Nickelini's 2008

My goal this year is to actually read fewer books (I usually read 80-something). I want to read longer books, and I want to read more closely and deeply, and reflect on what the author has taken all that time and effort to put down on the page. I've come up with the arbitrary goal of 60, but it's a very amorphous target. This year, for me, it's all about quality, and not at all about quantity.

January 2008

1. Ghost Map: the Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic-and How it Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World, by Steven Johnson
2. Confessions of an English Opium Eater, by Thomas De Quency
3. Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
4. Burger's Daughter, by Nadine Gordimer
5. Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare
6. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte (reread)

February 2008

7. Writing About Literature, Judith Woolf
8. Cranford, by Elizabeth Gaskell
9. King Lear, by William Shakespeare
10. Jane Austen, by Carol Shields (reread)
11. The London Scene, by Virginia Woolf
12. Measure for Measure, by William Shakespeare
13. The Winter's Tale, by William Shakespeare

March 2008

14. Bleak House, by Charles Dickens
15. Lady Audley's Secret, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
16. The Tempest, by William Shakespeare
17. Indigo: or Mapping the Waters, by Marina Warner
18. Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
19. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Great line-up of books, Nickelini. Well done.

I am also trying to read more Classics as my education/work has been intensely in the sciences and my literary education was confined to school days and the occasional Russian or English foray into the 19th Century.

Did you listen to or read the Shakespeare? I listened to 4 plays of his plays this year on an excellent audio series that explained the nuances and historical context. It was really very enjoyable.

I'm just finishing off two university English lit classes, one on Shakespeare and one on Victorian lit. I read the Shakespeare plays in great detail, and watched the BBC productions of the plays. I'm definitely one of those readers who needs the nuances and historical context spelled out for her! Luckily, I had an excellent professor.

So did you find the lit classes demystified and decoded the books or ruined the moment for you?

I enjoy analysing classics, but sometimes it can alienate you from the enjoyment??

I find that studying literature--whether in an English, Humanities or History class--always enriches the text. I especially like finding nuanced meanings that I usually just gloss over when I read on my own. I've never had it ruin the moment or my enjoyment of the book. If it did, I'd stop studying and just keep reading :-)

Great books! Nickelini. I 'watch' this group from time to time (I'm over on the 75 book group) and check in with names I recognize. Oh, you must be an English major! I did both of those classes in the 90s (and, you see, I'm only finishing now:-). We read nine plays in the Shakespeare class (very intense). I'd be interested in the novels you had to read for the Victorian lit (you tell me yours and I'll tell you mine:-) Thankfully, I'm on the home stretch now.

Hey, Avaland

And I "watch" for the names that I recognize in the 75 book group. If I end up reading more than I planned, I'll move over there. I set my goal lower this year because I want to read more deeply and journal about my reading, rather than speed read through everything. So who knows how much progress through my TBR list I'll make this year.

Anyway, yes, English major, with an extended minor in the humanities. The texts we read in Victorian lit were Confessions of an English Opium Eater, Jane Eyre, Cranford, Bleak House, Lady Audley's Secret, and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. What did you read?

Last year I used the 50 Book Group to list my reading, and only updated the list at the end of every month. I had planned to do the same this year, but now I see that some people actually write reviews here and I find them very interesting. So I'm going to try to write little blurbs, or little mini-reviews. After all, one of my reading goals was to be more reflective in my reading, so this will add to that (I already keep a reading journal, but I don't write about every book).

The Ghost Map: This non-fiction book had been on my reading list for at least a year, but I thought now was a good time to read it as I was preparing to take a course in Victorian British literature. It tells the story of a cholera outbreak in the mid-19th century, and how a couple of brilliant men figured out that it wasn't miasma ("bad air") that caused it, but feces in the drinking water. An interesting story, not the best non-fiction I've ever read, but worth my time.

The Confessions of an English Opium Eater, by Thomas De Quincey. This has been on my to-read list for a few years, so when I saw it on the reading list for the Victorian lit course, I was chuffed. It was, however, a disappointment. The writing was rather dense, and I really disliked the narrator (apparently an autobiography of De Quincy himself). Too pompous for my tastes, and I really couldn't get past his extreme racism. I know when you read period literature, you have to take it in context, but it really bothered me. Anyway, the whole narrative is about how he succumbed to the seduction of opium, but in the end--through his inner strength--kicked the habit. So I asked my prof: "did he really stay off opium?" and she laughed "No! He was a raving addict until the day he died." So much for De Quincey's credibility.

What's left to say about Shakespeare that hasn't already been said? I loved Hamlet, King Lear and The Tempest. Twelfth Night and Winter's Tale had their moments, and Measure for Measure was most unpleasant. And that's all I have to say about that. (I think I just quoted Forest Gump.)

I've already left a review of Burger's Daughter at the book's main page, and on my Reading Globally thread.

Jane Eyre. Again, what can be said that hasn't been said already? My best friend read this book when we were 14, and I didn't know what it was about but thought it looked waaay boring. I finally read it in 2006, and agree that at 14 I would have found it boring. But not now! I loved it. Sure, it has problems. The whole thing with the cousins is just silly (don't want to be specific and give away any spoilers). None of the men in the novel can speak--they only know how to preach. And I find Rochester to be just nasty. But it was interesting rereading it for this class. My prof is into something called "thing theory," which I also find fascinating. As with most Victorian novels, there are a lot of things in this book, and they are all imbued with meaning. I read one academic article about the mahogany furniture in the novel and what it has to say about colonialism and slavery. I wrote a paper about a plate that is mentioned in one paragraph and it was fun to see what could be made out of it. I got a lot more out of it the second time, reading it so closely for class. It was a lot of fun. I still maintain all my same original criticisms, but that doesn't mean I don't love the book.

If you've read it, have you noticed that Jane is always hiding and watching people? That went by me on the first read, but once my prof pointed it out, I noticed it was prevalent throughout the book.

Cranford, by Elizabeth Gaskell.

This is what I call a quiet novel . . . no great overarching tragic themes, no horrific events . . . quite a pleasant place to visit actually. The novel is about a group of women who live in the village of Cranford and all practice "elegant economy." Most of them are struggling to make ends meet and have few financial options open to them, but at the same time they are endeavoring to maintain their genteel class position. Another Victorian novel packed full of "things" (see Jane Eyre, above), the things in the novel define who they are, and also show the modern world encroaching on the backwater hamlet of Cranford.

Jane Austen, by Carol Sheilds. This was a quick reread for me. I picked it up after viewing Miss Austen Regrets on Masterpiece earlier this year. I couldn't remember why Jane Austen died so young (according to this biography, they don't know for sure but suspect it was breast cancer).

The London Scene, by Virginia Woolf. A very small but rather delightful little book. This is a collection of essays about London that Woolf wrote for a magazine in the early 1930s. Of all the things she had to say, the tidbit that sticks out most for me is that at the time, umbrella handles were made from the bones of mammoths that had been dug out of the frozen Russian tundra. The archaeologist in me just weeps at the thought.

Bleak House, by Charles Dickens. This is probably my top read so far this year. The novel is one thousand sprawling pages that completely drew me in. Dicken's language is evocative and simply a delight to read. Can't wait to read my next Dickens book.

Lady Audley's Secret, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. I've already discussed this in the March Theme Read thread over at the Girlybooks group, and I wrote a review on the book's page.

Indigo, or Mapping the Waters, by Marina Warner. I had never heard of this book until I came across it here at LT. The author uses themes and names from Shakespeare's The Tempest in this novel. While I enjoyed it well enough, overall my feelings on this one are ambivalent.

Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. This is a really short novella that I had to read for the Victorian lit class. I've never been a fan of Stevenson's writing style, but the story was very interesting, and of course has left a significant imprint in our culture. Reading this closely in class was a whole different experience though, because we looked at the unstated messages. First we looked at it as a narrative of addiction, which I immediately found entirely convincing. Then we looked at it as a narrative of the closet. Most of the students in the class, including me, were pretty skeptical of this reading until we explored it fully, and now I'm convinced. I don't think many people at LT have done this reading, because "gay literature" is not one of the tags on the book's page, but I will now forever see this as a story about a closeted gay man trying to break free.

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. This book is very different from what I normally read, and I appreciated the change of pace (I was going to say "enjoyed", but there's so much nasty stuff going on in this book that I don't feel right using that word). Definitely a worthwhile read, but not one I'd reread.

That's interesting about Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, Nickelini.

Did your prof think that RL Stevenson was gay, too?

Hmmm. Did she say that? No, I don't think she came out and said "RL Stevenson was probably gay," in those words. We focused more on the text and what the text had to say. And it appears to be a story of repressed homosexuality. But it's not a big leap from that to the author being gay, is it. Also, apparently he was a raging alcoholic, which I found interesting.

April 2008

20. Imagined London: a tour of the world's greatest fictional city, by Anna Quindlen
21. Family Matters, by Rohinton Mistry
22. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See
23. The Thirty-Nine Steps, by John Buchan
24. A Cup of Tea, by Amy Ephron
25. Peace Shall Destroy Many, by Rudy Wiebe
26. Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adachie
27. Portuguese Irregular Verbs, by Alexander McCall Smith

Imagined London: a tour of the world's greatest fictional city, by Anna Quindlen.

Ever since I can remember, I've had this "thing" for London, and England in general. Can't explain it really, other than it must have been the steady diet of British children's literature I consumed from a very young age. So when I browsed through this book and saw that Quindlen shared this same fascination, I thought I'd found a great book. Unfortunately, for the most part her observations were quite elementary. A good introduction to London from a literary angle, but disappointing to us Anglophiles.

Family Matters, by Rohinton Mistry

The story of a middle class Indian family teetering on the brink of possible financial ruin in Bombay. Does not sound like a book I would like to read, and I still haven't recovered from reading the same author's A Fine Balance in 2003. But this book was taking up too much space on my bookshelf, so I told it that it had better perform, or it was outa here. Well, I must say it performed fabulously. Despite the somewhat depressing and uninteresting sounding subject matter, the book is so well written, and the characters so finely drawn, that I ended up really liking this one. And it wasn't as devastating as A Fine Balance. I'm looking forward to Mr. Mistry writing a happier novel though!

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See

Interesting enough book, but I never connected with the characters. Good detail about footbinding in 19th century China. Overall a fairly typical book club read.

Nickelini,

My wife read The Ghost Map last year and thought it was quite good. From her description, I'll probably pull it down off her shelf and read it someday. Like you, she didn't think it the greatest non-fiction ever, but certainly an interesting account of an interesting time and circumstance.

I just read the Color Purple myself recently for the first time. Quite moving, I thought.

Great list, by the way!

The Thirty-nine Steps, by John Buchan

I read this book because it was physically small and I needed something to take on the train. Plus it's on the 1001 Books . . . list, and it had a cool retro-cover.

