The_Hibernator Jumps into July

In honor of my friend Gayatri who is going to give birth any day now, I have posted this picture kindly provided by her husband, Ajay. Gayatri made one of these Murukkus and the other was made by his grandmother. Hahahaha. Poor Gayatri!

Oh! New thread!

Thank you!! I may not post often but I lurk regularly!

I had to look up "murukku" to know if they're supposed to look like twists of fried yumminess. I can tell which is grandma's, lol.

Hahaha Rachel the value of experience in traditional skills. Congratulations on your new thread.

Nice new thread here - congrats, Rachel!

Great start to a new thread, Rachel!

Nice new thread - and I like that picture *grin*

Hello there, Rachel! Love the picture. :)

I was nervous about looking it up. Thankfully it was something edible.

Thanks everyone for stopping by my new thread!

Well, after posting that comment about my friend Gayatri, I heard some bad news today. They lost their baby last month. I suppose I should have known from the silence emanating my way from India. I even almost asked yesterday, but I hate asking about pregnancies for just this reason. :( It's so hard to lose a baby at 8 months!

Oh no :(. I'm so sorry.

How devastating. So sorry to hear that, Rachel.

How devestating, and so late in the pregnancy! Terrible news, I'm very sorry for your friend. :(

Yes, thanks everyone for the condolences. It is very disappointing to me, and I feel so sorry for my friend. And there's really nothing I can say to her, because "you'll get pregnant again" doesn't really hack it, does it? At 8 months the baby seems so real to the parents, who have felt it kicking and moving. :(

I am so sorry for your friend as well. And yes, you are quite right "you'll get pregnant again" does not help. Esspecially if parents loose a baby that late in pregnancy 32+ weeks, when they are born at that stage they usually don't even need to go on a ventilator. You still may find that she would like to talk about her loss and the talking very often does help to grief. You know your friend best and just can go with the clues she will give you.
My condolences as well. :(

2012 Children's or YA Book 51: Infidel, by Ted Dekker (7/9/2012)

Reason for Reading: Second book in the Lost Books of History series

My Review

May contain spoilers for the first book, Chosen
Johnis has discovered that his mother is still living. He risks his life to follow his heart--which tells him to rescue his mother from the Horde. This second book in the Books of History series follows directly on the footsteps of the first book, Chosen. Since the world is less new to the readers, this second book spends more time developing action and suspense and less time describing the world. Thus, it is a more enjoyable read. It ends, of course, with a cliffhanger, leaving the reader wanting to read the third book.

2012 Children's or YA Book 52: Stuart Little, by E. B. White (7/10/2012)

Reason for Reading: Believe it or not, I have neither read this book, nor seen the movie. :)

My Review
In this classic tale for children, the Little family adopts a son, Stuart...but he turns out to look very much like a mouse! As Stuart grows, he has many adventures within his home and, later, out in the real world. This is an adorable book filled with child-like adventure. Appropriate to be read to young children, or to be read by a 2nd or 3rd grader.

Now E. B. White is more my speed. :)

Have you ever read Charlotte's Pig?

Hi Rachel! I'm just trolling the threads and came across yours. Very sorry to hear about your friends lost. So late in the pregnancy can definitely be very traumatic.

On a completely different note. Have you read any other Dekker books? I have to say his Circle series probably my least favourite even though I did enjoy reading them. So it's not to say his Circle books are bad, but his other books are THAT good. :)

Dad: As you well know, Charlotte's Web is the first book I ever read. :p

Valerie: Actually, the Circle Trilogy is my favorite Dekker. :) I've also read Showdown, Skin, Three, Adam, and House (which he wrote with Peretti). I have a bunch of his other books, too, I just haven't gotten to them. I would have enjoyed Three more if I hadn't seen that awful movie first. Which is your favorite?

ETA: I just remembered that Charlotte's Web was the first theater movie that Johnny went to, too. Remember how shocked we were that he sat mostly still through the movie? I don't think he was even three yet.

Hey Rachel. I heard about the train derailment/explosion in Columbus, I hope you're okay, and I hope it doesn't spark a zombie apocalypse or anything...

Lucky me that I haven't seen the movie because Three was my first Dekker book and my most memorable. I remember reading most of the book at night and was creeped out of my mind...
Without fail, I can count on a Dekker book to give me a good read even if I think the topic wouldn't be something interests me. :)

9: I even almost asked yesterday, but I hate asking about pregnancies for just this reason.
Oh, yes, because you don't want to inject pessimism, but also don't want to be all cheery if something has gone wrong. So sorry.
13: And there's really nothing I can say to her
Nope. Condolences and continual acknowledgement so she has an opening to talk if she wishes.

16: I remember many rereads of Stuart Little when I was a kid, but have no memory of the story itself.

Thanks for the concern Stephen. I'm a couple miles away from the train tracks, and maybe 5 miles from the crash, so no evacuation for me! I haven't even crossed the tracks today. :)

Valerie: Yeah, I like pretty much every Dekker book I read...well, except House, but he didn't write that one alone.

Qebo: There's really not much to the story, really. It's a bunch of little snippets, kind of like each chapter is a short story. It was pretty cute, though!

ETA: Stephen, how long do you think it will take for the Zompocalypse to reach me since I'm only 5 miles away. I haven't seen any suspicious activity yet. *Peers out window, pulls shades, and locks door*

2012 Adult Book 53: Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths, by Bruce Feiler (7/11/2012)

Reason for Reading: It fit into Reading Globally's Middle Eastern literature theme.

My Review 3.5 stars
In this short work, Feiler reviews the Biblical story of Abraham and then describes how the myth of Abraham has changed over time and between the Abrahamic religions. It is well-written and interesting, and its length is well-suited for the amount of information Feiler wishes to convey. (There were no lengthy speculations in order to add bulk!) I enjoyed it and learned a little bit, too!

2012 Adult Book 54: Saving Hope, by Margaret Daley (7/11/2012)

Reason for Reading: It's this month's pick for the American Christian Fiction Writer's association bookclub.

My Review 4/5 stars
Kate Winslow is the director of the Beacon of Hope school, which shelters girls who have been rescued from prostitution rings. When one of her students disappears under dangerous circumstances, she teams up with Texas Ranger Wyatt Sheridan to rescue the girl. In midst of all the stress and horror following the girl's disappearance, Kate and Wyatt unexpectedly (to them) fall in love. I am a HUGE fan of books that point out that juvenile offenders are more often than not victims of their situation, and that they have to withstand finger pointing and prejudice of their neighbors and employers while they're struggling to get their lives back on track. Saving Hope does an excellent job of showing this to the reader without lecturing. The romance is sweet. The action is engaging. The suspense is high (or would be if the blurb didn't give away more information than it should!!!). There were a few moments of awkward internal monologues in the first couple of chapters, but they were fleeting. Overall, I was very impressed.

I have House on my shelf, but I saw a trailer for the book or the movie, I don't remember which, and was creeped out! Now I don't know if I can ever bring myself to read the book, at least not alone!

Wonderful reviews. I may have to take a closer look at Saving Hope. I tend to stay away from Christian fiction, unless I know the author's work, since sometimes, the books tend to err of the side of cheesy...

Valerie: The book isn't any scarier than Three, I think. You should go ahead and read it if you own it. But don't watch the movie. Ever. :)

About Saving Hope, there were some cheesy moments at the beginning of the book, I admit. But after that, it got much better. I read Christian Fiction mostly because I'm a member of the ACFW bookclub--it's fun to discuss the books with the authors. :) I don't like it when they get preachy or overly evangelist (e.g. lecturing sick people on their deathbeds so that they can be saved...). This book did not have those flaws. It's fluffy and good if you like romantic suspense.

Yes...get to it.... :)
I will one of these days, along with the other 700 books I wan to read at some point..haha!

2012 Adult Book 55: Fantasy Media in the Classroom, by Emily Dial-Driver (7/12/2012)

Reason for Reading: Early Reviewer's Book.

My Review 4/5 stars
Fantasy Media in the Classroom is a collection of essays which describe why fantasy media and popular culture are useful in the classroom. For instance students can learn the same techniques using popular fiction as they can with an old-school class, but they feel more confident in their analyses because they already feel like they are experts on popular culture. These lessons and confidence can then be extrapolated on to classical literature. Fantasy Media in the Classroom also gives examples of how popular culture can be used to design lessons. This book was written mostly from the perspective of teaching college students, but a few essays talk about high school students. It's possible these lessons could also be changed a bit and used for younger students, as well. I think this book would be useful to teachers, even if they don't plan on fully incorporating popular culture in their classrooms, because it may help them to see the benefit of popular culture references their students make during class...and how such references could be embraced as an interesting interpretation rather than brushed off. I am not a teacher, but I found this book interesting because it helped me to better understand what fantasy media says about psychology/sociology/politics.

Hey Rachel! Fantasy Media in the Classroom sounds interesting! I've actually had a number of classes on pop-culture in my literature courses, and also organised some lectures and seminars myself, and I've always found them to be great fun. It can be really refreshing to not only look at old books and classics, but to also look at more everyday, modern expressions of culture.

Britt: I wish I had taken classes like that. But popular culture is a little more difficult to fit into a biomedical engineering curriculum. :)

Yeah, I guess that would be more difficult :)

Out of curiosity, I've decided to post my journeying-through-books map for this year so far:

visited 14 states (6.22%)
Create your own visited map of The World or website vertaling duits?

