Fingers & Prose

Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer

2012-03-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

I may never have come across Steven Millhauser's books if it weren't for seeing his name on the list of Pulitzer Prize winners for Fiction, but apparently he is very much an established author. Having been in the mood for that turn-of-the-century vibe lately, it didn't take much convincing for this book to jump off my shelf and become my next must-read (besides, I needed to get a Pulitzer read, and I love multi-tasking).

Millhauser has a very different style of story-telling, and it was quite intriguing throughout the first half of the book. Martin's opinions about life are brought to light early on, beginning with the ways he goes about improving business at his father's cigar shop and continuing when he tells an employee "You're any kind of man you damn well want to make yourself." He doesn't have an end goal for his life, like many entrepreneurs; there isn't one single accomplishment that will satisfy the yearning to get more out of life than it wants to give.

Not solely gifted with drive and ambition, there were certain things that Martin understood about people. When it came to improvements at the hotel he was working in, he knew that "People needed to be assured that they weren't missing the latest improvements, while at the same time they wanted to be told that nothing ever changed." Conversely, there were things about his own life that he did not see clearly at all. After he moves from his parents house, they are out of the picture. When women enter his life, they are seen vaguely, as if part of a dream. Even in his business projects, there is a certain mystery to his decisions; he is taken by his whims more often than not.

Martin knew that what attracted him wasn't the actual lunchroom, for he had no passion for lunchrooms, no special fondness for them, in a sense no interest in them; his passion was for working things out, bringing things together, arranging the unarrangeable, making combinations.

For all that this book is about one single person, we see his life at a distance--held away from forming a personal connection that would enable us to sympathize with his plight and rejoice in his success. By the second half of the book I was beginning to become bored. The story becomes bogged down with his building projects to some extent. As the ending spiraled into a deeper sort of magical realism, I simply didn't care anymore. Which is sad, because Martin Dressler's world was vivid, and his aspirations provided a fascinating peek into the entrepreneurial mind.

Whether you leave the book with the firm opinion that chasing your dreams is an empty pursuit or with the conviction that it takes all kinds of people to make the world go round, you won't regret having experienced the burgeoning city and the endless possibilities alongside Martin Dressler. If nothing else, you should open it up just to find the 4-page sentence. (no joke. it was quite noticeable since most of the book had pretty short chapters a moved along nicely.) My desire for turn-of-the-century cities hasn't been completely satiated, however, so I'm hoping to get to another Pulitzer soon that may help in that department: the winner from 1925, So Big by Edna Ferber. Should be an interesting comparison, no?

For the Record: February 2012

2012-02-29T10:07:00.000-08:00

Whether it's due to the time of year or my new attempt at keeping my reading motivation high and healthy, I've had another good month of reading--both in number of books and quality.

Historically, I seem to get a good amount of reading done in the beginning of the year, possibly because December is usually quite the reverse. I'm not huge on New Year's Resolutions but I do like goals, so I'm sure that jumping into a new set of goals boosts my motivation.

I've continued with my new goal to alternate books I read for an obligation, and those I read for fun. (What constitutes "obligation" is entirely up to interpretation, but mostly consists of ARCs, book club books, and recently the Indie Lit Awards short list.) Last year I got to feeling like all of my reads were obligatory, which was a direct contrast to the years before that in which my reading was entirely driven by my mood. In both extremes, I found myself in reading slumps--dissatisfied and bored. This year has been a good balance so far, keeping my motivation and anticipation up.

I'm looking forward to being able to talk about the Indie Lit Awards short list soon! The winners will be announced in a couple of weeks, at which time I'll be able to opinionize all I like.

12 Books Read in February: (23 year-to-date)
1 Read-Aloud for my kiddos:
- The Birchbark House, Louise Erdrich (3.5)
1 for Book Club:
- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer (4ish) (see my review)
2 for the Indie Lit Awards Short List:
- Cross Currents, John Shors
- Dance Lessons, Aine Greaney
8 others:
- The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick (4) (see my review)
- The Song of the Lark, Willa Cather (5) (see my review)
- 1776, David McCullough (3.5)
- Night, Elie Weisel (4.5)
- 11/22/63, Stephen King (4.5)
- The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor (4)
- Love and Summer, William Trevor (4)
- The Frozen Thames, Helen Humphreys (4)

Challenges: (10 year-to-date)
This month I read 6 books of 51 for my various year-long challenges:
- Willa Cather: The Song of the Lark (3 more to go)
- TBR shelf: 1776 (8 more to go)
- Wishlist: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (10 more to go)
- Back to the Classics: Night & The Song of the Lark (6 more to go)
- Short Stories: Flannery O'Connor (2 more to go)

2 Current Reads:
- The Odd Clauses, Jay Wexler. An ARC from LibraryThing, this one isn't long but I'm having a hard time making myself sit down and engage. I'll be done with it this weekend, one way or another.
- Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer, Steven Millhauser. Feeling the need to read a Pulitzer combined with the desire to read something turn-of-the-century-ish...this seemed to fit those requirements, though I don't know anything else about it.

On My Nightstand:
I'm still eager to read The Hand That First Held mine, since I didn't get to that this month, and there are a few others calling to me as well:
- Heat Lightning, Helen Hull
- The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes
- The Hand That First Held Mine, Maggie O'Farrell
- Mr. Churchill's Secretary, Susan Ella MacNeal (ARC from LibraryThing)

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer

2012-02-24T14:42:00.000-08:00

It wasn't so long ago that I seemed to see this book on every blog I visited. The amazing quotes I read were the reason why I had my book club read Everything is Illuminated last year--I wanted to read EL&IC to see what you all were talking about, but I wanted to experience Jonathan Safran Foer in the order he was published. Based on all I'd heard, I was a little worried that if I read EL&IC first, I might not enjoy Everything is Illuminated.

As it turned out, I did enjoy Everything is Illuminated quite a bit, but I'm afraid that the reverse has happened: Jonathan Safran Foer may be one of those authors whose first work read becomes the favorite. My first experience was one of wonder--everything felt fun and original, his writing, his characters, his story were all grounds for discovery. This second experience wasn't as glittery and new. The characters held a similar quirkiness to his other characters; the writing had a cadence that was no longer unique. I enjoyed it, I appreciated it, but it didn't hold quite the magic for me that the other did.

That being said, Foer does manage to present his ideas through very different people and their very different circumstances, making the way the story ties together all the more meaningful. Each person that Oskar encounters as he makes his way through New York City has a story, just as each person we pass each day has a story, but Oskar--unlike most of us--is allowed the privilege of hearing those stories and becoming (if for just a moment) part of their lives. There is something incredibly unifying about this; something brave about pushing against the profound loneliness of a crowd.

Mom told me, "It probably gets pretty lonely to be Grandma, don't you think?" I told her, "It probably gets pretty lonely to be anyone."(p. 69)

Generally known as a novel of 9/11, I think it works much better when viewed as a novel of loving and loss. The idea that 'living is harder than dying' is returned to again and again throughout the book. What is living? What is love? Why do we live? Why do we love?

I promised myself I would stay until I found her, but as night began to come in, I knew I had to go home, I hated myself for going, why couldn't I be the kind of person who stays? (p.114)

I love how Foer gets right down to the heart of humanity. Some of his characters have habits and opinions bordering on absurd, but through these extremes normal becomes simplified and understandable. I might not hold onto hundreds of empty envelopes, but perhaps I do hold onto empty promises, empty words. I might not keep a scrapbook of everything that's happened to me, but perhaps I do horde the inconsequential in other ways, continually looking back through those moments in my mind. I might not be dealing with grief, but perhaps I still erect walls around myself as a barrier against pain.

You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness. (p.180)

It is a call to appreciate life, to be thankful for what you have when you have it, to be brave enough to be a part of someone else's life, regardless of the drawbacks. Live life--don't let it pass you by.

"She let out a laugh, and then she put her hand over her mouth, like she was angry at herself for forgetting her sadness." (p.254)

(note: lucky for me, this book was on my wish list & counts for my wish list challenge...also, my book club will be discussing it on Monday, so I'll get more opinions on it then!)

Reading Roundup: Teen Fiction

2012-02-22T17:51:00.000-08:00

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Levithan & Cohn
No, I haven't seen the movie, but I did happen to count how many times the lovely little word f**k appeared in the book. My count may be off, because I was getting a little blurry-eyed, but I can tell you that my copy of the book earned it's very own permanent bookmark. Not that I care ever so much, but when the book is 183pp, and the count of any four-letter word is over 250...it's a little distracting.

...and this bookmark shall serve to
remind us of the contents therein...

The story is quite good, actually. It starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes, and continues--in alternating chapters--to show how one [very long] night can be enough to change your focus on life. I liked the picture of the New York music scene through the eyes of these teens, and I liked seeing them reassess their view on life, but the 'conversational' tone didn't work for me so much. Levithan does seem to have a gift for story-telling, though, and I will be reading more of his ventures and collaborations in the future.

Elske, Cynthia Voigt

Mmm, I love Cynthia Voigt. Did you read Dicey's Song or Homecoming when you were young? I remember reading those books and thinking that they were very serious books to be read by so young a person. Not just because of the topic--Voigt has a special talent for making young people feel important and intelligent.

The "Kingdom" series begins with Jackaroo, though each book stands alone and needn't be treated as a series. They combine fairy-tale fantasy with a Middle Ages flavor, all the while telling a meaningful, exciting story. The characters are about as real as you can get, especially considering the Robin-Hood-esque nature of the setting. Each story is so well told that it feels more like historical fiction than fantasy.

Best part? She's written a gazillion books, so there's more where this came from.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret & WonderStruck, Brian Selznick

Selznick's books are something special. They're simple, yet complex, quick to read while still feeling like an accomplishment. I actually read Wonderstruck first, and decided that both of these books were perfect examples of the kind of younger-reader-book that would be a joy to have on my shelf regardless whether I have kiddos living with me or not. The size of the book, the quality of the art, the magnetism of the story, and the relatively short time commitment leave you with a sense of magic and wonder regardless of your age.

The historical component in Hugo was captivating, especially how it was tied in with the drawings--and how interesting to see it turned into a film. Have you seen Hugo yet? My family is both curious and a little afraid it won't live up to the experience of the book (really, how could it?) Wonderstruck was not quite as good, perhaps, but still unique and very enjoyable.

What's On Your Coffee Table?

2012-02-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

So, what's your opinion on Coffee Table Books?

Do you actually leave books on your coffee table for people to browse through?
If so, were they bought specifically for that purpose?
If so, are they books that you yourself would be interested in thumbing through?
If so, what's the ratio of text to pictures?

Have you ever had a spread of Coffee Table Books at your local bookstore's bargain bin inspire your gag reflex? Not because of the subject matter, but because they seem to be sad, worn-out excuses for books? How about the:

generic collections of sub-par photographs from a standard set of locations (America! Italy! Greece!)
compendiums of historical high-points buffeted by empty text (Civil War! Ancient China! Renaissance!)
clips & snippets of paintings arranged into odd categories (Cherubs! Herbs! Puppies!)

I just can't handle that stuff.

There are some books, however, that are completely Coffee Table Worthy. When it comes to a quick browse, the more pictures the better--but they must be quality photographs or what's the point? I actually don't keep these sorts of books on my coffee table--although I would if it weren't for the fact that it's always heavy laden with papers and crafts and other temporary visitors deposited onto the catch-all by my children. Someday...when I'm all grown up...I'll have a coffee table that lives for books like these:

I love nature (LOVE) so things like these catch my eye:

Nests: Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them

Seeing Trees

And whether you like it or not, I'm definitely intrigued by this:

Why is Lincoln's face so intriguing? Is that just me?

And what about some of this?

This may be the only way I'll ever decide to "read" Moby-Dick.

The first two I've purchased as gifts, the second two I would like to have someone else purchase as a gift to me (pretty please?? email me for my address??) Art with a twist, that's my kind of coffee table book. What does your coffee table look like?

What I Do While Listening to AudioBooks

2012-02-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

I've discovered more time. Did I tell you that? Well, maybe that's not entirely true, but I've found a fabulous way to multi-task, which is almost as good. I've always said that I don't have time to listen to audio books, since I'm never alone--no commute, no quiet time--but I'm discovering that's not completely accurate. A few days to myself at the beginning of the year spurred me to try Audible.com, and since then I've found that I actually have more time than I thought.

One of the things I love (apart from reading) is quilting. I love the feel of the fabric, the creativity in the design, and the colors (oh how I love colors).

When my kiddos were little toddlettes, I quilted much more than I read. It was easy enough to sew & watch kids play, not so easy for me to read and watch kids play. I taught myself to quilt (& ended up with some bragging rights even--what a shock!) but as my kiddos grew up a bit and I started home-schooling, I began to do much more reading and much less quilting. Life is like that.

I'm doing less schooling at home now. My 7 year-old is at home with me, but she loves having her creative time just as much as I do. Thus I find myself with bits of time to start using those fabrics and finishing up those projects and not feel guilty because I'm MULTI-TASKING (said in a big, booming "God" voice of course--it's that huge) by listening to a book while I sew. Why didn't I think of that before? Brilliant!

My latest project is what I'm calling my Slice of Pi quilt. I had a lovely stack of gorgeous modern-ish fabrics that I was dying to use but dreading cutting apart. I wanted to come up with a quilt design that showcased and complemented the fabrics, but nothing seemed good enough. Finally I decided that 2" strips would still show off the fabrics enough, and I went about drafting a pattern on graph paper (love graph paper.)

My original design (below) was a random placement of strips that would run horizontally, creating a column down the center of the bed. But then my husband (the math/science brain) asked if the placement was based on any sort of mathematical algorithm (um, no) like Pi (hm, good idea). I'm impressionable, and so decided to see what it would look like (see photo above). I ended up finding the first 50 digits of pi quite interesting. (I'm also somewhat of a people-pleaser, so orientation of the strips changed so that it would make more sense to Chris.)

I decided on a base line, and used 2" intervals to determine placement. Therefore, the first strip is 6" above the base line, the second is 2", the third is 8" and so on. Each strip is 40" long. The fabrics are arranged in a nicely organized, pretend-random manner.

Sewing the binding...kitties and quilts go together well.

Overall, I'm quite happy with how it turned out. Quilt design can do a number on my creative senses--I want it to be perfect, but because quilt construction is a pretty long process, (with no easy way to change your mind midway,) I go through waves of alternating excitement and fear about how it will end up. Will it be wonderful? Horrible? Listening to a book while quilting, I've found, does help even out some of these emotions (wonder of wonders!) I'm still debating about the pillows, but meanwhile my husband is sure that he's going to get smarter by osmosis each night that he sleeps under it, and I'm thrilled to have found a way to combine two of my hobbies.

Song of the Lark by Willa Cather

2012-02-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

This seems to be one of those loveit/hateit books. Reviews on GoodReads and LibraryThing vary from boredom to that wonderful combination of tears and laughter. Why the disparity? I think it has a lot to do with the themes. You either identify, or you don't.

The story follows Thea Kronborg from her humble beginnings in a small rural town, to adulthood and her struggle to fully realize her creative potential. Thea is different from the other people in Moonstone, and eventually she must decide what she wants out of life--and if she's willing to pay the price to get it.

“I only want impossible things,” she said roughly. “The others don’t interest me.”

Not just a coming-of-age story, nor even a simple humble-beginnings tale, The Song of the Lark has much to say about prejudice, music, family, art, and that elusive quality-of-life.

Coming from a small town myself, it was easy to identify with the small town dynamics, as the following quotation shows. This excerpt is also a good example of how, even in the midst of the heartache, Cather adds morsels of humor (similar to Tolstoy's sense of humor--derived from observing people of different kinds.)

"The fear of the tongue, that terror of little towns, is usually felt more keenly by the minister’s family than by other households. Whenever the Kronborgs wanted to do anything, even to buy a new carpet, they had to take counsel together as to whether people would talk. Mrs. Kronborg had her own conviction that people talked when they felt like it, and said what they chose, no matter how the minister’s family conducted themselves. But she did not impart these dangerous ideas to her children."

"Song of the Lark" by Jules Adolphe Breton--
a painting that Thea falls in love with in
Willa Cather's novel.

Another aspect of this small town was the depiction of the prejudice against Mexican citizens--people who had more history in the area than the new European immigrants--seeing this early picture was intriguing to me in light of the ongoing issues today. When Thea would escape to the other side of town to hear Spanish Johnny play his mandolin and watch the women comb their long, black hair, I wished I was there with her. Likewise, seeing Chicago and New York in the age when music and opera were the mark of culture was a little like traveling to a more sparkling era myself.

Many of the people who don't enjoy this book seem to get bored and irritated with Thea after the section on her childhood ends. For me, this being a re-read, I was anxious to get past the childhood and onto the "good stuff". It is seeing Thea realize that her dissatisfaction stems from a huge creativity without release; it is watching her struggle with her choice to strive for great things; it is the sadness of her success, that make my heart ache.

“Nothing is far and nothing is near, if one desires. The world is little, people are little, human life is little. There is only one big thing--desire. And before it, when it is big, all is little.”

Thea's childhood is drawn largely from Cather's own formative years, perhaps explaining why those characters are so real and multi-faceted. I loved her mother--what a woman! Though we only get peeks and glimpses of her, it is enough to foster admiration.

“She won’t come back a little girl,” Mrs. Kronborg said to her husband as they turned to go home. “Anyhow, she’s been a sweet one.”

If I'm able to clear my head of all the wonderful thoughts and ideas Cather imparts, of all the beautiful language for just a bit, I'd be honest and tell you that Song of the Lark does lean towards being philosophical--even somewhat sentimental at times. Additionally, as the novel progresses, Thea becomes more distant from the story, and less likable. However, I've never read anywhere else such an exact understanding and honest portrayal of the artistic struggle. Especially, perhaps, for a woman.

I wouldn't recommend Song of the Lark to everyone, (in fact, if you aren't driven by passionate creativity you might read it & wonder what the heck I'm gushing about,) but if you have a artistic soul you are likely to find a unique experience here.

(Note: This is stop 5 of 19 in my challenge to read Willa Cather chronologically. After Song of the Lark is My Antonia.)

Literary Blog Hop: Writing About Myself

2012-02-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, but this weekend I'm hanging out with the Literary Blog Hop. Wanna hang with me? You should! I'd love to know what you think about this week's topic:

In the epilogue for Fargo Rock City, Chuck Klosterman writes:

"It's always been my theory that criticism is really just veiled autobiography; whenever someone writes about a piece of art, they're really just writing about themselves."

Do you agree?

I don't agree with the insinuation that every criticism, review, or critique is written with the ulterior motive of talking about themselves. That's silliness.

However, even with a critical distance between function and feeling, a review is still personal. There may be no mention of 'feelings', the review or critique may indeed feel objective, it may be fair and honest, but make no mistake: it's personal. By its very nature, a review or criticism is subject to the reviewer's personality and experiences. Every opinion is. Each reading experience is unique to itself.

Even the processes of logic and literary criticism are subject to your knowledge, experiences, and preferences.

The question isn't whether there should be a balance between the personal and professional, but what is a good balance for your tastes and purposes.

I've never been one to find much enjoyment in distilling any art form until it is only an assortment of functional components. To take the magic out of art is to take the oxygen out of the air. You're left with something useless.

“Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.” ― Stephen King

For me? There's a reason I read more book blogs than professional reviews. I like to know a bit of who you are--without that personal touch I have no real reason to trust your opinion. The technical stuff (plot, pace, character development, writing quality and enjoyability) is important, but without any personality or background about the reading experience, it tends to fall flat.

Have you found your balance? You probably know what type of reviews you like to read--are they the same style as how you try to write?

One and Only: The Untold Story of On the Road

2012-02-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

I haven't read On the Road (yet--planning on joining Wallace for her read-along) so reading the untold story might seem a little backward...but I have my reasons. Promise.

Reason the First, (the Obvious): I received the [audio] book free and don't yet own On the Road. (I'm trying to decide which cover I like best. It's complicated.) LibraryThing seems to like giving me books (and I seem to like requesting them) and once I have them I've got to read them right?

I'm liking this cover.

Reason the Second, (the Justification): I know next to nothing about the Beats, but I want to. Especially since moving into a modern 1960s house, I've had a growing desire to develop a bigger picture of the 60s, and yet seem to have no problem procrastinating in that area.

Reason the Third, (the Philosophical): With a reputation for philosophical intellectualism as well as continual praise, I figured On the Road falls firmly into the "Classics" camp. What this means for me is that I like to know a little bit about the era before reading it so that I can pick up on as many references as possible. This is an evolving theory of mine, but it has made a huge difference in the past.

I tried to start learning
about the Beats with their
poetry. Didn't work so
well. Still, it's a cute book!

Let's Get On With It. One and Only is the story of On the Road, of Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady, told from the point of view of Lu Anne Henderson (a.k.a. MaryLou). This isn't a huge, complex biography. Rather, it is comprised largely of an interview the author had with Lu Anne many years ago. A lengthy introduction is given by the author, a revised transcript follows, and the book ends with a short commentary by Lu Anne's daughter. My favorite section, perhaps in part because of the audio version I listened to, was the middle: hearing Lu Anne's voice.

While her somewhat meandering commentary occasionally felt repetitive, the entire book weighed in at less than 250 pages, so I couldn't complain much. I enjoyed the pictures and hearing Lu Anne's voice. She seemed such a joyful person overall, always willing to think the best of people, and seemed somewhat speechless to find that other people didn't necessarily do the same.

Lu Anne was married to Neal Cassady from a young age, and although the marriage was annulled (also at a young age) their relationship stayed much the same throughout their lives, to hear her tell it. She relates some of the adventures they had while travelling across the country, underpinning each event with the fact that they were young, they were poor, they were surviving. They were just holding it together, really.

A fun behind-the-scenes look at Kerouac, this book also felt like a good introduction to some of the main characters in On the Road. Reading the book itself no longer seems quite as scary. In fact, I'm getting pretty curious to see the story through Kerouac's creativity. Have you read it? Any other suggestions for getting to know the Beats?

Unbroken and MAUS: WWII Nonfiction

2012-02-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

I seem to have found myself on a kick of WWII nonfiction, starting the year with Unbroken, and quickly following that with The Complete MAUS, and eager to begin Night. Unbroken and MAUS address different parts of the war, the Pacific theater and the Holocaust, making for an interesting, well-rounded perspective.

I wasn't planning on reading Unbroken. It was one of those books that had gotten so many amazing reviews that I instantly felt skeptical. That didn't stop me, however, from giving the book to my dad for Christmas. His dad had flown in the same type of plane (B-24) in WWII as Louis Zamperini (albeit in a different location) which made the story all the more interesting to him. He began reading it and telling me how interesting it was at about the same time I found out that Zamperini would be coming to my son's high school to speak. That was something I didn't want to miss out on. Not only did I buy the book, but I also started an Audible.com trial: when I couldn't read, I listened; when I couldn't listen, I read.

