The Usual Mistakes By Erin Flanagan
Published by U of Nebraska Press, 2005
ISBN 0803220294, 9780803220294
202 pages
So far so good - one book down twenty nine to go.
This feels pretty normal to me. I finished a book, watched the Blazers with some friends, snuck in 2 episodes of Lost and hit Goodwills and Pawn Shops for Nintendo Stuffs, all in the space of about 24 hours. However, tomorrow is a busy day, so getting ahead ANY pages is pretty good.
I started this challenge with a book of short stories and I'm rather pleased I did. I don't want to read the thirty books so fast that all I have done is read the pages, missing out on the words. Knowing that The Usual Mistakes was a collection of short stories made me focus on the words and get what I could out of them.
Some of the shorts stuck with me more then others. I might have connected to this book more if I was from the Midwest, or had at least been to the Midwest in the last 10 years (most of the stories are set there. Think cold.) I do think that geography affects your interpretation of the story
I liked the title story, where an impostor medical assistant at a hotel-like plastic surgery clinic befriends a young girl covered in Neo-Nazi tattoos, and the tale of a couple realizing they have grown up and become Honda People. These stories have no real plot, just a depiction of a particular time of someone’s life. Most of the shorts are more about the emotion of a situation than the situation itself.. Sometimes they’re endearing, and other times, they’re distasteful, but in a way that compels you to discover why.
It's worth checking out from your local libary and giving it a try, however I'm not sure I'd buy this book. Two and a half out of Four. Good but not Great.
On to book two!
Published by U of Nebraska Press, 2005
ISBN 0803220294, 9780803220294
202 pages
So far so good - one book down twenty nine to go.
This feels pretty normal to me. I finished a book, watched the Blazers with some friends, snuck in 2 episodes of Lost and hit Goodwills and Pawn Shops for Nintendo Stuffs, all in the space of about 24 hours. However, tomorrow is a busy day, so getting ahead ANY pages is pretty good.
I started this challenge with a book of short stories and I'm rather pleased I did. I don't want to read the thirty books so fast that all I have done is read the pages, missing out on the words. Knowing that The Usual Mistakes was a collection of short stories made me focus on the words and get what I could out of them.
Some of the shorts stuck with me more then others. I might have connected to this book more if I was from the Midwest, or had at least been to the Midwest in the last 10 years (most of the stories are set there. Think cold.) I do think that geography affects your interpretation of the story
I liked the title story, where an impostor medical assistant at a hotel-like plastic surgery clinic befriends a young girl covered in Neo-Nazi tattoos, and the tale of a couple realizing they have grown up and become Honda People. These stories have no real plot, just a depiction of a particular time of someone’s life. Most of the shorts are more about the emotion of a situation than the situation itself.. Sometimes they’re endearing, and other times, they’re distasteful, but in a way that compels you to discover why.
It's worth checking out from your local libary and giving it a try, however I'm not sure I'd buy this book. Two and a half out of Four. Good but not Great.
On to book two!
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