But I hated it. It's on the 1001 list because it was the first of the spy-adventure genre (not a genre I'm much familiar with, I guess). Overall, it's one big chase scene. I'm the kind of person who finds there are few things that are more boring than a chase scene--especially a written chase scene. Second, not only are there no female characters, I don't think a female is ever mentioned, even in passing. Also, the story is so highly improbable, silly and far-fetched. And finally, the writing is crammed full of early 20th century British idioms, most of which made no sense to me (and I've read a lot of British literarture). In summary, a big yawn. Did I mention the cool retro cover? I liked that part.

A Cup of Tea, by Amy Ephron

Ephron takes Katherine Mansfield's short story "A Cup of Tea," changes the location, and expands on it. An interesting literary experiment.

Nickelini,
I am really enjoying your thread here! I have to agree with you about The Thirty-nine Steps and my copy doesn't even have the cool retro cover!

Great spot reviews, Nickelini. I agree with you about Imagined London which really took a very superficial foreigner's view - she is a good writer but she could have done more with it, IMO.

Neat theory about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde--one that I suspected myself when I read it recently (but I tend to see closeted people everywhere when I read). I'm curious--did your class discuss any passages in the text which specifically point to homosexuality? Or just repression of urges (sexual or otherwise) in general?

Oh yeah, the whole novella is full of them. For the most part, it takes reading a line and asking "is there a homosexual meaning to that?" But it's more subtle than this particular sentence = gay. It's a nuance that permeates the book rather than any one statement. It was more than repression of urges. Sorry, it's kinda difficult to explain without both of us sitting together and going through the book and discussing it.

Here's one example: Mr. Utterson says "We are three very old friends, Lanyon; we shall not live to make others." Why can't they make others? Because they don't seem to know any women. Why aren't there any women? And why are Jekyll, Lanyon and Utterson always walking around the city, alone, in the middle of the night? And why are they walking alone is what was then known as a seedy sex district?

Like I said, for the most part we were all pretty skeptical of this reading at first, but once I spent time on the exercise, I couldn't not see it.

The Picture of Dorian Gray has a similar reading, which I didn't see when I first read it at the naive age of 20, but can totally see now.

Wow, Nickelini, great thread, nice notes! My "English Novel of the 19th Century" class covered Jane Eyre, David Copperfield, The Mill on the Floss, Tess of the D'ubervilles, Dracula, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. The cool thing was that it turned out that we happened to be a small class of all women (including the professor) so we chose to look at things like the way women were presented and paid special attention to any female protagonists. We also talked a lot about what was going on for women during the century. It was great class (I took a 20th century Brit lit class that covered 1900-1945 and it wasn't half as much fun).

Just read your comments on the homosexual reading of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It's funny; I'd read it a few times in literature classes, but the idea of it being a homosexual narrative wasn't presented until I read the book in a history seminar. One of the themes the professor was exploring was fin-de-siecle ideas about genre, and she pointed out the utter lack of female characters in the novel. It's an interesting take, and it's one that I didn't really see before, but definitely see now (especially in conjunction with some of the history books we were reading at the same time).

I completely agree with your take on The Ghost Map. I read it earlier this semester for a class, and I found it engaging, but not particularly amazing.

Peace Shall Destroy Many, by Rudy Wiebe: Or an alternate title could be "Farmers and Philosophy." This novel is about a young farmer in Saskatchewan during WWII who is excused from serving in the military because he is a Conscientious Objector. He is not entirely comfortable with this, and questions the ideology of pacifism, and especially if pacifism is an acceptable response to 20th century warfare.

On another thread I also said: This book has been in my TBR pile for at least 15 years, and I finally got around to reading it. I hesitate to write a review because the book description on the main page is so thorough, but I'll try to add some of my own impressions here. The blurb on the back cover of my edition is also an excellent description: "Rudy Wiebe's celebrated first novel about religious intolerance, and the problems that can be caused by rigid adherence to traditions of non-violence . . ." It's interesting that this novel created such a hub-bub when it was first published. Rather than make statements, all it does is question "why do we behave this way?" I guess some found that question threatening. I expected this novel to be an apology of pacifism, so I was surprised that it wasn't at all. Instead it was a philosophical questioning of pacifism that left answers up to the reader. Other themes explored in the novel are traditionalism, isolationism and the immigrant experience. All those -isms sound very dry, but the novel tells a story of a group of unique characters who grapple with these issues as they go about their day to day lives. I think it helps to have some knowledge of Mennonite culture to properly appreciate this book. Overall, an interesting novel that makes you think. Highly recommended to those who are interested in these topics.

Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: This book has been one of the stars here at LT since I joined last year, so I'm not sure what is left to say about it. It was a very interesting read, and I learned something about African politics along the way (without feeling lectured at). I think the author's strength is her ability to draw realistic characters and bring you right into their lives. I read this for my book club. Last month we read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and one of my complaints was that the characters were distant and I didn't care about them. Character-wise, Half a Yellow Sun was the exact opposite. Highly recommended.

Portuguese Irregular Verbs, by Alexander McCall Smith. April was a month of reading some pretty heavy books, so I thought I would end with something light. This is my first Alexander McCall Smith, and it was a little different from what I expected. It was both more literary and more silly. I like odd books, but I didn't quite know what to make of this one when I started it. By about page 50 I had warmed to his style however, and I really enjoyed the rest of the book. For the most part, the humour made me grin more than laugh out loud. This is the first of the Professor Dr. von Igelfeld Entertainment trilogy. The next two are The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs and At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances. I think these are three of the best book titles I've ever heard.

You have some great books on your list, Nickelini. Some are favourites of mine. And of course I want to buy the ones I haven't read.

May 2008

28. Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro
29. West With the Night, by Beryl Markham
30. Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, by Christopher Hitchens
31. Middlemarch, by George Eliot
32. Lucky Man, by Michael J. Fox
33. Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys
34. The Looking Glass, by Michele Roberts
35. A Recipe for Bees, by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
36. Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast, by Bill Richardson
37. Silk, by Alessandro Baricco

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

This is a difficult book to write a blurb on, because I don't want to give anything away. I approached it with no foreknowledge, and I don't want to prevent another reader from sharing that experience. I hadn't actually planned on reading it, but I had many hours worth of chores to do in the vicinity of my computer, so I thought I'd download an audio book from the library website to listen to while I laboured. Never Let Me Go looked like the most interesting option.

Although it had been recommended to me from various sources, I knew nothing about the book, and only a little about the author. I think it was a real treat to approach this book from totally fresh eyes (or in this case, ears). I also really enjoyed the style and voice of the narrator. So, in the spirit of not giving anything away, all I can say about this book is that it's quietly disturbing, in a very understated way. I enjoyed it immensely.

West With the Night, by Beryl Markham

I started reading this book when I bought it in 1987, but put it down and never got around to picking it up again. This was the year to finally read it.

The writing is quiet lovely--this is definitely a literary memoir and not an autobiography (or biography, if Markham didn't actually even write it--there is some doubt). I find this period of history (colonial East Africa) fascinating, in sort of a romanticized and idealized way. Out of Africa became one of my favourite books of all time when I read it in the early 80s, and then when the movie came out in 1985 it became one of my all-time favourite movies. West With the Night evoked many of the same magical elements from Out of Africa. This book also shares many of the same characters--Lord & Lady Delamere, Denys Finch-Hatton, Farah, and mainly, Bror Blixen. I read somewhere that the character of Felicity in the movie was modeled on Beryl Markham. Overall an enjoyable read for anyone interested in that time and place.

Nickelini - West with the night is one of those books that we all seem to have on our shelves but have not read. I really have meant to get around to it for 15 years. Your review will spur me on!!

(Who is thought to have wrote it if she did not??)

Karen,

Well, I just couldn't stand to not do some back reading on West With the Night, and I found out all sorts of stuff while surfing the web. There is a fairly sound theory that her 3rd husband, who was a Hollywood screenwriter, ghost wrote it for her. I personally don't care--it reads like fiction anyway. The other thing I found interesting was what she doesn't say--like who she married, who her lovers were, and that she had a baby. Which is similar to Out of Africa. Reading that book alone, you'd never get to the movie. But the movie producers mixed in biographical details of all the people in Karen Blixen's world--people who weren't even mentioned in the book. West With the Night is sort of like that too. Apparently she had affairs with Finch-Hatton and Bror Blixen too, as well as British royalty. But you wouldn't know it from this memoir. Not a kiss and tell book by any means. I'm glad I finally read it.

Well - it has moved up the massive TBRs a bit!! Thanks for the background on the book.

Just took a mini-break from Middlemarch to read Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, by Christopher Hitchens. At only 98 pages, it was a very quick read, and incredibly interesting. I have to think about it for a bit before I write on it. In fact, I may even reread the book. Anyway, if you venerate Mother Teresa, this is not the book for you. She doesn't come out looking all that good.

Methinks Christopher Hitchens makes a lot of his subjects look bad and he is not afraid to take a controversial stand. He wrote a scathing book about Henry Kissinger too, Nickelini. He has a very persuasive journalistic style, don't you think... I do like his writing. Of course he has an atheist position also, which helps..

Darn it - another book to seek out ASAP.......

Yes, well, I do take Christopher Hitchens with a grain of salt, but I also like his writing and his reasoning. But I realize he has an agenda, so reading him can be tiring as I try to think out all the different angles. But yeah, I like him for the most part. And he had nice things to say about George Orwell in the introduction he wrote to my copy of Nineteen-Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. But this is such a quick read --really, if I hadn't been interrupted I could have read it in a little over an hour. Definitely worth tracking down.

Middlemarch, by George Eliot

I feel a great sense of accomplishment at finishing Middlemarch: it is a long book, and some parts are very dense, and require this reader's full concentration. I think the best quality of this novel is the fabulous way that Eliot creates her characters. While I recommend this book for the reader who is in the mood for it, I can't say that I loved it. In the past 10 months I've read two other 19th century mega-books, Bleak House and Anna Karenina, and I prefer both of them over Middlemarch. But I'm glad I read it.

Lucky Man: a Memoir, by Michael J. Fox

It's been at least ten years since I've read a celebrity biography; it's not a genre I have much interest in these days. But I picked up this book a few years ago because I've always had a soft-spot for Michael J. Fox: he is the local boy who done good. We are about the same age, and he went to school a few miles from my school, so I've bumped up against his life from time to time (funny, he is completely unaware of this. Sheesh). I read it now because I needed to read something totally and completely different from Middlemarch. It was actually more interesting than I expected, and actually had things to say. I would classify this as a bildungsroman--his journey through the years leading up to, and following his diagnosis with Parkinson's disease tell a story of great personal growth and of hope for the future (both his and others with Parkinson's).

Congratulations on finishing Middlemarch--quite an accomplishment!

Ditto christiguc's comment - I have tried that book many times and stall at 100 pages.

>51 Nickelini: Couldn't agree more, Nickelini! While I haven't read Anna Karenina, I found Bleak House much more enjoyable than Middlemarch.

Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice , by Christopher Hitchens

If you venerate Mother Teresa, or even if you just think she was a simple woman who sacrificed herself to aid the world’s poor and you want her to remain on a pedestal, don’t read this book. However, if you like to ask questions and look at things from a different angle than we are fed from the mass media, this is a fascinating book. And at only 98 pages, it’s also a quick read.