ETA: Not overly impressive. :)

And my US States:

visited 16 states (32%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or Free iphone travel guide

Oh, you've just reminded me of how far behind I am on my Challenge to read a book from each state. It got put on the back burner and then completely slipped my mind.

Well good luck Judy! I'm sure you're farther along than I am, anyway. :)

On another note: My Norton Critical Edition Paradise Lost arrived today...and do you know what it contained? A glossary! Bless you, Norton, bless you.

At first I thought those were places you've been too and was mighty impressed. But then on closer look, it's places you've "read" to, which is an even COOLER idea. :) Will have to click on your link later and see how it all works!

I stole your map idea and stuck it in my thread. So there. Nyah.

What a cool idea!

:) Well, I'm glad people are liking it. It's not really my idea...I've seen these maps elsewhere as well. :)

I like the maps!

Very sorry about your friend's baby.

Hi, there!

I just tracked down your thread, and I know I'm going to be busy writing down books for my TBR list when I read here! I'm so glad to read your comments about Iron Lake because I have that home from the library. I've been wanting to read William Kent Krueger, and I believe that this book is the first in a series.

You are quite an eclectic reader! Me, too. I have had such fun since joining LT, reading books I never would've known about, thanks to recommendations found here.

See you around!

Karen O.

2012 Adult Book 56: Translation of the Bones, by Francesca Kay (7/17/2012)

Reason for Reading: This book was longlisted for the Orange Prize this year, and it peaked my curiosity so I decided to give it a try.

My Review
When Mary-Margaret, a well-meaning but slow young woman, sees a vision of Jesus’ blood in a Roman Catholic Church, she stimulates a miracle-craze which compels many people to question the meaning of faith. This is a very difficult book for me to review because I’m rather ambivalent about it. It is deep with meaning—but would mean something different to the “faithful” than it would to the “faithless.” This is a quality that few books attain, and I believe this is why it deserved to be nominated for the Orange Prize. However, this story is also very sad…it took me in a direction I didn’t expect. There were a lot of negative messages mixed in with the positive messages, which, I suppose, represents life perfectly. But still…some of it was hard for me to read. I would recommend this book to anybody who wants to explore faith and the meaning of mother-child relationships more deeply, and with an open mind.

2012 Children's or YA Book 53: The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman (7/19/2012)

Reason for Reading: I was interested to see where Pullman was taking the Paradise Lost allegory

My Review
Lyra and Will finish up their journey (started in The Golden Compass) while desperately trying to dodge enemies and make the right choices. I enjoyed this book even less than the second book, The Subtle Knife, though The Golden Compass was in the "ok" range. I just didn't feel attached to the characters of Lyra and Will, and I didn't care what decisions they made. There was WAY too much Buddha-on-the-mountaintop both in the narrative and in the dialogue. I realize Pullman had a message he was trying to portray, and it wasn't a bad message (if you ignore all the hateful representations of organized religion)--he wanted to say that you should enjoy and live life here on Earth. What is happening in the present is what is important. Build the "Kingdom of Heaven" here on Earth instead of always denying our fleshy bodies as we look to our afterlife. This is a reasonable message, but I felt as if I was pounded over the head with it--to the point that it was distracting from the action. Furthermore, the action seemed to stop half-way through the book, followed by a long philosophical denouement. I WAS interested in his message, and that's why I continued the book after I didn't like the second...but it was a long haul for me. I don't really understand why this series is as popular as it is? But that's just my opinion. *shrug*

Thanks for stopping by Karen. :) Yes, Iron Lake is a good book, and it's the first in the series.

Great review of Translation of the Bones! I'm adding that one to my list.

I finished the Pullman trilogy and will have to say the first book was my favourite and each consecutive one got weirder and weirder and the the last book which I usually don't mind, but the ending of the last book made me want to chuck it across the room when I was finished with it...

Yes, agree great review on Translation of the Bones. Gone onto my wish list as well.

Mmmh - I read the Pullman Trilogy about 5 years ago and I absolutely loved it, but then again I like it a bit weird. *grin* - Maybe because I am a bit of a weirdo myself.

:) Thanks for the compliments!

About the Pullman Trilogy--I have a full appreciation for "weird," and I think Valerie meant that it doesn't usually bother her either. From what I've seen, people who enjoy the trilogy either totally ignored or didn't notice The Message. There's nothing wrong with taking that approach. :) I, unfortunately, couldn't ignore The Message because I already knew too much about Pullman.

In his 1998 article in The Guardian, The Darkside of Narnia, Pullman stated his opinion about the Narnia series: “there is no doubt in my mind that it is one of the most ugly and poisonous things I've ever read.”

He didn’t like Narnia because of Lewis’ blatant Message. The ironic thing is, Pullman’s message is JUST as blatant, and in many ways just as hateful as he considers Narnia’s message to be (his representation of organized religion is very hateful). It is difficult for me to like the Pullman trilogy when I can’t help but see his Message and feel the full impact of its irony. It’s probably good that there are people out there who are able to ignore it! :)

In case you're interested, there's also an old New Yorker article on Pullman's views on C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Far From Narnia, by Laura Miller.

ETA: Let me rephrase that: the article by Miller mostly discusses Pullman's inspirations for His Dark Materials. It touches on his thoughts of Lewis and Tolkien.

Well, it appears that no one wants to tutor me on yet another attempt to understand Milton's Paradise Lost. So, I'm on my own...that is, on my own with my dad, I guess. In the spirit of Roni, who provides copious summaries of The Closing of the Western Mind, I will provide my notes on Paradise Lost. This time I plan on reading it very slowly with much supplemental material. I have two editions that I'm working with: the Barnes and Noble version and the Norton Critical Edition version. Clearly, the NCE has more supplementary materials, but the footnotes for the B&N version might help me too. This is my third reading of Paradise Lost this year. :) I'm nothing, if not persistent.

If anybody wants to join me in my journey, I can start a group read thread....

NOTES ON THE INTRODUCTION BY DAVID HAWKES (in Barnes and Noble edition)

During the time building up to the writing of Paradise Lost, the "free market" concept was emerging. In this system, land was being taken away from peasants and their labor was being exchanged for money. This emerging free market system seemed like objectification of labor, as if the laborers were "signs" or "symbols." This system seemed idolatrous to Milton.

Henry VIII separated from the Roman Catholic Church so he could get a divorce, but he disliked many of the Protestant ways, so the Anglican church was more similar to the Roman Catholic Church than Puritans were comfortable with. They wanted to be free of religious practices they viewed as idolatrous.

Meanwhile, the new market economy provided a means for non-gentlemen to get money, so the long-established structure of the English society was breaking apart. Charles I kept trying to get Parliament's consent to raise taxes, but Parliament insisted on economic or religious reformation as stipulations. Therefore, Charles I increased taxes without Parliament's consent (around 1640). In 1642, Charles I needed to raise an army to quell the rebellion in Ireland, but Parliament no longer trusted him. Charles I left London and raised his army in Oxford, which initiated civil war. This is when Milton emerged into history. He considered the "free market" and legitimization of usury to be idolatrous. He wrote many political pamphlets about his views.

Paradise Lost is about idolatry of Satan. It could even be viewed as a prophecy of today's world, in which everything is represented as a symbol (think of virtual reality and the internet). To Milton, even viewing our perception of the world as reality was idolatrous. We forget that, through the filters of our human minds, we can not perceive the truth as it really is. Therefore, when we view our perceptions as reality, we are idolatrous.

...At least, so says Hawkes. I find this an interesting opinion and will look more into Milton's political writings to see if I agree that Milton's view of the political and economic state of affairs was idolatrous and consider how this may be represented in his epic allegory.

Paradise Lost is one of those books that you see quoted in so many books! I'll have to admit that even the small snippets that I do get to read go right over my head. I probably won't join you in reading the book but am definitely interested in seeing what you get from it. :)

Rachel, does the NCE contain an essay by Merritt Y. Hughes titled "Devils to Adore for Deities"? It seems to be cited in every modern criticism of Book I of Paradise Lost.

I can't find any reference to Hughes in either the table of contents or the "Suggestions for further reading." hmmmm

ARGH! My cat chewed through BOTH my computer charger and my Nook charger in a 24 hour period. She NOW knows that I frown upon such behavior, but it does nothing to remedy my current charger problem. I have an old Nook 1st edition that makes people in the Barnes and Noble store give me funny looks (true story), so OF COURSE I can't replace the cable with a specially made Nook cable. I bought a cable from Amazon, and it MIGHT charge my Nook (the jury's still out on that one) but it doesn't allow me to connect my Nook to my computer...so I can't put PDF files on my Nook. Which is something I've been waiting to do ever since my cable was severed.

GRRRRR!

ARGH!

She wasn't even very frightened by my punishment because I've never been truly angry at her before. She just looked puzzled at my unexpected display of dominance and (literally) sniffed my accusing finger. :(

Oh, sad day!

Rachel: my first Nook charger works on the new Nook as well. It must be some kind of standard because your sister always borrows my charger to recharge her cellphone.

Re: #52. I'll make a pdf and send it to you.

I think your cat is trying to send you a message: "Stop spending so much time on the computer and reading your Nook, and pay more attention to me!"

