I LOVE Barbara Kingsolver. When Della introduced me to her I immediately read everything she ever wrote (sadly, not nearly as many books as I had hoped). Well, now she has a new one that J gave me for Christmas. I just started reading it 5 minutes ago and I am only to page 11, but it is FANTASTIC. So I thought I would post right away so that you would all go read it immediately and wouldn't have to suffer through one more minute of not reading this book. But you are going to have to go get your own copy, because there is no way you are going to be able to pry it out of my hands. Jeremy has already been circling suspiciously. I guess there is a possibility that once I read more than 10 pages that my ardor will cool, but I doubt it. I will let you know. Anyway, here is a tasty tidbit for you:
(Upon moving from Tuscon, AZ to Virginia--thoughts on agriculture in the US)
"We also have convinced ourselves it (farming) wasn't too important. Consider how Americans might respond to a proposal that agriculture was to become a mandatory subject in all schools, alongside reading and mathematics. A fair number of parents would get hot under the collar to see their kids' attention being pulled away from the essentials of grammar, the all-important trigonometry, to make room for down-on-th-farm stuff. The baby boom psyche embraces a powerful presumption that education is key to moving away from manual labor, and dirt--two undeniable ingredients of farming. It's good enough for us that somebody, somewhere, knows food production well enough to serve the rest of us with all we need to eat, each day of our lives.
If that is true, why isn't it good enough for someone else to know multiplication and the contents of the Bill of Rights? Is the story of bread, from tilled ground to our table, less relevant to our lives than the history of the 13 colonies? Couldn't one make a case for the relevance of a subject that informs choices we make daily--as in, What's for dinner? Isn't ignorance of our food sources causing problems as diverse as overdependence on petroleum, and an epidemic of diet-related diseases?
If this book is not exactly an argument for reinstating food-production classes in schools (and it might be), it does contain a lot of what you might learn there. From our family's gas-station beginnings we have traveled far enough to discover ways of taking charge of one's food, and even knowing where it has been. This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew. We tried to wring most of the petroleum out of our food chain, even if that meant giving up some things. Our highest shopping goal was to get our food from so close to home, we'd know the person who grew it. Often that turned out to be us, as we learned to produce more of what we needed, starting with dirt, seeds, and enough knowledge to muddle through. Or starting with baby animals and enough sense to refrain from naming them.
(skipping forward a little)
Absence of that knowledge (farming) has rendered us a nation of wary label readers, oddly uneasy in our obligate relationship with the things we eat. We call our food animals by different names after they're dead, presumably sparing ourselves any vision of the beefs and the porks running around on actual hooves. Our words for unhealthy contamination--"soiled" or "dirty"--suggest that if we really knew the number-one ingredient of a garden, we'd all head straight into therapy. I used to take my children's friends out to the garden to warm them up to the idea o eating vegetables, but this strategy sometimes backfired: they'd back away slowly saying, "Oh man, those things touched dirt!" Adults do the same by pretending it all comes from the clean, well-lighted grocery store. We're like petulant teenagers rejecting our mother. We know we came out of her, but ee-ew."
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
One more opinion
Here is Time's thoughts on the matter,one's non-fiction and the second is fiction:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686244_1691768,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686244_1691840,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686244_1691768,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686244_1691840,00.html
One lady's opinion
Here's the Boston Globe's pick for the best fiction of 2007, if you're interested. I'll also post Time's when I find it.
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2007/12/02/the_best_fiction_of_2007/
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2007/12/02/the_best_fiction_of_2007/
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Mystery/Chick Lit/Historical Fiction
Just read 2 books that fit into all those categories. The first was Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear. It was heavier on the mystery and I think it is actually a sequel to a book called Maisie Dobbs, which I suspect of being better than this one. This was a good book, but it kept referring to interesting stuff in the first book that I hadn't read.
The second cross genre book was a little heavier on the chick lit side. It was the Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig and it was so fun! I bought it because it said "Pride and Prejudice lives on" on the front so I thought it was a retelling or something. Well, I was originally disappointed when it showed NO resemblance to P and P and I had been drawn in! But it turned out to be a fun adventure. It is also part of a series, and this is a series I plan on working my way through. Here is a teaser:
"In the course of her long career as de facto keeper of the Alsworthy menage, Letty had confronted all manner of domestic disruption, from exploding Christmas puddings to indignant tradesmen, and even, on one memorable occasion, escaped livestock. Letty had bandaged burns, coaxed her little brother's budgie out of tree, and stage-managed her family's yearly remove to a rented town house in London.
An attempted elopement was something new.
The whole situation was straight out of the comic stage: the daughter of the house hastily packing in the middle of the night with the help of her trusty (and soon to be unemployed) maid, the faithful lover waiting downstairs with a speedy carriage, ready to whisk them away to Gretna Green. All that was needed was a rope ladder and an irate guardian in hot pursuit.
That role, Letty realized fell to her. It didn't seem quite fair, but there it was. She had to stop Mary.
But how? Remonstrating with Mary wouldn't be any use. Over the past few years, Mary had made it quite clear that she didn't care to take advice from a sister, and a younger sister at that. She responded to Letty's well-meaning suggestions with the unblinking disdain perfected by cats in their dealings with their humans. Letty knew just how Mary would react. She would hear Letty out without saying a word, and then calmly go on to do whatever it was she had intended to do in the first place.
Rousing her parents would be worse than useless. Her father would simply blink at her over his spectacles and comment mildly that if Mary wished to make a spectacle of herself, it would be best to let her get on with it as quickly as possible and with as little trouble to themselves as could be had. As for her mother...Letty's face twisted in a terrible grimace that would undoubtedly lead to all sorts of unattractive wrinkles later in life. There was certainly no help to be found from that quarter. Her mother would probably help Mary into his lordship's carriage.
Letty looked longingly at the (fire) poker. She couldn't, though. She really couldn't."
The second cross genre book was a little heavier on the chick lit side. It was the Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig and it was so fun! I bought it because it said "Pride and Prejudice lives on" on the front so I thought it was a retelling or something. Well, I was originally disappointed when it showed NO resemblance to P and P and I had been drawn in! But it turned out to be a fun adventure. It is also part of a series, and this is a series I plan on working my way through. Here is a teaser:
"In the course of her long career as de facto keeper of the Alsworthy menage, Letty had confronted all manner of domestic disruption, from exploding Christmas puddings to indignant tradesmen, and even, on one memorable occasion, escaped livestock. Letty had bandaged burns, coaxed her little brother's budgie out of tree, and stage-managed her family's yearly remove to a rented town house in London.
An attempted elopement was something new.
The whole situation was straight out of the comic stage: the daughter of the house hastily packing in the middle of the night with the help of her trusty (and soon to be unemployed) maid, the faithful lover waiting downstairs with a speedy carriage, ready to whisk them away to Gretna Green. All that was needed was a rope ladder and an irate guardian in hot pursuit.
