Book 8: "State of Wonder" by Anne Patchett
I really need to stop forcing myself to finish books I don't like. Usually I take a month to crawl through it where I could have been happily cruising through a book or several that I really am attracted to. Reading the wrong book is just like being in the wrong situation in life: you know it is wrong but sometimes you hang around too long to try to figure it out being annoyed the entire time. Anyways, Book 8 was not my favorite.
I will blog about it in about 8 sentences because now I am reading a great book and would love to get back to it!
State of Wonder in 8 Sentences:
1. Synopsis: Dr. Marina Singh is sent to the Amazon in Brazil to find out why her co-worker/love of her life Dr. Anders Eckman died. But more importantly what research he and very arrogant doctor Dr. Swenson had found out on women who delivered healthy babies past the age of 60.
2. All the doctors have something to do with Johns Hopkins and I know that Hopkins would not be cool with this fake story about fake research going on in the Amazon.
3. The protagonist, Marina, is incredibly self depreciating. She follows what everyone tells her to do without blinking an eye, she idolizes the insane Dr. Swenson, and never follows her own feelings or intuition. I like my female protagonists to have some type of a backbone, this one was a fish. And not the cool flying type of fish, but more of a flounder.
4. Dr. Marina Singh forgot what it was like to be a woman....according to the book she didn't enjoy dressing up, being feminine etc. I think this is a misconception on female doctors, scientists or any woman who has a PhD. It is sad to see this type of stereotype still typed out in a recent novel.
5. Dr. Swenson impregnates herself (?) at the age of 73 to see if she could deliver a healthy baby. Why would they put this in a book? Why? The answer is simple...no she can't! And in fact, she doesn't. I hate it when plots are stupid.
6. The Amazonian tribesmen are portrayed as thieves and cannibals. Seriously, could the author had made this any more racist?
7. Dr. Eckman is really not dead. The whole point of this book was to confirm his death so that his wife could rest in peace. The man is not dead. And what happens just disqualifies the author and the main character from ever appearing in a novel that will graze my hands again.
8. So Marina finds Dr. Eckman alive, is thrilled to tell his wife that he is alive and well. So she sleeps with him just because she can. Does that make any sense? No.
So this book is at the bottom of my favorite list. I think "Waiting for Godot" just got bumped up a few notches.
The good news is that I won't be griping about books I can't stand much longer. I am now reading two that I am thoroughly enjoying:
1. "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway. It is incredible. But I will save my full thoughts for later. I think this book might lead me to read all of Hemingway's books. I see a path forming before my literary feet!
2. "DK Visual Dictionary in Italian" for my non-fiction. Why didn't I take a dictionary to Italy? This book is so helpful! It has everything soup to nuts: from the skeletal system to types of air planes.
So I am happy to be reading some good books. After reading so much junk I feel like I need a purge, a cleanse, a mental diet of sorts. I think I am going to keep reading Hemingway but might toss myself into some poetry like Latin poetry and then go onto astronomy for my non-fiction. Perhaps reading this junk has been good because it's putting me back onto a satisfying path. It's like realizing McDonalds was bad for you all along then deciding to go back to a healthier diet.
Oh, speaking of diets, my braces have me eating so healthy now it is crazy. I've been eating like a supermodel, though it really isn't my thing. My teeth can't really chew so I have to eat clean food that is easily chewable. That has left me eating a huge amount of bananas. My banana intake has gone from like 1 a week to 2 a day. My husband stared at me in horror last night as I calmly cut two bananas and ate them for dinner. "Did you just eat two bananas?!" Yes...and I could have eaten six. I'm hungry and can't chew much...
My avocado intake has also increased. It is tough though. I have battled with my inner Fatty. I tried really hard to eat a good burger and couldn't, physically couldn't chew. I tried to eat an apple danish and couldn't. So I have been forced to eat healthy. With one exception, I discovered (inner Fatty discovered) that if I put a piece of chocolate in my mouth I don't have to chew it, it will melt on its own and is almost as delicious and chewing it. This whole braces thing has me appreciating my oral health much more than I did in the past. I really didn't appreciate the ability to eat, chew, enjoy food. Now that I am forced to be on a supermodel diet I miss digging into meat, bread and crunching my way through potato chips. I also now realize all the extra goodies I ate and probably shouldn't.
