Tuesday Book Club
Sometimes there are boys who you hear are so charming and funny and your friends tell you you really should meet them, and you resist, because who wants to be with someone everyone else thinks is charming and funny? Won’t you look boring by comparison, and plus won’t people think you’re just interested in him because everyone else likes him?
Which is why I avoided John Green for so long. I mean, he’s got that whole Brotherhood 2.0 thing going on, which is hilarious, and he shows up on all the lists, and he’s so popular, and why does he need one more person reading his books? I might as well put my reading power behind someone struggling on the bottom of the Amazon list.
But I couldn’t hold out any longer. I just finished An Abundance of Katherines, and dammit, I absolutely loved it. It’s so funny, so–yes–charming, and also sweet and did I mention funny and just such a great read.
So yes, John, here I am, another girl who thinks your books are funny and cute and charming. (Eye roll.) Whatever. It doesn’t mean I like like you. But it does mean I’m going to read Looking for Alaska now, too. And your next book and the ones after that.
But not because everyone else likes you. I decided for myself.
So that’s me this week. What did you guys read?
Technorati Tags: John Green, An Abundance of Katherines, Reading, Books, Tuesday Book Club, Reading Clubs, Book Clubs, 50 Book Challenge, Novels, Young Adult Fiction, Young Adult Novels
May 8th, 2007 at 6:09 am
Looking for Alaska is even better. You’re in for a treat.
I have a huge stack of great picture books; that always makes me happy.
I’m also really digging Walter Dean Myers’ new YA novel, Harlem Summer. With Fats Waller as a character, how can you not love it?
The other stuff I’m reading I’ve been reading for a while now, though I finally just finished and reviewed Your Own, Sylvia. Still reading Jon McGregor’s new (adult) novel. Heavenly.
Does anyone else read about, say, 10 books at one time? I really need to stop this. I’m getting secondary characters confused with one another.
May 8th, 2007 at 6:10 am
Oh, great — just what John needs. Another fangirl. Terrific. The guy is gonna just be insufferable now.
I read Laurie Halse Anderson’s newest book, Twisted. I won’t comment on it because I know someone else on the blog is reading it and I don’t want to spoil it.
And really, Robin — EVERYONE loves John Green. Couldn’t you deviate from the norm and hate him?
May 8th, 2007 at 6:48 am
Barry-
I’m going to deviate from the norm. I heart Hank Green.
May 8th, 2007 at 6:57 am
I know what Jules means about reading several books at once-right now,I’ve had to narrow down my current books to the following:
Afternoons with Emily by Rose MacMurray(the Emily of the title is Emily Dickinson and the novel is about a fictional friendship of hers).
House of Mirth by Edith Wharton(I have the film version on DVD,with Gillian Anderson and will probaly wind up watching it yet again. Never was an X-Files fan,but Gillian really rocks the literary adaptations. If you haven’t seen her in Bleak House,you should!)
Blood Books,Volume I by Tanya Huff(I adore Bloodties on Lifetime and getting to know Vicki Nelson and company in their original form is just as fun)
Also trying to finish Girl Sleuth,which is about the history of Nancy Drew. I’m expecting a couple of pop culture essay books to be reviewed for my blog,so I may have to put Miss Drew aside when one or both them arrive.
May 8th, 2007 at 8:08 am
Okay, I may like like John Green, but I’m afraid that I’ve passed into the age difference and relative hotness variation where that is just creepy. Ah, well. Whatcha gonna do?
I liked Katherines much better than Looking for Alaska, but you know I loves the funny.
As for myself, I don’t think I’ve read a book at all this week - which is an incredible abnormality for me. I have, however, read your script for us about 26 times, so maybe that counts.
May 8th, 2007 at 8:30 am
Lady T: I second the praise for Gillian in Bleak House. That was pure delight to watch that series on PBS. I guess it’s out on DVD now? And House of Mirth…loved the book, loved the movie, which is rare.
Jules: I don’t know how you read 10 fiction books at once. I read all sorts of non-fiction simultaneously. But fiction? I gulp it down in long draughts. Really, sometimes I put off starting a fiction book because I know I’ll be utterly obsessed with it until I’m done, reading to the exclusion of all else.
Which is why An Abundance of Katherines is still lying on the floor by my reading chair. I am wary of its power after being consumed by Looking for Alaska just a few weeks ago.
May 8th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Murphy’s Law by Rhys Bowen. Definitely the start of what promises to be a great mystery series.
May 8th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Alkelda, Eisha and I totally want to interview Hank Green! Wouldn’t that be fun?
