Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules edited by David Sedaris

Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules edited by David Sedaris

This book is a collection of short stories chosen by Mr. Sedaris just because they're some of his favorites. I don't think I've ever read an anthology linked together solely by author's taste and it resulted in an extremely varied group of excellent authors/stories. The stories included are;

"Oh, Joseph, I'm So Tired" by Richard Yates
"Gryphon" by Charles Baxter
"Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"The Garden Party" by Katherine Mansfield
"Half A Grapefruit" by Alice Munro
"Applause, Applause" by Jean Thompson
"I Know What I'm Doing About All the Attention I've Been Getting" by Frank Gannon
"Where the Door Is Always Open and the Welcome Mat Is Out" by Patricia Highsmith
"The Best of Betty" by Jincy Willett
"Song of the Shirt, 1941" by Dorothy Parker
"The Girl with the Blackened Eye" by Joyce Carol Oates
"People Like That Are the Only People Here: Canonical Babbling in Peed Onk" by Lorrie Moore
"Revelation" by Flannery O'Connor
"In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried" by Amy Hempel
"Cosmopolitan" by Akhil Sharma
"Irish Girl" by Tim Johnston
"Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Wolff

Quite a few authors on the list I've enjoyed reading over the years like Charles Baxter, Alice Munro, Joyce Carol Oats, Lorrie Moore, Flannery O'Connor, Amy Hempel and Tobias Wolff but I'd only read 2 of the stories before which was nice. Great book and I love how it ended with Bullet in the Brain, it's one of those stories I've probably read a half a dozen times in different collections and appreciate it a little more with each rereading.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

I was pretty excited to find this book at a local book store used for only $0.50 as I've enjoyed reading Alexie's short stories as part of anthologies for years. I'm not sure if it's exclusively true but everything I've read by him has dealt with his Native American roots/culture and that was true with these somewhat interconnected stories. Some of the recurring themes dealt with isolation, alcoholism, love, depression, basketball & story telling. They were often sad but always enjoyable and the writing so beautiful it sounds like poetry. I often found myself stopping to appreciate his prose and profound insights that popped up throughout the book. Personally I like readings collections of short stories by a single author slowly without reading too many stories back to back in order to keep them from blending into each other and did so here although there were times where it was hard to put down. Great book and highly recommended.

The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan

The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan
Book 8 of the Wheel of Time series.

Unless whoever is reading this has read the earlier books a plot summary isn't going to make a ton of sense so I'm leaving it out of this review. As I continue to read this series I'm enjoying it but have a few minor critiques. The pace of the books are really slow. I believe the biggest reasons for it are the sheer number of characters, plot lines and Jordan's writing style. As a contrast, The Song of Ice and Fire series has the same issues with characters and plot lines but always felt fast paced and exciting. For me it helps that I'm reading the series now that it's completely published so I can just right from book to book making it feel more like series in a huge book. I can only imagine fan's reactions after anxiously awaiting each book to be published only to have the plot move along in small steps.

While I like where the series is going some character development or lack there of is a little concerning. Rand, the main character, is turning into someone who's a little hard to like. There's literally the weight of the world on his shoulders so I understand why he's not exactly happy go lucky but it would be nice if he was slightly more endearing. Hopefully this will change soon but at least he's an interesting character so we're not in real trouble yet. Oddly enough there doesn't seem to be a ton of other character development, most of the characters haven't really changed a ton from when they were introduced. It just might be that the series will end up being mostly plot driven which is fine but interesting to see how it plays out.

I'm also starting to get a little concerned that the final battle that the series is building up to can't possibly live up to the hype. I mean 14 books all building to 1 final battle of good v. evil? That's a lot of pressure! One of my most frustrating reading experiences was being left so unfulfilled at then end of Shogun by James Clavell. Really hoping it's the most epic of all epic battles.

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

I think this is the 36th book in the Discworld novels that I've read over the years, I've been reading them since the 90's and going back to it is like going home.  The book like all the other ones is a fun quick read with a lot of jokes and sneaky social commentary.  This book primarily revolves around the wizards at Unseen University, an interesting youth Mr. Nutt's journy to self discovery and football (American soccer).  Personally I would have like a little more of the Librarian and for Death to make a cameo and while it wasn't my favoite from the series it was definitely worth the read.  If anyone's going to start reading these books, I strongly suggest starting at the beginning.

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012

Edited by David Eggers introduction by Ray Bradbury

Section I

This is usually my favorite section of the series, always filled with extremely brief pieces including a lot of lists and typically almost exclusively humorous.  This years edition included a good amount of pieces about protests, particularly occupy wall street.  As in McSweeneys I tend to enjoy the less political issues.  That being said they were all good pieces, I especially enjoyed the very short memoir by Junot Diaz and the best American letters in the mail.

Section II

Kevin Brockmeier. A FABLE FOR THE LIVING

Brilliant story.  One of my favorite short stories I've read in a long time.  It's about a country where people write notes to their lost love ones and leave them for them through cracks in the ground.

Judy Budnitz.  TIN MAN
2 for 2, this story is fantastic and about a man being asked to give up his heart for his sick mom.

Louise Erdrich.  THE YEARS OF MY BIRTH
I'd say 3 for 3 but let's just say the trend continues.  I've been wanting to read Louise Erdrich for a little while and she has definitely earned her reputation as a great writer if this story is an example.

