Book List A to Z- Firefighters

This week's Book List is all about Firefighters!

From books that smoulder to outright sizzle, you will find a book here to tame your inner book nerd.

Report from Engine Co. 82 by Dennis Smith

Under His Command (Six Alarm Sexy #1) by Kristine Cayne

Fire Lover: A True Story by Joseph Wambaugh

In Too Deep by Kathryn Shay

The Last Men Out: Life on the Edge at Rescue 2 Firehouse by Tom Downey

On Fire by Larry Brown

Vertical Burn by Earl Emerson

Hot Head (Hot Head #1) by Damon Suede

And, of course:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Can you recommend books about firefighters or one you want to try?

Review #26: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Publisher: Knopf

Format: Paperback

Pages: 607

Goodreads Summary:

Japan's most highly regarded novelist now vaults into the first ranks of international fiction writers with this heroically imaginative novel, which is at once a detective story, an account of a disintegrating marriage, and an excavation of the buried secrets of World War II.

In a Tokyo suburb a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife's missing cat. Soon he finds himself looking for his wife as well in a netherworld that lies beneath the placid surface of Tokyo. As these searches intersect, Okada encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists: a psychic prostitute; a malevolent yet mediagenic politician; a cheerfully morbid sixteen-year-old-girl; and an aging war veteran who has been permanently changed by the hideous things he witnessed during Japan's forgotten campaign in Manchuria.

Gripping, prophetic, suffused with comedy and menace, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a tour de force equal in scope to the masterpieces of Mishima and Pynchon.

Three books in one volume: The Thieving Magpie, Bird as Prophet, The Birdcatcher. This translation by Jay Rubin is in collaboration with the author.

Review:

I finished this book like a month ago but it has been really challenging putting my thoughts on this book into words.  I finally decided to just write something!

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is off-beat, confusing, beautiful, at turns funny and depressing, both simple and complex, and a bit dystopian. 

As you can see, it's pretty hard to describe!

First, the story is just about his ordinary life after quitting his job that he didn't particularly enjoy.  Then, his cat goes missing.  Then, his wife, Kumiko, goes missing.  Then, things become even more odd.  Plus, there's like eight characters, a few of which don't even show up for 400 pages.  There's even a plot line that pretty much exists only to serve as a metaphor.  I liked the vivid imagery and the way it invites you to question your life and the universe.

While the writing was beautiful, much of the story could have been tidied up, and that's considering that apparently 200 pages of the novel were cut out for the English-language version.  My main problem with the book, however, is that everything was wrapped up in a neat little package.  It seemed like a pat explanation, if you will.  It wasn't convincing.  It was like Murakami wasn't sure how to wrap up all of the different subplots together so he just threw it all in the same box and put a bow on it.  I was hoping I was going to at least be surprised after sticking with the massive tome, but instead I was left feeling robbed of time more than anything.  

This is not just because I don't like Murakami, because I enjoyed Norwegian Wood, but this book, to me, fell short of my expectations.  Perhaps my expectations were higher than they would be if the novel had been shorter.  While that is probably unfair, I personally feel that if I am going to read about one man for 600 pages, it better knock me off my feet.  Plus, after reading another Murakami novel, I was expecting, or at least hoping, to like it about the same amount.  When I read the last sentence I remember thinking, seriously?  

Now with that said, there are interesting themes of desire, suffering, fate, and obsession.  The reader is given the opportunity to make profound conclusions about these and I enjoyed that part the most, I believe.  I also found the book to be highly quotable (I've included some favorites below).  

All in all, it was not my favorite book and I wish I had gotten more out of it than I did.

"Even now I can recall each tiny detail with such terrible clarity. I feel I am remembering events that happened yesterday. I can hold the sand and the grass in my hands; I can even smell them.  I can see the shapes of the clouds in the sky. I can feel the dry, sandy wind against my cheeks.  By comparison, it is the subsequent events of my life that seem like delusions on the borderline of dream and reality."

"Once it has taken root in your heart, hatred is the most difficult thing in the world to shake off."

“I don't know -- maybe the world has two different kinds of people, and for one kind the world is this completely logical, rice pudding place, and for the other it's all hit-or-miss macaroni gratin.” 

“I'd be smiling and chatting away, and my mind would be floating around somewhere else, like a balloon with a broken string.” (I like this one because my A.D.D. mind is sooo like this.)




This Book Qualifies for these Challenges:

Cover Discover: Yellow

Today's Cover Discover is all about bright, stand out yellow covers.  Yellow is my favorite color because it is bright and cheery and optimistic.  Felt like a good color to search for in covers. :)

   

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Watchmen by Alan Moore

  

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

  

How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely

Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White by Frank H. Wu

  

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk

  

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Which of these book covers is your favorite?

What are some books with yellow covers you can think of?

Comforting Books to Read When You're Feeling Down

This bulldog demonstrates what a funk looks like.

