notthemarimba | (no subject)

We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle For the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People- Peter Van Buren

This is a magnificently depressing book. I think it's fairly common knowledge how badly the military side of things has been managed in Iraq, but this takes a scathing look at the State Department's role. I really liked it, although it does occasionally get overly memoir-y.

Hunger Games Trilogy- Suzanne Collins

Oh Hunger Games trilogy, I have so many feelings about you. Mostly, that I find your fictional universe super interesting and kind of just want lots of fic about your politics and everyday life, but until the last half of the third book, Katniss Everdeen is mostly just a collection of YA female protagonist stereotypes. We're given a heaping dose of "but I'm not LIKE those OTHER girls" (or as wrabbit termed it, "Taylor Swift song syndrome"). All said, though, I'm way too excited for the movie. I'm really interested in seeing what they do with it.

A Visit From the Goon Squad- Jennifer Egan

This book is so sharp and cleverly executed. Egan starts with the stories of an aging, impotent musician-turned record executive and his assistant, a 35-year-old woman with a penchant for stealing things from people, and spirals out back and forth in time and between all the other characters who link them. The last chapter felt like a weird shift of tone to me, but it's a small problem in something I otherwise really enjoyed. Recommended overall.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- John Le Carre

Read after I saw the movie. I think most of the adaptation choices from the book to the movie were good ones, but reading it did help the end of the movie to make a bit more sense.