Anyway, enough about my teeth. Back to "The Old Man and the Sea."
I will blog about it in about 8 sentences because now I am reading a great book and would love to get back to it!
State of Wonder in 8 Sentences:
1. Synopsis: Dr. Marina Singh is sent to the Amazon in Brazil to find out why her co-worker/love of her life Dr. Anders Eckman died. But more importantly what research he and very arrogant doctor Dr. Swenson had found out on women who delivered healthy babies past the age of 60.
2. All the doctors have something to do with Johns Hopkins and I know that Hopkins would not be cool with this fake story about fake research going on in the Amazon.
3. The protagonist, Marina, is incredibly self depreciating. She follows what everyone tells her to do without blinking an eye, she idolizes the insane Dr. Swenson, and never follows her own feelings or intuition. I like my female protagonists to have some type of a backbone, this one was a fish. And not the cool flying type of fish, but more of a flounder.
4. Dr. Marina Singh forgot what it was like to be a woman....according to the book she didn't enjoy dressing up, being feminine etc. I think this is a misconception on female doctors, scientists or any woman who has a PhD. It is sad to see this type of stereotype still typed out in a recent novel.
5. Dr. Swenson impregnates herself (?) at the age of 73 to see if she could deliver a healthy baby. Why would they put this in a book? Why? The answer is simple...no she can't! And in fact, she doesn't. I hate it when plots are stupid.
6. The Amazonian tribesmen are portrayed as thieves and cannibals. Seriously, could the author had made this any more racist?
7. Dr. Eckman is really not dead. The whole point of this book was to confirm his death so that his wife could rest in peace. The man is not dead. And what happens just disqualifies the author and the main character from ever appearing in a novel that will graze my hands again.
8. So Marina finds Dr. Eckman alive, is thrilled to tell his wife that he is alive and well. So she sleeps with him just because she can. Does that make any sense? No.
So this book is at the bottom of my favorite list. I think "Waiting for Godot" just got bumped up a few notches.
The good news is that I won't be griping about books I can't stand much longer. I am now reading two that I am thoroughly enjoying:
1. "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway. It is incredible. But I will save my full thoughts for later. I think this book might lead me to read all of Hemingway's books. I see a path forming before my literary feet!
2. "DK Visual Dictionary in Italian" for my non-fiction. Why didn't I take a dictionary to Italy? This book is so helpful! It has everything soup to nuts: from the skeletal system to types of air planes.
So I am happy to be reading some good books. After reading so much junk I feel like I need a purge, a cleanse, a mental diet of sorts. I think I am going to keep reading Hemingway but might toss myself into some poetry like Latin poetry and then go onto astronomy for my non-fiction. Perhaps reading this junk has been good because it's putting me back onto a satisfying path. It's like realizing McDonalds was bad for you all along then deciding to go back to a healthier diet.
Oh, speaking of diets, my braces have me eating so healthy now it is crazy. I've been eating like a supermodel, though it really isn't my thing. My teeth can't really chew so I have to eat clean food that is easily chewable. That has left me eating a huge amount of bananas. My banana intake has gone from like 1 a week to 2 a day. My husband stared at me in horror last night as I calmly cut two bananas and ate them for dinner. "Did you just eat two bananas?!" Yes...and I could have eaten six. I'm hungry and can't chew much...
My avocado intake has also increased. It is tough though. I have battled with my inner Fatty. I tried really hard to eat a good burger and couldn't, physically couldn't chew. I tried to eat an apple danish and couldn't. So I have been forced to eat healthy. With one exception, I discovered (inner Fatty discovered) that if I put a piece of chocolate in my mouth I don't have to chew it, it will melt on its own and is almost as delicious and chewing it. This whole braces thing has me appreciating my oral health much more than I did in the past. I really didn't appreciate the ability to eat, chew, enjoy food. Now that I am forced to be on a supermodel diet I miss digging into meat, bread and crunching my way through potato chips. I also now realize all the extra goodies I ate and probably shouldn't.
Anyway, enough about my teeth. Back to "The Old Man and the Sea."
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