of course it’s AT THE PROM!!

There’s been something bothering me about the book, though. It finally occurred to me last night. Edward, the 17 year-old achingly handsome and deep vampire, was born in 1901. He was dying from the Spanish Flu in 1918 when he was made a vampire - BY HIS DOCTOR (first do no harm, my patootie). What hit me is that he’s 90 years older than his new non-vampire girlfriend! How is that acceptable? I don’t care if he does just look like a very pale 17 year-old boy, he’s still 107 years old. What if he actually looked his age? That would be scary wrong! Like, worse than Anna Nicole Smith and her freaky old-man husband wrong. (Now try getting THAT picture out of your head.)

So, now I’m all preoccupied with the creepy May-December-(5 years later)–ishness rather than the young true love romance that I think was the aim of the author, and it’s permeating all their interactions for me. Sucks!

Seriously, though, if Edward really looked like a 107 year-old man instead of an achingly handsome 17 year-old guy, Bella would so not be in love with him!

By-the-way, Edward is achingly handsome. Did you know that?

More Randomness

Diane at Diane's Addled Ramblings (otherwise known as just Diane to my friends and family) gave me a blog award as incentive (aka bribery, manipulation) to write more, but so far it hasn't worked. She's out of the country anyway, so what does she know? She gets back on Monday, so I have, what? at least 4 days I can post before she gets back and reads this, so maybe the illusion of prolificacy with 4 posts over the next four days will fool her. The award is cute, right? Her skirt is a cupcake! Mmmm...Cupcakes.

The other night on Jay Leno (not crazy about him, but Gerard Butler was on, so .... given), there was a commedienne on named Natasha Leggero. I've seen her several times on Chelsea Lately, and she's kind of funny. She was talking about American Idol, specifically about the early stages of the competition. She said something that was so true, and would be true probably for a great many of the people that regularly watch the show and vote for the contestants if they would only admit it to themselves. She said, "How are you going to make an idol out of someone you're trying to avoid in real life?" Well, it made me laugh anyway.

Sarah Vowell is awesome! If you've ever listened to the NPR show This American Life, you might have heard some of her essays/commentaries. She's also written several books including Take the Cannoli, The Partly Cloudy Patriot, and Assassination Vacation. She's very smart and entertaining. She has a way of making topics that are dry and boring, dryer (in the good sense, though) and funny. Who knew a book about the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley could make such a good book that I've actually read it not once, not twice, but three times? Her new book The Wordy Shipmates came out yesterday and it's about Puritans in the early 1600s. Fascinating, right? I promise it will be if you read it, though. I should say at least a passing interest in history should be a prerequisite for reading her books in general, though. I won't be buying it anytime soon as I'm on a book buying diet, so anyone looking for a Christmas list from me would be smart to add this book to it. She's been on a couple of talk shows this week to promote the book. Despite the comedians and actors that have been on those shows this week, she has been by leaps and bounds the funniest person on them. I wish all history teachers could teach history the way she writes her books.

Have you seen a commercial for that hair removal product called Smooth Away? It's basically like rubbing your skin with sandpaper, right? Let's weigh this, shall we? Having to shave every couple of days or hairless legs with the top layer of your skin essentially sanded away? Does it really matter if you don't have hair on your legs (or underarms, or upper lip) if you're red and blotchy and scabby?

That's all I know...