What will I read next?

While I ponder what books I should add to my list for the second half of my goal (let's be honest, I have about 500 on my amazon wish list...), here's a pretty picture from an independent bookseller in Vermont, circa 6 months ago when it was cold as... you know what I mean.

52 Books in 52 Weeks - Halfway

WOO! Halfway! WOO! Seriously, I hit the halfway point a few weeks ago (I'm a little behind on my blog posts - I have about 4 book posts pending) but I'm pleased to say that is well before the midpoint of the year. I have faith that I can actually do this - read 52 books in a year.

At our midpoint, a recap:

1. Seeing by Jose Saramago (307 pages; 4 stars)
2. Grayson by Lynne Cox (153 pages; 3.5 stars)
3. Julie & Julia by Julie Powell (307 pages; 4 stars)
4. Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman (288 pages; 3.5 stars)
5. Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles (180 pages; 3.25 miles)
6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson (590 pages; 3.75 stars)
7. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris (257 pages; 3.25 stars)
8. Election by Tom Perrotta (200 pages; 3.5 stars)
9. God's Harvard by Hanna Rosin (296 pages; 4.5 stars)
10. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (296 pages; 2.75 stars)
11. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson (503 pages; 3.25 stars)
12. Kindness Revolution by Ed Horrell (209 pages; 3.75 stars)
13. The Women by T.C. Boyle (451 pages; 3.75 stars)
14. The Know It All by A.J. Jacobs (371 pages; 4 stars)
15. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (327 pages; 4.5 stars)
16. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (192 pages; 4 stars)
17. E Squared by Matt Beaumont (497 pages; 3.75 stars)
18. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (123 pages; 2.75 stars)
19. Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris (385 pages; 4 stars)
20. Drown by Junot Diaz (224 pages; 3.75 stars)
21. Friends Like These by Danny Wallace (416 pages; 4 stars)
22. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (217 pages; 3.5 stars)
23. Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett (320 pages; 3.25 stars)
24. Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy (256 pages; 4.25 stars)
25. Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett (257 pages; 4.5 stars)
26. Flesh and Blood by Michael Cunningham (461 pages; 4 stars)

Not a bad list, if I do say so myself. =)

Book 26 - Flesh and Blood by Michael Cunningham

Book 26

Flesh & Blood by Michael Cunningham

461 pages - 1 day

I know what you're thinking - one day?! Well, I had the fortune to be flying across the country on a non-stop flight so let's just say I had PLENTY of time to catch up on my reading.

Michael Cunningham, who you might know as the author of The Hours (one of my favorites), uses Flesh & Blood to tackle pretty much every problem, hurdle, and issue that could strike a family over a period of four generations. I loved The Hours but I didn't love A Home at the End of the World (it was good, just not great) so I started Flesh & Blood with a big question mark in my mind. If I'm honest, I'll admit that the question mark lingered throughout the entire reading... will I like it or won't I... despite the fact that I devoured the book in one (very long) sitting.

Regardless of my skepticism, I was drawn into the story of the families. It's amazing to me how often authors create a family dynamic that is entirely foreign when families are, ostensibly, something we all have in common. I don't need to identify with the particulars (who dies, who breaks up, who does what) but it seems to me that emotions and relationships are less unique that we think and that there should be at least something within a family story that rings true. Cunningham hits the nail on the head (most of the time) and depicts a family that is completely different from my own in terms of specifics but they feel the same. I identify with them, I pick sides and favorites.

The book is alternately stark and incredibly sad and hilarious - again, very true to the actual nature of families and interaction. I can't tell/don't know what Cunningham's family life was like growing up or as an adult but his writing gives you the feeling that he's very empathetic, that he would understand whatever family dynamic you threw at him; that he would find the beauty and the perversion in it.

I can't say that this book will make it into my top 5 or 10 but it affected me in a way that not all books do. Even though I was on a cross-country flight, I didn't want to dive into another book, I wanted to let the characters and the story linger with me, I actually wanted to hug the book (what? this doesn't happen to you?).

That can't be a bad thing.

Books 24 and 25

That's right dear readers, you're getting a two-fer today. I read the books separately of course (though one right after the other) but the two together only strengthen the stories and sentiment of each individually.

Book 24
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
256 pages in 3 days

Book 25
Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
257 pages in 3 days

Besides the fact that they're almost exactly the same length, these two books explore each authors' connection with Lucy Grealy's cancer (at a very young age) or the lasting effects of it.

Lucy tells her own story, focusing on her childhood and the endless parade of experiments that are done on her face. Lucy is diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma when she's very young - something like 9?- and has a third of her face removed. She struggles with recovery and then, for decades, with reconstruction. She suffers from warped viewpoints on beauty and love and sex that seem to eat away at her in a way the tumor never even approximates. Part of me kept wondering what her life would have been life, how she would have viewed love if her life had developed on an alternate path.

