Book Review: In the Name of Gucci

I was recently offered a copy of Patricia Gucci's new memoir, In the Name of Gucci, and knowing nothing about Gucci other than that I can't afford it, I thought it would be an interesting read.

And it was.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  I thought it might be more of a history of the company and all of the scandal surrounding it at the end of Patricia's fathers' tenure.  But, it wasn't.  It was far more personal than that.

In the book, Patricia talks about not only her relationship with her father, Aldo Gucci, but her mother's relationship with Aldo.  Patricia's mother, Bruna, was Aldo's mistress for over 30 years, starting when she was merely 20 and he was a long-married 53.  Oh, and, not only was she young and he married, but she was also his employee and resisted his advances repeatedly, for all of the above reasons.  The author tries to spin it as a love story, but from my modern perspective (these events took place in Italy in the 1960s), it didn't quite fly.

Another attempted spin that didn't quite fly for me was Aldo's arrest and subsequent incarceration for tax evasion.  The author, again, tried to paint her father in the most positive light, but, again, for me, it was a hard sell. Aldo Gucci was the head of Gucci and was very hands-on according to everything else Patricia wrote; and yet, when it came to this, he was suddenly the victim someone else's ineptitude.

The spinning aside, the book is very interesting.  It looks at Patricia's relationship with both her mother and father as well as how their relationship impacted her.  I sometimes got the impression, while reading this, that Patricia felt like a sort of third wheel with her parents.  Her father was gone and her mother was depressed much of the time, leaving Patricia to be raised by a nanny.  In fact, Bruna only really cheered up the one week a month they were visited by Aldo. And when he'd arrive at their home in England he'd pat Patricia on the head by way of greeting and then her parents would send her to her room so they could be together.

For her part, Patricia clearly loved her charming, handsome, absentee father, without know that much about him.  For example, she didn't find out that her parents weren't married and that her father was, in fact, married to someone else until she was nearly 10 years old.  That was also when she found out that she had three half-brothers, all grown men with children of their own.  From what she wrote, this didn't seem to impact her negatively at all; she was just excited to finally meet her brothers.  (Spoiler: they did NOT feel the same about her).

And, when it was all said and done, it was Patricia, and not any of her three half-brothers, that was named as her father's heir.  The story, of Aldo and Bruna, of Aldo and Patricia, and of Patricia and Bruna, to get to that point, is an interesting one.  And one worth reading.


If you'd like to read it, the book is available on Amazon; or you can learn more about it on Patricia Gucci's website.


Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

What I Read: February 2016

So, it's still winter, which means it's still cold and I'm still not leaving the house and am therefore still reading a lot.

I read another five books last month and enjoyed all but one, which is nice.  I hate those months where I don't like anything I read.  Last month though, I completed one trilogy and started another series so I was pretty confident in my choices.


Morning Star, by Pierce Brown

I raved about the first two books of this series in my December recap and was super excited to read Morning Star.  Happily, it did not disappoint.  In fact, the only disappointing thing about it was that there wasn't more.  Brown does a great job, fantastic really, of world building, but, I still wanted more.

I wanted to know more about how the Colors were engineered.  I wanted to know more about the battle against Earth that led to Gold domination of the universe.  And I wanted to know more about the Obsidian uprising that caused the Golds to throw them back to the Dark Ages and act as Obsidian gods.

Basically, I'm hoping Brown writes three or four more books about this world he created and I'd read every single one.  If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend it.  Even if Science Fiction isn't really your thing, the author puts forth a lot of interesting social and political dilemmas that are very interesting as well.



The Mechanical and The Rising, by Ian Tregillis

Speaking of interesting social and political dilemmas, holy smokes, has Tregillis created something interesting with his Alchemy Wars series.

These books are considered to be "speculative fiction," along the lines of The Man in the High Castle.  But, instead of asking what would happen if Hitler won the war, these books speculate what it would be like if the Dutch created a race of mechanical people to do their bidding.  Mechanicals that were stronger and faster than humans; mechanicals that were essentially unstoppable.  To act as housemaids and coolies and soldiers and galley rowers and assassins and bounty hunters and everything and anything else the Dutch require.

