Spot of Bother - Mark Hadon

Breaking it down it's just the story of a family. Albeit one in crisis, primarily surrounding a wedding but also the aging father losing his sanity. It is more in the telling though as the author tells from each member's viewpoint, sometimes even recounting the same thing from a couple angles. The storyline of the gay son was my favourite viewpoint to read from though the fears of the father made me reflect on death, which can be healthy (better than realizing it way down the line and losing my marbles like him). 

7 
March 2012 

Life - Keith Richards

Written in what seems to be a dictated style of Keith's speaking, the autobiography offers some interesting tidbits about The Stones, though rarely are they fully expanded upon. From an outsider's perspective it was interesting to read of the dependency on the slew of drugs and the ways they were used, then the ways they were shaken. A few very harsh words for Mick countered in other chapters by a strong brotherly love. Plenty of gushing about other people, and some interesting inclusions of other characters' writing, often gushing about Richards. The later years of stadium touring are just as interesting to me as the very early days of playing the dive bars. Best story was of the studio sessions slipping from starting at one in the afternoon quickly to one AM and continuing to slide until Keith found himself in a car on his way to work. "What time is it?" "It's 8 am." "Fuck that. Turn the car around, I'm not going to work at eight in the morning!" Summarizing a lifetime of bucking the norm.


5
Winter 2011

Bossypants - Tiny Fey (audiobook)

Bossypants started off great with some very funny stories from early life. Tina has a funny, self-deprecating style akin to her 30 Rock character that shone through during this reading. There were some real great one-liners that I found myself texting off, and more than a few grins were spread broadly across the GO train despite myself. However nearing the latter half of the book it started to wane slightly. The reliving of the Sarah Palin impersonations was quite interesting however. Also that "Prayer for a Daughter" is brilliant.

Audiobook aspect: My first true attempt at an audiobook I found it difficult to always be paying attention. The ticket taker comes to check you and "what was the last part about?" It's not that easy to scroll back. Or to take note of exact quotes for your friends, you have to relisten. Also it isn't quite so easy to mark your page and come back exactly to it (if you go off and listen to something else on your ipod in the interim). If it weren't for Tina reading this herself - and putting some hilarious expression into it - I wouldn't have bothered.

6.5
(Oct/Nov 2011)

Headhunters - Jo Nesbo

The third in a line of stealthily devoured novels following the extended read of It, this was a seven day rental that I returned in five. Interesting in that the narrator/lead character was a self professed ass that you disliked but wanted him to get through anyway. Action packed in a linear fashion it was quite entertaining, if a little simplistic, like an action movie. No wonder it is being made into a film. The ending of him returning to his wife is a tiny bit hard to take, as well as a few other slightly unbelievable plot devices.
7.5
(October 2011)

Ape House - Sarah Gruen

A book that flew by in a weekend and kept twists and turns coming. Not that it was fantastically written, in fact, in ways it felt more like an amateur novel than Water for Elephants. I can't deny how I lapped itI up though and was intrigued by the science behind the animals communication. It also knocked reality television which I can appreciate.
7
(Thanksgiving, October, 2011)

Between The Assassinations - Aravind Adiga

For a collection of separate stories a majority of them really drew me in in short time. His writing style pulls you along even if the endings of many were disappointments in that there was often little resolution. However with another story coming it wasn't all that upsetting. Vivid pictures of India are drawn and brings up all the colourful memories of travels there, not to mention summoning yearning to return.
7
(Fall 2011)

It - Stephen King

This whopper of a horror story, both in size, breadth, and scariness took me for a ride. After turning off the film one scene in (alone, during a storm, in a new house, at night) I started into the book against the bookkeeper's advice. The character development is quite an accomplishment and the stories within stories are some of the best parts. For example the domineering and controlling relationship that Bev is in with her asshole husband Tom is utterly appalling and sickening, yet seems so possibly real. In the middle I did find things waning as they came together in their grown up state but when the reminiscing about childhood began in earnest, and started flipping back and forth from present-day the pages too began to flip again. The last quarter made it worthwhile, though the conclusion was slightly mediocre after all of that buildup. With so many very common horror scenes and themes in films to this day, it makes me wonder whether King drew on tried-and-true elements for this, or whether this set the bar and was borrowed from for years to come. All in all it was worth it.

Film: The film watched a couple months after completion of the book was mostly a disappointment. Yes there were scary elements but so many of the more interesting aspects were left out, and the development just didn't quite seem to be there (even in 2.5 hours of film). The younger kids were much more interesting as I didn't enjoy the casting of the adults.

7

(Summer, most of it, 2011)