New Additions to TBR 2-6-10 (Ann Arbor Edition)

February 6, 2010Michelle

While I was on twitter the other day, Jen from Devourer of Books mentioned that every book she read recently took place in Ann Arbor. Naturally, I immediately wanted to read every single one and asked her which books they were. Most of you already know this, but for any newer readers, I grew up just outside of Ann Arbor* and then attended The University of Michigan for both undergrad and law school. I adore Ann Arbor and miss it very much. The only book I’ve really read that takes place there is Charles Baxter’s The Feast of Love. While reading it, I loved being able to accurately picture the story. So I decided that this week’s TBR post would feature those books that Jen mentioned.

The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar

Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan

Dream House by Valerie Laken

*From the Detroit Metro Times: Dream House as a whole is an excellent portrait of “the stereotypes that distinguish posh Ann Arbor, backwoods Dexter, and Ypsilanti.” While I take offense to the label of my hometown as “backwoods”, I LOVE that it gets mentioned in a review and can’t wait to read about the stereotypes.

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Jen - Devourer of Books February 6, 2010 / 10:49 am

Oh, I like that hardback cover of Dream House, I definitely prefer it to the paperback.

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- Michelle February 6, 2010 / 11:28 am
  
  I really like the hardback cover although I’d probably end up buying the paperback.
  
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Nicole February 6, 2010 / 6:32 pm

I can’t wait to read The Weight of Heaven. I hear such great things about Thrity Umrigar.

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- Michelle February 6, 2010 / 10:17 pm
  
  Me too. I’ve only heard good things.
  
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Dominique February 7, 2010 / 1:56 am

Dream House looks intriguing. 🙂

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- Michelle February 8, 2010 / 10:02 am
  
  I’ll let you know how it is. 🙂
  
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  - Dominique February 12, 2010 / 6:31 am
    
    I read in the paper the other day about a new movie called Dream House that’s going into production starring Naomi Watts. I wonder if it’s based on this book?
    Here it is on imdb.com:
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462041/
    
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  - Michelle February 14, 2010 / 9:14 am
    
    I don’t think it is.
    
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Vishy February 7, 2010 / 1:38 pm

Interesting list! ‘The Weight of Heaven’ is an interesting title. Thrity Umrigar is an interesting name – Umrigar is a Marathi name!

I didn’t know that ‘Feast of Love’ is set in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I saw the movie version and in the movie it is set in Portland. Why didn’t they make the movie in Michigan?

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- Michelle February 8, 2010 / 10:02 am
  
  I don’t know why they changed the location for the movie. I never actually saw it, but I remember being upset that they did that.
  
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  - Vishy February 8, 2010 / 11:27 am
    
    It is sad that they changed the location. The movie is nice though – beautiful story with Morgan Freeman in a leading role. But it would have been nicer if it had been set in Ann Arbor.
    
    I have heard that Ann Arbor is a beautiful place – have to envy you for living there all these years 🙂
    
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