And, what would happen if these mechanicals were given a soul and then that soul was bound with alchemy so that it meant not free will, but unwavering, unquestioning servitude.  Slavery, if you will.  And then, what would happen if one of these mechanical slaves regained their soul; regained their free will.  Are they then equal to humans?  The Dutch say no.  The French say yes, but possibly only because it's politically expedient.

Basically, these books are awesome.  Both very well written and very thought-provoking.



Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man: A Memoir, by Bill Clegg

I'm sad to say that this is the book I didn't very much like.  The writing style was the disjointed, possibly hallucinogenic memories of a man who smoked about $50K in crack in about two months time.  But, that's not actually why I didn't like it.  I didn't like it because I found it very hard to be sympathetic to the author.

And I wanted to be sympathetic.  I can't imagine being addicted to crack cocaine.  I can't imagine what that must do to your life.  But, Clegg kind of makes it seem like it's no big deal.  I mean, he loses his very, very understanding (albeit possibly enabling) boyfriend, his company and his gorgeous New York apartment.  And he's all like, eh, oh well, I'll just get another boyfriend, which he does.  And then he borrows money from that boyfriend to get another NYC apartment.  And then he gets another job as a literary agent.  In NYC.

Basically, in reading this, I felt like there were no consequences to the author's actions.  And I can't help but wonder if it's because he's white.  No, really.  I mean, he is high as hell on crack, looks like he's high as hell on crack, is wearing a dirty, smelly, stained cashmere sweater and no one calls the cops on him.  Sure, they refuse him a room at their hotel, but no one calls the cops.  And when he goes to buy a replacement sweater, not at a thrift store, but at a store where said sweater costs about $500, he gets high in. the. fucking. changing. room.  And yep, you guessed it, no one calls the cops.  Put a black person in that same situation and they would have been arrested immediately.

So, no, I didn't like this book.



Mislaid, by Nell Zink

Sorry for the above rant, but I'm happy to say we're ending on a high note.  This book is fantastic.  Nell Zink is a genius and I think I might love her.  I'm going to read her book, The Wallcreeper, next and I'll let you know for sure.  But, mostly, yeah, pretty sure I love her.

Mislaid is about a young lesbian who ends up marrying and then leaving her gay professor.  And then she, a White woman, decides to pass as a light-skinned Black woman.  In the South.  Why?  Because it was the 60s and she knew that no one would ever expect a White woman to purposely identify as Black.  It was the easiest way to hide in plain sight from her husband and his private detectives.

Oh, you should know that she also passes her blonde-haired, blue-eyed daughter off as Black.  And no one bats an eye because, well, the 60s.

I feel like I'm not really doing this book justice, but it really is brilliant in a quiet, yet hilarious way.  You should read it; it's great.


What about you, Reader Friends?  Did you read anything good, or terrible, last month?  If so, you wanna share your look next week?  How about Friday, the 11th?  That'll give me time to figure out what to wear.


Happy Thursday, All!


Gracey

What I Read: January 2016

Do you remember when I  said I read a lot of books in December?  Well, as it turns out, I also read a lot of books in January.

I think it's because I still don't really know anyone here in Pennsylvania, so my weekends are spent reading instead of going to see 80s tribute bands or thrifting with Alex or day drinking with Jodi or watching my sweet, giant nephews play basketball.  As much as I enjoy reading, I definitely miss my weekends with friends and family.

But, they're not here and books are, so without further ado, here's what I read in January.


America Pacifica, by Anna North

I hate to categorize someone's time and effort as hot garbage, but, man this book is pretty much deserving of that categorization.  I read it on a whim because it should have been right up my alley.  It's dystopian literature with what seemed like an interesting twist: the world ends due to a new Ice Age.  The freezing of the mainland forces people to flee to tropical islands where they immediately overburden the native ecosystem with too many people and industries better suited to the old world instead of the new world.

Oh, dear, I'm afraid I'm making this book sound interesting.  It's not.  It's terrible.  The author is not a very good writer at all and I can't help but think that this book was only published because of the popularity of The Hunger Games and other YA dys-lit.  But, unlike Katniss, Darcy is hateful and whiny and you spend most of the book hating her even when bad things happen to her.  Seriously, don't read this book.



