Read More: IQ84

I am finally done with IQ84, the newest novel by Haruki Murakami. This was a monster of a book. It took FOREVER. I felt like I only had fifty pages left for weeks. Usually if it takes me a long time to finish a book it's because I'm just not that interested in doing so, but that wasn't the case with this one. I think it had something more to do with the magical, 'fantastical' if you will, powers that it possesses.

The story is about two main characters, Aomame and Tengo, who find themselves pulled into an alternate reality - from 1984 to IQ84. Q for 'question mark of the big fat variety'. They must find each other and escape before the baddies find them.

First, I'll say that this will be put towards the top on my Murakami list. Although nothing will probably ever beat The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, I enjoyed this story. It didn't go too far with the fantasy element, which has been a major put off with some of his other books.

A big downside to the book was that the dialogue was just awful. All of the characters spoke like robots and kept insisting on how logical they are. I get the point - logical beings brought into an illogical world, blah blah blah. 900+ pages of this style of dialogue was overkill. If it were any other author I probably would be tearing him down, but since it's Murakami I was able to overlook it. I don't remember any of his other books having this problem?

And back to another thing I liked so I can leave this review on a good note. Like in Wind-Up Bird, Murakami left a number of things unanswered. Sometimes it's better not to wrap things up too nicely and Murakami is great at this.

- Megan Leigh

Read More: The Telephone Gambit

The Telephone Gambit by Seth Shulman is another book I heard about through NPR (Woo Woo Science Friday!). Basically it's the story of a researcher who starts out with the aim to write a book about Alexander Graham Bell, because he's pretty awesome, right? What would our world be like had he not invented the telephone?? Let us celebrate him! Err....

During his research Shulman stumbles across a bit of evidence that seems to indicate that Bell may have not been the inventor after all. That he perhaps stole a fellow engineer's idea (Elisha Gray's to name names). Shulman digs deeper and uncovers more and more evidence that has been overlooked and covered up for this reason and that over the years.

Does Shulman prove his theory? I think so. Unfortunately it's definitely not unusual for a scientist to be a sneaky, rotten, lying, idea thief - so I didn't need a whole lot of convincing to begin with. The real mystery for me was how in the world someone's mind could come up with how to invent a telephone in the first place. I don't care if it was Gray or Bell -- It's so amazing that people's minds can work like that! Thank goodness there are people like that out there! What if the world depended on someone like me? I think my best invention idea over the years was to replace missing toes with toothpicks and grapes.

As for the quality of writing in this book, I wasn't too impressed. I found it pretty dry and although the subject is interesting I don't believe there was enough pertinent information to base a whole book on. To fill space Shulman continually wrote about his research process, which I found more than a little annoying, especially as it exposed him as a bungling researcher. 

- Megan Leigh

Goodbye St. Louis Tour

This past week I've been home in St. Louis house/dog sitting and sifting through all of my junk to try and make the move to Tennessee a bit easier. I had a lot of things planned this week for my 'Goodbye St. Louis Tour', but accomplished remarkably little (at least towards that particular goal). As if I didn't know it before this tour began, I now fully appreciate the role food plays in my life.

- Megan Leigh

Goodbye Hacienda. I could eat buckets and buckets of your rice.

Goodbye slinger

Goodbye most beautiful cherry tree in Webster

Goodbye toasted ravioli and Fazio Sicilian Style Sauce

Goodbye Steak n' Shake burger and fries, the way you were meant to be

Goodbye Pasta House. Sorry I took such an awful picture

Goodbye bedroom view

One New Thing: Ithaca

We just got back from a mini-road trip to Ithaca. Only four hours from New York, but it felt like another world! It was full of waterfalls and gorges and greenery... and I think it was spring break for the college kids, so it also felt nice and calm and empty. Plus, compared to NYC, all of the people seem astonishingly nice. It was a little like being released from prison. I kept looking for secret killers along the peaceful trails.

