My Friend Leonard

I picked up My Friend Leonard by James Frey a few weeks ago in Dubai. It caught my eye because I recently read his first book, A Million Little Pieces.

Here's the thing. This book is horrible.

I'm sure you remember the hubbub over these books. Frey was endorsed by Oprah for A Million Little Pieces... that is until the Smoking Gun revealed that the majority of the book is absolute junk. Still, it was fun to read the book and try to decipher the real from the fake.

By the time I read My Friend Leonard, the novelty had worn off. Before the book begins a note explains to the reader that hefty chunks of the book were made up. Not the best way to start a memoir.

So here's the story:

James is just being released from his fictional jail time. Unfortunately, he's a day too late to prevent his girlfriend from committing suicide. (That's honestly not a spoiler). The rest of the book is James putting his life back together with the help of Leonard, his mobster friend from rehab. James earns money illegally and then decides to be an honest man... trying to make his living as a writer. After a move to Los Angeles James makes an attempt at filmmaking.

Doesn't really sound that interesting, does it? Yeah, it's not. In addition to reading like straight bull****, some of the sentences were actually painful. I could just imagine Frey reading these lines with deep intensity... gross. An example:

"The pain I feel the sadness and sorrow and grief that are with me all day every second in every breath and beat of my heart in every thought in every step in everything I see and hear there is nothing but pain and sadness and sorrow and grief and I know drinking will make it go away."

Yep, that's one sentence.

Recommendation: Not.

The Other Hand / Little Bee

Last summer a few friends came through town for a visit and waffle sandwiches. Quickly the conversation turned to my friend's new book. Naturally, I asked, "What's it about?" "I can't tell you" she very quickly replied, "but you have to read it." It seems that the editor believed so strongly in the unfolding of the story that she requested readers not spoil it for others.

Several months later I came across The Other Hand by Chris Cleave while browsing the bookshop. I flipped to the back and read, "We don't want to tell you what happens in this book." Immediately I thought of that summer day eating our waffles at a picnic table and my friend's very mysterious book recommendation.

After a little research I discerned that indeed it was the same book only under a different title. It was published as Little Bee in North America and The Other Hand worldwide. (Why?)

Since I can't give you a recap of the story... here's a bit more from the back of the book from where I left off:

"It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it so we will just say this:

This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there...

Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your frinds about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds."

So there you have it.

Recommendation: When you're ready for a quick engaging read that just might possibly give you night sweats, let this be it.

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters

I've suddenly found that my reading resources are somewhat... limited. Not only are books expensive in this bit of the world, the title selection is lacking. Since I've kept track of the books I've read over the past few years, I've learned that I have quite the eclectic reading habit. I might be reading a biography one day and children's literature the next. Not having such a wide variety to choose from led me to the classics section while I was looking for a book to bring with me to Thailand. Thankfully I noticed a new-to-me title in the petite J. D. Salinger section... and that's how I found, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters.

This publication is bundled with another short story, Seymour: An Introduction... but I won't mention that here.

Raise High is another story detailing the life of members of the Glass family. A family whose dinner table I would love to join, for the record. This time Buddy is telling about Seymour's wedding. Buddy attends the wedding and later finds himself in a stuffy car with the bride's aunt, the angry matron of honor and her husband, and a small man in a dashing top hat. What an uncomfortable place to be for the brother of the absent groom! You see, Seymour never arrived...

The bulk of the story is comprised of the time spent in the car and the intrigue is housed in the question of whether the party will discover Buddy's connection to the groom... a fact he has skillfully sidestepped.

As with all of Salinger's writing, I was immediately captivated. I appreciated being let in on Buddy's "little joke" of a concealed identity and almost forgot the fictitious nature of the Glass family, in general.

And I can't close without mentioning Salinger's death just days before my reading of the selection. I didn't learn of the news until after returning from Thailand but was saddened altogether to hear it.

Recommendation: Fans of Salinger will be delighted but start with Nine Stories if you haven't yet.

Books of 2009

Well, I didn't do it.

I think I had to read 80+ books in 2009 in order to meet my standing resolution: Read more books than the previous year.

I only finished 61.

But I did pack up my life, move to the other side of the world, and start a new job, so... can we call it even?

Here are my books for the year:

1. The Kid in the Red Jacket by Barbara Park (113)
2. Looking for Bapu by Anjali Banerjee (162)
3. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (232)
4. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (568)
5. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (485)
6. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (134)
7. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (116)
8. Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke (209)
9. Rules by Cynthia Lord (200)
10. Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker (150)
11. The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman (146)
12. The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin (134)
13. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (335)
14. A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32 by Joan W. Blos (144)
15. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart (440)
16. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (217)
17. Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (230)
18. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (161)
19. Anchored In Love: An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash by John Carter Cash (197)
20. Coraline by Neil Gaiman (194)
21. The Mysteries of Pittsburg by Michael Chabon (336)
22. The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry (174)
23. Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp by C. D. Payne (498)
24. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney (217)
25. Foreskin's Lament by Shalom Auslander (310)
26. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (128)
27. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (297)
28. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (307)
29. Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (244)
30. Tracks by Robyn Davidson (254)
31. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (270)
32. The Giraffe, and the Pelly, and Me by Roald Dahl (80)
33. The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women by Jessica Valenti (216)
34. On Subbing: The First Four Years by Dave Roche (121)
35. Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman (80)
36. Rock On: An Office Power Ballad by Dan Kennedy (224)
37. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (217)
38. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (190)
39. Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs (197)
40. The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs (332)
41. The Kid: An Adoption Story by Dan Savage (246)
42. A Reenchanted World: The Quest for a New Kinship with Nature by James William Gibson (254)
43. Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah (360)
44. The Awful Truths: Famous Myths, Hilariously Debunked by Brian Thomsen (246)
45. 40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, OyxContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania by Matthew Chapmen (288)
46. Culture Smart! UAE by John Walsh (164)
47. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (216)
48. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
49. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (262)
50. In America by Susan Sontag (387)
51. Q & A by Vikas Swarup (318)
52. Magical Thinking: True Stories by Augusten Burroughs (268)
53. The Twenty One Balloons by William Pene Dubois (180)
54. The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin (206)
55. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (444)
56. Super Sunday in Newport: Notes From My First Year in Town by Matt Love (157)
57. Simple Guide to Islam by Neal Robinson (120)
58. The Southern Gates of Arabia by Freya Stark (237)
59. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (216)
60. The Wave by Morton Rhue (107)
61. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (209)