That role, Letty realized fell to her. It didn't seem quite fair, but there it was. She had to stop Mary.
But how? Remonstrating with Mary wouldn't be any use. Over the past few years, Mary had made it quite clear that she didn't care to take advice from a sister, and a younger sister at that. She responded to Letty's well-meaning suggestions with the unblinking disdain perfected by cats in their dealings with their humans. Letty knew just how Mary would react. She would hear Letty out without saying a word, and then calmly go on to do whatever it was she had intended to do in the first place.
Rousing her parents would be worse than useless. Her father would simply blink at her over his spectacles and comment mildly that if Mary wished to make a spectacle of herself, it would be best to let her get on with it as quickly as possible and with as little trouble to themselves as could be had. As for her mother...Letty's face twisted in a terrible grimace that would undoubtedly lead to all sorts of unattractive wrinkles later in life. There was certainly no help to be found from that quarter. Her mother would probably help Mary into his lordship's carriage.
Letty looked longingly at the (fire) poker. She couldn't, though. She really couldn't."
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
No Flying in the House
And she can do lots of things that other kids can't do such as kiss her elbow and fly around the house. But being a fairy isn't all fun and games, and soon Annabel must make a choice. If she chooses to be a fairy she'll have to say good-bye to Gloria forever.
I thought that this was a really great book. I think everyone should read it. I tried to find another book by this lady on Amazon. But the book was $55.00. It was a collectors item. I got this one for free at my school during "week of the young reader" week.
- by Madeline A.
Friday, November 23, 2007
MONK?
Anyone read the Monk books? I just realized there were books. So, if I watch the show will the book be the same thing?
Friday, November 02, 2007
a total waste of makeup
So Barnes and Noble were having a big sale a while back. I bought all kinds of books for $2.40 a piece. Keeping that in mind I was not too choosy in my selections. I mean for $3 if it is bad you don't feel bad for not reading it! So one of those purchases was a total waste of makeup by Kim Gruenenfelder. A little except picking up the grandparents from the airport before their granddaughter's wedding:
"Before I can ask my mother what deluded universe she lives in, we see my grandparents and Mawv coming down the escalator.
Grandama and Grandpa look like a couple of Protestants on vacation. They're dressed head-to-toe in L.L. Bean, including the shoes. If they were visiting New York, they'd have been mugged already.
My Mawv, on the other hand, is dressed in a beautiful pink dress that I swear I saw this spring at Bloomingdale's, and three-inch-high heels. A ninety-five-year-old woman in three-inch-heels.
If that sight doesn't cover the cost of admission, I don't know what does. Grandma holds Mawv's hand, treating her like an invalid who could break at any moment.
"Are you all right, Mother?!" Grandma screams into Mauv's left ear.
"Rose," Mawv responds in her normal voice, "I bought a hearing aid so that people wouldn't shout at me."
"Bernice!" Grandpa screams into her right ear, "Your hearing aid isn't working! You couldn't hear a word I said on the plane!" "NO, I was ignoring you!" Mawv (aka Bernice) mockingly screams back into Grandpa's ear. Then she returns to her normal voice. "I bought this damn thing because it said on the box that it filters out unwanted noise. But I can still hear every damn thing you say." She sees me and her face lights up. "Munchkin!"
"Before I can ask my mother what deluded universe she lives in, we see my grandparents and Mawv coming down the escalator.
Grandama and Grandpa look like a couple of Protestants on vacation. They're dressed head-to-toe in L.L. Bean, including the shoes. If they were visiting New York, they'd have been mugged already.
My Mawv, on the other hand, is dressed in a beautiful pink dress that I swear I saw this spring at Bloomingdale's, and three-inch-high heels. A ninety-five-year-old woman in three-inch-heels.
If that sight doesn't cover the cost of admission, I don't know what does. Grandma holds Mawv's hand, treating her like an invalid who could break at any moment.
"Are you all right, Mother?!" Grandma screams into Mauv's left ear.
"Rose," Mawv responds in her normal voice, "I bought a hearing aid so that people wouldn't shout at me."
"Bernice!" Grandpa screams into her right ear, "Your hearing aid isn't working! You couldn't hear a word I said on the plane!" "NO, I was ignoring you!" Mawv (aka Bernice) mockingly screams back into Grandpa's ear. Then she returns to her normal voice. "I bought this damn thing because it said on the box that it filters out unwanted noise. But I can still hear every damn thing you say." She sees me and her face lights up. "Munchkin!"
Monday, October 29, 2007
The Thirteenth Tale
This was a really good book. It's by Diane Setterfield and of course I looked her up and can't find any other books by her. Isn't that always the way. Well this book was so enjoyable that I kept it from the library till it was overdue, and those of you who know me well know how EXTREMELY rare that is! Ok, Ok, here's your teaser:
"Isabelle Angelfield was odd.
Isabelle Angelfield was born during a rainstorm.
It is impossible to know whether or not these facts are connected. But when, two and half decades later, Isabelle left home for the second time, people in the village looked back and remembered the endlessness of the rain on the day of her birth. Some remembered as if it was yesterday that the doctor was late, delayed by the floods caused by the river having burst its banks. Others recalled beyond the shadow of a doubt that the cord had been wrapped round the baby's neck, almost strangling her before she could be born. Yes, it was a difficult birth, all right, for on the stroke of six, just as the baby was born and the doctor rang the bell, hadn't the mother passed away, out of this world and into the next? So if the weather had been fine, and the doctor had been earlier, and the cord had not deprived the child of oxygen, and if the mother had not died...
And if, and if, and if. Such thinking was pointless. Isabelle was as Isabelle was, and that is all there is to say about the matter.
The infant, a white scrap of fury, was motherless. And at the beginning, to all intents and purposes, it looked like she'd be fatherless, too. For the father, George Angelfield, fell into a decline. He locked himself in the library and refused point-blank to come out. This might seem excessive; ten years of marriage is usually enough to cure marital affection, but Angelfield was an odd fellow, and there it was. He had loved her more than he loved his horses, more even than his dog. AS for their son, Charlie, a boy of nine, it never entered George's head to wonder whether he loved him more or less than Mathilde, for the fact was, he never thought of Charlie at all.
Bereaved, driven half mad with grief, George Angelfield sat all day in the library, eating nothing, seeing no one. And he spent his nights there, too, on the daybed, not sleeping but staring red-eyed at the moon. This went on for months. His pale cheeks became paler; her grew thin; he stopped speaking. Specialists were called from London. THe vicar came and left again. The dog pined away from want of affection, and when it died, George Angelfield barely noticed.
In the end the Missus got fed up with it all. She picked up baby Isabelle from the crib in the nursery and took her downstairs. She strode past the butler, ignoring his protestations, and went into the library without knocking. UP to the desk she marched, and she plumped the baby down in George Angelfield's arms without a word. Then she turned her back and walked out, slamming the door behind her."