Unbroken is quite a page-turner. I had to keep reminding myself that these were actual events. Some of the events in the Pacific Ocean reminded me of Life of Pi as far as the implausibility, but this was real. Unbelievable, except that there's a guy who lived to tell about it.

Not a great photo, but that was Louie in
the wheelchair--a fab fellow!

If you've hung around me enough, you may remember that I'm not a big memoir person, nor am I an ocean person. Fortunately, these weren't the slightest factors while reading the book. Of course, it isn't a memoir, but it doesn't even reek of the touchy-feely vibe I occasionally get from memoirs. And the ocean? Maybe it was because there weren't a bunch of nautical terms, maybe because he was enduring it instead of enjoying it, but I wasn't bothered at all.

There were a couple of points that I was afraid the writing was going to bog down, (I thought that his childhood and the POW sections were both a tad longer than they needed to be,) but it never once got to the point that I wanted to set the book down. It's a book that I'd recommend to all but the most sensitive readers.

Seeing Louis Zamperini and hearing him speak was such a good experience. He just turned 95, but he is still so quick and funny. He talked of his youthful shenanigans, of meeting Hitler at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and his too-eventful time in service. He told of a time when he was asked if his time as a POW had any positive outcomes, and he remarked that it certainly had--it had prepared him for 55 years of marriage!

I heard about The Complete MAUS sometime last year when I saw it on a list of "must-reads" for high school students. My eldest is in 10th grade this year, and so my ears were wide open for more engaging books on important topics (his school's required reading seems to be very Shakespeare oriented--which is fine except for the fact that the imbalance means the kids are missing out on so many other wonderful experiences. It's up to me to make up for that! Good news for me is that my influence doesn't end after his senior year!) I'm still trying to get my 15 year-old to read this, but my then 12 year-old did read it and was greatly impacted.

Perhaps it is inevitable, more than 50 years after the Holocaust, to feel like you've heard it all before--though the story doesn't get old, when MAUS is lumped together with all the other books about the topic, this one doesn't feel quite as shocking, quite as big--but it is important nonetheless. To stop reading about the Holocaust is to say that these people's stories don't matter, that the people themselves don't matter. By keeping the story alive, and making it new for each generation, you are honoring the lives of all those affected by the trauma.

(photo credit/more about Spiegelman)

Seeing the story through my son's eyes reminded me what it was like to hear of Auschwitz for the first time. While MAUS deals with the generational affects of the Holocaust almost more than with the events themselves, it gives a very realistic picture of Nazi Germany as well as the lasting consequences.

If you haven't ventured into graphic novels, this is a good place to start....combine some history with a new format and see what happens. The story is full of things to think about--more contemplative than shocking, more layers and depth than you might think.

For the Record: January 2012

2012-02-02T07:28:00.000-08:00

There is something invigorating about beginning a new year and the initial drive to accomplish all those new goals. This month has been about 3 things: nonfiction, Indie Lit Awards, and making sure I'm reading books I want to read. So far it has worked out well.

- 2011 didn't have nearly enough nonfiction, so I'm busy quenching that thirst, partially with the help of a newfound love: audible.com (more on that soon.)

- Participating in the Indie Lit Awards has been, once again, a good experience. I won't be able to share my opinions about the short list until the winner is announced mid-March, but believe me: there are opinions. :)

- In an attempt to enjoy my reading more, I've mandated that at least every other book needs to be one that I want to read...not for an obligation. So far, it has been wonderful. It isn't even that I'm reading completely different books than I would have otherwise, but I'm appreciating what I read more, and feeling more freedom with my choices.

11 Books Read in January:
1 ARC:
- One and Only: the Untold Story of On the Road, Gerald Nicosia (3)
1 Read-Aloud for my kiddos:
- DragonQuest, Donita K. Paul (3)
3 for the Indie Lit Awards Short List:
- Silver Sparrow, Tayari Jones
- The Last Time I Saw Paris, Lynn Sheene
- The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
6 others:
- Up and Down Stairs, Jeremy Musson (4) (see my review)
- On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan (4.5) (see my review)
- Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand (4.5)
- Q's Legacy, Helene Hanff (3) (see my review)
- The Complete MAUS, Art Spiegelman (4)
- Newspaper Blackout, Austin Kleon (3.5) (see my review)

Challenges:
This month I read 4 books of 51 for my various year-long challenges:
- poetry: Newspaper Blackout (2 more to go)
- TBR shelf: Q's Legacy (9 more to go)
- Wishlist: On Chesil Beach (11 more to go)
- Back to the Classics: The Complete MAUS (8 more to go)

These don't count the two month-long challenges I plan on doing (junior fiction in April, classic novellas in August). Since I need to be reading 4 to 5 books/month to keep up with these challenges, I'd say I'm doing all right.

3 Current Reads:
- Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. This is a re-read for me. I super super loved it the first time I read it, so I'm looking forward to luxuriating in it a bit this time around. It will count towards my Willa Cather Challenge as well as my Back to the Classics Challenge.
- 1776, David McCullough. I've had [multiple copies of] this book for a few years now, and I've finally begun reading it. Actually, I've begun listening to it. I've discovered that I have more time for audiobooks than I thought I had, and it's a great way to get some nonfiction read. 1776 will count towards my TBR Shelf challenge.
- The Frozen Thames, Helen Humpreys. Made up of forty vignettes about the times the Thames has frozen solid, this delightful book is perfect for when you can't set aside more than a few minutes (or a few brain cells) to read.

On My Nightstand:
I just posted about all the new books that recently came into my house--those are the ones I'm longing to get to! I do have some more obligatory reading, though, so the next few books will probably be these:
- Cross Currents, John Shors (for the Indie Lit Awards short list)
- Night, Elie Wiesel
- The Odd Clauses, Jay Wexler (for LibraryThing Early Reviewers)
- The Hand That First Held Mine, Maggie O'Farrell

I've Got Books!

2012-02-01T07:56:00.000-08:00

Giddy, inaudibly humming I Got Rhythm, I pull out of the parking lot and glance down at the passenger seat where the source of my delight lies patiently. New books. The sound of that brief thought triggers a warmth through my muscles; my skin responding with a tingling chill. Through determination (and devotion to my pocketbook) I've become so good at slinking out of the book shop without any new friends in tow, that the sight of the four sparkling beauties next to me seem at once a small reward and an overwhelming abundance. I lightly touch the book covers, sharing the wonder with my other senses. A small smile touches the corner of my mouth: the textures vary from rough to smooth in identical intervals: perfection.

Hm. Am I being dramatic? I can't help it--my apologies! I Have New Books! I feel like I've just emerged from a drought into an Amazonian rainforest: I must sing from the treetops! :) Look at my new goodies:

Somewhere, at some point, somebody mentioned that Heat Lightning was a delightful, (if out of print,) older book. Was it you? I wish I knew!

I have a soft spot for older fiction, especially when it's from the earlier part of the 20th century and has fallen, somewhat, into obscurity. There's something about reading an older book--it carries more history than simply the age of the tale.

Anyhow, I found a copy via an Amazon Marketplace seller, and it arrived with a special surprise. A postcard was tucked into the pages, the sender's name matching the name inscribed on the inside cover. What a treat!

Even if I don't get around to reading this very soon, it will be a pleasure to have on my shelf.

My first Indiespensable package of 2012 arrived from Powell's this week. Opening up all the goodies is so much fun. This installment features Running the Rift, presented in a lovely coordinating slipcase.

Also from Powells: both of Brian Selznick's books (because they are beautiful, and exactly the kind of younger fiction that I want to offer a home on my shelf) as well as The Sense of an Ending (a treat from my wishlist) and The Frozen Thames (another blogger recommendation that I didn't make note of...was this one you?) I've already read WonderStruck, but the rest are staying out on my end table in hopes that I'll get them read sooner rather than later.

Last but not least, the four books that inspired my silly little intro paragraph. I went to Barnes and Noble to read the last page of an audiobook-gone-bad (more on that soon) and realized that I had a gift card left over from Christmas--free books! The Great Gatsby is one I've read a couple of times but needed a copy for my shelf. The other three I want to read now. What can I say? It's been one of those months where the pleasure of reading feels new again.

What do you think? Aren't they wonderful? Have you read any of these? Which should I give top priority?

It's Not You, It's Me: Vol. 1

2012-01-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my new feature! I thought I'd start out with some books from 2011 that I never got around to posting about for one reason or another--hope you find something to enjoy!

A Powell's Books Indiespensable selection in 2011, Bright Before Us had many components that should have made it a good fit for me:
- a descent into paranoia & disillusionment
- the idea of lost soul mates & the complexity of marriage
- navigating trauma in adults and children

Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me, mostly because the main character really bugged me. I didn't sympathize with him, and wasn't curious about his story at all. Additionally, the beginning was confusing to me--somehow I didn't realize that there were actually 2 female characters. Whoops. It all made SO much more sense once I realized that the dude's wife wasn't also his childhood sweetheart. Duh.

Right, so...if the above ideas sound interesting, if you keep in mind that Francis' wife is not Norah, and you don't mind the occasional irritating character, check this new author out!

About a year ago, The Weird Sisters hit the shelves, and I was excited about the prospect of reading a story about a family of readers. The girls were named after Shakespeare characters for goodness' sake--it's got to be good!

My issues? 1: The pov didn't work for me. I've enjoyed plural-first-person in other books, but this one had too few characters & it was awkward. 2: I guess I really don't have any idea what it's like to have sisters, because the cattiness really got on my nerves. 3: The ending was a bit too tidy--I didn't think that it was wrapped up entirely realistically, and that made the characters seem more like tools than people.

BUT, if you are in the mood for a sweet little read about some modern women with Shakespearean names and don't care to get all critical like me, then give it a shot. A good vacation read methinks.

With The Bride's House, I had to wish a one-time favorite author farewell. We simply don't see eye to eye any longer. Perhaps we've both changed, but the heartwarming-heartbreak that I enjoyed in her earlier books has evaporated.

Part of the problem here was the number of main characters. The story line is meant to revolve around the house, (interesting idea,) so the fact that we see 3 generations pass through it should further that idea, not detract from it; but I was left feeling that none of the characters were fully developed.

Actually, I take that back. I loved the first character and was really stinking irritated when she only got 1/3 of the book. I didn't give a flying flapjack for the other two girls. I wish I could request a rewrite. Ms. Dallas probably wouldn't appreciate that very much though, would she?

A Pulitzer Prize winner in the Fiction category for 2005, Gilead is a book that I was supposed to like.

Pulitzer? (check)
Character driven? (check)
Reflective/Introspective? (check)
Beautifully & Skillfully written? (check)

So what went wrong? I was bored. Everything took so looong (which was actually pretty realistic since it was narrated by an old man.) The parts I like the most were quotes like this:

There should be a law to prevent recipes for molded salad from appearing within twenty pages of any article having to do with religion.

Funny, right? Or, maybe, more funny because the rest of the book was so even keel. It was interesting and poetic, but we didn't connect. In some ways made me think of Tinker (a more recent Pultizer Prize winner) except that Gilead took me longer to read. Much longer. So in the end, hmmm...it was alright. Well-written, but just okay.

Serious Poetry/Fun Poetry

2012-01-28T13:57:00.000-08:00

I've come to realize that poetry is yet another area in my life where I don't necessarily conform to the mold. Much current poetry does nothing for me--and what is the point of poetry if not to move you in some way? Still, I think that the trick is to keep looking, keep reading, and sooner or later I'm bound to find more things I love.

One collection I read last year and never talked much about was Leavings by Wendell Berry. In general I enjoyed it, although (in this collection at least) much of it tended to be a little too enviro-centric for me. He does have a way with language, however, that made him easy to appreciate...especially when he talked about life and family. I look forward to comparing his fiction to his poetry at some point.

Over the Edge

To tell a girl you loved her--my God!--

that was a leap off a cliff, requiring little

sense, sweet as it was. And I have loved

many girls, women too, who by various fancies

of my mind have seemed loveable. But only

with you have I actually tried it: the long labor,

the selfishness, the self-denial, the children

and grandchildren, the garden rows planted

and gathered, the births and deaths of many years.

We boys, when we were young and romantic

and ignorant, new to the mystery and the power,

would wonder late into the night on the cliff’s edge:

Was this love real? Was it true? And how

would you know? Well, it was time would tell,

if you were patient and could spare the time,

a long time, a lot of trouble, a lot of joy.

This one begins to look--would you say?--real?

Short poems tend to be my thing, and I'm always up for a bit of humor, so Austin Kleon's Newspaper Blackout has been a fun poetic diversion for me. This book not only takes you through the story of how he came to create poetry with a black marker, but gives you some pointers on creating your own and gives you some samples of other people's creations as well. Some are simple, some are funny, all left me wanting to do some myself.

children play to keep sane

The Ninja's Chauffeur

Which would you rather

kill something ninja

with a family

yr destined to avenge

the ninja's

trusty chauffeur.

who is

quiet, hard-working,

and

known to date

a lot

more girls?

Although I enjoyed this collection, I ended up feeling that perhaps I was sold on the idea of these poems more than on the actual poems themselves. There was a small handful that I loved, but most lacked the punch that a short poem needs.

This is the first collection of poetry I've finished reading this year, and the others I plan to read are also single-author-collections. I'd like to put an anthology in the queue, though...any suggestions?

What It's Like to Read a Classic

2012-01-26T09:14:00.000-08:00

How large is your vocabulary? Do you find that the more you read, the larger it grows?

Do you remember reading a Classic for the first time and having to trudge your way through the vocabulary and sentence structure?

Like most people, I read some classics in high school. Like most people, I didn't enjoy them as much as I could have. But then time passes, and wonder of wonders: I somehow got used to reading the more complex language that is often found in those older books. The first time I read Pride and Prejudice it took some work. Then I watched the film, and amazingly, the language began to make sense. So much has to do with your familiarity, doesn't it? If you know the story, the language is easier to absorb; if you know the language, the story is easier to absorb.

Here's an entertaining example:

It really isn't that the classics are always so much more difficult, it's that they are often unfamiliar territory. (True, they do stir up the grey matter a bit more, but that's a good thing isn't it? Move those brains!) This is why, if you are just getting started with the Classics, it can be immensely beneficial to pick something with more accessible writing (Gone With the Wind, The Good Earth, To Kill a Mockingbird) or with a story you are familiar with (A Christmas Carol, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Peter Pan). This is also why I have no problem watching an adaptation first--get familiar with the story line, and then jump in and enjoy the story-telling.

Once you get past that first hurdle, you may be surprised to find that reading the classics is more a matter of taste than difficulty.

Q's Legacy, Helene Hanff

2012-01-24T21:40:00.000-08:00

This book was a beautiful idea--which is actually just a twisted way of saying that I was intrigued by my own misconceptions. From something I'd read, (helped by the subtitle "A Delightful Account of a Lifelong Love Affair with Books") I was under the impression that I was going to get some details about how Helene Hanff (author of the delightful 84 Charing Cross Road) discovered and learned about literature.

Alas, that was not to be. Why must Expectations be such a powerful destroyer/maker of dreams?

What Q's Legacy actually is (which is easily discovered, apparently, by reading the back cover or any synopsis on the web you may happen to run into--who knew?) still has its own charm--never fear. It is a memoir of her career as a writer, for the most part, dipping into her visits to London as well.

While I deeply wished that she and I had spent this read browsing dusty shelves in old libraries, discovering wonderfully obscure yet extremely useful tidbits of information, Helene is a charming person doing perfectly mundane things as well. In some ways, this book did nothing to satisfy my curiosity about her; in others, I feared that if I knew more she'd become irritating (sad but true...eccentric personalities are called such for a reason, I'm afraid.) If you've read 84 Charing Cross Road (and if you haven't, you really should!) and it left you wanting to know more about Helene, then this is a perfectly good place to go next. In fact, it's part of a trilogy about her life, leaving only The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (which I haven't read) in between the two.

So maybe I didn't get what I wanted, but that's hardly Helene's fault. And besides, it knocked a book off my TBR shelf, so who am I to complain? Have you enjoyed anything by Helene? Please tell me you loved 84 Charing Cross Road...

My favorite quote--from page 97:

The whole book was so full of outraged capitals that reading it was like being continuously shouted at. When you finished you were just worn out.

On Chesil Beach, Or: How I Came to Forgive Mr. McEwan

2012-01-20T10:37:00.000-08:00

I haven't formally blogged about Atonement--mostly because I read it 4 years ago and wasn't book-blogging at that point--but I have made a few comments here and there about the bitterness it caused me to cultivate against Ian McEwan. I liked Atonement, until the end (I won't get into details, but it made me feel that the author was aiming derision towards the reader that completely turned me off) at which point I swore I was no longer interested in reading anything else by the author.

Of course, he's an author that pops up fairly regularly in my Google Reader. Technically, I'm supposed to like him, you see. He writes the kind of stuff I like to read about in a style of writing I enjoy. There was just this grudge thing getting in the way.

So when Sam talked about On Chesil Beach, and how it was pretty much wonderful, & recommended to anyone who has ever felt awkward, (love that! Who hasn't felt awkward? Just typing awkward is awkward.) I decided I'd be magnanimous and give McEwan another chance**.

On Chesil Beach is a small book... The-Best-Presents-Come-in-Small-Packages sort of small, and Wow--what a read*. It's rare to find an author with the ability to so perfectly put you inside the thoughts and emotions of a couple with seemingly simple language (reminded me of Revolutionary Road in that sense). Florence and Edward, a couple confined by their own sense of politeness, are engaged and married in the early 1960s. Now, I haven't been to London in the 1960s, and I haven't been British, but I have experienced the awkwardness of a relationship suffering from lack of communication. Who hasn't?

"And what stood in their way? Their personalities and pasts, their ignorance and fear, timidity, squeamishness, lack of entitlement or experience or easy manners, then the tail end of a religious prohibition, their Englishness and class, and history itself. Nothing much at all."

I loved how McEwan sped up and slowed down the passing of time, as well as how he sort of zoomed in and out of the details, showing the big picture as well. I cringed through their wedding night, reminisced about their childhoods, got to know their families, and cried (yep, actual tears) upon looking back on what might have been. How did McEwan manage to see so much depth in these two characters, and then--on top of that--relate the whole thing in such a small amount of print? Color me impressed.

*Mr. McEwan, please accept my apologies for having held a grudge against you for so long.

**Sam, thanks for a great recommendation!

(By the way, this one is best saved for a time when you can immerse yourself in the story--reading the first half in bits and pieces didn't work so well for me.) (Also, this book counts for my Wishlist Challenge! Yay me!)

A Look at Some Unbridled Books

2012-01-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

Are you familiar with Unbridled Books? I wasn't, until Safe From the Sea won the ndie Lit Award for Fiction last year. In fact, that is what really opened my eyes to small publishers in general. Are there any small publishers that have caught your attention or earned your loyalty? Often, though the books they publish aren't all the same, there is a noticeable quality or characteristic they share--making each read a new, and yet familiar, experience.

"Unbridled Books is a premier publisher of works of rich literary quality that appeal to a broad audience. We want to be able to continue our longtime discussion about what allows a novel to touch our hearts and our minds at once. And we want our readers, booksellers, and reviewers to trust that when they pick up an Unbridled book, we’re inviting them to enjoy that rarest of pleasures, a good read." (from Unbridled's site)

My experience with Unbridled Books isn't as broad as I'd like--I've only known them for a year--but I have plenty of their books loaded on my Nook, and plenty more I'm interested in. This year, I've read a handful of their books that I'd like to mention.

First, as I mentioned, was Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye. (see my review here) It's a little father/son estrangement/reconciliation, a little bit of history and life on the water, a little bit family/marriage and infertility, all mixed into spare, vivid writing, realistic characters, and a plot that keeps you reading. I was impressed out how balanced the book was, in the writing, characters, and plot. It really would appeal to wide audience & is one that I plan on re-reading soon.

The next book I read of theirs was After Hours at the Almost Home by Tara Yellen, a title from their backlist (2008). It interested me partly because it sounded like an interesting combination of humor, quick-paced plot, and introspective character study. It was indeed a quick read, taking place in a few hours at a bar. We peek into the lives of all the employees--scattered pieces that add up to a full and complete story, reminding us that there is more to each of us than may initially meet the eye. If you appreciate some depth to a story, but are in the mood for a quick read, this is a perfect pick. As with Safe From the Sea, this is deceptively simple, quick to read, full of good writing and realistic, flawed characters.

After my second success with Unbridled Books, I was thrilled to receive Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb by George Rabasa from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. (see my review here) This is one of those incredibly unique books that tells a serious, heavy, story in a lighthearted, humorous way, and manage to balance the two perfectly. Again, the writing is easy to read yet unique and beautiful, the characters have a depth that has made them occasionally pop into my memory as real people (takes me a minute or two to remember they were characters.) He explores how we define mental illness, family, and our part in society. Highly, highly recommended.

The only book I've read from my Nook books so far is Small Acts of Sex and Electricity by Lise Haines. This was the first time in a long time that I've dipped into a book so relational. I was a little nervous, to be honest, to read about a girl who steps into her best friend's life (husband and kids included) after the flaky lady skips town. It was a little more romantic and drama-oriented than what I prefer, and yet the level of writing elevated above the common fare I expected.

I have many other books of theirs that I'm looking forward to reading, and they seem to be coming out with new must-reads all the time. They seem to pick books that bridge the gap between simple and complex--they are like guilty pleasures, and yet they make you think and feel--making them a perfect choice for someone who isn't used to literary fiction, as well as those who are used to it. Perfect vacation reading for me--treat yourself to an Unbridled Book today! (and no, I'm not affliated. just a fan!)

I'd love to know what small publishers (or imprints of larger publishers) that you love and trust--or maybe just keep your eye on...what has impressed you about them? Who should I look into?

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

2012-01-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

One of the wonderful things about book-blogging (as many of you know) is finding new favorite titles & authors that would've been difficult to discover otherwise. Maggie O'Farrell is a blogger-find for me. I wish I could remember where I first saw her mentioned...if you've blogged about her in the past: thank you!

I ended up picking The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox for my Book Club to read in November. Because of the time of year, we needed a book that wouldn't take too long to read, but also had plenty of discussion points. I scrolled through my shelves and my GoodReads wishlist and finally settled on this one, fully expecting a straightforward, simply written story of a bygone era. What we found was so much more.

I found the premise interesting: A city called Edinburgh, an owner of a vintage clothing shop named Iris, and an unexpected phone call regarding her great-aunt Esme (whom she never knew existed) being released from an asylum after 60 years. Though they are basically strangers, Iris finds herself wrapped up in Esme's story nonetheless. It reminded me of The Secret Scripture, (a book I enjoyed,) and the cover of this edition was too lovely to pass up.

Esme was intriguing, her world magical--and we are offered a glimpse of it due to O'Farrell's sparse yet poetic writing. Did Esme have mental issues, or was she just different? How much would her life have been different if she'd been raised in a different time or family? Aren't all of our brains just a bit different in how they process things? Can't any normal behavior be twisted to look abnormal?

