Biographies

I've been in a loop of reading biographies. Some have been informative without much enjoyment of the actual read, but others, such as Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, are exceptional reads and I most enthusiastically encourage that reading! I began this tour with Unbroken and was touched by the underlying tie of going through so many difficulties and serious trials and near-death experience and yet to come out triumphantly and not let it defeat the individual. It was richly crafted and had historical significance in understanding the use of the bombs in WWII that devastated Japan. There has been much back pedaling currently on the use of those bombs, but I truly believe at that point in time, they had no other options because of what was happening...and you will have to pick up the book to learn exactly why. It is always great to look back and be able to see possible other options, but in that moment in time, I believe they did what they could to bring things to a close as quickly as possible. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in stories of personal triumph or material concerning WWII, especially the Pacific Theater. I also picked up a juvenile nonfiction book as well. Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang was not as enjoyable for me, though I found it interesting to discover things about China I had not thought about prior to reading this book. It is a memoir of the author's own experiences navigating childhood and young adulthood under the "Cultural Revolution" in China under their leader Mao. The greatest piece I gained from this reading was to recognize the pattern of control enacted by governing officials throughout the world and throughout time. It follows the same pattern and is unnerving considering our current social attitudes and where our own country as well as other countries around the world are moving. There is always that claim for greater freedom and more equality, but for some reason, humans have a tendency to give one freedom while taking away a different one. The balance lies in which freedoms are most important and should be protected and fought for no matter what. I would use this shorter piece of literature in a study along with The Diary of Anne Frank and Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (which is another book I highly recommend). After these readings, I chose to read Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. She termed this non-fiction work as a "true-life novel" instead of a biography. I didn't understand the use of that term, but she clarifies this after the story ends and I have to say, I have great respect for her in using the term. I enjoyed her first non-fiction novel The Glass Castle and continued to enjoy her writing style as I read this second book (which really is a pre-quil if you will, of The Glass Castle). She has a true gift for writing and grabs you into this world of the west and cattle ranching and the struggles of survival not only in a part of the country that struggles due to drought conditions, but as well as her grandmother's triumph through many trials. A tenacious lady who grabs the world by the horns and achieves impressive things within her community and her no-fear attitude can bring that confidence to any reader. Was I through reading nonfiction yet? Of course not!! I then picked up I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban. That's a mouthful, right? I enjoyed gaining a better perspective of a portion of the world that tends to remain vague and undefined in our Western Culture. I have some little background and a great interest in understanding things more fully from the perspective of those in the Middle East. In 2007, I was greatly intrigued as I watched the film Persepolis which was based on the graphic novel by the same title. I still have yet to read the novel but find great interest in this concept. Prior to the movie, I was culturally blind to the fact that at one point, Iran was as "progressive" as anyone. I had no idea the things that had occurred in that country not so long ago. I grew up thinking the women had always worn the traditional veil and cloak (I apologize for not knowing the correct terms, but I believe the dress code is called Hijab). I was quite shocked that they wore jeans and Western wear until the Islamic Revolution. In a similar, though not exact manner, there were things that happened to Malala and her country of Pakistan. The cultural and political information were invaluable, especially the perspective of the American influence/money that has infiltrated and backfired within her country. It was interesting, again, to see how the Taliban crept into her country and the governing officials turned a blind eye. I see this happening here as well as other countries throughout the world as extremists have pursued following their agenda and the irreverence for life. For instance, ISIS has now killed over 300 people in the city of Baghdad! They have been attributed to atrocities the world over and there doesn't seem to be much concern from political leaders...except for a greater debate on the legality of citizens having their own firearms. Although I am not a fan of interfering in other countries' struggles for balance of power, I also struggle to understand exactly how and when the United Nations and my own country should step in to assist for the safety and betterment of the civilians. What a complex topic that is!! And yet, knowing that being from the outside, there are complex issues with government and how it handles foreign intervention. I am grateful for this young girl and her campaign and goal of granting all children everywhere the opportunity to gain an education and, therefore, of learning to think for themselves and become more prosperous and happy and helpful in the world. This theme goes along with a documentary I watched with my girls titled "Girl Rising" which is full of information and will pull your heartstrings for girls all over the world who cannot or struggle greatly to obtain any education at all. And yet, here I am, safely educated and writing a book review blog for my own personal remembrance file...and anyone else who may happen upon it. If you are really looking for a good read and want to branch out from an overly fiction-ed perspective, I encourage you to read and ponder any of these titles. It will awaken new understanding in our complex world that is in constant flux.

