Down and Dirty with Gorgeous Genius

So, I was in the mood for some alliteration, hence the title of this post. In addition, I've also recently finished Ian McEwan's In Between the Sheets. Now, let me just say before I get in to the review, that this book IS NOT for everyone. Theres no way it can be. But it was for me. I loved it, absolutely, despite, or perhaps because, of the few minor flaws I had with it.

This book is kind of gross. Thats probably the first thing to know. Its not what I, nor probably others, were expecting when I picked it up. There really is very little romance, very few love stories. At least, not in the way those things are commonly thought of. But this book is inventive, short, and absolutely beautifully written. A book of short stories about the sexually grotesque doesn't usually make the top of anyones list, but this one should. The stories (I believe there are 5 or 6 in all) are all strikingly different, yet, because of McEwan's prose style, fit together unbelievably well. The stories I found most touching were the ones about the man who, after two nurses discover that he's sleeping with both of them simultaneously, decide they're going to fix that problem - for good, and the one about the man who falls desperately in love with a store manequin, takes her home, and then leads himself to believe that she is cheating on him with his limo driver. Is that normal? Absolutely not. It is the kind of thing you'd think first to write a short story about? Absolutely not. And THAT is why this book is as good as it is - because its one of the few book I've read in a long time where I've gone "I would never even think to write that." And, as a budding writer, I know how hard that is do to, so its immediately something I admire. Also, I love Ian McEwan. Like, kind of an unhealthy amount. So, all in all...I wouldn't suggest this book is kind of creepy, kind of sadistic things don't intrigue you. However, if you're looking for stories that you probably won't read anywhere else, go ahead and give this one a try. Who knows...maybe theres a darker side just waiting to be found!

In other news, roomate assignments have been sent, and there is oh-so-much preparation to do for move in, which will, of course, be in just a few weeks. Add to that the fact that I have the United Students Against Sweatshops conference in Boulder, Colorado from the 10th - 12th, and then I move in early on the 13th to help clean house/set up for the executive board, and things between now and then are busy busy busy busy busy! So up next on the nightstand: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen, a book I've read countless times but still love a little more with each turn of the page! Until then....

The Poisonwood Bible and City Life

I finished The Poisonwood Bible last night in a frenzied fit of reading, and even after having enough time to reflect and come to terms, I'm still a little muddled and disappointed about the whole thing.

Perhaps the hard part is that I really, really WANTED to like the book. My mother loves it, my friends who've read it like it, and it was an Oprah's Book Club Book (something I usually would have ran from but, for some reason, decided to trust this time). Or perhaps its that there were parts of the book that I did like. I loved certain scenes (the tribe-wide hunting scene or the Adah monologues) and a lot of the prose really got me thinking about my own writing style, something I really love in the books I read. But, even with all that, I still didn't really like the book as a whole. There was all of this buildup to the pivotal tragedy, and then it occurs and then....things just continue. I know that this is how life is, and there is a bit of admiration to be had for books that attempt to echo life. But, after tragedy and the sisters and mother leave the village, there really isn't any more impetus to keep reading. It becomes reading for readings sake, something I hate to do. The stories became so dull that, I admit, I left the last two chapters unread. It was just that I mentally couldn't do it - each page felt like it weighed a ton! But, the book had a few meritorious points, so I wouldn't completely trash it. Just make sure that you're in ready for a looooooonnnnngggg book that feels like a lllloooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg book.

Since then, I've moved on to Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. I don't know. I guess that because I liked the Twilight series so much, I thought I'd go back and read the pinnacle of all vampire novels. Its a step out of my usual genre, but I'm hoping it pays off. I'm a dozen or so pages in, and there is some of that intensity missing that I loved so much about Twilight, but I just keep reminding myself not to compare the books to one another - they're completely different canonical works!

Other than the reading (which I LOVE having plenty of time to do!) the vacation to Chicago is going well! Lots of swimming and the hotel, lots of talking on my sisters balcony, and lots of play time with my niece, the most adorable girl in the world who, at this moment, is laying next to me asleep, one of her hands curled around my toes. Its adorable. Tomorrow is off to the city for some sight seeing (hello, Sears Tower! Hello, Theater District! Hello, Navy Pier!) and some much deserved adult time (hello, Second City Improv!) And, of course, some much deserved time with Anne Rice!