the kite runner

OK, I'm quite late with this review. I know this book is so last year or the year before, but I wanted to review it anyway. First, don't go into it thinking, "ah, now I shall learn all about Afghanistan and its rich culture." You will skim the surface of Afghani culture through the eyes of a decidedly naive narrator, but I came away from it thinking its plot and characters could have come out of any country with a somewhat strict caste or class system. Although the plot was quite interesting, I have to say there is a fairly predictable surprise ending ala Oprah book club that I wasn't keen on.
I just realized all of my previous posts have been sans capital letters. I guess over the last 6 weeks I've changed somehow and now feel I must obey all grammar rules.

kitchen by banana yoshimoto

Just finished this book, and I always enjoy it, especially the dream sequence, but it really does read like it's translated: a little klunky. I can't decide if it's an especially quirky or austere writing style or an imprecise translator. At any rate, I think it--and Midnight Shadow, which is often published together with Kitchen--is a interesting examination of grief and an honest portrayal of one person's interior life.

But oh, how it makes me crave katsudon and Japanese curry, which, incidentally, is much more flavorful than Chinese curry, but not quite as wonderful as Indian curry.

rosie thomas

Oh dear, first it was Natalie Merchant, then Beth Orton, now it's Rosie Thomas...brilliant female vocalists with the occasional sad song and a cool clothing aesthetic just TAKE OVER my life when I find them. Anyway, she has a lovely voice and I really recommend her. (click on the title of this post to visit her site and listen to a few mp3 files)

My Eyeball Just Fell Out of Its Socket...What Should I Do?

To find out, click here.

garbageland

If you've every been curious about where your 4.5 lbs/day of garbage goes, or the stuff in your recycling bin for that matter, Garbageland is definitely worth reading. It's actually kind of shocking to realize that we haven't really figured out a way to obliterate our garbage. I mean, we are basically doing what we've been doing for centuries: burying or burning garbage. Some is processed for reuse through recycling or composting, but most of it is still "tipped" into a landfill, where it will inevitably leach into the ground and pollute the water and soil. After reading this, I am reminded of how important it is to stem the flow of garbage at the beginning: the point of purchase. Instead of buying individual-sized packages of things, we can buy in bulk. I guess that's my goal for now: buy things with minimal packaging and bring my own packaging (grocery bags, for example) whenever I can. And stop buying things that I just don't need in the first place.

bo bo yeh yeh

Super Q, my three year old, is becoming a very inventive wordsmith. today he started calling me "bo bo yeh yeh" and I have yet to find a source or even a context for this. in Chinese, bo means throat and yeh-yeh means old grandpa. Super Q also invented an imaginary friend, Woe-Woe, who actually is chinese. Q is totally obsessed with Chinese people; this was, i think, brought on by about 2500 viewings of Mulan.

Flash, my 6 year old, is very much into African Americans. Some of his good friends at school are African American, and he tries so hard to speak like them. It's kinda funny, this very skinny, very white lil tyke trying to sound so cool.

like a wig in the wind...

just when you think you'll never see a wig twirling down an arterial Houston street, well, your luck changes. yesterday was blustery, and while driving home from the grocery store, I spotted a wig of the brown curly variety blowing around on Hwy 6 here in Houston. every car that passed it sent it spinning in the air and sent me into uncontrollable laughter. wish I had a photo to post...

galaxy 

saving fish from drowning

just finished saving fish from drowning by amy tan. it chronicles the experience of 11 American tourists kidnapped in myanmar; their journey there, their experience living with their captors, and their rescue,e tc. it's kind of long, and i plowed on through, but i have to say it doesn't measure up to her other work. the characters are shallow, and seem to be without believable emotion. the ending is predictable. one more note on the characters: too many! it was difficult to keep track of the many personal histories and personal entanglements of each one of the tourists in the book. i was actually missing the strong women with dark secrets left behind in China theme that runs through practically every other book by tan.

the smell of my house

today was a cooking day. i made my sister's fantastic recipe --with 2 pages of ingredients! --for chicken tikka masala, and then a batch of chocolate chip pecan cookies. the combination of the two is a not unpleasant, slightly burnt cumin/coriander/cookie kind of scent. it was blowing in hot and strong through the bathroom vent just now.

a box of matches by nicholson baker

I just read this book for the second time, and i really like it. it is about 20 early-morning musings from a middle-aged man during the winter time, likely in New England (fiction). it mostly deals with the minutae of this man's life and his sometimes very random thoughts, but is beautifully written and (hooray) positive; nothing too tragic in it. actually, it is not unlike a well-edited blog, full of daily events, memories, and the occasional profound thought.

i tend to gravitate to very sad books that haunt me for months. one, the time traveler's wife (see post below) truly depressed me for several weeks. i bought a copy and then, realizing that i should not have this book in my house, i sent it to my sister. hopefully she will fare better with it.

against breakfast food

I haven't been a breakfast person for years, and i think I've figured out the phenomenon: breakfast food is not worth it. i'm much better off with a bowl of chicken herb ravioli or pizza or even (I know, insert *shudder* here) a tuna sandwich than any sort of bread product with syrup on top or processed grain shape with sugar on top or granola bar. (caveat: vanilla flavored miniwheats are excellent any time of day). I just gots to have me protein in the top o' the morning.

aetna=evil

don't, I repeat, DO NOT, call your HMO to ask any kind of important information. why? because the "person" answering the phone is really a robot whose sole purpose is to obfuscate simple information, such as the answer to, "is _____ covered?" much better off finding the .pdf version of your plan info and NEVER talking to a live person, ever. ok, now I need some chocolate and a diet coke.

hi-larious Japan travelogue

oh, seth stevenson is one funny man. If you've been to Japan or if you haven't; if you even know where Japan is on the map, you need to read this; 5 full days' worth of stellar humor and crazy fun in Japan, as seen through the eyes of mr. stevenson. then go to the archive and ready everything he's written, esp. Ad Report Card, and laugh yourself out of the cheeto-induced coma you've been in. (I've been in? Whatever.)

brokeback mountain

ok, I don't have a problem with this movie existing, but I saw the trailer 3 times last night, and if I'm not mistaken, it is being touted as a love story [no problem there; it is a love story], but ALL of the clips involving 2 people hugging/touching were between the cowboys and their wives. I think that's a bit misleading. Some poor granny out there is going to think it's a good ol' fashioned western love story and be a little shocked, I think.

the time traveler's wife

i read this book about a month ago. i can't get it out of my head. for a quasi-science fiction novel, it certainly packs an emotional punch. [spoiler------> the idea of knowing that your loved one will certainly return to you, if only for a few hours, after their death, is simultaneously chilling and exhilirating. the cruel, slow, wait for that day is heartbreaking to think about.

it's up, new, uncharted

it's up, new, uncharted. it's a place for me to vent so I don't end up like charlotte perkins gilman.