yoga, books, movies, tv and WAY too many crime procedurals – not necesarily in that order
1. East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Yeah, yeah, I read most of it in ‘09 but I FINISHED it New Year’s Day. I’m counting it. Because of my checkered past with Steinbeck (liked Of Mice and Men, HATED The Red Pony, couldn’t stand Farrah’s class) I wasn’t expecting much and I certainly wasn’t expecting to love it. It’s shockingly timely, given the economy and the changes in technology and social norms. While ‘good vs. evil’ is a vast oversimplification, the book does an amazing job of picking apart ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ into various shades of gray. Of course the novel is studded with Steinbeck’s (barely ghosted) own narration and 2 cents but that’s part of what makes the novel great now. It also does a better job of looking at the sibling relationship and shows that the kids in a family often grow up with different sets of parents – even if they are the same people. I’m actually looking forward to REreading it.
2. Dead and Gone, Charlaine Harris
Right. Because after the seriousness of EoE, I clearly needed brain candy. I really enjoy this series and appreciate that Harris hasn’t gotten monotonous and/or repetitive. She wrapped up some loose threads in this book but still left plenty of interesting ground to cover down the road. Not great literature but consistently fun, funny and enjoyable.
3. Finch, Jeff VanderMeer
4. Middlemarch, George Eliot
Surprisingly relevant. After getting through the first several painful chapters, Eliot’s characterization kicks in and the action actually begins. A wide range of characters with the full complement of human foibles, errors in judgment and uncomfortable consequences makes it a sprawling but engaging work.