Ithaca is the home of world-famous Cornell University, shown here. See the little sign on the empty strip mall that says Cornell? That's how you know! This was actually the first thing we saw as we pulled into town.

We were only there for a couple days, but they were packed with adventure. We got to eat at the Moosewood restaurant... which was really and truly great. Elliot said he thinks it is the best restaurant in the world. Why? They have this special thing on the kid's menu, peanut butter mixed with maple syrup and nuts and tahini, with fruit to dip in it. And ice cream for dessert... kid heaven. The adult food made us just as happy.

We got to see two really impressive waterfalls... Buttermilk Falls and Taughannock Falls (taller than Niagara Falls!). There was lots of hiking. Ben got to visit the Cornell Ornithology Lab (it's this beautiful site surrounded by wetland paths great for bird-gazing) and geek out with other birdos. Over the course of the trip, we saw wild snakes, alligator snapping turtles, a box turtle, a beaver, and lots of birds. At Cayuga Nature Center, we got to climb around in a six-story treehouse.

So to sum it all up: Ithaca, two thumbs up!

-Kristin

One New Thing: Sweetie Pie's

Back when I was working at the Garden one of my co-workers told me there was a great soul food restaurant nearby called Sweetie Pie's. Our plan was to hop over for lunch one day, but it never happened. It sounded so busy we were afraid we'd never make it back in our allotted 30 min break. Now, six years later, I've got no time restrictions on my dining experiences so I've finally been able to mark it off my to-do list.

For some reason I thought Sweetie Pie's was going to be tiny. Maybe because I'm not used to living in a city where everything is tiny. So I was amazed to walk into this restaurant with such a vast seating area with full size tables. Incredible!

Then we headed over to the cafeteria line. The special was gizzards or something gross, so I went with a vegetable plate: mashed potatoes, macaroni, green beans, and a square of cornbread. There was a new lady working the veggie section. A veteran worker came over and gave her a hard time. She slapped her hands, changed all of her spoons around, and yelled at her to hurry up. It was an awful thing to have to witness. I'm thinking of starting a change.org petition to correct the workplace mistreatment of this lady. And she was old, which made it that much worse! Then I got yelled at by another lady to lay my soda bottle down flat on the tray. I thought it was a really weird request, but in the end I decided it was a pretty good idea.

I headed back to the gigantic seating area where I had my pick of tables and chairs. We got a prime window seat and began to eat, eat, eat. The macaroni was good (although probably on par with our recipe from Andrew). I like my dad's mashed potatoes better and the green beans were nothing special. After all the hype I thought it was going to be so amazing! But I guess you're bound to be disappointed when you build things up too much and for too long. So the result? I'm still on the hunt for the perfect soul food restaurant, although Sweetie Pie's was a nice, somewhat terrifying experience.

- Megan Leigh

Read More: Room

When Cat came over for St. Patrick's Day dinner she saw a book on our shelves that I had, up until that point, ignored. "Oh, you've read Room?" She asked, having heard tongues wag about it. My attention was drawn to the bookshelf where an evidently well regarded book by Emma Donoghue had been tucked away for months. "I'll read it for my plane book," I decided.

Room is a story about a mother and son who are confined to a room. I won't tell you why since it took me a little bit to figure it out for sure. That was probably the most fun I had with this book.

The story idea didn't come across as a very novel subject, even though I've never read a similar story before. A pretty amazing feat!

What really drove me crazy was all the baby talk. It is written from the viewpoint of Jack, the five year old boy who grew up in the room. It's noted many times that Jack is very good with words, but his sentence construction and general word usage tells me this is a lie. Having spent a lot of time with a five year old who is good with words, it just really peeved me. Although he would (and still does) get some words wrong, I don't think it was ever as bad as this! Even when he was three he probably had this kid beat. It was painful and aggravating. 

