Winter Break Reading

Winter Break tends to be my time to catch up on all the books I meant to read but couldn't over the last few months. After an excellent night's sleep (such a rarity), I grab a book and stick with it. In the afternoons, I spend an unhealthy amount of time at the local coffee shop, sipping my frothy mocha, chatting with the baristas, and flying through whatever book I'm working on. So here's the three weeks.

Fifth Avenue, 5 AM by Sam Wasson

Anyone who knows me at all is familiar with my obsession with Breakfast at Tiffany's (Exhibit A). When my friend Renata visited this summer, she brought along this newly-published book as a gift. Although more about the movie than the novella, this nonfiction book was a delightful read. Chapters were grouped well, the writing was colloquial, the story was fascinating, and the whole thing read a bit like a Hollywood gossip magazine. I would recommend it highly to fans of Audrey Hepburn and Breakfast at Tiffany's, the movie.

On a side note, the top floor of Tiffany's Fifth Avenue location should be transformed into a breakfast café/tea house.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

I made a bit of a game out of finding (and fixing) typos in my copy of the book (not the one linked here). Du Maurier's style is sumptuous and superb-- her descriptions, sublime. I have an annoying habit of attempting to guess the outcome of stories. This book stumped me. Most of the plot points were a surprise. "Romantic suspense" is the category in which the book is most often placed, which is entirely correct. It shouldn't be confined to the category, though; it's an exceptional work of literature in its own right. The characters are well drawn, each with his or her own triumphs and faults. The protagonist, a young wife who feels unprepared for her role as matron of a house and society hostess, repeats her notions of low self-esteem, which can get a little repetitive. Max de Winter was a likeable, if enigmatic character; it is he who truly drives the story. The book is a true masterpiece of literature that should be read at least once.

It's Not About the Tapas by Polly Evans

This was the wildcard of my Winter reading. I bought this book several years ago for my father, who enjoys bicycling. The book is travel nonfiction, detailing a frazzled and stressed woman's bicycle trip around Spain. I found it to be enjoyable overall. It was witty, interesting, and smart, with great historical tidbits throughout; it made me want to read more books on Spanish history, in which I'm rather poorly versed. The chapters were short and revolved around the individual cities she visited. I'd recommend it to those traveling in Europe, particularly in Spain (obviously), and to anyone who would like to commiserate in the pain of bicycling up hills (yours truly included).

Currently reading: Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl. At six-hundred pages and with the return to school fast approaching, I'm not sure when it will be finished.