Don't you want to know what happens now? I did. Although I didn't realize the book was a mystery until the last chapter! The whole thing is one big clue! It was awesome. Enjoy.
"Isabelle Angelfield was odd.
Isabelle Angelfield was born during a rainstorm.
It is impossible to know whether or not these facts are connected. But when, two and half decades later, Isabelle left home for the second time, people in the village looked back and remembered the endlessness of the rain on the day of her birth. Some remembered as if it was yesterday that the doctor was late, delayed by the floods caused by the river having burst its banks. Others recalled beyond the shadow of a doubt that the cord had been wrapped round the baby's neck, almost strangling her before she could be born. Yes, it was a difficult birth, all right, for on the stroke of six, just as the baby was born and the doctor rang the bell, hadn't the mother passed away, out of this world and into the next? So if the weather had been fine, and the doctor had been earlier, and the cord had not deprived the child of oxygen, and if the mother had not died...
And if, and if, and if. Such thinking was pointless. Isabelle was as Isabelle was, and that is all there is to say about the matter.
The infant, a white scrap of fury, was motherless. And at the beginning, to all intents and purposes, it looked like she'd be fatherless, too. For the father, George Angelfield, fell into a decline. He locked himself in the library and refused point-blank to come out. This might seem excessive; ten years of marriage is usually enough to cure marital affection, but Angelfield was an odd fellow, and there it was. He had loved her more than he loved his horses, more even than his dog. AS for their son, Charlie, a boy of nine, it never entered George's head to wonder whether he loved him more or less than Mathilde, for the fact was, he never thought of Charlie at all.
Bereaved, driven half mad with grief, George Angelfield sat all day in the library, eating nothing, seeing no one. And he spent his nights there, too, on the daybed, not sleeping but staring red-eyed at the moon. This went on for months. His pale cheeks became paler; her grew thin; he stopped speaking. Specialists were called from London. THe vicar came and left again. The dog pined away from want of affection, and when it died, George Angelfield barely noticed.
In the end the Missus got fed up with it all. She picked up baby Isabelle from the crib in the nursery and took her downstairs. She strode past the butler, ignoring his protestations, and went into the library without knocking. UP to the desk she marched, and she plumped the baby down in George Angelfield's arms without a word. Then she turned her back and walked out, slamming the door behind her."
Don't you want to know what happens now? I did. Although I didn't realize the book was a mystery until the last chapter! The whole thing is one big clue! It was awesome. Enjoy.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Ok, revised some
NOW the masterlist should have all the books I have read on it in bold. So I guess I need to start working on the non-bold ones even though some of them I might not. (Also, I highlighed Memoirs of a Geisha even though I only read the first few chapters. I'm done with it anyway. I didn't highlight Reading Lolita in Tehran, even though I started reading it 3 years ago. I'm not done with it. I'm going to try again sometime.)
Response to the Master List
I wish I had a master list... I'm just trying to keep mine on Amazon, but I'm not very good at updating it (I usually go through it about once a year when xmas rolls around.) I've read several books on your list, and have been found seriously considering others in the corners of bookstores. Here are my opinions, if you are interested:
Achebe – I read this book and can’t really remember much about it. Although, other people rave about it, I don’t remember disliking it, but don’t really remember anything else either.
Alvarez – same as Achebe (and I own this one!) maybe I should just pick it up and read it again.
Berendt – I really liked this book, and just like everyone else, it made me want to go to Georgia on a little southern vacation.
Flagg – I think Fannie Flagg writes the perfect lazy Sunday afternoon novel. I think “Welcome to the World…” is not as good as “Fried Green Tomatoes…” but it’s still pretty excellent.
Golden – I would skip this one. I didn’t find it as compelling as other people told me. I would recommend Pico Iyer’s “The lady and the monk” for more interesting Japanese reads.
Haddon – I really liked this ‘book’ (I listened to this one.) Move this one closer to the top of your list!
Kingsolver – one of my most favorite writers. I own this one and really liked it. If you haven’t read “The Bean Trees” or “The Poisonwood Bible” read those first. (Although “Prodigal Summer” is very good, the other two are better.)
Letts – I could swear that I read this while staying at your apartment in KC once while you were in college! Are you sure you don’t already own this one?
McCourt – I had a *shrug* ‘whatever’, reaction to this book. I’m not sure why I thought he sounded whiny, but many other people liked this book.
Roy – whoof, excellent and heavy. My advice would be to not finish the book right before bedtime. I had a really hard time getting to sleep after reading this one, and I went back and read the ending twice, it was VERY good. (A less heavy and less excellent recommendation would be “the Death of Vishnu.”)
Wells – Skip this one. Really, I thought it was awful, horrible, brain poison. I think I finished it out of spite and have no idea why so many people thought it was good. Horrible traumatizing childhoods make for zany adulthood? I think not.
Achebe – I read this book and can’t really remember much about it. Although, other people rave about it, I don’t remember disliking it, but don’t really remember anything else either.
Alvarez – same as Achebe (and I own this one!) maybe I should just pick it up and read it again.
Berendt – I really liked this book, and just like everyone else, it made me want to go to Georgia on a little southern vacation.
Flagg – I think Fannie Flagg writes the perfect lazy Sunday afternoon novel. I think “Welcome to the World…” is not as good as “Fried Green Tomatoes…” but it’s still pretty excellent.
Golden – I would skip this one. I didn’t find it as compelling as other people told me. I would recommend Pico Iyer’s “The lady and the monk” for more interesting Japanese reads.
Haddon – I really liked this ‘book’ (I listened to this one.) Move this one closer to the top of your list!
Kingsolver – one of my most favorite writers. I own this one and really liked it. If you haven’t read “The Bean Trees” or “The Poisonwood Bible” read those first. (Although “Prodigal Summer” is very good, the other two are better.)
Letts – I could swear that I read this while staying at your apartment in KC once while you were in college! Are you sure you don’t already own this one?
McCourt – I had a *shrug* ‘whatever’, reaction to this book. I’m not sure why I thought he sounded whiny, but many other people liked this book.
Roy – whoof, excellent and heavy. My advice would be to not finish the book right before bedtime. I had a really hard time getting to sleep after reading this one, and I went back and read the ending twice, it was VERY good. (A less heavy and less excellent recommendation would be “the Death of Vishnu.”)