May 8th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Mother Reader, since my script was 10 pages long, if you read it 26 times you read the equivalent of a book. I’m counting it.
Alkelda and Mother Reader, thanks for confessing your crushes right here on the blog. We’ll keep it secret.
Barry, shut up. I am not just another fangirl. Take it back.
Jules and Lady T, I’m with Sara–how can you possibly keep various fiction books separate in your brain? I have to read one at a time or I can’t be fully absorbed in the story. But I’ve always got both fiction and non-fiction going at the same time. They meet different needs.
Lady T, you are SO right about Gillian Anderson in Bleak House. She was phenomenal. I’m a total X Files fan, and so I loved her all the more doing Dickens. I need to own that DVD. I also loved the woman who played the main character, whose name escapes me. What a terrific actress.
Kimmy, I’ve never heard of that. Worth putting on my TBR list?
May 8th, 2007 at 10:04 am
jules, pull the strings. Make it happen. I want to read your interview with Hank. I’ll bet he could do a 7-imps song…but I’m sorta afraid of which seven impossible things he would come up with.
May 8th, 2007 at 10:10 am
If you like 19th century NYC mysteries with a strong Irish heroine, then most definitely, YES!
May 8th, 2007 at 11:12 am
I don’t really like reading so many books at once, but I’ll tell you why I do it: a) I have two very young children and only have little windows of time to read; b) my eyes get big at the New Books shelf at the library, and I end up getting a ton of books and then have due dates to meet and so then I start reading in a bit of a frenzy, trying my best to slow down and take it all in, and c) I sometimes get sent review copies and feel this responsibility to at least read the book in a timely manner (of course — I just won’t review it if I disliked it). That’s why I read more than one book at a time, but I don’t like it. When my girls are older and I can way more easily drop whatever I’m doing and do whatever I want (bubble bath, kick back and read for actual hours at a time, etc.), you bet I will gulp in one book at a time. That’s my preferred way.
I really do wanna interview Hank Green, but I have to get over feeling like a poseur, ’cause I haven’t been able to keep up with Brotherhood 2.0 like I want to . . . but Eisha’s seen way more than I have, so I think we can pull it off together.
May 8th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Jules: You should totally interview Hank. That would be fun. I often have several fiction titles going at one time, so I’m with you! And I always have a) one children’s title; b) one adult title; and c) one audio title going at once if I’m organized (if not, then I have 10)
I just finished a book that was pure fun–Skulduggery Pleasant.
May 8th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Jules, don’t feel like a poseur! You can easily do a quick sampling of Brotherhood 2.0 while your girls nap. Sure, watching one after another may warp your brain a bit, but you’ll be ready in no time. Plus you don’t need to see them all to get enough flavor to interview Hank. So come on–you know we’ll all love you for it.
Kelly, I’ve been looking at Skulduggery Pleasant. Guess I need to do more than just look.
May 8th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Jules, Yes, please interview Hank! And tell him that Alkelda the Gleeful likes him, but not in a “like” like kind of way because we’re both married, but I’d still love to hang out with him. And I think he’s way hot. Whoops, scratch that last part, as I do not like him in a “like” like kind of way.:)
May 8th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Okay, I’ll try to talk Eisha into it (interviewing Hank), though I think she’ll be an easy sell. I mentioned it to her before, and she liked the idea. I can’t let my kidlitosphere peeps down, so consider it done (well, we can *ask*, but it’s up to him to say yes).
Kelly, my grad school children’s lit prof used to always have one adult title, one children’s lit title, one memoir, etc. going at once, and I love that idea — reading across age levels and genres and such.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
I made out with John Green once. And then I woke up. So I made out with Barry instead.
I read Twilight. I wanted to like it…but I found it extremely long-winded in parts. I did enjoy the first 350 pages and then the tone really shifted and became really, really fantasy-y. Which just isn’t my thing. And I didn’t really connect with the main character, so that was an obstacle throughout the whole thing. So, all in all, it was just okay. But it sounds like Stephenie Meyer is doing cool things for girls so she’s okay in my book.
Currently reading Kathy’s Story: The True Story of a Childhood Hell Inside Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries by Kathy O’Beirne which makes me want to revise my statement about depressing memoir - please come to terms with whatever it is before you write your final draft. Of course it is an important story and I will finish the book, but I wish I could sense that the author has overcome the tragedy and I don’t think she has. If you’ve seen the Magdalene Sisters and cried already, maybe skip this one. If you haven’t seen The Magdalene Sisters, go rent it. And buy some tissues.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Sigh, Molly, guess we can’t all agree on everything. I loved the fantasy elements of Twilight. But I guess that’s a reason why there are so many books in this world: not everything appeals to everyone. Or put another way, there’s something for everyone.