There is a rhythm to O'Farrell's writing that is captivating, making it one of those books that--once you get into the swing of its cadence--you don't want to put down, for fear that the world you've been enveloped in will dissipate and recede. This is a book to be quoted in paragraphs, rather than in sentences or pretty turns of phrase.

from page 58:

She flips back through time. 1941, 1940, 1939, 1938. The Second World War begins and is swallowed, becoming just an idea, a threat in people’s minds. The men are still in their homes, Hitler is a name in the papers, bombs, blitzes and concentration camps have never been heard of, winter becomes autumn, then summer, then spring. April yields to March, then February, and meanwhile Iris reads of refusals to speak, of unironed clothes, of arguments with neighbours, of hysteria, of unwashed dishes and unswept floor, of never wanting marital relations or wanting them too much or not enough or not in the right way or seeking them elsewhere. Of husbands at the end of their tethers, of parents unable to understand the women their daughters have become, of fathers who insist, over and over again, that she used to be such a lovely little thing. Daughters who just don’t listen. Wives who one day pack a suitcase and leave the house, shutting the door behind them, and have to be tracked down and brought back.

Beautiful. I'll certainly be seeking out more of O'Farrell's works.

Anna Karenina Wrap-Up Post

2012-01-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

Oh RIGHT! THAT'S what I was forgetting--my final Anna Karenina post! I totally left the good old blogging hanging on that one--did I love it? hate it? finish it?? The last time I posted was before I read the last quarter of the book (meaning: yes, I did finish it...did you really doubt me, dear blog?) and then I didn't post because, well, the holidays were raging, and I sped through the end of the book so quickly that I finished it before the read-along ended and then felt a teensy-weensy bit guilty.

If you've read any of my prior posts on the book, you may remember that Anna Karenina is actually a re-read for me [technically] although the fact that I read it in highschool (some 17 years ago or so) means that I don't remember much except for hazy pictures of unhappy people in big houses in the middle of Russia. And trains of course.

This was my 2nd read-along (the first being last spring for Villette--also with Wallace) and it was also a very good experience. I work well with deadlines, I suppose, so the schedule works for me. Also, it's a great way to digest a classic: periodic discussions aid in understanding and appreciation. So read-along=thumbs up, & hoping for more in 2012.

In Week 1, I delighted in Tolstoy's humor as well as the wonderful translation. Also, it was crazy to realize that most of the main characters are not more than 34-35 years old. When I was a teen that sounded ancient, now it seems oh-so-very-young. ;)

Week 2 was all about adding layers: the characters and the plot both start to become more complex as the picture starts to fill in. Tolstoy continues to do this throughout the novel, which is one of the things that made it feel so real and intriguing to me.

Anna starts working herself into a corner in Week 3. We see a little more of the social life in the upper class, and also some hints that the times are a-changing.

Week 4 is quieter. We see Kitty's time abroad and Levin's observations on farming. We are left to ponder the important things in life.

It's crunch-time in Weeks 5-7: so many things are starting to come to head and the characters' faults are showing. I began to dislike many of the characters here, and yet was captivated by the story.

Ah, Weeks 8-9. How many angles of love we see here. There's the newlywed bliss and stress, there's the deluded justification of a broken marriage, there's the sad acceptance of a lesser love. Dolly's circumspection here really touched me. She realized that she did have love--which was good--but it wasn't the kind or the quality that she yearned for. (sigh*)

The last quarter of the book shows Anna & Vronsky falling apart, Kitty & Levin grow stronger, Dolly and Stiva find a way to hold it together. Seeing Anna crack up was pretty intense. Tolstoy ended the book on a philosophical note rather than on drama and plot--something that felt very Tolstoy to me. At first, since I'd been so enraptured in the story, I had a hard time switching back to philosophy. In the end, though, I found that it not only allowed the story time to settle and soak in, but it also really brought all the plot points and themes together.

Tolstoy went through some major life changes while writing this book. He struggled, as Levin does in the book, with what the meaning of life is & how he should be living. While in the beginning Tolstoy was excited about writing what he viewed as a proper novel, in the end he was sick of it--had changed it so many times and just wanted to be done with it. And yet the result is still wonderful. I love that you can take so many different messages away from the book: since Tolstoy is mulling over all the issues himself, the book feels more like an invitation to mull over it along with him rather than being a vehicle to deliver his agenda.

This has solidified Tolstoy as one of my very favorite authors. The mix of insight and action, poetry and wit are melded into perfection for me here.

[some of my favorite quotes:]

p. 236: ...She understood that she had deceived herself in thinking that she could be what she wished to be.

p. 260: Hard as Stepan Arkadyich tried to be a solicitous father and husband, he never could remember that he had a wife and children.

p. 427: “I’ll begin from the beginning: you married a man twenty years older than yourself. You married without love or not knowing what love is. That was a mistake, let’s assume.”

p. 608: ...They all fall upon Anna. What for? Am I any better? I at least have a husband I love. Not as I’d have wanted to love, but I do love him, and Anna did not love hers. How is she to blame, then? She wants to live. God has put that into our souls. [...] I might have loved and been loved in a real way.

p. 614: “When you love someone, you love the whole person, as they are, and not as you’d like them to be.”

p. 729: Children? In Petersburg children did not hinder their father’s life. Childen were brought up in institutions, and there existed nothing like that wild idea spreading about Moscow - as with Lvov, for instance - that children should get all the luxuries of life and parents nothing but toil and care. Here they understood that a man is obliged to live for himself, as an educated person ought to live.

p. 780: “Yes, as a tool I may prove good for something. But as a human being I am a wreck,” he said measuredly.

p. 817: [last paragraphs] This new feeling hasn’t changed me, hasn’t made me happy or suddenly enlightened, as I dreamed - just like the feeling for my son. Nor was there any surprise. And faith or not faith - I don’t know what it is - but this feeling has entered into me just as imperceptibly through suffering and has firmly lodged itself in my soul.
I’ll get angry in the same way with the coachman Ivan, argue in the same way, speak my mind inappropriately, there will be the same wall between my soul’s holy of holies and other people, even my wife, I’ll accuse her in the same way of my own fear and then regret it, I’ll fail in the same way to understand with my reason why I pray, and yet I will pray - but my life now, my whole life, regardless of all that may happen to me, every minute of it, is not only not meaningless, as it was before but has the unquestionable meaning of the good which it is in my power to put into it!

On Reading Goals

2012-01-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

I'm not planning on going Challenge crazy this year.

Well, I wasn't planning on it at least. Turns out, I'm simply not going crazy on signing up for challenges. I've still got plenty of personal goals. I've updated my Current Challenges page to reflect my hopes and dreams, (go there to look at specific title lists,) but here's the overview:

Willa Cather Chronologically:
I hope to read 4 more books in 2012, which will put me at a total of 8 out of 19.

Newbery Medal Books:
I'm currently at 33/90, and I want to read at least another 5 in 2012.

Pulitzer Prize Winners:
I've read 14 of the 85 Pulitzers in the Fiction category, and I want to up by another 5 this year. This may be a stretch.

Reading from my To Be Read Shelf:
Meaning books that I've owned for over a year and still haven't read...I want to read 10 books, excluding those that qualify for other challenges. That certainly ought to be doable, right?

Reading Short Stories and Poetry:
Since this is something I want to put a conscious effort towards, I may as well keep track of it. My goal is to complete 3 collections of each type.

Reading From my Wishlist:
Since I've been whining about not getting to read books on my wishlist, what better way to make sure I do it than to challenge myself to do it? Lucky for me, then, that just such a challenge is being hosted over at Leeswammes' Blog! This challenge is for 12 books, 1 each month (the list is on my current challenges page.)

The Back to the Classics Challenge:
I wasn't going to do this for 2012, but there are some books that I want to read that seem to fit into the categories, (plus, I love how Sarah has set up the Linky posts for this year!) so I decided to go ahead and give it a shot. (again, categories and tentative choices are on my current challenges page.)

Spring into Junior Fiction Challenge:
I have a lot of Junior Fiction that I'd like to get read, and since The Art of the Novella Challenge worked so well for me last year, I thought I'd do a month-long Junior Fiction challenge this year. It'll likely be in March or April, I'll keep you updated.

Art of the Novella Challenge:
In August I'm going to attempt to complete the remaining 14 titles in the collection, and perhaps the 5 new titles as well. This was a great experience last year, let's hope it's great again!

New Features:
It's become obvious to me this year that I need to find a way to streamline how I write reviews. There are SO many books (brilliant ones, even!) that I read in 2011 and never talked about. (pout*) Here's the plan:

It's Not You, It's Me will be a new monthly feature where I get to chat about all those books that I can't bring myself to write a complete review of for reasons of ambivalence or general ennui. They may be perfectly lovely books, but for one reason or another a complete review is beyond me.
Reading Roundup will be a place for me to collect mini-reviews...mostly of Junior/Teen Fiction or Nonfiction, although it is perfectly possible that other genres will need to be contained here as well. This may happen at irregular intervals, just depending on how my reading goes.

Now, FINALLY, let the New Year begin! Happy Resolutions, everyone!

Up and Down Stairs

2012-01-09T16:15:00.000-08:00

Subtitled, The History of the Country House Servant, Up and Down Stairs is exactly what it puts itself out to be. From the medieval days to the present day, this book gives you an overview of the the time period and the servant's role in it, as well as how the changing lifestyles in turn affected architectural design.

I've always been interesting in the behind-the-scenes, operational side of a large home. I remember longing, as a child, to be able to see the kitchen and work rooms of an historical estate. Even now, seeing what's "Behind the Green Baize Door" [title of chapter 4] and getting a glimpse of how it all works is more intriguing to me than seeing the formal rooms.

That's why I love Gosford Park and Downton Abbey. That's why one of the best parts of staying at the amazing Ashford Castle in Cong, Ireland, was the opportunity to go to the kitchen and make scones. I've no idea why this interest is embedded in me in the first place, but Up and Down Stairs certainly helped fill that thirst for knowledge. It also made me want to know more, which (I think) reflects on the writing quite admirably.

Two vital aspects in writing nonfiction are organization and writing fluidity, and Jeremy Musson seemed to accomplish both effortlessly. The book begins with the castles of medieval times, and ends with the modern day, spending the most time in the 18th and 19th centuries: the high point for large country estates. Also included were pictures and quotes (from both servant and master) spanning those time periods--a nice addition that helped to keep it from bogging down.

I had to read aloud to my husband the duties of a valet--boy is he ever jealous. I think that acquiring a valet just went on his bucket list (or perhaps it was already there!) Whether you empathize with the working conditions of some of the servants or pine for the life of the master, if you've ever wanted to know more about Britain's grand estates or those in domestic service that kept them running, you'll find something to love in this book.

A critical factor [after the war] was the inability to recruit new servants, not merely to look after the landowner’s family personally, but also to maintain the contents and fabric of the house. The loss of the ‘odd man’ who had once swept the gutters and cleared the drains was in many ways as significant as the loss of a steward or a butler.

Where to go next? I have a copy of Keeping their Place: excerpts from servants' writing about life in domestic service, and have an inclination to finally read some Wodehouse...and off to watch the new season of Downton Abbey! Some days, I must admit, it sounds awfully nice to have a scullery maid to do the washing up.

Announcing the Short Lists for the Indie Lit Awards!

2012-01-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

The first of the year means that the Indie Lit Awards have announced their short lists! I'm excited to read and discuss the titles in the Fiction category with the rest of the team:Aths (Reading on a Rainy Day), Carrie (Nomad Reader), and Meg (Write Meg). We won't be posting reviews until the winner is announced in March, but that doesn't mean we won't be busy reading and discussing.

Here's our list:

Dance Lessons by Aine Greaney (Syracuse University Press)
Cross Currents by John Shors (Penguin Group: NAL Trade)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Knopf/Doubleday Publishing Group)
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill)
The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene (Penguin Group)

Have you read any of these? I'm looking forward to some new discoveries.

Interested in the categories? Here are their short lists:

Biography/ Memoir

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua (Penguin)
Bossypants by Tina Fey (Reagan Arthur Books)
I Pray Hardest When Being Shot At by Kyle Garret (Hellgate Press)
Little Princes by Conor Grennan (William Morrow)
Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch (Harper)

GLBTQ

Well With My Soul by Gregory Allen (ASD Publishing)
Swimming to Chicago by David Matthew Barnes (Bold Strokes Books)
Songs of the New Depression by Kergan Edwards-Stout (Circumspect Press)
Nina Here Nor There: My Journey Beyond Gender by Nick Krieger (Beacon Press)
Huntress by Melinda Lo (little brown books for young readers)

Mystery

Missing Daughter, Shattered Family by Liz Strange (MLR Press)
The Cut by George Pelecanos (Reagan Arthur/LIttle, Brown)
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (St. Martin’s Press)
The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey (Dutton)
Fun & Games by Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland Books/Little, Brown)

Non-Fiction

Berlin 1961 by Frederick Kempe (Putnam Adult)
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson (Crown)
Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff (Harper)
Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku (Doubleday)
The Social Animal by David Brooks (Random House)

Poetry

Beyond Scent of Sorrow by Sweta Vikram (Modern History Press)
Catalina by Laurie Soriano (Lummox Press)
What Looks Like an Elephant by Edward Nudelman (Lummox Press)
Three Women: A Poetic Triptych and Selected Poems by Ramos, Emma Eden (Heavy Hands Ink)
Sonics in Warholia by Megan Volpert (Sibling Rivalry Press)

Speculative Fiction

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (Candlewick)
The Magician King by Lev Grossman (Viking)
11/22/1963 by Stephen King (Scribner)
Among Others by Jo Walton (Tor Books)
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Crown)

2011: Full List and Stats

2012-01-05T23:31:00.000-08:00

Stats and graphs are just part of the fun here. This is also where I list all the books I read by [general] genre, and declare my Top 5 reads of the year. I may be silly, but I looove this stuff. :)

How many books read in 2011?
126 (6 more than 2010, but only because I decided each novella is a whole book)

Genres?

18/126 - nonfiction (14%)
107/126 - fiction (86%)

37/126 - classics (30%) (three cheers for classic novellas!)
26/126 - junior/teen (20%)
45/126 - adult fiction (36%)

Male/Female authors?

61/126 – female (48%)
65/126 – male (52%)

Old/New?

OLDEST? the bible, then Miguel de Cervantes: The Dialogue of the Dogs, 1613
NEWEST? Jeffrey Eugenides: The Marriage Plot, 2011
WRITTEN BEFORE I WAS BORN? 51 (23 more than last year, and 18 were 100+ years before I was born)
WRITTEN THIS YEAR? 20 (9 more than 2010)

Length?

Longest book read? the bible (1613pp) and then Gone With the Wind at 959pp
Shortest book read? The Duel by Heinrich Von Kleist at 50pp
Number of "chunksters" (450+ pages)? 10 (same as 2010)
Any in translation? 16

Best/Worst Reading Month?

Best--August @ 30 books! (gotta love those novellas)
Worst--December @ 3 books (it was an insanely busy month)

TOP FIVE of 2011: (excluding recent re-reads, notably O Pioneers! and Persuasion)
A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry (beautiful language)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (fabulous insight and philosophy)
Tales of Belkin by Alexander Pushkin (what a storyteller!)
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (vivid writing)
The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald (evocative setting)

and a comparison chart just for the fun of it--notice how much more balanced my reading is becoming! yay me! I'd like to fit a bit more NonFiciton in next year, but pretty happy otherwise.

LISTED BY GENRE/RATING: (except for the bible, because how do I categorize that??)

Nonfiction: 14% (average rating 3.56) [2010: 21% (average rating 3.74)]
4.5 stars:
- If There is Something to Desire, Vera Pavlova
- The Illustrated Elements of Style, Strunk & White
4 stars:
- At Home, Bill Bryson
- The Stolen Village, Des Ekin
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
- The Story of Christianity Vol. 1, Justo Gonzalez
- The Western Lit Survival Kit, Sandra Newman
3.5 stars:
- Nine Horses, Billy Collins
- The Boat and the Sea of Galilee, Lea Lofenfeld Winkler
- Tattoos on the Heart, Gregory Boyle
- Leavings, Wendell Berry
- Townie, Andre Dubus III
- Choosing to See, Mary Beth Chapman
3 stars:
- The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, Myra Calvani
- Beautiful & Pointless, David Orr
2.5 stars:
- A Kidnapping in Milan, Steve Hendricks
2 Stars:
- Girl, Interrupted, Susanna Kaysen

Classics: 30% (average rating 3.74) [2010: 10% (average rating 4.04)]
5 stars:
- Persuasion, Jane Austen
- Villette, Charlotte Bronte
- Mathilda, Mary Shelley
- Tales of Belkin, Alexander Pushkin
- The Death of Ivan Ilych, Leo Tolstoy
- O Pioneers! Willa Cather
- Anna Karenina
4.5 stars:
- Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
- The Duel, Heinrich Von Kleist
- The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
4 stars:
- The Dialogue of the Dogs, Miguel de Cervantes
- The Duel, Giacomo Casanova
- Lady Susan, Jane Austen
- Michael Kohlhaas, Heinrich Von Kleist
- Bartleby the Scrivener, Herman Melville
- The Eternal Husband, Fyodor Dostoevsky
- The Devil, Leo Tolstoy
- The Country of the Pointed Firs, Sarah Orne Jewett
- The Duel, Joseph Conrad
3.5 stars:
- The Troll Garden and Others, Willa Cather
- Alexander's Bridge, Willa Cather
- First Love, Ivan Turgenev
- The Lifted Veil, George Eliot
- The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, Mark Twain
- The Horla, Guy de Maupassant
3 stars:
- Rasselas Prince of Abyssinia, Samuel Johnson
- Adolphe, Benjamin Constant
- The Girl with the Golden Eyes, Honore de Balzac
- How the Two Ivans Quarrelled, Nikolai Gogol
- A Simple Heart, Gustave Flaubert
- A Sleep and a Forgetting, William Dean Howells
- The Lesson of the Master, Henry James
- The Awakening, Kate Chopin
- Lolita, Vladamir Nabokov
2 stars:
- Benito Cereno, Herman Melville
- The Beach at Falesa, Robert Louis Stevenson
- Lord of the Flies, William Golding

Adult Fiction: 36% (average rating 3.81) [2010: 30% (average rating 3.38)]
5 stars:
- Safe From the Sea, Peter Geye
- The Lover's Dictionary, David Levithan
- Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day, Winifred Watson
- Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates
- The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach
- A Long Long Way, Sebastian Barry
4.5 stars:
- The Road, Cormac McCarthy
- Everything is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer
- The Secret Scripture, Sebastian Barry
- Ten Thousand Saints, Eleanor Henderson
- Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb, George Rabasa
- The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Maggie O'Farrell
- On Canaan's Side, Sebastian Barry
4 stars:
- True Grit, Charles Portis
- Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier
- The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Melissa Banks
- How to Be Good, Nick Hornby
- After Hours at the Almost Home, Tara Yellen
- Ghost Light, Joseph O'Connor
- Beloved, Toni Morrison
- The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets, Eva Rice
- The Marriage Plot, Jeffrey Eugenides
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon
3.5 stars:
- Great House, Nicole Krauss
- C, Tom McCarthy
- Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Helen Simonson
- Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
- Wench, Dolen Perkins-Valdez
- The Fates Will Find Their Way, Hannah Pittard
- That Night, Alice McDermott
- Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
- Small Acts of Sex and Electricity, Lise Haines
- Hotel Angeline, asstd. authors
- Turn of Mind, Alice LaPlante
- The Forgotten Garden, Kate Morton
- The Sea Captain's Wife, Beth Powning
- After the Quake, Haruki Murakami
3 stars:
- The Bride's House, Sandra Dallas
- Tapestry of Love, Rosie Thornton
- Bright Before Us, Katie Arnold-Ratliff
- The Weird Sisters, Eleanor Brown
- Bright's Passage, Josh Ritter
2.5 stars:
- Expiration Date, Sherril Jaffe
- The Ballad of Tom Dooley, Sharon McCrumb
1 star:
- Remember Me, Deborah Bradford (I should really have stopped reading this right after I read this sentence: Sam was so hungry he could eat a bear! My mistake. Lesson learned.)

Junior/Teen Fiction: 20% (average rating 3.5) [2010: 39% (average rating 3.64)]
4 stars:
- Dragon Flight, Jessica Day George
- Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
- Dragon Spear, Jessica Day George
- Elske, Cynthia Voigt
- Newes From the Dead, Mary Hooper
- The House at Pooh Corner, A.A. Milne
- The Giver, Lois Lowry
- The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White
- Wonderstruck, Brian Selznick
3.5 stars:
- The School Story, Andrew Clements
- Flipped, Wendelin Van Draanen
- Adam of the Road, Elizabeth Janet Gray
- The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
- If I Stay, Gayle Foreman
- Journey to Jo'burg, Beverly Naidoo
- The Whipping Boy, Sid Fleischman
- Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Betty MacDonald
3 stars:
- The Door in the Wall, Marguerite de Angeli
- Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, Cohn & Levithan
- Magic in the Park, Ruth Chew
- Dragonspell, Donita K. Paul
- Dolphin Treasure, Wayne Grover
- The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
- Nothing But the Truth, Avi
2.5 stars:
- The Iron Dragon Never Sleeps, Stephen Krensky

Wow that list sure seems long, doesn't it? Too long for me to even dream about linking to my reviews--sorry about that! Thank you so much for making 2011 a year full of wonderful book discussion. Let's do it again, shall we?

The Curious Incident of an Unplanned Read

2012-01-04T22:28:00.000-08:00

I suppose I've gotten so used to planning out my next few reads that a sudden divergence from the predictability becomes blog-worthy. Not sure how I feel about that, but nonetheless here we are.

When Mark Haddon's The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-time hit the shelves around 2003ish, it was one of those immensely popular titles and nothing that anyone said could convince me to read it. Not even the fact that my husband started reading it and kept telling me interesting tidbits. It took me organizing and clearing my shelves some 8 years later for me to flip through it and hear myself think, "Hm. This looks interesting."

Those of you who've read it already know that it doesn't take long to read, which certainly helped to convince me to pick it up on a whim. The problem was (apart from its über-popularity) that the topic just didn't sound interesting to me. It isn't that I find the subject of learning-differences boring, it's that I had never read a book that made it so easy to understand and empathize with such a character. That all changed before I'd read more than a few pages of Haddon's book.

One of the really fun parts of the book is the inclusion of drawings and diagrams. The books is set up as if it is a journal of sorts--one that could eventually become a book. I appreciated how the narrative voice belonged fully to the main character, and loved the combination of humor and heartache. All those raving reviews that had me rolling my eyes and sighing in 2003, are actually right on the money, and I'm glad I allowed myself to be sidetracked from my chores long enough to discover that.

And. Hopefully I'm getting a little bit better about reacting so strongly to outside influences! 8 years is just a little silly.

End-of-Year Bookish Survey

2012-01-03T11:23:00.000-08:00

Finally I have access to a computer! I always seem to forget that my kiddos dominate the computers when we are away from home. December seemed so non-bloggy...hoping January is different!