Adam Bede

It has been awhile since I was so moved by a piece of literature that I wanted to write about. I mean, I CRAVE writing essays on this story. In fact, I want to compare and contrast characters and ideas from this novel with those from Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. I enjoyed George Eliot's writing from the start. She weaves and describes so well. The characterizations are fun and the individuals are breathing and living. I truly believed as Adam, in innocence, indicating the art of her pen did justice to allow us to view mostly what Adam knew. I could not understand his infatuation with a beautiful girl since he was so practical, but I assume this is not wholly uncommon. Eventually a terrible thing happens (trying not to spoil the ending) and all things seem as lost. Eventually things change and good comes from the bad. Often, as humans, we think we know exactly what we want. We begin pursuing it and work hard to achieve and obtain our goals, but something seems to step in the way and hinder us, only to appear later as a blessing. I believe a song by Rascal Flatts ("God Bless the Broken Road") gives further evidence of this happening. I want to write more here but feel I would spill the beans. Perhaps on a day that I have more time to think and ponder and pen my thoughts I will actually write more of an evaluation of the novel, but that day is not today.

The Girl with a Pearl Earring

I actually completed reading this book although I don't find it very moving or attention grabbing. I found it rather dull, although it could have been more interesting without becoming more "exciting". Not one I'll try to get on my bookshelf.

A Different Perspective

I was invited to participate in another book club. The coordinators are the local atheist/humanist group. I figured it would be interesting and I'm always up for learning things from a different perspective.
Their first selection was a nonfiction piece by Christopher Hitchens, an "antitheist", titled God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. This is my first piece of overtly anti-religious literature I've read. However, a lot of the "evidence" used in it touches on other literature I studied during college, especially during my "Science and Literature" course. I read a lot of different text on the concepts and theories of evolution and the "missing link". However, I have not continued to follow the science.
It will be an interesting night and a discussion that I hope I can participate in without getting flustered. I have a tendency to lose my train of thought when people are obviously not following my train of thought. I never claimed to be brilliant, so hopefully they'll forgive the "average" intelligence brain I'll be bringing.

The Kitchen House

The beginning of this book had me hoping for more. Sadly, I felt that Kathleen Grissom lost focus on the purpose of the story and ended up kind of wrapping things up at the end. It isn't all roses, but is a believable ending to where she was taking us. I would have just liked more development or emphasis on the theme of "family". I do appreciate her undertaking of difficult subject matter and the way she chose to expose the issues without becoming vulgar or graphic with explanation.
It's an incredibly quick read and I do like her writing style. It was good just to read a book quickly and be able to get other things accomplished, too.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Love this perspective change on the age-old fairytale of Cinderella. Gregory Maguire brings the fairytale to reality by setting the story in more reality based settings and characters. Isn't real life stranger than fiction? He applied the same theory to freshening this fairytale to be more interesting to a grownup audience. And that means he had to have symbolism and other "meat" to the novel, too! Great, fun read. I look forward to checking out other of his titles of the same genre.

C. S. Lewis

The Screwtape Letters is SO true! Wow, C.S. Lewis so hits the nail on the head with this book. He has pinned down human nature...especially involving religion. It's almost scary. But, it is also a way to become enlightened to vices an individual (say, myself) has had....and to let them go. A work in progress, but at least I am past denial, right?
Definitely something I put on my "must read" list.