Another thing that kind of annoyed me was for a long time I thought the book took place in England or somewhere that definitely wasn't America. A lot of the phrases used were a bit off. Why???

Overall it was a pretty boring, although quick read. I was ready for it to end a quarter of the way through. 

- Megan Leigh

One New Thing: Pedicure

I've never thought about getting a pedicure. I just don't think about my feet unless I happen to get a splinter or a piece of glass lodged in one. If I don't see a body part on a frequent basis I usually neglect it. That's why I tend to have hairy armpits and three inch long toe talons. I like to pretend I do this on purpose to keep the boys at bay, but really it's just negligence in the first degree and there aren't really any boys to keep away (shh!).

But this week I was out visiting my Aunt for part of my farewell St. Louis tour and she wanted to get a pedicure and offered to pay for mine. At first I wanted to say no. It wasn't that I wanted to keep my disgusting feet disgusting, but I thought it would be super uncomfortable for someone to touch my feet. After a bit more thought I decided to give it a try -- More material for the blog!

It wasn't so bad! I think my calloused heels are smoother and if this nail polish lasts for a longer time than my usual that'll be pretty rad!

- Megan Leigh

Read More: Mockingjay

Update:

Well, it's over. It was very stressful going towards the end there, so I'm glad to be done with it. Did some of the outcomes make my heart ache a little? A lot? Yes. But unhappy endings make the most memorable books and it kept me guessing to the last! Now that it's through I can definitely recommend you read the trilogy. But be careful, there is a chance you'll ignore work in favor of reading the books and get caught by Kenneth Parcell!

Now back to the other 8 books I'm working on. More heartache awaits in Project Nim, I'm sure. 

- Megan Leigh

Mockingjay, the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy, turned up at the library more quickly than I could have hoped! I was snooping through Megan's room one weekend and found it lying on the floor, in her library pile. So exciting! Maybe I look like a dork, reading tween lit on the subway, but I don't care. The Hunger Games are good stuff.

This book didn't disappoint. All the loose ends in the trilogy got tied up. Who does the heroine end up with? Her taciturn, hawkish childhood friend? Or her sunny, gentle Hunger Game-partner? How does she avoid getting co-opted by power hungry warlords? And what happens when the revolution ends? What will she do to the enemy she hates when she suddenly finds herself in charge? It's a timely book, in light of all the revolutions playing out in the Middle East! So many times it seems like you just end up replacing one tyrannical government with another. If only Katniss were in charge.

A fun, quick read!

-Kristin

Read More: Catching Fire

Update:

Book two is done! Catching Fire wasn't as good as The Hunger Games. There's a bit of repetitiveness, which isn't terrible exactly, just not as exciting anymore. Although Kristin saw a certain twist in this book coming, I was taken by surprise! I thought this book was going in a different direction. I Kindle bought the third book this morning! Another late night awaits.

- Megan Leigh

I put in my request at the library for Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy, what seems like ages ago. Finally, last Friday Megan brought it home. By that point, I'd forgotten I was even waiting for it, so it was a special treat! Saturday morning, the kids woke me up at 7, as usual. I knew I was in for a Backyardigans marathon. So I yawned and cracked open the book, while Poppy got down to the theme song.

Now I'd heard that this book wasn't as good as the first in the series. Or the third. I think Cate told me that nothing much happens in this one. So my expectations were pretty low. I got engrossed right away, though, and I ended up finishing the entire book in one day! I could see where parts of this book were a letdown for fans. I don't want to spill any secrets, but there was a lot that was predictable. Even so, I thought it was a fun read. And it took me away from the Backyardigans for a while!

As with the Hunger Games, and any dystopian future-type book, it made you look at our society in a more jaded than usual way. An elite urban population, living off the misery of most of the world... Said elites sending children off to kill each other for no reason... It's all sadly familiar. And very timely! Although I guess those themes are always timely.