For some reason, when scrolling through this year's list of books I've read, I felt rather ambivalent. I'm hoping that will change as I begin to answer some of these questions. I know I read some incredible ones...

2011 in Review: 125 books read

Best book? Without a doubt, A Long Long Way (Sebastian Barry). One of the best books of all time. In total, I rated 11 books as 5 stars (9%) and another 12 books as 4.5 stars (10%) for a total of 19% amazing reads.

Worst book that I actually finished? Remember Me (Deborah Bradford) Why oh why did I read the whole thing?? I thought I'd learned better than that. It was a standout though, since I only finished 6 books that I ended up rating 1 or 2 stars (5%).

Most disappointing? Lord of the Flies! I thought this was a classic...meaning I'd be able to find something to appreciate, right??? Yeah, no. This is one of the 5% I was just talking about.

Most surprising (in a good way!) Apart from many of the classic novellas I read in August, I'd say either The Art of Fielding (Harbach--a sports book enjoyable? amazing!) or The Sea Captain's Wife (Powning--for a book that took place mostly on the ocean, this was surprisingly pleasant)...or maybe The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (O'Farrell--I was expecting standard fare and got something written in a unique, effective voice.)

Favorite new authors I discovered? Sebastian Barry, Maggie O'Farrell, Alexander Pushkin. I want to read more of all of them.

Most thrilling, unputdownable book? Tales of Belkin, Alexander Pushkin. There were more, of course, but this one actually had me out of breath a some points!

Favorite Cover? I can't pick just one, I like the modern stuff and the vintage stuff...

Most memorable character? My first reaction was to say Christy Moran and Willie Dunne from A Long Long Way, but I also loved Mike Schwartz from The Art of Fielding, of course Anna Karenina was filled with them, and then what about Miss Pettigrew when she lived for a day?

Most beautifully written? A Long Long Way (Sebastian Barry) Incredibly amazing. Filled to the brim with beautiful language.

Book that had the greatest impact on me? A Long Long Way (Sebastian Barry) Like I said, incredibly amazing.

Book I can't believe I waited until 2011 to read? The Giver probably wins this award. Everyone seems to have read it when they were young except me.

Book that had a scene in it that had me reeling? A Long Long Way (Sebastian Barry) In a book that basically kept me reeling throughout, there were a few stand out scenes as well.

Book by an author who should be more well-known? Revolutionary Road (Richard Yates) While the characters may be frustrating, his writing is fresh and unique, even decades after it was first published.

How many re-reads? 4: Persuasion, O Pioneers! Anna Karenina, The Great Gatsby

Book I read in 2011 I'd be most likely to re-read in 2012? Safe From the Sea (Peter Geye) and A Long Long Way (Sebastian Barry). The first because I feel like I read it too fast the first time, and the second because it has taken me weeks to get over the feeling that it was the only book I ever wanted to be reading.

Most books read by one author? 3: Sebastian Barry: The Secret Scripture, A Long Long Way, On Canaan's Side and Leo Tolstoy: The Death of Ivan Ilych, The Devil, Anna Karenina, and also Willa Cather: April Twilights, The Troll Garden and Others, O Pioneers!

Favorite Passage/Quote? Serious? WAY too many! But since I've been gushing about A Long Long Way, (and goodness just re-reading the quotes is making me teary!) here's a taste of that beautiful writing:

Like an old ash-tree he feared he would slowly hollow out, the rot taking him inwardly ring by blackened ring, until the winter wind came and blew him down.

and one more from the same book:

Since the things he had wished for were no more, he wished for nothing. He breathed in and out. That was all. That was where the war had brought him, he thought.

Where My Books Come From

2011-12-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the end of the year, with all the fun stats and surveys that entails. Last year I divided up my year-end stuff into 3 posts, and I think I'll do that again: #1 for a look at why I pick up (and read) the books I do, #2 for a little survey action, and #3 for all the stats and lists that I like to have on record.

What compelled me to read this year's books?

I did this last year, inspired by Jay, and found it to be eye-opening. It actually inspired me to keep better track of the reason I chose to read each book of 2011. I'm on the never-ending quest for balance, so let's see how this year compared to last year.

Total Books (so far!): 125 (111 in last year's stats)

Book Club: 9 (+2 I didn't finish = 3 less than 2010)
Some were great, some I didn't finish (*cringe) but I always love meeting with my groups and talking books. My favorite was The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (picked by me, recommended by you, and yet to be reviewed).

Read-Aloud to my Kiddos: 13 (11 less than 2010)
I'm not homeschooling as many kiddos this year (just 1 of my 4) so many less read-alouds this year. Most of these weren't incredibly enjoyable for me, but the kiddos liked them, which is what counts, right? My [perennial] favorite was Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White.

ARCs: 13 (4 more than 2010)

A couple of these were really terrible, which prodded me to adopt stricter personal guidelines for accepting a book for review. I can't choose my favorite: I loved both The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach and Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb by George Rabasa.

Interest/Mood:  23 (9 more than 2010)
Comprised of my highest rated books of the year (except for Lord of the Flies--yuck) My favorite? A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry (actually my favorite read this year over all).

Recommendations  (from many different sources): 17 (1 more than 2010)
I always have mixed luck with these, but most of them were enjoyable. My favorite was recommended by a bookshop in Clifden, Ireland: The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry.

Challenges  (all qualifying books): 51 (31 more than 2010!)
First, most of these books I was interested in -- it isn't as if they were all a chore. At some point I think I decided that this category preempted the others. Second, most of these were the novellas I read in August...otherwise the number would have been about the same. Picking a favorite here is hard--I had a lot of wonderful classics, including a favorite I re-read (O Pioneers!) and a couple of terrific read-alongs (Villette and Anna Karenina) but I think that I'm in the mood to pick the Tales of Belkin by Alexander Pushkin.

Conclusion:
- Last year I decided to try to let go of obligations, and focus on reading more books for challenges, recommendations, and interests. I think I did a good job with that.
- I'm pretty happy with how these categories balanced out this year, though I wouldn't mind amping up the number of books I read just because I want to read them.

Up Next:
the handy dandy survey!

Bookish Gifts, and How Amazing is Powell's Books?!

2011-12-28T16:12:00.000-08:00

Before I get to posting all my year-end lists, I have to show you all the books I've given and received over the holidays! Too much goodness to pass up! I decided this year that I was going to get a book for everybody, even the ones that don't read. Too bad, tough cookies, you're getting a book. In addition to other gifties, of course, but still.

Books Given: (click on the pics to find out more about each title)
For those to whom reading is Hard Work: (my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and 11 year-old daughter)

For those preferring NonFiction: (my father and a sister-in-law)

For the Deep Thinkers: (my brother and 12 year-old son)

For the Lit Lovers: (my other brother, step-mother-in-law, and grandmother-in-law)

All right, so there were (admittedly) some friends and family that didn't get books. My other sister-in-law, my other mother-in-law and father-in-law...but since we haven't had our gift exchanges as of yet, I've still got time to decide for them! Also, I didn't include the picture books for my little one or my nieces...rest assured that the little ones weren't neglected!

and...Why Powell's Books is Amazing:

I try to buy my books not-on-Amazon, which means I typically patronize my local Barnes&Noble, or my new flame: Powell's Books. I stumbled upon Powell's, an independent bookstore based in Portland, Oregon, when I found (and subscribed) to their Indiespensable program at the beginning of the year--I've been nothing but happy with them since.

Recently my "happy" status got boosted up a few notches when Powell's went above and beyond for me in the crazy few days before Christmas. I had placed an order with them towards the beginning of December, and had my books shipped to our vacation home (500 miles away) where we are spending the holidays. I somehow forgot that the USPS won't deliver there, however, so when we arrived at the house a week before Christmas, my Powell's package was nowhere to be found. (*cue utter despair, wailing, gnashing of teeth--Christmas without books?? Nooo!!!)

First thing, I checked their website, which led me to a very thorough package-tracking-log. Sure enough, my package had been returned to them. I called them first thing the next morning, and was completely impressed with the lengths they (er, Mike, actually--hi Mike!) went for me. I'd been dreading having my husband suggest canceling my Powell's order and placing an Amazon Prime order instead...fortunately it didn't come to that (I like to use my Prime shipping for larger items...like chipper shredders. True story.) First, they attempted to locate my package. When it looked like the post office had mixed it in with the masses of incoming books [from publishers etc.] I was about to accept my fate, but Mike had other tricks up his sleeve. It ended up being a most-of-the-day ordeal on his end (I'm guessing), including him searching for additional copies of the books I'd ordered, and looking for my package multiple times. The result? My package was ultimately found and sent out via UPS, arriving in 2 days at no extra charge to me. All of my stuff, before Christmas, even though it was my goof-up, not theirs.

my favorite mug :)

I'm blown away. I can't imagine many shopping experiences having such a personal, fulfilling result. These guys rock. Thank you Powell's Books! You made this Christmas a fabulous one.

Oh! and Wait! the Books I Received for Christmas!
It isn't every year that there are books under the tree, you know? So often my family thinks I've got plenty of books already, or they look at my wishlist and get overwhelmed. This year I lucked out--so much fun! My parents got me a BookBook for my iphone (*swoon) and my darling dear husband got me some actual books--that's because he knows that when I say "I already have too many books," he's supposed to laugh. That's my idea of a good joke. So, here's the goodies (including a zombie treat from my brother):

Also over the last week, since I'm around my other set of TBR books, I've been doing some massive culling and reorganizing. I'm getting rid of quite a few books, which somehow--in combination with the end of the Christmas Craziness--leaves me with incredible urge to go on a book-buying-spree. Shopping carts in a book store sounds like just the thing right now, don't you think? Half of me hopes I'll resist, half of my wants to fill up my Powell's shopping cart before I have the opportunity to change my mind. Either way, hope you all are having a happy week. I may not be getting mountains of reading done this month, but it's filled with some bookish happiness all the same. I hope that goes for all of you as well--thanks for being such grand literary company!

The Countdown is On

2011-12-20T16:12:00.000-08:00

Ohmygoodness only 12 days left in the YEAR! In some ways, this is oh-so-difficult to believe, and in other ways, incredible that it didn't happen a long time ago. Seriously, this year has felt about 2 years long.

me & my hunny

December has been filled with so many preparations for parties and house furnishings (in addition to the usual decorating and gift-buying) that blogging and reading have been on the back burner. This is the second year that we have hosted a big Christmas party, complete with themed music and dress. Last year, to celebrate moving into our mid-century modern house, we went with an early 60s theme (great fun) and this year, to honor the Mexican traditions of my husband's family, we had a Latin/Mexican theme. SO much fun: great food, pinatas, Mariachi and Latin Jazz bands, mojitos and margaritas...yum&yay!

I'm coming to the realization, with less than a fortnight remaining until 2012 gets underway, that I'm not going to be completing many more books, so I suppose it's time to begin wrapping up my 2011 reads and looking forward to 2012. I love looking at my year-end stats, but hopefully you all won't be too overwhelmed with my ruminations in the next week or so!

A big thing for me right now is the Indie Lit Awards. The nominations close at the end of the year, and will be followed by some fun reading--some of the best books of 2011! I can tell you, as the director of the Fiction category, that the short list (at least for the Fiction category) is still rather undecided, so if you had a favorite read published in 2011, nominate it! Get your friends and family to nominate it too...anything can happen! You have more influence than you may think--whether your favorite title was big or small this year, your votes are needed. The form is simple and quick too, so it won't even take much time. :)

And oh, by the way, if you are looking for a wonderful book to buy for a little person this year, I have to tell you about Press Here by Herve Tullet. This is not your traditional kid's book, it's interactive, it's fun, it's surprising. My 7 year-old was delighted with it. Half-way through reading it she looked up with a smile on her face and said "I like this book!" My 10 year-old read it next. She smiled and said with a grin, "This is enjoyable!" Even my 13 & 15 year-old boys liked it, smiling and following all the instructions, remarking on how funny it was. I ended up buying 3 copies: 2 to give away, and one to keep. Fun stuff here!

Enjoy your final days of 2011, and happy holidays to all! You'll be hearing from me again soon...get ready for those year-end lists! :)

Anna Karenina: Week 8-9 of 12

2011-12-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

My Thoughts on pp.483-620

I've enjoyed the depiction of newly married life. What weight Kitty attaches to trivial things! How volatile are Levin's emotions!

I don't know if it is simply my translation, but the phrase "in the depths of his soul" is starting to grate on me. Must everything truly be felt in the depths of one's soul?

In the quote below from p. 608, Dolly contemplates the quality of the love she lives with, comparing it to the decisions that Anna has made. How sad, and yet how realistic, is the realization that life isn't perfect? She admits that she does have a husband she loves, only not as she'd have wanted to love.

Anna, in the last quote, declares that all she wants is to live, causing no harm to anyone but herself. And yet this really doesn't accurately depict the choices she's made. In reality, she chose to live instead of causing harm only to herself (the torture of not being with Vronsky). I understand that she feels that her husband and son are better off without her, and that she is better off without the marriage, and that she is paying for her choice by ruining her reputation. But I also see that her husband's reputation has been destroyed, and her son's happiness as well. I know that she didn't think she had a choice, and yet I wonder...It is so common to think the grass is greener on the other side, but rarely does it really turn out that way.

Quotes from pp.483-620

p. 511: ...it was so necessary for him in his humiliation to possess at least an invented loftiness form which he, despised by everyone, could despise others, that he clung to his imaginary salvation as if it were salvation indeed.

p. 527-8: The elder brother, who had always respected the opinions of the younger, could not quite tell whether he was right or wrong until society decided the question; he himself, for his own part, had nothing against it and went together with Alexei to see Anna.

p. 549: And those assurances of love, which seemed so banal to him that he was ashamed to utter them, she drank in and gradually grew calm. The next day, completely reconciled, they left for the country.

p. 608: "And they all fall upon Anna. What for? Am I any better? I at least have a husband I love. Not as I’d have wanted to love, but I do love him, and Anna did not love hers. How is she to blame, then? She wants to live. God has put that into our souls. [...] I might have loved and been loved in a real way."

p. 614: “When you love someone, you love the whole person, as they are, and not as you’d like them to be.”

p. 616: “I don’t want to prove anything, I simply want to live; to cause no evil to anyone but myself. I have that right, haven’t I?”

I Suppose I Should Talk About THE MARRIAGE PLOT

2011-12-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

Reading the new & buzzworthy, up & coming, anticipated, hyped literary fiction releases is a relatively new experience for me this year. Actually, because of the Indie Lit Awards, it was a special focus of mine for 2011. I wanted to be more aware of what the "big" titles were. I subscribed to Powell's Indiespensable program, the Shelf Awareness newsletters, and I was on my way.

Now, I've never been too thrilled about doing what everyone else is doing.

- At 12, I ditched my friends because it bothered me that we all did what one girl felt like doing.
- At 17, I got engaged and spent my senior year planning for the rest of my life instead of having fun with friends.
- At 19, I had my first child instead of working towards a college degree.

I may be a good 15 years younger than most parents at my kiddos' schools, I may occasionally find myself with fewer people to relate to than I'd like, but although it's been different, it has also been fun.

This itch to be different relates to The Marriage Plot in a couple ways. First, I'm having a hard time talking about a book that everybody else is currently talking about (but I'm getting past that, see?) Second, I had a hard time relating to the characters who were very "college track" --opposite of my alternate route.

The Marriage Plot is about three students in (and out of) their college years: academia circa early 1980s. It is about Literature, Science, and Religion (very Capital Letter subjects) as well as about mental illness, soul searching, and [a little too much] about sexual thoughts/experiences [for my taste] [which, I'm finding, doesn't take much].

I decided to read it because, having no experience with Eugenides (no, none), it showed up on my doorstep inside my Indiespensable shipment and I was curious what the buzz was about. I opened it to read the first paragraph and accidentally read the first 20-30 pages instead.

Reading this book was somewhat of an odd experience for me. I wasn't really "sucked in" to it, I had no problem putting it down and doing something else, the writing didn't strike me as incredible [readable but not quite remarkable], I couldn't relate to the characters or the setting, the story-line wasn't gripping, and yet I was interested. It was one of those strange times when I was reading the book and concurrently thinking that I wasn't enjoying it so much, and yet something kept me going (and I don't think it was only the fact that I was on a cross-country flight. I did have other books to choose from!)

It was the ending that made the book for me. It really brought the whole book together in a way that made it say much more than I thought it was going to. It made me think, which is something I appreciate. It made me feel, which is something I'd been missing in the story up until that point.

And so, reading a currently-very-popular book has turned out to be a pretty good experience after all. I must say that I think the trick is to get it read before reviews are swarming, otherwise I seem to put it aside (like poor State of Wonder and Night Circus--other Indiespensable selections) until a later date. And as far as Eugenides goes, though I've heard that his books are all very different in style, I'm looking forward to pulling Middlesex off my shelf and experiencing another angle of this intriguing author.

Title: The Marriage Plot
Author: Jeffrey Eugenides
Pages: 416
Published: Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2011
Read for: Powell's Indiespensable
My Rating: 4 stars

ELIGIBLE TO BE NOMINATED!

How to Organize Your TBR Shelf in a Guilt-Free Fashion

2011-12-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

This year I've been lamenting the fact that most of my reading lately has been obligatory. That isn't to say that everything I've read has been uninteresting, but rather that there is a reason I'm reading it beyond my mood. Declaring that my reading needed to be more whim-tastic, I immediately instituted a two-pronged approach.

Not sure if this balancing act could be solved by
rearranging my bookshelf...though I'd still try!
(photo credit)

First, the books I took on my impending vacation were not allowed to be "guilt" books (need to read, obligatory books for whatever reason) I could only take books that I had a bubbling interest in reading (I ended up cheating a little bit by taking Anna Karenina, which ended up being quite difficult to read in the Caribbean--duh).

Second, I did what I always do when I need to get my life in order: reorganize by bookshelf.

For many readers, acquiring books is a balancing act. It starts with the realization that there are more books being put on the list than are being crossed off the list. For some people that isn't a problem: they are blessed with the ability to view bookcases of unread books as opportunities rather than responsibilities. Others fear that the mood or the interest will pass and so begin feeling antsy or guilty. And then there's always that mysterious breed that is so moderate they don't even understand the concept of book hoarding. We'll not be talking about those people. Nor the first group. We're here to discuss those that feel guilt when the unread books they own seem to be multiplying on their own in the dead of night. This is about justification, people. Own more books, guilt free!

Before:
Me, furrowed brow, reloading my TBR pages on Goodreads and Librarything to see if the number of books I haven't read has changed since I looked at it an hour ago. Quickly scrolling through the list, I keep an eyebrow cocked on the lookout for a book I've read--a stowaway silently undermining my mission. HUNDREDS of books. How did we get here?

After:
Curled up on a couch, steaming coffee in hand, cozy blanket wrapped around my legs, quietly traveling to another time, another place. There is no other book in the world than the one I'm reading. Life is organized, under control. The days of the sagging TBR shelves are a thing of the past.

Wait, how did that happen?
It's all in the organization. Looking at the shelves filled with books you haven't yet read and organizing them alphabetically isn't going to do anything to soothe your conscience. Sorting them according the colors of the covers might be a fun puzzle and pleasing to the eye, but won't be much help beyond that. Maybe you don't keep your unread books apart from the ones you've read, on a shelf of their own, but if you do (or want to) this is how I go about it.

Start here:
The main step, (and it may be a large one,) is deciding on some general types of To Be Read books you have.

Nonfiction: are you planning to read it straight through? or is it a coffee-table book? a reference book? Unless you specifically plan on reading the whole thing from front to back, get it off your TBR shelf.
Collections:

Type 1--sometimes I acquire books more for the beauty and collectability than for the simple fact that I'm dying to read it. I don't do this as often as I would like, but it happens. These books should be on your beautiful-books-shelf, not your TBR-shelf.
Type 2--personal goals/interests/challenges may not consist of a predetermined collection of books, but they should be grouped as one nonetheless. Whether it's my growing collection of Willa Cather books or Pulitzer books, these need to be separated from the general TBR riff-raff.

Obligatory: Chances are, some of the books you "need" to read are not books that you've bought for yourself. They might be ARCs or book club selections, they might be books loaned/given to you my a friend or family member. These need a special spot on your shelf to help with prioritizing and deciding on your next read.
Genres: I may be nit-picking, but I like to separate my books a bit further. All of my classics are on their own shelf, (not shown below,) whether I've read them or not. For me, they are like a collection of their own. The craving to read a classic is different than a craving to read nonfiction or current adult fiction. In the picture below you can see how I've done this: Junior Fiction on the bottom shelf, Collections and NonFiction on the 2nd shelf, followed by Adult Fiction, and the top shelf is for the more transient books: those lent to me, those needing to be returned, and obligatory reads. (I have to be honest and say that I have more books TBR than just these...but they are at a different house right now--something I do not recommend! How am I supposed to read them if they aren't even around me??)

Simultaneously:

With your super-stealthy multitasking balancing mega-powers, as you are sorting your books, why not take the time to cull some unwanted books? I actually do this quite often, which--I'm discovering--makes it quite difficult to build a massive library. BUT, it has the side affect of not becoming an "extra stuff" burden. Some of the books on my TBR shelf are there for some really flimsy reasons. (Most often they were passed on to me by a well-meaning friend or family member, and I kept them out of obligation, not interest--if you aren't interested in it, get rid of it!)

How does that feel?
I may be a bit more nuts-o about organizing my shelves than you, (it's okay, you can laugh,) but having my books properly sorted makes such a huge difference for me! My TBR books seemed to go from an entire bookcase down to one measly shelf (the Adult Fiction is the genre I feel guiltiest about for some reason...those are the ones I worry about my tastes changing.) A whole bookcase full of books I haven't read is overwhelming, but I can handle a shelf.

What books seem to be the most guilt-inducing for you? Do you have any special tricks for preventing over-whelm-ation? The end of the year, as you are putting together goals and ideas for next year's reading, is the perfect time to do some decluttering and reorganizing. And I'm not just saying that because I love to organize. :)

For the Record: November 2011

2011-12-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

I'm SO not ready for those BEST OF 2011 posts to pop up, much less compose them. How is it that November is already over?? I was away from home most of the month, so it was an odd one, that's for sure. I did get some fun reading done, although I haven't really talked about any of the books yet. Working on that.

