Books I've Been Reading...

Inspired by Nina & Dana, I thought I would post some books that I've been reading:

One Day by David Nicholls. Since I finished my dissertation, I've spent a fair amount of time reading chick lit. Bridget Jones' Diary is one of my favorite novels of all time, and I tend to like a fast plot in my reads. One Day was a page-turner, a fast read as my last novel before returning to work. This book is interesting b/c I do place it firmly in the chick let category, but it is written by a man, and I think the protagonist is male (debatable--if you read, let me know your thoughts). The story is about Emma and Dexter, acquaintances who attend the same university, but don't really meet until the day after graduation. Each chapter is set on July 15th during 1988 to 2005. Like watching Mad Men, I enjoyed remembering the culture of the different years (ah, life without a cell phone). I miss 1994, the year I graduated from college and started grad school; life seemed hard, but manageable. I think this is a story about hopes we have, the mystery of where life can lead us, and how friends/family are huge supports. The ending felt a bit cheap to me, but I won't give that away. I liked the device of being forwarded a year for each chapter. I thought there would be some regret about not getting the whole story because of the leaps, but there is enough momentum and reflection that you do get to know the characters. Unlike many novels, you get a steady pace of how they develop over the course of their adult lives.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. I'm a fan of The Time Traveler's Wife, but I totally get those who hate the book (it does seem odd to have a love story where an adult male travels back to see his wife as a little girl). Her Fearful Symmetry is Niffengegger's follow-up novel. On the cover, there is a review quote that states, "Niffenegger fans should rejoice". Well, I'm not sure if that is really a glowing review fit for the front cover, but it does describe how I felt about the book. I should rejoice, but meh. I started out really enjoying the characters. The prologue describes a love relationship that is heartbreaking and true. Side note: I had put this book on reserve at the library a few days before I was taking a walk during one of the few sunny days we had in Seattle this summer. I walked by my favorite bookstore and ended up buying a copy only to come home to find an email that my library copy was ready for pick-up. Sigh. Anyway, back to Fearful Symmetry. The characters are interesting, but the plot is a bit slow. I enjoyed the gothic (as in Byron-esque, not emo) undertones. But, like many of the reviews on Amazon, I thought the end just fell apart into silliness. And, I'm not even quite sure what happened to one of the characters (in a way that isn't worthy of a book club discussion--what do you think what happened?).

About Alice by Calvin Trillin. This may be my favorite short story of all time! I read this book in article form about three years ago (it was originally published in the New Yorker). When it came out in book form, Trillin signed books at University Bookstore and I went with Jake to get my own signed copy! I have read parts of it since buying the book, but I think this is the first time I have read it cover-to-cover since purchase. About Alice is the reflection of Trillin after his beloved wife passes. Over the years, there have been countless (ok, not really countless) stories of Alice scribed by Calvin, and this retrospective pulls them together. Reading about his love, grief, and family, I get the sense that true love is real, difficulty, and worthy. One of my great hopes when reading this book is Calvin's account of meeting Alice (they disagree on the details): you have to stumble into the right party at the right time. And from there....

Lying on the Couch by Irvin Yalom. A therapist reading a mystery by a therapist. As I was reading this book, I kept thinking what it would be like to read this if I were in another profession. I liked the themes of how personal should therapy get (for both patient and therapist)?, what are the limits of confidentiality,  and how we use others for our own purposes--either wittingly or not. What I really liked about this story is the clash of different styles of therapy. One doctor aligns with the psychodynamic (patient-doctor) approach, while a younger generation portrays the more postmodern therapies. My work at Seattle U is an integration of both types. I tend to align with narrative and humanistic, while my director is very psychodynamic. This creates a richness in our program, but can create differences when paradigms collide. It was nice to take a step out of real life and see this dynamic in a crazy story of revenge and mystery.

Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. One self-described grump sets out to find the happiest places in the world. I was drawn in because Weiner went to the Netherlands to talk to one of the founders of positive psychology (a sect of the type of resiliency research of my academic work). Not every chapter is a winner, but each still contains some thoughtful tidbits on what may help to increase our own happiness (for example, safety isn't about the amount of police presence it is about how many neighbors that you know). I like this book, but it is a skimmer.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. This is the least of the "beachy" reads from this summer. I wasn't sure I was ready to read a story set during the holocaust, but it came on HIGH recommendation from my friend, Nina. The plot was engrossing, and I really enjoyed the sad, heart-wrenching story. I won't say too much as not to give away the story....

Well, as of Monday, I'm full-force back at work so I won't have as much time for fun reading. But, I do have a lot of books on my "to read" list: Pillars of the Earth (ok, I just watched the movie so I want the full story), Home by Marilynne Robinson (Gilead is one of my all time fave novels so I'm curious to see if this is as good), War Dances by Sherman Alexie, Bounce by Robert Wicks (technically a work read since it is resiliency and spirituality), and others. I'm still on my "book-ban" of trying not to buy books, but when I walk past Queen Anne Books and the Mexican Hot Chocolate calls my name it is SO hard to resist!