OSR: long overdue catchup

I don't know which is more embarrassing as an avid reader: not posting any book reviews since last September or having only three to post. Having this baby and his ham hocks around pushes reading down on my priority list a bit, which really, is totally OK. I still read lots, just shorter things, like news articles, essays, blog posts, and snippets out of parenting books.

I came woefully short of my 2012 reading goal, like 20-percent short. But what can I say? Those baby legs are too delicious to ignore. (The funny thing is that when I made my 2012 goal, I knew that I was pregnant, and so I thought that 35 books was cutting it down for me. False, Charlotte. You solidly overshot that one.) When Goodreads asked me about my 2013 reading goal, I'll admit to considering not even making one. But then I thought, Good heavens, that's absurd. Of course you'll make a reading goal. So I did. And I think that this one is much more attainable and realistic for me: 20 books. That's half of my pre-baby goal of two years ago. But 20 books it is.

I'm optimistic about making this one, but I won't promise you that it will happen. Who knows what this babe's legs have in store for me this year?

And without further ado, my remaining three 2012 book reviews.
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I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Meh. Nora is a good writer, and that's what she had going for her in these essays more than the topics. I'd like to read one of her other essay compilations that focuses on a different subject.

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a delightful book for Halloween. It was eerie and spooky but not gory or icky, and it was a quick read to boot. A few times I even got the chills. I was quite pleased with my spooky book experience this year.




View all my reviews The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is certainly not for everyone. Know going in that it contains more than its fair share of language in addition to sexual content. (The sexual content is concentrated at the beginning.)

This book is character-driven, and Rowling's characters are full and complex and dimensional. This is a book about people and their relationships with each other and with themselves.

The Casual Vacancy is about a man whose death sends a ripples throughout a town and its inhabitants. It's about an unloved girl; an abused son; a devious truant; an unhappy wife; a misunderstood daughter; a negligent junkie; a genuine social worker; a resentful doctor.

I don't know if I could necessarily recommend this book to someone, because I'd have to give several caveats. It's not uplifting, but when I finished it I came away wanting to be more compassionate and aware of others, because the seemingly small things in our lives have a significant effect, whether that effect be edifying or devastating. I liked this book, but for different reasons from what I expected.

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