Building Castles in the Air

I don't read a lot of non-fiction or memoir type books, but I enjoy them thouroughly. There is something so rich in reading a real life account, biased or swayed as it may be. Jeannette Walls does an incredible job weaving the tapestry of her life within the pages of The Glass Castle. I felt like I knew this family. I've encountered them in my acquaintances as well as even perhaps moments of my own life.
What I love best is how optimistic and non-blaming the book reads. Things most of us would view as complete tragedy and scarring for life read just as the expected roll of things. She and her siblings seem to bounce back and survive.
There is a coldness that I feel comes with true poverty. I've never felt more at loss or financially drained as when I've been too cold and unable to warm myself. In no way am I claiming to have been on the streets or in those dire situations, but I do know that cold has a claim on us far greater than heat. Perhaps I speak for myself, but I would have rather baked in those deserts with that family than to have stayed still in the frigid coldness of West Virginia winters.
I highly recommend this book as an eye opener and food for thought.

Room by Emma Donoghue

As I began reading this book I thought I wasn't going to like it. As I continued to read it, however, my viewpoint started to change. I felt that the voice was a little overmatured for a 5 year old, but as I discovered the true background to this child and his mother, I began to appreciate and see how true to nature it would have been.
I would recommend this novel to others because I think it exposes a lot of things for discussion. The role of the mother. The relationship between mother and child. The protectress mother in a difficult and unbelievable situation. The adjustment to "normal" life versus the solitude and confinement or "safety" of Room. Nursing. Criminal justice. Psychology. So much to discuss from just about every angle.
Although I don't think it will make it as an eventual classic, I do think it was a good a thoughtful read. I'd put it in a class with My Sister's Keeper but I do like the ending better in Room.

Mr. Grisham

I apologize to any of you who may be "popcorn" fanatics. I just don't really enjoy "entertainment only" literature. I don't really get entertained somehow.
I think John Grisham had a point to make in writing Skipping Christmas and it could have been more enjoyable, perhaps, had I not spoiled this one by watching the movie first. Of course, I wasn't really thinking I'd ever read the book when I watched "Christmas with the Kranks" a couple years ago. And, now having read the book, they definitely chose the wrong cast. I like Tim Allen movies and expect his humor and persona, but I just don't think he was who John Grisham would have chosen. I would have chosen Keifer Sutherland or Michael Keaton. Someone who looks a little more ruff and gruff and serious but who could take the humorous things that happen.
We just had our annual Christmas Devotional from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and they talked about enjoying the season and not letting the material things get in the way. I think that was also Mr. Grisham's point. The material things don't make up Christmas, but rather who we spend time with for those moments and memories and that we should always be seeking the true meaning of the season: love. We see this as Grisham has Mr. Krank extend the tickets that are unusable now for his wife and him to a couple who could be celebrating their last Christmas.
Still, I can't say I'd recommend the book to anyone else. I just don't generally enjoy the popcorn of literature when I could feast on greater works of literature. And, since there are so many of those in the world, I don't want to "waste" time on the junk food.

Let Me Stab My Eyes, Please

I hate to be so dramatic, but this is truly how I felt for the majority of reading Agatha Christie's murder mystery Hercule Poirot's Christmas. The writing style was much lacking and I was so tired of reading "So-an-so said" when it should have been obvious and unnecessary to point it out.
As most murder mysteries, there is too much that is only exposed at the end. It is implausible and unrealistic, but even at that, it wasn't enjoyable.
This is one of the worst books I have read in some time. Sorry dear Ms. Christie, you are just not my style.

Vanity Fair

There is so much to this book. It's an entertaining story of the lives of two women and their rises and falls in English society. There is so much true human perspective penned in these pages that it is hard not to contemplate the ways in which we can all do better or where we have fallen into those vices before.
Without being a preaching, moral shouting novel, we can still get the drift that society is not always true to form and that all humans have failings. Although Mr. Thackeray may have written a novel "without a hero," we are exposed to the truth that even those we may aspire to make our heroes have failings that must be accounted for.
Definitely a book I would recommend to others and will be putting on my own shelves.

Doctor Zhivago

Doctor Zhivago demands more research and understanding of Russia and her upheavals and revolutions to fully grasp Boris Pasternak's novel. However, without truly understanding the political situation, I believe his novel is still beautifully written with many profound statements about all aspects of life.
A friend of mine warned me that the entire book is based off of immorality. I'll give her that there is a background of immorality. Who can deny it? The Zhivago's seem to love women and have tragic lives. Still, I think there is more to this than just adultery and illegitimate children. I haven't formulated my thoughts yet, but I believe it relates directly to the politics and the changes that Mother Russia was going through. The relationships are all very different and echo the way the public adjusts and copes with the changes in government and the provisions for life.
I truly enjoyed Mr. Pasternak's writing style. The novel is well written and has just enough description to create beautiful images without going overboard and losing the reader's interest. In the same vein, I think his favorite color must have been lilac...that, or this, too, has some symbolical meaning.