At this point, you may be wondering who these urban elites I am speaking about are. Are they the same as those subway-riding elites who have been in the news of late? No, but speaking of, it you want to see more of them, here is a great video montage of the subway-riding elites of New York City.

-Kristin

One New Thing: Sewing

I can't remember ever having used a sewing machine before. Never had Home EC, always avoided the sewing machine when mom had it out... somehow I just never learned how to sew. It was way too late that I realized that sewing would probably be a really useful skill. And it took even longer for me to think that sewing actually sounded like a lot of fun. But that's the place I found myself in for the last few years! Ben's mom generously bought us a great sewing machine. Which Ben promptly put to use. But I just didn't know where to start.

Then, like so many wondrous things, the answer came to me in my daily Groupon email. A sewing class that promised me the sewing basics in two hours. And I would leave with my very own makeup bag. A bag that I made! All I had to do was show up.

I scooped up two classes for me and Meg. Then Kim bought one too. The fun was about to start! We all registered for a class, and the excitement built. But then, on the morning of the class, disaster struck. Elliot was puking. The plague had passed from little to big sibling. Megan graciously offered to stay home with typhoid Eli so I could go to the class. But the gods were not done with us yet. Over in New Jersey, Kim was scheduled to accept a big delivery. And the delivery people came late. And then she missed her train. And then, when she finally got a train, it was held at the station.

Somehow Kim and I made it to class though. And we sewed our bags, and it was a lot of fun! The class was held at the Sewing Studio, and it was nice and small--just five of us. The teacher was very nice and patient. And best of all, we got to work on the very same kind of sewing machine I have at home. So that was very useful. And I think I picked up most of the basic stuff I need to know to start experimenting--how to thread a bobbin, how to start a simple seam, that kind of thing.

Here's a picture of my bag. I picked a nice bicycle fabric, so I gave it to Ben to keep doctor things in. You can't see in the picture, but I pricked my finger and got blood on the bag. Booo. But he says he likes it anyway. And I think the blood really shows that I put my all into this project.

-Kristin

In the Theater: Friends with Kids

Last weekend Cat and I saw a preview for Friends with Kids. With the same cast as Bridesmaids and the addition of Adam Scott we thought we couldn't go wrong and were eager to see it the following weekend. The week dragged by. Finally Saturday came around and Cat, Susannah and I skipped arm in arm to the theater for laughs galore.

The theater, The Brooklyn Heights Cinema, was very teeny with only two screens. Cat led me to believe it was like the Hi-Pointe, so I was extremely disappointed when there was no comforting musty odor and no doggy mascot. After forgiving these negatives (because not every theater can be that perfect) I decided that it was a very cute place. And even though someone sat in front of me I could see the screen just fine and didn't need to lower myself by pleading for an adult booster seat.

Cat, Susannah and Popcorn

On to the movie. I thought it was incredibly lame. The plot line was obvious from the commercials so there were no surprises or much originality there. I went into the movie expecting it to be funny based on the actors. It was not. It was very serious and full of emotional turmoil. The dialogue was pretty idiotic. I didn't care for any of the characters, except maybe Chris O'Dowd (and that's because his part was small enough that I could still pretend he was my little IT nerd). There were a few laughs, but they were probably only funny compared to the rest of the lame ass movie.

In summation: Theater good. Movie bad.

Read More: The Hunger Games

Update:

Now I finally gave in and read The Hunger Games. I don't know why I keep trying to avoid Young Adult Fiction. I'm just hurting myself because it seems to be pretty awesome.

Book One did a really great job of pulling me into the story. I enjoyed that the author didn't give a background or summary of what the hunger games were at the beginning of the book, but let details out bit by bit so I had to keep reading to find out more.

Also really great, or terrible, the author ends it so that you have to read the next book. Things aren't wrapped up nicely. I'm so happy that I didn't read these books as they were coming out and had to wait for the next book to be released. I wouldn't be able to take it! I couldn't even take the wait to get it from the library. Position 704 in the queue! I decided to buy it, but it's only out in hardback and I just couldn't justify it. But I did eventually cave a few hours later and got it for the Kindle. I think it's stupid to pay money for a book I'll only read once, but I had no choice! I need this.

