Gone Girl

Thank goodness that although I may be a bit late to the party, I didn't miss it entirely.

Honestly, it's hard to even begin to write about Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  Last weekend I absolutely ripped through it.  Like disregarded my regularly scheduled programming and library run, ironically enough.  Someone at work had warned me that this is not the type of book to casually read before drifting off to sleep.  Or over the course of a couple of weeks.

Check and check.  This book is intense.  Hmm....maybe that's not exactly the right word.  It's definitely a page-turner, but that seems too weak an adjective.  It's basically astounding.  How's that?  

I read hundreds of pages at a clip.  It's a little over 400 total, in case you're wondering.  But it didn't seem like it at all.  This is the story of Amy and Nick, a young, married couple who has moved from posh New York City to small-town Missouri to care for his ailing parents.  Although they put on a good front, the pair's marriage is in ruins, and pretty early in the story, something disastrous happens.

This novel is organized like few others I've encountered, moving from his point of view to hers, and told through dialogue, diary entries, and teen-girl-magazine quizzes (just bear with it).  It's more than a mystery or a thriller, I think.  It seems to be a razor-sharp study into the lengths a person could go to really teach someone a lesson.  You just have to decide who that someone is in this book.

I'm not going to give away too much more, except to say that this is a must-read.  You'll be in for some memorable characters, twisted storylines, and even a few (dark) laughs.  As my friend Rachel would say--run, do not walk to get this book.

An example entry from Amy's diary (page 169) reads as follows:

I've got a calendar, and I put hearts on any day Nick seems to love me again, and black squares when he doesn't.  The past year was all black squares, pretty much.

American Beauty

No, not the movie.  Although it's one of my favorites.  But the book--by Thom Filica.  I mentioned it whilst reviewing another of his books.  

This one is a bit different because it's not a bunch of before-and-afters.  Instead, it's one big makeover of a classic but weathered house by the Finger Lakes.

After the first few sentences and photographs, I was hooked.  Hooked, I say.  And not just for the lake/fishing pun.  I tore through several chapters and followed along on the years-long journey that took Thom through refreshing this maison d'Americana.  (I just made that up.  It's not real French.)

Throughout the book and, of course, the house are several unifying elements.  Natural.  Nautical.  Local.  Decidedly unfussy.  If I had the resources, I would love to do a house very similar to this one.  Like that Thom, this one would put grasscloth on the walls and original hardwood on the floors.  I'd make symmetry a silent partner in my scheme.  The lighting would be thoughtful.  The powder room would be dramatic.  (There'd be a powder room.)  I'd hire awesome and native contractors and architects who could keep the original vision of the place.

Like before, though, Mr. Filica gets a little bit self-promotional.  Who knew he had partnerships with companies that offer lamps, floor coverings, furniture, fabric, artwork, curtain hardware...  By the end the text gets a bit repetitive, too.  After 200 pages, I remember that the planks are run that way to invoke the feeling of being in a boat.  I remember that the stone around the fireplace inspired materials in other rooms.  And so on.  But they're really great ideas.  And this book is definitely worth a browse.  Try to catch it before we're in full-on summer mode.  It's definitely a cooler-weather book.

Here's what Thom thought of the house while planning its design (from page 54):

I was reminded of the beautiful librarian who takes off her glasses and lets her hair out of the bun and suddenly she's a looker.  It's the same woman.  She's just revealing who she really was to begin with.

The Family Fang

After my recent design book reviews, I decided to shift gears back to the ol' novel.  As some of you may have seen on Ashley's weekly Need Read Greed post a few weeks back, The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson was on my list.

I have to say that I had such great hopes for this book.  Just look at that Wes Anderson-esque cover.  And it's primarily set in the Nashville area.  What could be better?  

The first two-thirds of the story kept my attention pretty well.  Parents Caleb and Camille Fang spend much of their children's youth setting up "art" in which their whole family creates some type of public spectacle to get a reaction from onlookers.  They're famous.  They're revered.  And they're terrible parents.

As the kids (Annie and Buster) grow up to pursue their own interests, a series of random events brings them back to their Tennessee roots.  And things just get more random from there.  Seemingly more lost as young adults, "A" and "B" struggle to comprehend their childhood while moving forward and being autonomous.  

