Monday, January 01, 2007

What's Your Recommendation?



A few weeks ago, two different people recommended a book for me to read. The first person is a friend from church, and the other is a workmate. I don't recall exactly how the conversations led to the book recommendations, but hearing the same book title from two different people piqued my curiosity. I am usually very particular about the kind of books I read, and take the subject matter very seriously. But, in the spirit of my 2006 resolution of trying new things, I went to Barnes & Noble and bought a book - blindly. I had no idea what the book was about and I intended to keep it that way to prevent myself from judging it too fast. The cover was pretty. That's lame, but for me, it was a good sign. The title made no sense to me, but that didn't matter. As I sipped my grande chai latte, I tentatively opened the first page and started reading.

The book was centered on the brutal rape and murder of a fourteen-year-old girl and her account of events following her murder, as she observes from heaven. One thing stood out for me: the fact that the description of the rape and subsequent murder and dismemberment of her body was not as detailed and gruesome as you would expect. In fact, the tone of that book is so light that at some time, I had to stop and wonder why exactly these two people had recommended the book to me. It was the kind of book you read just because. But, in the end, it did make me think how horrible it would be if people really died and went to heaven and watched the world from heaven (this is a theological theory I don't buy into. From my own understanding of the Bible, death is like sleep, and people don't die and immediately go to heaven or hell). In the end, I still didn't understand what the title "The Lovely Bones" means.

Since this was a new writer previously unknown to me, I did what I do with every writer. I dug around for reviews of her other books. It turned out that Alice Sebold had a memoir on top of the fictional "Lovely Bones". I am going through a memoir-phase right now, and I decided to go out and buy that book, especially since I found out that she is a "rape victim". I am always interested in learning how other people have coped with trauma in their lives and figured I had nothing to lose. So I went out and bought "Lucky". In contrast to her fictional work, Alice Sebold started the first five pages of this book with a detailed, gruesome account of how she was attacked and raped in a park in the middle of the night when she was an eighteen-year-old college freshman. Perhaps it was the shock of the account, or the matter-of-fact way in which she wrote about it. Whatever it was, I was hooked and ended up reading the entire book in a day. The last few pages were so surprising and dismaying that when I was done reading, I felt like I had lost something. Not sure what that "something" is, exactly.

So, that's how I started my new year. Reading about rape. And crying. Lots of crying. I allowed myself to wallow in self-pity for a few hours. After all, it's my first holiday without my kid bro, we had a winter storm that ensured there would be no new year's eve parties (I wasn't about to be the dumbass being rescued by the National Guard simply cuz I had the urge to drive to a party in the middle of a winter storm). My parents had already called and wished me happy new year at 9:00 p.m, they had no intention of staying up late for no reason. Lilly is gone. And Steve. Steve had gone to St. Louis to visit his grandma and his flight back was cancelled. Plans to spend new year's eve together went out the window then. In bed and alone, I had plenty of time to feel lonely and miss all the people I loved. Hopefully, that's not indicative of how the rest of my year will pan out.

Of course, I'm digressing. Now the point of this post. I want to indulge this memoir craving I'm having. Have any of you fellow bloggers read a mind-blowing memoir that made you cry, laugh, paranoid, or simply go "wow"? One that touched you in some way, perhaps because you could relate? Please make a recommendation, and say why you recommend the book. Thanks, and happy new year. Hope your year started off on a more upbeat note than mine did!

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Phillip Yancey's SOUL SURVIVOR. You would have to read it to understand why.

Spidey/Tato said...

did i tell u last year i read not one novel...maybe thats where the 53 movies come in

egm said...

I almost pulled a 'Tato last year. Lakini thankfully the reading gods intervened, and I managed to put away three novels.

Incidentally, have you checked out the bookworm blog hnh started?

Happy New Year!

Ichiena said...

I did read Lovely Bones some time back. Same conclusion - how someone can turn something so violent into an almost serene description.

Havent done any memoirs recently though - but if I remember something will let you know.

Anonymous said...

I am no book worm, i will go with tato on this one. Too many movies and i think i read about 10 books in total. Will strive to read more this year? Hmmm....

CiikuMrsBabes said...

I very much enjoyed Lovely Bones. I havent read the other one though!