Every writer has an agenda, and Christopher Hitchens is less than subtle with his: I’ve heard him declare elsewhere that he has contempt for religion. So I expected a virulent attack on the poor old martyr. But that’s not what he delivered. Although Mother Teresa comes off poorly, his writing is not mean spirited. He looks at facts and events from a fresh perspective, and asks difficult questions. His information is drawn from his personal visit with Mother Teresa in India, and from interviews with medical workers and religious volunteers who assisted her over the years. Highly recommended.

I was most disappointed to learn that according to the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, which is backed up by people who worked with MT, the standard of medical treatment in her facilities is—to put it mildly—substandard. The strongest painkiller used is aspirin (this is for people dying of diseases such as cancer). Her philosophy is that suffering is noble and Christ-like. Of the millions and millions of dollars that she’s collected through donations and prizes, very little of it went to help the poor or the ill. Not having paid much attention to Mother Teresa or her agenda over the years, I was shocked to learn how outspoken she was against birth control. Yes, I know it’s doctrine, but considering the misery that she observed due to overpopulation, I would have expected her to focus on other—beneficial—aspects of her faith.

I thought this quotation from the book summed up how the Mother Teresa phenomena happened: “The rich world likes and wishes to believe that someone somewhere is doing something for the Third World. For this reason, it does not inquire too closely into the motives or practices of anyone who fulfills, however vicariously, this mandate . . . (all the focus is on) the self-satisfaction of the sponsor and the donor, and not the needs of the downtrodden. Helpless infants, abandoned derelicts, lepers and the terminally ill are the raw material for demonstrations of compassion.”

If you can’t find this book, much of it is featured in a documentary called Hell's Angel, which you can view on YouTube. Part one of three is here (you'll easily find the links to parts two and three from this page):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WQ0i3nCx60

great review--it's interesting to hear that, especially when lately i've been trying to read memoirs of people who probably aren't that well known, but who are doing good work. I think the next one on my stack is Emergency Sex--and you should have seen the bookseller's face when I asked for that title, which I admit I enjoyed. good reading...

Emergency Sex sounds really interesting. I'm trying to read more literature, and thus less non-fiction, but that one belongs on my TBR list.

lol; I'm sort of doing the opposite; up til this year, I probably averaged only 2-3 nonfiction a year, if that, outside of school. I'm trying now to be a Little more balanced.

Wide Sargasso Sea - I reviewed this over at the Girlybooks thread for May: http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=35488

The Looking Glass, by Michele Roberts. This was quite an enjoyable read. It follows the life of an orphan-turned-domestic servant in early 20th century Normandy, and touches on the lives of four other women who are connected to her through a male character. Throughout the novel the author weaves in exquisite descriptive detail of setting and domestic life (she almost makes ironing sound enjoyable). On the downside, I found the structure of the book didn't quite work, and there was some crude language near the end that was jarring and didn't fit the rest of the novel. Overall, a quiet, moody work.

Nickelini - I read the Roberts book about a year ago - so I cannot comment on specifics. However, after a promising start and some good prose, I decided that I did not really like her style. She also recently wrote a memoir which seemed to focus on her uni life in the 60s - which I started and could not finish.

Hi, Kiwidoc

I picked up the book for free a few years ago from one of many massive bins of free books. I chose it based on the cover (which I really, really liked). As a read, it looked like it might possibly maybe be okay, but I didn't have great expectations for it. So I was pleasantly surprised that it was better than expected. I'd say I marginally recommend it. But I wouldn't search out more books by the same author.

Did you realize that we share 100 books in common in our libraries? Mind you, your library is so huge, you probably share 100 books with lots of LTers. Where do you store all those books, anyway? And how long did it take you to enter them into LT?

Nickelini - I don't really think of my library as big, as it is spread over the basement walls. However, there is a definite lack of shelving and stacks of orphan books that don't have a home yet.

I share nearly 800 books with a couple of LTers - both in Europe. Both have become friends, which is wonderful!! LT has really opened up my horizons - and I don't feel like such a book freak either!!

A Recipe for Bees, by Gail Anderson-Dargatz

Set in the rural interior of British Columbia, mostly during the post WWII years, and then briefly on Vancouver Island, this is the story of an "engaging heroine whose quest for love and independence spans a lifetime."

Because of the catchy title and fun cover, I've wanted to read this book since it was published in 1998, although the story itself didn't really interest me. Somehow over the years I ended up with a free hardcover edition, and some level I was dedicated to finishing this book, even if it was a stinker.

True to my expectations, the story didn't interest me much. At first. The book starts with a series of flashbacks that jump between a handful of locations and time periods. It's disjointed and didn't work for me. Because of the disjointedness, I didn't care one way or another for most of the characters. But still, it was an okay read. But around page 130 I found myself completely drawn into the story and having a great time. For the second two-thirds of the book, I was so involved that I didn't even realize I was reading.

Nickelini: I'm enjoying your reviews. Thanks.

Thanks, amandameale . . . I enjoy writing them, but it's nice to know that someone else actually reads them. :-)

Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast, by Bill Richardson

If spending a weekend at a B&B on one of the beautiful Gulf Islands* with some quirky characters and a pile of books is appealing, this is the book for you. Odd, thoughtful, often funny. Highly recommended.

*If you're not familiar with the Gulf Islands, they are large group of islands in the Strait of Georgia, between the mainland of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. The island group continues into US waters, where they are called the San Juan Islands. One of the most beautiful places on the planet!

Good to see you reading Canadian, Nickelini.

I read another book of Anderson-Dargatz called The Cure for Death by Lightning: A Novel. It was about ten years ago and I read it because of the British Colombia connection in a book club.

I did not like it - the content was quite disturbing. It coincided with a lot of fiction themes at that time - incest, mental illness, mutilation of animals. I did not get to any others of hers after that!!!

However Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast in on my TBR pile and moving up after that recommendation.

I read them with pleasure myself. Yours is one of my starred threads, and even when I don't comment, I'm lurking!

Another lurker here ... !

Wow! I have lurkers. Who knew? I'm flattered and blushing.

yep me too--i starred you a while back, so i guess i have to count myself in the lurkers... :)

Hi! I'm here too--enjoying your reviews.

You've got quite a crowd, Nickelini! :)

Well, if we're de-lurking ourselves, I admit that I'm here too - Nickelini, you're doing nothing good to my TRB pile! :)

Silk, by Alessandro Baricco

I just finished this short novella, and I'm not sure what I think. Has anyone else read this? On one hand, it was really beautiful, but on the other, something about it bothered me. I'll have to think about this one a bit.

Silk, by Alessandro Baricco

This novella is a fable about a man in the 1860s who leaves France each year to journey across Europe and Asia to Japan to illicitly export silk worm eggs. He leaves behind his loving and beautiful wife in France, and sees a mysterious and beautiful woman in Japan. The book is written in very short chapters (some less than a page) and it is a very quick read. Baricco (and his translator--it was written in Italian) uses some beautiful language and evocative imagery, and the book has a unique mood that is both quiet and sparkling.

However, something about the book doesn't quite work for me. It may be, as someone pointed out on the review page, the book's "old school Orientalism". Or it may be the objectification of women: it's just another story of a man falling in love for a woman based 100% on her physical appearance and without knowing her.

This book is on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list, and I think we could all live out our lives happily and completely without reading this one. What I like about the 1001 list, however, is finding books I wouldn't otherwise think to read. This is a very short book, and I don't hesitate to recommend it for someone who wants to spend an hour or two in a somewhat dreamlike world. I will probably reread it in the future.

June 2008

38. Water-Babies, by Charles Kingsley
39. Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
40. Marley and Me, by John Grogan
41. The Heat of the Day, by Elizabeth Bowen
42. The Cottagers, by Marshall N. Klimasewiski
43. Choosing a Career in Information Science, Laura Leone
44. Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood
45. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, by Julia Alvarez
46. Quantum Wellness, by Kathy Freston

Water-Babies, by Charles Kingsley

This is a 360 page Victorian-era fairytale that I had no intention of reading. It had been recommended to me years ago when I studied children's literature. When I bought 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (awful title!), I noted that it was on the list, and still didn't want to read it, but I fell in love with the illustration they included from Water-Babies. Well, the other evening I was helping my daughter find books at the library, and Water-Babies almost leapt off the shelf and into my lap. I took it home to look at the illustrations, but then I started reading it and kinda got drawn into the story.

It's a very Victorian book, complete with commentary on poverty, society, evolution and religion. The author does go on and on and on and on at times, and loves to write in endless lists, so it got really tedious in parts. But it did have a dreamy moody quality that appealed to me, and the illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith added to it. Actually, it is the illustrations that really made the book. With them, I give the book 3 stars; without them I'd have rated it 1 star.

Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog, by John Grogan

John Grogan is a newspaper columnist who writes this memoir of the years he and his family shared with Marley, a disaster of a golden lab. Marley was a neurotic galoot of a dog, but sweet and loving as they come.

The target audience for this book is clearly dog owners and dog lovers. I think dogs are lovely, and I have a soft spot for golden labs, but I’ve never been in a situation where it’s possible to have one. So I can’t call myself a dog person. This is another book that I had no interest in reading. My sister-in-law, who generally makes great recommendations, put this book in my hands two years ago and said I had to read it. I could just never raise the interest, but I hate borrowing books for so long, so I made myself finally read it. I was right in my prediction that the book wasn’t really for me: I wasn’t all that interested in the escapades of this out of control dog, and I can’t imagine anyone putting up with what he put them through (and all that drool! Eeckch!). However, John Grogan is a very good writer, and that made the book much better than I expected. As the story went on, the family’s love and loyalty to Marley, and the love and loyalty he returned to them, came through in a beautiful way. If you are a dog lover, I highly recommend this book. If you’re not that into dogs, skip it. One day, if I’m lucky enough to own a dog, I’ll reread this one.

Edited because my spellchecker changed my misspelling of "neurotic" to "narcotic" . . . making Marley a narcotic galoot. That's the funniest spellchecker error I've seen since my computer wanted to make Salmon Rushdie into Salmon Residue.

Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery

First off, I have to say that Anne Shirley has to be one of the most endearing characters in all of literature. No wonder this book is loved by millions. This is one of those books that people reread countless times. Having skipped this quintessential literary experience that is almost required of all Canadian girls, I decided at the old age of 44 that I’d read this to my eight-year old daughter, Charlotte. We both enjoyed the experience immensely. Charlotte’s Review: Super-dooper, dooper, dooper great!!