For Lucy, her face is forever the focus of the moment. It is the first thing at all times, with everything else in life (family, friends, men, poetry) coming in a distant second. She seems to see every experience in the light of her latest operation - is she on the mend or is she waiting for the cure?

Ann Patchett (one of my favorite authors) meets Lucy at the Iowa Writer's Workshop when they're both young and groundless. The two become fast friends and develop a relationship that speaks more to family than friends. There are ugly, terrible moments between them and startling truths that they seem to know about each other. They have a girlish love for each other which remains devoted and true despite all of the ups and downs they experience together.

Ann's portrait of Lucy (Truth and Beauty) is honest and painful. Patchett's novels are often palpably full of emotion and she always does a beautiful job of connecting you (okay, me) with the characters but her memoir goes above and beyond. You're there with her as she struggles to support Lucy and herself, as she struggles with success and fame and failure. My point of view is clearly biased (since I love her novels and I wasn't actually there) but her depiction of herself, of Lucy, and of the two of them together, rings very true.

These books are both fantastic on their own but read together, they're a force. Ann and Lucy compliment each other in story, writing style, etc. but their stories are made even stronger by the times when they don't mesh. The story is round and full and beautiful. Read them.

Book 23 - Bangkok Tattoo By John Burdett

Before I jump into the review of Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett, I thought I'd let you all in on a new development in the 52 books in 52 weeks goal - I've started tracking how long it takes me to read each book. So...

Book 23
Bangkok Tattoo By, John Burdett
320 pages - 5 days

Bangkok Tattoo ended up on my Amazon.com wish list (don't even get me started on how long that thing is) but who knows how it ended up there. When it also appeared on BookMooch, I figured I'd give it a shot.

Bangkok Tattoo is, apparently, a follow up to Burdett's Bangkok 8 (which I have not read). I can't speak for the first installment but Bangkok Tattoo is pretty entertaining. Very standard thriller material, keeps you guessing the whole time, very engaging... and then you forget pretty much everything a week later. I will say this - I remember the nature of the crimes in the book and they're pretty intense and creative - which I know is a weird word to use about a crime.

The characters aren't all one dimensional, though quite a few of the more minor characters are; and at least a few plot developments go unsolved but the book doesn't suffer too badly from those oversights. It's entertaining enough that I am interested in reading the first book - which the blogosphere has told me is superior to the one I've read.

Want more? Check out this interview with John Burdett.

**Intrepid Blogger Note: For those of you who don't yet know about BookMooch, check it out. It's AMAZING. For real, I love it. You sign up for an account and have the opportunity to send books out (to people who actually want to read them!) for points. You can then redeem those points for books you'd like to read. If you're interested in being BookMooch "friends", just let me know!**

Funspot Arcade Tournament!

For those of you who aren't aware, this weekend is the much hallowed "International Classic Game Tournament." It actually starts today and it's the 12th annual edition of the tournamet. If I didn't have... you know, a job and a life, I'd be there. Okay, it has more to do with vacation time but still...

I clearly need to hone my Dr. Mario skills a bit more before I take on the bigs but how glorious would it be to crush the record in the presence of the biggest video game nerds around?! (I say that with all honesty.)

Check out the Tournament Page at The American Classic Arcade Museum (you guessed it, that's Funspot NH too) - a bit out of date but I'm sure there will be updates soon.

Everyone is abuzz over at the ClassicArcadeGamesForum - no I don't belong to the forum (though in the interest of full disclosure, I am considering changing that)

I know Donkey Kong is the beallendall of video game crowns but let's be honest, I'm probably not going to beat those scores - one of the reasons I like Dr. Mario - but it's interesting to think about. What game would you want to beat?

Dr. Mario FAIL

Oh dear readers... it's been a long bit since I've opened the Dr. Mario Record Book. The high score for the arcade game remains the same (960,600 - thank you Nik Meeks) but holy moly, the Nintendo score has rocketed up the scale. 2,010,400 for Will p Nichols - my goodness, that certainly does give me something to shot for. It also adds Will p Nichols to my list of Google searches for later this afternoon?

Where do I stand in this whole fiasco?

I dusted off ye olde Nintendo controller this weekend (thanks again RB for your donation to the cause - borrowing your Nintendo for untold months) and settled in for a match. Me v. computer box.

Things were going along well, I had a tidy little score amassed by Level 12 - combos and drops and amazing (if I do say so myself) little plays that were causing the virii to die with satisfying speed.

But then, one slip up - that's how it always goes - and the pill was turned the wrong way, they were piling up. Horror upon horror, the game was over.

Level 12!? Level 12?! What is this? Amateur hour?

Lesson learned - don't get cocky. Even video game dreams need tending. Back on the training track.