I have a bunch of job-related things to accomplish this spring/summer, so my plan of reading 75 books this year may need to be tabled for now; 50 sounds more reasonable given the turn of events--especially since I've also decided to force myself to write a review for everything I read this year.

They wont be read in this order, but here goes:

1. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicky Myron
2. I Saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Goudge,
3. The Courage to be Rich by Suze Orman
4. Clark's Big Book of Bargains by Howard Clark
5. Get Clark Smart by Howard Clark
6. Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber
7. On Pilgrimage by Jennifer Lash
8. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
9. Brave Companions by David McCullough
10. Bible: Day by Day
11. Who is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan
12. Presidential Courage by Michael R. Beschloss
13. Consecrated Venom by Caryl Johnston
14. Witches and Neighbors by Robin Briggs
15. Tales of the Beedle Bard by J. K. Rowling
16. 5,000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen
17. The Gospel of Judas by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, Gregor Wurst, Bart D. Ehrman
18. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer, Annie Barrows
19. From Bauhaus to Our Houseby Tom Wolfe
20. To Kill and Kill Again by John Coston
21. Blood Echoesby Thomas H. Cook
22. The Shackby WM. Paul Young
23. The Judge by Dwight Allen
24. The Air We Breatheby Andrea Barrett
26. The Stoning of Soraya M. by Freidoune Sahebjam
27. The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks
28. The Boy In the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
29. Brainwashed by Ben Shapiro

Happy Reading!!!

Message edited by its author, Yesterday, 10:54am.

Hi, Voracious_Reader!
Looks like you have some great books on your list. Good luck with your reading challenge! :)
--BJ

Hi. Thank you for the well-wishing!

If you're not already a Harry Potter fan, then you'll probably find Tales of the Beedle Bard by J.K. Rowling unremarkable. It made me want to read her novels again; it didn't compare well. It was a very short, very quick read that fit snuggly in the morality tales genre. It was much lighter than Grimm's Fairytales and more like Han's Christian Anderson's morality tales.

On Pilgrimage by Jennifer Lash details a journey from Caen to Santiago de Compostela conducted by Lash over the course of a couple of weeks. She travels alone, largely, and speaks frankly and lovingly of the places she visits and the people she meets along the way. I liked it, but I did find portions of it to be very wordy and in need of editing in some places; for example, it used some words interchangeably, like paramount and tantamount etc., that were not the best choices. Having not read travel/personal pilgrimage books before, I don't know how it compares, and, I think it would have been easier to follow if I had been more familiar with the places being visited. Also, the mood set by the writer was one of perseverance, but she sounded so tired as she forged on.

Can't actually say that I read this one in '09, but this is the only place I can post the review since I no longer own the book and today seemed like an appropriate day to do it on.

In She Said Yes: The Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall by Misty Bernall, Cassie's mother's expresses that her daughter's death matters more or at least as much as what lead to her answer of "Yes" at the hands of the Columbine shooters, than that she simply said "Yes."

She makes the case that without faith and parents that happened to find out that their child was in trouble, Cassie could have had a very different, but equally infamous life. The story is of what was--as well as what could have been--for a deeply troubled, but incredibly determined teen.

It is the power of a mother's love that hopes all things, that brings us Cassie's story. Her mother asks "why my daughter?" "My death is not my own, but yours, and its significance depends on what you do with it" she quotes from a Hebrew prayer service for fallen soldiers. What significance does her daughter's death have?

Whether or not the exchange between the gunman and Cassie actually took place, which is apparently debatable, doesn't really matter. We want that exchange to have happened. She's a heroine. For evil to have looked into the face of good, and for good, even in the face of death, to have triumphed is uplifting. Faith does not come easily for Cassie, nor most of us. Yet, in the end, when it was really all that mattered, it did come. She was not alone, and she did not doubt. So, it isn't the truth of the exchange that matters. The significance is the desire within us to answer "Yes."

Wonderful review!
--BJ

Thank you! The book wasn't a keeper but I tried to get the most out of it.

I can't begin to explain how much I enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. It was marvelous. If you love Rebecca or Jane Eyre, then please pick up The Thirteenth Tale. The only disappointing thing is that the author has published no other books (at least that I can find). It was a wonderful read. "Do you intend to tell me the truth?" one of its characters asks. Is that really the point of a good story?

It was mesmerizing. Finally, a book written by someone who clearly adores books and the written word. The story is dark, but not humorless. I certainly wont be putting this one up to trade on bookmooch.com. I loved it. It had everything that a novel should: it had a good point; it was superbly written; and I can't stop comparing other books to it. I finished it weeks ago, reading at least four other books since then and none of them compare.

