Summer Bucket List Item No. 3 (Kind of): Book 4 of 26

Weeeelllll, I spent the better part of August on the road, so I kind of had to replace reading on the beach with reading on an airplane. Either way, I got my fourth of 26 books read (I'm hoping for a laid-back winter, apparently).

My fourth book was Our House in the Last World by Oscar Hijuelos.

The Details
This is Hijuelos' first novel (his second novel, "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love," won a Pulitzer). This book, like many of his, focuses on a Cuban family in New York City. The Santinio's moved from Cuba to New York in the 1940s, and the story follows them through their life - first focusing on the mother and her pleasant childhood in Cuba, her romance with the father and their decision to move to America, and then the young lives of their two sons Horacio and Hector. It's a story about immigration, a story about family and a story about American culture in the 1950s. And, equally important, it's a story about longing for another life.

My Take
I think one of my favorite things about Hijuelos' writing is his ability to tell a story in a way that's both beautiful and terribly sad. A mother who longs for her life in the last world, constantly comparing what she no longer has to what she used to have. A younger son who's haunted by memories of a country and life he's never known. A hard-working father who struggles with juggling American life and familial responsibilities. An elder son who does everything he can to get away. The American dream put into perspective.

It's not a fast-moving book but a book that lingers with you. Words and scenes that stick with you and that you come back to a few days later. One of my favorite parts, toward the end:

"I did not turn out to be a bad man, and it was because Pop, deep down, really loved the family. If he had hated us I would have burned out. But we went beyond survival. He gave me something that was simple. I keep saying it, the ability to feel love. And having that makes it easy to give."

What I Liked
I like that Hijuelos so eloquently paints the picture of his characters. From chapter to chapter, character to character, you envision what everyone looks like. And you relate to them. Good people, not-so-good people.  There's something about each one that you can appreciate.

What I Thought Could Have Been Better
This probably isn't really a reflection on Hijuelos so much as a reflection on my patience....it's a book that you can fairly easily put down and come back to like an old friend. Each time, it was just there waiting for me where I left off, and it didn't matter if two days or two weeks had passed. I could read five pages and suddenly decide I wanted to do something else, and sure enough, it would be there waiting right where I left off when I came back to it. Again, that's not really a bad thing. I just never felt a sense of urgency.

My Takeaways
Life isn't always easy. Now, I'm sure that comes as the biggest understatement of all time. But, I think it's something we sometimes forget. Or we think things are harder than they really are. It's good to have a little perspective every once in a while.

And, in another complete genre switch, next up is The Last Single Woman in America.

3 of 26: The Jihad Next Door

I'm like a turtle, slowly crawling along on my '26 books in 2011' journey. Slow and steady wins the race...right?

My third book was The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in the Age of Terror by Dina Temple-Raston. As ye faithful readers will remember, I saw Dina Temple-Raston speak at the University of St. Thomas last year, subsequently purchased her book and finally finished reading it a little over a week ago (even more timely given the May 1 Osama bin Laden announcement).

The Details
NPR counterterrorism correspondent Dina Temple Raston provides an inside look at the case of the "Lackawanna Six" - six Muslim American kids who grew up in the town of Lackawanna, N.Y., near Buffalo and traveled to Afghanistan in the spring of 2001 to attend a jihadi camp. The six young men were arrested on the first anniversary of Sept. 11, considered to be a sleeper cell of homegrown terrorists plotting the next attack.

Temple Raston traveled from Yemen to Afghanistan to Pakistan to Lackawanna in an effort to share this story, offering perspectives from the families of the young men, the FBI agents involved in the case and others with connections to the case. Throughout, she focuses on this idea of 'rough justice' following the Sept. 11 attacks and how that day forever altered the American justice system.

My Take
The Jihad Next Door serves a valuable purpose: it makes you think. Were the boys would-be terrorists? Would they have committed the next terrorist attack on American soil? Did they merely think they were strengthening their Muslim faith in a time before most Americans even knew what jihad was or who Bin Laden was? Was the American justice system - and the media for that matter - guilty of exploiting this case to make it look like a counterterrorism victory?

No matter what side you ultimately fall on, Temple Raston presents facts and details that expand your critical thinking set, opening your mind to different perspectives.

What I Liked
I liked that Temple Raston truly told a story. One of the hallmarks of a good reporter (from my perspective) is the story-telling ability. To bring the people, the facts and the events to life. From the very first pages of the prologue, "Mukhtar's Big Wedding," readers find themselves in a hotel room in Yemen, where the first of the six men was arrested.