Wells – Skip this one. Really, I thought it was awful, horrible, brain poison. I think I finished it out of spite and have no idea why so many people thought it was good. Horrible traumatizing childhoods make for zany adulthood? I think not.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Masterlist
Ok, this list is mostly for me. I have been keeping this list of the books Pam's book-group read and checking them off for the last 3 years. Now I just want this paper off my desk. What better way to save the list than on the book blog? Here they are:
Abraham, Pearl: The Romancer Reader
Achebe, Chinua: Things Fall Apart
Albom, Mitch: Tuesdays with Morrie
Alvarez, Julia: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
Atwood, Margaret: The Blind Assasin
Berendt, John: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Bohjalian, Chris: Midwives
Brooks, Geraldine: Year of Wonders
Chevalier, Tracy: Girl with a Pearl Earring
Cunningham, Michael: The Hours
Dallas, Sandra: Persian Pickle Club
Diamant, Anita: The Red Tent
du Maurier, Daphne
Enger, Lief: Peace Like a River
Evanovich, Janet: One for the Money
Faulkner, William
Fielding, Helen: Bridget Jones Diary
Flagg, Fannie: Welcome to the World, Baby Girl
Frazen, Jonathan: The Corrections
Frazier, Charles: Cold Mountain
Glass, Julia: Three Junes
Golden, Arthur: Memoirs of a Geisha
Graham, Janice: Firebird
Gregory, Philippa: The Queen's Fool
Gulland, Sandra: Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe
Guterson, David: Snow Falling on Cedars
Haddon, Mark: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime
Hamilton, Jane: The Book of Ruth
Hegi, Ursula: Stones from the River
Hoffman, Alice: The Probable Future
Irving, John: A Prayer for Owen Meany
Irving, John: A Widow for One Year
Johnson, Charles: Middle Passages
Kaysen, Susanna: Girl Interrupted
Kidd, Sue Monk: The Secret Life of Bees
Kingsolver, Barbara: Prodigal Summer
Lamb, Wally: She's Come Undone
Landvik, Lorna: Patty Jane's House of Curl
Letts, Billie: Where the Heart Is
Martel, Yann: Life of Pi
McBride, James: The Color of Water
McCourt, Frank: Angela's Ashes
McDermott, Alice: Charming Billy
McEwan, Ian: Atonement
Monroe, Mary Alice: The Book Club
Moore, Christopher: Lamb
Moriaty, Laura: The Center of Everything
Morrison, Toni: Paradise
Nafisi, Azar: Reading Lolita in Tehran
Niffenger, Audrey: The Time Traveler's Wife
O'Carroll, Brendan: The Mammy
Patchett, Ann: Bel Canto
Patchett, Ann: Patron Saint of Liars
Perry, Anne: The Cater Street Hangman
Rowling, JK: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Roy, Arundhati: The God of Small Things
Rushdee, Salmon: Fury
Russo, Richard: Empire Falls
Shreve, Anita: The Last Time they Met
Schlink, Bernhard: The Reader
Tyler, Ann: Ladder of Years
Tyler, Ann: The Amateur Marriage
Vreeland, Susan: Girl in Hyacinth Blue
Wells, Rebecca: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Lethem, Jonathan: Motherless Brooklyn
Hosseini Khaled: The Kite Runner
Here are a few other Authors I wrote down for some reason:
Ahern, Cecilia
Gore, Kristin
Eggers, Dave
Yeah, desk is just that much cleaner now!
Abraham, Pearl: The Romancer Reader
Achebe, Chinua: Things Fall Apart
Albom, Mitch: Tuesdays with Morrie
Alvarez, Julia: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
Atwood, Margaret: The Blind Assasin
Berendt, John: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Bohjalian, Chris: Midwives
Brooks, Geraldine: Year of Wonders
Chevalier, Tracy: Girl with a Pearl Earring
Cunningham, Michael: The Hours
Dallas, Sandra: Persian Pickle Club
Diamant, Anita: The Red Tent
du Maurier, Daphne
Enger, Lief: Peace Like a River
Evanovich, Janet: One for the Money
Faulkner, William
Fielding, Helen: Bridget Jones Diary
Flagg, Fannie: Welcome to the World, Baby Girl
Frazen, Jonathan: The Corrections
Frazier, Charles: Cold Mountain
Glass, Julia: Three Junes
Golden, Arthur: Memoirs of a Geisha
Graham, Janice: Firebird
Gregory, Philippa: The Queen's Fool
Gulland, Sandra: Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe
Guterson, David: Snow Falling on Cedars
Haddon, Mark: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime
Hamilton, Jane: The Book of Ruth
Hegi, Ursula: Stones from the River
Hoffman, Alice: The Probable Future
Irving, John: A Prayer for Owen Meany
Irving, John: A Widow for One Year
Johnson, Charles: Middle Passages
Kaysen, Susanna: Girl Interrupted
Kidd, Sue Monk: The Secret Life of Bees
Kingsolver, Barbara: Prodigal Summer
Lamb, Wally: She's Come Undone
Landvik, Lorna: Patty Jane's House of Curl
Letts, Billie: Where the Heart Is
Martel, Yann: Life of Pi
McBride, James: The Color of Water
McCourt, Frank: Angela's Ashes
McDermott, Alice: Charming Billy
McEwan, Ian: Atonement
Monroe, Mary Alice: The Book Club
Moore, Christopher: Lamb
Moriaty, Laura: The Center of Everything
Morrison, Toni: Paradise
Nafisi, Azar: Reading Lolita in Tehran
Niffenger, Audrey: The Time Traveler's Wife
O'Carroll, Brendan: The Mammy
Patchett, Ann: Bel Canto
Patchett, Ann: Patron Saint of Liars
Perry, Anne: The Cater Street Hangman
Rowling, JK: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Roy, Arundhati: The God of Small Things
Rushdee, Salmon: Fury
Russo, Richard: Empire Falls
Shreve, Anita: The Last Time they Met
Schlink, Bernhard: The Reader
Tyler, Ann: Ladder of Years
Tyler, Ann: The Amateur Marriage
Vreeland, Susan: Girl in Hyacinth Blue
Wells, Rebecca: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Lethem, Jonathan: Motherless Brooklyn
Hosseini Khaled: The Kite Runner
Here are a few other Authors I wrote down for some reason:
Ahern, Cecilia
Gore, Kristin
Eggers, Dave
Yeah, desk is just that much cleaner now!
Monday, October 01, 2007
Briga-DOOM
Ok, for all your chick-lit, murder mystery fans, here's a laugh: Briga-DOOM by Susan Goodwill. It was all fun and adventure. Here's a teaser:
Chapter One
"You look ridiculous, Kate," my aunt Kitty said.
This coming from a seventy-four-year-old in a black-feathered turban, yellow dance leotard, blue high-tops, and a red plaid mini-skirt.
I sighed and closed the door behind her. I felt ridiculous. Golf clothing was new to me, pink was not my color, and the socks, with their little pom-poms bouncing around my ankles, made me feel like the rear window of a Chevy low-rider.
Kitty and I stood in the lobby of the London family's dubious legacy, the Egyptian Theatre. She handed me a Styrofoam coffee cup.
"The outfit's for Ronnie's golf outing," I said. "He picked it out."
"Well, darling, you can always divorce him," she said, maneuvering her way across the loose floor tiles behind me. "They'll get easier now that you've gone through one. By your third or fourth, you'll slide through like a hot knife through butter."