Now for the caveat. I realize that by stating any criticism of this book, I may have to turn in my Canadian passport. I may even be tried for treason, so anti-Canadian will my words be. But, I must be honest: part of me wonders at the popularity of this book. There. I've said it. My eleven year old tried this book several times and found it boring. I can’t blame her: I tried it too at eleven, and also found it boring. And at the time, I was in a cabin in the wilds of the Yukon—we’re talking the FAR north of Canada—with no TV, no town, nothing but the wilderness and my beautiful stack of books. But I still couldn’t get past the first few chapters. When I was eleven, a book had to either have gritty realism (Dinky Hooker Shoots Smack), or horses (Black Beauty, the Black Stallion), or magic (The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge--who also used sophisticated language--and Roald Dahl was the favourite). Now, as an adult, I can still see why I didn’t take to it. It had none of the qualities I (or my eleven-year-old daughter) looked for in a book. Also, I think the language is rather sophisticated. I spent a lot of time explaining and paraphrasing what I had just read to Charlotte. Not only does Montgomery not pull any punches with vocabulary (after all, Anne uses an advanced lexicon, and well, so does the author), some of the concepts she describes are beyond an eleven-year-old’s conceptualization, I think. For example: “Marilla was not to be drawn from the safe concrete into dubious paths of the abstract.” I don’t know how old I must have been before I’d have been able to grasp what that meant, but I’m sure it wasn’t eleven.

Here’s another: “Anne was curled up Turk-fashion on the hearthrug, gazing into that joyous glow where the sunshine of a hundred summers was being distilled from the maple cordwood.” This one sentence took at least 10 minutes for me to explain. I think it’s absolutely brilliant, but I just can’t see a child (of 8, or 11, or 13, or ?) understanding it, or similar sentences in the book. Obviously, the problem is all mine, and I’m wrong, because millions of young readers love Anne with all their hearts. Highly recommended, but not everyone’s thing.

Oh, and a small point, and I haven’t been to Prince Edward Island in June, but horticulturally speaking, I think LM Montgomery was really very confused about the blooming season of many plants.

Touchstones not working for Dinky Hooker (maybe I misremember the name?) and Roald Dahl.

We seem to have had similar tastes when we were younger. Anne of Green Gables didn't do anything for me at the time (haven't tried it since), I read The Black Stallion about a thousand times (it's one of the only childhood books that I've kept), and I loved Roald Dahl (Matilda was my favorite).

(After not having revealed myself as a lurker a few days ago, I find myself having to slink out of the shadows... :)

I think I have said this somewhere before so excuse the repetitive review, Nickelini.

My daughter's 'favourite-ist', most loved and 'favourite-ist' book is Anne of Green Gables. She read them when she was about 7 or 8 - all in the series in very short order - and then reread them all many times. She keeps the series in her closet tied in ribbon and resorts to them in times of ''terrible teenage trauma'' (now being nearly 17 years old - oops ...... I had her when I was 12!).

Interesting observation about the plants!

Kiwidoc, see? It's me!
Oh, no, Medellia12 shows me it's not just me.
Well, to each our own, I guess! As I've said many times before, if we all liked the same things and disliked the same things, it would be Oh! so boring.

I'm surprised though that Anne of Green Gables made me want to read the sequels. I just know in my heart that she marries Gilbert Blithe, but I want to see how it happens.

# 81 - Touchstones not working for Dinky Hooker (maybe I misremember the name?) and Roald Dahl.
-------------

Yes, I did indeed spell it wrong. It's Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack!. Please try to excuse the error. I read the book in 1974. And anyone who knows me can tell you how terrible my memory is. However, the book is still in print, and rates 5 stars from Amazon reviewers.

My daughter and I tried reading Anne of Green Gables when she was about 7 or 8, but we had to stop when we got to the part where she gets Diana drunk and Diana's mother forbids her to play with Anne anymore. I reassured her that it would work out, and Anne and Diana would have many new adventures, but she was so upset, she couldn't go on. I used to do the same thing when I was younger--heck, I just took a huge break from War and Peace because I was SO MAD at Prince Andrei, I couldn't read any more! I am getting back to it, though...

All of this is kind of beside the point, isn't it? You just reminded me of that story. I wonder if my daugher ever went back and read the whole book; I'll have to ask her.

Another lurker here.

I loved, loved, loved the Anne of Green Gables books as a kid, and I remember bugging my mom to take me to various bookstores to track down all in the Anne series and most of the rest of L.M. Montgomery's works. But I can't imagine that I really got that sentence about Marilla (or others like it) at the time. Maybe I just skipped over those parts? Or maybe those parts help the reader identify with Anne, who often seems to speak in a manner and on topics that she probably doesn't really understand?

The Heat of the Day, by Elizabeth Bowen

This is my second Elizabeth Bowen novel, and I can confidently say that she is a sophisticated but difficult writer. While parts of this book where enjoyable, and clipped along nicely, there were too many sections that were just incredibly dry.

I particularly dislike how Bowen writes a lot of her dialogue. I wonder to myself as I read it, "who talks like this?" She wrote this in 1948, and I have the same objection with the dialogue in a lot of 1940s movies. I can just imagine the protagonist of The Heat of the Day, Stella, played by Joan Crawford, complete with the impeccable slim suits, and chain smoking cigarettes. Unfortunately, I can also see that head-shaking, over-dramatic style of speaking--Bowen even uses "cried" when any other author would use "said" (as in, "She cried:'Has anything changed since then?' ". Blech!)

Despite disliking this book, I still am amazed at Bowen's skill with language, and somehow I like her (or want to like her?). In a year or two, I will give another of her novels a try. I'm not giving up on our author-reader relationship yet!

I read a Bowen book last year and had much the same reaction - I think she is an author that you have to be in the mood for and her writing is dense. I thought some of her sentences very laborious and heavy - an English teacher would mark them as run-ons! However, I think that her style is celebrated because it heralded a new genre of writing style in the 40s.

"Laborious and heavy" is a perfect description, Kiwidoc.

The Cottagers, by Marshall N. Klimasewiski

summary Cyrus is a 19 year old that lives in the semi-remote area of East Sooke on Vancouver Island. He harasses and spies on the tourists that rent vacation homes in the area. His latest obsession is a group of Americans: a couple with their four-year old daughter and their friends, a couple in an unhappy marriage. One of the Americans mysteriously disappears.

what I liked about the book: I read this while on vacation on Vancouver Island (although I was about 200 km from East Sooke); I like to read books that match my travels. Klimasewiski's sense of setting and descriptions of the forest and ocean of Vancouver Island were well done. He captured the feeling of the Island. He is also good at creating distinct characters. His writing is smooth, and it was a fairly quick and easy read.

what I did not like about the book: I have two complaints, one that is integral to the story, the second just an annoyance.

1. None of the characters are particularly likable, but Cyrus is one of the creepiest antagonists I've read in ages. It really doesn't work for me when Klimasewiski tries to turn him into a protagonist. Without giving away spoilers, I'll say the plot just doesn't work for me.

2. The annoyance: While Klimasewiski is talented at writing the American characters and setting, he does not have the right language for his Canadian characters. The most blatant example of this is calling the book The Cottagers, since in this part of Canada that's not the unusual term. Most common is "cabin" (even if the structure is a house with 3-bedrooms & 3-baths and with fireplaces and jacuzzi tubs in each room). We do not look across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to see "America": it's "the States," or "the US." We do not think of Americans as foreigners (in fact, our population is so diverse there are no foreigners anymore). Not a big deal, but it just made the book feel "off."

I'm sure there are some readers who would like this book, but I wasn't one of them. If it's sitting in front of you and you have nothing better to do, it's an interesting enough read. But don't go out of your way to find a copy.

I just remembered another thing I liked about The Cottagers: there is a scene in Munro's Bookstore in Victoria. This is the second book I've read in the past month with a scene in Munro's. If you've read some of my previous posts, you may know that I have a slight obsession with that store. In fact, I bought The Cottagers at Munro's.

Munro ROCKS!!!

Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood

One of my top reads of 2008. Highly recommended.

This is my first non-dystopian Atwood novel, having previously read Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake. I tried to read The Blind Assassin when it came out, but it came due at the library before I had a chance to really get into it. Anyway, my point is that I really didn't know what to expect from Alias Grace.

This is historical fiction set in Victorian-era Toronto. It concerns a real-life young servant who was convicted of murdering her boss and his housekeeper. Nobody knows exactly what really happened, so Atwood skillfully plays with the speculation and different possible scenarios that led to the murders. She paints Grace quite sympathetically, so I tended to see Grace on the innocent side. But then Atwood throws in something that makes you think "hmmmm . . . maybe not."

I also wrote a blurb comparing Alias Grace and The French Lieutenant's Woman over at the Books Compared thread:

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=39856

Isn't Margaret Atwood wonderful? I read Alias Grace several years ago but I think it bears rereading.

I see you decided to start your Orange July early as well?

It was just a fluke . . . this was on my TBR-Now pile before the Orange challenge came up. But it all worked out nicely!

I have this book on my Orange July list and I can't wait to get to it!

Nickelini, just wanted to let you know I discovered this thread yesterday and really enjoyed your revews. Your insights about Jekyll and Hyde just clicked and made such perfect sense!

I shall be lurking too :-)

What's this Orange July everyone is talking about? It sounds really interesting--where can I go to read more about it?

>101 sussabmax:

sussabmax, come join us over here! We're dedicating the month of July to reading books from the Orange Prize winners, shortlists, and longlists.

Quantum Wellness, by Kathy Freston

This book is about approaching one's life holistically, and about the little steps one can take that lead to big changes.

I'm not normally one to read self-help books, especially those written by people with no professional qualifications, especially those that give off even a whiff of New Age anythingness. So I'm not the target audience for this book.

I bought it for one reason only: Her book includes a 21-day cleanse diet. Two years ago I wanted to go on a detox cleansing diet, but I couldn't find any information about how to do so on the Internet or at the library. I didn't do well on my own, as quiting caffeine cold turkey just about killed me (or so it felt). Well, I should have checked Quantum Wellness out a bit closer first, because a cleanse is not a cleanse is not a cleanse. Her cleanse is a vegan cleanse. Do I want a vegan cleanse? I don't think so. Her information in this whole section is incredibly vague and incomplete. She instructs readers to just quit this long list of "bad" things, but doesn't give any tips on how to do it safely. My experience with trying to quit caffeine showed me clearly that not everyone can just quit. Besides, do I want to quit caffeine? So many healthy reports praise its benefits. And she doesn't mention quiting salt, which is a major contributor to Western disease. And her suggested diet is full of soy, but isn't soy a genetically modified crop? In the end I was more confused than enlightened.

As for the rest of the book, it didn't really speak to me, but I suppose it wasn't too egregious.

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, by Julia Alvarez

A somewhat interesting series of vignettes about four young women from the Dominican Republic who immigrate to New York. The stories are told in reverse chronological order, and move between the US and the Dominican Republic. The stories were well-written, and the characters were interesting enough, but there was something about this book that was rather blah.

I read it now because I thought it would work for the Reading Globally June challenge. Further comments at post #47 here:

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=33232#668467

Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?, by Peter Walsh

Yes, the woman who doesn't read self-help books has just read her second in so many weeks. I just couldn't resist this title though! I actually liked this one. Walsh is the organizational guru from TLC's Clean Sweep, and not a nutritionist or MD. He's made a connection between the struggle with clutter and the struggle with body weight (and linked both to consumerism). He thinks that the same issues cause us to mindlessly overeat and to collect clutter. Compared to most of his examples, my issues with both fat and clutter are fairly mild, but I was able to get some good tips out of his book. His approach is no-nonsense, common sense, there-is-work-involved, and not the "just do this and your life will be magically fixed" approach. It's all about envisioning the life we want to lead, and then behaving in a way that helps to achieve that vision. I borrowed this from the library, but wouldn't have regretted buying it (unlike Quantum Wellness, post #103, which I do regret buying).

