The blog is being strange. Well, more specifically the re-direct on the main page from smokeandashes.typepad.com to smokeandashes.net is being strange. I don't know who to be mad at, Typepad or Dotster. I don't know why I'm complaining about it here -- if you can read this, then that means it's displaying correctly in your browser. Very odd.
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What I read when I'm not wonky eyed
Donald T. Phillips: Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times
Augusten Burroughs: A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father
Greg Mortenson: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
John Grisham: The Appeal
(Don't judge me: I had a long plane ride, and I like John Grisham)Daniel Tammet: Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
Kenneth Cain: Emergency Sex: And Other Desperate Measures
It's a memoir about 3 UN civilian peacekeepers, not a naughty book you'd be embarrased to show your friends.John Perkins: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (BK Currents)
Dai Sijie: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel
T.C. Boyle: The Inner Circle
Fictional account of the research of Dr. Alfred Kinsey, narrated by one of the researchers in his inner circle. Starts strong, but gets boring quickly. (***)Matthew Pearl: The Poe Shadow
From the author of the Dante Club, a novel about the mysterious death of Edgar Allen Poe. Nowhere near as good as Dante Club. Boooo. (**)Augusten Burroughs: Dry: A Memoir
It's darker than the first memoir - a challenging feat at that. It lacks a little of the humorous edge that made Running with Scissors so engaging, but it's still a good/tragic read thus far. (***)Augusten Burroughs: Running with Scissors
I took a break after Vowell's recount of the Lincoln assiinations to read about even crazier people. Burroughs first book is exactly like it's marketed - a funny, dark, sedaris-like memoir that's 100% engaging. (****)Sarah Vowell: Assassination Vacation
Because I just can't get enough of Vowell.Jonathan Safran Foer: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Love the story. The narrative voice reminds me of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, but in a way that doesn't make me dizzy.Richard Ford: The Sportswriter (Vintage Contemporaries)
I hope I like it -- I have three Richard Ford books on my shelf.Carolyn Parkhurst: Dogs of Babel
The whole "teaching a dog to talk" thing is weird, but it's a sensitive story about dealing with grief. (****)James Clavell: Shogun
I hear there are stories of jade gates in this behemoth novel. I like jade gates. (*****)Kristin Gore: Sammy's Hill
Kind of terrible but entertaining, both at the same time. (**)Myla Goldberg: Wickett's Remedy : A Novel
Not as good as Bee Season, but a good read. (****)Jonathan Safran Foer: Everything Is Illuminated : A Novel
Since I'm too lazy to write a review, check out this one, as I agree with 99.99% of it. (****)Tom Robbins: Wild Ducks Flying Backward
The short writing of Tom Robbins, including travel writing, tributes, essays, poetry, and others. Highly recommended thus far, though I haven't got to the poetry section yet, which I hear is, um, labored. (*****)A. M. Homes: Music for Torching
Homes tells odd, odd stories about mundane things, like life in suburbia. So far, so good.John Irving: Until I Find You : A Novel
Not recommended, particularly for diehard Irving fans. I almost gave up half way through, but pushed on, only to be let down. (**)Sarah Vowell: The Partly Cloudy Patriot
A collection of essays - a visit to salem, mass and the chapter on presidential museums are especially entertaining. Highly recommended. (*****)Barry McCrea: The First Verse: A Novel
I didn't love it, but I appreciated it.Romaine Patterson: Whole World Was Watching: Living in the Light of Matthew Shepard
Buy this book immediately. It's not actually out yet, but it's due out soon, and aside from the fact that my friend wrote it, it's exceptional and important. (*****)Chang-Rae Lee: Aloft (Wheeler Large Print Book Series (Cloth))
eh, it's ok. I'm not feeling very inspired by in, so I might put it down in favor of one of the books I got for my birthday.Eric Schlosser: Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
I appreciate the business savvy of the early pioneers of the fast food industry, even if the effect was the fattening of a nation. The chapter on the flavor factories was also exceptionally interesting. Recommended. (****)Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
I didn't like Wonder Boys because I had seen the movie too many times, but I love his writing styl. Though I felt like I needed to carry a dictionary with me when I read this, I thought it was exceptional. Highly recommended. (*****)A.M. HOMES: Jack (Vintage Contemporaries)