That's the first page although my favorite parts are actually about dumpster diving and a naked bandit who mugs old ladies. It's fun and fast.
Chapter One
"You look ridiculous, Kate," my aunt Kitty said.
This coming from a seventy-four-year-old in a black-feathered turban, yellow dance leotard, blue high-tops, and a red plaid mini-skirt.
I sighed and closed the door behind her. I felt ridiculous. Golf clothing was new to me, pink was not my color, and the socks, with their little pom-poms bouncing around my ankles, made me feel like the rear window of a Chevy low-rider.
Kitty and I stood in the lobby of the London family's dubious legacy, the Egyptian Theatre. She handed me a Styrofoam coffee cup.
"The outfit's for Ronnie's golf outing," I said. "He picked it out."
"Well, darling, you can always divorce him," she said, maneuvering her way across the loose floor tiles behind me. "They'll get easier now that you've gone through one. By your third or fourth, you'll slide through like a hot knife through butter."
That's the first page although my favorite parts are actually about dumpster diving and a naked bandit who mugs old ladies. It's fun and fast.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Non-fiction-who me?
I'm not much of a non-fiction reader, but did pick one up recently. This is ironic because I've always advised people of the benefit of reading at least one non-fiction book a month. Anyway, I'm reading "Peter, Paul and Mary Magdelene" by Bart D. Ehrman. He is a historian who studies and writes about the early bible times. In this book he investigates all the found documents about or by these three (of course, many of their writings are not "by" them). He gives me a totally different perspective on what we read now. He explains the practices and customs that were prevalent during the period as well as a backround on the traditions that have migrated through the years. I'm anxious to read more of his books.
Here are a couple of links if you're interested in his CV:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_D._Ehrman
http://www.bartdehrman.com/
Here are a couple of links if you're interested in his CV:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_D._Ehrman
http://www.bartdehrman.com/
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Lost Author!
I read this great book a couple of weeks ago and then I forgot the title and the author so I can't get any more of them from the library! Help, help, help! Ok, her first name was MAYBE Phyllis and the book I read was about 2 look a like girls who switched places. She's a current author, but writes in a more "Austen-like" style. In fact she may have written a sequel to an Austen or Bronte book if I remember right. Anybody know who this is? I would like to read more of her stuff.
Also, I am looking for a clean and comfy reading chair for my classroom. I need something for story time so remember me if you are wanting to get rid of a chair...I will carry it away for you! I've been checking Craig's list, but so far the free or cheap chairs look pretty gross.
Also, I am looking for a clean and comfy reading chair for my classroom. I need something for story time so remember me if you are wanting to get rid of a chair...I will carry it away for you! I've been checking Craig's list, but so far the free or cheap chairs look pretty gross.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Piano Lessons: Music, Love, and True Adventures
So I am very excited because this is the 1st book in my four year marriage that I have read before my lovely wife! One of my former English teachers (who I later worked with while teaching junior high) sent this to me because she thought it would be something that I would enjoy. The book is written by Noah Adams who is the host of NPR's All Things Considered. Adams reflects on one year of learning how to play the piano. He decided as an adult that he wished he knew how to play the piano. He loved the sound of the instrument and had always enjoyed interviewing pianists during his career at NPR. On a whim he decided to buy a $11, 000 dollar Steinway piano without knowing how to play a note.
Because I teach music, it was interesting for me to hear a beginner's reflection on learning an instrument. I also loved the background knowledge he gave about many different pianists, piano makers, and instruments. Several times during the nights that I was reading the book I wanted to get up and play the piano and experience some of the things he was talking about. I particularly liked this book, because of my interest in music, but I would recommend it to anyone, including my wife who is yet to read a page.
Because I teach music, it was interesting for me to hear a beginner's reflection on learning an instrument. I also loved the background knowledge he gave about many different pianists, piano makers, and instruments. Several times during the nights that I was reading the book I wanted to get up and play the piano and experience some of the things he was talking about. I particularly liked this book, because of my interest in music, but I would recommend it to anyone, including my wife who is yet to read a page.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Quite a Year for Plums
I just borrowed Quite a Year for Plums by Bailey White from Aunt Nancy. I have been sick so I think I may have missed some large sections. The reason I think I may have slept through part is that the last scene has a character named Lucy in it and I don't remember a Lucy being in this book. Ah well. I really enjoyed the parts I didn't sleep through, especially the 2 crazy old ladies Meade and Hilma. They really appreciated the out doors.
I also read recently 13 Moons. It is FANTASTIC. Go read it immediately. I wish I had not returned it to the library so promptly because nothing short of an excerpt can do it justice. Here is a video of Charles Frazier talking about this book and other things. You can click on "open tools" to skip to the topic you would like to hear.
I also read recently 13 Moons. It is FANTASTIC. Go read it immediately. I wish I had not returned it to the library so promptly because nothing short of an excerpt can do it justice. Here is a video of Charles Frazier talking about this book and other things. You can click on "open tools" to skip to the topic you would like to hear.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Madeline L'Engle
Madeline L'Engle died yesterday. I'm including the link to the NY Times article, if you are interested.
"A Wrinkle in Time" affected me in ways that few other books have. I still have nightmares which include scenes from that book. I was never able to read any of her other books. I think I began "A Wind in the Door" and had to stop, because the nightmares were too much to take. I also think she installed in me a deep seeded fear of suburbia.
That said, I loved "A Wrinkle in Time" because it was so vivid for me. I probably won't re-read it, though.
"A Wrinkle in Time" affected me in ways that few other books have. I still have nightmares which include scenes from that book. I was never able to read any of her other books. I think I began "A Wind in the Door" and had to stop, because the nightmares were too much to take. I also think she installed in me a deep seeded fear of suburbia.
That said, I loved "A Wrinkle in Time" because it was so vivid for me. I probably won't re-read it, though.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
The End of the Affair
Oof, this one took me some time and it never took hold on me the way I thought it would. I haven't read any Graham Greene before this, and I'm not sure I'm interested in picking up any more, if this is the way it's going to be. (I'm open to suggestions if someone would like to convince me otherwise.)
The story is narrated by a guy who has just been left by the woman he has been seeing, who is cheating on her husband. The guy and the husband happen to be friends. The narrator is angry, bitter, and vindictive. (How romantic!) He proceeds to alienate and abuse everyone in site, including taking a few stabs at Catholicism for good measure.
I think the only reason I finished the book is (well, I'm not working for one) I saw it being referenced in ways that confused me. Also, there was a movie made about it with Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore, not that it makes the book any better.
Why is this a classic? I'm confused.
On the plus side, it's very short!
The story is narrated by a guy who has just been left by the woman he has been seeing, who is cheating on her husband. The guy and the husband happen to be friends. The narrator is angry, bitter, and vindictive. (How romantic!) He proceeds to alienate and abuse everyone in site, including taking a few stabs at Catholicism for good measure.