The end of November also means that there is one month left to nominate books for the 2011 Indie Lit Awards. Which MEANS...it isn't too late to nominate some great literary titles! You all need to be on that like a rat on a cheeto. :)

10 Books Read in November: (122 books year-to-date) (titles link to my review)
1 for Book Club:
- The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox -O'Farrell (what a fabulous surprise this book was! --4)
1 Read-Aloud for my kiddos:
- The Trumpet of the Swan -White (Love this book! --4)
1 ARC:
- The Western Lit Survival Kit -Newman (for LibraryThing, A funny guide to the classics. --4)
5 Recommendations:
- The Westing Game -Raskin (from my 12 year-old son. Lotsa characters, but fun read. --3)
- Nothing But the Truth -Avi (also from my son. Good discussion book. --3)
- The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets -Rice (blogger rec, not sure who...need to keep track of that! --4)
- The Marriage Plot -Eugenides (a Powell's Indiespensable selection, and my 1st Eugenides. --4)
- Remember Me -Bedford (really really terrible, shouldn't have read it. --1)
2 Just Because:
- After the Quake -Murakami (I was entranced by The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle when my book club read it a couple of years back, this collection of short stories wasn't quite as wonderful for me. --3.5)
- On Canaan's Side -Barry (Not as incredible as A Long Long Way, but still up there. --4.5)

1 DNF:No Country For Old Men (Cormac McCarthy)
I feel a little terrible admitting I didn't finish this book. I thought The Road was quite well written, and this seemed to have a similar style. The names of the characters and the guns confused me, so I couldn't keep anything straight or vivid in my mind. I kept feeling that the movie would have been so much better. Think I'll watch it instead of reading it. Someday.

3 Current Reads:
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (read-along with Wallace @ Unputdownables. Over halfway through and love love loving it.)
- Possession by A.S. Byatt (I've been meaning to read this for a long time. I'm not very far in, but planning on finishing it in December.)
- Up Stairs and Down Stairs by Jeremy Musson (Can't wait to really dive into this one!)

On My Nightstand:
- Some Short Stories by Flannery O'Connnor (I read another in October, but still have 8 of 31 stories left to read--want to finish this before the end of the year!)
- Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (ARC from LibraryThing)

Before the End of the Year:
I'm planning on taking it pretty easy for the rest of the year. If I can finish the 5 books shown above, I'll be more than happy. I'm itching to read another Willa Cather book, so re-reading Song of the Lark will be the next item on the list if I end up with more time to read.

Other than that, it's all planning for 2012. One of my favorite things: making lists, plans, and goals! Apart from reading goals, I'm thinking of shaking up how I blog, introducing a new feature or two. I'm hoping to streamline my posts a bit, we'll see what I come up with.

New Books Show a Need for Nonfiction

2011-11-28T22:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you know that you are in the mood for a certain type of book.
Sometimes you know that you are in the mood for a certain type of book and you immediately start reading it.
Sometimes you know that you are in the mood for a certain type of book and yet can't seem to get around to reading it.

Sometimes you don't know that you are in the mood for a certain type of book until your purchases illuminate it for you.

I actually own both versions of this book and haven't read either one. They have both been following me around on my vacations from nightstand to nightstand for the last month. I've owned them for years. I've been wanting dreadfully to read them. Why haven't I?

I've just received both of these from Book Depository as an early Christmas gift to myself. I've always been fascinated by the workings of a large estate, (I loved Gosford Park for that very reason, and touring the kitchen of Ashford Castle to make scones during my Ireland trip was mostly fantastic because I adore the behind-the-scenes view...in fact I'm fascinated with doors in general and am now wondering if the two are related?) and my interest has ramped up again after watching the first season of Downton Abbey...need.to.read...

All right, so maybe these seem to have nothing in common. But they both hold importance to my family's history: my grandfather's family emigrated from Ireland, and I grew up in California Gold Rush country. Learning more about these topics somehow makes me feel I'll know more about myself. I've been carrying the first around for nearly a year now, wanting to read it. The second recently arrived from PaperbackSwap. I want to read them both, yet somehow they aren't that the top of the pile...?

I've [obviously] been having a huge urge to read some good nonfiction (it goes beyond even these titles shown) but somehow they keep getting pushed aside. I think that nonfiction takes a concentration that fiction often doesn't, and so I keep waiting for the perfect time. I'm coming to think, however, that starting a nonfiction book is like starting a family: you need to just do it, because if you wait for the perfect time it will never happen.

Have you experienced this? Perhaps in different genres or delineations? In the past few years I've read much more nonfiction (and much less adult fiction) than this year, which leads me to speculate that blogging might have something to do with it. I somehow seem to adopt a running-out-of-time mentality that makes me shy away from nonfiction. I think I'll give December a nonfiction focus: I've done well with my goals for this year, why not end the year with something I've been longing for anyhow?

Anna Karenina: Weeks 5-7 of 12

2011-11-28T11:00:00.000-08:00

Between my Caribbean trip and my Tahoe trip, both full of family, friends, and TONS of cooking, I've fallen behind on my read-along. I'm making it up here--so glad I finally caught up!

My Thoughts on pp.275-483

How Karenin went about deciding what to do with Anna was chilling, and quite indicative of the initial state of their marriage, I think (verified in the quote from p. 427 below). He really is very cold and methodical about it all: more concerned with the political/social appearance than anything else. Love and compassion seem to have never had a place in their marriage, which makes my view of Anna's affair change somewhat. She seems friendless and directionless in many senses. (see quotes below: from p. 282-3 for his view, and from p. 287 for hers) I like that, a bit further on, he finally lets himself connect with true feeling (see quote from p. 410-11 below.)

The crumbling aristocracy...Levin's discussion with others in his class about the structure of farming and peasantry etc. is somewhat like the Occupy movement from the opposite direction, yeah? Anyhow, I find it interesting to compare the problems of one social/political structure to another, especially when we can see some of the outcome of one, and are living in the other. I don't really know what my verdict is about the comparison, but it is adding something to the [thought] pot.

I'm completely sucked into the plot, so much so that I didn't write down as many quotes as I thought I might. From the complete awkwardness when Stepan ran into Alexei Alexandrovich, to Levin and Kitty matching up and the whole wedding ceremony, and Vronsky's reaction to Karenin's return! There is so much going on in this section that I'm just enthralled.

Characters--not liking Anna so much any more. I get that her choices were slim, but I don't really like Vronsky, so the fact that she does dampens my affection for her. :) These sections took me from feeling irritated with her to being sympathetic and back to irritated (which has actually been a great thing to experience.) I'm also not as in love with Levin as I was. I like him fine, but it's really starting to irritate me that he gets so moody. He can't handle truth being spoke of aloud and plainly, which is something I really don't think I could live with. (I'm starting to feel sorry for Tolstoy's wife, if Levin=Tolstoy!) My favorites right now are Stepan and Dolly...strange, since they played a minor role in this section.

Quotes from pp.275-483

p. 282-3: [Alexei Alexandrovich's thoughts:] “I cannot be unhappy, but neither should she and he be happy.” [...] “She should be unhappy, but I am not guilty and therefore cannot be unhappy.”

p. 287: [Anna's thoughts:] ...in the depths of her soul she considered her situation false, dishonest, and wished with all her soul to change it. [...] It might be bad, this new situation, but it would be definite, there would be no vagueness or falsehood in it.

p. 334: [Levin's POV] ...but the landowner, like all people who think originally and solitarily, was slow to understand another man’s thought and especially partial to his own.

p. 375: [Levin:] “It’s true that it’s time to die. And that everything is nonsense. I’ll tell you truly: I value my thought and work terribly, but in essence--think about it--this whole world of ours is just a bit of mildew that grew over a tiny planet. And we think we can have something great--thoughts, deeds! They’re all grains of sand."

p. 410-11: Alexei Alexandrovich stopped and went pale. He now realized clearly how strongly he had desired her death. [...] ...feeling slightly relieved at the news that there was after all some hope of death, he went into the front hall.

p. 415: [Vronsky] did not understand Alexei Alexandrovich’s feelings. But he felt that this was something lofty and even inaccessible to him in his world-view.

p. 427: [Stepan to his sister Anna:] “I’ll begin from the beginning: you married a man twenty years older than yourself. You married without love or not knowing what love is. That was a mistake, let’s assume.”

p. 435: [Vronsky's thoughts:] He simply could not understand how, at this moment of their reunion, she could think about her son, about divorce. Was it not all the same?

p. 465: [Vronsky:] He soon felt arise in his soul a desire for desires, an anguish.

The Eye of the Storm

2011-11-17T12:40:00.001-08:00

Vacation Part One is over: we are back from St. John, trying to pull everything together before heading up to Northern California mountains for Thanksgiving. I have a few little days between travel, and of course one priority is updating the good old book blog. :)

I always get incredulous responses when I mention that the Caribbean doesn't excite me so much, but the mountains? Dreamy. What it boils down to is that I'm just not a hot weather girl. Now don't get me wrong--it's absolutely gorgeous and the ocean beats the So Cal ocean any day of the week, but it's awfully hard to see through the sweat and bug bites (blech, don't even get me started on those). But this is all good news for you, since if I'm ever being cajoled into going again, I very well may just offer the trip to one of you instead. ;)

The view from our villa: Francis Bay on St. John--a rare sunny day!

The wedding (my husband's brother) was lovely and unique--very casual on a small secluded beach. The day (11/11/11 of course) happened to be clear and beautiful for the most part, even though it rained quite a bit otherwise. We didn't get many pictures, actually, since we spent so much time visiting, wet, or otherwise out of commission. There happen to be exactly zero pictures of me, but here's one of my hunny and my girlies, and another of my boys:

Haha, un-posed photos are wonderful.

So now we move on...my Google Reader is suffering from sever constipation, and I discovered that Anna Karenina wasn't quite as easy to read in a beachy-tropical locale, not to mention the fact that I had a wonderful week of reading that I want to share with you all. I'm happy to be back in a place where the heater is a welcome presence, and hoping for the chance to catch up soon. Cheers!

Sunday Salon: Traveling Inside and Outside of Books

2011-11-10T13:03:00.000-08:00

I know, it isn't Sunday. But I happen to be on vacation in the Caribbean, which makes the day of the week irrelevant. Every day is Sunday, right? And I'm feeling book-muse-ish and so to the Sunday Salon I go.

We are staying on St. John, with a bunch of family and friends in order to celebrate my husband's brother's wedding, so there is more visiting than sight-seeing. Good thing, then, that I was able to see so much of that recently @ As the Crowe Flies and Reads! (Besides, she seemed to have used up all of November's good weather...it's been mostly rainy since we've been here, so her pictures are much better than anything I could supply!) We are in Francis Bay, and it has been a lovely time of visiting with family and journeying to other places through literature.

Which brings me to what I've been pondering. When you travel, do you like to read books that take place where you are visiting? Island books in the Caribbean? English countryside books whilst visiting the UK? Gossip and style in Los Angeles? Or do you, like me, refrain from specializing in one area? Since I've left home, I've not only arrived in tropical islands, I've also visited Japan through After the Quake, stopped over in the American Southwest in the first 100 pages of No Country for Old Men (couldn't bring myself to finish that one), as well as 1950s England in The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets, Edinburgh in The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, a peak into Russia in Anna Karenina, and am now in Ireland/America in On Canaan's Side. It's been wonderful.

Books are my preferred method of travel, I must confess. No airports or red-eye flights. None of the grime or plugged ears that inevitably find me by the end of a long journey. I can simply open the covers of a new book and immerse myself in a new world. And I don't like to stay in any one place for too long...going other places in my reading allows me to better appreciate the place I'm at. I might get on a kick for a specific topic, but interjecting other things helps keep it fresh.

Meanwhile my 11 year-old daughter gets here and reads (& REreads) The Cay...while she's surrounded by islands and cays. What about you? Do you prefer to saturate yourself or jump around?

Anna Karenina: Week 4 of 12

2011-11-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

My Thoughts on pp.214-274

Another round of depth was added to our main players. In this section we get to see Levin contrasted with his brother Sergei: country mouse/city mouse. On page 239 (see quote below) Levin reflects on an observation that his brother's convictions don't reach his heart. On page 243, Sergei gets frustrated that Levin's convictions don't reach his mind: "He hardly entered into what his brother was saying." We also get to see Kitty mature some, although she still seems rather befuddled with herself (see first three quotes below).

This section was slower/quieter for me. I enjoyed reading of Kitty's time abroad (couldn't quite figure out Varenka--can anyone really be that good and likeable and level-headed?) and seeing more of Levin. Some of the farming descriptions left me wishing for more about Vronsky and Anna instead, even though I love nature and the education on Russian society. Maybe I'm like Levin, and think that nature is better if it isn't talked of so much. ;) (see quote from page 241 below)

I've realized that I think of the men being much older than they really are. Looking back on my quotes I see that Stepan is 34...they all seem so much older! I'm going to have to work at reforming the picture in my mind's eye.

Quotes from pp.214-274

p. 224: From Varenka she understood that you had only to forget yourself and love others and you would be calm, happy and beautiful.

p. 233: She could not solve the problem her father had unwittingly posed for her by his merry view of her friends and the life she had come to like so much.

p. 236: ...She understood that she had deceived herself in thinking that she could be what she wished to be.

p. 237: For Konstantin Levin the country was the place of life, that is, of joy, suffering, labour.

p. 239: But, in the depths of his soul, the older he became and the more closely he got to now his brother, the more often it occurred to him that this ability to act for the common good, of which he felt himself completely deprived, was perhaps not a virtue but, on the contrary, a lack of something--not a lack of good, honest and noble desires and tastes, but a lack of life force, of what is known as heart, of that yearning which makes a man choose one out of all the countless paths in life presented to him and desire that one alone.

p. 241: Konstantin Levin did not like talking or hearing about the beauty of nature. For him words took away the beauty of what he saw.

p. 248: "I need physical movement, otherwise my character definitely deteriorates."

p. 260: Hard as Stepan Arkadyich tried to be a solicitous father and husband, he never could remember that he had a wife and children.

p. 260: She had lived in the country in childhood, and had been left with the impression that the country was salvation from all city troubles.

For the Record: October 2011

2011-11-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

You know what the end of October means, right? Yep, the end of the year is nigh: I'd better prepare myself to see those BEST OF 2011 posts pop up, since they seem to happen much sooner than I'd think. I enjoyed my reading this month, even though I read some books I did not enjoy, mostly because some incredible books more than made up for it...something that is shaping my opinion on how I approach reading. I've been so goal-oriented this year that I'd almost forgotten how much fun it can be to read on a whim. I need to do much more whim-reading! Anyhow, here's the rundown:

8 Books Read in October: (112 books year-to-date) (titles link to my review)
3 for Challenges:
- Lolita (Back to the Classics Challenge--3) (or read the review @ As the Crowe Flies and Reads...she states my opinion much more eloquently!)
- The Giver (Newbery Challenge--4)
- O Pioneers! (Willa Cather Chronologically Challenge--5)
1 Read-Aloud for my kiddos:
- The House at Pooh Corner (4)
1 ARC:
- The Ballad of Tom Dooley (for LibraryThing, I wasn't familiar with the legend or the song, and so found the story to be rather unengaging. --2.5)
3 Just Because:
- Lord of the Flies (because my son was reading it for school, and I couldn't remember if I'd ever actually read it. I knew the story already, and that didn't bother me, but I had a really hard time with the moralistic heavy-handedness of the whole thing. I'm guessing that I just don't appreciate allegories or fables much--they seem to rely too much on symbolism, sacrificing character development and complexity. Blah. I don't want to talk about it any more...won't be devoting a whole post to it, that's for sure! --2)
- A Long Long Way (simply one of the most amazing books I've ever read. 5++)

- Bright's Passage (because I love Josh Ritter's music, but I don't think his talent translates to literature quite so well...hoping to review this one soon. --3)

2 Current Reads:
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (read-along with Wallace @ Unputdownables. This is a reread for me, and I'm absolutely loving the Pevear&Volokhonsky translation! I may read ahead.)
- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (for my Newbery Challenge)

On My Nightstand:
- Some Short Stories by Flannery O'Connnor (I read a couple more in October, but still have 9 of 31 stories left to read)
- More junior fiction for my Newbery Challenge
- Indiespensable from Powells (I haven't read the last few shipments--need to catch up!)

Before the End of the Year:
I've decided to dump my personal Top 5 of 2010 challenge. The challenge was to read another book by the authors of my 2010 favorites, and I had 2 left--I'm just not interested in them right now so they are returning to the regular old TBR shelf.

I do want to read one more Pulitzer, one more Willa Cather, and a couple more Newbery books before the end of the year, and finish Flannery O'Connor's stories!

I'm also trying to figure out how best to make next year's reading feel a little more whim-tastic. I've been feeling guilty about books coming into my house and not being read (I don't really like owning a bunch of unread books because I tend to get out of the mood for them after a while and then feel that space and money was wasted) but at the same time, most of these books made it onto my shelf without me having bought them, so my guilt is somewhat misplaced. Anyhow, I need to reassess the balance here. I feel like all I do is try to keep my TBR shelf down and look at my wishlist longingly. Something.has.to.change.

A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry

2011-10-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

He was born in the dying days.

And so opens this amazing story of young Willie Dunne. This may be the most important novel I've ever read; it's certainly one of the best. Awarding my own 5 measly little stars makes light of the experience, since I still get teary whenever I think about the book. It doesn't seem fair that I have no one to discuss this book with, so I'm hoping one of you has read it!

It is a book of the Great War: the First World War: a war of horrific scope and tragedy that is often overshadowed by WWII. This isn't about the entire war, though, it focuses on the Irish boys that fought and died in it. At the time, Ireland was controlled by England, and internally struggling with opinions about autonomy, which resulted in Easter Rising (see the photo and link below for more info). So Willie Dunne from Dublin, unable to follow his father's footsteps as a policeman because he didn't reach the height requirement, decides to volunteer to fight for England: a decision that becomes quite controversial as time passes.

I don't know about you, but when I think about "war books" I automatically groan inside. I know from the get-go that there's going to be some rough spots, and dread reading it because I'm afraid it will be all action-movie-gruesome, lacking any introspection or emotional connection. It was immediately apparent that this wasn't going to be the case with this book. Here's a great example of the writing, setting the stage on the second page:

Those millions of mothers and their million gallons of mothers' milk, millions of instances of small-talk and baby-talk, beatings and kisses, ganseys and shoes, piled up in history in great ruined heaps, with a loud and broken music, human stories told for nothing, for ashes, for death's amusement, flung on the mighty scrapheap of souls, all those million boys in all their humours to be milled by the mill-stones of a coming war.

Read some of the history about WWI and Easter Rising @ the guardian

What was surprising to me was how Barry managed to write a book that mostly takes place on the front lines, and yet avoid repetitive boredom. Not to mention the fact that I'm baffled as to how he survived writing such an emotional journey in the first place. It really is about so much more than just War, although you will be there like you've never been there before.

The prose was stunning. It ranged from simplistic to poetic, which helped to keep interest high and packed more power in the punch. The pace and plot were thoughtful and engaging. It alternated from action to introspection with perfect timing and balance, and covered a fair amount of time, yet didn't feel rushed or dreary. The setting and characters were vivid yet spare. Not overly descriptive, yet strong enough to feel you are there. Familiar, normal people just like those all around us. Some we know more of, some less. Some stir compassion, others incite frustration.

Read this when you are in the mood for a deep conversation with a good friend--that's what I felt I'd experienced when I closed the covers. Read it with an expectation to learn, to grow, to see beauty, to remember, to feel.

A bit of background: I was introduced to Sebastian Barry during my trip to Ireland this year in March. I went into the Clifden Bookshop to buy Joseph O'Connor's Ghost Light (which I somehow haven't posted about) and asked the bookseller for other Irish author recommendations. She handed me The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry. I enjoyed that very much, and picked this one up at the library on a whim. I'm so glad I did; looking forward to reading Barry's other novels.

Title: A Long Long Way
Author: Sebastian Barry
Pages: 304
Published: Penguin (orig. 2005)
My Rating: 5 stars

Anna Karenina: Week 3 of 12

2011-10-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

My Thoughts on pp.142-210

First of all, I couldn't stop at page 210--what a cliffhanger! I had to know, so I read a few more pages. I'm beginning to seriously doubt how I'll be able to make this book last the rest of the year!

Why is it that so many of the characters base their actions on public opinion? Are we really like this and just don't realize it? Or is this a facet of a high-profile section of society? As one example, Vronsky's mother was pleased with her son's affair until she realized that it was looked down upon by others. Tolstoy has a way of giving the reader information about a character (such as their thought processes) that the character himself isn't even aware of, which not only adds a bit of humor to the story, but also exasperation that the characters don't see what we so plainly see.

I really enjoyed all the macho bantering in this section. From the comment about Vronsky being on a low-carb diet: "he avoided starches and sweets." (p.175) to teasing someone about not drinking because of the calories: "Today I don't drink." "Why? So as not to gain weight?" (p.180) and most especially about hair loss: "You should get your hair cut, it's too heavy, especially on the bald spot." (p.180) These fellows are funny. Can't you just picture them?

I'm so sad about Anna. She seems to have let her emotions rule, making (of course) the wrong decisions. She can't bear to talk seriously about the issue, and puts on this lightness that I totally understand but isn't doing her any favors. She's working herself into a corner and it is so sad to see.

Quotes from pp.70-141

p. 147: "Rummaging in our souls, we often dig up something that ought to have lain there unnoticed."

p. 174: The majority of young women, envious of Anna and long since weary of her being called righteous, were glad of what they surmised and only waited for the turnabout of public opinion to be confirmed before they fell upon her with the full weight of their scorn.

p. 176: Yashvin, a gambler, a carouser, a man not merely without any principles, but with immoral principles--Yashvin was Vronsky's best friend in the regiment.

p. 183: He was angry with everybody for their interference precisely because in his soul he felt that they, all of them, were right.

p. 200: For the first time in his life he had experienced a heavy misfortune, a misfortune that was irremediable and for which he himself was to blame. [...] But the memory of this race remained in his soul for a long time as the most heavy and painful memory of his life.

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

2011-10-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

How can you not love a classic book that has an exclamation mark in the title?

This is my fourth stop in my personal challenge to read Willa Cather's works chronologically. Not only that, but O Pioneers! was the first title of hers that I read, and is my first re-read. Somewhat of a milestone, I'd say. If this one failed to impress, I'd be rethinking my challenge. I was able to appreciate it much deeper this time around, which has me looking forward to my next re-reads.

In her previously published works, Willa Cather experiments with her fascination for the bond between people and land, with what drives a person, and how they make difficult choices. In O Pioneers! she really lets the land (and the power it has on people) shine. She has a way of simplicity in her words that speaks volumes; the way she talks of the land is just as she would speak of any human character.

There is something frank and joyous and young in the open face of the country. It gives itself ungrudgingly to the moods of the season, holding nothing back. Like the plains of Lombardy, it seems to rise a little to meet the sun. The air and the earth are curiously mated and intermingled, as if the one were the breath of the other.

O Pioneers! feels like a coming-of-age story, but the main character is an untamed land. It spans those years when immigrants became Americans, when the West became the Heartland. It also follows Alexandra Bergson's life, as she struggles to take her father's land from the wild, and wrest from it a better future for her younger brother. Sadly, Alexandra is a strong, intelligent woman living in a time when it was much more acceptable to be a subservient, simple woman. Because of this, much of her life is spent somewhat alone.

Isn’t it queer: there are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before; like the larks in this country, that have been singing the same five notes over for thousands of years.