You are so right about The Magdalene Sisters. Good Lord, it’s unbelievable what went on–and that it was still going on into the 1970s. But the movie was enough for me. Don’t need to depress the living daylights out of myself by reading more.
Jules, yay! Blog peer pressure works once again! You may recall it’s why I bought a dress for the prom instead of wearing pants, so I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who gives in. Of course, you already want to do the interview, so I guess it’s not a sacrifice.
May 8th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
The last one closed in 1996, doesn’t that make you want to puke?
May 8th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Wow. Unbelievable.
May 8th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
I am soooooo close to 50 I can taste it (not to brag or anything!)! Okay, I read a few Easy Reader books this week because I was preparing for a story time… So I read The Old Pirate of Central Park, Pirate Jam, and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Then I also read Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales. It was pretty good. It had short stories by 10 different YA authors, such as M.T. Anderson, Garth Nix, Neil Gaiman, etc. I also read the erotic romance Forbidden Magic by Cheyenne McCray. Turns out she writes kinda naughty and I was totally blushing a little bit!
Oh, and I was just talking about John Green yesterday. I guess I should check him out…
May 8th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Christen, yay for the almost 50! You’ve really been keeping the pace. I’m so far behind you! Good job. Keep going to 100?
May 8th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
I think the only reason I am so close to being at 50 was because of my YA class… which, by the way… thank you again for your help with that!!! I referenced that list quite a few times over the semester!
I think I might be able to make it to 100…
May 8th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Just finished Kiki Strike #2 on the plane, and am now re-reading The Handmaid’s Tale. I have many other review copies on my to read stack, but once I started thinking about re-reading this, I had to do it right away. I find myself responding to parts of the book differently now than when I was in college, but it’s still amazing.
P.S. Kiki Strike #2 is excellent. Tighter plotting than the first, with the same humor and strong girl characters.
May 8th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Oh, I cannot WAIT for Kiki Strike! Talk about your kickass girl!
May 9th, 2007 at 7:14 am
Gillian does rock,and if my yen for her in period films is not satisfied by HOM,I might rent Bleak House on DVD from Netfilx. I did see BH when it was on the air,but classics are made for re-watching!
Oh,and one of my pop culture books arrived yesterday,so Girl Sleuth is on hold yet again,for Neptune Noir,which is all about Veronica Mars and edited by the show’s creator,Rob Thomas! Keep an eye on my blog for a review(shameless plug)coming soon!
May 9th, 2007 at 8:01 am
Lady T, plug away. You know I always enjoy your book, TV, and movie reviews.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Gillian slays me, no matter what she does — I especially liked her in Tristam Shandy: Cock and Bull Story.
I’ve never read any John Green.
Also, wasn’t The Magdalene Sisters that memoir that got yanked because she plagiarized from Jane Eyre? Or am I thinking of something else?
Finally, I read two books this weekend: Parallel Seduction, which is the newest in Deidre Knight’s Parallel Series (and the best — she keeps getting better and better), and TOP TEN USES FOR AN UNWORN PROM DRESS, which was just LOVELY, and everyone needs to go read it right now, especially given the prom conversation we were all having last weekend.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Diana, The Magdalene Sisters is about the practice in Ireland of sending “loose” or otherwise “troubled” girls to live (aka be held captive) in this laundry facility run by the Catholic church. Really an awful story, but one that we need to know about. Especially since it was still going on later than can be believed.
And thanks for mentioning Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress. I’ve been seeing that mentioned a lot lately, which must mean I have to add that to my already insane TBR pile. But better to have too many good books to read than not enough. Hard to complain.
May 9th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
John’s pretty darn cool. Welcome to the appreciation society.
LOOKING FOR ALASKA is amazing, in my opinion. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it! I compare the titles this way: KATHERINES is a great deal of fun, while ALASKA is true drama, but both are about the search for self.
May 9th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
In all that Green, I forgot to mention what I read on Tuesday: MEMOIRS OF A TEENAGE AMNESIAC by Gabrielle Zevin, which is coming out in September. I have many, many Post-It flags sticking out of this book - which just so happens to be similar to the amount of flags I have sticking out of AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green and GIRL AT SEA by Maureen Johnson. Coincidence.
May 9th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
So, Little Willow, I take it Post-Its in this context are a good thing? What are you Post-It-ing?
May 10th, 2007 at 5:47 am
Memorable lines and turning points.