- Megan Leigh

So this is actually a young adult book, but I've been seeing a lot of adults reading it on the subway. Then, when we had the book fair, a lot of parents told me it was a must-read. So I decided to give it a try!

I found this book to be really gripping. It took me about a day to finish it, and it was very hard to put down. It's written in a really simple, no-frills style--which is probably because it was meant for young adults, but, given who the narrator is, it works well. This book is so brutal, though, that it's hard for me to imagine young adults reading it. It was hard for me to deal with! Although I think I get more and more sensitive to violence and stuff as I get older.

I guess it is a timely book too. With more of our citizens locked up than any other high-income nation, one of the highest levels of income inequality of all the OECD nations, really high rates of violence, and our obsession with reality tv... maybe the post-apocalyptic North America envisioned in this book isn't all that far off.

The ending was a little anti-climactic, but I guess it was intentionally written to lead up to the sequel... and it also must be hard to wrap up a really good book. I give it a hearty recommendation! I will be reading the next one in the series.

-Kristin

Read More: Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness

Update: Well, I loved Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, so I wasn't surprised to find out that I liked Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness as well. I didn't find it quite as moving as her first book, but it was still definitely worth reading. This book focused on her mother's fascinating life, and the portrait she painted of her mom was a lot more sympathetic. I got the feeling it may have been an attempt to make things right with her mom after the last book came out!

The tragedy in her parents' lives kind of boggles the mind. More children dead than alive. Civil war after civil war. Being surrounded by death and destruction. As young people, they decided to live in the place that they loved, never really knowing what they were signing up for. Even so, I think Fuller describes the places they lived in a way that lets you understand why they never thought of abandoning their way of life. More than anything, this book made me want to see the light in Kenya!

-Kristin


White African memoirs are not my favorite, as I believe I've written a bit about before. So I tried to read Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness pushing this bias aside with all my might. It couldn't be helped, my oppositional thoughts did their best to continually creep in, but I must pat myself on the back for doing a pretty good job at keeping them at bay. This may be the reason that I enjoyed this book much more than Alexandra Fuller's previous memoir Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight.

I liked it because throughout the book the mom antagonizes her daughter about her Awful Books. "Be careful what you say, she'll put this in one of her Awful Books." Apparently the mother was not too happy about her previous memoir. However, she groomed Fuller from the time she was small to write a memoir about her and her fantastic deeds. So she finally does, this book focusing mainly on her mom, Nicola Fuller of Central Africa and her amazing exploits. Also written about is her crippling depression, which I assume would be quite a sensitive topic. I wonder what the mother will think about this one.

Her mom led such a harsh life out in the African wilds. You'd think being from a Western country you'd somehow keep managing to live that lifestyle no matter where you go. But moving to Africa they had the same infant mortality rates as any indigenous African. Only two out of her five children made it to adulthood.

At times I wondered why in the world they chose Africa of all places to live. Probably because you can grow up with a chimp as your best friend there. And that makes all the war and illness and deadly animals worth it. 

- Megan Leigh

One New Thing: Central Park Zoo

Yesterday I babysat a couple of kids: a girl in Elliot's class (who was out due to a lice infestation all up in her hair) and her little brother (Poppy's age). Their mother had me take them to the Central Park Zoo because it was such a beautiful day out. I found myself in a tank top feeling fine surrounded by people in winter coats. That doesn't seem like me!

I figured it would be comparable to the St. Louis Zoo since they're both in big parks. So I was horrified (even though I knew it was coming!) that it cost money. Boy are we St. Louisans spoiled. In a good way, of course. Not only did it cost money, but it was tiny! I know, I know, the big zoo is in the Bronx, but I was still disappointed. I was told there was a petting zoo where you could feed the goats. You could only feed them food through a fence and they're all adults. I wanted to be climbed on by baby goats and to nurse them with little bottles of milk. The saviors of the day were the Sea Lions and their wonderful burps.