Unless the idea of getting into the minds of those immigrants: the Swedish, the French, the Bohemian, is distasteful to you, then I believe you are in for a wonderful experience with O Pioneers! The generalizations of the different nationalities, and how they responded to the land and the other new neighbors, felt unique yet somehow so familiar and comforting. The writing is simple, yet there are many though-provoking layers. How we need hope in order to live. How love is not so simple. How physical strength or vivacity are not the answer they sometimes seem to be. How our own selves are often more of a hindrance to our futures than any other obstacle. How the grass is not always greener.

Frank knew well enough that if he could once give up this grudge, his wife would come back to him. But he could never in the world do that. The grudge was fundamental.

(Side note: In classic Wikipedia form, the page for this book states that it is #83 on the ALA list of banned/challenged books, which is simply not true. It is #83 on Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels List, which the ALA cites. And kids wonder why you can't cite Wikipedia in research papers.)

As a recap:

1st was April Twilights, a collection of poetry

2nd was The Troll Garden and Others, a collection of short stories

3rd was Alexander's Bridge, a novel[la]

Title: O Pioneers!
Author: Willa Cather
Pages: 144
Published: Vintage (orig. 1913)
Read for: my personal Willa Cather Chronologically challenge
My rating: 5 stars

Anna Karenina: Week 2

2011-10-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

My Thoughts on pp.70-141

This installment provided much character development for Levin, Vronsky, Anna, and Kitty, while Stiva and Dolly faded into the background somewhat. Like the camera panning and zooming in on the background, these somewhat peripheral characters have become more interesting and more important. I sympathize with Kitty, although I have to admit I'm running out of patience for her (pull it together, girl!) I dislike Vronsky: what a player. Anna I love, except I'm saddened that she can't resist Vronsky. Society certainly doesn't help her out! (see the quote below form page 128)

I loved the chapters that gave us greater insight into Levin; I especially liked seeing him out on his estate. I feel so much more sympathetic toward him now. I now see why he is referred to as being most like Tolstoy himself. Many of his thoughts, (particularly on the economic conditions in chapter 26,) sounded much like the beginnings of the Tolstoyan movement. (see the quote below from page 93) As of now, he is by far my favorite character. He seeks truth and a whole, well-rounded life: something I admire.

Quotes from pp.70-141

p. 80: Kitty looked into [Vronsky's] face, which was such a short distance from hers, and long afterwards, for several years, that look, so full of love, which she gave him then, and to which he did not respond, cut her heart with tormenting shame.

p. 93: [Levin] regarded the reforming of economic conditions as nonsense, but he had always felt the injustice of his abundance as compared with the poverty of the people, and he now decided that, in order to feel himself fully in the right, though he had worked hard before and lived without luxury, he would now work still harder and allow himself still less luxury.

p. 95: He felt that something in the depths of his soul was being established, adjusted and settled.

p. 97:

Dolly: "Everything in your soul is clear and good."
Anna: "Each of us has his skeletons in his soul..."

p. 104: He looked at people as if they were things. A nervous young man across form him, who served on the circuit court, came to hate him for that look. [...] the young man grimaced, feeling that he was losing his self-possession under the pressure of this non-recognition of himself as a human being and was unable to fall asleep because of it.

p. 105: Only now did Vronsky understand clearly for the first time that the husband was a person connected with her. He knew she had a husband, but had not believed in his existence and fully believed in it only when he saw him, with his head, his shoulders, his legs in black trousers; and especially when he saw this husband calmly take her arm with a proprietary air.

p. 107: He called the celebrated Countess Lydia Ivanovna 'samovar', because she was always getting exited and heated up about things.

p. 107: And the son, just like the husband, produced in Anna a feeling akin to disappointment. She had imagined him better than he was in reality. She had to descend into reality to enjoy him as he was.

p. 128: He knew very well that in the eyes of Betsy and all society people he ran no risk of being ridiculous. He knew very well that for those people the role of the unhappy lover of a young girl, or of a free woman generally, might be ridiculous; but the role of a man who attached himself to a married woman and devoted his life to involving her in adultery at all costs, had something beautiful and grand about it and could never be ridiculous, and therefore, with a proud and gay smile playing under his moustache, he lowered the opera-glasses and looked at his cousin.

Alexander's Bridge by Willa Cather

2011-10-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

With Alexander's Bridge, Willa Cather's published works made another jump in length: from poetry to short stories, and now to a short novel. In many ways, this short novel contained less of her characteristic insight-into-people-and-places than was displayed in the previously published collection of short stories: The Troll Garden. It was almost as if this was an exercise at extending the number of pages used, rather than a natural growth of feeling. At the same time, however, it is still the inner-workings and driving-force of life that command her attention, and thus mine.

It is the story of Bartley Alexander, a renowned engineer and bridge builder, who happens to be one of those people who seems to be kissed by good fortune. His career is incredibly successful, he marries a rich girl (who he also happens to be in love with), and to top it all off, he gets to travel between Boston and London on a regular basis. What's not to love? His somewhat idyllic life begins to unravel, however, when he becomes reacquainted with a former flame.

I was hoping to find something with a little more depth of feeling in it, honestly. Not that this wasn't an interesting character study, just that it didn't seem to hold Cather's full sense of wonder and heartbreak--as if she was disenchanted with the story: a feeling which rubs off on the reader. The premise is a good one, I just wish it had been more fully developed. I'd recommend for someone familiar with Cather in the mood for a novella: sort of Classic Lite. However, if you are trying to decide which book of hers should be your first, don't start here, as you won't get the proper feeling for her writing. Instead, find one of the short stories I mentioned in The Troll Garden for a taster, or move into one of her later novels for something with more depth.

(Coming soon: a review of her 4th published work: O Pioneers!)

Title: Alexander's Bridge
Author: Willa Cather
Pages: 144
Published: 2010 Vintage Classics (orig. 1912)
Read for: personal challenge
My Rating: 3.5 stars

Sunday Salon: Peripheral Bookishness

2011-10-15T19:09:00.000-07:00

I've just realized that I consider things to be bookish even if they are decidedly not literary. Have you ever found yourself doing that? Many forms of artistic expression give me the same thrill that an amazing book might, and thus I lump them all together in one wonderful bunch of inspiration.

Film. I love watching indie films because they tend to be unique: there is more emphasis on artistry and themes than on general appeal. Quite similar to literary fiction, in fact. In the best circumstances, a film will leave me thinking for days, amazed and awed. In the worst circumstance, well...at least it was different. Last night I watched Melancholia with Kirsten Dunst, a new film by Lars Von Trier (who also wrote & directed Dogville with Nicole Kidman, another film I found fascinating). Melancholia was simply incredible.

To put the plot simply: Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide into the Earth. (thanks IMDB) (check out a longer synopsis here) It is saturated with art, from the almost-still shots in the beginning sequence (set to classical music...all of which adds up to something surprisingly non-boring) to the beautifully immense grounds that it was filmed on (which made it feel almost like a period piece...except it wasn't), to the incredible closing shots: the eye never gets bored. This film has depth: themes, symbolism, stuff-to-think-about. It kind of made my brain explode, and now I want to read the book. Except there isn't one. Watching the movie is reading the book. (See? Non-literary bookishness.)

It's slated to release in the States on 11/11/11, (we watched it on Apple TV,) although I imagine the release will be limited. However, if you are intrigued by the preview, you should find a way to watch the film. It's stunning.

Modern Design. I'm lucky enough to live in a spectacularly unique example of mid-century modern architecture. We'll soon be beginning some renovations--a face lift mostly, bringing it up to date--and I find much to be inspired by in my design research. I get all excited by an amazing design: the art & inspiration in architecture or furnishings being only another way to express an interest in how we live, an appreciation for what is around us. This real-life inspiration is what links me, the reader, directly to an author. It is more than comprehension; it is a different level of understanding and communication.

Quilting. I know: what?? Like in Little House on the Prairie? Yes, it is a homespun, domestic sort of art form, but I love it. I just designed a quilt for my modern bedroom, and the incredible fabrics and fun design just leave me full of happiness. In my quest for a quilt design that wouldn't look out of place in my house, and with some input from my math-loving-husband, I've come up with a visual representation of the first 50 digits of Pi. Weird, I know. But also exciting in a geeky-intellectual sort of way. My husband is convinced he'll get smarter by osmosis. I'm getting ready to cut into the fabrics...I'll keep you updated on this one.

I'm seeing a theme here: I equate books with happiness and everything wonderful, therefore anything wonderful or happy must be related to books somehow. That totally explains why I'm always tempted to blog about non-bookish things as if they were books. What things in your life are as wonderful as books?

Anna Karenina: Week One

2011-10-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

My Thoughts on the first 70 pages:

I'm loving my edition of the book. Translations occur at the bottom of the page, and the notes on social references are very interesting (they are in the back, but easy to flip to and well worth the effort!)
The references to Pushkin's works are making me want to read more of his works. The Tales of Belkin was one of my favorite novellas in August, so seeing him quoted by Tolstoy thrills me somewhat.
The first (and only other) time I read Anna Karenina, I was around 16. Which, unfortunately, means that it has been more than 16 years since. This also means that I'm finding it much easier to comprehend and enjoy, as I suppose is only natural. The reading is pretty quick, and I'm loving how philosophy is intertwined with humor. Just what I've come to love about Tolstoy. Because of my experience with him so far, this book isn't intimidating at all. It doesn't even seem long (which earns me very strange looks from friends and family.)
I wasn't planning on posting every week about this read-a-long, but I'm beginning to rethink that...it's nice to have a place to record my thoughts and quotes--especially for a lengthy classic.

Quotes from the first 70 pages:

p. 3 He could not now be repentant that he, a thirty-four-year-old, handsome, amorous man, did not feel amorous with his wife, the mother of five living and two dead children, who was only a year younger than he. [...] He had never thought the question over clearly, but vaguely imagined that his wife had long suspected him of being unfaithful to her and was looking the other way. It even seemed to him that she, a worn-out, aged, no longer beautiful woman, not remarkable for anything, simple, merely a kind mother of a family, ought in all fairness to be indulgent.

p. 9 It turned out that he had forgotten nothing, except what he had wanted to forget--his wife. [...] And his inner voice told him he should not go, that there could be nothing here but falseness,that to rectify, to repair, their relations was impossible, because it was impossible to make her attractive and arousing of love again or to make him an old man incapable of love. Nothing could come of it now but falseness and deceit, and flaseness and deceit were contrary to his nature.

p. 10 She still kept saying she would leave him, yet she felt it was impossible, because she could not get out of the habit of considering him her husband and of loving him.

p. 41 Christ would never have said those words, if he'd known how they would be misused. Those are the only words people remember from all the gospels. [Referring to "lovely fallen creatures" (a phrase from Pushkin) and Luke 7:47--"Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much"]

Jumping into Junior Fiction

2011-10-10T22:53:00.000-07:00

Like Non-Fiction, I haven’t read near the amount of Junior Fiction this year as I have in past years, but I did go through a short spell a month or so back where I read a few of those titles on my JF TBR shelf. There's another handful that I'm planning on reading before the end of the year, but I figured now was as good a time as any to share these ones. They range from one extreme (historical fiction specifically for learning purposes) to the other (magical fiction for fun and imagination).

The Iron Dragon Never Sleeps by Stephen Krensky
This is a small book that I picked up when I was planning a unit on California history for my kiddos last year. It isn’t your typical Gold Rush era story, which is both good and bad. On the down side, this story definitely has the feel of existing so that a lesson can be taught. The characters are somewhat thin, and the plot is a bit stilted. However, I think that, in the right situation, the positives outweigh the negatives. It teaches much about the competition that went into the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, as well as the mistreated Chinese workers that helped to build it. This book turns a blot in California’s history into regret for the past and hope for the future. I’d so much rather learn from mistakes and build compassion than cover them up to save face. This may not be award winning fiction, but it does provide an interesting perspective, and is much more fun to read than a textbook.

Journey to Jo’Burg by Beverly Naidoo
Another title that I purchased to go along with school studies, this is a quick story that serves as a great introduction to South African history and the apartheid regime. The author, born and raised in South Africa, has first hand experience with trying, at a young age, to process the inhumanity surrounding her. I think that she does a beautiful job of showing the difference in culture at an appropriate level for grade school children. The main characters, being children, make this story especially touching. Simple story, complex themes, and a worthwhile read.

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
I'm coming to think of Sid Fleischman as a new favorite author. I loved Bandit’s Moon and By the Great Horn Spoon! (talk about great perspectives on California history!) so I was excited to read his Newbery Award winning novel. I love his characters, how he interjects humor and adventure into his stories, and how he makes the historical settings seem like a normal part of life. This is Historical Junior Fiction at its best. The Whipping Boy tells the story of Prince Brat and the boy who takes the physical brunt of the prince’s punishments. It was fun, teaches a great lesson on humility, and—while I don’t think it was quite as good as the others of his I’ve read—was simply a lot of fun.

Magic in the Park by Ruth Chew
This book came home with my eldest daughter from school when she was in 2nd grade, and she loved how the magical creativity set her imagination going. Originally published in 1972, it has that lovely Nancy-Drew-ish vintage flavor. The kids go play in the park by themselves and run around the city all by themselves and are never missed, fun stuff like that. That’s not the point of the story though, the point of the story is to find out what is going on with the old man in the park that feeds the birds…and why a mysterious looking tree seems to change locations. For young readers (or listeners) it is a great adventure, though the older ones may find it a bit silly. It made me miss the days as a kid when I used to read mysteries like they were going out of style. There’s something happy about vintage literature, (not classic, necessarily, just somewhat aged,) whether it’s for children or adults. Something that sets that old imagination back on fire.

The House on Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
I grew up with Pooh stories, and my kiddos grew up watching Pooh movies, but I don't think I'd ever read any of it in Milne's actual words. I was missing out! My 7 year-old and I were both enchanted with the wording, and with the bear of very little brain. She had never before been interested in hearing or seeing anything to do with Pooh, but this book changed all that. As a girl whose stuffed-with-fluff friends spend each night on her bed, this is a story that she could relate to. What sweet characters; what gentle storytelling. Just as the end was beginning to be too sad to bear, what with Goodbyes and all, Milne refocuses on the bright side, leaving a sweet comforting memory of your time in the Hundred Acre Wood.

Lolita by Vladamir Nabokov

2011-10-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

For a book that started with a paragraph so amazing that it immediately became one of the most brilliant things I'd ever read, Lolita ended up being a very disappointing experience for me.

I knew the basic storyline, (even saw the movie...I think?) Indeed, how could one not know the premise? It is the prime example of Books Which Are Unceasingly Banned. The synopsis didn't put me off. I've been reading long enough to know that it takes more than an unpleasant topic to make a book unenjoyable. In fact, there have been plenty of books that I've loved despite the topic not being a natural favorite. Examples:
- The Art of Fielding (baseball)
- Revolutionary Road (extreme marital discord)
- Star of the Sea (boats, ocean)
- Slaughterhouse Five (space/science)
- The Good Earth (ancient China)

I was ready for Lolita to fall into a growing line of books in which the writing overcame the topic, but it didn't happen. Not only that, but it took a great amount of effort for me to finish it. It was sucking the reading-passion out of me. Perhaps that sounds drastic and extreme, but, believe me, the going was rough.

By page 70 or so (just after the first incident) I was tempted to quit. The topic, from Humbert's point of view, was too much for me. In my mid-book-procrastination, I did what I often do: read reviews of the book online, and read the author's note at the end of the book. This often helps me refresh my frame of mind and jump back into the book, and it worked this time as well. The scenes didn't progress as I feared they would, something else happened instead. I got depressed.

I didn't see any loveliness in this book. There wasn't any hope, any humor, any levity. It was all imbalanced minds, selfish passion, and destruction. Nabokov is a master of language, but he shows H.H. in such a rigidly realistic manner that it didn't do anything for me at all. The perspective didn't engage me or compel me to contemplate the characters. It was just sad, depressing, and I wanted it to be over.

I chased Lolita with a cleansing shot of Flannery O'Connor, which seemed to do the trick. I read the short story "Greenleaf" (part of the collection Everything That Rises Must Converge) last night and enjoyed it greatly--my interest in reading is restored. Where Nabokov shows unsavory characters in a moderated tone, O'Connor illuminates the ridiculous in us all. Perhaps it's just a matter of taste, but I'm happy to put this one behind me. All but the first paragraph, which I still love.

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.

Title: Lolita
Author: Vladamir Nabokov
Published: 1993 Everyman's Library (orig. 1955)
Read For: Back to the Classics Challenge, Banned Books Week
My Rating: great writing, depressing topic, averages out to 3 stars

Read-a-Long Warning

2011-10-07T09:07:00.000-07:00

I've decided to join Wallace at Unputdownables for an end-of-the-year read. There's still time to join if you are in the mood (it is a 12 week reading schedule--totally manageable, right?) I'm excited at the prospect of re-reading Anna Karenina, since I enjoyed War & Peace tremendously in 2009. I'm not planning on blogging every week about it, although you never know when inspiration may hit and the blogging bug takes over, although some status updates in the next few months are to be expected.

I originally read Anna Karenina in high school. I was a teen that loved to read, but had migrated away from the quality reads of my younger years and was spending all my time with forgettable, dramatic stories. My mom finally had enough, and challenged (dared?) me to read a classic. She'd had a friend that read War & Peace in high school, so Tolstoy seemed a perfect choice. I flew through Anna Karenina, mostly because I enjoyed seeing the horror and chagrin on my mother's face when I told her of all the dramatic plot points. (What can I say? I was a teen. I knew everything, and had to make sure my mom knew it.) Reading Anna Karenina earned me the right to go back to reading the silly stuff of my own choosing.

Now, more years later than I care to claim, pretty much all I remember is that there was an affair a train accident. Definitely time to revisit. In the last couple of years, Tolstoy has become one of my favorite authors. I'm seriously in love with how the guy thought, and how he expressed those thoughts. In War & Peace, all the philosophical bits weren't the boring parts...they were just exciting in a different way. I'll admit, I have high expectations for this experience. But I don't think Tolstoy will let me down.

Title: Anna Karenina
Author: Leo Tolstoy
My copy published: Penguin 2001
Originally published: 1873
Translated by: Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Pages: 817 (without notes)

For the Record: September 2011

2011-10-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

I didn't do a "For the Record" post for August, since I was posting so much on my Art of the Novella Challenge books, but I actually did read 3 books last month in addition to the 27 novellas I completed. I'm including those books here so that they are on the record somewhere.

30 books read in August:
- 27 classic novellas (all-around wonderful experience)
- The Great Gatsby, F.Scott Fitzgerald (audio)
- Turn of Mind, Alice LaPlante
- The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1, Justo Gonzalez (finally finished!)

I certainly experienced some challenge-burnout, but still loved the experience. The time frame and focus seemed just about right to me (something I'll keep in mind for my future reading goals). With school beginning again, my reading time has been diminished, though we are slowly getting into a routine. It also marks the time of year when I start thinking about what books I want to get through before we are on to a new year; see below for those thoughts.

5 Books Read in September: (104 books year-to-date)
2 for Book Club:
- The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (3.5)
- The Sea Captain's Wife by Beth Powning (review coming soon, 3.5)
1 Read-Aloud for my kiddos:
- Dolphin Treasure by Wayne Grover (small but I'm still counting it! 3)
2 Just Because:
- Newes From the Dead by Mary Hooper (YA--4)
- The [Illustrated] Elements of Style by Strunk & White (NF--4.5)

1 DNF:
Yeats is Dead! A Mystery by 15 Irish Writers. I originally picked it up because I liked the idea of getting to know 15 different Irish authors. By the time I was 75-100 pages in, struggling with a dislike for the murder mystery premise, I was finding that there wasn't as much of a difference in writing styles as I'd hoped for. I don't think that this is because the writers' styles weren't different, just that this book wasn't the best platform for discovering them.

2 Current Reads:
- Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (Banned books week, Back to the Classics Challenge)
- O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (reread for my Willa Cather Challenge)

On My Nightstand:
- The Giver, (to finish up my Back to the Classics Challenge,) and maybe some other JF
- Some Short Stories by Flannery O'Connnor (I have 11 of 31 stories still unread)
- Anna Karenina, because Wallace is having a read-along and I can't resist

Before the End of the Year:
Short stories, junior fiction, and Anna Karenina (not to mention the 2 books I'currently reading and the 3 ARCs I should tackle) should keep me more than busy for October, but in the interest of organizing my brain, I want to think beyond that. First off, I'm not planning on accepting any more ARCs for the rest of this year at least...they've started to become a mental burden, which is something I want to avoid. Second, my main goal is to get my personal goals and challenges wrapped up and thereby earn the right to think about next year's goals!

Pulitzer challenge:
- one more book, probably Middlesex or A Visit From the Goon Squad
Top 5 of 2010 challenge:
- Joy in the Morning, Betty Smith (author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)
- Prodigal Summer, Barbara Kingsolver (author of The Lacuna)
Newbery Challenge:
- 5 more books total, probably the 2 pictured above plus The Westing Game, Shiloh, and Mrs. Frisby
Willa Cather Chronologically:
- I wanted to finish 5 this year, but I don't think that will happen. After O Pioneers! I'm aiming to also reread Song of the Lark, which would put me at 4 for the year. Good enough. My Antonia = bonus
Books on my Shelf:
- Many of the above books also count for this, but I'm hoping to get to an additional 3 books or so...don't know what titles yet.

All of the above challenges, (except for my Top 5 challenge, which I don't think I'll be repeating) are perpetual and will continue into next year.

Are you beginning to reflect on 2011's reading yet? Looking forward to making new goals in 2012? There have been some things that have worked well for me this year, and others that I already know I want to change. There is still a good amount of reading time left this year, but since I have so much fun planning and organizing, I figured I may as well get thinking!

The [Non-Intimidating] Elements of Style

2011-09-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

"The shape of our language is not rigid; in questions of usage we have no lawgiver whose word is final."

I received a great amount of enjoyment from this little book. I highly recommend the illustrated version, too, since it adds to the serious, yet humorous, nature of the writing. I appreciated how it was written, as well as the opinions expressed, even if my pet peeves aren't necessarily the same as Strunk's. I do agree that more attention should be paid, generally speaking, to eliminating the extra words that add nothing but clutter to a written piece.

The brevity was refreshing. Too often, books about writing are not written in a way worth emulating. It would be nice to be able to say that, having read this book, my writing is now greatly improved. But in the absence of that, at least the book's format lends itself nicely to future reference.

"The language is perpetually in flux: it is a living stream, shifting, changing, receiving new strength from a thousand tributaries, losing old forms in the backwaters of time."

I was spurred into pulling the Elements of Style off my shelf by my recent grammar encounter, and I have to say that it felt great to read something on a whim for once...the last year has been about becoming disciplined in my reading, which--though I've been pleased with my progress in this department--has severely restricted my reading impulses. Perhaps now it is time to find some balance. :)

Two excerpts that made me smile; a great example of the humor laced throughout:

Prestigious. Often an adjective of last resort. It's in the dictionary, but that doesn't mean you have to use it.

Avoid the use of qualifiers. Rather, very, little, pretty--these are the leeches that infest the pond of prose, sucking the blood of words. The constant use of the adjective little (except to indicate size) is particularly debilitating; we should all try to do a little better, we should all be very watchful of this rule, for it is a rather important one, and we are pretty sure to violate it now and then.

