Fall/Winter Books

Elizabeth Crane's When the Messenger is Hot is a collection of amusing stories.  I picked this book up for a song from the library used book store and read it on a flight.  While the stories were kind of uneven, most of the writing was good.  80/100

I don't know if I didn't like Merrill Markoe's Walking in Circles Before Lying Down: A Novel because I read it when I was home sick, or if I just didn't like it.  Then I remembered that last year I read her book It's My F---ing Birthday: A Novel and didn't care for it either.  81/100

Though science fiction's not usually my favorite, I loved every syllable of Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood: A Novel.  I listened to this book in my car and found myself taking the long way everywhere.  No talking on the phone while driving?  No problem.  This smart and interesting book had me thinking about how I see the world.  82/100

I picked up Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen for fifty cents and could hardly put it down once I started reading it.  A fast and very enjoyable read, this story about a veterinary school student who winds up joining the circus after being orphaned during the Depression.  This book would have been worth full price. 83/100

My honorary grandmother lent me My Hollywood by Mona Simpson (which tickled My Heart's Desire since that is the name of Homer Simpson's mother). She really liked it and encouraged me to read it, which I did, but I couldn't really connect with it.  The point of view alternates between the mother (a well-educated composer) and her nanny (a middle-aged mother who works to educate her five in the Philippines). 84/100 

Lit: A Memoir (P.S.) by Mary Karr is a memoir about living and drinking, and living and not drinking.  She pulls no punches are the results are honest, dark, and humorous.  I had heard this book was good but until I started reading it, I had no idea just how good.  85/100