BOOK LUST

Are you looking for something to read? Because I just finished this book, Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason by Nancy Pearl, and now my to-read list is about 35 books long. I love that the online library catalog has a handy feature that lets you make a sort of “wish list”—it’s saving me a lot of paper—but then it’s way too easy to hit the handy “Reserve” button next to each book. And so I totally lost control and put 7 (!!!!!!!) of them on hold, and of course they all came in at once, and I apparently I’ll have to quit my job now so I can read them. Reading books about books always does this to me—makes me exhilarated and then totally overwhelmed with the realization that I’ll never, ever read them all, let alone reread all my favorites. I was shamed by Pearl; she included hundreds of books in this book and had obviously them all, plus she’d often make offhand remarks like, “I reread this book every year.” Granted, she’s a librarian and a book reviewer, so there’s some happy occupational overlap there. But still. In the 12 years or so that I’ve been keeping track (yes, I keep track, OK? Not so much for the statistics, but because I want to remember what I read and when—it’s helpful when recommending to others, remembering what books I want to buy myself, or feeling nostalgic), I’ve read roughly 40 to 100 books per year (the higher numbers are from the days of yore, when I read shorter books, had fewer friends, was assigned books for school, and didn’t hold down a full-time job—or at least had that summer job at the beach concession stand, where I read all day), and maybe less than half of those are ones I’d bother even recommending to people. And I’d only read a tiny fraction of the books she discussed. Despair! Anyway, not all the books sounded good or up my alley (she covers every imaginable genre), but often I was reminded about books I’d always been meaning to read, or her recommendation reinforced good things I’d heard about a book from elsewhere. So in turn I recommend this book. Certainly it’s something I’d like to have around the house—just in case I ever get through all the books on my list and need more suggestions.

GIRLS ON THE VERGE

Girls on the Verge by Vendela Vida: A look at different coming-of-age rituals for girls, including debutante balls, quinceneras, sororities, gangs, and teen marriage. I found it compelling (devoured it in one day, in fact), but mainly because of the content, not the writing. I enjoyed her first-person observations (which reminded me of Susan Orlean’s Saturday Night, one of my favorite nonfiction books, though without the wonderful style)—especially her description of going undercover to infiltrate sorority rush at UCLA—but the analysis fell a bit flat (luckily, there wasn’t much of it). I’d recommend this book, but expect a series of vignettes rather than a comprehensive study.

THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith: A quick and enjoyable read, but better-written than I expected. The blurb on the front cover, which described the book as “The Miss Marple of Botswana,” was reductive—it was as much or more about character and local color than solving a mystery (or actually, a collection of various small mysteries). I’ve already put the sequel on hold at the library. I loved Precious Ramotswe’s quiet competence, and the simple, straightforward-yet-lyrical tone of the writing. Here’s my favorite passage:

It was time to take the pumpkin out of the pot and eat it. In the final analysis, that was what solved these big problems of life. You could think and think and get nowhere, but you still had to eat your pumpkin. That brought you down to earth. That gave you a reason for going on. Pumpkin.

THE NEW MOON WITH THE OLD

I started reading The New Moon With the Old by Dodie Smith, who is best known as the author of 101 Dalmatians. I love her book I Capture the Castle, which you should read. You should also see the movie that came out recently. (Actually, I recommend that you follow my preferred plan of action in these matters and watch the movie first, then read the book, then see the movie again. That way, you can accept the movie on its own terms instead of obsessing about what was changed or left out, and then reading the book just amplifies and expands on the movie—because of course the book is always better—and then you can go back to the movie and look at it with your increased knowledge and calmly examine the filmmakers’ choices in adapting the book.) So I started tracking down other books by her, wondering what they would be like. The New Moon With the Old is out of print; I got it at the library. It’s newer than ICC (from the 1960s, I think), but the plot is similar: A family of four quirky, precocious teenage/young-adult siblings has to make their way in the world after their father flees the country to escape prosecution for fraud. The book is sort of charming, sort of odd. I like how unconventional the characters are: so far the 14-year-old sister has run off to London to be an actress, passing as a 21-year-old, and gotten engaged to a 50ish nobleman and then broken it off, and the younger brother has gone to be a companion to an elderly lady (traditionally a girl's job) because he wants to get inspiration for the Edwardian-era novel he's writing. It isn’t as compelling yet as ICC, but I’m still hooked.