I like to read. I do it at the gym when I am on the treadmill or a bike or an elliptical machine. opting for "People," "Entertainment Weekly," "Esquire" or "GQ." I do it every night before I go to sleep, lying in bed, with a "New Yorker" propped up on my pillow . I do it at work as I edit my stories or those of coworkers, or when I take a break to read a few L.A. Times articles online.
The problem with all this reading is that it leaves little time to read books, which I also love to consume. So that's were resolution No. 1 came in for the year. I've already reported on the first four books I read this year: "Juliet, Naked," by Nick Hornby, "Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audrey Niffeneger, "Too Much Happiness," by Alice Munro and "A Version of the Truth" by Jennifer Kaufmann and Karen Mack.
I've been better at the reading than blogging about the reading, as I have read three other books so far this year to bring the total to seven. Here is a summary of the others:
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel - I picked this book up because my sister had it on her computer desk and said it was pretty good. Even though it's a graphic novel, I still think it counts as a book. Besides, this little graphic novel had more baggage than an 800-page Wally Lamb story.
The book is basically a memoir of Bechdel's odd family life. First off, the family lives in a funeral home, which her father runs. Second, her father is apparently gay and has a thing for barely legal men. Third, Bechdel discovers that she herself is gay. All of these issues are convoluted by her father's tragic death, a death that could have been an accident or a suicide, something Bechdel is still trying to figure out. Overall the book is depressing and Bechdel's humor is on the dark side.
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood - I've been a fan of Margaret Atwood's writing since I was a high school student. I devoured her books in college and always look forward to a new release from the Canadian author. Her latest book, "The Year of the Flood," is a prequel to her novel "Oryx and Crake," which featured a post-apocalyptic world. It's been a few years since I read it so I don't remember all the details, but there were elements and characters in the latest novel that felt familiar to me.
Atwood's genius is that she creates future worlds in her novels that are just enough like the modern day to be believeable - it's just a world were so many of the negatives are stretched to the limit. For instance, the main characters in the book are vegetarians who have rebeled against a culture that eats meat at all costs - and it is meat of questionable origin. It is a world where endangered animals have become delicacies at restaurants and genetically mutated animals have escaped from science labs.
The book has an ensemble of characters and the point of view switches from chapter to chapter. Most of the narratives are told from a female point of view, which is one thing I've always liked about Atwood's work, that she pays so much attention to the female persepctive. The novel follows a few characters who join up with a cult - some because they are believers, some because they want the protection of a group and others because their parents have forced them into it.
I can't say that this book was a fun read, but it is another example of Atwood's good works. It made me want to re-read "Oryx and Crake," which I might do as soon as I complete my resolution.
Passing For Thin: Losing Half My Weight and Finding Myself by Frances Kuffel - I found this book in a box from our storage and started reading the first few pages when waiting for my mom to get ready to walk the dog. I put it down and forgot about it until I had a few hours to myself last weekend. I figured I might as well use it to read a book and I picked it up again. It was a book my mom had bought, but she only vaguely remembered reading it, commenting that she didn't remember it being very good.
The book is a memoir by Kuffel, who discusses her addiction to food, which led to her all-time high weight of 338. About half the book focuses on her "fat" life and how miserable everything was. The second half of the book focuses on her "thin" life and how miserable she still seemed to be. She mentions a tough childhood, but never really goes into the details of it except to talk about an older brother who picked on her. Still, she refers to the family home as the place of her soul and seems to get along just fine with her mother and father. As a compulsive eater, Kuffel never really delves into the reasons for her addiction.
When I picked up the book, I thought I might relate to Kuffel's struggle as someone who has realized that when life gets tough I tend to give up my gym routines and turn to junk food. I rededicated myself to working out this year and eating healthy and have been happy with the results of weight loss, less stress at work and good health.
But there was really nothing in Kuffel's story to which I could relate. One, I found her food plan of eliminating all sugar and flour to be impossible to maintain (it turns out it was, as Kuffel has a 2009 book out that chronicles gaining half of her weight back and then trying to lose it again.) If I want a cookie, I'll have a cookie and I don't feel guilty about it. Two, she didn't exercise at all during most of her weight loss, which I've found to be important to me. It lowers my general stress level and just feels good to be building up muscle.
The biggest issue with the book was just the "woe is me" pity party Kuffel wants to throw for herself. She's unhappy because she was adopted, her older brother was mean, her job sucks, she's never had a boyfriend. But even after she takes the first step of losing the weight she still seems unwilling to take responsibility and change the other things in her life that she doesn't like.
Even when she takes the first tenative steps into dating, she choses only men she thinks are unattractive because she still believes that is all that would actually like her. The most frustrating moment in the book is when she describes a date with a guy who at the beginning of the date says she should have listed herself as "a few extra pounds." And then she continues with the date AND goes back to his apartment, where he continues to insult her until she finally leaves. I just can't imagine having such low self-esteem as to be someone's verbal punching bag, even for the duration of one date.
By the time I realized how much I disliked the book, I was already half down with it and decided I might as well finish it. I didn't find the book that engaging and I found parts of it a little hard to follow. Kuffel uses a lot of little inside jokes that were not well explained. The book just didn't have a flow to it.
I probably will never read Kuffel's second book, about gaining back her weight and losing it, or her book on dating. But I do wish her well in her attempt to keep her weight off because I know how easy it can be to fall back into the old routines.
Even though summer is nearly over, I think I might pick one of the books from the easy summer beach book lists just to read something a little lighter. After these three books, getting back to the "New Yorker" will actually seem like lighter reading.
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