Comments on: Giving up

By: Mumsy

Mumsy — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:12:18 +0000

I..really liked Episode of Sparrows. Maybe it will grow on you if you read it again a few years hence. I loved the part about Lovejoy’s clothes.

By: Kerry M

Kerry M — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:27:45 +0000

I’m still digging out from under my pile of read-but-never-reviewed books of 2011. I like the reviewlets! Bummed to hear about Hopscotch, though. I’m so intrigued by the premise of this book, and I don’t mind plot-less novels, but I’m hesitant at the idea of “expendable” chapters that don’t really change the experience or understanding of the novel itself. Maybe someday.

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:46:03 +0000

I agree that your reviewlets were way fun to read. Meanwhile, I have yet to read anything by Helen Oyeyemi but the more I read about her work, the more I feel like I should. (Though at the moment I’m doing the TBR Double Dare challenge, so any books I don’t currently own are waiting ’til April 1st – eep!)

By: Jessica

Jessica — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:47:22 +0000

I, too, need to declare bloggy bankruptcy. I have a TON of 2011 books to review. I think I’ll resort to a series of mini reviews like this, if I get the time. In the meantime, I’m just keeping up with my 2012 reviews.

And I loved your cranky tone. 🙂 I tend to react the same way to experimental fiction.

By: Amy @ My Friend Amy

Amy @ My Friend Amy — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 09:08:52 +0000

Congrats on the clean slate! I love everything you write.

By: J.G.

J.G. — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:23:45 +0000

Your cranky little reviewlets were awfully fun to read! Enjoy that clean slate — I can so relate to that backlogged feeling.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:48:09 +0000

I read Birds of America and I think I suffered from overblown expectations, too. I found her writing zippy but distanced, and I prefer zippy, zingy writing to have a lot of heart to it. And yes, as trapunto says, she does write about Middle America like an East coaster. However! There were two genuinely great stories in there, so I left the door open. Maybe the Frog Hospital another time.

By: Vasilly

Vasilly — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:10:26 +0000

Jenny, you scared the crap out of me with that title?! While your blog was loading, I kept wondering what is it that you were giving up. For a minute, I thought it was your blog. Thank God that wasn’t it. 🙂

I agree. Your co-worker is an idiot.

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:26:58 +0000

I loved A Gate at the Stairs. But it was a surprise to me–I hadn’t read anything about it before I plunged in–and I’m a female academic and a mother, which may actually be prerequisites for enjoying it.

By: Memory

Memory — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:15:45 +0000

Clean slates FTW! I should maybe do this with the stuff I sort of want to talk about but don’t really want to, like, expend energy on. Except I already wrote almost-full-sized reviews for most of those books and they’re just sitting around in my 2011reviews.doc file, waiting for me to post them, so it’d be a reallllly long post if I stuck ’em all together. It’d be nice to get them out of the way, though, so I can start talking about stuff I read yesterday. I kind of miss talking about stuff I read yesterday.