Two excerpts about writing, or more precisely being a writer, that I enjoyed:

A writer is a gunner, sometimes waiting in the blind for something to come in, sometimes roaming the countryside hoping to scare something up. Like other gunners, the writer must cultivate patience, working many covers to bring down one partridge.

Your whole duty as a writer is to please and satisfy yourself, and the true writer always plays to an audience of one. Start sniffing the air, or glancing at the Trend Machine, and you are as good as dead, although you may make a nice living.

Strunk & White. The Elements of Style. A classic writing manual, yet surprisingly entertaining, informational, and not at all intimidating. If you enjoy language, this is worth a read.

She's Been Hanged

2011-09-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Last night I was telling my husband that I'd just finished reading Newes From the Dead: the YA title based on the true story of a girl who, in 1650, revived after being hung for infanticide.

My husband replied, "Hanged."

I stopped. Looked at him. Raised my eyebrows in a well-practiced demand for explanation.

He explained, "When you are speaking of a person who has been killed, they've been hanged, not hung."

"What?" I was incredulous. Never heard of that one...but this guy--he's always pulling crazy things like that out of his hat. He may not plow through books like I do, but he's pretty much brilliant...and honestly has a better brain for remembering grammar terms than I do.

I continued, "I don't think I like that."

He shrugged.

"Anyhow," I said, "she was hung because she gave birth to a stillborn baby when she was 5-6 months pregnant and was accused of murder."

We smiled and went on to discuss the story briefly, as well as scientific theories of the 17th century...both pretty interesting topics. Then this morning, after spending a little bit of time with my friend Google, I informed him of my findings.

I have no problem admitting that, generally speaking, my husband is right. He usually is. I'm resigned to that fact. When speaking of executions, the word is hanged; everything else gets hung. We could leave it at that (thank you very much for stopping by, have a nice day,) but I wanted to know if it was a RULE or if it was, like so many things in English, a trend, preference, or even a choice. My favorite commentaries on the matter were the about.com page, and Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips.

About.com had me from the first two words. It said, "For centuries," and I knew I was going to find more than the simplified rule.

"For centuries, hanged and hung were used interchangeably as the past participle of hang. Most contemporary usage guides insist that hanged, not hung, should be used when referring to executions."

Mm, interesting already. I love finding out the etymology behind the words we use. English is such a mish-mash of adopted and stolen vocabulary that it is rarely plain and simple. I loved the example this page cited from Merriam-Webster's 1994 Dictionary of English Usage:

"Our evidence shows that hung for hanged is certainly not an error. Educated speakers and writers use it commonly and have for many years. . . . " Hanged is, however, more common than hung in writing. It is especially prevalent when an official execution is being described, but it is used in referring to other types of hanging as well. . . .
"The distinction between hanged and hung is not an especially useful one (although a few commentators claim otherwise). It is, however, a simple one and easy to remember. Therein lies its popularity. If you make a point of observing the distinction in your writing you will not thereby become a better writer, but you will spare yourself the annoyance of being corrected for having done something that is not wrong."

Just my style. (Cue evil grin. Initiate renegade-grammar-usage sequence.) Grammar Girl supports this, and also mentions where the word "hang" came from, just in case you are interested. (The emphasis above, by the way, was mine.)

So, while I'm still trying to decide whether to continue saying FebRUary, (because saying FebUary makes me feel like I'm saying Libary, but that R makes me feel like I'm mumbling,) I will also continue practicing the difference between lie/lay (don't know why that one still holds me up) and happily continuing to spell GREY with an E, I will add the task of mulling over this question: whether being a grammar renegade is worth the "annoyance of being corrected for having done something that is not wrong."

What thinkest thou? Is it worth it? Are you all just laughing in befuddlement that a person who reads as much as I do could have been ignorant of such a basic thing? Never fear, I've pulled out my illustrated Elements of Style, and hope to become obnoxiously intelligent shortly. Or maybe I'll shoot for intelligently smug instead. Although, I have to admit, blissfully ignorant has its attractions as well.

Nonfiction Finds

2011-09-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

For some reason I find it harder to blog about most nonfiction books than fiction. Almost like there is so much to say that I draw a blank and don't know where to start...so I thought that some mini-reviews might be in order. I haven't read as much nonfiction this year as I have in years past, but here's some nonfiction books I've been wanting to share.

Tattoos on the Heart, Gregory Boyle

We all just want to be called by the name our mom uses

when she's not pissed off at us.

I read this for one of my book clubs. It was a nice change of genres, and held the added interest of being local(ish) to our area. I typically run from memoir/self-help type books, which this could technically be categorized as, but the author has such a humility and personal-improvement perspective that it is not at all what I thought it would be. Father Boyle works with gang members in Los Angeles, and he has a very practical grasp on how to demonstrate love and emulate Jesus' ministry. Also, he's quite a reader so there were many times he quoted authors (double fun!)

You stand with the belligerent, the surly, and the badly behaved until bad behavior is recognized for the language it is: the vocabulary of the deeply wounded and of those whose burdens are more than they can bear.

At Home, Bill Bryson
If you've ever read Bill Bryson, especially if you are a person who appreciates the odd facts and juicy tidbits he likes to throw in there, you know that if you try to write out interesting quotations you'll have filled a large notebook before the first chapter is over. This book was no different. Much of the book talks about architecture, although the intro where he talks about the history of home and the idea of comfort was quite interesting to me, as were the bits about servant life. Did you know that there was one point when lobster was so plentiful that servants actually had clauses in their contracts so they wouldn't have to eat it more than twice a week? One of my fascinations is with the structure of servants in a large household, so I enjoyed that much of this book seemed to focus on the 19th century. There's a ton of pages in this "short" history, but it is interesting, as can well be expected of Bill Bryson.

The Stolen Village, Des Ekin
I bought this book in Ireland, which is quite fitting really, since it has to do with Irish history. I wasn't very far into this book when I became rather embarrassed about my lack of knowledge about the Barbary Pirates. This book not only schooled me on a bit of Irish history, but also on a whole aspect of world history that I missed in my not-so-stellar education. Before this book my mental connections went something like this: pirates=Carribbean, slaves=Africa-->America. Now, thanks to this book, I know to what extent the pirate/slave trade scenario was alive and well long before Sir Francis Drake and Southern plantations. I love it when a book expands my world! The writing could have been more polished, but it was an easy, interesting read, and I loved the topic.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
This book has been on the bestseller list for so long that I'd just decided to NOT read it (I'm rebellious like that) when it was chosen for my book club. I was happy, since that was pretty much the only way that I'd read it. The most fascinating part of the book for me was the history on medical procedures, scientific study, and the evolving issue of patient privacy. There is such a huge disparity between the enormous contribution HeLa cells have made to society, and the great difficulty the Henrietta Lacks' family has in getting proper medical care that this made a perfect platform for a discussion about ethics. I thought the author did a good job at representing all sides in a fair, even generous, manner, and I enjoyed her writing. She researched this case for quite some time, but I'd venture to guess that we'll be seeing more from Ms. Skloot.

The Story of Christianity Vol. 1, Justo Gonzalez
This is only the first half of the story, and it took me just about forever to get through--but that's just because I got hung up on all the details of corrupt popes about midway through. I'm not so interested in those details, so I had a really hard time pushing through that part. It was necessary, I understand, but still--blech. I did enjoy all of the theological discussions of the early church, and the political climate that dictated much of those developments. And towards the end, when it was talking about the beginning of the Reformation and the establishment of Christianity in the New World, I was also quite interested. I have the second volume on hand, but haven't quite decided to jump into it yet. On one hand, I'd love to finish it up by the end of the year, on the other hand, who I am kidding?

Blast From the Past with The Forgotten Garden

2011-09-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

I've been suffering from reading lag, largely due to my novella challenge. I read 30 books last month but this month? One. Finally, one. I read The Forgotten Garden for one of my book clubs, (although it was already on my shelf from those days when it was the latest thing and I was entranced by the cover anyhow,) and in a couple of ways it felt like a blast from the past. (I wanted to wait until my book club met before posting about it, but everyone has been swamped with school, thus the meeting has been put off until next month. I was already halfway through the book when I found out, and couldn't put off finishing it, so I thought it fitting not to put off posting about it either.)

When I was younger, I loved mysteries. I loved the way they made me think--those hours at school when I was forced to get my nose out of the book left thoughts swirling through my head and crowding out my teacher's voice. I've never been so great about actually figuring out the mystery, but that's because the answer isn't what I was after--what thrilled me were the possibilities. Like so many Christmas gifts under a tree.

I've had intermittent mystery obsessions over the years: a Nancy Drew obsession when I was young developed into a Victoria Holt obsession as a hormonal teen, which then turned into a Mary Higgins Clark obsession as a very young adult. Since then, not so much. I've read one Agatha Christie, but that's about it. So what changed? Well I grew and discovered literary fiction/non-fiction, and the thrill of a whole new way to get my mind stirred up. The Forgotten Garden, while being a little more refined than the mysteries of my younger days, brought me back there all the same.

Another aspect that brought me back to my youth was the whole premise of the walled garden itself. I loved Frances Hodgson Burnett when I was young, checking out The Little Princess and The Secret Garden repeatedly from the library. They were books that stuck with me. I'm still fascinated by the idea of a walled, overgrown, garden: oh the possibilities! Kate Morton pays more-than-symbolic-homage to Burnett by actually including her in the book as a visitor to the estate...an inclusion I'm torn about. In a way it was kind of fun, but it also stood out as being a bit silly. In a book that did a good job with pace and flow, there were still a couple of things that stood out like that (like the use of "suddenly" at one point, which bugged me more than I thought it would: Suddenly, behind her, a crash. Not the worst "suddenly" sentence ever, but still.)

The fluctuating timeline worked well for the unveiling of the story, and the characters were all believable, though I prefer more depth. I enjoyed The Forgotten Garden; found it to be an above average read, but I'm not necessarily rushing out to find her other books. Have you read The House at Riverton or The Distant Hours? What did you think?

Title: The Forgotten Garden
Author: Kate Morton
Pages: 552
Published: 2010 Washington Square Press (orig. 2008)
Read For: Book Club (& books on my shelf for 1 year +)
My Rating: 3.5 stars

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

2011-09-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

Most of us know, whether from our own experiences or not, what Alzheimer's symptoms look like. But what does it feel like? This is the thought that Alice LaPlante expands upon in Turn of Mind. The main character, Dr. Jennifer White, was a newly widowed and newly retired orthopedic surgeon. Her strong personality stands in stark contrast to the beginning stages of dementia.

The Plot (from the book jacket):
"As the story opens, Jennifer's life-long friend and neighbor, Amanda, has been killed, and four fingers surgically removed. Dr. White is the prime suspect in the murder and she herself doesn't know if she did it or not. Narrated in her voice, fractured and eloquent, a picture emerges of the surprisingly intimate, complex alliance between this pair--two proud, forceful women who were at times each other's most formidable adversaries."

The story is split into three different sections, and with each progression the disease progresses as well, indicated by a change in point-of-view. What begins in first person narrative eventually moves to the second and third person, showing the growing disassociation in Jennifer's mind. Told in a combination of dialogue, thoughts, journal entries, memories, and general scene description, the big question is: was this combination of techniques successful? The answer, for me, is yes and no.

I liked the pace of the book--the snatches of conversation, glimpses of the past, and the perceived reality, but other things seemed too fabricated and pulled me away from the story being told. The point of view, for example, was a little wonky. It wasn't simply first person, second person and third person, because scenes were often described clearly, when Jennifer definitely wasn't experiencing them that way. It was more like a first-person-limited-omniscient or something.

It was an enjoyable read, something different and unique, yet still forgettable. Perhaps because of the distance created from the premise of the story, most of the conflict seemed superficial. I didn't sympathize with any of the characters, and in fact found most of them to be annoying--especially the view on marriage which was a first-rate downer. I need hopeful circumspection mixed in with my depressing reality.

You learn, you grieve, you forgive, or at least you accept. That's why we've lasted. That's how we've endured. The secret of a happy marriage: not honesty, not forgiveness, but acceptance that is a kind of respect for the other's right to make mistakes. Or rather, the right to make choices. Choices you can't be sorry for, because they were the right ones. So I never apologized. And so the matter died between us, but with it something else. Not enough to bring down the tree of our marriage, but a bough did fall that didn't grow back.

Title: Turn of Mind
Author: Alice LaPlante
Pages: 304
Published: Grove Press 2011
Read For: Powell's Indiespensable selection
My Rating: 3.5 stars

Eligible to be nominated!

Quit Being Difficult!

2011-09-08T18:15:00.000-07:00

I'm up for finding some new book-bloggy friends, so I thought I'd join in on the Literary Blog Hop. I like the question they've posed this time around, because it is something I actually have opinions about!

Must all literary writing be difficult? Can you think of examples of literary writing that was not difficult?

First off, "difficult" is relative. Simple things such as pace, topic, and setting can make a big difference in how difficult it can be to get through a book. I've read small, simply written books that have been very difficult to get through due to the topic (ahem, Alchemist, hrm) and small, well written books that are made painfully difficult just because the setting is one I dislike (uh, Melville, I'm talking to you). As far as the writing structure itself, (vocabulary, symbolism, sentence structure, etc.) so much relies on the reader's preferences and maturity that a concrete definition isn't possible.

All that being said, I'd like to talk about my preferences as far as the difficulty in writing structure and style. I've definitely grown as a reader, (see my recent Gatsby post for a great example,) and books that I didn't appreciate when I was younger I am able to appreciate now. Not only that, but tastes change and develop. One thing that really gets my goat, though, is when a work seems to be difficult just for difficulty's sake. I'm not a fan. In fact, I think it often comes off as arrogance. I don't read in order to decode a puzzle of super-embedded subtle symbolism--it just isn't an interest of mine. On the contrary, I'm impressed when an author can use seemingly simple language to create depth, layers, and complexity. When a book can be fairly simple to read and yet spur deep thought, spin complex themes, and ignite my passion and imagination, I'm enthralled. There are many beautiful books that exhibit this characteristic, and I've found that they usually share the characteristic of being enjoyable on many different levels, for different reasons, and at different times of life.

The term "Literary Fiction" does imply some level of difficulty, though. Even titles that are easy enough to read still demand an interest in personal growth and the development of your mind. So there: the answer is yes and no. :)

Is This the Real Life?

2011-09-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

What a crazy August, full to overflowing with the:

Art of the Novella Challenge,
sending my girls to camp,
getting 3 kiddos ready for school (and 1 ready for home-school) and then
conquering the 3-day music festival over Labor Day weekend that my husband runs (which just happens to take place a good 500 miles away from where we're living) and finally
getting everybody off to school (1st day at a brick&mortar school in the big city for 2 of my kiddos)...
except for my youngest--who "stayed home" from home-school with a stomach bug,
and then now jumping into birthday celebrations for my husband....

well, if your head isn't spinning then mine certainly is. I can hardly gather my thoughts to complete my day, let alone write a book review! But I'm working on getting it all under control. This post is going to help! :)

I have some compulsory reading to get through in the next week or two: 2 book club books and a couple of ARCs. There are a couple of books I finished that I want to chat about soon, but the biggest development with the arrival of September is in regards to the Indie Lit Awards: Nominations are now open! I can't wait to see what newly published fiction everybody has loved this year. Conveniently coinciding with all this fun, Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye (last year's fiction winner for the Indie Lit Awards) was released in paperback this week. Put this baby on your shelf!

Check out the site for full details, but the big news is that everyone (readers with or without blogs) can nominate up to 5 different titles in each category this year. I can't nominate fiction books (since I'm involved with the judging) so will you pretty please read my favorites and nominate them for me?? Maybe you are in the mood for some 1980s Straight Edge with Ten Thousand Saints? How about an amazingly humorous view of mental illness with Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb? Or dive into a book that turns baseball into a universal look at the human condition with The Art of Fielding! I'd love to see one of these pop up on the longlist, but even more I'd love to hear what you think about them. If you're up for some current literary fiction, these three are a great place to start.

Nominations are open until the end of the year, so if you are anticipating some brilliant new releases this fall, there is no need to worry. You can nominate favorites now and save some some of your 5 votes for later. Also, remember that you don't need to be a blogger to nominate this year, so encourage the other readers in your life to pipe up too.

Enjoy the last months of warm weather as we begin to move, once again, towards those crazy end-of-the-year months. And as always, happy reading!

Giving a Hated High School Read a Second Chance

2011-08-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

Creepy eyes. I get it--I think--but I
don't like it.

The Great Gatsby. In high school we had to read this book, and while I didn't actually hate it, I was highly irritated that my teacher was swooning over something that, to me, was depressing and didn't have a point. And I really dislike the traditional cover, which means more to me than I often care to admit. I prefer something that gives a better sense of the time...which is why, when I saw the audio-book version had a much more pleasant illustration, I was much more willing to give the book another go (also, being read by Tim Robbins was a great selling point).

And so I bought it. And so it sat on my shelf for years. Despite my grand intentions of developing my audio-book skills, the reality is that I'm very rarely alone for any substantial amount of time. I've homeschooled at least some of my kiddos for the past four years--and those little people can talk. But a small miracle occurred this week: I was in the car by myself for a whole 7 hours or so while we drove from Southern California to Northern California. Understand that this is a good thing: an island of bliss amid an ever-present sea of conversation.

Now that's a cover I can love.
Can't you hear the jazz?

It was brilliant. This book that I always thought had no point said so much. This book that I was convinced lacked hope had wisdom mixed in with the heartbreak. The writing was beautiful (though not so sure about that chapter-length list of names) and Robbins was a great narrator (for the most part--the girls' voices were a little odd, but the men's voices had so much character that overall it was wonderful). There were parts that I wished I could stop and re-read and ponder, but it's hard to do that when you're driving and listening. :)

I hadn't planned on getting to this book this year, but am glad the opportunity arose. (I'm totally using it as one of my Back to the Classics Challenge books too!) Have you read (or reread) Gatsby? Did you like it? And what about those covers? I'm on the hunt now for a nice print copy of this book. Nice cover is a must. When I get back to SoCal I'm heading over to my local bookshop: Gatsby Books. They're bound to have a copy or two, right?

Officially Calling it Quits

2011-08-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

Throwing in the towel, waving the white flag of surrender, kaput, finis, done. No more novellas for me.

I know...there are four days left of the month: prime reading time! But my brain is saturated with classic writing and I'm subconsciously digging in my heels. I want to read something simpler, more lyrical, new and fresh.

I want to read something that is not next in the stack.

So...even though there are all kinds of interesting novellas still waiting to be read...they are simply going to have to wait a little while. I may read them intermittently through the next few months; it's just as possible I may wait until next summer to finish them up.

A Final Look: left=read, right=unread

What I've learned:

There are oh-so-many classic authors that are delightful to read. I've found many authors that I'm exited about, and thrilled to have exposure to so many more than I did less than a month ago.
Russian authors feel SO much older than their American contemporaries. Makes sense, I guess, but still...wow.
My dislike for the ocean is a bit more than a preference after all. Turns out it has the power to make words swim on the page and thoughts swirl in my head.
I CAN read intentionally--purposefully--and enjoy it. My TBR shelves are no longer as intimidating as they once were.
I needn't be afraid of Dostoevsky. Or anyone else for that matter. An author's writing may not be to my taste, or the right fit for the time in my life, but that's okay because there are others who are. I just need to stick with them.
Reading 28 books in a month is totally do-able. Classic outweighs short length, right?

What's next:

First up is Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante. This was the most recent Indispensable book, and the first page has me hooked. There are a lot of others that I'm looking forward to as well...let's see how well I switch from a preset list to reading by whim alone. :) As much as I'm ready to read according to my mood, I'm also feeling the end of the year encroaching already...nominations for the Indie Lit Awards open soon, can you believe it?

Other books replacing the novellas on my end table are Down From Cascom Mountain, Yeats is Dead!, and Maus.

Thanks to Frances of Nonsuch Book for coming up with the idea, and Melville House Publishing for the brilliant collection of books, and all of you for your encouragement and support!

#28: The Duel, Joseph Conrad

2011-08-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

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The Duel
by Joseph Conrad
-born in Ukraine, 1852
-115 Pages
-more about Conrad (via Goodreads)
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Authorial Tidbits: (via Melville House)
- Josef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski was born in Russian-controlled Ukraine to landless aristocrat Polish parents.
- His father, a translator of French literature, was convicted of revolutionary activities for Polish independence in 1861 and the family was exiled to Russia, where both parents soon died. Josef was raised by relatives.
- After a failed love affair in 1878, he suffered a gunshot wound to the chest...perhaps as a result of a duel or suicide attempt.
- After 2 decades of sailing the world, at age 36 Conrad retired, married, and began writing tales based on his life at sea. He settled in London, as he had become a British citizen, officially changing his name to Joseph Conrad.

Synopsis: (via Melville House)

This exciting, swashbuckling thriller, based on a true story, is unlike anything else in Joesph Conrad's oeuvre.

It tells the brilliantly ironic tale of two officers in Napoleon's Grand Army, the cool-headed Lieutenant D'Hubert, and aggressive young officer on the rise, and the hot-tempered Lieutenant Feraud, a fierce warrior also known far and wide as a brilliant duelist. Both men, it turns out, have the perfect temperament for dueling, as the discover when, under a meaningless pretext, Feraud challenges D'Hubert. They fight each other to a standoff...until the next time Feraud sees D'Hubert, and again throws down the gauntlet. They will fight again, and again, across warzone after warzone, as Napoleon's army marches across the continent and back.

Both satiric and deeply sad, the masterful tale treats both the futility of war and the absurdity of false honor, war's necessary accessory. This is its first-ever publication as a stand-alone volume.

My Impressions:
My third encounter, out of five, with an "urgent affair of honour" followed suit by being another brilliant story. At once quick to read and epic in scope, this is a tale that should really have the option to experience the extended version. I enjoyed the contrast offered by the difference in personality of the two officers; the character's personalities were shown so plainly in so few words.

"That's amusing," said the elderly surgeon. Amusing was his favourite word; but the expression of his face when he pronounced it never corresponded.

The view on the war (and on the sense of honor that brought the duel about) seemed to hold a good balance between respect and humor. Conrad's serious look at the ridiculous made it possible to relate various circumstances, and caused me to reflect on those accidental encounters that can change the flavor of life. What do we allow more control in our lives than it deserves? Is our focus in the right place?

Now that his life was safe it had suddenly lost its special magnificence.

Sometimes contrast, looking at extremes, can help us see the obvious. It puts everything into perspective somehow. Conrad did an excellent job of holding these contrasting lifestyles in focus, allowing the reader the opportunity to get the most out of the story.