Dad, the standard works fine for CHARGING (as I have now discovered with my Amazon cord) but it does NOT work for computer connections. I already talked to BN customer service and they told me the cord for the new Nook wouldn't work on my old Nook. They are out of stock for the cable that will work and "don't know when they'll have it again." BUT I can individually call up all the stores located near me and ask if they happen to have an old one lying about. Which is doubtful because the last time I went in to a store because of a problem with my Nook, the guy didn't even know how to work the thing. Said he hadn't seen one in years. (And this wasn't a kid, it was an experienced employee.)

For now, I can charge my Nook. I will read my unfortunate PDF file on my unfortunate backlit computer. If I come out and visit you soon, I could see if your cable works for hooking me up to the computer. Or I could steal MOM'S CABLE. hehe (Don't tell! She wouldn't even notice!) Ok. I'm joking. But it would be funny. :p

Darryl, yes! That is exactly what she wants. Maybe she got tired of dropping all her toys in my lap....

Bad kitty! If I were you I would totally cross my arms and glare menacingly at her for several minutes. That outta teach her.

Right, anyway, all electronic devices connect to computers with standard USB cords. You can take a cord from anything so long as it fits the slot in your Nook. For example, my sister can use the cord for her PS3 controller on her cellphone, which is completely weird but also awesome. USB cords work exactly like extension cords for your house outlets, so if you a drawer full of USB cords like I do you can compare the plugs and see if any of them are shaped right. :)

Though at the rate your cats are chewing through cords, I suppose that isn't very likely. Hmmmmm. Maybe I can fashion one with a fork and some tin foil. What do you think?

*grin* your kittens looooooooove you - that's why they are causing trouble. I hope you will find a fitting cable soon.

Thank you for the interesting articles and after reading them I can see why you feel about the author as you feel.
Considering how negative he was about CS Lewis and how he was ranting about the messages he is giving, and then he ended up being as blatant as he accused CS Lewis to be.

I read the books because my son (8 at the time) started to read them in school. I have to say, also I found he was very radical and hateful in his approach against organised religion, I very much enjoyed the way he constructed the whole story and how he used different metaphors, such as the daemons to symbolize the human soul, Dust as evidence for the original sin. The third book was definately my least favourite as well, but I still enjoyed it. Although I was quite annoyed at the ending and felt that Pullman run halfway through the last book out of steam.

I still remember when the movie came into the cinemas two of my sons friends were not allowed to see the movie, because his parents were very strict Christians. I remember that their main issue was that Pullman did kill (let die) god.

***************************************

I just finished the Windup Girl. If I remember right that is one on your reading pile? Review will come once I finished my night shifts, so much to say - it was a very interesting topic, good concept, a slightly slow start and than it was good :)

Stephen: Well, I can keep trying cables as I find them, but this particular one doesn't work on my computer, even though it will (VERY slowly) charge my Nook. I just don't want to go about buying a bunch of cables at $15 a pop to end up with nothing better than I have. :( It's not a disaster, though, since really the only function I've lost is the ability to read PDF files. Maybe I should drive out to your house and dig through your drawer of USB cables, but I wouldn't want to force you to be SOCIAL. ;)

drachenbraut23: The reason I read His Dark Materials trilogy is because I had heard that Pullman had some complex and clever metaphors. I was especially interested in his Paradise Lost allegory, since I am currently trying to understand PL. :) I DO think Pullman came up with a creative story, and clever metaphors....If I recall, the movie took out ALL of the anti-religion message from the book, so it's too bad your son's friends couldn't go. It was pretty harmless I think.

I'll look for your review of Windup Girl. I've heard a lot of good things about it. :)

That's the thing about technology moving so fast! I can't quite keep up with all these new things they push out. There's the old Nook, and then a fancier newer Nook, and who knows how many other faster, flashier models that I have no clue about. One thing I have found is they usually make everything compatible downwards. So a cable for the the new toy can be used for an older model, but it doesn't work the other way around. Same deal with games and consoles. I only know that because my husband is tech geek. :) Anyways, all that to say I hope you find a cable that works for your current Nook and your computer, Rachel!

Oh, and Stephen...there was a lot more loud alpha female posturing going on than just folding my arms and staring. Although I did make aggressive eye contact. :D

Thanks Valerie. I'm sure I will eventually. :) The silly thing is, I bought my Nook about 2 years ago. It's NOT THAT OLD! I bought it about a month before first color one came out, though...so it was old within a month. :) I prefer the e-ink because I don't have back-lighting though.

Ha! I got the cord to work! Maybe I need to wiggle it just right? Or maybe nth time's the charm. Maybe I'll never know. But I got my PDF file on there! :D

When Jean-Paul Sartre wrote his first novel, Nausea, Albert Camus wrote a generally favorable review saying that Sartre had great potential as a novelist. But he began with the following introduction

"A novel is never anything but a philosophy expressed in images. And in a good novel the philosophy has disappeared into the images. But the philosophy need only spill over into the characters and action for it to stick out like a sore thumb, the plot to lose its authenticity, and the novel its life.

"Nonetheless, a work that is to endure cannot do without profound ideas. And this secret fusion of experience and thought, of life and reflection on the meaning of life, is what makes the great novelist (as we see him in a work like Man’s Fate, for example).

"The novel in question today is one in which the balance has been broken, where the theories do damage to the life. Something that has happened rather often lately. But what is striking in La Nausée is that remarkable fictional gifts and the play of the toughest and most lucid mind are at the same time both lavished and squandered."

What Camus said here about Nausea can also be said of Pullman's trilogy. The novels, especially the last, were simply drowned in Pullman's brand of didactics. I agree there was too much of it in the Chronicles of Narnia or, at the very least, it was too obvious. But Lewis welded it smoothly to the plot in the form of allegory more than lecture.

Incidentally, the sequel to Camus' review of Nausea was a scathing review by Sartre of Camus' nove Myth of Sisyphus. Later the two met and became fast friends until after WW-II. They parted ways when Sartre became a revolutionary Communist (a la Stalinist) and Camus was strongly opposed to even capital punishment.

60: I have a giant tangle of USB cables that I'm pretty sure is a sentient tentacle monster. It's brute strange and wiggling power makes it difficult to untangle and I'm pretty sure it voraciously consumes my staples and paperclips.

Don't say the "S" word! Eeeeep!

I hope your alpha female posturing did the trick. It sure would get ME to behave. :P

>65 patito-de-hule: Yes, that's a good example. After reading The Darkside of Narnia I can say that I agree with Pullman that Narnia has a Message that is too blatant (though it was more subtle than Pullman's); however, I do not agree with his interpretation of the story.

>66 Ape: She hasn't repeated the offence since then. :)

I tend be oblivious to ignore messages unless they are hitting me over the head and screaming. The Dark Materials I was able to take as just a fantasy trilogy as with most of the Narnia books except The Last Battle which really pissed me off with its blatant message and what happened to the kids. It was one of the few books I wanted to throw across the room.

It seems that The Last Battle is the one that Pullman despises the most. I haven't read that one recently (I'll get to it soon, hopefully....I've been reading the series this year), so I want to wait and form an adult opinion of it.

I tend to dislike books that portray one group (ethnic, religious, etc.) in a poor light. That pisses me off a lot more disappointing endings. Though I'm not a huge fan of those, either. ;)

68: I tend to be the same way. Being vague about an idea you want to express will fall on deaf ears (eyes?) here. The problem is when things are left up to interpretation I tend to view things ENTIRELY different than what the author intended. Unless I'm at least given what the topic being discussed is, then I will totally interpret a book as being something about, say, lizard mating rituals.

When I'm reading fiction I'm usually choosing ones I can read with my brain off, that way I conserve energy until I read a book on one of my favorite science topics. :)

I tend to be overly analytic. :)

I'm like that with people. My neighbor drives a 'woody' station wagon I'm convinced he's a surfer and part-time serial killer. Some might say I have an overactive imagination, but I'm pretty sure that only applies to children and, as an adult, it makes me either analytical or paranoid. :P

I'm not sure you can be overly analytic, Rachel. A novel is to be enjoyed, and if you enjoy taking things apart then that's how you enjoy a novel.

But go back to Camus' first sentence that I quoted above:

"A novel is never anything but a philosophy expressed in images.

What is philosophy but a point of view on how life works. How the world works. How reality works. And when a person writes, it is an expose of a part of their point of view on how things work, at least if the author believes his/her novel was worth writing. And if not, then no one will find it worth reading. It is but gibberish.

Even the characterization of a protagonist/antagonist is an indication of how the author thinks that character would act under the given assumptions. But Pullman was too intent on the didactic portions of his novel. He had numerous passages to explain and defend his philosophy rather than let the story make the point. Did you read His Dark Materials to learn Pullman's philosophy or to enjoy the story. I read to enjoy, and I found myself bored in several passages almost to the point of putting the book down.

But it was a good story without the explicit didactics.

Rachel, I hate cats. So there!!! ;)

One word.

eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=cord+original+n...

Liking this discussion of novels and philosophizing very much. When I read the Narnia books, as a kid, I simply ignored all the stuff that I could tell was 'about' something 'adult' and 'important' and got on with the story - I thought Aslan was a bit of a wetsop actually, and skipped anything preachy. I'm agnostic through and through - not atheist as I consider that just as extreme as fundamental, my way only, attitudes so the last book was considerably weakened by Pullman's agenda for me as well. As an adult it wasn't as easy to ignore. A shame really. But I guess without his fever to make his point he might not have written the thing. On the whole Tolkien does the best job at backing off and letting ethical behaviour speak for itself.

