Review: Extremely Loud & Incredible Close

Finding good fiction has always seemed a bit overwhelming. Nonfiction is easy. My non-fiction "to-read" list is almost always miles long, and I'm constantly adding new titles-- there's simply so much I want to learn about! But fiction? It's much more difficult. Unlike nonfiction, I feel that the actual subject matters a lot less, and less obvious qualities-- characters, word usage, how compelling a plot is-- take far greater importance.

That being said, finding good fiction isn't easy. I've definitely been know to walk the aisles Barnes and Nobles for well over an hour, glancing over titles, wondering which covers hold remarkable, memorable stories, and which contain absolute fluff. It's not always easy to distinguish. Best-Sellar lists, and Editor's Recommendations aren't always the most help, either-- the last time I chose a book based on popular opinion, it didn't go over so well (see here). On the flipside, I do tend to have luck when reading based on recommendations from friends. A you-should-totally-read-this! from a close friend is almost always better than whatever Oprah happens to think (see here)*. 


This time, unfortunately, I didn't have any good from-a-friend recommendations up my sleeve, so I went with the next best thing:  I remembered a work of fiction I had enjoyed in the past, noted the author, and checked out his most recent book. In this case, the original book was Everything is Illuminated, the author was Jonathan Safran Foer, and the new book to read was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

It was okay.

Foer's got a unique style- no doubt about that- but I felt like it worked far better in Everything is Illuminated than in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The novel is told in a rather rambling stream of consciousness from the perspective of nine-year-old Oskar. Although the majority of the story explores Oskar's understanding of the September 11th attacks that killed his father, it also jumps to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima. At times, I felt that the book treated serious subjects far too light-heartedly, while at others, it was so sad that I honestly just wanted to stop reading and start something new. The result was disjunct and unsatisfying, and while that may have been the author's intention, it certainly didn't make for a book I actually enjoyed reading.


The verdict? 2.5/5

*If you happen to have any great fiction recommendations, I'd lovelovelove to hear them! I'm open to pretty much anything.

Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

This book had honestly been on my to-read list forever. My mom read it over the summer, and as soon as she started talking about the subjects it addresses-- medicine, cell biology, history, bioethics-- I knew it would be right up my alley.

The book itself is a work of non-fiction chronicling the life of Henrietta Lacks, a young African-American women who died of cervical cancer in the early 1950s. Just before her death, her physician scraped a few cells from her tumor, and, without her knowledge or consent, began growing them in culture.  Today, descendants of those cells, nicknamed "HeLa",  are used in nearly every cell culture lab on the planet.

Observe:

snapped a couple of days ago in my lab. 

although I don't personally work with HeLa cells, lots
of folks at the EPFL do. 

To be honest,  the book left me with somewhat mixed feelings.  I really enjoyed the portions talking about Henrietta's life and the lives of her family members. The author did a fantastic job explaining how Henrietta's descendants battled with the ethical implications of HeLa cells, and it definitely got me thinking about bioethics in general. What I didn't like, however, was how the book treated the actual science. I'll be honest-- I'm up to my ears in cell culture and definitely biased, but I thought the science portions were overly simplified.

The verdict? 3/5

Review: The Help

One of the downsides of living in a mostly French-speaking area is the absence of English books. One bookstore in Lausanne carries a small selection, but they're a) pretty darn expensive and b) not books I'm particularly interested in reading (Murder mysteries, thrillers, and spy books. They're okay every now and then, but I prefer books with a bit more substance.)

I've recently started downloading and reading books on Ben's Kindle, and while I'm liking the  e-reader considerably more than I thought I would, I still miss the feel of an actual book: flipping through the pages, dog-earing particularly great passages, and feeling the weight of it in your hands.

Not surprisingly, when I visited London earlier this year, one of the first things I did was head to a bookshop and pick out a lovely English book. Although I was tempted to buy several, my limited budget and over-stuffed backpack helped me to limit my choice to just one: The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.