A friend of mine kindly gave The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber this book (and others) so that I might have something to entertain myself as I recovered from surgery. The book fits in the complex literery, historical thriller category. I feel like I should have loved it, but I really disliked it. Why? I hated the main character. I just couldn't make myself like him. He was so focused on sex; he was boring beyond belief. I found myself hoping to come upon chapters narrated by other characters. He was an antihero that just cried out for a severe beating. Just kidding--sort of. I raced for the end of it driven not by a desire to find out what would happen as much a desire to finish the damn thing and move on to something else. It's like someone took all the elements that I like--drama, Shakespeare, mystery, plot twists, multiple narrators, book lover, manuscripts, forgers--ate them and vomited them in the form of this book. I so wish that I had like it because one of my dearest friends did and gave it to me, but, regrettably, I did not.

Message edited by its author, Apr 26, 2009, 4:26pm.

I read The Thirteenth Tale last October and I loved it as well. :)
--BJ

I finished The Courage to Be Rich by Suze Orman and Howard Clark's Big Book of Bargains by guess who? Howard Clark at about the same time. I've watched both of their television shows a handful of times as well. They've mentioned one another and referred to one another as friends and so, at times, I chuckled while reading their books because they are so different. Suze Orman is much more in touch with emotional spending and is more thorough in attempting to get people to prioritize and to come to terms with bad spending/saving habits. I think that Clark Howard’s book is a good one for someone that is already money conscious and is looking for affirmation of their penny pinching ways or is looking for some great tips; though Orman’s book is better for someone who is curious about the world of personal finance. Orman’s book is also a better fit for someone who has had money problems and is looking for a light at the end of the tunnel. I took a couple of notes from Clark’s book but have put it up on bookmooch since it isn’t one that I need to keep for reference, but I’ll be hanging on to Orman’s for a while.

Yay! Found you!

Hi! How art thou? Well I hope. Things are, as usual, busy here. Two murder trials in the next two months plus all my other normal stuff. Makes me enjoy being at home and taking time to read all the more.

...............................................................................

I Saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Goudge is a quaint, heartwarming story. It’s a brief, beautifully written, lyrical and sentimental Christmas tale about a little orphan girl named Polly who experiences a number of Christmas miracles. It is light handed and well-paced. Also, my version has some simple illustrations by Margot Tomes that, like the story itself, are sort of Dickensian. I enjoyed it and wish that I could find a copy of Goudge’s The Little White Horse to read too. It’s crisp and clean and warm all at once.

Message edited by its author, Apr 26, 2009, 6:06pm.

Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World--

If only it had just been about the library and the cat.

The portions of the book that were not directly about Dewey were opressive in tone and, at times, clumsily executed or extraneous. It's a testament to Dewey and Myron's love of Dewey that I liked the book as much as I did. Somtimes we so want our pets to matter to other people, that we try to make others understand how important they are to us by demanding that they feel the same way about them; it can be uncomfortable when someone becomes really insistent that we have to feel the same way about the things they love as they do. Myron tried to make Dewey matter to us in exactly the same way he mattered to her by giving us all sorts of information about herself and her family. Dewey mattered because he was Dewey. The story didn't need anything more than him.

My secretary bought me Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat for my birthday--I was really touched that she (1) remembered and (2) picked out something so thoughtful. I haven't read it yet, though. Can you tell I've been writing lots of briefs? Everything is in (1)s and (2)s or (a)s and (b)s in my head. And I say "moreover" a lot.

How are things going?

The Gospel of Judas by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, Gregor Wurst, Bart D. Ehrman felt like it had been rushed to press. That isn't to say that it wasn't good but it felt like parts of it hadn't been fully contemplated. When I was in college, we had to write an essay about metaphors and analogies etc. from Homer's Iliad. Almost every person in the class wrote about one particular quotation--namely, "A generation of men is like a generation of leaves; the wind scatters some leaves upon the ground, while others the burgeoning wood brings forth - and the season of spring comes on. So of men one generation springs forth and another ceases." Some of the essays were beautiful, but only one person considered the the most important question: "Are men really like leaves?" It seems obvious to do so, but only one person did. No one else had really questioned the validity of Homer's assertion.

