My box of unread books certainly held some surprises - like Peter Carey's "My Life as a Fake" which I was thinking of buying but then I opened my box of unread books and there it was, 1st edition hard cover which, if you hit the wrong book-buyer at Powell's, is worth diddly-squat, those 1st edition hard covers which I know will be valuable some day. Anyway, I have absolutely no recollection of buying that book...sign of a true addiction, don't you think?
I did buy two books, the two I mentioned in an earlier post: "Visiting Life" and "The Motel Life".
My dislike for "Visiting Life" was so all-consuming that I actually wrote my first-ever review on amazon.com. Why I felt the need to tell the world, I'm not real sure. It's like let's say you and a friend have a misunderstanding and she is bad-mouthing you and you feel the need to defend your side of the story, "but this is the way it happened; she was the jerk!"; it's kind of that way with me and the book's author although I'm the one bad-mouthing her so I guess that analogy doesn't really hold. Maybe it's more like this scenario: your boyfriend is friends with one of the most evil women you know - he just doesn't see her bad side - and you want to say "How can you like her? Look at her, how self-centered and whiny she is. Look how poorly the book is written. Look how she uses that lifer in Pelican Bay Prison?" I heard the author on NPR's Talk of the Nation and she seemed even more shallow and careless with the hearts of others and it only confirmed my feelings. When callers relayed how important it is, when you're in prison, to get letters, "Bridge" responded "Oh now you're making me feel guilty. I haven't written to Rory in ages, what with the book and all..." No wonder that since the publication of this book, The Lifer has gotten mail from lots of women. Hell, I want to write him now that I'm an expert in letters to jailbirds.
On the other hand "The Motel Life" satisfied me in every way and I want to go to Portland Meadows and sit with Willy Vlautin while he writes his stories and song lyrics and occasionally bets on the dogs. Stories about losers and bad luck and events spiraling out of control - but with a hint of hope in the end - are my favorites. Because I now own three Richmond Fontaine CD's, I hear Willy's voice as though he is reading the stories out loud. Sheer pleasure.
In doing some more thinking about the review process, one thing I find interesting, since writing my one-star review of "Visiting Life" is that a lot of times when a negative review is written, people feel the need to comment not only on the negative review but to put down the person writing it. I perused the reviews for "eat, pray, love" and found that pattern repeated there. Although the negative reviews can be cutting and nasty, and maybe warrant a defense of the author, the personal digs at the person writing the review seem to be jabs below the belt. What I realize is when someone criticizes a book that EVERYONE LOVES you're not only putting down the book and the author, but also the people who love the book. I think this is an interesting dynamic and I'm glad amazon.com was the first (or so I assume) to set up this reader review process.
Okay, on to my box of books...Peter Carey? Ken Bruen? Jason Starr? Or how about "And My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You" which, according to Roy Blount Jr. "...is more fun than a barrel of musicians"?
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2 comments:
I have a stack of books on my desk, legacy of a couple of book sales and a trip to England last year.
I still buy books though, because I have book lust.
My latest find which paid off major was "The Year of Yes" by Maria Headley - she's a dramatic writer (as in plays) and she got into prose. I always thought poets make the best writers, now I think playwrights are up there too.
Jenn, I'm familiar with that book, which I thought I might relate to in some way. I'll put it on my list for my next book-buying spree.
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