The Help had honestly been on my "To Read" list for ages. Several of my good friends had listed it as one of they're personal favorites, and the storyline seemed unique and intriguing. To top it off, the story is set in Jackson, Mississippi*, a city I'll be visiting for a friend's wedding this coming July. 

The Help explores the lives and perspectives of three gripping women: Aibileen Clark, an African-American maid with a love for words; Minny Jackson, an African-American maid with a wry sense of humor; and Skeeter Plelan, a white college-grad upset with the attitudes and biases of her home town. Together, these three women come together to weave a remarkable story that's both impossible to put down and constantly stops to make you think. 

The verdict?

4.5/5

Definitely recommended.

*Confession: When spelling "Mississippi" I still use the little poem "M-I-"crooked letter"-"crooked letter"-I- "crooked letter"-"crooked letter"-I-"hunchback"-"hunchback"-I" Does anyone else do this? Am I crazy?

Review: Freedom

I hate to say it, but I think I'm just about the only one not enamored with Jonathan Franzen's Freedom.

I first heard about Freedom when I saw it on NPR's "Best of 2010" list. I made a mental note, added it to my ever-growing "to read" list, and promptly forgot about it. Then I saw it again, listed as Amazon.com's "Book of the Month." The New York Times liked it. Even Oprah liked it. This book was everywhere, and everywhere people seemed to love it. I downloaded it on Ben's kindle, and started reading.

The verdict? It was okay-- but I certainly wouldn't recommend it.

Franzen's style is both beautiful and readable, his characters have nice depth, and as a whole, he told his story very, very well. The problem? His story wasn't one I was particularly enjoyed reading.


Freedom chronicles the story of a modern, middle-class American family. Without giving anything away, they're an extremely unlikable bunch. They mess up a lot, they say things that make you cringe, and they leave you constantly hoping for some sort of drastic character redemption. What really irked me, however, was Franzen's overall attitude towards the story: disdain. Not only did I not like the characters, but I don't think the author did, either. When I finally closed the book (er...turned of the Kindle) I was left simply thinking: this guy doesn't really like people, does he? 

Sorry folks, but I'm just not on board with this one.

2/5.

Review: Cutting for Stone

I just finished a fantastic, fantastic book: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.

Equal parts medicine, history, and gripping story, the novel is both beautiful and compelling. Although I always love a well done store, what really makes a book great for me is when I feel like I've learned something as well. Cutting for Stone does both-- it draws you with complex characters and an un-put-down-able plot, but it teaches you as well: about the modern history of Ethiopia, what it's like to practice medicine in Ethiopia, how that compares to practicing medicine in inner-city America.

For anyone interested in medicine, Ethiopia, or simply a heart-felt and beautiful story, I can't recommend Cutting for Stone highly enough.

5/5.

Read, Eat, Run.

Read
My day mostly consisted to time spent in—Guess where?—the Wave, reading over articles, patents, and methodologies, trying to design at least a few plausible experimental set ups to try in the next few weeks.  While I was mostly overwhelmed (So much to learn! So much to learn!), I was also starting to become a little excited (Oh….so that’s how this method works!).  At any rate, I’ll definitely be relieved when my reading days have diminished and I finally feel like I’m (somewhat) up to speed.

Eat
I love grocery shopping, especially in a place where I barely speak the language. I love the feeling of walking along the aisles, noticing what looks familiar (Uncle Ben’s rice really is everywhere) and what is oddly missing (peanut butter, however, is definitely not).  It’s wonderfully fun to pick up bottles with labels you can’t understand and try to guess their contents-- mustard, salad dressing, paprika-- based on color, smell and texture alone.

My grocery shopping today, however, was pretty straight forward, however, consisting of mostly produce, bread, and cheese.  The nice thing about fruits and vegetables is that they’re pretty easy to identify no matter where you go. They also make for great on-the-fly vocabulary lessons. You see pears, you read  “poire”, and voila! You’ve just learned a new word. 

fancied-up grilled cheese: fresh bread, local cheese,
yummy tomatoes, and dried basil! yum!

lovely grilled cheese accompanies mixed greens, bell peppers
tomatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette. 

