The Other Typist

Years ago, I was experimenting with reading on a kindle.  I had read one novel and chose another light novel to read on the device.  A friend had rated it highly on goodreads and I thought it looked like something that struck the balance of a book I kind of wanted to read and a book I didn't really want to buy.

I gave up kindle reading in favor of physical books right after that purchase.  The old technology didn't lend itself well to highlighting or flipping around.  It was clunky and I didn't like it.  

Then, we were visiting my parents' house for Thanksgiving this year.  I, dutifully, have the kindle app on my phone, like any good book lover would.  Just in case.  And, while we were away, I wanted to stay up and read a bit but forgot my book light.  I pulled out my phone to see what books were loaded on my app and found The Other Typist.  

Perfect, I thought.  A book I wasn't terribly invested in but curious about and a book I could read in the dark while my husband slept.  

And you know what?  It was perfect.  I got invested in the book on that trip so I started reading it regularly on my phone.  Naturally, my husband and kids made fun of me reading a novel on such a small screen, but I didn't care.  I wanted to finish and I loved the way it kept track of how much time you had left and what percentage I had finished.  

With Christmas coming, I added a kindle to my wish list.  My husband looked at me exasperated, "I already got your gift.  It's only a few days until Christmas."  I promised I really didn't want one and with my birthday coming in February I could just get a kindle then.  

However, on Christmas morning I was surprised to find a kindle under the tree.  My kids had heard my wish and used their allowances to get it for me (this made it even better).  

They got me the paper-white model which is the one I wanted.  Not too fancy.  Just reading.  I didn't want to have to swipe it away from my five year old every ten minutes like a phone or ipad.  

I finished The Other Typist on the kindle.  I love it (the kindle), though I will still read and buy physical books.  I don't think I could ever switch permanently.  It is nice to have the built in dictionary, the stats that challenge you to read more, and the portability, but you just can't beat the new book smell that makes me so happy.  

Because of this story, I will always have a fond place in my heart for The Other Typist.  It's not fabulous Literature, but it was a fine story about a young woman who gets mixed up in some shady business in 1920's NYC.  

There were moments of frustration because Rose seems so dumb and unaware.  At times I wanted to shake her.  She works as a typist in a police department and a handsome, young Lieutenant Detective clearly likes her, but she is rude and cold to him, thinking he likes her shady friend, Odalie.  

This is the kind of book where I don't want to give away too much, but I will say, that some of Rose's dimwittedness could be from her condition at the end of the book, as she is retelling this story.  We are supposed to have an unreliable narrator so at the conclusion we question some of the events and impressions in her narrative.  

This book would make a good vacation read.  It doesn't require a lot of thought or focus and is mainly plot driven.  It's not depressing (thank goodness!) but it does deal with the implosion of a few of it's characters.  You may find yourself reaching for a dictionary, though.  The author put words in that seem to show-off an extensive vocabulary.  At first it was annoying and then I thought it was kind of funny in an unnecessary sort of way.  

Give it a try next time you are away and looking for an engaging mystery.  

Reading Challenges

I'm 9 days late, but Happy New Year!

these cats know how to par-tay

As a book blogger, and just generally someone who loves books and reading, I've noticed the increasing popularity of reading challenges on other book blogs.  

I did one last year and found it fun to try to fit my books into the categories or to pick books based on the prompts.  It stretched me and helped me be intentional about my reading choices.  And, as I've said many times, I read more when I have a deadline and direction.  

This year, I'm participating in two.  One here and another one here.  I thought about pulling together my own but I don't think I'm quite ready for that...next year I might give it a try, though.  

I did pick a stack of books that I'm going to try to read this year:

Writing Tools

Cocktail Time

Madame Bovary 

The Blue Flower

The Faraway Nearby

A Prayer for Owen Meany

A Farewell To Arms

The Portrait of a Lady

Dubliners

and...drum roll please....

War and Peace

I'm looking forward to challenging year to grow as a reader and writer.  And, I'm looking forward to reading some things I've always meant to read.  

Do you have a list that you want to accomplish for 2016?  

The House We Grew Up In and Book Clubs

Have we talked about book clubs?  Are you in one?  Do you love 'em or hate 'em?  

I am in a book club and have been in a few over the years.  Ranging from clubs organized by Barnes and Noble to groups of neighbors or friends, book clubs can be a way to meet new people, talk about books, and just get out and eat and drink without your kids.  Wine is often a must at these things.  

Book clubs always seem like a good idea to me.  However, I often am frustrated by being "forced" to read a book that was not even on my radar, let alone my To Be Read list.  But, usually I'm happy after I get pushed out of my comfort zone for a few months.  It opens my eyes to all the other books I would just be happy to ignore.  And, there is something really motivating about reading with a deadline.  

This month, my book club picked The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell.  We run a system that whoever is hosting book club gets the privilege of picking the book we all read.  The friend who picked this book said that it was recommended to her by a friend of a friend.  High praise, indeed.

Jewell recounts the saga of a family from a small town in England.  She uses flashbacks and flashforwards to reveal bits and pieces of what happened to the parents and four children in the Bird family, all taking place on various Easters.  

I was intrigued by the cover.  The cracked egg hints at the destruction of a safe place.  But I had no idea how bad it would get.  

This book is well rated on both Amazon and GoodReads and honestly, I was surprised by this.  

I'm a fan of complicated stories with dark twists and turns (that's often how real life goes).  I don't need a saccharine tale, but this was a bit over the top.  It was like nothing good happened for the first 3/4 of the book.  Something bad happened and then something worse and then it got even more strange and upsetting.  I didn't cry despite all the sad/difficult situations...I didn't feel a particular affinity to any of the characters.

It seems like much of teen fiction is dystopian and much of pop fiction is train wrecks.  the more popular books I read the more I wonder why we are eating up these bad stories.  In classic fiction, there are many hardships and deaths and war but somehow there is hope or human perseverance that makes them beautiful.  Modern fiction seems to be centered on cautionary tales ("don't become a hoarder, or else...") or something that is a stark contrast to most people's lives so we can say, "Ah, thank goodness my life isn't that bad!"  I just can't seem to get on board with this trend.  

Ultimately, if I were looking for some shred of hope in this book it would have come just past page 300:
"'This is real life.  And things sometimes happen that don't fit in with how we think the story should go, but we just have to take a deep breath and get on with it, not sit there sulking because it's not what we were hoping for.  Come on!'"
It's true, but it's not really well done.  And, I don't know how "real" the life described in this book is for most families.  Sure, everyone has a few stories and some hurts and some hardships, but this reads like a Jerry Springer-esqe family memoir.  

Jewell did a great job of describing England and I loved the setting and descriptions that she wrote.  This novel would have been impossible without this, because the mother is a hoarder and her condition gets gradually worse throughout the book.  I really felt the walls closing in on me and the clutter of the house because of the way their home was described.  The book made me curious about the hoarding condition and made me reevaluate my book buying tendencies because if I were going to hoard anything, it would certainly be books.

If you're looking for a strange and kind of dark book, this one may fit the bill.  If you're interested in life with a hoarder you should give it a shot.  

Next up I'm reading Madame Bovary and A Prayer For Owen Meany.  What are you reading?