The book is not without its fun moments and decent storytelling vignettes, but overall this plot just did not do it for me.  I kept waiting for something really stellar to happen, and it never did.  However, it definitely made me revisit my ideas about what constitutes art.  (The performance pieces described within the chapters don't make the cut for me.)  Although worth a lazy-day read, I won't be picking this one up again or strongly recommending it to others.  Based on a very quick Google search, it appears that Nicole Kidman is starring in and producing the movie adaptation, coming soon.  I'll probably Redbox it.  :)

Sample quote from the prologue:

Mr. and Mrs. Fang called it art.  Their children called it mischief.  "You make a mess and then you walk away from it," their daughter, Annie, told them.  "It's a lot more complicated than that, honey," Mrs. Fang said...

Thom Filicia Style

It seems that I've been on a design-book kick as of late.  First there was Nate, and then came the Novogratz edition.  Now we have Thom Filica Style.  This book debuted in 2008.  I found it whilst trying to reserve his latest book (American Beauty) via public library.

Divided into two main parts, this book first covers the process of decorating and then moves into case studies.  The process section includes Thom's ten tips in detail (ex. "There's truth in the texture"), ten different moods that rooms can have (like organic or refined), and ways to pull everything together.

The section with case studies is very similar to the other books I mentioned in the sense that each one begins with the clients' wish lists and floor plans.  However, this time there are minimum 'before' photos.  The budget is not really mentioned.  

This is not my favorite design book, but it's definitely worth a read.  Thom has nailed that sometimes-elusive classic American style.  He's a bit self-promotional, showing his own homes and product lines throughout the book, but I never got the sense that he was pimping himself out in an overt way.  As with most other media, this one is a great source of inspiration and offers practical tips.  

One of the best takeaways is Thom's list of can't-miss Benjamin Moore paint colors:

A quote from page 190 gives a great idea of Thom's philosophy:

Design that's authentic and that fits your lifestyle is a gift.  The real luxury is to have an interesting life.

Home By Novogratz

Do you know the Novogratz crew?  It's a husband/wife design team, and they happen to have seven kids.  Yes, seven.  I had always seen listings on HGTV for their show and thought that it was some real estate/staging show that would not hold my interest, so I skipped it for a while.

One day I caught it, and it was like Touched By A Kardashian (in the sense that it sucks you in).  They live in New York and design some super cool spaces.  All this is not to say that their style is my style.  It's not, but I do appreciate it.

In their book Bob and Cortney N. show off some of their proudest design moments, job by job.  It's very similar in layout to the latest Nate Berkus book, but this time the budget and actual expenditures are included.  If you watched the most recent season of their show, then you won't get too many visual surprises from this book because they use spaces from most every episode.  It is nice that they can write where they sourced some of the pieces, though.

Although I will soon return this volume to the library, I'm glad I took the time to read/look through it.  Their style is way more colorful and kooky than mine, but they really do think about things like audience (i.e., kid/pet-friendliness), scale, and budget.  It's a refreshing change.  Sample quote from page 175:

When everything matches perfectly, a room can look as if it was copied straight from a catalog.

I don't see this as a bad thing, but I guess it depends on what catalog you prefer.

Guest Post Alert!

Well, I don't know if it's technically a guest post, but I am featured on my blog pal Ashley's Need Read Greed column over on One Fine Day.  Check it out!  And enjoy the other wonderful parts of her super fun and stylish blog while you're at it.

Thanks, Ashley!

The Things That Matter

Nate Berkus is having a big fall.  I guess I should say autumn.  The other way sounds ominous.  His new home line launched at Target a couple of weeks ago, and then his new book debuted. 

In The Things That Matter, Nate takes us on a textual journey through the living spaces of tweleve of his friends/clients and then brings it on home (whoops) with a final chapter on his own apartment.  Oh, and there are lots of photos.  Great photos. 

This is by no means an original formula for a design book, but I love the message here.  If you happen to have watched any of The Nate Berkus Show (which ended its two-season, Emmy-winning run earlier this year), then Nate's touchstones are not new for you.  He is a strong proponent of having your home "rise up to greet you" with objects that are "collected over time."  He loves framed photos and African beads and books.  He believes that a home should tell the story of who you are.

I like the distinction he makes in the book that loving these things does not make us materialistic.  On the contrary, they connect us to our past, to our loved ones, and to our vision of what we want our lives to be.  Often the objects have little to do with the amount of money that was spent on them.  Some of the subjects' favorite things are simple family heirlooms, childhood artwork, and thrift store furniture.

But there's something else at play here, and that is Nate's ability to tell a story.  He begins (and ends) with his own, which includes exhilirating highs and excruciating lows, but he always deftly ties the action back to design.  I wanted to get to know all of the people he features in the book--and not just because they tend to have successful careers or blogs or whatever else.  They genuinely interested me, and each space is a different expression of who they are.  A nice way to sum up these themes is from page 19:

For me, the most successful interiors in the world are put together by people who surround themselves with objects that bring them joy.

