Don't Miss Laura Lippman

The Most Dangerous Thing

by Laura Lippman

Its appropriate that, the week that the Baltimore Ravens will take the field at the Super Bowl, I should write about a true daughter of Baltimore, Laura Lippman. Over the weekend, I finished one of her recent books, The Most Dangerous Thing and realized that I'd never written about her.  She's one of my favorites.

Lippman started her career as a journalist at the Baltimore Sun  and began writing crime novels while she worked there.  I started reading her mysteries years ago.  They are good stories, set in Baltimore with a female hero and lots of plot twists and character.  I have enjoyed these books and liked the way she writes. If you haven't tried them, you should.  Then in 2003, Ms. Lippman began writing stand alone books - ones not in the Tess series - and that's when she really started to shine for me.

The Most Dangerous Thing is about a group of preteens who become fast friends and roam the vast wooded park near their home in Dickeyville, the Baltimore neighborhood where Lippman grew up.  As they approach high school, the kids are part of an event that becomes the secret that changes their lives and those of their parents.  Fast forward to present day when the kids are now in their 40's and one of them is killed in a car wreck (possible suicide) and they all meet again at the funeral.  Eventually the story of that fateful night unfolds.  The story and its characters keeps you engaged and Lippman creates a tension and suspense that keeps you reading and makes your stomach hurt at the same time.

Instead of telling the story in a linear fashion, Lippman tells it from different points of view. First the kids, both young and middle aged, then the parents, both in flashback and present day. In this format, the reader can see how the story unfolded in the way that it did, with innocent kids and self absorbed, closed mouthed parents.   Lippman is a master of character who understands the way people think and how their life changes in different stages.  You really understand their motivations, their sorrows and their reasons for acting the way they do.  She breathes life into the story and gives insight into how the events of the novel proceed.  Since the novel is set in 1979 and 1980, it helped me consider those women of my parent's age who had teenagers on the cusp of the equal rights movement while they came of age without the benefits that their daughters enjoyed.  An interesting perspective on my mother and her friends and sets up a dynamic that makes me think of my relationship to my own preteen daughter.

Baltimore is a weird place.  For those of you who don't know it well, it is a dichotomy of old world class and campy funky kitsch. Its gritty and cultured at the same time. Think a mixture of "Homicide Life on the Streets", "Hairspray" and "Accidental Tourist" rolled into one.  People who live there love their town, their sports teams and their landscape.   One of the fun parts of the novel for me is that Ms. Lippman is obsessive about placing her characters in Baltimore.  She names real streets, restaurants, landmarks and places them in historical context.  Full disclosure here - My husband is from Baltimore and so I've spent some time there.  His family still lives there and I hear a lot about the places and events that happen there.

So, as you settle in this weekend to get ready to watch the Ravens beat the 49ners, you can augment your Super Bowl experience by delving into the one of Laura Lippman's books to steep yourself in the world of Baltimore.  Snuggle up, have a beer and some cheese dip while you read and you might even be able to skip the game.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

One of 2012's "it" books was Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. I saw a lot of folks reading it around the pool and at the beach.  I put it on my hold list at the library and found that I was like 56th in line. Definitely a popular book.

A few weeks ago, I saw the author interviewed on Face the Nation and decided to go ahead and take the plunge.  The story was touted as "gripping" and "a thriller" and she was an interesting interviewee.  The premise for the book was vague though, and now I see why.

Don't get me wrong, its a good book; it keeps your interest and you want to find out what happens in the end. Its a story about a young couple who move from New York City to Missouri to take care of the husband's ailing father. One day he comes home to a wrecked living room and a missing wife.  He calls the cops and an intricate police investigation begins.  The husband is put directly in the police cross hairs as the missing person case morphs into a murder investigation.  

Pretty straightforward, one would think.  However, the story takes many twists and turns, unveiling the couple's dark past and a plethora of really nasty dysfunctions that make The Real Housewives look like a bunch of June Cleavers.  