I think the only reason I finished the book is (well, I'm not working for one) I saw it being referenced in ways that confused me. Also, there was a movie made about it with Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore, not that it makes the book any better.
Why is this a classic? I'm confused.
On the plus side, it's very short!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Children's Books
Anyone read Sheep in a Jeep? It's great. So many children's books have great rhythm and stories. I miss just great story telling. Anybody know of some adult fiction with a plain ol' great story?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
how sad is this
I just saw this article on the Yahoo! news.
In other news, I finished two books that I began long, long ago. One was Linda Gordon's "The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction" and the other was Elena Poniatowska's "Tinisima."
I was supposed to read Gordon's book when I was in school, so you can see that it's taken me a while to get through it. I did like it, but it's dense, and chock full of endnotes. So, if you are looking for a history lesson, it's a good one. If you are looking for a relaxing evening, not so much.
"Tinisima" is a fictional account of the life of Tina Modotti. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about Tina Modotti to separate fact from fiction, but it was a good book anyway. Poniatowska is an exceptional storyteller. I'm going to make an effort to try and read some of her books in Spanish. If you are new to Poniatowska, I would recommend "Massacre in Mexico" as your first stop.
In other news, I finished two books that I began long, long ago. One was Linda Gordon's "The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction" and the other was Elena Poniatowska's "Tinisima."
I was supposed to read Gordon's book when I was in school, so you can see that it's taken me a while to get through it. I did like it, but it's dense, and chock full of endnotes. So, if you are looking for a history lesson, it's a good one. If you are looking for a relaxing evening, not so much.
"Tinisima" is a fictional account of the life of Tina Modotti. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about Tina Modotti to separate fact from fiction, but it was a good book anyway. Poniatowska is an exceptional storyteller. I'm going to make an effort to try and read some of her books in Spanish. If you are new to Poniatowska, I would recommend "Massacre in Mexico" as your first stop.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Summer Reading
First of all sorry no pictures. My scanner died. I did add links so you can see them on Amazon.
Well, it's been eclectic through the move. I had to turn in my library books and pack my books so I've just been reading whatever was around. I have read several things in the last couple of days. First, I discovered Anita Brookner and I read her Hotel du Lac. I really enjoyed her writing style although it was not a light summer read. It was a little more thought provoking. The book is from the perspective of a female writer who is weighing the options of being in love or being comfortable. It won a booker.
Ok, then I got to Pam and Earl's in Olathe and I started reading off of their shelves. I read 2 REALLY REALLY good books that you are going to want to run out and borrow right away. First is Water for Elephants. I have been reluctant to read this book because I assumed it would have a sad ending. It seems like contemporary fiction tends to have sad endings right now just because it's popular. Well this one has a great ending AND an exciting story to get you there.
The other book I have been reading at Pam and Earl's is Drop Dead my Lovely. It is just hilarious. A hermity book seller is reading Sam Spade novels when a stack of books hits him in the head and he wakes up believing he is a private eye. And the way he talks is so funny. Everyone thinks he's a nut case. Here's a little teaser for you:
"You're kidding with that suit, right?"
Oh, yeah. She also had opinions.
Which is generally jake with me. I'm not going to bust a clavicle patting myself on the back for it, but it so happens I approve of women having ideas of their own. When you consider the fact that women are the only minority that outnumber men, it makes the whole package easier to swallow.
I'd put an ad in the Village Voice for a part-time receptionist and she'd shown up before the press run was dry. Turned out she was an actress--yeah, I know: who isn't?--in need of a day gig between classes, auditions, and nervous breakdowns. Or is it nervous breaks-down? Court martial, attorney general, time immemorial, Nutty Buddy--some words are like people. The get perverse in the plural. From times immemorial, after courts martial, attorneys general traditionally enjoy Nuttys Buddy and have nervous breaks-down.
"I'm dead serious," I said. "It so happens I take great care with my appearance. And everything else, angel."
"Um...Pete."
There it was. That "um." I'd been hearing it all my life. The party of the second part was about to pop some frequently asked questions. "What? You're on the air, kid."
"Seriously. What's up with you?"
"Come again, doll?"
"That. The way you talk. With all these 'dolls' and 'angels.' And these zoot-suity clothes. And the hat. This whole hard-boiled thing. Are you serious or what?"
"Yeah, people ask me that all the time."
"So? What do you say?"
" I say I'm just a guy trying to stay clean in a dirty world. I'm a professional, and I wear what the professionals wear. Anybody who doesn't like it can send an e-mail to their congressman."
Stephanie suddenly looked sly. She said, one con artist to another, "Come on, Pete. You can tell me. This is a put-on, right?"
"Lady," I said, "you're looking at a man who doesn't do put-ons. Why? In self-defense. Because life as we know it is a put-on. The more you learn about the world, the more they change it into something else while you're in bed reading The New Yorker. The more convinced you are that you know the score, the bigger the pie they're baking to hit you in the face with out on the street. All a mug can do in a world like this is be a deliberate as possible. In everything."
The whole book is this great. Also, he is the worst P.I. I have ever read about. Love it!
Well, it's been eclectic through the move. I had to turn in my library books and pack my books so I've just been reading whatever was around. I have read several things in the last couple of days. First, I discovered Anita Brookner and I read her Hotel du Lac. I really enjoyed her writing style although it was not a light summer read. It was a little more thought provoking. The book is from the perspective of a female writer who is weighing the options of being in love or being comfortable. It won a booker.
Ok, then I got to Pam and Earl's in Olathe and I started reading off of their shelves. I read 2 REALLY REALLY good books that you are going to want to run out and borrow right away. First is Water for Elephants. I have been reluctant to read this book because I assumed it would have a sad ending. It seems like contemporary fiction tends to have sad endings right now just because it's popular. Well this one has a great ending AND an exciting story to get you there.
The other book I have been reading at Pam and Earl's is Drop Dead my Lovely. It is just hilarious. A hermity book seller is reading Sam Spade novels when a stack of books hits him in the head and he wakes up believing he is a private eye. And the way he talks is so funny. Everyone thinks he's a nut case. Here's a little teaser for you:
"You're kidding with that suit, right?"
Oh, yeah. She also had opinions.
Which is generally jake with me. I'm not going to bust a clavicle patting myself on the back for it, but it so happens I approve of women having ideas of their own. When you consider the fact that women are the only minority that outnumber men, it makes the whole package easier to swallow.
I'd put an ad in the Village Voice for a part-time receptionist and she'd shown up before the press run was dry. Turned out she was an actress--yeah, I know: who isn't?--in need of a day gig between classes, auditions, and nervous breakdowns. Or is it nervous breaks-down? Court martial, attorney general, time immemorial, Nutty Buddy--some words are like people. The get perverse in the plural. From times immemorial, after courts martial, attorneys general traditionally enjoy Nuttys Buddy and have nervous breaks-down.
"I'm dead serious," I said. "It so happens I take great care with my appearance. And everything else, angel."
"Um...Pete."