I feel bad comparing this little rinky dink affair to St. Louis so I'll have to check out the Bronx zoo next... and then bash it.

- Megan Leigh

One New Thing: Pequeña

Cat and her tacos

Oh boy, we've been dropping the ball on this blog! Kristin's been sick and I've been lazy. That's why this post is going to travel back in time to last Sunday...

Last night I went out to Fort Greene to hang out with my good pal Cat. I told her that I didn't have money for dinner, but I would go and sit with her if she needed to get food. She chose Pequeña and told me I could get a little side. I thought maybe I could spend just a little of my non-existent money on just a little food. But then the waitress handed me the menu and there were chicken enchiladas - one of those foods I just can't say no to. So a meal was ordered and a one new thing blog was born.

But first we ordered a carafe of frozen strawberry margaritas. I haven't had one in so long it was surprising how salty they were. I'm used to my sweet alcoholic beverages so it was a nice change.

Then the food came. Normally I like my Mexican food with a decent amount of spice - this wasn't that kind of food. It was more along the lines of what I consider Tex-Mex (This description may be wrong. I just refer to anything bland as Tex-Mex). But I enjoyed it none the less! The rice was a useless waste of plate, but I thoroughly enjoyed the chicken enchiladas. There was enough that I was able to save one for breakfast. I went to bed like on Christmas Eve, thinking the sooner I go to sleep the sooner I can wake up and open presents! However, in this case opening presents was really eating enchiladas!

If you're wondering where this margarita filled night led us... To Target. To buy Jenga. Which we played the rest of the night while watching Saturday Night Live. Just two single girls in the Big Apple livin' it up!

- Megan Leigh

Read More: Anthropology of An American Girl

I saw Anthropology of An American Girl lying on one of the tables at BookCulture and thought it looked intriguing. One of the reviews said it was like crack! That sounded good. I added it to my list of books to read. Then I saw it for sale for half-price at Goddard's Book Fair. Surely the gods were smiling on me! Or were they?

This book was hideously bad. I so wanted to like it. I made myself finish the whole damn thing, and because it was so bad it dragged on for weeks. I wanted to give the author the benefit of the doubt. I really did.

The book follows Evie, an American Girl. We meet her in high school and stay with her past college graduation. Evie is pretty much the worst protagonist ever. She is a non-person. Totally passive, obsessed with her own thoughts, no interest in anything going on outside her head. She gets buffeted about by the men in her life like a paperdoll on a rainy day. Evie oozes through the book like a spineless, mute blob, but we are given to understand that everybody finds her irresistible. Reading this book is like getting stuck in the head of the most self-absorbed, vacant person you know.

Then there is the title. Unbeknownst to the author, anthropology refers to the study of humans. Plural. Groups of people. So the title "Anthropology of The American Girl" would make sense. "Anthropology of An American Girl" doesn't make sense.

Still, I thought maybe the author had a plan. After all, teenagers are self-absorbed. Maybe the writing was so overwrought because it was supposed to be like a real teenager's thoughts. Maybe she called it Anthropology of An American Girl, because a self-indulgent teenage girl would make the mistake of perceiving her own solitary thoughts as something of grand importance, something representative of an entire group. Maybe all this nonsense was culminating in some big ending that would make sense of everything. So I kept reading.

And then I finished, finally, and knew for sure that it was all not worth it. This book seems like a pretty transparent re-imagining of the author's own girlhood. It's almost embarrassing to read it. It doesn't seem like the passage of years has provided any perspective or wisdom in this case. It's really rare that I dislike books. I'm pretty easy to please. But this book was painful to read. Two thumbs down!

-Kristin