Well, for me, this book has been added to that list.

A Red Herring Without Mustard

Has it really been over a year since I read the second Flavia de Luce novel?!  Well, let me tell ya.  The third installment did not disappoint.  Flavia is back in all of her chemistry-obsessed, crime-solving, British goodness.

This time a mysterious Gypsy woman is attacked, and a string of clues leads everything right back to Buckshaw, the de Luce estate.  It also invites tons of that hysterical sibling rivalry between our heroine and her two older sisters, who mostly despise each other.  My favorite of Flavia's expletives this time around: Saints on skates! 

Further proof of this novel's genius takes shape in the following excerpt from page 132:

Miss Mountjoy was the retired Librarian-In-Chief of the Bishop's Lacey Free Library where, it was said, even the books had lived in fear of her.  Now, with nothing but time on her hands, she had become a freelance holy terror.

The Perfectly Imperfect Home

I've been super busy lately, preparing to bust out Specs Appeal 2.0.  :)  But in the meanwhile, I've moseyed over to the lye-berry.  One of my latest snags is The Perfectly Imperfect Home by (*sigh*) Domino founder Deborah Needleman.

For this book review I'm cheating a bit, as I am only about a third of the way through it.  However, I already recommend it.  This book is full of charming illustrations like the one above, and it's not super preachy or packed with unattainable ideas.

It basically takes the best of old-school wisdom and mixes it with a contemporary sensibility.  An excellent source of inspiration.

Bossypants

You may be wondering what took me so long to read this book.  Well, it took a while to obtain it from the library.  But I'm glad I did.  It's smart, honest, and laugh-a-minute.  There's not much else I can say about Tina Fey, but this excerpt (from page 92) about her vacation on a cruise gives a good idea of what to expect:

It is worth noting that at this time, I had been doing Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live for two full seasons.  I am not recognized by anyone.  Well, I am recognized by the guy who refills the soft-serve ice cream machine by the pool, but not for being on TV, just for lingering.  For O!  The desserts!  Rows and rows of pastries laid out cafeteria-style.  Some of them are unidentifiable squares of pink stuff.  I think we called it junket back in the seventies.  They don't taste good; but like a schoolboy at his first coed dance, I am drawn not so much by their beauty as by their unlimited quantities.

Await Your Reply

It seems that I've been on a roll with some fairly good books lately.  And this one is certainly no exception.

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon is really hard to classify.  It's fiction, yes.  But it really seems like so much more.  And I realize how hokey that sounds.

This is a story of twin brothers (check!) and identity theft (un-check!), but it's engrossing from the very first page.  Each chapter focuses on different characters and the intrepid dynamics between them.  The story definitely has some twists and turns, and it made me think about things in this modern world that had not yet crossed my mind.  I pulled a few references from my banking days, and I made other connections just from being an American consumer. 

And this Dan Chaon knows how to turn a phrase, let me tell yaz.  Every page was rife with lush imagery and plain ol' addictive storytelling.  Example from page 65:

Nebraska was even worse than Ohio--if such a thing were possible.  There was a soundlessness about this place, she thought, though sometimes the wind made the glass in the windowpanes hum, the wind running in a long exhaled stream through the weeds and dust and dry bed of the lake, and sometimes unexpectedly there would be a very startling sonic boom over the house as a military plane broke the sound barrier, and there was the rattle of the grasshoppers leaping from one weed to the next--

But mostly it was silence, a kind of end-of-the-world hush, and you could feel the sky sealing over you like the glass around a snow globe.

Unbearable Lightness

Confession:  I read the following book expressly because of Oprah.  She had Portia de Rossi on her show a few weeks ago, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

This is a memoir that centers around Portia's struggles with eating disorders and body image issues.  And it was fascinating.  Even though I pretty much knew the ending (she is married to Ellen, for those who may not be aware), it was still a page turner. 

I remember Portia from her breakout role on Ally McBeal, which I loved in high school.  She played the ice queen so well.  And then she turned around and did Arrested Development.  Genius.  It showed a totally different side of her and her acting abilities--one that is whip-smart but vulnerable at times.  

Early on in her career, she had lingering insecurity from her teenage years spent as an emotionally needy model.  This book tells the story of her rise to fame while her personal life (and health) spiraled out of control.  All I can say is that she does a great job of taking the reader right to the dark places in her mind at the time.  It's definitely worth the read.  My quote from page 230:

"Not just anyone could have anorexia.  It was a disorder of the highly accomplished, cultured, beautiful.  It belonged to models, singers, and Princess Diana."