I completely concur that the best books - including the genres - have some deep and resonant content. I think of the intensity of Anne Rice's early vampire books, shortly after her daughter died (of leukemia).

Dad: I remember how we used to catch you petting Stupid Cat...you were just sneaky about it. :p

Janet: Ooooooooo That's tempting just to get my Nook to charge at normal speed!

Lucy: I agree about Interview with a Vampire. Because the meaning was so deep to Rice, the book resonated with the readers even though they didn't know what it meant to her. I had been thinking of re-reading that so I can continue with the rest of the series at some point.

I also believe every novel type can be deeply meaningful. I understand why some people don't LIKE fantasy or YA lit, etc., but when they laugh at it and say that it's meaningless fluff, I just shake my head sadly at the things people miss because they don't open their eyes. :) Of course, not all books are meaningful...but the best certainly are!

Though many books are more meaningful than just the surface layer, I also agree with some statements here that it can be fun to just let go of the deeper meaning every once in a while and just enjoy the story. Sometimes I'm just not very much in the mood for deeper meanings and just want to read to relax. Though then later I usually regret not getting everything out of the book...

In general, I'm against restricting children's reading for political/religious reasons. I think in the case of Narnia and His Dark Materials kids will probably enjoy it more as fun stories than really get into the deeper issues. Besides, I just feel that extensive reading makes kids more understanding of other views than theirs and helps them to become open-minded adults. I just think children should be allowed to inform themselves and to make their own decisions, without their parents being overly restrictive.

And on a final note: I think your cat feels neglected *nods* you need to do more petting and less reading, that's obvious ;) If I were a cat of a librarythinger, I'd probably sabotage their reading as well :)

Oh, I think the Pullman trilogy is perfectly acceptable for children. I never had my reading restricted when I was a kid, and I turned out ok. I read some TRASH too! Like Christopher Pike. Yick! :)

ETA: Actually, I think of myself of having read lots and lots of Christopher Pike, but now that I think about it, I probably didn't read that many of his books. Maybe 10 or so, before I got too scandalized by the teenaged sex and gave up on them (on my own). :)

Also, as I've said in other threads, I think literary critics go a bit far over-analyzing symbolism etc. I try to figure out what the author wanted us to see, without reading too far into "symbolism" that wasn't really intended.

2012 Adult Book 57: Grimm's Fairy Tales ed. Barnes and Noble, by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (7/23/2012)

Reason for Reading: In preparation for Coursera's free internet course on Fantasy and Science fiction

My Review
In the early 1800's, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected German folklore and published it as Children's and Household tales, claiming that the stories were purely German in origin and that they had not been modified by the brothers. Due to complaints of inappropriate (sexual) content for children, the stories underwent several bowdlerizations and modifications by Wilhelm Grimm. This collection is an anonymous translation of one of the later (more child-friendly) editions. This is a long book of folklore, and should not be read by someone who's simply interested in reading some familiar fairy tales. Such people will find this book repetitive and tedious. Those people should probably read one of the shorter books that only has the "best" tales. This book would be interesting to people who are interested in the folklore more than the fairy tales.

Personal Note
In my attempt to complete these tales by a certain date, I overwhelmed my senses to the point that I was actually dreaming in the narrative style of Jacob Grimm. And I don't mean I had fairy tale dreams...I had the usual dreams, they were actually NARRATED in the terse, matter-of-fact style of Grimm's fairy tales. For anyone interested, there's a recent New Yorker article on the Grimm Brothers: The Lure of the Fairy Tale. I've made comments on it, and on the introduction to the Barnes and Noble edition of the tales, on my blog.

>79 The_Hibernator: "I think literary critics go a bit far over-analyzing symbolism etc. I try to figure out what the author wanted us to see, without reading too far into "symbolism" that wasn't really intended."

Do you remember what Prof. Sugnet said in your first Shakespeare course at UM? Of critics that find things that he never intended in his writing, he said that that's important too because some of those things are things he unconsciously implied. And it's important to know also what other people see in his own writing and in the writing of others. That's why I always enjoy reading subjective criticism of important works--there's just so much in them that others, including myself, do not see.

I used to tell you of your essays that there's no right or wrong to this stuff; it's all what the story makes you think.

In other words, symbolism is the ultimate in subjectivity.

>81 patito-de-hule: I recently read an essay which claimed that Bella Swann (in Twilight) went back to her old dance studio because she was entering a "womb" of safety, and in that "womb" of safety she could be strong and not a frail daisy of a female character. I don't think reading that essay improved me in ANY way, shape, or form. :p

ETA: Though I know you've never read the books nor have you seen the movies, so I guess you won't appreciate the preposterousness of claiming that Twilight had symbolic death depth. (Note the REAL LIFE Freudian slip there.)

ETA #2 with TWILIGHT SPOILER!!! Apparently, the fact that she was immediately squashed like a bug and had to be saved by her precious Edward isn't to be taken into account when we consider the womb-bequeathed strength of the dance studio.

ETA #3: Darryl, if you're reading this, I volunteer to write a 25-paged report on the womb symbolism in Twilight if I fail your next quiz. But you have to promise to read and review it.

LOL

Perhaps the writer of that particular essay isn't very good. I've read neither the essay nor Twhilght and I have no idea what you're talking about. But critics being "over-analytical" is a rather broad swipe. When I see post-modern criticism and deconstructive criticism, I know I'm not going to get much out of it. But sometimes the deconstructionists make a good point.

Adichie's The Sun is Half Yellow, is broken into four parts:
Early Sixties
Late Sixties
Early Sixties
Late Sixties

A critic, especially a deconstructive critic, is likely to ask why did she do that? It's a valid question. My answer, that she hadn't sufficiently built up the characters in chronological sequence to make the story at the end of part three fit them, is simplistic but reasonable. She did need some of the character creation in part 2 to make the incident viable and meaningful.

But also a question also arises why she structured the story into chapters about Master, Olanna, Richard, Ugwu, Olanna, Richard, Ugwu, Olanna, Richard, Ugwu, Olana, Richard, ... And why did she change the sequence in chapter 13 (skipping Ugwu, then skipping Olanna)? It's a legitimate question. But is the second part of that question getting "over-analytic"? Probably, but . . .

This is my point. Not that every critic's ideas are important or significant. Yet reading the critic we disagree with may still make us think about what's wrong with this story or what's not really wrong with it. (or right)

Hmmm, I thought it was pretty clear why she skipped Ugwu at that point in time....

But do you think we can analyze the Twilight essay and divulge deeper meanings unintended by the writer?

#85: We could do that. Or at least look for deeper meanings not consciously intended by the writer. I guess when you analyze an analysis, it would be a metaanalysis. Sort of like the novel The World Was Silent When We Died is a metanovel within the novel Half of a Yellow Sun.

Rachel, your use of death for depth is not a true parapraxis (commonly called a Freudian slip) because a parapraxis involves a subconscious, repressed motive. Obviously you were fully conscious of what you were saying.

To anyone trying to make sense of Rachel's and my discussion: You can't. We've had years and years of experience arguing with each other just to figure out what points we can make against the other. It just makes us both feel more intelligent.

Dad: You may think it is obvious that I was conscious of what I was saying, but you would be obviously incorrect. It actually WAS a slip, that I discovered upon proofreading and thought was funny enough to include as a strike through. I believe that means I have won this argument for you made an incorrect assumption and used the unfortunate word "obvious."

>85 Ape: Do you want to Stephen? That would be SUCH a fun project! Oh let's!

88: Sort of...but I'm afraid of analysing now, or saying much of ANYTHING on this thread, for fear of having my subconscious thoughts discovered. The ones that I'm conscious of are scary enough already...

Well, Stephen, that's what my thread is for--Jungian psychoanalysis of people I meet on the internet. In fact, my profile is a fake. I'm actually currently working on a PhD in psychology and this is my dissertation project. Shhhh! Don't tell anyone.

I knew it! And I bet the cats were in on it too.

Yeah, Othello's a pretty sneaky one....Even my dad's in on it. I made him up. I just created another fake account and started posting on my thread with it to liven up the psychoanalysis talk.

Now that I didn't expect.

I thought he was a robot.

Ah! you mean one of those chatbots that convinces you it's human and then asks for your credit card number? would you fall for that?

Well, your dad does seem very convincing...

:P

Is that convincing or conniving?

Just wondering what your real thoughts are.

Please send your answer along with your credit card number.

It turns out that both Rachel and her dad are robots...*shudders*.

Well, it is somewhat suspicious that two people on one internet site claim to be related... Somehow I always imagine everybody to live in different parts of the world, only gathering online, never meeting each other for real...

Must be robots indeed!

There is actually another father, daughter duo in our 75 group, but I'm pretty sure they are humans. ;)

Noooooo... Must be robots as well... Hmmm, maybe everybody on this site is really a robot. Heck, maybe I'm a robot! :P

Creepy, isn't it? I'm the one who had to read all her books and make sure they were suitable for a child with her delicatte psyche. And she read a lot of them. All those books by Christopher Pike! Yuck!!! But there were cute little talking animal stories like Animal Farm. Had to find a bowdlerized version of Hamlet for her. Yikes!!!

Then she went off to college and majored in hibernation. Well, at least it will be a useful major when she retires. Speaking of which, it's time to do some hibernating myself.