Anonymous said...

I recommend 'The Fountainhead' so often that pple ask if it's the only book I've ever read.

Nakeel said...

Happy New Year lovely. Get both anyway.

Princess said...

The one book I read that had me feeling all types of emotions and having tears cruise down my face at the hair salon is "Left to Tell: Finding God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust" by Immaculee Ilibagiza. I need to do a review on this book!!

Anonymous said...

If you want a book full of chuckles and a quick read, try "A history of Tractors in Ukranian."

SisBigBones said...

@KA, "soul survivor" doesn't sound like my kinda book, but I'll continue with my resolution from last year and check it out. Watch this space for feedback

@CT, How 'bout reading 53 books and watching zero movies? Lakini who'll be movie buff's sidekick? :)

@Egm, everyone needs to read at least one book a year, glad you made it to three. Thanks for the link to HnH's book review blog. I'll bookmark it for sure :)

@Ichiena, if you liked lovely bones, you'll love lucky. The subject matter is disturbing to most, but it's a book worth reading. After all, rape is real.

@Aegeus, did I hear the hint of a resolution? LOL, you sound like one of those people who's idea of reading is studying for a test. Movies are good too, they basically tell the same story in less time. Feeling consoled yet? :)

@Movie buff, def read "lucky". I hope she writes another book cuz I'll read it.

@mama mia, book sounds very philosophical. I'll read it and see what it's about. Who knows? I might end up recommending it as much as you do. That might stop me from buying tens of copies of "gifted hands" and distributing them to all kids in the family...LOL

@Nakeel, thanks, did you enjoy your vacation? The last post of yours I read was very telling of the kind of fun you planned :)

@Princess, I saw that book once at Barnes & Noble and just as I was debating whether to buy it or not, some asshole started hitting on me and I was so pissed off I left the store and forgot all about the book. I guess it deserves a second chance :)

@Drtoothie...LOL. I don't know about that title. Who wrote it?

Unyc said...

Hey Sis,

Cant recommend a memoir but am surely going to look for 'Lovely Bones'. sounds like an interesting book. 2006 I only read motivational books but this yr will try n diversify.
I bought 3 books by a writer i hv never heard about, Madge Swindells but never got a chance 2 read them. Am starting on one next week God willing.
Hope u find a gd one 2 read.

Anonymous said...

For light reading memoirs you should check out Straight Up and Dirty: A Memoir by Stephanie Klein. It was pretty good. One of my favorite books is When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip-Hop Feminist Breaks It Down by Joan Morgan.

gishungwa said...

have been reading a lot late but more of history. Discovered Erma Bombeck and Patsy Clairmont who have a way of bring a laugh to everyday things. Have a blessed new year and dont worry the start it doesnt have to remain nor end the same way. All you need is a tad faith and you will aiight sawa mamie.

Princess said...

Another book that will have you laughing hysterically is "Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight" by Alexandra Fuller.

SisBigBones said...

@unyc, I hear you. I have so many books I've bought/received as gifts that I've never been motivated enough to read. Not sure why. I never quite got into the motivational books, perhaps the fact that my mom used to read them religiously has something to do with it.

@Anon, thanks for the recommendation. I've decided to make use of my local library and only buy the books I end up loving. Lucky for me, the "chickenheads" book is checked in so I'll go get it today.

@Gish, history books can be very interesting. It's been awhile since I read one. I especially love case studies for some reason. I was really fascinated by one book I read once about famous female serial killers. I even got to understand what the deal was with the "bonnie and clyde" story. Very interesting read, I'll look for the title and post it in case you're interested. Some of the stories were actually hillarious!

@Princess, lucky for me, the book's also checked in at the lib. I'll get it today too. I've put all the other recommendations in reserve, so the lib will let me know when they are in. Thanks everyone for your recommendations. Looks like I'll be busy reading for awhile. (Note to self: Don't forget to read the Bible!!!)

Half 'n' half said...

Hi sis
I haven't read any memoirs lately but I read Emma's War sometime back and I loved it, but mostly because I could relate couz it was about South Sudan.

And I await your reviews on bookworm

bantutu said...

Meskel:Ethiopian family story...I was touched...And yeah join Nusu's blog!!

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