A Map of Tulsa: A Novel - Lytal

A Map of Tulsa: A Novel

Benjamin Lytal

After his freshman year away at a university out east Jim finds himself back in his hometown of Tulsa for the summer. While home he meets the enigmatic Adrienne who will change his life forever. Over the course of the summer Jim will rediscover Tulsa while mystifying the girl he has quickly come to love. However summers must end, and with the start of a semester Jim will learn how much three months can change a person.

Maybe it's my liberal arts background, or my return to my own hometown after years away at university but my feelings for A Map of Tulsa are a lot like a famous John Green quote, or very slowly and then all at once.    While I found Jim less than desirable his single minded obsession with Adrienne was interesting, and their summer adventures got me excited for the heat and stupid decisions of late July.

The second half of A Map of Tulsa is set five years later. With a directionless Jim, an emergency and a spur of the moment trip back to Oklahoma Lytal loses some of his luster. However the end result is a novel that resonated very strongly with me.  In the end it's not so much about Tulsa or Jim, but what it means to go home again, and how memories can be muddled.

Overall I really enjoyed A Map of Tulsa. It's not the best book I've read this year, but I continued to think about Jim and Adrienne for weeks later. It's short, sweet, and would make a great summer read.

Benjamin Lytal wrote this piece for the Paris Review, talking about Tulsa and geography in fiction. You should totally check it out.

Mid Event Survey #Readathon

How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?
I'm doing very well! I haven't been as strict as i've been in the past about readathoning so I'm not as tired.
Mostly because I took a nap when I wanted to. I'm also as caffeinated as always, so i'm good to go for a while.

What have you finished reading so far?
I finished The Alienist and Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls. I'm currently in the middle of The Fun Parts and The Distracted Preacher. I hope to finish both before the end of the readathon.

What is your favorite read so far?
Since I've only finished two books it's not a very hard choice. I really loved Diabetes with Owls. I love Sedaris and this new collection is a breath of fresh air!

What about your favorite snacks?
I was dumb and didn't stock up on snacks. I did go out for a cream freeze and then had ribs for dinner, so I think those make up for my lack of carby treats.


The major problem I've been having with today's readathon is that I've already been reading like a maniac for weeks. When I first made my book list for today It included A Map of Tulsa, Looking for Alaska, The Horla, The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards and The Last Runaway. All of these are books I have read in the last 10 days.  So my reading list for today started off much shorter than I wanted it to be, and when I finished Diabetes with Owls I had to pause and regroup with some fresh book ideas.

However I will be pausing for the Red Wings game. This is Michigan and we are serious about our hockey.

Seriously, Wings, don't let me down. 

6 Hour Update #readathon

It's now 1 pm here in the metro Detroit area and that mean's I've been reading for six hours!

this is my book spine poem. 

Alright, it mean's I've been reading for about four hours because I fell back asleep after a chapter in Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls. It happens. It's Saturday.

So far I've finished The Alienist, by Machado De Assis. As it is a 88 page Novella it wasn't the biggest accomplishment but it helps to have a number in my finished column!

I'm still reading: Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls and plan on starting The Distracted Preacher by Hardy next.

However it is now probably time for a lunch and tea. Gotta stay nourished and caffeinated, amiright?

This is kinda a dull update. I'll try to have more interesting bookish adventures for the next one. Happy reading!

Ready to Read! #readathon

Introductory Questionnaire

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Michigan. It's cold here right now, but I expect it to warm up so i can read outside!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

I'm not sure but I'm already thinking of sending someone to get me starbucks

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm a 23 year old bibliophile (duh!) who loves tea, most things british and my cavachon puppy. 

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

The last time I participated was the spring of 2011. I'm really looking forward to making a dent in my TBR pile. Oh, and relaxing with some great books!

Beautiful Redemption - Garcia/Stohl

Garcia & Stohl

Ethan Wate is dead and the place he's in clearly isn't heaven. Now he needs to find a way back to earth, back to Lena and Gatlin. Lucky for him all of his Caster companions want him back as well.

Beautiful Redemption is the last book of The Caster Chronicles. Unfortunately Redemption resets the tone of the entire series. If you'll remember, Creatures, Darkness and Chaos all had their flaws but regardless I was enamored with the world that the authors had created but half of Redemption is set in the "other" world. The one where all the dead people are. It's not a very interesting place to be and it makes Ethan so single minded that he has less dimension than a paper doll. Of course Ethan's death send's Lena into one of her manic mourning spells.