G'night, all.

96: My real thought? I...don't seem to have...a pre-programmed response for that. I...am at a loss as to what to say.

Britt: My aunt's around here somewhere, too...but she's "too shy" too post. :)

Wow, a whole family affair. Way cool! :)

With things I've posted on this site I think I'd do everything my power to keep my family from ever joining this site...

Me too...

And friends...

And anyone else I know IRL...

My parents are not so technologically advanced, so I really don't think they'll ever join :)
And most of the rest of my family is very strictly religious, they don't do a whole lot of modern technology, and the only book they read is the bible...

I'd say one of the main reasons I have a user name is to keep my mom from knowing stuff she really doesn't need to know. More than likely she doesn't have the technological savvy to find out and I do love her, but she can be oddly critical over certain things.

I'm pretty much the same online or in real life so I don't think I'd mind friends or family seeing my threads....
My husband doesn't read so no threat there anyways.
And my kid is 2 so he can't hack the computer if he tried. :) So if I wanted to keep my stuff private, it wouldn't be hard to achieve.

>109 jolerie: Me too. Anything I post on the internet I'd be willing to talk about in a face-to-face conversation. In fact, I'm probably less free on the internet for fear of offending people who can't see my facial expressions. Sometimes the written language isn't the best way to communicate sticky ideas. :)

My family thinks of me as 'the shy and quiet one who never says a word,' due to my social anxiety issues and general lack of confidence in myself. I suspect they would be shocked if they fund out I could string more than 4-5 words together...online...

I think I'm also pretty much the same online as in real life, maybe a bit less shy, especially with new people, but generally I wouldn't mind my parents or friends finding me here and reading the things I've been writing.

I think my mom might actually like a website like this one; she also reads a lot and we often read the same books (at the same time or after each other) and discuss those. But she's somewhat technologically challenged :) She learned to e-mail back when I was studying abroad (she also travelled by plane, and outside of Europe, for the first time in her life to come visit me, even though she always said she would never go by plane in her life :) ). Recently she bought a mobile phone and is now discovering how to send text messages, which is a lot of fun :)

I wouldn't say I act differently online, only less reserved. I have far more good-conversation friends online than IRL because I'm not very good at face-to-face interaction. I'm the black sheep in the family, most of whom don't "do" social media at all. Or read for leisure. They are mostly professional people who find me frivolous and perpetually 12 years old. I fear my online presence would shatter their idea of me.

I also like to keep my online world separate because I like having my privacy, as it were.

I'm pretty much the same in RL as in real life and have tried on a number of occasions to get friends to join. No luck yet, though. :)

Well, I find that quite often I am much more shy here, as I find it sometimes difficult to express what I feel in writing. I agree with Hibernator that it does worry me as well that people can't see my expressions.
On top of that, even so that I am fluent in English, that what I wanted to say may is not reflected in what I have written. :)

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

Hibernator, I saw up there that you signed up for coursera as well *grin*. So far I figured out that we are three from this group.
Although this is only the first week, I quite enjoy it so far. When I saw that you were reading Grimm's fairytales I was wondering - but than again I felt that it may was just part of your Childrens/YA reading.
Once I finished my work pensum in London. I will have a little bit more time again. Due to staff-shortage I have worked far too many hours last week.

>115 drachenbraut23: Oh, are you in the Fantasy class as well, then? It should be a lot of fun. :) I am also hoping to take the one on Greek Mythology in September, but we'll see how much free time I have at that point.

I am surprised at how many people on the Coursera forum seem sincerely concerned about WHAT exactly they should be writing about, and do they have to read ALL the books, and "we only have to write 7 essays to pass." I don't understand why they care so much about "passing" a free internet course. Hahaha. I thought the point was to have fun learning without stress.

I looked up coursera... Glad you guys mentioned it, it seems like a great site. And I love free internet university courses :) Now I'm a happy Britt :)

I agree with you. I am viewing this as something to have fun, to use it as a platform to improve my written English skills aaaaaaand to maybe :) become a bit more critical with fiction. I am amazed by the interpretations people are coming up with and there were a view people who spoke slightly snobbish and down in regards to us Germans - I just assume they never met any *grin*.

You say there is a Mythology one in September? I think I will check that one out as well. I am off work during September and when I am back to work in October my shifts are back to my normal 52 hours week. This time it was so busy and so many people off sick that I ended up working 95 hours during my first 8 days in London.

Britt84- nice to have a happy Britt :). I am quite happy as well that Madeline posted this link, as I quite enjoy this course.

My summer break from university is now, so I've also signed up for the fantasy course, it'll be nice to have something to do the coming weeks :)
And for me it's also really just for fun; I used to study literature in high school and during my bachelor; I'm currently studying neurology and have abandoned literature, but I like to keep up with my reading and thinking about books. It's one of the reasons why I joined Librarything, and doing coursework on literature for fun sounds great...

Well, it's the Greek and Roman mythology one...it starts September 24 and runs for several weeks. But it would be fun to have others in the group, if you DO have time. :) There's another LibraryThinger who has signed up for that class, too. (He's in the Fantasy one as well.)

Britt: A lot of the courses look tempting, don't they? :)

Woops, I double posted with you Britt. Since you've signed up for the class, you can join me on this discussion thread which I started for the class. The class forum is very interesting, but it's just FLOODED, and I thought a smaller group discussion of the materials might be interesting too. :) It's also a good place to point out interesting threads on the forum that someone might have missed because they didn't happen to look at the forum at exactly the right time of day...

Yes, so many nice courses... But one can't study everything, I'm afraid :) The Greek and Roman mythology one also seems interesting, though I've had a lot of classes on mythology already, so it might be a lot of familiar stuff for me. I am planning to take the 'Modern and Contemporary American Poetry' course though; I have never really studied poetry much, and I would very much like to read poetry in a course setting in stead of reading it all by myself...

Thanks for your invite to your discussion thread, I'll keep an eye on it.

2012 Adult Book 58: Wildflowers from Winter, by Katie Ganshert (7/23/2012)

Reason for Reading: It's the ACFW bookclub pick for August. I'm leading the discussion so had to read it a bit in advance to prepare my discussion questions.

My Review
Bethany Quinn is voraciously pushing her way to the top of an architect career in Chicago when she gets an unexpected call from her estranged mother. Bethany’s childhood friend (also estranged) has a family emergency, and Bethany’s grandfather has heart problems. Bethany reluctantly takes time off work to visit her hometown—a place she hoped to never see again. There, with the help of a renewed friendship and a rather grumpy, but handsome, man she learns that the world isn’t as dreary as she once thought it was. I loved this book. I could easily relate to Bethany’s problems and personality, so she seemed so real and personal to me. Evan, the handsome farmer, was annoying and endearing at the same time; therefore, the budding romance had a realistic tension. Bethany’s religious epiphany was a little sudden, granted, but it was set up well. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes Christian romance.

2012 Adult Book 59: I Shall Not Hate, by Izzeldin Abuelaish (7/23/2012)

Reason for Reading: Reading Globally Middle Eastern theme read

My Review
In this heartbreaking (yet strangely uplifting) memoir, Abuelaish relates his life—growing up in poverty in a Palestinian refugee camp, slaving so that he could raise enough money to go to medical school, and his rising career coincident with his growing family. Despite losing 3 daughters and a niece to an Israeli military action, Abuelaish preaches that love, not hate, is required to bring peace. Abuelaish’s story is engrossing and tragic, yet I couldn’t help but think about all of the suffering Palestinians who don’t have a voice. If life is so hard for someone who has powerful connections, what must it be like for those who have no one to help them? This is a must-read for people who think Palestinians are all about terrorism and throwing rocks—people who likely wouldn’t touch the book with a 10-foot pole. It’s also a fantastic read for someone who is sympathetic to both sides of the conflict, but who wants to hear a personal story. I DO wish I could read the story of someone who isn’t highly connected, but this is a fantastic start. And Abuelaish’s enduring message of love make a monumental memoir.

2012 Children's or YA Book 54: Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian, by Eoin Colfer (7/25/2012)

Reason for Reading: The FINAL book in the Artemis Fowl series. At least it better be. :) I suspect that he's going to write a spin-off series, but that's just my own thoughts on the subject.

My Review
In this FINAL book of the Artemis Fowl series, Arty, Holly, Butler and friends must save the world from Opal’s last stand. The plot was fun, humorous, and a little silly. Overall, a good ending to a good series. This book isn’t up to scratch with the earlier books, but it’s better than some of the later books in the series. You should certainly read it if you’ve gotten this far in the series already! From the character development in this story, I’m GUESSING (personal theory) that Colfer plans on writing a spin-off series starring Miles & Beckett. If he did, I’d certainly check it out.

2012 Children's or YA Book 55: A Bottle in the Gaza Sea, by Valerie Zenatti (7/26/2012)

Reason for Reading: Reading Globally Middle Eastern Theme Read.

My Review
As a method of self-defense against increasing Israeli-Palestinian violence, feisty 17-year-old Israeli Tal writes a note and sticks it in a bottle. She asks her brother to throw the bottle in the Gaza sea, with hopes that she’ll meet a Palestinian girl and somehow put a personality to the people she knows must be behind the fence. What she gets is 20-year-old Naim, a scathingly sarcastic, but nice-under-the-surface Palestinian man. The book is a series of emails between the two, and as their understanding of each other grows, so does their affection for one another. This was a really sweet book. It was silly, as are all teenage romances, but actually believable (if you have faith in coincidence). I was surprised while reading because I’d originally thought the author was Israeli, writing for Israeli teens—but the book is written by a French woman who lived in Israel when she was younger. The target audience is therefore teens who do not necessarily know all the background in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. This is something I appreciated, because I felt like I understood what they were talking about when they mentioned political and historical events. This is a quick, enjoyable read.