She also does a great job of setting up the key players - Lackawanna and its roots, a look at the local Yemeni community, an understanding of life in Yemen, brief histories of key law enforcement officials and the attorneys of the accused.

What I Thought Could Have Been Better
The only thing I can think of that would have made the book easier to follow is a timeline of key events. There were a few instances where I got confused about when things took place and would've appreciated an easy reference point.

My Takeaways
As was the case with the first book I read, I read The Jihad Next Door with a slight feeling of regret that I hadn't really been paying attention when the Lackawanna case first came to light. I don't really remember watching the news and hearing about the details in real-time. Instead, here I am in 2011, getting an in-depth look at something that happened nearly 10 years ago now. It's like I'm in my own mini history class, learning about the events from the first part of this century. At least, it's an interesting journey.

2 of 26: Friday Night Knitting Club

Slowly but surely seems to be the name of this game...

My second of 26 books for 2011 is The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. While I'm pleased to have completed my second book while on a flight home from NYC last week, I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I did so while tears streamed down my face. Yup, it's a book that tugs at the heartstrings alright. With that:

The Details
Friday Night Knitting Club is about a single mom named Georgia, and her pre-teen daughter Dakota, making their way through life and all it has to offer in the big city. Georgia is the owner of a relatively successful knitting shop in New York City, and the story follows her and the surprising friendships she forms with a group of women who come to her shop every Friday night as part of a knitting club. The story also brings in some antagonistic characters, including Georgia's ex-boyfriend and father of her child, James, and an estranged high school best friend named Cat.

My Take
As I called out above, this book did a great job of getting the old waterworks going (though not too difficult in my case, since I tend to overly relate to or empathize with characters...both real and imaginary). That's one thing I both like and dislike at the same time. On the one hand, I love being able to relate to characters and feel what they're going through, but on the other hand, I sometimes feel that it's unnecessary to cause your readers that much emotional turmoil while reading your books (hello, Jodi Picoult and My Sister's Keeper...arguably the saddest book I've ever read).

Despite some of its emotional moments, The Friday Night Knitting Club is touching and heart-warming. It drew me in from the start, and I found myself wanting to read more every night. The true hallmarks of a good book.

What I Liked
My favorite part about the book was the time Jacobs' dedicated to character development. I love when authors shift perspectives to offer thoughts from other key characters and really delve into them as people. Throughout the story, I became invested in all of the characters individually, not just Georgia and Dakota.

What I Thought Could Have Been Better
Without giving away too much, I'll just note that as it got closer to the end, I wanted things to slow down a bit.

My Takeaways
1. Maybe I should take up a hobby like knitting.
2. Never underestimate the power of friendship.

Switching gears entirely, the third book will be The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in an Age of Terror.

First Book Review: I LOVE A MAN IN UNIFORM (1 of 26)

In one of my first posts of the New Year, I made a public pledge to read 26 books in 2011. That's right. Twenty-six books. In three hundred and sixty-five days. One book every two weeks. Easy, right?

Well...I knew from the start it was going to be aggressive, especially considering I maybe read three total in 2010. But, I was inspired by my love of reading and desire to do more of it this year. So here I am in the last full week of January about to report out on my first book...And realizing I need to start bringing my A game.

Regardless, first up: I LOVE A MAN IN UNIFORM by Lily Burana.

The lead sentence on the back cover reads: "An all-American love story about a former punk-rock stripper and her unlikely marriage to an officer in the U.S. Army." Who wouldn't be intrigued?

The book was recommended to me by a friend at work. She shared a great column that Burana had written for the Modern Love section of The New York Times on Veterans Day, and suggested I take it a step further and read the full memoir.

As I think about how I want to approach the reviews for each of my 26 books this year, I think I may try to follow a somewhat standard format. Rather than detailing out every aspect of the book (because that would take all the fun out of it for you if you actually decide to read it!), I'm going to try to focus on providing a brief description, my take, one thing I liked, one thing I thought could have been better and key takeaways for each book. With that...

The Deets
I LOVE A MAN IN UNIFORM walks readers through the love story between Lily and her officer husband, Mike. From Lily's point of view, we learn about their first meeting in a cemetery, the progression of their relationship and decision to marry. And then we get to go along on her very personal journey of adjusting to military culture, struggling through her husband's deployment and overcoming the depression that threatens her marriage.

My Take
It was lovely. Touching and honest, and in some instances, painful.