There it was. That "um." I'd been hearing it all my life. The party of the second part was about to pop some frequently asked questions. "What? You're on the air, kid."
"Seriously. What's up with you?"
"Come again, doll?"
"That. The way you talk. With all these 'dolls' and 'angels.' And these zoot-suity clothes. And the hat. This whole hard-boiled thing. Are you serious or what?"
"Yeah, people ask me that all the time."
"So? What do you say?"
" I say I'm just a guy trying to stay clean in a dirty world. I'm a professional, and I wear what the professionals wear. Anybody who doesn't like it can send an e-mail to their congressman."
Stephanie suddenly looked sly. She said, one con artist to another, "Come on, Pete. You can tell me. This is a put-on, right?"
"Lady," I said, "you're looking at a man who doesn't do put-ons. Why? In self-defense. Because life as we know it is a put-on. The more you learn about the world, the more they change it into something else while you're in bed reading The New Yorker. The more convinced you are that you know the score, the bigger the pie they're baking to hit you in the face with out on the street. All a mug can do in a world like this is be a deliberate as possible. In everything."
The whole book is this great. Also, he is the worst P.I. I have ever read about. Love it!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Well, since Uncle Paul is deviating with some action - I think I will add a little chick reading! I barely have a chance to read so when I do it is strictly for FUN! I think mostly because you can pick up a book after a week and remember what is going on.
The last book I read was "Hot Stuff" by one of my favorite chick writers Janet Evanovich. I doubt you learn much from this book, but it is still fun to read. If you are in the neighborhood, my mother was going to drop it off at grandma's house.
Monday, June 18, 2007
the death of a library card
I canceled my library card today and it was more painful than I expected. Not only did I cancel my card, but I also returned the book I had been holding on to (way past the due date) because I still thougth I could finish it. I paid my fine and withdrew my request for a book (Savage Detectives). I had forgotten about the hold on the Savage Detectives, so that was a sad surprise.
AND THEN, the librarian proceeded to cut my library card into tiny little pieces with a pair of scissors, right in front of me! It was awful.
No time for reading. We'll see how many books I can find in English after the move.
AND THEN, the librarian proceeded to cut my library card into tiny little pieces with a pair of scissors, right in front of me! It was awful.
No time for reading. We'll see how many books I can find in English after the move.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Lee Child
I'm deviating from the intellectual mode of this blog and inserting some action. This guy's protagonist is Jack Reacher, a drifter. He is ex-military MP and owns and carries nothing but his toothbrush (though he does have a bank account he accesses occasionally). He ends up in fortuitous situations that cause me a lot of excitement. His first is killing floor where he drifts into a town and immediately is charged with murder. I think my favorite is Dye Trying where he walks out of a store and bumps into a lady who is being abducted at the time so they just take him along. All of his are exciting, especially for those of us with wandering spirits.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Chinese Lessons
I just finished this book, which was recommended to me by a co-worker. The author was one of the first US exchange students to study in China after the Cultural Revolution. This is the quote on the back of the book by the former US ambassador to China,
"John Pomfret has written a brilliant, insightful book describing the dark side and the human cost of the 'Chinese economic miracle.' His feel for China, based on years of living there, his fluency in Chinese, and his reporting genius cut through the sham and spin of much current coverage."
The book recounts the lives of five of his classmates and Pomfret's life and interactions with China, including his expulsion after the Tienanmen square massacre. This is a great way to learn about recent Chinese history and give more perspective to the current issues in China.
I would strongly encourage everyone to read this before the Olympics in Beijing.
d
Friday, April 06, 2007
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
Terry Ryan wrote this book about her mother. It is pretty funny, as you would expect when there are 10 kids in one house. To help pay for expenses, the mother starts entering writing contests. And she wins--a lot! Here is a little teaser:
"She began her contesting career simply enough, with Burma-Shave roadside rhymes. In the 1950s you couldn't drive down a highway without passing a Burma-Shave roadside billboard campaign, six signs spaced at hundred-yard intervals down the road, one line to a sign, the last always "Burma-Shave". The verses were clever and meant to amuse, their content ranging from shaving to safe driving and current culture. My mother's submissions added to those topics an occasional touch of irony:
Race little roadster,
Fairly Fly.
You'll be
Used parts
By and by.
Burma-Shave.
Successful Burma-Shave jingles inserted a not-so-hidden advertisement into the mix, and in one entry Mom went for broke--if you don't shave close enough, you could kill yourself:
Hairpin turn,
Hotrod ditched.
Lost control,
His whiskers
Itched.
Burma-Shave."
Susan Vreeland
Just a short note on Passion of Artemisia. It was sort of a let down. I really loved Girl in Hyacinth Blue, so I was looking forward to another book from this author. Only one thing really happens in this book though. Maybe if I had known more about the art ahead of time I would have enjoyed it more.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
French Impressions
by John S. Little--sort of. It's actually mostly taken from notes written by his mother while they were abroad. Cute stories about their adventures in France. Good book. Who loaned this to me? I'm ready to give it back.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The True Account
Need something for the trip D? This book will be an excellent choice to distract you in busy airports.
I am sick so I have been reading a lot. This has been the best of the lot. It has many Don Quixote references and for good reason. This pure imagination and adventure. It is a narrative written by a kid about his crazy uncle and all they do together. I am going to give you a quote from fairly early in the book, so I don't give too much away:
(from handbills printed by the kid)
RUNAWAY UNCLE. Run off from Kingdom Common, Vermont, and UNCLE, Private True Teague Kinneson, about 50 years of age. His stature is tall, his countenance fierce, his clothes and gear those of a knight-errant, consisting of chain mail, a belled night-stocking over a copper plate in his head, a red sash, and galoshes worn high or low as the occasion requires. A former soldier with the Continental Army, a playwright, and a clasical scholar, this UNCLE imagines himself to have explored from the Pacific up the Columbia River, across the Rocky Mountains, and thence overland to St. Louis and the United States. Whoever conveys him safely home, or into the care of his nephew, Ticonderoga Kinneson, shall have 5 dollars from
THE KINNESON FAMILY
KINGDOM COMMON, VERMONT
This book flies by much faster than I would want. Very fun.
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Travel Bug Bites Again!
Oh, dear... I'm supposed to be packing and here I am writing a post (read: wasting time).
I just read two really good books. One was expected to be good and the other was a risk taken in the library stacks. I read the second book by J. Maarten Troost, the author of "The Sex Lives of Cannibals." It is called, "Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu." In this book, the author and his wife (the girlfriend from the last book) are holding down steady jobs in Washington, when they chuck it all (ok, he gets fired) and move off to an island in the South Pacific. He continues to write with a sense of humor which makes me laugh out loud. (While I was in the middle of this book, API walked into our bedroom to find me curled up with this book and snickering to myself. He thinks I am very strange.)