I like mysteries, especially ones with surprises and this didn't disappoint.  The story followed the husband and wife, not the traditional police detective, and was more about their relationship than the investigation.  It was well written and plotted.  But about two thirds of the way through the book. I realized that I really hated both of the main characters.  They were miserable!  Both of them had mountains of emotional baggage and their marriage was built on lies and misdeeds.  I didn't care if they made it through the story.  I would have been just as happy if they offed each other and therefore were unable to breed successfully. The only thing I cared about was that they didn't bring children into such a toxic environment.

In the end, I got to wondering.  What makes this book so popular?  Why did it gain such popularity that it was added to almost all of the "Best of 2012" lists?  What does this say about our society?  I would venture to say that all popular mysteries investigate the depravity of our society - I have no problem with that. A voyeuristic glimpse into the dark side of suburbia can be fun. This seemed different because it was depraved, but within everyday limits and the outcome did not provide a good verses evil closure, but a evil verses pathetic one. Miserable!  Had the premise been more illustrative, I think I would have stayed away.

Maybe that's the trick that Ms. Flynn's publisher played on us. They hooked us with a vague story line, when once started, was gripping enough to be hard to put down, even though you wanted to.  Kind of like a train wreck, you didn't want to look, but you couldn't look away.  In this case, the train wrecked, and those that walked away were not the ones we care about.

Book Addict's Best Books of 2012

One of my first posts on this blog was my recap of the best books of 2011.  Since it was the most popular post of the year, it is evident that it should become an annual event.  Every year, I keep a log of how many books I read and, on a very rudimentary scale, I rate the ones I liked the best.  By the way, if you don't keep track of your reading obsession, you might try it this year. Its really helpful when you're buying gifts or can't remember the name of a book in conversation and its fun to look back and remember all the books that you read.  So this year, I read 33 books, mostly fiction plus one classic, one story collection and two memoirs.  Here are my top rated books for the year.

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier

This is about a woman living a solitary existence in the mountains of North Carolina when she is visited by social services and asked to raise her murdered sister's twins.  Set in the early 60's this book is reminiscent of a time long gone before internet and mass media when people lived more simply.  Frazier knows his mountains and the people who live there and he weaves a beautiful story that gives us a glimpse inside their lives.  Reviewed in April

Running the Rift by Naomi Beneron

A gripping and beautiful story about war torn Rwanda - not what you'd expect. About a young man who is training as an Olympic long distance runner.  Its about his coming of age in a world full of chaos, and the political hopes that are placed squarely on his shoulders.  I thought I'd hate the story about the 1996 fratricidal war in Rwanda, but in fact I loved it, especially as it was a summer Olympic year.  It made me thoughtfully consider the athletes from small African countries and what they went through to get to London.  Quite possibly the best read of 2012.  Don't miss it.  Reviewed in May

In One Person by John Irving

John Irving always gets my vote.  He's talented and interesting and ALWAYS takes his readers places that they never thought they'd go.  This one is no exception.  A gorgeous book about sexuality of all kinds.  Irving allows us to follow a bisexual man through his life from adolescence through adulthood, full of quirky characters, poignant plot lines and an exploration of what tolerance really means. I've read all of Irving's work and loved them all.  Reviewed in June

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

Here's an unexpected one.  The Dog Stars is a post apocolyptic story set in the near future after a terrible epidemic has swept through the world, killing most of the people.  I know, I see the words "post apocolyptic" and my eyes glaze over, but this was one wonderful read.  We follow an airplane pilot and his dog as they search for other survivors and begin to start living with compassion and love again.  Thought I'd hate it, but couldn't believe how much I liked it.  Action packed, sad, happy and hopeful all at once.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffery Eugenides

Based on Victorian romance novels, the story is about a modern day love triangle.  Its an uber character study, rich with detail and voice.  The story follows Madeline, Mitchell and Leonard from college days through young marriage as they grow up, graduate, marry and find out who they really are.  Since I read it, I have heard that some people loved this one and some hated it.  I happen to be in the first category.  Reviewed in February