2012 Adult Book 60: Grimm's Household Stories, by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm; Lucy Crane translation (7/27/2012)

Reason for Reading: Fantasy and Science fiction Coursera text: week 1

My Review
This is a short, illustrated collection of Grimm’s folktales. All of the most famous of Grimm’s tales are in there, without too many of the redundant same-story-but-slightly-different tales that you’ll inevitably come across in a longer collection. The illustrations are enjoyable. The translation has a few small errors (apparently), but overall I think it’s a good place to start with the Grimm brothers.

Personal Note:
I totally forgot to mention that I have my Coursera essay on the Grimm's tales published on my blog: http://rachelreadingnthinking.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-brothers-grimm-household-...

2012 Children's or YA Book 56: Renegade, by Ted Dekker (7/27/2012)

Reason for Reading: I want to finish up this series because it's related to a set of books that I have been really appreicating

My Review
When Bilos betrays the team and disappears into the Books, Johnis, Silvie, and Darsal must rescue him. This is a really difficult book for me to review. I’m a huge fan of Ted Dekker, and I’m reading these books because they seem to be the glue that holds together his loosely related books: The Circle Trilogy, The Paradise Trilogy, and the stand-alone book Skin. However, I feel that this series of books suffers from two fatal flaws: 1) Dekker’s trying to be too clever and 2) Dekker’s hammering us over the head with a Message. The other series make sense on their own, this series does not. It’s wildly jumping around from unreal concept to unreal concept, without enough explanation or continuity. The ONLY reason I have an inkling of what’s going on is because I’ve read the other books. And that’s not as it should be. Furthermore, Dekker’s Message is much less subtle in this book than it is in his other works (possibly since this one was meant for teenagers), and the story gets lost in its Message at time. I will continue through this series because I want to know what happens for the sake of the other series. But I’m no longer enjoying it.

Nice reviews, Rachel. I particularly liked I Shall Not Hate, which I loved when I read it last year, and A Bottle in the Gaza Sea. I agree with you; it would be nice to read a book of narrative nonfiction about more ordinary Palestinians, in addition to I Shall Not Hate.

Another recent Palestinian memoir I loved was Once Upon a Country by Sari Nusseibeh. And, from the other side of the fence, Amos Oz's A Tale of Love and Darkness is equally superb. I think I gave 5 stars to all three books.

Thanks for the recommendation Darryl! I probably won't be able to get to Once Upon a Country before the theme read is over, but I'll keep it on my to-read list. :) In fact, I'm beginning to despair of getting the entire Cairo trilogy finished before the theme read is over and I have to keep reminding myself that I can continue reading the trilogy even if there's no theme read. :D

Yea! I just started the Hot Author August thread!

Yeah! Goodie goodie... I'd already been looking for hot authors... And I added pretty pictures to the thread! My first attempt at adding pictures, so I'm veryvery proud of myself :)

Way to knock so many reviews out at once! :)
I have the Artemis Fowl series sitting on my shelves, but I didn't even realize there was another book that was released. I thought I had bought the entire set, but now I'm thinking that I'm wrong. Gotta start on those one of these days!

July 2012 Magazines

New Scientist


The Economist


Furthermore, I posted some comments on the three newsweeklies that I've tried out on my blog:
http://rachelreadingnthinking.blogspot.com/2012/07/newsweeklies-or-monthlies-whi...

I commented on an article I read in the 7Jul Economist here:
http://rachelreadingnthinking.blogspot.com/2012/07/is-collection-of-biometric-da...

And on an article I read in the 14Jul Economist here:
http://rachelreadingnthinking.blogspot.com/2012/07/scientific-funding-where-do-w...

Finally, I commented on an article I read in the 16Jun issue of New Scientist here:
http://rachelreadingnthinking.blogspot.com/2012/07/creativity.html

Valerie: I decided to try out saving my reviews until the end of the week. Thought I might "waste" less time on the internet that way. :) This SHOULD be the last book in the Artemis series...it just came out last month.

Shhhhh, no time on the internet is 'wasted.' At least, that is why I try to convince myself.

I think I'm missing the last 2 books and wouldn't have realized that if you didn't post your review! Another excuse to buy more books? Maybe. I should read the ones I have first and decide. :)

Hi Rachel, I love your Hot August Authors Theme, and I have added a couple of pictures. As you will see, I didn't have much to work with when it came to my planned male authors!

Stephen--Of course not! Never! Just because I don't have a real life doesn't mean my internet time is wasted!

Valerie--Probably ought to go ahead and read the first 6 before you buy the last 2! They'll still be in print when you finish. ;)

Judy--Thanks for the pix Judy! This is a fun theme. :)

Everyone--If anyone was interested in following my Paradise Lost notes, I've moved them to the following thread:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/140583

My dad (patito-de-hule) and Jonathan (libraryteen) will be joining me on my quest to understand, so a separate thread seemed best.

Cheers!

Real lives are overrated, they require physical movement and the expenditure of energy. This whole internet thing is so much more efficient. Granted there are many aspects of life that some people claim are lost, like many of the intricacies of communication, the intimacy of human contact, and general exposure to sunlight, but obviously those people are drunkards.

Ah! I know! I am breaking fast with a couple of Muslim friends tonight (at exactly 8:42pm!). They even cooked for me. What a drag. :p

talado

Hehe

¿El talador se ha talado?

excusi pojalusta, ya ni ponimayu po-espanski.

Ма я не понемаю поруский. Parle italiano?

That's not very convincing when you say it in Russian :)

I'm convinced!

I agree Britt! Plus, I've already exhausted my foreign languages and he's got dozens more to choose from. It's not fair!

I tried to figure out how to say I didn't understand Italian in Hebrew, but I'm not that skilled. ;)

Wow, how'd you get the Cyrillic font?

2012 Adult Book 61: Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson (7/30/2012)

Reason for Reading: It was one of the top 5 books in LibraryThing's recommended list for me. :)

My Review
When 16-year-old David Balfour meets his estranged uncle for the first time, he is shocked by the man's cruelty. Soon, Balfour has been kidnapped and he must rescue himself and travel back to the town of his uncle to claim his inheritance. This is an exciting little book...not quite up to scratch with Treasure Island, but still has quite an adventure. It would probably be a fun book for teenagers to read, if they like classics (or if you want to thrust classics upon them).

2012 Adult Book 62: The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East, by Sandy Tolan (8/4/2012)

Reason for Reading: I realized I know much less than I should about this politically vital conflict and am enjoying learning more about it. I read this for the Reading Globally Middle Eastern Literature theme read.

My Review
Ostensibly, this is the (true) biography of the friendship between the Israeli woman Dalia Eshkenazi and the Palestinian man Bashir Khairi. However, the book also focuses strongly on background information--providing a wonderful history of the Israel-Palestine conflict since the 1940's. I was hugely pleased by this book for two reasons. First, the friendship between Dalia and Bashir was touching because they both had such strong nationalistic feelings. Somehow, despite their very different views, they were able to remain on good terms for many years. That's touching to me because many books with this let's-make-peace message tend to be about people who are all about love and peace and aren't as strongly influenced by their negative emotions as Dalia and (especially) Bashir. This is a friendship that was difficult to maintain, and yet it prevailed. The second reason I loved this book is because of the wonderful history of the region it provided. It's supposedly a "balanced" view--and it is, in the sense that it recommends justice (and sacrifice) be made by both sides. However, I'd say the book tended to be sympathetic towards to Palestinians. This SLIGHT bias is necessary in this case because many people in the Western world are over-exposed to the Israeli side and don't realize the Palestinians have a side at all. This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in the conflict.

>151 The_Hibernator: You can add a language bar and switch back and forth. With Windows Vista, use the Control Panel, select Regional and Language Options, select Keyboard and Language Tab, select Change Keyboards, Add, then select the language option you like. Add a language bar to your tool bars (or however you want to do it). Then you can switch back and forth. That's how I type Arabic or Spanish.

For something very occasional, like Cyrillic, I just use the character map under all programs.

Now tell me how you include those pictures of books. Do you use the img tag in HTML or is there an easier way?

http://w3schools.com/html/html_images.asp Go to this webpage and it gives you an idea of the html code for pictures...and (lower down) tells you how to resize the image.

The basic idea is: {img src="url" alt="some_text"/} (with pointy brackets instead). To get the URL of an image, right click on it and, if you have the option, click "copy image URL." I'm not sure if you have that option in explorer, though, so you might need to view the image Properties and copy the URL from there.

Nice review of The Lemon Tree, Rachel. I believe I own this book, although it isn't in my LT library, so I'll look for it later this week.

Thanks Darryl! It was really good, so I think you'll enjoy it. :)

Du kan helt jukse på dette hele språket ting ved hjelp av en Internett oversettelse nettsted. Tildelt din grammatikk vil være fryktelige, men ingen vil vite det, nå vil de?

#155 That looks a really useful website. I can do pictures but I'm never sure about resizing.

