Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: The Red Cover Edition
I
don't care who you're rooting for, this year's World Series has been
great. For the most part, the long games have been exciting, with big
hits good action, and extra innings. What a postseason!
We
spent most of Saturday hiking in a local state forest. It's finally
looking like fall, with gorgeous leaves and deep blue skies. Well,
except yesterday (Sunday), which was non-stop rain. The rain, though,
was just the excuse I needed to spend the day making lace. All in all, a
near-perfect weekend.
Work has picked up in the
pre-holiday season, which is a good thing, though it can cut into my
reading time. I also have a new sideline gig that I'm very excited about
and will share with you next week.
What I Read Last Week
Where the Past Begins by Amy Tan
(Ecco, Oct. 3) is a different kind of memoir. Instead of sticking to a
chronological structure, Tan muses about a variety of incidents and
issues, from her early experiences with family deaths to life as a child
of immigrants, her relationship with her mother, her struggle with
medical problems, her writing life, and her fascination with language.
I've enjoyed Tan's novels, so I liked getting to know her better, If I
were to sum up her life in one sentence, I'd say she is a survivor who has
found a way to thrive in the face of difficult challenges. Her writing
style is loose and personal and easy to connect to. Tan herself narrates
the audiobook edition (Harper Audio, 14 hr. 31 min). She is
engaging, and I liked her portrayal of her mother and her rendering of
Chinese American accents. The only problem with the audiobook is that
you miss out on the Tan family photographs. I'll have more to say over
at AudioFile magazine.
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
(Crown Books for Young Readers, Oct. 17) is heart-wrenching in its
authenticity of what it's like to be a black teen in the South (or,
really, anywhere in the United States). Justyce is smart and one of only
a couple of black students in an Atlanta private high school. He's also
a scholarship student among wealthy white kids. One night when trying
to help his drunk, light-skinned biracial girlfriend, he's picked up by
the police, who immediately assume he's a black boy trying to take
advantage of a white girl. The handcuffs, the total disrespect, and the
racial profiling affect him deeply. Justyce tries to cope with the mixed
signals from his seemingly friendly classmates with their ingrained
prejudice and with his general outsider status by writing letters to the
late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and trying to model his reactions by
"what would Martin do?" Justyce doesn't always make the right choices,
but he does make believable choices. This book will eat you up. Author
Stone makes it clear that civil rights and racial equality are far
realized in this country and shows this through Justyce's story.
Although written for a young adult audience, readers of all ages will
find plenty to think about. The autdiobook (Listening Library 4 hr, 32 in) is read by Dion Graham,
who handles the dialect and emotional impact of the book beautifully.
His characterizations weren't particularly strong, but his respect and
understanding of Stone's book had me listening all in one go. (thanks to the publisher for both print and audio review copies)
Other Stuff
Besides baseball and lacemaking, I've started Alice Hoffman's Rules of Magic. If you liked Hoffman's Practical Magic
(book or movie), you really do need to read her new novel, which takes
place in (or at least starts in) the 1960s when the Owen children learn
their true nature. The sisters in this book grow up to be the aunts we
meet in Practical Magic. I'm thoroughly enjoying the audiobook (read by Marin Ireland) and will report back next week.