The Book of Joe by Jonathon Tropper

I love when I get introduced to a new author.  This year, I started reading Tropper, a sarcastic and funny author who writes like many of us think.  This one is about a young writer who writes a scathing book about the small hometown he has escaped from.  The problem is that he has to go back and face the town as he takes care of his ailing father. A great book about guys and friendships, I started my husband reading Tropper and he likes him too.  Reviewed in June

Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

Jazz in Berlin on the eve of World War II.  African American musicians who go to Europe to escape the American Jim Crow laws get caught up in the racism of Nazi Germany.  Its a book about friendship and forgiveness and age.  This is one of the hidden jewels of the year, a gripping novel about this little known substory of World War II.  Really interesting characters and something about the war that I didn't know.  I have recommended it to my book group this year.  I think we'll have lots to talk about.

So there you have it.  The List of 2012.   

I hope you find something you haven't read and or be reminded of something you wanted to read all along.  Happy New Year!

The Future of Book Addict

When I started this blog a year ago, it was a great experiment.  I told myself I'd blog for a year and see what happened.  Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, but hoped that I'd be able to interact with people about one of my great passions in life.  A year later, I look back and reflect, not sure how to proceed in 2013.

I started out strong and initially enjoyed the experience of reading and thinking about the books in a way that I could write about.  I looked for meaning in my books and thought about them in interesting and sometimes new ways.  I liked the idea of talking to people about the books I love.  Initially it was fun to watch the follower count grow and get some comments.

But by fall, my interest began to wain.  Sometimes I found that I didn't have much to say about a book.  It was ok, some people might like it, but I didn't have much to report.  Maybe it was just a cookie bookie, a filler book to cleanse my pallet from a more difficult read, or maybe it was really straight forward and didn't lend itself to discussion all that well.  I like letting others know about a fun read or a great author, but sometimes I read the same author several books in a row and don't have much new to say. I also found that I read differently - more publicly when I knew I had to blog about it.  I found myself choosing books with more awareness to what my readers might like or changing genres so that I wasn't telling about the same kind of books each time.  Frankly it started to feel more like work and not so much like fun so I quit blogging for a while.  I felt like I was writing an assignment out there that nobody read or was much interested in.

Well, now its a year later and I'm trying to decide what to do about this blog.  Do I continue or do I shut it down?  My audience is small, I'd like it to be bigger. I sort of thought it might take on a life of its own...it hasn't.  Do I still want to review the books I read, or would it be better to fade off into the blogisphere.

I hadn't looked at the blog for a while, and so today I decided to check and see what was happening there.  Surprisingly I had some page views today, As I look back at what I've read, its fun to see what I have written about and remember how excited I was to review.  Several of my friends mentioned the blog over the Holidays and said how much they like it and have read an unexpected jewel because of it. So with trepidation, I think I will continue....with some changes.

This year, I won't be assigning myself to writing about every book I read, but the ones that are particularly good, bad or thought provoking.  The reviews won't be as long unless they need to be, and may not include a complete plot summary - gets boring and book report-y.  You will still get my unvarnished opinion, and I still will review books that I hated as well as those that I liked.  The point is to help you find some great reads you might not know about and save you from some bad ones.

Finally dear reader, Some of this depends on you.  Writing without feedback is really hard and not particularly rewarding.  If you agree (or don't agree) with what I've written, please let me know.  Instigating discussion was a big part of my mission here, and with a few exceptions, there hasn't been much.  If you have any suggestions or ideas about how to make the blog better, let me know too.  I'm new to this, and am not sure how to get the word out better.  If you'd like to hear more about a particular subject or kind of book or if you want to suggest a book, let me know. Spread the word.  The more people we have here the better.  Invite your book group members, friends and other bookies.  Let's see what we can do together.

Now Let's ring in 2013 and see what reading adventures are in store for us.  Happy New Year!