I read this earlier this year, and I liked it, too. I did buy it, and I am glad, because it was a quick read, and something I will probably at least dip into again several times. Good stuff, even if I did feel a bit silly reading it!

A Thousand Days in Venice, Marlena De Blasi

Yet another fantasy-memoir by a self-indulgent, shallow American who abandons her life to start a new life in Italy. Despite crying "poor" and having a fairly regular job, she seems to have an endless source of income. The book is subtitled as a romance, but I didn't particularly feel the love, seeing she referred to her fiance/husband as "the stranger" throughout the book (I get that her point is that we never really know anyone, but it comes off as a both cold and foolhardy).

To the author's credit, and unlike other books in the fantasy-memoir genre, the author does hint at the diabolical endless tape that permeates real life in Italy. (I am well-acquainted with this red tape not just from my visits to Italy, but through stories my Italian family members tell and the experience of a close friend who moved to Italy. The rosy picture these books tell is a fairytale. And unfortunately, I am a cynic who can't buy it).

What I did like about the book was the author's richly described details of food, textiles, and mood. And it does make me want to re-visit Venice. However, her editor should have told her there were too many of these details, and to cut the book by at least a third.

A solid two-and-one-half stars out of five.

Nickelini - I read the De Blasi book on recommendation from someone in Kidsbooks.

It was a big disappointment for me - I did not find it romantic or particularly erudite. I think you summed it up for me perfectly above (although I would give it one and a half stars only!

Funny, I bought my copy at Kid's Books. I think we should go back for a refund. It got the extra star from me because I have a soft-spot for all things Italian.

Maybe the lady there knows the author or something. Since being on LT I have had to rely a lot less on random bookseller recommendations, thank goodness. I am also partial to all things Italian, probably because I was Italian in a former life!!!

Just making the rounds and catching up! There are some great reads mentioned here!

Is a laptop and a satellite connection going with you on the family camping trip?

I'm pleased to read your reviews. You've stopped me wasting my money on a couple of books I was considering.

July 2008

47. Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?, by Peter Walsh
48. A Thousand Days in Venice, by Marlena De Blasi
49. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
50. Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels
51. Virginia Woolf's Nose, by Hermione Lee

So what was the answer re: book #47? Does it, or doesn't it? Inquiring minds want to know!!

Welcome back ...

Apparently it does! Who knew?

Did you like A Thousand Days in Venice? I haven't read it.

Not especially. While it painted some nice pictures of Venice, overall I thought it was pretty stupid. My review is above at post #108.

The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver

I feel like I'm the last person on earth to read this novel. What is left to say about it that hasn't been said already? People either love it or hate it, and I fall squarely in the the "love it" camp. What I most loved about it was the different narrators, and how each had such a strongly distinct voice. I also really liked how you learn about events in a character's life not from the character herself, but from another character. I also liked seeing how the characters changed, but didn't necessarily grow, over the years. For example, I found Rachel especially amusing, but was expecting her to mature and grow out of her vanity instead of going in the direction she went (don't want to give too much away in case I'm wrong about being the last person to read this).

Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels

This novel has won a kabillion awards and is the darling of literary critics. Indeed, the language is beautiful, the imagery unique, and the message important. Yet . . . I was underwhelmed. Maybe it just wasn't the right time for me to read this one, or something. While I enjoyed reading it well enough, I never had any problems putting it down to do just about anything else. Maybe I'm just too distracted to concentrate on this sort of book. But I found the writing just too fragmented. The "pieces" from the title is very apt: this book was a series of poetic pieces strung together to loosely tell a story. The other thing that I didn't like is how each of the characters fits into one of four types. Really, the same story could have been told with only four characters. I'm sure this was intentional, though I don't know why. And the switching to a different narrator for the last third of the book was just odd. All those negative comments aside, I am willing to read this book again when I'm in a different frame of mind and giving it another try.

Edited to add:

I just thought of as aspect of this book that I really liked: several of the characters were involved in sciences, especially geology and archeobiology. Micheals wove in all sorts of interesting information about science into this otherwise very poetic book. Reminded me a bit of how Barbara Kingsolver weaves biology into her novels.

Virginia Woolf's Nose: essays on biography, by Hermione Lee

This little book is a series of essays on writing and reading biography. The blurb on the back cover describes it better than I can:

"What choices must a biographer make when stitching the pieces of a life into one coherent whole? How do we best create an accurate likeness of a private life from the few articles that linger after death?"

The essays centre on Percy Bysshe Shelley, Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, and then the last essay is on how to write about death. I especially enjoyed the Woolf essay, as Lee discusses the Woolf legend and how she is represented and misrepresented in both the book and the movie The Hours. I'm a fan of Woolf and both versions of The Hours, so this was of particular interest to me.

Of course we can never really know what any of these historical people were really like in real life, but the image that we all carry around in our minds of people like Virginia Woolf and Jane Austen are probably completely false, and in these essays, Lee shows us why. However, I can personally enjoy my Ophelia-like image of Virginia Woolf and know that it's false all at the same time.

August 2008

52. The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory
53. Alice, I Think, Susan Juby
54. It's All Too Much, Peter Walsh
55. The Waves, Virginia Woolf
56. Darkness Visible, William Styron
57. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid
58. The Crisis of Islam: Holy War & Unholy Terror, Bernard Lewis
59. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory

I hadn't planned on taking this book out of my TBR pile this summer, but recently I've had so many distractions that I just needed an easy summer read. This fit the bill pretty well. Overall, I'd rate it a solid "okay." I truly don't know what all the fuss on this one is about. On the up side, the story was pretty interesting (I belong to that group of people who strangely has a thing for the Tudors). On the down side, the writing was pedestrian and the novel waaaay too long. Here are a few comments I wrote elsewhere on LT:

Although it's been slagged for its historical inaccuracy (a pet peeve of mine), I've read Philippa Gregory's rebuttal, and she does have a logical explanation for her choices. I like that--she wasn't just disregarding the historical record.

Also, I learned about the sweating sickness, which I'd never heard of before. (Apparently, it appeared in England in a series of epidemics for a hundred years starting in 1485. Because it is an extinct disease, no one knows what it was. I love that sort of stuff!)

Lastly, I didn't realize that the Boleyns crossed paths with Thomas Wyatt. He wrote one of my all time favourite poems: They flee from me that Sometime did me Seek. Despite the fact that I find this novel somewhat mediocre, it enriches my picture of the poem, and the poem enriches my interest in the novel. I love when literature does that! So that makes The Other Boleyn Girl not such dreck, after all. Even though it was me, and not Philippa Gregory, that made that connection.

I'm very interested in your impressions of The Other Boleyn Girl. I have been fascinated by the Tudors myself, and read a good many books both fiction and non-fiction, dealing with Henry VIII and his various wives. I have this book, and don't really remember how I got it or why. I was wondering if I wanted to invest the time in another novel about that group. Based on what you've said, I don't think I will, and I don't think I'll have any regrets about passing on it. Too many other books to read.

Layton . . . I don't regret reading it, but it would have been a stronger book if it was half the length. There are so many books about the Tudors around--I think you can do better.

Alice, I Think, Susan Juby

I read this book because I had seen a few episodes of the TV show, and I thought they were hilarious. It was about a teenage girl with a brainiac younger brother, a hippie mom and a cute-but-not-too-bright dad. The show is about Alice's attempts to fit in to her new small town high school after many years of being home schooled. However, the YA novel didn't have the home schooling aspect, and doesn't explain why Alice is so very socially inept (other than that her mom is a hippie, which isn't enough to do it). The author does a great job at creating a distinct teen voice, but by mid-novel I was a little tired and frustrated with Alice's negativity and self-sabotaging behavior. Fortunately, Juby changes course and the last half of the novel was great. Not quite laugh-out-loud funny, but definitely highly amusing.

It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life With Less Stuff, Peter Walsh

I got this one from the library after reading, and enjoying, Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat. This book concentrates just on the clutter in the home. Much more than a collection of organizational tips, Walsh looks at the psychology involved in clutter, and gives some very good advice on how to let go of all those treasures that one really doesn't need. He also gives organizational advice that helps you to stay clutter-free.

The Waves, Virginia Woolf

This is considered Woolf's most experimental text, and that's saying a lot. I'll admit right off that I didn't understand much of what I was reading. But like a highly complex piece of music, or a sophisticated painting, it isn't necessary for the audience to understand it completely in order to enjoy it. So I didn't stress that over what I didn't get--I just let the art wash over me. There is so much hauntingly beautiful imagery in this novel, and the structure of the book is very cool. I hope that some day I can study this text in a class with a really excellent prof, and understand more of what Woolf is trying to say in The Waves.

Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness, William Styron

Darkness Visible is the brief memoir by the gifted author of Sophie's Choice and his episode with debilitating depression. Short and eloquent.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid

I bought this book on a whim yesterday, and it rocketed right up to the top of my TBR mountain. A quick, gripping read. I found this story of "the American Dream" and 9/11 told from the view point of a successful young Pakistani multi-national very interesting. The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars was that I wasn't crazy about the technique Hamid used of telling this story in the form of a one-sided conversation. Although I did find the American an intriguing and important twist to the novel, I found the second-person narrative parts jarring. I also found the Erica=USA aspects a bit heavy handed. But these are fairly minor quibbles, and overall it was a great read and I recommend it.

The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror, Bernard Lewis

Audiobook

I needed to listen to something today while doing some chores, so I downloaded this from the library website. I didn't realize when I started it that I'd already read another book by the same author (What Went Wrong), so a lot of it was a repeat. But it was a good crash course in Islamic history, especially as Islam relates to world politics.

Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

This is the third Rushdie novel that I've read, and I was surprised that I still find him difficult to read. I really like his writing, but reading Rushdie's fiction is so much work (I prefer reading his essays). On the review page for Midnight's Children there is a reader review from Lyzadanger that I agree with, and she says it better than I can. You can find it at:

http://www.librarything.com/work/2118

Nickelini, I agree with both you and Lyzadanger on Midnight's Children. I've avoided Rushdie ever since. Do you have any recommendations as far as his essays go? I feel like I should give him another shot, but I'm afraid of his novels.

Jfetting -- I liked many of the essays in both Imaginary Homelands and Step Across This Line.

>132 Nickelini:: wow, that's an incredible review. Although I liked the book a bit more than you and Lyzadanger, I agree it was definitely work!

I probably liked it better than Lyzadanger too, but while her feelings were stronger than mine, I totally know what she means. I did enjoy the book in many parts, but it just made me tired from having to figure out the layered meanings and symbolism and all.