The Heart Goes Last, by Margaret Atwood

If Margaret Atwood writes a new novel, I will read it.  And, in this case, as always, I am so happy I did.  Oh, make no mistake, this is a weird one.  And things are often hinted at rather than fully explained, but done in that Atwood-way that makes you think instead of just frustrating you.

The novel does take place in the future, like many of her novels do, but it's interesting because at first it seems like a less severe future than, say, The Handmaid's Tale or Oryx and Crake.  (Two of my all-time favorites, btw).  But, don't be fooled by the Utopian community in this dystopian future.  Nothing is what it seems, even  with the main characters from whose point of view the tale is told.  Especially Charmaine.  You're gonna wanna keep your eye on Charmaine.



Revival, by Stephen King

As I said in my Goodreads review, I used to read a lot of Stephen King.  I mean, a lot.  And then, after The Dark Tower series finished, I stopped because the way that series finished was so perfect, but so frustrating, but so very right, that I couldn't stand it.

But, I found a copy of Revival in my local Goodwill and figured I'd give King another shot.  And he's still probably the best at pacing that I've ever read.  And he's still smart and terrifying and I might need to read more Stephen King in the very near future.



Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See

I liked this book well enough, but I didn't love it because it also frustrated me.  It's about Pearl and May Chin, thoroughly modern Shanghainese women who have their lives absolutely turned upside down.  I thought the author did a great job with the historical stuff, especially in how the Chinese Exclusion Act impacted Chinese immigrating to the United States.  That part was fascinating.

The two sisters themselves though, were less fascinating and more frustrating.  I basically didn't like either one of them, thought they acted foolish more often than not and couldn't get invested in their relationship at all.  So, to recap, good historical stuff, bad relational stuff.



The House at Midnight, by Lucie Whitehouse

This book, while better than the hot mess that is America Pacifica, is also pretty bad.  The story is supposed to be a modern Gothic story, I think.  I mean, I'm pretty sure that the premise is that the house that one of the characters inherited is supposed to have a malevolent nature and drive its inhabitants to violence and horniness, but it just doesn't read that way.  Basically, one character is an asshole and has too much influence on another character and stuff goes awry and I can't see how the house has any impact whatsoever.
Really, the only thing that saves this book is that Whitehouse is a pretty good writer.  But, she wrote a pretty terrible book.



The Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins

I'm not sure how I even heard about this book, but I basically loved it.  I mean really loved it; I think it might even be one of my favorite books ever.  I'm not saying it's the best book ever, but damn it if I didn't love it.  It's a bit hard to get into because the author forgoes any world building to just throw the reader in.  And that's confusing.  It is.  But it's so worth sticking with.

Seriously, this book is weird and wonderful and funny and sad and wonderful again.  It's also the inspiration for my LitSty look for this month, so I'll share more about it next week.



Speaking of LitSty, the link party will be live on Tuesday, February 9th and I hope to see you there!


Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

What I Read: August 2015

Okay, so what I read was A LOT.  Remember how I mentioned that I traveled a lot during August?  Well, all that traveling meant a whole lot of reading.  Happily, the majority of the books I read were quite good and I was really only "meh" on two of them.


The Love-Artist, by Jane Alison

I thought this book was pretty good.  Not great, but solidly middle-of-the-road and definitely interesting.  It takes place in ancient Rome and tells the story of the poet, Ovid, and his muse.  The author tends towards a poetic turn of phrase, which is nice, but can also be a bit confusing.  In addition to Ovid and his muse, the story also includes some of the infighting and political intrigue Rome was famous for, but that part is still a bit murky to me due to the author's writing style.  If you like historical fiction and flowery language, this may be the book for you.


The Spinning Man, by George Harrar

What?  I don't know.  No, really, I think that I have no idea what happened in this book.  It's about a philosophy professor who is struggling with the fact that no one wants to take philosophy anymore and the fact that he's suspected of murdering a local cheerleader.  Did he?  I don't know.  There are a lot of philosophical questions posed and some of them are answered, but apparently "who done it?" isn't a highbrow of enough question for the author to answer because he just totally leaves the reader hanging.  I'd skip this one, unless, of course, you like being confused.



Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith

NPR called this book "one of the top 100 thrillers of all time."  And, you know what?  Yeah, I accept that.  I mean, I'm no expert on thrillers, but this book really is awfully good, folks.  It takes place in Stalinist Russia in the 50s and it's fantastic.  It's about the investigation of a serial killer, but it's really about a KGB officer losing his religion and his religion is his belief in the Soviet State.  Even if you don't love thrillers, I think this is a book worth reading.



Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls, by David Sedaris

I'm usually a David Sedaris fan, but I didn't love this book.  I did laugh aloud in a couple places, but mostly I wondered if I'd outgrown Sedaris and his brand of snark.  I do recommend reading Sedaris though, but maybe not necessarily this one.



Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline

I had this book on my list forever and when I went home to visit my family, I stole it from my sister and finally had time to read it.  And I'm glad I did.  It was very interesting to me as I was unaware that we ever shipped orphan kids from the East Coast to the Midwest to be taken in by strangers.  The only thing I didn't like was the fact that the author goes back and forth between modern times with the girl interviewing a woman who was on an orphan train, and the time of the train.  The modern stuff wasn't half as interesting to me as what the orphans went through, but all in all, it was a good book and one I'd recommend.



Transmission, by Hari Kunzru

I started this book probably three times.  It starts basically in the middle of the story and that was confusing to me, but once I got going I couldn't put it down.  And I absolutely loved the end.  I haven't been that satisfied with the ending of a book in ages.  It made all of the, sometimes confusing, tech and marketing lingo in the middle worth it.  It's a strange book and I can't provide a good synopsis of the plot, but I definitely recommend it!


And that's it.  Again, I spent a lot of time on planes, in airports and on the road so I read a lot of books.  Per usual, I have no idea what to wear for the Literary Stylings Link Party next Tuesday, but I'll find something. Hopefully you will too and hopefully you'll come by and link up!


Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

8/14/15 Five For Friday: Books

For this Friday's Five for Friday, I decided to share five books that I've read, and loved, in the past six months or so:

1. The Martian, by Andy Weir - I absolutely love this book.  I'm not a big fan of science fiction (I like it well enough, but I don't often seek it out), but this book blew my mind.  It's so very, very good.  Great even.  It's about an astronaut stranded alone on Mars and how he survives using science.  And, can I just tell you, even all the science-y bits are great.

2. I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith - I know I'm about 70 years late getting on this bandwagon, but I have to say, this is one of the best books I've ever read.  I read it months ago and it still makes me happy to think of it.  If you've read it, read it again, I know I will.  And if you haven't, you really, really should.

3. The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain - Like with science fiction, I don't generally seek out a lot of historical fiction, but this book is absolutely fantastic.  It's about Ernest Hemmingway's first wife and was so well written that I forgot that it wasn't written by Hadley, but rather by Paula McLain years later.  She is just a stellar author.

4.  Tell the Wolves I'm Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt - This book is both sad and lovely.  And the lead character is a girl you wish you knew because she is just so interesting.  It's hard for me to explain why I liked this book so much, but it's another one that I can't seem to get out of my head.

5. Brave New World, by Aldoux Huxley - I raved about this book here and here, but it bears repeating that this book is both brilliant and terrifying.  You should read it.


Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

What I Read: March 2015

So, I didn't read a lot of books this month, only three, but I really, really enjoyed all three of them.

The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins

This book is great.  There have been Gone Girl comparisons, but I enjoyed this book much more than I enjoyed Gone Girl.  It's a fast-paced, easy read, but with what I thought was a great twist.  I won't say much more because I don't want to spoil it, but I definitely recommend this book.



The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt

Donna Tartt is one of my favorite writers and, once again, she did not disappoint.  This is such a remarkably well-written story, that even though it was scary as hell at times, I didn't want it to end.  Warning, although it is, nominally, about a young girl trying to discover who killed her older brother, it's not really a mystery.  And it's certainly not a Southern Gothic mystery that a lot of people come to expect from the blurb on the back.  What it is, is a great book, and I recommend this one as well.


In Zanesville, by Jo Ann Beard

Yep, I loved this book as well.  It's about two girlfriends growing up in the 70s, trying to navigate the babysitting job from hell (no, really), boys and the mysteries of high school popularity (and unpopularity).  Although I couldn't directly identify with all of their adventures, I definitely identified with these girls and thought this was just a wonderful read.