How Did You Get This Number

I thought I had posted about Sloane Crosley's first book (I Was Told There'd Be Cake), but I guess I'm mistaken.  In the vein of David Sedaris, Crosley has made a name for herself by composing books of short stories/essays.  I read her first book with reckless abandon because it was just so darn funny.  She's roughly my age, so I can relate to a lot of her references of cartoons and foods and the like.

I was pumped when her latest book, How Did You Get This Number, came out last year.  It took that long for me to be able to check it out of the library, but I'm glad I did.  There are stories about running into one of the 'mean girls' from her younger days, scoring some discounted homewares, and taking a solo international trip. 

While there was at least one good laugh for each story, it was nowhere near as endearing as her debut collection.  With that one, I could not put it down.  Nope.  Not at all.  This one was a bit less consuming, if you'll allow me to say so.  Well, of course you will.  I think that there was just less overall nostalgia in this book, to be honest, but it's still worth a read...after you get her first book.  Here's a notable passage from page 152:

"When your classmates move away, it seems impossible that they could ever come back.  As if the world's events since have happened to you but not to them.  It's the reason you can look at your middle-school yearbook and still see your peers.  But someone else's middle-school yearbook looks like a bunch of thirteen-year-olds."

The Magicians

The Magicians by Lev Grossman has been on my must-read list for about a year now.  When I moved to Nashville, it was one of the first catalog searches I did at the public library; much to my dismay, of the dozen or so copies they had across the various branches, all were gone.  They were also on hold.  All of them.  For a long time. 

This was a bittersweet recognition that people here actually read.  No offense to anyone from my hometown, but there was usually not a line on a book, unless it was the latest Harry Potter.  Hmm....speaking of which...

This book was a blatant rip-off of C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling.  I'm surprised he didn't sign his name as L.V. Grossman.  There's nothing new here.  Nothing.  Almost every aspect was apparently 'borrowed' from a highly known book or movie.  I am getting a bit ahead of myself, though.

This is the 400-page story of Quentin Coldwater, a bright high school student who is getting ready to apply to colleges.  His life takes a wild turn when he is accepted into the magic school called Brakebills.  It's a thousand wonders he was not a neglected orphan as well. 

As I mentioned, there's not really anything new here, but there was a bit of magic--at least for me.  It's a definite page-turner, but for this reader, it was more about getting down to when the real story was going to start.  Around page 357 or so, I realized that Grossman was running out of time.  I never got particularly attached to Quentin because he doesn't really seem to have many unique or redeeming qualities.  Maybe this was the magic?  I kept reading, despite myself.  It was a decent book, but it was mostly like Hogwarts with some f-bombs and alcohol thrown in for good measure.

Notable excerpt:

"...perfection is a nervy business, because the moment you spot the tiniest flaw it's ruined."

Everything Matters!

Well, well.  This book is not like anything I've read in quite some time.  As you can glean from the flap, the world is ending relatively soon, and only young Junior Thibodeau knows it.  You can imagine how this might affect any person, much less a child, and it's an interesting predicament to ponder. 

Extremely bright but often misunderstood, Junior seems to grow up with most everyone else at arm's length.  To further complicate the sitch, his silent, absentee father works non-stop, and his mother has drunk herself inert.  Then (cue the predictability factor) he meets Amy, a fellow smartie/similarly troubled youth.

Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr. is not a book I'll read again too soon.  It does have a few poignant (and sometimes funny) moments, but overall it didn't speak to me.  Although Junior is privy to the when and how of the apocalypse, he doesn't seem to do much with it.  For my time, I'd just as soon spend the hours I read this book on watching back episodes of Lost. 

Choice quote from this book, by Junior:

So instead of venting my anger, which is really just hurt dressed up for a night on the town, I ask if anyone needs a drink.

This Is Where I Leave You (the book, not a personal statement)

Wow.  I heart this book. 

It's all about the life of Judd Foxman, a non-practicing Jew (it comes into play!) whose wife cheats on him with his boss.  Oh, and Judd's father has just passed away.  He returns to his New England childhood home to observe the shiva (see?) with his mother and siblings.  In case you're not familiar, which was me until reading this book, shiva is a Jewish tradition in which the close relatives of the departed person mourn his death and welcome co-mourners for seven days. 

It was fascinating enough just to learn more about this practice, but throw on some family drama, childhood memories, and a ton of hilarity, and you have a real winner.  This was seriously a book that pained me to put down; I have since checked out Tropper's Everything Changes, which is very much in the same vein of being addictive.  (See what I did there.  Vein.  Addiction.  Drugs.  Hehe.)