High Rise, JG Ballard

This short novel from the 1001 list is about a group of people living in an apartment building were things begin to go badly, horribly wrong. Life disintegrates into violence and anarchy. This is dystopian fiction, although in this case the dystopia is pretty much self-imposed by the building residents and not from some government-gone-bad (as you find in most dystopian works). Of all dystopian novels, I compare it most closely with Lord of the Flies, but instead of an island, the setting is a high rise, and instead of a group of British school boys, there is a group of British professionals.

What I Liked About the Novel: It was an interesting and somewhat fun read, in the way that a Stephen King story can be fun. Written in 1975, it shares a similar style to some of King's work that he wrote around that time (I'm not talking about his horror, but more his Twilight Zone-ish stuff). Ballard is a talented writer and I would say this novel leans more to a literary style than a mass-market best-seller style.

I also like how Ballard uses the high rise as an allegory for society and as a comment on societal behavior. The people who live on the highest floors act as the aristocracy, descending through the ranks to the people on the lower floors as the lower class (this is symbolic--there are no downtrodden or members of the underclass in this book--everyone has a good job). Clever social commentary, this is.

What I Did Not Like About the Novel: to make this novel work, I had to totally suspend belief. It's written in a realistic style--there are no talking animals (fables such as Animal Farm), and lover's passion does not cause rooms to spontaneously combust (magical realism such as Like Water for Chocolate). But the way the apartment complex is organized and the behavior of the residents doesn't come close to sounding true. There are 40 floors of inhabitants, but they all sort of act the same--violent, catatonic, promiscuous. And the fact that they would all join in on this deadly game rather than just calling the police is absolute nonsense. But if you can swallow that, it works.

Recommended if you're in the mood for something along these lines.

Sounds like a lot of thought went into your Ballard read, Nickelini.

I have always meant to read his work - I also find that I have to find the characters believable to really get into dystopian fiction. I think that facing the violence, promiscuity and selfishness of anarchic regimes is sometimes too much to bear. You have to be in the mood!!!

Thanks for the great analysis.

Yes, thanks from me too. I cannot enjoy any Rushdie novel - I don't know why.

September 2008

60. High Rise, JG Ballard
61. Oresteia, Aeschylus
62. Discourse on Method, Rene Descartes
63. Why I Hate Canadians, Will Ferguson
64. The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood
65. Discourse on Inequality, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
66. Assault on Reason, Al Gore
67. Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud

Oresteia, Aeschylus

You'd think a story of father killing daughter, mother killing father, son killing mother would be really exciting. It has all the best elements of an action movie and a soap opera rolled all into one. Unfortunately, I found it really boring. This may be because I very much dislike reading plays. Anyway, I have two classes coming up on it, so if I change my mind I'll post an update. Otherwise, this one is a big thumbs down for me.

Oct 1: Okay, I've had to do a presentation on this, and write a paper, and I have to say I've grown to appreciate it. Coming into it cold with no background info totally, completely didn't work for me, and I still don't get any pleasure in the actual text, but I'm glad I studied it.

Discourse on Method, Rene Descartes

O joy, doesn't this book sound like a fun read? News flash: it didn't suck! I especially liked the opening sentence:

"Common sense is the best distributed thing in the whole world. Everyone thinks that they are well endowed with it, so that even those who are most difficult to please in every other respect do not usually wish to have more than they already possess." I love it! Lots of pithy words of wisdom and advice for looking at the world.

I'll add more after the lecture if warranted.

*sigh* Another one for the TBR pile, Joyce

(perhaps much later in my lifetime)

Karen - Well, it's not something that I'd pick up on my own, but for something I have to read, it's pretty good. And the best part is that it's very, very short.

Joyce, some great reading here. We all need an extra 24 hours in a day, don't you think? I will be back concentrating on school work and reading any moment now and may not get back here very soon:-(

Why I Hate Canadians, Will Ferguson

There are two things that I really like: being entertained, and learning new stuff. So being entertained while learning is really the best! And lucky me, that's what this book delivered. Not all of it was educational, not all of it was funny, and I didn't always agree with his politics, but overall, it was a really fun read.

I had heard about this book but wasn't particularly interested in it. Until I saw it in the university bookstore--this term it's one of the texts for a Canadian Studies course--and after browsing through it I couldn't resist it's call. A caveat: I'm not sure it would hold much allure to someone who didn't already know a bit about Canadian culture; the audience is obviously people who have spent time in Canada. But for this Canadian, I not only had a laugh, but learned a little about our history (YES! We do have an interesting one!), and about other areas of this huge country (geographically speaking only, as the author points out).

The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood

This little book has received some pretty lukewarm reviews and comments here at LT, so I didn't expect much with this one from the great Madame Atwood. But I'm currently taking a course titled: "Mythology in Context; Women in Greek Mythology," and have just read excerpts from The Odyssey, and I thought this would be an interesting companion read. It turned out not just to be interesting, but also fun and entertaining. It's written in a very clear, conversational style that flips from prose to poetry, and from Penelope to the 12 maids. And it was a very quick read. I have a lot of fun when an author plays with an older piece and creates something that informs the original, and in turn the original informs the new text (my fav example is Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours), and this book fills that order. Not the best book I ever read, and not really comparable to her big novels, but definitely time well spent. A minor gem.

The Penolopiad sounds really interesting Nickelini. I've just returned to The Iliad to see if I can finish it, so I'll look out for the Atwood too.

I really enjoyed The Penelopiad. I found her prose to be witty and educating. I am glad you liked it too!

The Penelopiad is on my wishlist - looks like a reread of The Odyssey is on the cards too.

Discourse on Inequality, Jean-Jacques Rousseau

There are a lot of fun, interesting books in the world. This isn't one of them.

Assault on Reason, Al Gore audio book

I snuck in a listen to this rather long book when I should have been doing other things, but I couldn't not listen. This feels like one of those books that everyone should read (or listen to), but I have to admit that in my case he's preaching to the choir. Unfortunately, the one group who really needs to read this book is the exactly the group that is last to pick it up: those people who blindly support George W Bush and don't realize that he's not on their side (see Gore's chapter "Blinding the Faithful"). Any US citizen who is undecided on how to vote should also read this. I feel sort of guilty reading about US politics, when I mostly ignore my own country's, but Canadian politics are just so much more issue-driven and reasonable, and that's just not interesting!

I'm reading Assault on Reason right now, too, and as a fellow choir-member I'm having a similar response to it. Why are the people who disagree with me not reading this book? If they read it, they will see the light and agree with me! I have to read it in small doses because it starts to make me angry and frustrated, and I get enough of that. Politics issue-driven and reasonable? What on earth is that like? Sounds like paradise.

lol re your #151!

Jfetting - sigh, I'm not sure that it would help anyway. I saw a study out of some university last week that showed that conservatives don't change their minds even when presented with hard facts that prove them wrong. Maybe they're just all wired to frustrate us.

>154 Nickelini: Thanks, Nickelini, for explaining my relatives to me! Now I know it's not their fault and there is nothing I can do about it!

Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud

This book made me discontent. I don't know whether to blame Freud, or his translator, but I kept rewriting his convoluted, turgid sentences into crisp, clear sentences. It was very distracting. Had to read this one for a class, otherwise I would never, ever, ever read stuff like this. Felt generous and gave it one star.

Edited Sept 30th: After writing a paper on this book, I've revised my rating to 2.5 stars. As much as I dislike how the book is written, I actually find some of what he has to say quite interesting. And he helped me refute Rousseau. This wasn't an enjoyable read by any means, but it isn't worthless, either.

Antigone, Sophocles (Robert Fagles translation)

Not all Greek tragedies are created equal. I was expecting this to be another painful, dry read, similar to Oresteia. I'm happy to say it was completely different. This was an enjoyable, interesting read. I'm still not a fan of reading plays, but if I have to read 'em, I won't complain when they are written as lyrically as this one. I need to read it again for another class later this term, and we're using a different translation, so I look forward to comparing the two versions.

October 2008

68. Antigone, Sophocles
69. Medea, Euripides
70. The Lady and the Unicorn
71. Helen, Euripides
72. The Trojan Women, Euripides (translated and adapted by Howard Rubenstein)
73. The Trojan Women, Euripides (adapted by Jean-Paul Sartre, trans. Ronald Duncan)
74. In Spite of Plato, Adriana Cavarero

Medea, by Euripides

I'm half way through this term, and at this point all these Greek tragedies and myths are blurring into one. I liked it when I read it last week, but I don't remember much about it now. The lecture is later this week, so if I have any brain activity on this one, I'll edit this post.

The Lady and the Unicorn, by Tracy Chevalier

I bought this a few years ago because it's set in one of my favourite historical periods (that being fifteenth century Europe), and because I'd loved the author's The Girl with the Pearl Earring. But then I didn't really hear anything about this book, and I'd read some real stinkers in the historical fiction genre, so I lost interest in reading this. Well, I found a little break in my school reading to fit in a recreational read, and I thought this might be a nice, relaxing change. Good call! A very pleasant surprise. I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. I particularly liked how the POV changed from chapter to chapter. I also really appreciated that it was illustrated. When reading The Girl With the Pearl Earring, I pulled out my book on Vermeer so I could look at what the author was describing. With the Lady and the Unicorn, the illustrations of the tapestry are provided. Most helpful, because I referred to them throughout. Not an life changing book or a great work of literature, but an entertaining, comfort read. Recommended.

Finally a book I can comment on, in my uneducated sphere of reading, Nickelini.

I am encouraged to pick up the Chevalier book now and it is good to hear she illustrated this one. She must have listened to her critics.

#161 - in my uneducated sphere of reading, ...

----------------

Yeah, right! Says the woman who has 4,444 books in her library. Try another one, I'm not buying that. :-)

It is all for show, Nickelini - I have never read any of the classics you are reading above. None. I was always a science freak when younger.

Thanks for an enjoyable morning ! I've really enjoyed reading your comments and have gotten good ideas for books to explore.

I, too, love Dickens and Bleak House is probably my favorite. I alos loved Middlemarch but agree it was harder "work." I haven't yet read another George Eliot although I own a couple so hope to someday. Anna Karenina was on my TBR list for this year but got pushed off by Kristin Lavransdatter--not sure that was a good choice. In fact I should be reading it now because I really want to finish it this month. I'm finding it harder going than Middlemarch and I'm not sure why.

My Mom tried to get me interested in Anne of Green Gables when I was about 11 years old but I was also into all the Black Stallion series and other horse books and also into a lot of Greek stuff that my Dad got me into--the Iliad and the Odyssey and some of the plays (which i did like)--and into "sea stories"--especially Howard Pease as I recall. When my boys were quite young our family went with my parents to Canada to visit my Mom's cousins who still lived in New Brunswick and we took a trip to P.E.I. and did all the "Anne" things. I have since read all the entire Anne series and as many other L.M. Montgomery as I have been able to find and I even got my boys interested. For them, the Megan Follows movie series was a good "hook." We also went to "Evangeline" country--something else my Dad introduced me to when I was a child. He was a great reader.