Because I loved Safety of Objects, i thought I would like this. But I think it would have been better as a short story versus a novel.Khaled Hosseini: The Kite Runner
In many ways, similar to my all time favorite book, The Power of One. Set against a backdrop of modern Afghanastan, story of a boy battling his own lack of courage.Adrian Nicole LeBlanc: Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx
Final book club selection. Excellent book about growing up in the Bronx and all things foreign to my own childhood.A. M. Homes: The Safety of Objects
Love, love, love this collection of short stories.Matthew Pearl: The Dante Club : A Novel
Written by fellow Harvard alumn, a clever, sophisticated historical fiction/mystery novel. Don't read before bedtime - it's creepy at parts.Jennifer Weiner: In Her Shoes : A Novel
ICAHN Book Project #3. One of the trashiest, worst books I've ever read. In good news, I read most of it during a single lunch break.Barbara Ehrenreich: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
ICAHN book project #2. Anything is a step up from Miriam the Medium.- Rochelle Jewel Shapiro: Miriam the Medium
A book about a phone psychic that I'm reading for my volunteer book project at ICAHN House. Michael Chabon: Wonder Boys : A Novel (Bestselling Backlist)
I'm having a hard time reading the name "Crabtree" and not picturing Robert Downey Jr., but I'm hoping that goes away as I get more into the book.Anita Diamant: The Red Tent
It's a book I never thought I'd really enjoy, but was pleasantly surprised. (****)FREDERICK BUSCH: Girls : A Novel
One of the most depressing books I've ever read, but well written and a good read. (****)Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Vintage Contemporaries)
It was good, though it made me feel like taking ritalin the entire way through. (***)Paul Auster: The Book of Illusions: A Novel
A beautiful book. Auster is really climbing the ranks as far as favorite authors go. (*****)J. M. Coetzee: Elizabeth Costello
I haven't been able to get into it yet, but I like his writing style so much, that i'm sure it will be great.Paul Auster: Leviathan
An amazing character story with a pretty decent plot to keep the pace of the book going. (****)CHITRA DIVAKARUNI: Queen of Dreams : A Novel
A book about a dream reader, that's not as flighty as it sounds. It's an exceptionally thoughtful book and I'm enjoying it immensely. (****)Jhumpa Lahiri: Interpreter of Maladies
The first story is so good it almost made me cry. (*****)SUSAN MINOT: Monkeys (Vintage Contemporaries)
It's kind of like checking in with distant relatives you only see every few years. The chapters are brief little glimpses, somewhat unconnected, but all of which speak to family ties (no, not the television show) (***)John Kennedy Toole: A Confederacy of Dunces (Evergreen Book)
this is one of those books that I feel like I should like, but that I'm just not really getting into.Susan Minot: Evening
A charming love story written in a style that reflects the rhythm of memory, which I very much enjoyed. (****)DAN CHAON: You Remind Me of Me
A sweet book about families, confidence, drugs, and feeling lost. (****)Jeanette Winterson: Sexing the Cherry
I have high expectations for this book given how much I enjoyed Written on the Body. It's never taken me so long to read such a little book. It's great, just very dense... almost like a philosophy textbook instead of a novel. (***)Andre Dubus III: House of Sand and Fog
I like reading books set in SF, but my god, if they talk about the fog anymore I'm going to have to throw the book out the window. Update: I would have been better off throwing it out the window. (**)TOM ROBBINS: Still Life with Woodpecker
I've read a few Tim Robbins books (Jitterbug Perfume, Skinny Legs and All), and so far, Still Life is in keeping with the weirdness, originality and artful storytelling that I liked about the other two. (***)Jeanette Winterson: Written on the Body
A book that accurately deals with a wide range of emotions across the spectrum of love, and articulates it in ways I didn't were possible. Loved it. (*****)T. Coraghessan Boyle: Riven Rock
I left it on a plane before I had the chance to finish it. Anyone have a copy I can borrow? (***)Jeffrey Eugenides: Middlesex : A Novel
The first half was excellent, but then the book lost steam. The last few chapters are ridiculous and disappointing. (***)Azar Nafisi: Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
Parts of it read like "Contemporary Literary Criticisms: Vol. 1" but the rest is a thoughtful and educational (at least for me) look at Iranian culture and the Islamic Revolution. (****)Catherine Millet: The Sexual Life of Catherine M.