Favorite quote from this book, spoken by Judd's older brother:

At some point, being angry is just another bad habit, like smoking, and you keep poisoning yourself without thinking about it.

April & Oliver

If you're looking for a particularly season-specific book, I think I've found it.  

This is Tess Callahan's story of April and Oliver, childhood friends whose lives remain intertwined, for better or worse.  Upon the sudden death of April's younger brother Buddy, the title characters are reunited after growing apart post-high school.  Oliver is the preppy, quiet law student, who is engaged to the seemingly perfect blonde Bernadette.  April is the tough-exteriored bartender whose dark hair matches her mood.

As you can probably tell from the rather striking composition of the cover, this is not a feel-good story.  But it's not a total downer, either.  What happened in their respective pasts that caused them to turn out the way they are?  Are they ever going to just hook it up and end the suspense?  Way before the end of the story, I wanted both of the main characters to succeed, in spite of their challenges.  And even though part of it takes place at a beach house, you still get that sort of crispy, cool feeling that's present throughout most of the book.  I read it in bed, as I often do, and it was a nice one to snuggle up with.

What are you reading right now?

Lost

Gregory Maguire is a name that you may not be very familiar with.  It's one of those that you've probably heard a few times (like Mitt Romney or Barry Diller) but are not quite sure who they are.  Well, I have a word for you.  Wicked.  Wicked, to be more precise.  He's the author who inspired the hit Broadway musical with his version of the Oz tale.

Maguire takes classic children's stories and reworks them in a way that is fairly unique.  He usually throws in a dash of intrigue, a romance, and a deeper, more grown-up sense of magic. 

Lost was the last of his big-people books that I had not read.  (He also writes truly kiddy books, which I'm sure are great.)  It seemed to hold the same promise as his other stories, but it fell flat.  And quick.  It was sort of a pastiche of Ebenezer Scrooge, Jack the Ripper, and a modern-day writer who travels back to her ancestral home in England.  Quite simply, there were too many references and not enough cohesion in the storyline.  I did make it to the end, but I really didn't care how it turned out.  (See also: this season of Project Runway.)

Let me say that I really enjoyed the Wicked series.  Ok...the third book (A Lion Among Men) could have been completely left out, but the first two books more than make up for it.  I loved Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and Mirror Mirror, too.  You can see his other books here.  I definitely recommend reading from his catalog, but don't start with Lost, or you may not get much further.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

Do you happen to remember this post on the first Flavia de Luce novel?  Well, I'm happy to report that I picked up the second book, and it was equally entertaining. 

Just like last time, Flavia is up to her old tricks, but now there's a new mystery afoot.  It all starts when a shady puppeteer and his mysterious female companion show up (or rather break down) in the town of Bishop's Lacey.  Of course Flavia senses that something is fishy from the first minute, and she's completely right.  Throw in some good, old-fashioned town gossip and a rich, visiting aunt, and you've got a few hours of entertainment.

Again, this is a fun story of intrigue, science, and humor.  Best line of the book: Boil me dry!  Flavia is always using really odd expressions, and I'm into it.  Alan Bradley continues to do an excellent job of writing from the perspective of a young girl, even as she begins to mature and see the world in two different ways. 

If you have not read the first book, then, really, what are you waiting for?  The weather is about to get cool, and these would be the perfect start to your hibernation. 

What are you reading now?  Do tell.



Lottery

The last book I read was good, but this one was so much better. 

This is the story of Perry L. Crandall.  Age?  32.  IQ?  76.  Family situation?  Not ideal.

Net worth?  $12 Million.

Perry is quick to tell you that he's not retarded.  He's slow.  Retarded means an IQ of 75.  His is 76.  He is the narrator and main character in this really engrossing novel about people with special needs as well as the effects of money on people.  Although he has several relatives, no one really wanted Perry as a child.  His grandparents, however, jumped at the chance to raise him.  Of course everyone comes out of the woodwork when Perry gets his novelty-sized check and lands in the headlines.

His Gram always told him that words were the key, and she set him on a schedule of learning all the words in the dictionary.  One of my favorite things about the book is that Perry often explains what a word or phrase means.  Example: Convenient means that other people do not have to work so hard.  I found this link that scrolls through some of these gems.

I can't really say too much else about the book without giving away the story, except that it is really great.  Like many of my favorite books, movies, and TV shows, this one strikes a nice balance between being funny and poignant.  Plus, you should be able to find it at your local library for free.