Per usual, I'm not sure which book I'll base Tuesday's look on, but I have a lot of options this time around so I'm sure I'll figure something out.  And, even though this is extremely late notice, I hope you all will join in on Tuesday.


Happy Sunday, All!  And Happy Easter!

Gracey

What I Read: February

Unlike last month, I didn't love any of the books I read in February.  Most of them were pretty good, one was quite good and two I hated, but I didn't love any of them.  But, that's okay, I'll still figure out something to wear come next Tuesday.

Now, for the books.

Hidden, by Paul Jaskunas

This is the book I found to be quite good.  It's a pretty darned good mystery and well written.  The author does a very solid job of keeping the reader interested without giving too much away.  The book centers around an attack on a woman, Maggie Wilson, for which someone was been convicted and incarcerated. But, was it the right someone?  To be honest, I've read the book and even I'm not sure it was the right someone.  If you like very clear, very solid resolution at the end of your books, this is not the book for you.  But, if you like a good story, I definitely recommend this book.



The Magician King and The Magician's Land, by Lev Grossman

I actually read the first book in this series, The Magicians, in January, but apparently forgot to include it, probably because I didn't love it.  But, I didn't hate it either so I wanted to read the last two books.  Which I did this month.  They, like the first book, were only okay.  The concept behind these books is very imaginative and I liked that.  But, I didn't really like the writing that much.  For example, I hated how the author kept name-dropping Harry Potter, saying things like, but of course, Hogwarts is only imaginary and Brakebills (the school of magic in this series) is real.  Dude, you're both imaginary.  Also, the author has one way and one way only to describe breasts.  Heavy.  That's it.  That's the only descriptor he knows.  And after the second or third time, it begins to grate.  So, if you're not picky about writing, go ahead and read these.  They aren't bad and they really are pretty creative.



The Sex Lives of Cannibals, by J. Maarten Troost

This is one of the books that I read that I hated.  It's supposedly a memoir about the author's time living on a small atoll in the South Pacific called Kiribati.  There is no sex and there are no cannibals, but that's not why I didn't like it.  I mean, I understand giving books titles that will entice readers instead of a title that actually pertains to the book.  I'll be calling my memoirs "The Life and Times of the Most Fascinating Woman in the World."  Because, well, reader enticement.  No, I didn't like this book because I didn't like the author.  As I said in my Goodreads review, he strikes me as entitled and I, personally, don't care to read about the charmed life of an entitled, not funny man.



Love Monkey, by Kyle Smith

This is the other book that I hated.  I'm willing to admit that I missed the point of this book and it is, in fact, satirical genius.  But, I don't think so.  The main character is just gross.  I mean, he commends himself on not jumping on (his words) a women even though she has the audacity to be in his apartment in a tank top with her bra straps peeking out.  And that's just within the first 25 pages.  It gets even worse as the book goes on.  Just because the author introduces his main character as a man-child doesn't mean his behavior is any more palatable.  As I said in my Goodreads review, this character is effing terrible.  And so is the book.


Given what I read this month, I'm pretty sure I'll be tapping Hidden for my outfit inspiration for next Tuesday.  It really is an interesting book.


What about you, Reader Friends?  Did you read anything good this month?


Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

What I Read: December

Hello All!  Happy New Year!  As promised, I'd like to restart my Literary Stylings Link Party this month.  So, next Tuesday, feel free to link up with an outfit inspired by a book you read in December.

For my part, I read a LOT of books in December.  Of course, I have no idea which one will inspire an outfit for me by Tuesday, but in the meantime, here they are.


Not That Kind of Girl, by Lena Dunham

Unfortunately, this was not my kind of book (see what I did there?).  I really enjoy Girls and think Dunham is extraordinarily talented.  Unfortunately, after reading this book, I also think that she's extraordinarily spoiled and self-absorbed.  I find it hard to believe that Dunham believes readers would be interested in her diet, in her spoiled childhood or her overwhelming self-obsession.  Sadly, I like Lena Dunham quite a bit less now that I've read her book.  Not that she cares.


Tell the Wolves I'm Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt

I loved this book.  It was sad and lovely and beautifully written.  It was strange and different and wonderful.  The story centers around a young girl who's beloved uncle passes away and that's really all of the plot I want to give away because I highly recommend that you read this book for yourselves.


Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn

I'm not Flynn's biggest fan.  Gone Girl was only okay to me (I read it twice just to be sure) but I thought I'd give her other books a try.  I read Dark Places in November and Sharp Objects in December.  I think I preferred Dark Places because the twist was pretty good.  Sharp Objects was less successful to me because a lot of times I felt like Flynn was just going for shock value over good story telling.


Ashes of the Earth: A Mystery of Post-Apocalyptic America, by Eliot Pattison

Given my love of novels about the post-apocalyptic world, it's no mystery (man, I'm on fire today) I'd choose to read this book.  Unfortunately, it was only okay to me.  It was very well written, but the story felt a little disjointed to me.  There were a lot of characters to keep track of and they weren't all developed very well so I got a bit confused at times.  The mystery itself was sort of odd to me.  It wasn't what I expected, but instead of feeling like it was a good twist, I sort of felt like it was a cop-out.


Russian Winter, by Daphne Kalotay

This book took me some time to get into, but it ended up being a pretty good mystery and a pretty good book.  It's not, perhaps the most well-written book, but it's interesting.  And I enjoyed the peeks into Soviet Russia and the ballet culture there.  If you're interested in jewels belonging to a defected Soviet prima ballerina, I recommend this book.


The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith

This was a great book.  But, fair warning, it was nothing like the movie.  I really liked the movie, but they based it extremely loosely on this book.  Basically, the movie got only Tom Ripley's and Dickie's characters mostly right.  The Gwyneth Paltrow character was almost completely wrong and there was no Cate Blanchette character at all.  Except maybe sort of at the end if you're taking a whole heck of a lot of artistic license.  But, again, this was a great read.  Highsmith is an extremely talent writer and I am looking forward to reading the rest of her Ripley books (there are several).


Again, I'm not sure what book I'll be basing an outfit on next Tuesday, but I certainly have a lot to choose from.

I do hope you'll join me on Tuesday.

Happy Saturday, All!

Gracey

Book Review: Amazon Burning

Image via Amazon.com

Amazon Burning is the new novel by Victoria Griffith, and I was lucky enough to be offered an advance copy to review.

At first, I wasn't sure about this book as it's referred to as both a "young adult novel" and a coming of age story and I don't consider it to be either.  The protagonist, Emma Cohen, is a 22-year-old NYU student which seems a little bit long in the tooth to be considered a "young adult" or to be "coming of age."  But, once I got into the book, it didn't matter.

Because, what Amazon Burning is, is a good little mystery.  Journalism student Emma Cohen is forced to flee NYU to Rio de Janeiro, where she interns with her father at his newspaper.  While Emma is in Rio, a famous environmentalist is murdered in the Amazon and she goes with her father to cover the story.  Emma and her father are joined by a young photographer named Jimmy who, like Emma, is looking to help cover the story and make a name for himself.

While in the Amazon, Emma investigates the murder, tries to keep from being murdered herself and falls in love, all while trying to deal with the situation that forced her to leave New York.  There are mysteries on top of mysteries in the novel, making for an exciting read.  And the twist at the end was completely unexpected.  It was also a little strange, but it was definitely a true twist and I appreciate that.

Quite possibly the best part of this book is the job the author does of conveying a sense of place with her writing.  You can tell she's experienced with the Amazon and with the Yanomami Indians she writes about and she handles both of those topics exceedingly well.  She falters a bit in other areas, but all in all, it's a quick, enjoyable read.

As I said, I received an advanced copy of Amazon Burning, but it is available for purchase now, at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Happy Reading, All!

Gracey

What I Read: May's Books

Hello, Reader Friends!  The first Tuesday of the month is next Tuesday and that means it's time again for another post about possible inspiration for next week's Literary Styling's Link Party.

So, without further ado, here is what I read and how I felt about it.

True Sisters, by Sandra Dallas

I am a big Sandra Dallas fan and have read most of her books.  The Diary of Mattie Spenser is my favorite book of hers, but really, I've pretty much loved them all.  With the exception of True Sisters.  It was good, but it wasn't great. At least not for me.  I think the subject matter was interesting; it's about a Mormon handcart company and their trials and tribulations as they try to walk to the Salt Lake Valley from Iowa City.  Unfortunately, instead of writing about one or two characters, Dallas tries to cover several women and their families and it all sort of falls apart.  Like the handcarts themselves (spoiler!).