Ja. We all know about Babel translators. I put in a trial translating to Russian

"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

I then translated the Russian I got and translated to English. It came out

"The vodka is good, but the meat has gone bad."

Ha! are you making that up? You are....

I read The Lemon Tree a few years back and also really loved it. I agree--very eye opening to the injustices done to the Palestinians. Looks like you're on fire for the MidEast challenge.

That's an old joke, Rachel, dating back to the early '60's when they were doing research in search algorithms and first began to suggest their possible use in "artificial intelligence." One of the things of interest was a program that could translate between Russian and English. They were all "commies" back then.

OTOH, when you were a senior at UM, you were looking for some research material on some kind of biomedical material and came up with a Spanish Journal article. Do you remember that? I don't remember the details, but it cited someone saying (in my translation) "in the noted journal Hospital..." We plugged it into Babel and it came back "on a celebrated day in the hospital..."

The moral is that I don't trust those translators, but when I want to translate something lengthy I run it through a translator then scan the English (or Spanish) to be sure it's realistic. It's just like statistics--you always scan through everything to make sure it's realistic.

Janet: Well, yes, I've read quite a few for the MidEast Challenge (the area generally interests me so there are lots of books I wanted to read). But I STILL have not started the Cairo trilogy that everyone's been raving about, and I feel quite left out. ;)

Me either. But I'm reading a book of short stories that he wrote--fitting them in here and there between all the other reading I've (over) committed to, and enjoying them quite a bit.

You haven't started The Cairo Trilogy yet???

I love Kidnapped, I think because I love Alan. My dad read it out loud to me when I was a kid. There's a sequel, Catriona, but I think it's for completists only.

Stephen: I don't even know what language that is....I can't even begin to interpret what it might mean :p

Rhian: Glad to help! :)

Dad: I knew I'd heard that somewhere before, but couldn't remember where. That's why I figured it was something you made up. See what happens when you talk nonsense to children? We all turn out like grown-up versions of Alice trying in vain to kill the Jabberwocky with a runcible spoon.

Darryl: :(

Cynara: I might try out Catriona because I'm somewhat of a completist...but there are SO many books to read that I'll probably lose sight of that plan long before it is executed.

160: Ha! I love that. I wish I had the memory for such things, I'd store it for future reference.

168: Ummmmm, I think I hit the 'Norwegian' button on the online translator, but I barely paid attention when I did it.

You can always outsmart your dad by using computer languages. |)0 Y0|_| +|-|Ink |-|E (@n |)E(Ip|-|Er +|-|I5?

>169 Ape: Ape - Oh, it was Norwegion - well, the Scandinavian languages are very much alike anyway. I thought it was Danish.

Alle veje fører til Rom - here, a Danish one :)

> Hibernator - great Review on The Lemon Tree, another book going on to my wishlist.

Watch your language in front of my daughter!!!

Rachel, what got all this nonsense going in #'s 142-144 is you posted the cartoon (from a "protega nuestros arboles" or "protect our trees" site) with the word "talado" = "felled" or "cut down". I posted back "¿El talador se ha talado?" or "The lumberjack has been cut down?" or (to use cognates as I did in Spanish, "The chopper has gotten himself chopped?"

Yeah, GoogleTranslate has a wonderful 'language detection' feature, all you have to do is copy the sentence and it figures out which language it is for you, then translates it to English. Ah, I love technology. Granted computers have made me socially incompetent, but at least I can communicate in 64 languages. ...sort of...

This isn't the worst I've seen. I typed in the first eight lines (first full sentence) of Virgil's Aeneid and got back:

I sing of arms and the man who was the first of Troy, exiled by fate from the shores of Italy, left the Trojan was thrown much on both land and sea force of the gods bear in mind because of the anger of Juno, and many of the cruel war and suffered until he could found a city and bring the gods to Latium, whence the Latin race in Rome, the Alban fathers, and the walls of high

My fairly literal translation is
I sing of arms and of the man who first came to Italy and Lavinia from the shores of Troy, an exile by fate, much tossed about on both land and sea at the hand of the gods because of the vengeful wrath of cruel Juno, and suffered much at war as he founded the city and imported the gods to Latium, whence the Latin race, the Alban Fathers, and the walls of lofty Rome

My translation is a little too literal, but for purposes of comparison. In high school Latin I broke it up into two or three sentences. I remember my first sentence; it was "I sing of arms and of the man who first set out from the shores of Troy and came to Italy's Lavinian shore, a refugee by fate. He was..." The Latin, of course, is in dactylic hexameter. I could no way do that with English. Perhaps iambic pentameter, I don't know.

ETA "the gods" after "at the hand of" in my literal translation.

BTW, my literal translation is a little difficult because it imitates Vergil's epic style. I think that is part of the difficulty in understanding Milton--he writes in that same heroic style. Style is also a problem in translating any formal work because the same styles that work in one language don't necessarily work in another. Latin has many, many run-on sentences in all the golden age works. If you try to read the Qur'an, it is highly elliptical in Arabic and doesn't make much sense in the most literal translation, for example. The style is known as qur'an or "recitation" which is very musical.

Hi Rachel! Just stopping by to say you made Coursera sound like so much fun that I have signed up for the Greek and Roman Mythology course.

:) That's great Nora! I think several Librarythingers are signed up for it.

I wanted to sign up for it, but it was very difficult to get the required books for the course, and I could not find any online sources. :( - The course is running on a regular basis, so I will try to get the books in advance, and then take part the next time.

Hm, I hadn't started to look for the books yet! I guess I'd better get on that

Nora: I imagine your library might have them. My library has the "correct" translations, and I'm sure your library must be well-equipped too. Your library is pretty metropolitan, right?

drachenbraut: is your problem that you can't get hold of the "correct" translations? I'm sure you could enjoy the class well enough even if you read a different translation...

I kind of lucked out because I already owned the "correct" translation of most of the books.

Thanks for mentioning Coursera, Rachel. I had heard about this project earlier this year, but had forgotten to look into it more closely. I've signed up to take the Clinical Problem Solving course in January, and I'll look for other topics (preferably more literary and less medical ones) soon.

BTW, I was only kidding about The Cairo Trilogy; don't feel under any pressure to start it now, or finish it by the end of September.

Darryl, I'm more interested in the literature classes than work-related classes because I'm doing it just-for-fun. But I might change my mind and sign up for one of the biology classes at some point. :)

I knew you were kidding about The Cairo Trilogy. I'm still hoping to at least finish Palace Walk before September, but I'm not going to worry about it if I don't get to it within that time limit. You all have gotten me interested enough that the trilogy is on my "immediate" to-read list.

181: I'm more interested in the literature classes than work-related classes because I'm doing it just-for-fun.
I'm looking at the biology courses because I spend the day attached to computers so biology is just-for-fun. :-)

>179 The_Hibernator: Between my two library systems they have all but 2 of them. I might go ahead and buy some since I don't have any other translations of those works.

I have The Lemon Tree on my TBR mountain. Your rating makes me want to read it and that's a good thing since I think I almost forgot that I even owned it!

Valerie: I'm glad to encourage people to read books off of Mt. TBR. :)

Everyone: Yeah, I've disappeared because I'm on vacation visiting my parents in MN. I've been busy seeing all my friends and family and haven't had much time for reading!

Ah, I was wondering why it was so quiet. I hope you are enjoying your visit. :)

Oooh, what part of MN?

:) I'm in Richfield, but not for very much longer. I thought about contacting some of you LTers in MN, but I just didn't have enough time this time around. But I'll be back. :)

Please do!

Rachel headed back for home this morning. She will stop on her way to visit her aunt overnight. She really loves her aunt, Anne, who is even more like me than I am. Meanwhile, I'm back to doing the boring kind of things I usually do--reading Milton and other esoteric things. This afternoon, as part of my education in esoterism, I did some random Googling.

I Googled "art that revolts the sensibilities." Sounds like it should be an interesting read, and indeed it was. I pulled up articles on Dadaism, Romanticism, Revolution and Counterrevolution. . . Actually, however, I found no art that revolts the sensibilities. For that I guess I would have to google Jesse McBride or Robert Mapplethorpe.

Rachel, you inspired me while you were here and I wrote a couple of reviews of my own. If you wish to look at them, they were Albion Tourgee's A Fool's Errand and Thomas Dixon Jr's. Reconstruction Trilogy.

Ah! I'm back home in Ohio! And, apparently, I'm car-lagged because I'm exhausted but not sleepy. And I have an inexplicable craving for chocolate. Mmmmmm, chocolate.

Dad, I'll check them out when my brain has caught up with my body. Or after I eat some chocolate. Whichever comes first.

Morphi, I will next time, I promise. :)

Welcome back, Rachel! :)

Glad to see you back, Rachel. Hope you got your chocolate fix!

Thanks Judy and Stephen!

I have to say that I really appreciate everybody here on LibraryThing. Everyone here is so kind and sincere and understanding of differences of opinion. How did we luck out so much?

While I was on vacation some @$$ on GoodReads came along and started attacking me for my review of The Genesis of Science, by James Hannam (read on my blog). It really wasn't a bad review...and because GoodReads doesn't allow for half-stars, I gave it a full 4 stars. So I'm not sure why this guy cared so much. Anyway, his main intent was to slap me around a bit because he didn't agree with my review. My dad slapped him around a bit. Then @$$-bully started calling both of us names, and I had to use my magical bully-weapon: I told him he needed a little more happiness in his life and sent him my love. That shut him down.