Run
By far, the most glorious part of my day was my run. If anyone ever asked me about Switzerland, more likely than not, my first response is always the same: It’s so beautiful! It’s this incredible natural beauty that inspired me to run a marathon two summers ago. Once I started running, I just couldn’t stop.

Since I like to blog pictures in addition to words, I took some photos on my run today. These were all taken on my phone, so the quality isn't quite as good as Ben's-which-has-been-commandeered-by-Vanessa camera, but the unique beauty of Lausanne still shines through. I'm not sure I'll be able to take photos on all my runs, though- it doesn't exactly make for fast, consistent running!

Photos from the 3 miles I ran today:

most beautiful run. 

lakeside church.

creperie d'ouchy, where ben and I ate
dinner our first night in lausanne.

one of lausanne's many lakeside fountains- a
bright yellow seal sprouting water from his nose!

another beautiful fountain. 

not quite sure what this is- my best guess is
"a gazebo dressing up like a crown for halloween."

in addition to being the headquarters to the international
olympic committee, lausanne is also home to the
olympic museum. 

on clear days (like this one), you can see france across
the lake.

my running path is lined in roses! this color rose (grandiflora)
is my favorite. 

lausanne's parks are incredibly accessible.
steep hills not your thing? try the outdoor
escalator! (unfortunately, tired puppies
have to stick to the hills.)

random couple by the water's edge, playing guitar and
singing together. 

beauty. 

A lot of people think I’m crazy for wanting to run another marathon. Didn’t it take a lot of time to train for the first one? Didn’t you have difficulty walking for a month after the race? Well….yeah. It did take a long time. And I did learn to empathize with arthritic folks a lot sooner than I though I would. But if this is how gorgeous a mere three miles of a Switzerland run is, think of how incredible 5, 10, 15 miles would be!  See? How could I not want to train again?

French words of the day: Pencil, pen, paper, notebook = le crayon, la plume, le papier, le bloc-notes (Classes start next week!)

Sleepy Sunday

When I was in Lausanne 2 years ago, I found a really great, English-speaking church. I had intended to go this morning, but overslept by about half an hour and decided to go running instead.

.

It was a gorgeous morning for a run- bright and sunny, but still cool. Once I became oriented (which took quite a bit longer than it probably should have), I headed down to the lake. I was surprised by how many runners, walkers, and roller-skaters were out. I’m probably too slow to actually run with someone, but I’ve always loved running while other people are about. It’s fun to people watch.

I ran along the lake for about 2 miles before I grew tired, stopped running, and walked for a bit. Between not really running since the MCAT (back when my need to de-stress outweighed the intense heat of the Southeast) and still getting over a cold, I was never really able to find that elusive running rhythm.  Still, two miles is better than no miles, and I’m very happy I decided to put my running legs back on this morning.

After my run, I fixed Ben and myself a wonderful omelet-scramble (basically, an omelet for someone with no egg-flipping skills) and we set off to the EPFL’s Wave building. I start work tomorrow, so I’ve been trying to do as much background reading as possible on my new research project. There’s still a lot of gaps in my knowledge, but hopefully my questions will at least be a little more intelligent now.

mushrooms, red peppers, and onions. yum!

for those of us who can't flip an omelet....

The main reason I’ve spent much of weekend in the Wave, however, is Ben. He won the IEE ICDM TomTom Traffic Prediction for Intelligent GPS Navigation contest, a data mining/machine learning competition and is now drafting the report of his contest-winning methodology. I don’t fully understand what it is he did, but I do know he beat out a team of IBM researchers and was given funds to attend a conference this December in Australia! Congratulations, Ben! 

the epfl has a very unique sense of design. 

that unique sense of design is very fun to play on,
however. 

looked out at the alps, and saw a rainbow! I think it's going
to be a wonderful week. 

French word/phrase of the day: Vous Allez Ou? = Where are you going? (Thanks to the BBC Language Courses!)