Technodiabla's 2011 Reads

I'm new to this group, but I love my other LT reading groups and this seemed like a good place for me to consolidate my reading lists and reviews. I will probably also include some rants about all the illiterate people around me-- well, not technically illiterate. They can read, but choose not to, or choose to read stuff that makes their brains atrophy even further.

First an introduction of me and my books!
I'm 37, married with 3 kids ages 5, 5, and 7 (yes, twins). I am from Dallas, Texas but have thankfully adopted the Bay Area, CA as my home. I am a scientist by training but am now a useless bureaucrat Manager. My job does not fully exercise my brain, and my kids mostly just exercise my patience-- so I read. Oh, and in case it isn't obvious from above I'm a far left-wing elitist snob. Some other interests besides reading: cooking and entertaining, cycling/lifting weights/hiking, traveling, and good movies.

I like intelligent books and great writing. My collection is fairly eclectic and I really need to get my non-fiction listed in LT sometime. I am also interested in *good* books for children and youth. Most of my books are from Library discard sales and Bookmooch. I like to collect them, but I'm out of space so ultimately only the really good stuff will get to stay after being read.

I have no numerical goal this year-- I'm selecting books based on the themes and books for the Reading Globally, Reading Through Time, and Author Theme Read LT group selections. Book lists will be posted soon.

Welcome Debbie! We share quite a few books despite my very small library, so I'm interested to see what you'll be reading over the year.

Already completed in 2011:
The Ice-Shirt by William Vollmann-- 3.5 stars
The Road: Stories, Journalism, and Essays by Vasily Grossman-- 4 stars
The Stone Raft by Jose Saramago-- 2.5 stars
The Way to Paradise by Mario Vargas Llosa-- 4.5 stars
The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles-- 4 stars

A Note on my * system:
0-1: did not complete book due to it's being complete garbage. Very rare as I try to read stuff I'm going to like.
2-2.5: Has some redeemable qualities but heavily flawed, boring, etc. Not recommended.
3-3.5: Not a waste of time. A good read that has some flaws or that is just too unimportant to qualify for a higher rating.
4-4.5: An excellent book-- good story, characters, writing. Sometimes later will get upgraded to a 5.
5: An excellent book that transcends time/place and presents universal themes. A book that will stay with you, change the way you think, etc.

Coming up:
February:
Blindness by Jose Saramago
The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawisz
March:
Wandering Star by J.M.G. Le Clezio
The Castle in the Forest by Norman Mailer
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
April:
The War at the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa
Baltasar and Blimunda by Jose Saramago
TBD....

All my reviews are listed here:
http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=technodiabla

Welcome! I finished Blindness a while back and am currently reading Seeing and have got The Stone Raft on my TBR, though after your review it may wait a bit.

My review of Blindness:

I was not excited about this book after just reading (and disliking) The Stone Raft, but Blindness eventually won me over. It started off a bit slow and I found the characters actions and plot devices contrived and unbelievable (not the blindness part-- I had sufficient suspension of disbelief for that, but their reactions and day to day interactions with each other). However after the first 1/3 or so the plot picked up and I managed to get myself into "parable mode" and let Saramago take me on his journey though Blind Hell on Earth.

I think approaching this book as a parable is the only way to appreciate it and enjoy it. None of it really makes any sense otherwise and would be totally frustrating. If you can get in that mindset then Blindness is really really well done. Saramago makes his point loud and clear, but doesn't try to say too much (one of my complaints with The Stone Raft).

The writing style is simpler than The Stone Raft-- more similar to All the Names-- which I enjoyed immensely. It has the same nowhere-yet-everywhere setting, none of the characters have names, there is nothing to really set it in a specific time period even. This really lends itself well to the pared down characters and plot. Just the basics-- just enough to make his point. 4 stars

My reading lineup for the foreseeable future:

Currently Reading
The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz (for Reading Globally "Journeys" Theme)-- 3.75 Stars
March:
Wandering Star by JMG Le Clezio ("Journeys", Author Theme Reads-- Le Clezio, Reading Through Time "1940s")-- 4.25 Stars
Castle in the Forest by Norman Mailer ("1940s")-- 4 stars
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth ("1940s")-- 2.5 stars
April:
The War at the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa (Author Theme Reads-- Llosa, Reading Globally "Regions in Conflict")-- 4.25 stars
Baltasar and Blimunda by Jose Saramago (Author Theme Reads-- Saramago)-- SKIPPED
Seeing by Jose Saramago-- SKIPPED
May/June (all for "Regions in Conflict"):
Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee
Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
Remembering Babylon by David Malouf
Malayan Trilogy by Anthony Burgess
The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
July:
The Prospector by JMG Le Clezio
Onitsha by JMG Le Clezio
Aug:
The Green House by Mario Vargas Llosa
The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa

I always post my reviews here:
http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=technodiabla
and will update my reading list above with star ratings after completing the book.