The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood

Full disclosure; I actually read The Year of the Flood previously and I loved it.  I just wanted to re-read it before starting on the final book of the MaddAddam trilogy, MaddAddam, because I like to binge-read the previous books in a series before starting a new book.  I figure it's like binge-watching old shows before a new season.  Does anyone else binge-read?  So, anyway, I read it again and I loved it again.  I've mentioned before than I'm a fan of dys-lit and Atwood's brand of intelligent, inventive dys-lit is some of my favorite.


MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood

This is the third and final book in the MaddAddam trilogy and it was definitely worth the wait.  It was a wonderful read and managed to serve as both a prequel to Oryx and Crake (the first in the series) as well as the sequel to The Year of the Flood.  It provides a satisfactory ending to the series, but doesn't tie everything up in a neat little bow because Atwood understands that it couldn't possibly.  Basically, Margaret Atwood is a bad-ass and remains one of my all-time favorite authors.  I highly recommend this series, especially if you like dys-lit.


The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

Okay, so I'm about to say something very unpopular about this book; it wasn't that great.  At least not for me.  It started off really well, making me laugh out loud several times, but then it was just, average, I guess.  I don't think it's a bad book, I'm just not sure it's a great book.  But, then again, it may be.  I think it may have suffered from being over-hyped.  I expected to need a box of tissues to make it through the second half of the book, but I didn't.  I barely teared up.  Of course, that could be because I'm an insensitive jerk, but it could also be that the book was over-hyped.  I don't know.  I'm sorry.


The Lonely Polygamist, by Brady Udall

This book is great.  It's funny and strange and interesting and sad and really quite wonderful.  It's unlike anything I've ever read before and it makes me want to read everything else Brady Udall has ever written.  It's very weird and very clever all at once, which means it combines two of my favorite things in one place and it does it very well.  On the surface, it's about a man suffering from a midlife crisis.  But, we're talking about a man with four wives, 28 children and monumental social, familial and religious responsibilities.  Basically, it's great and I definitely recommend it.

Per usual, I have no idea what book I'm going to use for my inspiration, but hopefully I'll come up with something!

Happy Wednesday, All!  Also, please don't yell at me about TFiOS; I said I'm sorry!

Gracey

Literary Stylings: The Good Thief

The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti:

I hadn't quite finished this book when I wrote my reminder post last week so I wasn't sure if it was going to be the one I based my outfit off of.  But I did finish in time and it really was quite good, so I did decide to wear an outfit inspired by it.

The book is about an orphan with a missing a hand and who gets adopted by a very interesting man named Benjamin.  The orphan, Ren, is introduced to a life of crime with his adopted father, and his father's cohort, Tom.  The book is essentially about their adventures, but also contains the central mystery of who Ren is and how he lost his hand, as a baby, before being abandoned at the orphanage.

There are a lot of great characters in the book, including the girls who work at the mousetrap factory.  These girls  all wear "blue dresses with big brown boots" and black stockings and it's their look that I based today's outfit off of:

A blue dress, big brown boots and black stockings.

The factory girls also wear shawls, but I went with a floral handkerchief-style scarf instead:

When the factory girls were introduced in the book, I thought they were rather horrid.  But, by the end of the book I didn't think so at all and I was happy to base my look off of their "uniform."

And now, it's your turn.  If you read a book that inspired your look, please to link up below:



Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Link Party Reminder and February's Books

I think I'm a bit late with this, but I wanted to remind everyone that my Literary Stylings Link Party will be held next Tuesday and you're all in invited to link up with a look inspired by whatever it is you read this month.

Now, let's talk about what I read this month.

The Flame Throwers, by Rachel Kushner

This book was only okay for me.  I absolutely loved some parts, but the others were just not as good and, for me, that brought the whole book down.  I think part of the problem was that I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters; not with the main character, Reno, or anyone else.  So, I wasn't very invested in what happened to them.  And, if I'm honest, I'm not even sure what did happen to them; I was lost for the final part of the book.  Has anyone else read this book?  What did you think?


Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn

There is not much I can say about this book that I didn't share in this post.  But, I will say, again, that I highly recommend this book.  I think it's weird and creepy and fascinating and so very, very good.


The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti

I think this book could be considered YA although it's not marketed that way, but I like it.  I'm not quite through, but so far it's very interesting and is definitely keeping my attention.  I especially love the characters; there are some great ones in here.  From the orphan Ren, to Mrs. Sands, to Dolly (a murderer with a woman's name), I kind of love everyone.  It's not the most thought-provoking book in the world, unlike the other two I read, but it's good and I'd recommend this one as well.

As I already posted a look inspired by Geek Love and I just can't care that much about The Flame Throwers, I'll probably end up wearing something inspired by The Good Thief on Tuesday.  But, we'll see.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

October’s Books

Hello, Party Peoples!

This is your better-late-than-never reminder that my always exciting Literary Stylings Link Party is coming up on Tuesday the 5^th.  If you want more information on this rockin' good time, you can find it here.

So, October was a very strange and stressful month for me and I’m afraid I didn’t get around to reading many books.  In fact, I only read two.  But, I figure this will allow me some room to talk more about them. 

Let me start by saying that, happily, this time around I enjoyed both of the books that I read.  More or less. 

Please to allow me to explain that last bit.

The first book I read is The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan:

According to Wikipedia, “a panopticon is a type of institutional building designed by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century. The concept of the design is to allow a watchman to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) inmates of an institution without them being able to tell whether they are being watched or not.  (Wikipedia goes on to say that Bentham thought the panopticon design would be great for all matter of institutions, including daycare facilities!  Seriously.)

If that definition and daycare suggestion doesn't quite help you picture what we're talking about, this is a panopticon:

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about the book.  As I said, I enjoyed this book.  It was heartbreaking at times, but I think that just means the author did a good job.

The novel is about a troubled youth named Anais, who is sent to a panopticon institution.  Anais believes that her life is not really her life but is part of an experiment where she is under constant surveillance by the watchers.  As you can imagine, being sent to an institution designed to keep you under constant surveillance is not easy to handle for someone who already suffers from the sort of paranoia Anais suffers from. 

The author did a good job with this concept and with Anais’ voice.  Really, my only complaint about this novel is that it is written in the Scottish (I think) vernacular and I have the hardest time reading things in vernacular without saying them aloud.  Fagan wasn’t as difficult to read as Irvine Welsh, but I did a LOT of mumbling to myself as I read all the “cannae” and dinnae” statements in this book. 

Also, just as a warning, in case you’re thinking a book about a 15-year old heroine would be a great book for the young reader in your life, this is NOT a YA novel.  At all. 

The other book I read is Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin:

Yes, more Atwood.  What can I say; she’s one of my favorites.  Although, having read both her futuristic fiction (The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood) and her historical fiction (Alias Grace and The Blind Assassin), I think I prefer the futuristic fiction.  Don’t get me wrong, The Blind Assassin is a lovely novel, just as Alias Grace was, but I prefer the others more.

That’s just a personal preference though; The Blind Assassin is really very good.  It’s sort of two books in one and it’s a mystery as well as historical fiction and I highly recommend it.  This was a book that I couldn't stop reading because of how well it was written.  Atwood’s device of setting a novel-within-a-novel added to the mystery and worked very well.

So, why do I prefer the futuristic fiction?  Because I’m afraid of the future.  I don’t mean the future as in tomorrow, or next week or even next year.  No, I mean the future as in 2033 when things get all dystopian and stuff.  And, like anyone else who watches/reads scary stuff, I like that little frisson of fear.   For example, Oryx and Crake?  Just the ChickieNobs Nubbins alone scare the crap out of me.

And don’t get me started on The Handmaid’s Tale; seriously terrifying stuff.  Speaking of which, I guess there is a new cover for it now?  Have you guys seen this?

Isn't that both horrible and perfect for the book? 

Anyway, read The Blind Assassin, it’s good.  And if you like dyslit (dystopian literature), read Atwood’s futuristic fiction; there are frissons galore.

And don’t forget to join in on Tuesday!

Happy Saturday, All!

Gracey