I don't normally read adult fiction. Well, ok. Sometimes I read adult fiction, but 98% of the adult books I've read in the last 3-4 years have been by authors I've read before (Sue Grafton, Tess Gerritsen, Iris Johansen, Jasper Fforde, Charles de Lint, and James Patterson). I rarely pick up an adult fiction book by someone I haven't read before because to be honest, I've got a list about 2 miles long of Young Adult fiction to read. So, now you're wondering...Becky, how did you come to read this adult novel by a first-time novelist (Tanya Egan Gibson)? Well, I'll tell you. It had a lot to do with sleep deprivation, ridiculous heat, a catchy title/cover, and the Boston Public Library. While I was on vacation recently I ended up camping out at the BPL for 2 hours to take advantage of their location and air conditioning without some sort of entertainment with me. I figured I'd just grab a book off the shelf to read while I was there. The adult new fiction was super easy to find and as I walked past I just had to see what a book called "How to Buy A Love of Reading" was all about. Sixty plus pages later I was hooked and really hoping that my local public library had a copy so I could read it when I got back.
Here's a good simple synopsis from Booklist (via Amazon.com): "Carley Wells is a high-school junior at a private school in upscale Fox Glen, where families spend an undue amount of time and money outdoing each other’s party budgets. Carley is overweight by 57 pounds (according to her personal trainer), “intellectually impoverished” (according to her English teacher), and has never read a book she liked. Worried about college applications, Carley’s parents (who never read themselves) commission a book for her—a book whose author will be ensconced in their mansion and shown off at Carley’s Sweet Sixteen party—as evidence of the Wells’ “devotion” to good literature. While Carley and “The Author” collaborate on the book, Carley continues to struggle scholastically and socially—especially with her best friend, Hunter, a senior chick magnet with whom she has a deep but platonic relationship. Hunter’s own problems have led to excessive Scotch binges and a Vicodin addiction, unbeknownst to his clueless and apparently uncaring mother. Brimming with literary allusions, commentary on the rich and famous, and the necessary ingredients for a successful novel, Gibson’s ingenious debut succeeds on many levels. --Deborah Donovan"
I really enjoyed the book. Although I found Carley, the protagonist, a bit whiny and clingy at first, I really grew to root for her. She's seen as dull and unexciting by the society of Long Island except by her best friend Hunter. But they don't give her enough credit. She's just misunderstood but more importantly a little under-listened to. She's not really trusted to make her own decisions, and when she is she's criticized or chastised for her choices. As the reader's get to know her we get to see the quirky pieces that make Carley a character we can all relate to. I especially loved her idea of Aftermemory: "Late at night, she'd explained, she'd rewatch her day in her head, slow it down, go frame-by-frame at the most confusing parts like her life was a DVD, and figure out the things she should have said...'The director's cut,' she'd explained. 'Like in the collector's edition of The Arion Annals: Seasons 1-9. Alternative endings. Deleted scenes.'" (40-41).
The book is way more literary than I usually read. I want to use the phrase "book snobbish," but in the best way possible. It's like seeing the writing conventions and metaphor that you read about and learn to find in literature as an English major come to life, literally and figuratively. Gibson's characters go beyond nuanced flaws straight into literary characters, but it fits the narrative structure so well that you don't care. You want to know how it ends, and how worse-for-the-wear they all turn out. Darker and more serious than the cover flap lets on, I struggle to know who would like this book. You need your Gatsby and Illiad references to get every pennies' worth, but they are not essential to the book's overall enjoyment.
I don't feel like this post does this book justice, but I'm not sure how to talk about the book without giving it away or coming across to literary for some readers. If it sounds like something you'd like, pick it up and let me know what you think. I'm really anxious to meet someone who has read it and would love to discuss it!!
Here's a good simple synopsis from Booklist (via Amazon.com): "Carley Wells is a high-school junior at a private school in upscale Fox Glen, where families spend an undue amount of time and money outdoing each other’s party budgets. Carley is overweight by 57 pounds (according to her personal trainer), “intellectually impoverished” (according to her English teacher), and has never read a book she liked. Worried about college applications, Carley’s parents (who never read themselves) commission a book for her—a book whose author will be ensconced in their mansion and shown off at Carley’s Sweet Sixteen party—as evidence of the Wells’ “devotion” to good literature. While Carley and “The Author” collaborate on the book, Carley continues to struggle scholastically and socially—especially with her best friend, Hunter, a senior chick magnet with whom she has a deep but platonic relationship. Hunter’s own problems have led to excessive Scotch binges and a Vicodin addiction, unbeknownst to his clueless and apparently uncaring mother. Brimming with literary allusions, commentary on the rich and famous, and the necessary ingredients for a successful novel, Gibson’s ingenious debut succeeds on many levels. --Deborah Donovan"
I really enjoyed the book. Although I found Carley, the protagonist, a bit whiny and clingy at first, I really grew to root for her. She's seen as dull and unexciting by the society of Long Island except by her best friend Hunter. But they don't give her enough credit. She's just misunderstood but more importantly a little under-listened to. She's not really trusted to make her own decisions, and when she is she's criticized or chastised for her choices. As the reader's get to know her we get to see the quirky pieces that make Carley a character we can all relate to. I especially loved her idea of Aftermemory: "Late at night, she'd explained, she'd rewatch her day in her head, slow it down, go frame-by-frame at the most confusing parts like her life was a DVD, and figure out the things she should have said...'The director's cut,' she'd explained. 'Like in the collector's edition of The Arion Annals: Seasons 1-9. Alternative endings. Deleted scenes.'" (40-41).
The book is way more literary than I usually read. I want to use the phrase "book snobbish," but in the best way possible. It's like seeing the writing conventions and metaphor that you read about and learn to find in literature as an English major come to life, literally and figuratively. Gibson's characters go beyond nuanced flaws straight into literary characters, but it fits the narrative structure so well that you don't care. You want to know how it ends, and how worse-for-the-wear they all turn out. Darker and more serious than the cover flap lets on, I struggle to know who would like this book. You need your Gatsby and Illiad references to get every pennies' worth, but they are not essential to the book's overall enjoyment.
I don't feel like this post does this book justice, but I'm not sure how to talk about the book without giving it away or coming across to literary for some readers. If it sounds like something you'd like, pick it up and let me know what you think. I'm really anxious to meet someone who has read it and would love to discuss it!!
You know I noticed this title a few weeks ago, but I moved past it. Maybe I will have to take a look now.
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