Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

This is a pretty good book that kept me entertained through some cold weather recently.  It's perfect for anyone that has reconnected with the past, has gone through divorce and is maybe just a little more clever than most everyone around them.  I kid.....but only a little.  There's a certain kind of snarkiness that runs through this novel that is instantly recognizable in certain stereotypes of people: rich white real estate investors, older white gay males, fifty-something potheads, university intellectuals and the types of folks who live in East Coast tourist towns.  Read it, and you'll see what I mean. I think my favorite part of the book is the diatribe tough-as-nails realtor Renata lays down on her Uber driver about how everything today seems more fake than when she was young like veganism vs. macrobiotics and aerobics vs. pilates.  I know it says a lot about me that I like that little dialogue, but there you go.  I was intrigued when I learned that th

Life is full of Cryptic codes Mysterious voyages Obstructed justice Ambiguous instructions Changing passwords Closeted desires Secret handshakes Clandestine meetings Dark corners Veiled threats Conspiratorial glances And Private rooms And you will find yourself very, very lucky If you are never know a thing about any of them.

I chose to read a bit of Joyce Carol Oates mainly because she was a literary name I had always heard but never read, and I'm not sure she is really to my taste.  This book made me think a bit of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar .  It's weird, but I think the quality I most enjoyed about this book was it's time period....it was nice to read in a time when no cell phones existed.  I also kind of liked the savage feelings held against the sorority based on my own sorority experiences.  The all-women's dorm also reminded me of my very in-loco-parentis old-fashioned university back in the 1990's of southeastern North Carolina.  The love relationship in the book broke my heart in how the female protagonist basically lets herself be used and hurt by a man she admires way more than he deserves.  And the family relationships hurt even worse. Overall, it was a pretty sad and depressing book, but I don't want to overrule any other novels by JCO.  Does she write anyth

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So.  2017 was a completely rotten year for me. 2018 was pretty awesome though. But given the Chinese New Year animal for 2019,  I have very high hopes.