What I Liked
I love that Burana brings wit and style to every single page. Despite dealing with some very difficult issues, she can still title chapters with "Embrace the Suck?" or "Simple as Alpha Bravo Charlie" - titles that make you smile and maybe even giggle to yourself a bit. I also like that she infuses some of her former self into the story. The contrast between her life as a stripper and her life as a military wife is like night and day, and yet, she relates many of her present day experiences back to her past in an intriguing and thought-provoking way.

What I Thought Could Have Been Better
Sometimes, I couldn't tell if I should treat each individual chapter as a separate story or if I should be reading it as if in chronological order. It kind of bugged me when I'd think one chapter was a natural progression into the next and then it wasn't. Really a small gripe overall.

My Takeaways*
At one point, Burana reflects on how deeply the news about Abu Ghraib in April 2004 affected her. I read this section with a keen interest. Not because I had a strong reaction to her sentiment, but more so because I realized I was only vaguely aware. Sure, I remember hearing names like Lynndie England and I recall the drama that surrounded Donald Rumsfeld (I was a PR major in a Journalism department afterall). But, immediately after reading about Abu Ghraib in the book, I went to the Internet in search of more information because I felt embarrassingly uninformed. It made me reflect on where I was in my life in April 2004, and where I am today. With news and current events being such an important part of my life today, I can't imagine having only vague awareness of such a pivotal event in our nation's history. I guess that's one key difference between me as a college senior and me today.

Next up: The Friday Night Knitting Club.

*I realize that I may not always learn something in every book I read or walk away with profound thoughts, but when I do, I'll be sure to report.

Let's Do This: 26 Books in 2011

It's true. I've become addicted to Netflix. My DVD queue has ballooned to 265 titles, and my instant queue isn't much better with 244. I add new movies and shows every day (even when I don't have time to watch any), so the list isn't going down anytime soon. I'm now the perfect poster child for the service: FB statuses about it, word of mouth advertising to family and friends, debates about whether Dexter or Weeds is better...

And so here I find myself at the start of 2011 realizing that while my love affair with Netflix still runs strong, I've let my true love and treasured pastime - reading - fall to the wayside. I used to be able to finish an entire Jane Green book in one sitting. I would never see a movie before reading the book. And I'm the kind of girl who would pass up a night out with friends for the last 100 pages of Harry Potter.

Earlier today I found a post from Arik Hanson about his (and others') challenge to read 26 books in a year. I've decided to join them, and these are the 26 books I plan to read this year:

1. I LOVE A MAN IN UNIFORM by Lily Burana (currently reading; was recommended by a colleague)

2. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (on loan from and recommended by a friend)

3. The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in an Age of Terror by Dina Temple-Raston (I saw Dina speak at an event last year and was inspired to purchase her book)

4. Our House in the Last World by Oscar Hijuelos (Mr. Ives' Christmas was on the reading list in one of my college English classes, and I've also read The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love and Empress of the Splendid Season. Thought I'd give his first novel a try, too.)

5. The Last Single Woman in America by Cindy Guidry (impulse purchase at used bookstore)

6. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald (because it's his first and you've gotta have a couple classics on the list)

7. Bait and Switch by Barbara Ehrenreich (this has been on my list ever since I read her first book, Nickel and Dimed)

8. The Choice by Nicholas Sparks (fluff)

9. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (the movie was creepy, but I've heard the book is good and it's been sitting on the shelf for a few years now)

10. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (every year I tell myself I'm going to get through this one; now I'm accountable for it)

11. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (because it's important and about making the world a better place)

12. The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich (Minnesota author and a gift from a friend)

13. Chocolat by Joanne Harris (I recently watched the movie and then remembered I own and still need to read the book)

14. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore (I also saw him speak last year at a client event and was inspired to read his book)

15. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling (because I miss HP)

16. Staggerford by John Hassler (Minnesota author and set in Minnesota)

17. WAR by Sebastian Junger (just watched Restrepo)

18. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan (it should make me think twice about both health and nutrition)

19. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (at the top of all the 'best of' lists in 2010)

20. The Shack by William Young (because people still haven't stopped talking about it)

21. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (another one that has topped many lists)

22. My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands by Chelsea Handler (I've heard her books are hilarious, so I've decided to start with the first one)

23. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barrack Obama (while we're a long way away from the 2004 DNC, I still want to take time to read the president's second book)

24. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis (one that topped the non-fiction lists in 2010)

25. love the one you're with by Emily Giffin (another guilty pleasure, plus the movie based on her first book, Something Borrowed, comes out this year!)

26. Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays by David Sedaris (I've finally decided to give his books a try, too, and will start from the beginning)

So that's it. Twenty-six books in 2011. And good blogging fodder.

What will you be reading this year?