Even though Ethan goes through a very literal, by the book, hero's journey his highs and lows weren't big enough to strike a chord. Even the two big "fight" scenes at the end of the novel were a letdown.

In short: I loved The Caster Chronicles as a series. Really, I enjoyed these books so much more than I had ever expected to, or would have dared to admit this past January as I was making snarky comments through Beautiful Creatures. I just felt that Beautiful Redemption wasn't on par with the rest of the series, and to be honest, I would have rather seen things end after Beautiful Chaos than have to remember Ethan & Friends journey through the underworld as canon.

Top Ten Books I HAD to buy

Top Ten Books that I just HAD to buy and are now sitting sadly on my shelves.

The Painted  Girls - I just bought this last month while I was reading at a pace of 2 books a week. I couldn't get past the first few pages and moved onto a spirited reread of Pride & Prejudice. I'll go back one day, unless I forget about it.
Wise Children - This came in the same package as The Painted Girls. Wise Children was on a flavorwire list a few weeks ago and piqued my interest. It's obviously still in my unread pile. If anyone is interested my new City in Sim City is thriving, though. These facts may be related.

Never Let Me Go - I was on a Keira Knightly kick and couldn't find a copy of the DVD, so I got the book instead. I ended up watching the heart-wrenching film before starting the more emotionally damaging book. I really want to read it but I don't want to be that depressed for a while.

Mists of Avalon - I really love Arthurian mythology.  Wait, let me amend that - I really love the Arthurian Mythology that I can find on Wikipedia. Which is why when I saw Mists of Avalon at a thrift store I picked it up. I love Morgan La Fey, or what the Internet's most used and often sketchy encyclopedia tells me of her, but Avalon is LONG and I'm afraid of bookish commitments.

Atonement/Saturday/Amsterdam - I have so many Ian McEwan novels that sound amazing. Like new favorite book amazing. Only I can't get through the first fifty pages. I actually finished my first McEwan novel this year and was not satisfied, so they'll probably be on my unread shelf a little longer.

White Teeth/On Beauty - Pretty much the same as McEwan, probably because amazon recommends both to people who like Foer and Krauss. I just can't get into her prose despite how awesome her plots sound .

Infinite Jest - I'LL GET TO IT, JUST GIVE ME THREE MONTHS WITH NOTHING TO DO.

The Last Runaway - Then new Tracy Chevalier novel, which I found out about after it was published and promptly bought only to forget about it immediately.

War & Peace - Last year I finally dredged  through Anna Karenina. My pristine copy of War & Peace will probably remain unread for some time.

The Forgotten Garden/ Distant Hours - Both are books that I should really enjoy, only they've been on my shelf for years and are getting a little dusty.

Neverwhere - I love Neil Gaiman, I really really do. I just haven't gotten around to reading one of his more famous works. That doesn't make me a bad fan, right? No you're right, it kind of does.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald - Fowler

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

Therese Anne Fowler

There are usually two sides to every story, but in the case of the Fitzgerald the world only knows the very public third. We all know F. Scott Fitzgerald and his flapper wife Zelda. Their parties and fights have stood the test of time and their jealous love is the stuff mythology is made of. Z presents a refreshing take on the Fitzgeralds lives from the point of view of Zelda. Starting with her at 17 year old and anxiously waiting for her real life to begin Fowler takes her readers through the twists and turns of Scott and Zelda's relationship, eventually ending with the broken women the world remembers today. 

In 384 short pages Therese Anne Fowler was able to depict a fully developed Zelda. Zelda's characterization is what makes Z such a compelling novel, she is both flawed and sympathetic. She comes across as much wiser than I would have ever though of her previous to finishing Z. In other works, like The Paris Wife or Midnight in Paris (I know, two different mediums, we'll deal) Zelda is portrayed as the "crazy wife" of the great F. Scott, but the only instability here is of her very real bi polar disorder (which she was never officially diagnosed with in life). 

One of my favorite quotes, and one I was very glad to see make an early appearance in Z, is "Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy." That's what Fowler did. Scott may be the hero that took Zelda away from Alabama, but their love is to strong and toxic for them to continue their party lifestyle with no consequences. 

Guys, when this comes out next month pick it up. It is definitely worth a read.