This book's essays didn't really question "The Gospel of Judas." The writers assumed the Gospel was equally as valid as the ones that were included in the Bible as we know it. The essayists were so enthralled with its discovery and preservation, that it felt like they never reached the most interesting questions. That failing is most clear when one of the essayists wrote that what is included and discarded from the Bible is arbitrary. Isn't it possible that there might be real reasons behind the exclusion or inclusion of one text over another, that there continues to be real religious dialogue about what should be included or excluded?

I agree that the Gospel is a wonderful discovery, but where's the second part of the analysis. Is the Gospel of Judas equally as valid, as authenticated, as philosophically rich as those Gospel's included in our present day Bibles? What can we learn from it? I just don't think the essays pushed far enough.

Message edited by its author, May 28, 2009, 11:10pm.

I love books written by book-loving authors. It surprises me how many authors don't really seem to love the written word. For them, it's more like I have something to tell you and this is the most expedient way to do it, but then, some authors are lovers of language. Jane Austen comes to mind. Books like hers should be cherished.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows should too. One of the authors has passed away and regrettably this, her first book, will also be her last. Its epistolary style works perfectly. It focuses mostly on Guernsey, an English island between England and France, that was occupied by the Germans during World War II. Its moments, sentences, and stories were wonderful from start to finish. Part of me wanted the book to end so that I could confirm what I thought would happen with its characters; part of me never wanted it to end because I enjoyed reading it so much.

It was quaint and lovely without being trite. The authors write, "I wonder how the book got to ...? Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers." It makes me think: somehow this book found its perfect reader in me--how lucky am I?

You write lovely, thoughtful reviews. I also loved Guernsey -- your review perfectly expressed how delightful it was to read -- and I've been eyeing The Thirteenth Tale for awhile.

Thank you! I enjoyed both books very much.

Tom Wolfe's From Bauhaus to Our House--Loved it--an essay about navel gazing and what happens when groups of people navel-gaze and gather together to prove which one of them is more perfect at navel-gazing. Wolfe critiques modern architecture, but it isn't just about the negative effects of the Bauhaus style as much as the dangerousness of a group of people who attempt to rid themselves of pesky intellectual and moreover, ideological, competition. You don't have to hate modern or post modern architecture to like the book, but it probably doesn't hurt if you are a bit of an iconoclast.

Message edited by its author, Jun 25, 2009, 12:04am.

5,000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen is actually a very quick, enjoyable read. I agree with its overall sentiments; nevertheless, it has some structural and grammatical issues. Skoussen's ideas are not fully flushed out, the piece lacks flow, and it is in dire need of some editorial tidying. Its issues detract from what is a really strong survey piece. How can things go to press with errors like the use of "it's" where the author means "its" etc.? It's a good survey of American Constitutional History.

Who is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan was definitely not for me. It's a great example of interpreting the Bible to fit your own personal views of the world. I don't necessarily disagree with the views themselves that are expressed by the writer, but I do disagree with the assertion that these views are the ones expressed by the Bible. It's not a keeper for me--too much liberation theology for me.

To Kill and Kill Again by John Coston is a true crime book about a serial killer, that I read, more or less, for work. The title speaks for itself. The story was startling. If the book can be believed, the extent to which people explain away abberant behavior of their coworkers, friends, or others is amazing. I would have liked more information concerning the upbringing of the person being studied.

Reading Blood Echoes by Thomas H. Cook is sort of like reading, as opposed to watching, one of those American Justice programs they have on A&E. I read it for work. The first half of the book is about the crime itself; the second half is about the legal process of convicting the criminals responsible for the crime. The story it tells is so sad. Apparently the author has written a novel about the same crime. My guess is that I would enjoy that more than the documentary version.

Message edited by its author, Jul 7, 2009, 8:50pm.

The Tom Wolfe book looks entertaining! I have The Right Stuff on my TBR list but might have to add this as well.

I haven't ever read much Christian Fiction outside of the famous allegorical tales offered by C.S. Lewis. After having read the The Shack by WM. Paul Young, I can't say that I am going to rush out and buy a bunch of Christian Fiction, nor is The Shack allegorical.

I couldn't get through the book's forward. I put it down and started the story itself the next day by telling myself: I have a duty to finish it. My mother-in-law had already read it and said that "she didn't understand why everyone liked it so much. Would I read it and let her know what I thought?" and a friend of mine gave me the book sharing much the same sentiment as my mother-in-law.

Its theology, while expressed in a heartfelt way, was muddled. The book lacked subtlety of any kind. With sentences like "One can almost hear a unified sigh rise from the nearby city and surrounding countryside where Nature has intervened to give respite to the weary humans slogging it out within her purview," (p. 17) I found it difficult to take seriously. I did slog through it and am not terribly unhappy with having taken a couple of hours to do so, but it really wasn't well-written. Plus, Young espouses a kind of new-agey Christian theology, that I don't personally embrace. The theology it espouses, though, is dubious at best.