The title of Chapter 6: "In which the author ponders cannibalism and discovers that he just doesn't get it--not at all, cannot get past the icky factor--and so, left to his own devices by his beguiling wife, he decides to seek enlightenment on the island of Malekula, where until recently, within his own lifetime even, they lunched on people."
And, yes, you Spanish and French speakers out there, if you sound out the name of the Island you will understand that when Captain Cook named the island in French, he was not having a particularly good time.
You should probably read "The Sex Lives of Cannibals" first, but both are very, very good.
The second book, which was a risky selection at the library, is "On Mexican Time: A New Life in San Miguel" by Tony Cohan. While I very much enjoy reading about the young couple, or lone woman, or whomever chucking it all and moving to France (See Julia Child entry), I am very wary of the people who travel through Latin America. Most of this genre are travellers and they don't settle, so the book is usually about breadth instead of depth. I wanted depth, and this book delivered.
I'm also wary of the views from above of the lowly Latino, but these folks get right in there and mix it up! Sure, they have gringo friends and european friends, but they also have Mexican friends. It was surprisingly good.
Well, we're leaving for our own adventure in Mexico on Thursday night and I haven't started the packing process yet. This could be the trip which decides our summer plans, so keep your fingers crossed for us!
d
I just read two really good books. One was expected to be good and the other was a risk taken in the library stacks. I read the second book by J. Maarten Troost, the author of "The Sex Lives of Cannibals." It is called, "Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu." In this book, the author and his wife (the girlfriend from the last book) are holding down steady jobs in Washington, when they chuck it all (ok, he gets fired) and move off to an island in the South Pacific. He continues to write with a sense of humor which makes me laugh out loud. (While I was in the middle of this book, API walked into our bedroom to find me curled up with this book and snickering to myself. He thinks I am very strange.)
The title of Chapter 6: "In which the author ponders cannibalism and discovers that he just doesn't get it--not at all, cannot get past the icky factor--and so, left to his own devices by his beguiling wife, he decides to seek enlightenment on the island of Malekula, where until recently, within his own lifetime even, they lunched on people."
And, yes, you Spanish and French speakers out there, if you sound out the name of the Island you will understand that when Captain Cook named the island in French, he was not having a particularly good time.
You should probably read "The Sex Lives of Cannibals" first, but both are very, very good.
The second book, which was a risky selection at the library, is "On Mexican Time: A New Life in San Miguel" by Tony Cohan. While I very much enjoy reading about the young couple, or lone woman, or whomever chucking it all and moving to France (See Julia Child entry), I am very wary of the people who travel through Latin America. Most of this genre are travellers and they don't settle, so the book is usually about breadth instead of depth. I wanted depth, and this book delivered.
I'm also wary of the views from above of the lowly Latino, but these folks get right in there and mix it up! Sure, they have gringo friends and european friends, but they also have Mexican friends. It was surprisingly good.
Well, we're leaving for our own adventure in Mexico on Thursday night and I haven't started the packing process yet. This could be the trip which decides our summer plans, so keep your fingers crossed for us!
d
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Julie and Julia--Finished at Last!
What a great recommendation! This was from one of Della's earlier posts and it is really enjoyable. It took me a while to read, because I read it one chapter per day...sorta blog style. I thought I would share what Julie Powell had to say about blogging:
"When we blog about our weight-loss problems and our knitting and our opinion of the president's IQ level, we do it on the blithe assumption that someone gives a shit -- even though there's a guy stuck in Baghdad who blogs, and a Washington DC staff assistant who gets paid by Republican appointees for sex who blogs, and our own jottings must all be dreadfully dull by comparison. Nowadays anyone with a crap laptop and Internet access can sound their barbaric yawp, whatever it may be. But the surprise is that for every person who's got something to say, it seems there are at least a few people who are interested. Some of them aren't even related."
I thought that last part was funny considering that I'm related to most everyone who reads this blog. Oh, and if you can't tell from that paragraph--beware Republicans. This may not be your book. Otherwise, enjoy! Thanks Della.
"When we blog about our weight-loss problems and our knitting and our opinion of the president's IQ level, we do it on the blithe assumption that someone gives a shit -- even though there's a guy stuck in Baghdad who blogs, and a Washington DC staff assistant who gets paid by Republican appointees for sex who blogs, and our own jottings must all be dreadfully dull by comparison. Nowadays anyone with a crap laptop and Internet access can sound their barbaric yawp, whatever it may be. But the surprise is that for every person who's got something to say, it seems there are at least a few people who are interested. Some of them aren't even related."
I thought that last part was funny considering that I'm related to most everyone who reads this blog. Oh, and if you can't tell from that paragraph--beware Republicans. This may not be your book. Otherwise, enjoy! Thanks Della.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
I enjoy books that start out sad and improve over time. I like to see characters progress. This book shows change with the main character, Violet. Violet definitely progresses from her unfortunate childhood to her fairly normal adulthood. You see a lot of growth with several of the characters. I will be looking for more by Lorna Landvik because her writing style is poetic--but not to the point of being impractical. Oh My Stars makes you think without messing with your brain.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
How to Murder a Millionaire
This is yet another very light, requires no actual thinking book. Quite enjoyable if that is what you are looking for. This is very fun and has really good characters. They are not as predictable as characters in this kind of book usually are and they are very funny. Also, there are great clothes in them. If I can't actually afford to wear fabulous clothes the next best thing is reading about wearing them. I read through all of the books that have been written so far in this series and there are several issues that remain throughout and so far have not been solved. I won't tell you what the main unsolved problem is, but I like that it is still there. It makes for a little suspense in the series. Of course they are murder mysteries and have suspense because of the murderer in each book, but they aren't really about that.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
My Life in France
So you can shelve this book under the topic of books which make you want to move to France. As if you need more books in this section of your library!
I also got this for xmas and it is a book you can disappear into. Grandma recommended it to me.
Very, Very good!
d
MarJane Satrapi
Alright, so the holidays are over, but I'm enjoying a quiet three day weekend and considering the books I read over the break. AJ gave me this one for xmas and if you haven't read any Marjane Satrapi, you should rush out and get "Persepolis"!
They are all graphic novels and the stories and the pictures work very well together. Satrapi tells a great story mostly from her or her family's point of view in Iran. I haven't read "Embroideries", about her life in France, but it's on my list.
I recommend Chicken with Plums (a story about her uncle), but you shouldn't start with it. Start with "Persepolis".
d
Friday, January 12, 2007
Zorro
This is the first time I have posted! I thought that I should pick up the slack since everyone else seems to be working or something. I start school next week so then my fun reading time will go away, but in the meantime I finished a book (a rarity these days). This book was a recommendation from Cali and it was a fun and easy read. I enjoy adventure books and so if you do as well I think you will enjoy this one. It's got sword fighting, pirates, gypsies, catholics, and of course a love story (but not what I expected). There is also some historical background presented and it was interesting to read this author's tale of how Zorro came to be. Hope you all are doing well.
Jeremy
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