Hi, Debbie! Love your confessional intro. I'm new to Club Read this year too. Not up to speed yet this year--both in terms of my reading and posting--but I'm definitely enjoying the cosy atmosphere over here at CR.

Hmmmm. Sometime in May I want to read a Renaissance book was well (for Reading Through Time). I'm thinking Utopia, Candide, or The Prince.

Hello Debbie, this is my first visit to your Club Read thread, and I was immediately struck by how similar your reading list is to my own. I'm from Dallas too, by the way, but a generation older.

Just completed The Castle in the Forest by Norman Mailer. Review

I really enjoyed this book. All the reviews are true-- it is full of raunchy, graphic perversities. But, Mailer's eloquent verbiage and dry wit make you laugh in spite of yourself. It is also intelligent. The events that subtlety over time craft an evil human are really scary. No one thing did it; it was the perfect culmination of genes, familial relationships, and social situation. The narration (by a devil who both watches and influences) was OK but was the weakest aspect of the book. It was original but distracting.

I haven't done my homework yet to see how much of the story is historically accurate, possible, and complete fiction. I can't say I care. The book would be good even if it were about a fictional character instead of Hitler. I can't whole-heartedly recommend this book to many people because it's too shocking. But if you're up for that then read it, you'll love it. 4 stars.

>10 StevenTX: Yes, Steven03tx, I've seen your Profile page. Similar libraries except yours is much larger than mine. You're in Rowlett no less- I grew up in Garland. Small world....

I gave up on The Plot Against America. The writing was technically good, the premise was interesting, and yet I just couldn't get motivated to finish it (I got almost half way). It was dry and maybe too predictable. Looks like people either love Roth, or can't finish his books. I guess I'm in the latter group.

O-Kayyyy. I finally finished The War at the End of the World. I'm a 3-book/month person usually, but this took me nearly 7 weeks. That was annoying, but the book is really good. It's dense, complex, graphic, and by then end you are very into it-- into the war, the characters, the geography, everything. It's about many things-- fanaticism, hopelessness, finding the meaning of life, good versus evil, retribution, love, belonging-- the plot centers on the true story of the Brazilian civil war between the new Republic's government and a rebellious religious cult of sorts (circa 1890s).

The writing style varies- some parts were a bit dry, though maybe necessary, and others were so compelling I could hardly breathe while reading (the last 20% was the best). Having recently read The Way to Paradise, I can't say I could even tell they were written by the same author. Very different novels. I'm looking forward to more of Llosa's work.

**SPOILER**
This book has the most awful disgusting scene I have yet to encounter (so I kinda of collect the scenes, mentally, not sure why): the taking of communion with a dying saint's diarrhea. That really did me in. Yuck-o.

Debbie - Just visiting for the first time. I notice you are looking for children's book. My kids of 4 & 6 and I somewhat keep track of what we're reading. There's a thread to check out, and maybe add to here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/105475 (Also, my 2010 threads have a ton of other books...if you're interested).

Read this year:
The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz (for Reading Globally "Journeys" Theme)-- 3.75 Stars
March:
Wandering Star by JMG Le Clezio ("Journeys", Author Theme Reads-- Le Clezio, Reading Through Time "1940s")-- 4.25 Stars
Castle in the Forest by Norman Mailer ("1940s")-- 4 stars
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth ("1940s")-- 2.5 stars
April:
The War at the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa (Author Theme Reads-- Llosa, Reading Globally "Regions in Conflict")-- 4.25 stars
May/June (all for "Regions in Conflict"):
Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee-- 3.5 stars
Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell-- 3.5 stars
The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes-- 4.5 stars
Remembering Babylon by David Malouf-- 5 stars
For 1960s theme:
Logan's Run by William Nolan-- 1 star, did not finish
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut-- 3.5 stars
Losing Nelson by Barry Unsworth-- 4 stars
Being Dead by Jim Crace-- 3.25 stars
Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier-- currently reading

Next Up:
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
The Green House by Mario Vargas Llosa
The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa
Captain Pantoja and the Special Service by Mario Vargas Llosa
Claudius the God by Robert Graves