100 Notable Books from 2011

The New York Times just released their list of Notable Books of 2011.  Check it out to see if you've missed any of this year's "must reads."

Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

   

    Every year around the start of the holiday season I read at least one book from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House  series.  Something about the quiet domestic scenes and the description of the isolated landscape is calming for me.  Also, the holidays are all about memories and nostalgia...and there's nothing more nostalgic than reading a Laura Ingalls Wilder book.  However, if I were reading this book to a child, I would edit out some of the less than flattering portrayals of Native Americans and African Americans.  They are few and brief, but still...

   Usually I read The Long Winter, which is perfect for this time of year since the nights are getting colder and longer.  It just makes me want to snuggle up under the blankets with nothing but a hot brick and dwindling fire to keep me warm!  This year, I started with Little Town on the Prairie, which is the 7th book in the original Little House series (of which there are 9 books total).  According to wikipedia, Little Town on the Prairie takes place between 1881 and 1882, but was not published until 1941.  At this point in the series, Laura is 15-16 years old and living in the town of De Smet, South Dakota.  She has a job as a seamstress and is saving money to send her sister, Mary, to a school for the blind.  Laura also desperately wants to be a schoolteacher, so she studies very hard as well.  It is in this book that Laura begins her courtship with Almonzo Wilder, the man who would become her husband in 1885.

   Something about these books makes me long for simpler times, but honestly, I don't think I'd last a week of winter in South Dakota without electricity!  While much of these books are autobiographical for the Ingalls family, Laura did sweeten things a bit for her readers.  But overall, they are pretty accurate portrayals of the lives of early American pioneers.

Soul/Mate by Joyce Carol Oates (as Rosamond Smith)

A super creepy cover for a super creepy book!

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

   Anya is kind of a loner.  She doesn't have many friends at school and she longs for a change.  One day while walking in the woods, Anya accidentally falls down an abandoned well shaft.  It's the last place she expected to find a friend, but down at the bottom of the well, Anya meets a ghost named Emily.  When Anya is rescued from the well she brings Emily's ghost with her, and together they go to school, talk about boys, share secrets, and Emily becomes Anya's new "roommate."  But Anya soon realizes that Emily's story is more sinister than she could have imagined, and that her new "friend" isn't much of a friend at all.

   This story is written in graphic novel format, so it was a very quick read.  Vera Brosgol is the writer and illustrator for Anya's Ghost and she did an amazing job.  Neil Gaiman even gave it his stamp of approval.  This book provides a unique take on the lonely/outcast teen story as Anya learns important life lessons through her experience with death, and it's a great read for just about any age.

Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley

Young Edgar will never forget this trip to his uncle's house...

NPR's controversial interview with Amy Greene

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Amy Greene last week, who is the author of Bloodroot.  Her writing is incredibly powerful, and if you have not had the chance to read Bloodroot yet I highly recommend that you make some time!  A couple of months ago I mentioned the debut novel in my Southern Lit Rant, and I still think it is one of the best books I have ever read.

Anyway, Amy Greene mentioned last week that in early 2010 she was interviewed on NPR, and that it ended up being a very controversial show. Jacki Lyden was the host, and though she may not have done this on purpose, she came across as very condescending, even going so far as to suggest that the south is not a part of the "real world."  Apparently this pissed off a lot of people (not just southerners) and NPR received many letters and calls of complaint.

I was very disappointed when I read the transcript of the interview.  I listen to NPR almost every day, and I was appalled at Lyden's ignorance and lack of respect for Amy Greene as a writer.  If you're a southerner, you have probably dealt this kind of stereotyping before, but seriously??? I expected more from NPR.

Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie

   Monsieur Hercule Poirot has been asked by a friend, Adriadne Oliver, to assist in solving a tragic murder.  At a recent children's Halloween party a young girl of 13, Joyce, bragged to other party-goers that she once witnessed a murder.  Joyce was known for embellishing stories, so no one took her seriously.  But after the party, Joyce is found dead and Ms Oliver wonders if Joyce may have been telling the truth this time.  So she enlists the help of England's greatest detective - Hercule Poirot.

   This book made me remember how much I enjoy Agatha Christie mysteries.  I hadn't read one in several years, so I'm glad I picked it up.  It may not pack as much punch as some of her earlier masterpieces (Hallowe'en was published in 1969), but it's still an Agatha Christie book nonetheless, which means it is well-written and entertaining.  Plus, it is about a murder at a Halloween party...perfect for this time of year!

Lost by Gregory Maguire

   Winnie, a novelist, is traveling to London to do some research for a book she is writing about a girl named Wendy who is obsessed with the story of Jack the Ripper.  When Winnie arrives at her stepcousin's flat in London she is surprised to find that the house is under construction and her cousin, John, is nowhere to be found.  According to old family stories, Winnie is the direct descendant of Ebenezer Scrooge, or rather the man who inspired Charles Dickens's timeless character, and John is living in their ancestor's house.

   After a few days in the house, Winnie and the construction workers have reason to believe that the old house is haunted.  A loud knocking sound is coming from the chimney, and further inspection reveals a false wall built hastily around the origin of the noise.  Winnie is unsure if the house is inhabited by the ghost of Jack the Ripper, one of his victims, or her scrooge-like ancestor.  Or, she begins to wonder if her cousin's disappearance has more terrifying implications than she first imagined.

   This book was a quick read, but it took some strange, unexpected turns and ended on a much different note than I thought it would.  The many literary/folklore references never really came together coherently, especially the references to Jack the Ripper.  It's almost like Gregory Maguire decided to write a different story midway through the novel but using the same characters.  It's not his best work and fans of the Wicked series might be disappointed, but it is entertaining.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson's tale of things that go bump in the night...

Creepers by David Morrell

   If you ever thought it might be fun to explore an abandoned building, Creepers will make you think again.  While they prefer to call themselves "Urban Explorers," creepers are people who like to roam abandoned old buildings - not to take anything, just to observe.  They have an obsession with the past, and for them, entering old empty structures is like entering a time capsule.

   In this novel, five people conspire to explore the Paragon hotel - an abandoned building that was once an extravagant hotel often frequented by celebrities, mobsters, and other rich and powerful people.  Even though these creepers are well-practiced and experienced, they did not anticipate the fact that the Paragon Hotel is not as empty as they first presumed.  They could have never imagined the horrors that await them in the once majestic building that time forgot.

   I read most of this book in one sitting with my feet tucked underneath me.  It is seriously disturbing.  As the creepers fight the evil that reside in the Paragon, they experience a few things that could have come straight out of a Quentin Tarantino film - sadistic, disturbing things that would render the majority of people trembling, mindless versions of themselves.  But (much like Tarantino movies), the villain of Creepers underestimates the victims' will to survive.

   By close to the end of the book, I had my suspicions about what was really going on in this hotel, and while some of them were confirmed, others were completely extinguished by some very unexpected plot twists.  Creepers is a well-organized, successful thriller, but I don't recommend reading it at home alone in one sitting or you may end up like I did - sweaty, nervous, hungry, and stiff from 4 hours of not moving.