BOOK CLUB CLASSICS!

I do love memoirs…   I’ve starred the titles I’ve read (*), questioned (?) the ones I started, but couldn’t finish, and exclaimed (!) the ones that are on my TBR list:

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photo credit: frozenchipmunk

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently polled college students on what they are reading… Check out the findings! Any surprises? I haven’t read Push, Eclipse, or Brown’s latest yet, but enjoyed the rest of this list. I was a bit surprised by Neffenegger’s staying power, but the recent movie release probably helped…

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Superfreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Precious (Push Movie Tie-in Edition) by Sapphire

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
 
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Push by Sapphire

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

FYI – The Chronicle’s list of best-selling books was compiled from information supplied by stores serving the following campuses: American U., Beloit College, Brown U., Case Western Reserve U., Drew U., Florida State U., George Washington U., Georgetown U., Georgia State U., Harvard U., James Madison U., Johns Hopkins U., Kent State U., Pennsylvania State U. at University Park, San Francisco State U., Stanford U., Tulane U., U. at Buffalo, U. of California at Berkeley, U. of Florida, U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U. of Miami, U. of New Hampshire, U. of North Dakota, U. of North Texas, U. of Northern Colorado, U. of Oklahoma at Norman, U. of Nebraska at Lincoln, Vanderbilt U., Washington State U., Washington U. in St. Louis, Wayne State U., Williams College, Winthrop College, and Xavier U. (Ohio).

The Short Girls by Bich Minh Nguyen

Publication date/ Length: 2009 / 292 pages

Synopsis (from the jacket cover): Van and Linny Luong are tempermental opposites. Diligent, unassuming Van has found her calling as an immigration lawyer in the midwestern suburbs, but no one knows that her picture-perfect marriage has suddenly evaporated…

First line: “After Miles left, Van began checking the security alarm every time she entered the house.”

Review:  I’m not sure how I found this lovely first novel, but I’m very happy to pass along my recommendation to others!  Short Girls is the story of two sisters whose personalities are quite different and, as a result, they are not close at all.  The older sister has always been quite driven and is now an immigration attorney in a problematic “perfect” marriage.  The younger sister is accustomed to trading in on her looks, floating from job to job, seeking independence at all costs.  What the sisters share is a quirky, difficult father trying to bridge the gap between his home country of Vietnam and his chosen home, America.

The joy of this novel is the deep and interesting characterization.  Nguyen’s prose is very readable, very effortless, and her first novel made short work of a snowy cabin afternoon.  When I finished, I realized that I could easily recommend this novel to most of my female friends.  The sisters have wide appeal and I finished the novel hoping for a sequel, sad to see Van and Linny leave my life as I turned the last page.

Unique to my own reading, I also loved that the setting was in Michigan and Chicago and that the girls were my contemporaries.  Although I’m not the daughter of first generation immigrants — and my sister and I are very close — I could relate to the cultural references intimately and think that everyone would relate to the sisters’ quest for identity and loving, sustaining relationships.

So, I strongly recommend this lovely novel!  Anyone else found it yet?

 Diane —  Congratulations!!

photo credit: kevindooley

We’re looking forward to a week of R and R in Arizona next week — I’ve packed six books!  Probably not enough   Here’s a sampling of what’s new in the world of books!

• Great article for fans of Eggers’ Zeitoun
• NBCC winners announced
• Book Club Themes for April
• What books are getting reviewed
• March Madness Tournament of Books begins!