Olivia Hamilton, Robin Levi, and Ayelet Waldman.  AN ORAL HISTORY OF OLIVIA HAMILTON

This is the story of Olivia who was giving a ridiculously long sentence for a minor crime and was treated horribly while in prison.  Despite my innate dislike of heavy handed political stories I liked this one.  Completely unacceptable how she was treated.

Phil Klay.  REDEPLOYMENT

This one's really sad.  I think it's non fiction but honestly I'm not sure.  Either way it's sad and showcases the very real issues soldiers coming back from the war in Afghanistan are dealing with.

Nora Krug.  KAMIKAZE

Cool comic about the Japanese kamikaze pilots in WWII.  I have no idea how they were so brave.  Glad there's no animosity between the countries left over from those dark days.

Anthony Marra.  THE PALACE OF THE PEOPLE
This story has taken a much more surreal and sad feel after the marathon bombings as it deals with kids looking to get into trouble to avoid military service in Chechnya.

Julie Otsuka.  THE CHILDREN

Good little story about 1st generation Asian immigrants dealing with their children growing up Americanized and embarrassed of their Chinese routs.

Michael Poore.  THE STREET OF THE HOUSE OF THE SUN

One of my favorite stories in the issue.  It's about descendants of ancient enemies having competing restaurants across the street from one another.

Eric Puchner.  BEAUTIFUL MONSTERS

Amazing story about a brother and sister who take in a grown man into their society of children.  Loved it.

Mark Robert Rapacz.  BELLWETHER

Good god was this a sad story.  Fantastic but sad.  It's about a family of fathers including a drunk father, daughter who's sick of beatings & a son who has to grow up fast and come to terms with things that shouldn't be at all.  This is one of those stories that deal with issues that are hard to tackle, love the courage of the author to write it.

Chaz Reetz-Laiolo.  THE LOVE ACT

Another great story, it's a little hard for me to sum up as it follows a man from childhood to middle age.  Well written and poignant.

Ryan Rivas.  SOUTH BEACH

Fantastic flash fiction peace about god creating South Beach.

Jon Ronson.  THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF PHOENIX JONES

An interesting non fiction piece about regular citizens dressing up in super hero outfits patrolling the streets of America.  

George Saunders.  TENTH OF DECEMBER

Great story by Saunders and the title of his new collection of short stories.  Worthy of all the praise it gets and proof of his genius.

Mona Simpson.  TRANSCRIPTION OF A EULOGY

This is the eulogy that she gave for her brother Steve Jobs funeral.  Funny and a touching insight into Mr. Jobs.

John Jeremiah Sullivan.  PEYTON'S PLACE

A quirky piece of non fiction about a homeowner renting out his home for the shooting of the TV show One Tree Hill.

Adrian Tomine.  A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ART FORM KNOWN AS "HORTISCULPTURE"

I wasn't all that impressed with this comic but it did a good job capturing the spirit of a man striving to make something out of his his otherwise ordinary life and his families dealing with it's failure.

Jose Antonio Vargas.  OUTLAW

An essay about Mr. Vargas dealing with being an illegal immigrant.  I understand his position that because he's contributing to society he should be able to be in the country legally but then again he never went through legal process to get here so I'm not overly sympathetic. Mainly because I don't think it's fair to all the other people going through the correct channels to get into the country legally.   

Jess Walter.  DON'T EAT CAT

Loved this story.  Filled with dark humor but also tackling some pretty tough social issues.  It's about a man trying to find his ex girlfriend who purposely took a party drug with the full knowledge that she may permanently impair her.

Wesley Yang.  PAPER TIGERS

This essay is about dealing with stereotypes of being an Asian American.  Well written and insightful.

A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan

A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan
Book 7 of the Wheel of Time series.

Since I've picked up the series again at book 5 I think this has the best pacing of the books.  The last two books tended to drag at places as there was a lot of transition and it covered a fair amount of time.  This book however was much more compact, with the characters in each story arch mostly remaining in the same place and dealing with direct issues/conflicts.  Another thing that helped is that the book had a lot of Matt in it and he's currently my favorite character in the series.  Rand by comparison I still enjoy but he's becoming more arrogant and more insufferable.  He needs to be a hard character but hopefully they treat him like Lan who remains likable despite being harder than stone.  Back to the pacing, I know that in order for the macro story to process there's going to have to be some slow parts in the upcoming books but hopefully Jordan & later Sanderson will quickly glaze over some of the non important travelling sequences and stick with their focus on the action like this book.  Great book and I'm still looking forward to continue reading through the series.

Les Miserables by Victor "Long Winded" Hugo

Les Miserables by Victor "Long Winded" Hugo

This review is going to be really short. I've been reading this book off and on for months and it honestly feels like an accomplishment that I finished it.  My frustration with the book all comes down to style as I loved the plot, loved the characters but the long winded writing style was brutal.  Brutal.  I'm pretty sure that what Hugo loved more than anything else in the whole wide world was God, 15 paragraph metaphors, French history, God and 50 pages minimum of pure rambling about every single minor person, place or thing.  I understand why this book has survived all these years it is really good but christ on toast the guy could out talk a teenager on a sugar binge....