Everyone gets lonely or depressed at some point in life.  Maybe you lost your job to the economy.  Maybe you are going through a break-up.  Maybe your health is in decline.  Maybe your kids are driving you crazy and you’re wondering why you have so many, lol.  There’s a whole range of reasons for us to be in a funk.

One thing I like to do when I am feeling lonely or sad is curl up with a comfort read.  Just like turning to comfort foods, such as mac & cheese or your grandma’s banana bread, a comforting or uplifting read can be just the ticket for kicking you out of a funk.

My suggestions: 

1.    CLASSICS:  Sometimes reading the classics are a comfort.  I’m not talking about diving into Moby-Dick or War and Peace when all you want to do is take it easy and relax into a book.  I am talking about the books you read that feel like coming home.  To me, that book is Pride & Prejudice.  Austen’s famous novel about the Bennets and Mr. Darcy never fail to bring me solace when I need it most.  Other satisfying comfort classics to reach for include Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. 

2.    POETRY: Sometimes calm, rhythmic verse is a soothing way to relax from your stresses.  Its cadence can lull you into a meditative state if you allow it.  Some great collections to try include A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, Notes on Love and Courage by Hugh Prather, and A Night Without Armor by Jewel.

3.    GRAPHIC NOVELS: Pictures with your book? Yes, please.  How comforting to read a good story but also have the children’s book quality of pictures! It’s a win-win.  Try out Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, or Blankets by Craig Thompson.

4.   HUMOR: You're sad and you need some cheering up.  What better way to do that than with humorous essays?  Laugh until your sides hurt.  Gain perspective on a situation.  I suggest The Funny Thing is… by Ellen DeGeneres, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? ByMindy Kaling, and I’ll Mature When I’m Dead by Dave Barry.  Oh and pretty much anything with David Sedaris. 

5.    LITERARY FICTION: Sometimes reading about others’ struggles can give us perspective on our own.  It can be a family struggling with a member who's an addict, it might be a young woman who is having to decide between keeping her baby or abortion, it might be about a young woman who is struggling to be independent in a strict culture.  When we put our own problems in their proper perspective, we realize it for what it is and that is when we can make plans to improve our situation.  Recommendations: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman.

6.    MEMOIRS/BIOS: Perhaps instead of reading about fictional characters overcoming hardships, you would benefit from reading true stories about people just like you dealing with despair to discover happiness and satisfaction.  A few I suggest are Unbroken: AWorld War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, The Last Lecture byRandy Pausch, and A Child Called It: One Child’s Courage to Survive by Dave J. Pelzer.

Now, grab a cup of tea and curl up in bed or a comfy chair and let a comforting read soothe what stresses you.

ARMCHAIR BEA

Armchair BEA 2013 is NEXT WEEK, folks!

Have you signed up yet?

If not, go, go, go now, now, now!  No excuses!

Here's the link.

While you are there, be amazing, and volunteer for the Commenting Committee.  We need as many cheerleaders as we can get so we can cheer on as many bloggers as possible.  This is the heart and soul of the event.   And for your kind heart, we are offering prizes to cheerleaders!  So do a good deed, and see what rewards you reap!

Sign up to be a Cheerleader here!  

What I'm Reading Monday and Weekly Wrap Up for 5/20/13

This week I didn't blog very much.  I have had a bit of writer's block. It happens.  But I did get some reading done, so that is always a good thing!

I finished two books and I am working on 4 more.  I'm really enjoying each of the books so it's a great reading time right now!

What about you?  What have you been reading lately?  I hope your week has been as good for reading as mine has!  Leave a comment and let me know!

FINISHED READING:

If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?

by Erma Bombeck

Last Week: 51%

This Week: 49%

Pages Read: 103

*For Review via Net Galley*

Love and Skate (Love and Skate #1) by Lila Felix

Last Week: 63%

This Week:  37%

Pages Read: 90

*For Review from Author*

CURRENTLY READING:

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

Pg. 150 of 321

Last Week: 36 pages

This Week: 70 pages

*For Reading Resolution Challenge*

10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything

by Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer

Last Week: 41%

This Week: 10%

Pages Read: 25

*Purchased*

Candide by Voltaire

pg. 40 of 122

Last Week: 0 pages

This Week: 40 pages

*Borrowed from a friend*

Girls I Know by Douglas Trevor

pg. 30 of 336

Last Week: 0 pages

This Week: 30 pages

*For Review from Publisher*

WHAT'S NEXT:

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

*Own*

*For Colorful Reading Challenge*

Weekly Wrap Up -

REVIEW POSTS:
~

Still need to write reviews for:
Drinking with Dead Women Writers
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Readalong
Love & Skate by Lila Felix
If Life is a Bowl of Cherries by Erma Bombeck


OTHER POSTS:
~ Blogger Shout Outs
~TSS: Looking Back at Old Reviews


STATS:
Books Read: 2
Short Stories Read: 0
Pages Read: 358
Posts: 2