When I was in the second grade, I learned by accident that telling bullies you love them knocks them speechles. A bully taunted me with the horrifying claim: "Rachel loves Nathan!" and I told the bully: "Of course I love Nathan! I love you too! Jesus tells us to love everyone!" That particular bully literally didn't tease me about Nathan again for YEARS. :) Ever since then, I've kept that one in my back pocket to use on annoying people. Either they're weirded out or simply chagrined--it doesn't matter as long as they go away. ;)

2012 Adult Book 63: Alice in Wonderland Norton Critical Edition, by Lewis Carroll (8/5/2012)

Reason for Reading: Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction course

My Review
This NCE contains Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and The Hunting of the Snark. I was pleased with the footnotes, which were helpful in clarifying many of Carroll's jokes. The critical information included some interesting biographies/diaries of Dodgson (Carroll), as well as a few critical essays. I was disappointed in these because although they were mostly good, the editor clearly has some negative feelings about Dodgson's morals and included many unnecessary Freudian-finger-pointing passages. If I were younger or more impressionable, I'd have been left with a very negative view of Dodgson indeed! Because of these attempts at manipulating the readers' good opinions of Dodgson, I wish I had gotten The Annotated Alice instead.

Note about the stories themselves: These were a re-read for me. Although I love Alice and really enjoyed reading the stories with footnotes (I understood them a lot better this time around!), I tend to prefer books with a little more plot development. Scandalous, I know, but what can I say?

2012 Young Adult Book 57: Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini (8/7/2012)

Reason for Reading: Fourth and final book of the Inheritance Cycle

My Review
I can't claim to actually have READ this book. I only burdened myself with it because I wanted to know how Galbatorix was killed (assuming he was, of course). I read the first 300 pages, skimmed the next 350 pages, and skipped the last 100 pages. :) I got what I wanted out of it, which is the important part. All I can really say to those of you who are interested: Paolini's writing got significantly better in this book. Still not fantastic, but he's got potential. He did a much better job of pacing (though it could have been shorter), and the style flowed better than the last two books--it was less pedantic. If you're a more patient person than me and are interested in how the story ends, I think it's worth a read. :)

2012 Adult Book 64: Agnes Grey, by Anne Bronte (8/8/2012)

Reason for Reading: Group read 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

My Review
When the Grey family begins to have financial problems, Agnes, a sheltered minister's daughter, begins life as a governess. She is shocked and appalled by how she is treated and what miracles she is expected to achieve. This book is a social commentary on the treatment of governesses and unruly children. It also touches on the charms of marrying for love instead of money. It was a quick read, but rather unexceptional.

Ugh, I've only visited Goodreads once and decided immediately that I wouldn't bother because it was plastered with so many ad spaces, but I've heard a number of horror stories associated with the site. I don't know how we managed to collect a group of people that are both incredibly passionate about books and accepting of other people's opinions, but I'm very gracious I have found a place in it.

I'm still confused about how a large group of people can tolerate my antics for such an extended period of time, but I've come to the solution that half of you are aliens studying Earthling behavior, and the other half are robots and computer AI that don't understand human emotion. I don't believe there is any other plausible explanation. :P

I guess we've already determined that I am an AI?

I think that's an awesome strategy to get people to stop being jerks. I actually tried out GR for a bit as well and it just didn't appeal to me. Found LT, love LT, and will stick with LT. This is an amazing group that is very open and willing to accept differing opinions. :)

2012 Adult Book 65: Riptide, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (8/8/2012)

Reason for Reading: It was there (audiobook)

My Review
Malin Hatch has avoided Ragged Island, Maine ever since he had witnessed a disaster there as a child. But when a treasure hunter finally convinces him that it's time to delve into the mysteries of the Ragged Island Treasure once again, he signs on as the team's physician. The team must wend their way through a booby-trapped tunnel to find the treasure. This book was a quick, light read without much substance. It's much like Douglas and Preston's other adventure novels (and rather like Michael Crichton)--a mixed team of scientists gathers for the "big find" and ends up with more than they bargained for. I felt that the characters made poor decisions throughout the book, but I guess gold has that effect on some people. If you like Preston&Child, you'll probably like this book.

2012 Adult Book 66: Dracula, by Bram Stoker (8/15/2012)

Reason for Reading: Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction Course. Listened to it on my car ride to MN. :) Didn't finish it in time for the assignment though!

My Review
This review is for the Audible Edition of Dracula, narrated by Alan Cumming et al. (Wow, I just used et al. in a review. That makes me pretty darned special.)

In this classic novel, a group of acquaintances must rid themselves of the sinister Count Dracula who has descended upon London with the eager desire to create a flock of bloodsucking fiends. This is my second reading of the novel--the first being when I was a young teenager. This time, I was impressed by Stoker's ability to set a dark mood and maintain it through the entire book. There was always some creepy fog or a terrified dog or a creepily sleep-walking woman to spook the reader. The full-cast performance was delightful. It really brought the various characters to life. The end of the book dragged for me a little because I was on a long car trip, counting down the last 6 hours in 10 minute intervals. But that's not really the fault of the book. :)

I don't know, Rachel, I can't call you an AI because you live less than an hour away from me, and could call me out on it. I'm not sure how competent robots would be as cat caretakers, so I might have to rule that out as well. An alien scientist studying Earthling behavior fits, I'm afraid. You have posted pictures of yourself, however, and I must say I am alarmed by your impeccable shape-shifting abilities. Why, if I didn't know better I'd say you looked exactly like a human! Except for one thing that gives you away: humans always have this mindless glazed-over look in their eye. Your supreme alien intelligence is quite visible and works as a dead giveaway to your otherworldliness. I just hope you deem us worthy of continued existence. If not us, then I hope the adorable kitty cats will convince you to spare our planet...

195: So I'm not sure why this guy cared so much.
I headed over to GoodReads to see... Hmm, yeah, seems religion & science is his thing, intensely, but it’s curious that he would pick a fight with your informal and generally positive review.

205: Well, I don't know if you clicked on his blog, but it looks like he LOVES to slap people around there, too. He clearly enjoys the process. *shrug* Whatever. He's gone now. :)

204: Hmmmm, I'm trying to figure out whether I should be flattered or not. *raises right eyebrow quizzically*

201: I'm not very active on GR. I like to post my reviews there because sometimes I read indie novels and I like to help out the authors by getting the reviews out. So I just post all reviews there...I've noticed a few rude people there, but this is my first direct contact with one. Overall, the structure of LT is best, even if the people weren't so awesome. :)

206: Yeah, I did, thus "intensely". I checked other reviews to see if he'd picked fights with them too, but only yours, which was at the top of the list.

I have an account at GoodReads, but I've never entered books. More graphic heavy than I prefer, and I spot checked the groups and didn't see anything compelling.

Quasimodo and Esmeralda. snigger

Edited because my unconventional punctuation made the "snigger" disappear.

208: Ha! Yes, what dad is pointing out is that we chose our GR names from characters in the same book COMPLETELY by chance. :D I guess it runs in the family

I'm thinking about rewriting that novel so that Quasimodo wins the undying (please let it be undying!) love of Esmeralda. I'm going to call it The Hunk of Notre Dame

That would be better than the Disney version. ;)

You sure?

Anyway, first I've got to finish my new version of She: An Adventure by a Haggard Rider in the Flume of Life. The title antagonist, She-who-must-be-obeyed, will be a composite of your mother and sister. I asked your mother this morning whether she felt flummoxed in the flume of life. She felt flummoxed by the word "flummox" but had no idea what a flume was. I pushed her a dictionary. Any she said of my proposed plot, "That's not a novel; that's just life." At least she's laughing.

LOL, you two bring a smile to my face and The Hunk of Notre Dame made me chuckle. :)

>210 patito-de-hule: If their love was really undying, shouldn't it be The Zombie of Notre Dame? I'd buy that book.

>214 norabelle414: WHAT?! I thought only vampires had undying love!

206: Not sure whether to be flattered or not. Crap, I think that falls under the category of 'robot that doesn't understand human emotion.'

210: I like this! Or you could write a parody where he is rather gruesome-looking in appearance but turns out to be a charming charismatic ladies' man. You can call him Quasimojo.

214/215: I'm not sure if any of the undead truly love, I think vampires lust and zombies crave.... Hmmm, well, I guess those are confused with love often so maybe it could work! :)

Crap, I think that falls under the category of 'robot that doesn't understand human emotion.'

Or maybe I was just prodding you to see how you'd respond. You'll never know, will you? he he he he

You can call him Quasimojo.

Ha!

I'm not sure if any of the undead truly love, I think vampires lust and zombies crave

Oh GASP! Oh WAIL! Please tell me you're not accusing my sparkly dream-pire Edward of feelings less noble than TRUE LOVE.

Gnashing of teeth!

Just curious--have you continued on with Paradise Lost past the intro?

Not yet. Rachel's been here in Minneapolis and just got back home. We've been thinking about other things.

217: Oh, I don't know, I'm completely unfamiliar with the Twilight series. I'm sure he was a perfect gentleman. That, or he put the narrorator in a vampire trance and instructed them to leave out the unsavory details. *Shudders*

Roni: I'll probably be starting book 1 this week.

Finis

THIS THREAD WILL BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT EDITION.