Since reading Poisonwood Bible this year I have become very interested in reading more about Africa. I have four nonfiction books lined up to read (after I finish KL!) and I will be adding Half a Yellow Sun to that list--I like to mix fiction with my nonfiction. Thanks for suggesting that one. Thanks also for reminding me that I own and should read West with the Night--I'm not sure it fits exactly what I'm wanting for my Africa theme, but it should be a fun book to read.

I also read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this year. I definitely agree with the addiction theme--that seemed obvious. I may have to reread it to see about the gay idea. Although, I do remember many years ago conimg across the idea that RLS may possibly have been gay. Picture of Dorian Gray is on my TBR list for next year and I will be on the lookout for those references now that i've been alerted. Of course, Oscar Wilde is known to have been gay.

I'll be checking back to see what you read the rest of the year.

Helen, by Euripides (translated by Robert Meagher)

Another 5th century BC Greek play. in which Euripides gives his twist on the legend of Helen of Troy. According to this version, Helen never actually got to Troy but was hiding out in Egypt until all the brouhaha died down. I'm really not a fan of reading plays (and this is my tenth this year--two more to go), so I give this read an "okay." The story is pretty good, but the telling leaves something to be desired.

Well done with the plays, Nickelini.

I always wonder, when translators are taking such an ancient language, if they miss some of the finer points and entertaining aspects of such things.

Perhaps plays were not made for entertainment, but more for propaganda and education?

Do you spend any time analysing the translation itself and comparing with others??

Good question. We haven't gone into the purpose of the plays, or comparing translations. Neither of the courses that I'm reading these for are literature courses, they're both humanities courses, so the focus is different. One class is Mythology in Context: Women in Greek mythology-- there we are looking at the representation of women in these plays (since none of them were written by women). Next week we start looking at current reinterpretations of Greek myth (Cassandra, by Christa Wolf, and Helen in Egypt, by H.D.). The other class is a first-year survey course and we're looking at the societal changes that the play represents. So no formal study of translations.

There are two plays that I have to read for both these classes, and one of them--Antigone--I'm reading in two different versions. The second reading is at the end of November, so I'll see how it differs. Antigone is my favourite of all these plays so far--mostly because I found the language flowed the best. Yep, once again, could be chalked up to translation. Although I hear that Sophocles is known for his accessible style. Also, I just read The Trojan Women, and I plan to read a second version in the next few days. This isn't assigned reading--just personal reasons.

Sorry my answer is so long.

The Trojan Women, Euripides . . . translation and adaption by Howard Rubenstein

Yes, yet another 5th century BC Greek tragedy. This one takes place a few days after the end of the Trojan war. The Trojan warriors are all dead, and the Greeks are getting ready to return home. The women of Troy are gathered in a camp and learn their various fates. I still don't like reading plays, but the story and characters are good.

In Spite of Plato, Adriana Caverero

Read for university. One of those really dry texts that give academics a really bad name. Just nasty. Here's a typical sentence that I found opening the book and reading the first thing I saw: "This feminine time is impenetrable to the patriarchal order." Blech! Too many of these and I'll quit university before I've completed my degree.

The Trojan Women, Euripides . . . adaptation by Jean-Paul Sartre, translation by Ronald Duncan

Definitely different from the above Rubenstein version, and shorter. If I sat down and studied them I'm sure I'd find all sorts of interesting nuances. But as a straight read I'll recommend the Rubenstein version (see post #168). I do like this story though, and either version is good.

Nickelini, You've been reading some great books. As I read through your thread, I found many I've enjoyed and many more that I wish I'd read already and may eventually get to.

November 2008

75. Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
76. Survival in Auschwitz, Primo Levi
77. Why You Should Read Kafka Before You Waste Your Life, James Hawes
78. Helen in Egypt, HD
79. Cassandra, Christa Wolf
80. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 9th edition, Joseph Williams
81. Revelations of Divine Love, Julian of Norwich
82. Antigone, Sophocles, trans. Paul Woodruff
83. Helen in Egypt, HD (no, this is not a duplicate error, it's a reread. In detail)
84. Helen, Euripides (another detailed reread)

Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali audio book

Don't have time to write a review now, and I want to think about it a bit, but . . . if you haven't read this book--go out and read it right NOW. This is a must read. I rarely cry at books, but with this book I cried in sadness, I cried in joy, I got really, really angry (A LOT). I found it riveting from beginning to end. I listened to the audio book, read by the author herself, so it was deeply personal. More to follow . . .

Wow - that is a very powerful endorsement, Nickelini. Was the audio book abridged?

Nope. It was 14 discs. I got it from the New West library, so you may be able to get it through inter-library loan. I know someone else has requested it right now though (and it's overdue. Oops!). But maybe you can be next in line.

I agree Nickelini, Infidel is a very powerful book.

I'm glad to hear from someone else who liked Infidel Ayaan Hirsi Ali--I also highly recommend this one. It was one of my top books of the year. I got it from the library but i intend to buy it because I will read it again.

Infidel, part 2 (see post 173)

Well, it's been a couple of days and I promised I'd come back and say more, but now I'm not sure what I can say without going into an essay length write-up. I loved this book, and I loved listening to the author's beautiful voice (also very helpful to hear all the foreign names pronounced). The book is divided into her early life of physical and mental abuse that she endured growing up in Somalia, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and Kenya. It was all extremely interesting. The second half takes place in Europe from 1992 onwards. Her descriptions of the delight she feels in discovering the west is also very interesting. And then of course the way she ended up in the Dutch Parliament was amazing.

I'm just in awe of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She is incredibly brave and intelligent. During the first part of the book I thought it was too bad that she was writing to a Western audience, instead of the women that could benefit from her story. For example, no rational person in the west needs to be convinced that FMG is a horrifying offence of human rights. But in the European half of the book, I can see that she does have an important message for the Western reader. I hope that she can continue with her human right's work AND get information to the women of Islam who will benefit from it.

Okay, before this becomes an essay, I'm going to stop.

Survival in Auschwitz, by Primo Levi (originally published as If This is a Man)

First I have to say that this book gave me actual nightmares. I didn't dream that I was in a Nazi death camp, but in my dream I was experiencing an indescribable terror and could not stop screaming. So, yeah, I'd describe this book as "intense."

Of all the reading assigned to me this term, this was the one sole book that I looked forward to. And I wasn't disappointed. At times it was extremely difficult to read and I wasn't sure I could go on. But the title is "survival," and it is a memoir, so that gave me hope. Plus, Levi's writing is eloquent and his story is fascinating. Highly recommended, but if you too are susceptible to nightmares, don't read it at bedtime.

2 more for the list! I've been hearing a lot about Survival in Auschwitz lately, so I'm glad to hear it is worth reading.

Nickelini, I have read everything that Primo Levi wrote and he is one of my all time heroes. I think his writing is wonderful in its spare form and philosophy.

His agonies and tomented life are explained with great intelligence and simplicity, but what amazed me is his emotional self control and how he pushed past the baser emotions of anger and fear to stay so analytically clear-headed.

He had such a sad life, evidently committing suicide in his 50s falling down stairs. It is thought he became desperately unhappy when he felt the sufferings of the Holocaust were being forgotten.

Read all his stuff - it is worth it, even though it is such a terrible and dark subject. He was a great man.

kiwidoc, you said it beautifully, i couldn't have said it better about the man. to read everything he wrote remains an aim for me, but i hope to do it one day.

nickelini, i will definitely check out Infidel on my next bookshop visit. thanks for the review...

kiwidoc and deebee, I haven't read most of what Primo Levi wrote, but I really was moved by The Periodic Table.

Karen - after reading this Levi book, I dedided I would definitely keep my eyes open for his other work. I'm especially interested in If Not Now, When? just because it sounds unusual. Thanks for the encouragement to explore his work.

According to Wikipedia, not everyone agrees that he committed suicide. Some say it wasn't in his personality and he didn't leave a note, and most convincing to me, he had complained of dizzy spells a few days earlier. So I like to think that he didn't die in anguish. Somehow this makes a difference to me. :-)

Why You Should Read Kafka Before You Waste Your Life, James Hawes

I thought this was a great title, so I asked the library to purchase the book, but then when it came in I felt guilted into actually reading it. First, I have to note that the author never really does tell you why you should read Kafka before you waste your life. But it was still a worthwhile read. For the most part it's a biography of the writer, put into historical context. He also systematically attempts to eradicate many of the myths about Saint Kafka. For example, he wasn't a saint. In fact, I think he was kinda a creep. Anyway, the book is written in a very conversational, breezy style, and I learned a lot about the culture of Prague during the early 20th century.

Joyce - reading stuff about Levi, I had understood that he was very depressed around the time that he fell down the stairs and died. I remember that he did not leave a suicide note, but think that his family thought it was a suicidal gesture.

It is amazing to think that a man can live through such horror with such a will to live, and then (perhaps?) later take his life. I think it speaks to the intensity and morality of this man and his difficulty living with such experiences.

(I think this take on his death was in a biography that I read about him - I will have to look up the name of it, unless someone else has it on the tip of their fingers?!)

The Periodic Table is an excellent book, more experimentally designed to meld his physics/science with his experiences in life. I loved it.

Revelations of Divine Love, Julian of Norwich

Julian was a 14th century English anchorite, which sounds pretty interesting (an anchorite is someone who is kept in an enclosed place--a cell--in a church or monestry so that they can contemplate God 24/7). Sigh. Julian was this week's reading for my Intro to the Humanities class (that I'm taking at the end of my Humanities degree). Despite the four and five star ratings here at LT, I couldn't find it in me to give Julian a twinkle more than two stars. I still don't quite get why we read this book--it's a stretch to fit it into our theme. Okay, enough of the polite talk. Now I'm going to say what I really think. Julian of Norwich is a nutbar. Yep, I'm applying my 21st century, liberal, feminist, western bias. But she's a Catholic extremist, a zealot, a crazy women. Who prays to be on her deathbed? I guess it depends on what you're reading for, but someone's ramblings of religious ecstacy just doesn't do it for me.

I'm jealous of your reading lists!! (I mean the university ones). I have so many gaps - years of reading textbooks... and not reading fiction. I'm especially light on the classics.

Another Levi fan here. Kiwidoc, I found The Periodic Table in a pile downstairs last week and haven't read it yet.

aagh was going through your whole thread backwards, but someone has just pulled 30-odd books off the bookshelf onto the floor...

Helen in Egypt, H.D.
Cassandra, Christa Wolf

These two texts are retellings of Greek myths, written by 20th century feminist authors. Helen in Egypt is a 300 page modernist poem, and Cassandra is a novel told in one continuous block of interior monologue (no section breaks). I'd describe both as "stream of consciousness." Both texts are highly complex with many layers of meaning, and are therefore very challenging. Challenging reads can be very rewarding. However, I am so burnt out by my reading list this term that I found both of these books extremely boring. I expect that had I read them in a brighter state of mind, I may have enjoyed them, but right now they both make me scream: "Who cares!" (But I need to care, because I now have to go write a 15 page essay on them . . . )

Edited Nov 25th to say: I have now reread Helen in Egypt--the whole 304 pages-- because I have to write on it. I liked it a bit better the second time. It definitely has some interesting aspects to it, and really lovely language.