#27: The Beach of Falesa, Robert Louis Stevenson

2011-08-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

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The Beach of Falesa
by Robert Louis Stevenson
-born in Scotland, 1850
-116 Pages
-more about Stevenson (via Goodreads)
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Authorial Tidbits: (via Melville House)

- Robert Louis Stevenson's father was a prominent engineer, famous for building lighthouses, but Stevenson's earliest interests were literary.
- He studied law but never practiced.
- Suffering from lifelong respiratory illness, he traveled extensively in search of a beneficial climate.
- His first book was a travel book about a French canoe trip, but he soon branched out into poetry and fiction.

Synopsis: (via Melville House)

Originally censored by its British publisher, The Beach at Falesa is a scathing critique of colonialism and economic imperialism that bravely takes on many of the 19th Century’s strongest taboos: miscegenation, imperialism, and economic exploitation. It does so with a story that features a surprising and beguiling romance between an adventurous British trader and a young island girl, against a background of increasing—and mysterious—hostility. Are the native islanders plotting against the couple, or is it the other white traders? The result is a denouement that is astonishing in its violence. Told in the unadorned voice of the trader, it is a story that deftly combines the form of the exotic adventure yarn with the moral and psychological questing of great fiction.

My Impressions:
Adventure stories, in general, just aren't my thing. I crave for deep thought, realization, conversation--that, to me, is adventure. I like getting down to the heart of the matter: inside people's heads. This story does expose some very deep issues, it isn't as if there aren't some layers here, but it was just way too much small-island-remote-ocean-confusing-dialect for my taste. Most of the eye-dialect I couldn't get my brain around, though a lot of the other wording was entertaining (also somewhat baffling--anyone up to translating the bolded portions below?)

...the women of Falesa are a handsome lot to see. If they have a fault, they are a trifle broad in the beam.

There's meat and drink in it too, and beer and skittles...

The idea of a square thing that was alive and sang knocked me sick and silly.

There's no manner of doubt that she's an A 1 wife.

So maybe I won't be re-reading Treasure Island any time soon; I've probably discovered the reason I don't remember much of it. Come to think of it, I remember remarkably little of Lord of the Flies too...I'm sensing a theme. I hope the next novella doesn't take place on an island. They're just too...oceany.

#26: The Horla, Guy De Maupassant

2011-08-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

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The Horla
by Guy De Maupassant
-born in France, 1850
-74 Pages
-more about Maupassant (via Goodreads)
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Authorial Tidbits: (via Melville House)
- After serving in the Franco-Prussian War, Guy De Maupassant studied writing with his mother's friend Gustav Flaubert (perhaps believing rumors, which persist, that Flaubert was his father).
- In 1880 he published his first story, "Boule De Suif" which was hailed as a masterpiece.
- He published more than 300 stories and 6 novels.
- In the late 1880s he began to show signs of syphilitic mental illness, and in 1891 was institutionalized after a suicide attempt. He died in a mental asylum in 1893.

Synopsis: (via Melville House)

This chilling tale of one man’s descent into madness was published shortly before the author was institutionalized for insanity, and so, The Horla has inevitably been seen as informed by Guy de Maupassant’s mental illness. While such speculation is murky, it is clear that de Maupassant—hailed alongside Chekhov as father of the short story—was at the peak of his powers in this innovative precursor of first-person psychological fiction. Indeed, he worked for years on The Horla's themes and form, first drafting it as “Letter from a Madman,” then telling it from a doctor’s point of view, before finally releasing the terrified protagonist to speak for himself in its devastating final version. In a brilliant new translation, all three versions appear here as a single volume for the first time.

My Impressions:
Even more fun than discovering manners and customs of bygone eras (possibly because it is rarer to find) is stumbling upon the superstitions and scientific studies. It is like the coveted behind-the-scenes look into something otherwise romanticized or villanized. It's always fun to see that people have been pondering ghosts and aliens for quite some time:

"If other beings besides us exist on Earth, why didn't we meet them a long time ago?"

We might reason that, ever since man began to think, he has had a premonition and a dread of some new being, stronger than her, his successor in this world, and that, feeling him nearby, yet being unable to foresee the nature of this master, he has created in his terror the entire fantastic population of occult beings, vague phantoms born from fear.

What is special about this volume is that it actually contains three different versions of the same story. What an unexpected gold mine that was for me! I love the creative process in all its stages--the way an idea or feeling can end up in such different places all depending on a few simple decisions--so reading the same story composed in three different ways was just the thing for me. They really were rather different and I found it very enjoyable to compare. The writing was at times beautiful and at times [perhaps unintentionally] funny (examples below) and I flew through the book with a smile on my face.

Beautiful:
We are so infirm, so helpless, so ignorant, so small, we others, on this spinning grain of mud mixed with a drop of water.

Funny:
Why should it be surprising if our eye cannot see a new body, one that evidently lacks the property of blocking light rays? Can you see electricity? And yet it exists!

#25: The Awakening, Kate Chopin

2011-08-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

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The Awakening
by Kate Chopin
-born in America, 1850
-214 Pages
-more about Chopin (via Goodreads)
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Authorial Tidbits: (via Melville House)
- Kate Chopin was born to an Irish immigrant father and French-American mother, and at 20 married the owner of a New Orlean's cotton brokerage.
- Widowed after 12 years of marriage, Chopin found herself left with six children and a deeply indebted business. She sold the business and moved to her widowed mother, who died soon after.
- Deeply depressed, Chopin was advised to try writing as a form of therapy and potential income. She was quickly successful, often writing of Creole culture.
- She became a virtual pariah in her hometown after publishing The Awakening. Crushed, she published less and less. In 1904 she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while visiting the St. Louis World's Fair with her children, and died two days later.

Synopsis: (via Melville House)

When it was first published in 1899, The Awakening was universally vilified for its frank discussion of female sexuality and the oppression of women. Willa Cather called it "sordid," others called it "immoral," and its publication effectively ended Kate Chopin's theretofore successful career.

But this story of a New Orleans woman trapped in her marriage has also come to be seen as more than just a proto-feminist classic; it's now recognized as one of the most influential works of the nineteenth century. In its dazzling blend of psychological acuity, complex characters, and exotic locale, it is, simply, a moving and absorbing work of literature.

My Impressions:
This book wasn't what I was expecting. I thought I was in for a 200+ page slog through a depressing, poetic pity party; instead I found fluid writing laced with humor. The subject matter was still rather depressing to me, but it was made better by the portrait of Creole culture and the fact that it was a pretty quick read. A taste of the manners and humor is apparent from the beginning:

The parrot and the mockingbird were the property of Madame Lebrun, and they had the right to make all the noise they wished. Mr. Pontellier had the privilege of quitting their society when they ceased to be entertaining.

What prevented me from really enjoying this book was the main character. Mrs. Pontellier was shallow, and let her emotions dictate her actions to such a degree that she never really knew why she thought or felt as she did. She couldn't properly explain why she was doing the things she was, and honestly...I felt as if she made a case for being touched with a bit of madness. It's one thing to buck convention and know what you are doing and why, but it didn't seem to me that Mrs. Pontellier's brain ever really touched solid ground. The clearest picture of her was towards the beginning:

In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman. The mother-women seemed to prevail that summer at Grand Isle. It was easy to know them, fluttering about with extended, protecting wings when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened theri precious brood. They were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings a ministering angels.

Bitter much? The idea of the mother-woman is quite similar to Dostoevsky's idea in The Eternal Husband, and it really is an idea that is worth exploring. I can't say that Chopin did it as eloquently as Dostoevsky, (nor as subtly and expansive as Willa Cather,) but I'd hardly expect that. So...Mrs. Pontellier knows that she desires more than she has, that she isn't content with being wife and mother: the socially esteemed domestic goddess, but she never delves into the issue much more than that. That's what is sad. Not that she wasn't supported in her desires and ideas, but that she didn't even really know what her desires and ideas were. At least the writing added some levity:

Miss Highcamp played some selections from Grieg upon the piano. She seemed to have apprehended all of the composer's coldness and none of his poetry. While Edna listened she could not help wondering if she had lost her taste for music.

Challenge Musings: the Home Stretch

2011-08-23T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I've made it through the temptation of new books, I've made it through the distractions of a very busy month, and I've found myself in the home stretch with just over a week left in the month. Up until the last few days, I'd been keeping up pace, finishing at least one novella a day. Crazy that. Usually weekends are the time when I'm able to get some reading done, but August has worked against me on that end--my weekends have been abnormally busy. The month is 74% complete, and the novellas are 57% complete. Time has just sped by (surprise surprise).

I have to admit that I'm starting to crave some simpler fare to throw into the mix. And some nonfiction. Last week I was thinking that I'd just continue on with the novellas until they were finished, this week I'm thinking I could use some furniture rearrangement. There are still so many enticing titles ahead of me; I'm especially eager to read The Hound of the Baskervilles.

My pace is slowing, that's undeniable, but I've successfully delivered my girls to kids camp, so my next couple of days have extra time. You never know what can happen with extra time. Until my final report next week, wish me luck!

#24: The Country of Pointed Firs, Sarah Orne Jewett

2011-08-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

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The Country of Pointed Firs
by Sarah Orne Jewett
-born in America, 1849
-158 Pages
-more about Jewett (via Goodreads)
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Authorial Tidbits: (via Melville House)
- Sarah Orne Jewett was born in the small seaport of South Berwick, Maine, where her father was a doctor.
- From an early age she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and was unable to attend school on a regular basis. She supplemented her education with her father's library, which led to a passion for literature and writing.
- Editor William Dean Howells was taken with her work and encouraged her to link her stories into a novel (Deephaven) subsequently published in 1877.
- She never married, but after the death of her close friend (publisher of the Atlantic, James Thomas Fields) she moved in with his widow (writer Annie Fields). They remained together until Jewett's death, from a stroke in 1909.

Synopsis: (via Melville House)

The story of an endearing, unlikely friendship between a writer and her elderly neighbor set against the evocative backdrop of a remote and beautiful coastal town in Maine, The Country of Pointed Firs is generally considered Sarah Orne Jewett's greatest work.

It is also a work of pioneering literary sophistication, a loosely structured series of linked sketches that accumulate in poignancy and power as they depict a dying bit of Americana--the fishing villages of nineteenth-century New England and the gruff and determined people who lived in them. Their stirring fight against the hardships of isolation, and Jewett's elegantly shaped prose and unblinking perceptiveness, combine to make this, as Henry James called it, "a beautiful little quantum of achievement."

My Impressions:
I simply couldn't rush this book. I suppose its size classifies it as a novella, but it was so whole and filling to me that it seemed to be so much more. It is a quiet book--meaning that not much really happens plot-wise, it is more about the characters, the setting, the writing, and contemplating the ideas and themes. The characters were quite memorable. I loved the little stories, the histories, and how they all intertwined even while remaining quite individual. I wanted to know Mrs. Todd with her amazing medicinal herb garden; the sights and smells conjured up from the simple words on the page stirred my heart.

It may not have been only the common ails of humanity with which she tried to cope, it seemed sometimes as if love and hate and jealousy and adverse winds at sea might also find their proper remedies among the curious wild-looking plants in Mrs. Todd's garden.

I grew up in a small, somewhat remote town, (though not compared to Jewett's Dunnet Landing,) and the glimpses into the lives of the older population of the town rang so true to me. Even as a child I was fascinated to discover the lives held behind the older faces and shocked to find that they could even be quite funny. :) Captain Littlepage's comments about literature actually made me laugh aloud:

"Shakespeare was a great poet; he copied life, but you have to put up with a great deal of low talk."

This is a peaceful, comforting sort of book, and the writing is beautiful. I'm going to leave you with a few more quotes:

"Old friends is always best, 'less you can catch a new one that's fit to make an old one out of."

"It wasn't all I expected it would be," she said sadly, as many an artist had said before her of his work.

So we always keep the same hearts, though our outer framework fails and shows the touch of time.

"...if she was as far out of town as she was out of tune, she wouldn't get back in a day."

"Folks all kept repeating that time would ease me, but I can't find it does. No, I miss her just the same every day."

#22 & 23: The Coxon Fund and The Lesson of the Master, Henry James

2011-08-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

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The Coxon Fund and The Lesson of the Master
by Henry James
-born in America, 1843
-103 & 122 Pages
-more about James (via Goodreads)
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Authorial Tidbits: (via Melville House)
- Henry James was the son of a theologian and the brother of a philsopher.
- He entered Harvard Law School at 19 but soon quit to write and travel in Europe, where he met Flaubert, Turgenev, George Eliot, and Zola.
- He gained International fame with Daisy Miller, which scandalized Victorian society and sold thousands of copies.
- His work increased in sophistication and was meticulously observed, which established him as the first master of psychological fiction.

Synopsis: (via Melville House)

The Coxon Fund:
Henry James examines one of his favorite topics—the artist’s place in society—by profiling a “genius” who just can’t seem to support himself. A dazzling intellectual and brilliant speaker, Mr. Saltram has become the most sought-after houseguest in England. But, as his intellectual labors slacken, it beomes harder and harder to get him to leave.

A wry, edgy comedy about the fine line between making art...and freeloading.The Coxon Fund shows off a gift that is rarely appreciated about Henry James: he can be wickedly funny.

The Lesson of the Master:
Exemplifying Henry James's famous belief that "Art makes life," The Lesson of the Master is a piercing study of the life that art makes. When the tale's protagonist—a gifted young writer—meets and befriends a famous author he has long idolized, he is both repelled by and attracted to the artist's great secret: the emotional costs of a life dedicated to art.

With extraordinary psychological insight and devastating wit, the novella asks the question of whether art is, ultimately, demeaning or ennobling for the artist, while capturing the ambiguities of a life devoted to art, and the choices artists must make. The expatriate James knew these choice well by the time he published the novella in the Universal Review in 1888, and the work reveals him at the height of his powers.

My Impressions:
I've decided to post on both of Henry James' novellas together because I really have very little to say about them. The infinitesimal clauses in his sentences set my eyeballs swirling and put me to sleep faster (and more consistently) than Leviticus. I didn't even finish The Coxon Fund. I thought about reading all the words so I could say that I read it, but really, what's the point of that? In retrospect, I should have given Benito Cereno the axe as well.

There is something about Henry James' writing that makes my mind travel to all the things I need to get done. Since starting his books I've replied to emails, come up with ideas for Christmas gifts, written a shopping list for school supplies...you get the point. It isn't that the writing is bad--there were quite a few passages I noted--it's just that it feels so impersonal and I find it difficult to get into it's rhythm. Reading Henry James is like being in a noisy restaurant and realizing, thanks to the accolades of others at the table, that there is good music playing somewhere of which you only hear intermittent snatches because you are constantly being distracted by your surroundings.

Another classic author that just isn't my style; I may even take The Turn of the Screw off my TBR list. I just can't connect with his writing style, which makes it difficult for me to connect with his characters or his stories. The Lesson of the Master revolved around literature, though, so there were a few fun bookish quotes there:

"I dare say she has read every blest word you've written."

"You talk just like the people in your book!"

"I've never seen anyone like her. Her interest in literature's touching--something quite peculiar to herself; she takes it all so seriously."

#21: A Sleep and a Forgetting, William Dean Howells

2011-08-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

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A Sleep and a Forgetting
by William Dean Howells
-born in America, 1837
-112 Pages
-more about Howells (via Goodreads)
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Authorial Tidbits: (via Melville House)
- William Dean Howells was the son of a prominent newspaper editor and was elected clerk of Ohio's House of Representatives at 19.
- He wrote the official campaign biography of Abraham Lincoln, which later earned him a consulship in Vienna.
- Editor of The Atlantic Monthly, and later a columnist at Harper's Magazine, he championed realism and writers such as Henry James, Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, Stephen Crane, and Emily Dickinson.
- He published more than one hundred books of essays, poetry, and fiction, often based on his own life or his passionate engagement with society.

Synopsis: (via Melville House)

Nowhere in the prodigious output of William Dean Howells is there an example more poignant of his heartfelt dedication to the realist movement than this achingly suspenseful novella.

The story centers on a young “alienist”—a psychologist—at an Italian resort, where he meets a young woman who, at subsequent encounters, has no recollection of him. Asked by her frightened father to help her overcome her incapacitating memory problems, the doctor launches a psychological investigation that appears to be based upon the most painful memories of the author himself. Howells had recently experienced the loss of a beloved adult daughter (from what appears to have been anorexia) and the institutionalization of another for "emotional collapse."

The story's surprising ending reveals not only the author's deft sense of craftsmanship, but speaks movingly to his enduring faith in the sublime power of literature.

My Impressions:
The whole memory-loss/love-story kept reminding me of James Hilton's Random Harvest (although it was written over 20 years after Howells died) which put fond thoughts in my head and left me predisposed to enjoy this novella. Howell's focus on the psychological aspect (as opposed to Hilton's focus on the personal story) added a captivating look at culture and medical views in the time period. His writing style is very clean and straightforward in some ways, although there were some examples of humor and philosophy that hinted at how layered this work actually is.

Lanfear's question persisted through the night, and it helped, with the coughing in the next room, to make a bad night for him.

Howells considers memory as more than a vehicle for a story, he ponders it as a characteristic of humanity that--while it is something that we tend to take pride in--can often be the source of much grief. In some instances, might we not actually be happier if we didn't carry the burden of our pasts?

I don't know why we should remember so insistently the foolish things and wrong things we do and not recall the times when we acted, without an effort, wisely and rightly.

William Dean Howells also reminded me of William Maxwell in his writing, which furthered my interest in his work. They both seem to have a clear sense of story and theme, and they both had experience as editors--working with the major writers of their time as well as writing prolifically themselves. Their lives overlapped by only 12 years, but I like to think that there's some connection there. That's the romantic, illogical part of my brain at work, perhaps--although this last quote may show that it was a characteristic Howells shared in part.

I suppose we do not begin to be immortal merely after death.

This was a story that has grown on me more after reading it. It wasn't the most captivating experience, but really got me thinking afterwards. It left me curious to know more about William Dean Howells and his world.

#20: The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, Mark Twain

2011-08-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

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The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
by Mark Twain
-born in America, 1835
-128 Pages
-more about Twain (via Goodreads)
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Authorial Tidbits: (via Melville House)
- Born as Samuel Clemens in Florida, Twain left home at 18 to travel the world.
- He returned to captain a Mississippi riverboat for 4 years before heading west on a stage coach, filing absurdist travel stories for newspapers along the way.
- Chased out of San Francisco after reporting on a police chief, he hid in a mining town and overheard a yarn he turned into a successful story.
- After fame came (due to Tom Sawyer) he wrote and lectured extensively, and also founded a publishing house.
- A failed investment sent him to Europe to avoid creditors--a trip that saw the death of his daughter. His wife died soon after, leaving Twain mourning their loss.

Synopsis: (via Melville House)

Written on hotel stationery while Twain was in Europe on the run from American creditors, soon after the death of his daughter, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg is often cited as a work of bitter cynicism—a statement on America, to some, on the Dreyfus Case, to others—created by a weary author at the end of his career.

Others apprciate the work because it is, simply, Mark Twain at his best. The story of a mysterious stranger who orchestrates a fraud embarrassing the hypocritical citizens of "incorruptible" Hadleyburg. The novella is an exceptionally crafted work intertwining a devious and suspenseful plot with some of the wittiest dialogue Twain ever wrote. And like the most masterful literature, it subverts any notion of easy conclusion: is Hadleyburg ruined, or liberated? Is the mysterious stranger Satan, or a hero? Is this a book of revenge, or redemption? One thing is clear: this brilliant novella is a complex and compassionate consideration of the human character by a master at the height of his form.

My Impressions:
It's been many years since I've read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but Twain's writing still springs to life as being full of adventure and wry humor. This novella combines delightful dialogue with an interesting story-line. The themes and questions about character, rationalization and priorities is still applicable, though represented by near caricatures in the story.

Richards and his old wife sat apart in their little parlour--miserable and thinking. This was become their evening habit now: the life-long habit which had preceded it, of reading, knitting, and contented chat, or receiving or paying neighbourly calls, was dead and gone and forgotten, ages ago--two or three weeks ago; nobody talked now, nobody read, nobody visited--the whole village sat at home, sighing, worrying, silent.

I can't say that the story induced deep thought in me, or that I contemplated the issues for very long, but I did enjoy the story and the writing. I didn't find it to be bitterly cynical, although that may just illuminate my own level of cynicism more than anything else. It has been amazing to me to find how different American literature from this era feels compared to its Russian counterpart.

...he could hear his microbes gnaw, the place was so still.

#19: The Devil, Leo Tolstoy

2011-08-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

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The Devil
by Leo Tolstoy
-born in Russia, 1828
-128 Pages
-more about Tolstoy (via Goodreads)
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Authorial Tidbits: (via Melville House)
- Leo Tolstoy was born into the upper levels of the Russian aristocracy (his mother was a princess).
- After a licentious youth, he joined the army and published his first novel (Childhood) while serving in an artillery unit. He eventually quit the military in disgust.
- He traveled throughout Europe but became disillusioned by Western materialism and returned to his family estate, got married, fathered 13 children, and founded a school for young peasants.
- In 1879, Tolstoy underwent a spiritual crisis; his extreme asceticism inspired a widespread, cult-like worship, but also exacerbated tension with his wife.

Synopsis: (via Melville House)

Leo Tolstoy is known for epic novels that brilliantly dissect society, but the novella The Devil may be the most personally revealing—and startling—fiction he ever wrote. He thought it so scandalous, in fact, that he hid the manuscript in the upholstery of a chair in his office so his wife wouldn't find it, and he would never allow it to be published in his lifetime.

Perhaps that's because the gripping tale of an aristocratic landowner slowly overcome with unrelenting sexual desire for one of the peasants on his estate was strikingly similar to an affair Tolstoy himself had. Regardless, the tale—presented here with the two separate endings Tolstoy couldn't decide between—is a scintillating study of sexual attraction and human obsession.

My Impressions:
I briefly mentioned in my last review that The Devil made good companion reading to The Death of Ivan Ilych in that the latter really showcases his writing ability, while the former is more about his storytelling. The Devil is certainly less polished than The Death of Ivan Ilych, but what do you expect from a manuscript that was hidden inside a chair's upholstery? There's a reason that Tolstoy felt that this story was scandalous and wouldn't allow it to be published in his lifetime: it has that a-bit-too-personal feeling that can occasionally feel oddly uncomfortable. I can see Tolstoy having just such a conflict of ideals.

During coffee, as often happened, a peculiarly feminine kind of conversation went on which had no logical sequence but which evidently was connected in some way for it went on uninterruptedly.

Where The Devil went from feeling like a current issue to an extrapolation of wishful thinking was towards the end. There's a little Choose Your Own Adventure happening with the end, as Tolstoy gives his readers a couple of outcome-options. They were fun options, but they both wrapped up the story quite quickly and pulled me out of Yevgeny's problem and plopped me right into the middle of Tolstoy's writing room instead. In all, it was a fun, fascinating story that would have been marvelous to see fleshed out and refined.

The most mentally deranged people are certainly those who see in others indications of insanity they do not notice in themselves.

These two novellas together offer a taste of War & Peace: great story, great writing, interesting history and philosophy. Only difference is the size/time commitment...these novellas are a nice place to start.