I can't decide if it's a really sharp commentary on the nature of desire, as the critics seem to think it is, or just porn. Frankly, after reading about the first thirty or so BJs, the book has gotten pretty boring. (***)J. M. Coetzee: Disgrace
Love, love, love this book. Coetzee uses words so deliberately it blows me away. One of the best books I've read in the past few years. (*****)David Sedaris: Naked
Like the case with so many authors, I think I usually prefer whatever book of theirs I read first. I thought Me Talk Pretty Someday was absolutely hilarious (light, poolside reading, but great). Naked fell flat because it felt like more of the same. Had I read it first, I'd probably be writing the same thing about Me Talk Pretty. (***)Arundhati Roy: The God of Small Things
I just couldn't get into it enough to keep reading. I will try again soon.Michelle Tea: Valencia
After seeing Michelle Tea read at Modern Times, just had to buy her book. Entertaining, if not disturbing. The pace is a little frenetic, which makes it simultaneously good but leaving you want more of a "story" when you're done. (***)Katherine Dunn: Geek Love : A Novel
Good, but over rated. Everyone told me it was the best book they've ever read. I think I set my expectations too high. Still, a worthwhile read. (****)Donna Tartt: Secret History, The
Just ok. The whole thing was well-written, but maybe I just wasn't in the mood to read it when I did. I'd recommend it, but I don't think it will blow you away. (***)A.L. Kennedy: Everything You Need
Literary fiction. Excellent book, and highly recommended. Basic plot: Nineteen-year-old Mary Lamb is offered a residency at the Fellowship, an enigmatic and somewhat bizarre writers' colony on the bleak Welsh island of Foal. She is unaware that her secret benefactor for this retreat is the commercially successful writer of thrillers, Nathan Staples. Staples is also her father, although Mary has always believed that her father was dead. via Powells. (*****)
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February 13, 2006
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Welcome to S&A
- This is the personal web site of Sarah McAuley. After a few years in SF and NY, I have returned to Boston, Jamaica Plain specifically, to continue my career as a marketing wench. I recently (Dec. 07) switched industries, leaving telecom for the exciting world of clean tech. I no longer commute to an office park 75 minutes away, which has helped my mood considerably. I hate pesto and I love to read. I think sharing my life with strangers is odd and narcissistic, which of course is why I'm addicted to it and have been doing it for several years now. Need more? You can read the "About Me" section, drop me an email, or you know, just read the drivel that I pour out here.
Who's Linking Here
- Being Jennifer Garrett
A funny blog by a chick in Boston who likes sports even more than I do. Hard to believe, I know. - Curious Frog
A guy named Mike. That's about all I know. Oh, and he doesn't like Bush and loves the Red Sox. Clearly, we have a lot in common. - DaBerries
A blog from Ireland... - Hubsville
His name is Hubs and it was recently his birthday. - Jee
My best surf buddy. When are we going back to Costa Rica? - Kevin Smokler
He writes about books and stuff. - Malaland
She can attest, it's a small world. - Stacey K. In London
Stacey discovered the joy of blogging while in London. She's back now, but her blog lives on... - Tankboy
Music blog by a smart and funny guy. - Tao of Pauly
According to his mission statement, "This is a site where I can freely express my opinions, views, and allow myself to ramble and rant, while inflating my ego." - Weasel Roar
I like his tagline: The Product of a Small, Fuzzy Mind. And he likes some of the same books as I do. - Willotoons
Nobody loves music more than Willo, and few are as genuinely sweet and nice.
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