It did have one sentence that I liked--namely, "Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again." (p.237).

Message edited by its author, Jul 19, 2009, 9:26pm.

I just got The Right Stuff earlier this month. It looks good.

The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett is an historical novel about a group of individuals confined to a tuberculosis hospital in the Adirondacks during World War I. The story isn't really about historical events or the circumstances in which these people find themselves as it is about human conflict both large and small being fed by virtuous and selfish passions. Barrett uses all sorts of clever plot devices and narrative voice to create an almost claustrophobic narrative that weaves together science, history, politics, and social policy. It's a beautiful contemporary novel. Have you ever gone for a walk or been sitting outside, listening to music far off in the distance, music you can only just hear, that sounds really familiar and strangely comforting? That's the feeling I got from this book, i.e., eerily familiar and subtle throughout.

Message edited by its author, Nov 10, 2009, 2:28pm.

I could barely finish The Stoning of Soraya M. and at the same time I found it difficult to put down. Essentially the book tells the story of what leads up to the barbaric stoning of Soraya M. under Islamic law in Iran. The portion of the book devoted to the stoning itself is graphic, but what leads up to the stoning is equally as graphic and difficult to withstand. Freidoune Sahebjam draws a stunning portrait of the oppression of an entire village, particularly its women, and the devastation that fundamentalist religion combined with the power of government has on any diversity of thought in Khomeini-era Iran. Simply put Soraya M. was murdered by her husband and her own village because their fundamentalist version of religion gave them permission to place women in positions of servitude, sexual slavery to be killed in the name of God when a husband demanded it. I cannot imagine being governed by Sharia law if this book contains an accurate portrait of it.

Message edited by its author, Nov 10, 2009, 2:28pm.

The Sweet Hereafter by Russel Banks is well-written, but lifeless. The novel creates sweeping depictions of a rural, impoverished and largely isolated town in the New Hampshire mountains. Four characters narrate versions of a school bus crash and its aftermath and their stories overlay and intersect with one another. Although each character has a very different voice, the book just oozes gloominess no matter who is speaking. Given the subject matter of the book, that's not entirely suprising; still, it's just dark on top of dark on top of darker. Also, many if not all of the characters are very difficult to like even once we understand them. I liked the movie better; it has feeling that the book lacks.

Message edited by its author, Nov 10, 2009, 2:54pm.

The Boy In the Striped Pajamas is a Children's Book that isn't really a Children's Book. It's a "fable" that touches on Nazi concentration camps in World War II and is told from the point of view of a naive nine-year old boy. Short enough to finish in a sitting, it is an interesting story concerning a dangerous friendship between two little boys during World War II. One of the boys is Jewish and the other is not. The fable seems to say that genocides occur because people are naive to what is happening around them. I have trouble believing that anyone, even an eight-year old boy, could be that guileless. I understand the literary tool that his naivete serves for the fable, but think that acts of evil are perpetrated not just because people don't understand what is happening around them but because many people are complicit or are willfully ignorant out of convenience. The fable does, at a more subtle level, seem to touch on the idea of people being aware of an evil being perpetrated and participating anyway. Those vile characters seem to have concern for nothing and no one beyond themselves; blinded by their own needs and hatred, they are naive to the extraordinary consequences their actions have for the innocent.

Dwight Allen's Judge is rambly. It has potential for warmth but one of its only likeable characters is dead by the end of the first page. I can tell that Allen likes his characters, but I don't. It really feels more like a clumsy, adolescent love story that is trying really hard with its multiple flashbacks and flash forwards and flash inwards and flash elsewheres. I kept reading it hoping it would improve; finally it was just over without Allen having provided any real insight into the world or his characters. I've got two words for you: self-absorbed and boring. I understand that he is trying to tell a story whose point is that you only get to true love by withholding judgment, but it's almost like he is asking you to like his story and his characters unconditionally.

Strangely enough, I don't take umbrage with some of the quotations from leftist professors that readers are clearly intended to take from Ben Shapiro's Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth; overall, I enjoyed it. Shapiro was very quick-witted. He's an editorialist at heart, but I'd like to see what he would do with a less editorial-styled piece. The book makes me extremely happy with my St. John's College education particularly when compared with the average college university experience that he speaks to. The book contains no surprises. I would have given it three and a half to four stars but for the second half not being nearly as engaging or enjoyable as the first.