Another revision message here. After a whole term of studying, reading and rereading, and writing on the Greek tragedies, I have to say I now look at them much more fondly. Even the Orestea, which I really disliked going into it cold. I see now that the key for me is to have lots of supplemental and background information. It's really fun to read all these plays and see how they all work with and against each other. Don't know if I'll go so far as to voluntarily read plays in the future, but I'm sure glad I have these foundation myths in my reading tool box.

I can't believe back in post 165 I said that the telling of Helen, by Euripides, left something to be desired. It's hilarious in parts. And for a tragedy, it's really a very happy story. I've changed my rating to 5 stars. My fav line: "I sacked Troy for you!" If that isn't romance, I don't know what is. Euripides rocks!

Doesn't it feel good to learn to appreciate a piece of literature that at first we just couldn't grasp or enjoy! It's like discovering a New World!

ETA: Eureka!

Yes! I live for that. Always have.

By the way, what type of music is your area of musical interest? And are you 41 years old?

Nickelini:

My primary interest since I was a child has been classical music; my training is in classical piano and my degree was in composition. Since I now teach independently in my own studio I have broadened my knowledge and interests so I can teach in many styles and of course, since I am the music director of my church I'm also interested in that field. I must say I listen to and enjoy all styles of music--as long as it is "good" music--i.e. excellent examples of whatever genre it represents. My younger son has introduced me to many excellent artists and bands in 20th and 21st century music in many popular genres.

2nd question--not anymore! ;-) Age was the original reason I selected that number when I needed to distinguish myself from other MusicMoms.

December 2008

85. Galileo, Bertolt Brecht
86. Holy War, Inc., Peter L. Bergen
87. Picnic at Hanging Rock, Joan Lindsay
88. Surfacing, Margaret Atwood
89. the Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick, Peter Handke
90. Gods Behaving Badly, Marie Phillips
91. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark

Galileo, Bertolt Brecht

This is my 13th, and final, play this year--quite a lot for someone who has possibly never read a play before! This is a deceptively simple story that covers the highlights of Galileo's career. Although it is short, it packs in a wealth of topics. I guess the fact that I'm not selling the book back to the university means that I liked it and plan to read it again. Recommended.

Holy War, Inc. Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden, Peter L. Bergen audio book

I thought of all the books out there about bin Laden and Islamist terrorists, this would be a good one because Bergen has actually met and interviewed bin Laden. I wasn't disappointed, and the book was interesting, although I'm not sure if I learned much that I didn't already know. His major premise is that al Qaeda is run like a transnational corporation, and because it is not tied to any government, it's a slippery beast. This also makes it much more difficult to stop them. Bergen had almost completed this book on 9/11, so it's a bit dated in that the Iraq war hadn't started, or a possible war wasn't even a concern. Despite being a bit out of date, I listened to it on audio book while doing other stuff, so listening to it wasn't a waste of time.

Picnic at Hanging Rock, Joan Lindsay

A quintessential Australian read. As Merry10 describes it, this book is "wonderfully atmospheric". I also think that it couldn't be set anywhere else, as the story wouldn't work in another setting (except perhaps New Zealand). Set in 1900, it pits the proper Victorian British colony sense of decorum against the wild, mysterious Other of the physical landscape. The author uses some absolutely beautiful turns of phrase. Recommended.

I saw the movie Picnic at Hanging Rock on DVD a few years ago. I had no idea it was also a book. I will have to look for it.

ETA Especially since I've now visited Australia! I really loved my trip there.

Yep, definitely a book. It was written in 1967 and the movie is from the early 80s. I saw the video shortly after I returned from Australia in the 80s, but I don't remember much of it--I think I probably fell asleep. Australia is a fabulous place though, isn't it! I'm happy to mail you the book, so if you want it, send me a private message with your address on my profile page.

Just seeing Picnic at Hanging Rock in print makes me hear a swan fluttering into flight. Miranda! Time is stopped, stretched or compressed throughout the book. Very dreamlike.

Re #27. I know this is out of sequence but I'm new to both LT and 50-Book Challenge so am working my way through people's postings. I added Family Matters to my Wish List based on your comment about both it and A Fine Balance, one of my Top 100.

Merry - yes, Picnic at Hanging Rock is very dreamlike. I think the effect is helped by Lindsay's beautiful turns of phrase.

I watched the film recently on TV. Now I want to read the book too.

Surfacing, Margaret Atwood

This was an odd book. Can't think of much more to say. I rated it 3 stars--not a waste of time, there were some interesting bits, but overall I can only give it a lukewarm recommendation.

Perhaps you could try The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus by Atwood, if you have not already. I thought it was quite fun and I know that you have done a lot of serious plays and Greek tragedies this year so it may tie in?

Yep, read that in September. Much more enjoyable, although Surfacing was probably a "deeper" book, and so interesting in its own way. I read Surfacing now because the Atwoodians group was doing a group read on it.

Joyce, you've mentioned in a couple of places now that you didn't like reading plays. Since you've read so many in the past few months, is the format starting to grow on you or are you still not so into them? What is it about them that you find less than appealing? (I'm just asking because I love reading plays, and so I'm interested in what makes other people feel differently about them.)

I do think that watching plays performed live is much more fun than reading them, though!

Hi, Jennifer,

I don't think I'd ever read a play before this year, so the format was just so unfamiliar. I still prefer novels, but I don't mind reading plays now. Seeing I've read thirteen (or fourteen?) this year. At first I found them so choppy and unnatural. I still find I go too fast and forget to look at who is speaking, and I miss all the details that you get in a novel, but they have sort of a charm of their own.

Compare:
Mirabel: you cad!

with:

By the light of the candelabra, Mirabel gathered up her ruby taffeta skirt and strode across the marble floor to slap Adolfo across the face and call him a cad.

I guess I like things really spelled out for me. :-)

On the upside of plays, I appreciate how concisely they tell a story. I think they deliver a lot of bang for your buck. I am now fearless when it comes to plays!

Nickelini, I'm with you. I've read plenty of plays, too (I majored in theater in college), and have yet to duplicate in my reading of the words on the page the excitement that good acting can bring to words said on the stage. No doubt about it: Plays are written to be seen, not read.

The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick, Peter Handke

This is the last global book for my 888 challenge category (Austria). I picked this one because I liked the title and it is sort of an obscure book (don't know anyone else who has read it), and it counts toward my 1001 book challenge (aiming at 100 books by Dec 31). And it was only 133 pages.

Such an extremely odd book. Not sure how to describe it. Definitely not a fun, pleasant read, and in parts it was boring. That said, however, I'm glad I read it, and on some level I found it absolutely fascinating. It's about an ex-soccer goalie and former construction worker who wanders around Austria with little explanation or purpose. Early in the novel, he murders someone for no apparent reason. The thing that I found most fascinating about the novella was the narration: the narrator appears to be omniscient, but the voice really follows only the main character, and is very selective about what it says. In some parts it goes into extensive detail, and in others it is incredibly vague. The language is deceptively simple, perhaps matching the vocabulary with that of the uneducated goalie. The only time he is able to articulate himself effectively is when he talks about soccer. The ending is unusual, and going out on a limb here (and this isn't a spoiler), I think it tells the reader not to overthink things--which most readers have probably done if they've made it to the end. A very existential book. Recommended for its narrative technique, but not for the story.

Gods Behaving Badly, Marie Phillips

A much needed light read. Unique story and clever idea, and rather fun all around. Growing up, I didn't read much Greek mythology, but did have a strong Judeo-Christian literary influence. So whenever I read the Ancient Greek tales, I'm always taken aback how the gods are the immoral, selfish and lascivious ones and virtue is only found in the rare human. Gods Behaving Badly continues with this tradition, which shouldn't be a surprise considering the title. But there is growth and character development all round, and a satisfying end.

Somehow while reading the book, I kept imagining it as a movie. I'd cast Tilda Swinton as Artemis and Joseph Fiennes as Eros. Neil and Alice need to be unknowns. Not sure about the rest.

You are (almost) inspiring me to pick up some plays, Joyce. Perhaps next year!!

I just put in a request at the library for Gods Behaving Badly. I hope it comes before Christmas --I could use a humorous read before I start the 999 challenge in January. I have always loved the Greek myths and this sounds like it should be really fun!

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark

Yet another odd little book. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I'm not sure what I think about it. Certainly there weren't really any likable characters. I especially disliked the duplicitous Sandy, although she made the book interesting. What was with her becoming a nun? Anyway, I'm glad it was short and I'm glad I only paid $1 for it, but it wasn't a waste of time.

Hi Joyce.

I have just finished A Far Cry From Kensington by Spark. I really enjoyed it, but there is a definite cynical wit edge to the writing that might not appeal to everyone.

(Hope you have a very Merry Xmas, BYW. Are you getting around in this snow!?)

I dunno . . . I'm usually quite a fan of cynicism. Maybe it was just the mood I was in. Or, maybe after all the stuff I had to read this fall I just need a really strong plot-driven narrative with minimal nuances.

Have a good Christmas too. I'm starting to feel a bit more festive since we got snow. I was out in the worst of it yesterday morning picking my cat up from the vet and slid all over the place, but if you go slow it's not too bad. I'm lucky that anywhere I have to go is within walking distance, so I use the snow as an incentive to get some exercise.

We live on a steep hill, and despite the four wheel drive, I was sweating all the way down (thankfully no sliding). I love the white though. Very festive as you say.

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen

I know. Who would have thought that I haven't read Sense and Sensibility? Not me, because I've read "Jane Austen," and I own the DVD and have seen it at least four times. But yet, this wasn't one of the titles I've read, and somehow I thought this was the time to actually read the book. Definitely a good Christmas-time holiday read.

As Austen goes, it's highly amusing and interesting. What can you say that hasn't already been said? I must add, however, that having studied the writing style of Mansfield Park a few years ago, and then studying writing theory this past fall, I was extremely distracted throughout the first half of the book. I watched what JA was doing with each individual sentence (because it's sooo interesting). But doing this distracted me from the story. By about half-way through, I was able to mute that tendency, and just enjoy what JA is writing. She's a writer who is tons of fun to analyse though. If you read her quickly, I think you really miss the essense of Austen. I find I have to make myself think about almost each sentence, and when I actually do this, it's so much more rewarding.

Here's the link to my 2009 list:

Nickelini in '09

I know what you mean; I find myself analyzing and admiring JA's sentences while I'm also being supremely entertained by them. Your comments remind me of my experiences in trying to read Middlemarch my usual way. I tend to race through a book in one day (gobbling rather than savoring). I had heard some author I admired (I can't remember who) say that she read Middlemarch at least once a year, she loved it that much! I would pick it up, read a few pages here and there and think this book sounds tedious, but finally, last year I sat down and read much more slowly than I usually do, really thinking about what the author was saying and found that I really loved the story! In many ways, it reminded me of Jane Austen.