Miranda July

I'm not sleeping well and in my wild thoughts at night, I decided to blog about the books I've read in 2010. I read a lot and I always find myself recommending books to friends but not being able to describe why they should read them. Jotting some thoughts down as I finish them may help me!

The first book of 2010 I finished was a collection of short stories by Miranda July, 'No one

belongs here more than you.'

I'm really bad for judging a book by its cover. And its title. I had not heard of Miranda July or this book before ordering it, yet I knew I'd love it. I'm not always right though, I recently read 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt. The less said the better.

The first thing that struck me about the book was the characters. They all have a certain vulnerability which is so attractive to the reader, especially readers like myself. More often than not, these characters discover themselves in odd situations, I found it reminiscent of the start of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami. Many of the stories focus on relationships, not always of an intimate nature, sometimes with a relative as in the brief two-page offering, 'The Moves', where a father teaches his daughter how to please a woman as he feels it's the only thing he can pass on. In 'How to Tell Stories to Children', we live through Deb and her relationship with a friends' child. The subject matter is often achingly simple, 'Something that needs Nothing' is essentially a story about unrequited love but involving teenage lesbian runaways, peep shows and wigs. Brilliant. Some of the time, the stories edge to to the dark side but always compelling.

I don't really want to use this word, but this is a quirky collection of stories. Charming, elegant and heartwarming. Check out this little website, http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/, a fun site where Miranda July writes stuff on her stove!

Next up: Eeeee Eee Eeee by Tao Lin.