Reading this Week

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
We read this one for book group this month. I wasn't too excited to read it--a few years back I read it when AJ's mom told me how much she liked it, and after I finished, I wondered what all the fuss was about. I reread it in the few days right before book group and it was good to reread. I thought it was a great portrait of a time and place (Brooklyn, Williamsburg, right before WWI) and it was honest in its portrayal of the grinding reality of poverty. The preface to the edition I read, written by Anna Quindlen, talked about how it was both honest and true. True--meaning that it speaks to issues much larger than the book itself. I didn't see those as much. Maybe because I sped through it? Or maybe because they didn't resonate with me? Not sure, but most people I know love this book. I thought it was good. And a fine choice, but I didn't love it.

The City of Ember by Jeanne Deprau
One of the girls in my primary class has talked a lot about this book, so I decided to pick it up. It's a children's book--in fact, I wondered if MJ could handle it. Maybe in a few months. The story is about a city that is underground--stores are diminished, light bulbs are running out, and the massive generator is failing. Like most children's literature, the two heros of the book are children who have little adult supervision or intervention. They happen upon the secret to leave the city and embark on the journey out, with the intention to find a way to help rescue the rest of the city residents. The plot stretched credulity at time, the characters were not nuanced, the writing was so-so, but I can see how a kid would really like this book.

I'm ready to turn back to some good non-fiction. I just got Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food from the library. I think that will be next.