The Odyssey

I can't tell you how many times I have actual read this epic poem. Seriously, I'm not sure. But, I can tell you that it never gets old for me. I love Greek mythology. I love the way there is action and cultural enlightenment on almost every page. It moves quickly and is, well, an adventure.
This time I was reading along with my husband and talked about things together. I think this makes reading literature even more enjoyable. To share it with someone is great, but to share it as husband and wife is even greater.
I do have to say that there are some translations that are incredibly lacking. I can see their value as far as exposure, but it loses so much when put into the "modern" system of paragraphs and language. No, I've never read it in the original, but getting things as close to the original as possible is always going to be more true to the author's originality than the modern translations to make it easier on the mass market's eye.
I didn't get to peruse the copy we purchased at Barnes and Nobel as it was wrapped in cellophane. Dumb. It's a hardbound copy and has both the Iliad and the Odyssey in it, so we'll keep it around (Eric needed something to get started with while he waited for his Norton Anthology to arrive in the mail). It will allow younger children to better grasp what is going on, but it lacks so much. Oh well, at least there's a copy in our home that gives the general sense of this classic.

Suite Francaise

My mind is still trying to process how I think about this novel published post-humuously by the writer's daughter.
I felt that this book was more two separate but interrelated shorter novels about the people in France during WWII. I would have liked more development in either of the stories, but what can I demand from Irène Némirovsky so many years after her death?
I appreciate her writing style and that she quickly paints very vibrant scenes, but I am left a little lost without the understanding of what war really means. I live in a country that is basically war-free, as we send troops away to fight and they are not on our soil. I see the view of the world through the conqueror's eyes more than from the viewpoint of the defeated French.

Black Infatuation

I find myself more and more intrigued with our nation's history of intercultural relations. I grew up in a home that was accepting of different races and cultures. My dad even belonged to a "tribe" and I have fond memories of watching those events. He made his clothing and was really involved for being a young father of multiple children and working retail. I remember one Christmas, several of my siblings were given moccassins that he made himself. I was fascinated and every year invited him to come and talk to my class at school about Native Americans.
We also were friends with people of all different colors of skin. I didn't understand that there were continuing race issues in my little world where everyone seemed to like everyone.
As I have grown older, my eyes have been opened to different situations and I want to understand why people do and say the things they sometimes do. It doesn't make sense to me, but I also realize that sometimes history and literature paint an extremely different picture than what was really going on. It wasn't how Margaret Mitchell paints the South in Gone with the Wind.
For this reason, I am grateful to read books like Uncle Tom's Cabin that opened my eyes to the North not being the "answer" to the slave issue or The Help which reminds me that, although "free" from organized slavery, the blacks in this country have had a hard time gaining true equality and what they had to suffer through along the way. Maybe it's the sociology. Perhaps the history. Or maybe it is just simply the politics that are revealed. It has my attention.

Industrialization

Elizabeth Gaskell has come recommended by a few of my friends who also enjoy reading Victorian literature. She's an interesting author; a contemporary of Charles Dickens. Her content seems related to that of Jane Austen, but approaches it from a slightly different angle, showing the lower class melting into the upper class in her story North and South as well as the industrial age and the plight of the cotton mill workers.
Although I found it slow to get into due to my association with book "colors" and moods (it's a VERY hot and humid summer compared to the dreary and cold Northern England I was reading about), I did enjoy it and I want to read more of her works. Her language felt more modern than that of Jane Austen as well as being more accessible than Charles Dickens. I also found it interesting that she wrote for Charles Dickens' journal and it seems there was a little competition, shall we say, for writing about the plight of the laborers.

The Poisonwood Bible

Barbara Kingsolver does a great job weaving the lives of her characters into the historical backdrop of a country in turmoil.
I know I have a great lack of understanding of the history of the entire continent of Africa. There is much I would like to understand and more that I haven't even heard of yet. Seriously. I know governments can be blood thirsty for their own ideas of what is good and profitable, but I never realize how terrible they are and have been.
It's hard to decide where the goodwill of an individual creeps upon the freewill of another. I most heartily agree with the statement 'Misunderstanding is my cornerstone. It's everyone's...Illusions mistaken for truth are the pavement under our feet. They are what we call civilization." Amen and amen. But, if this is a truth, than there must be a way for the opposite to happen as well. There must also be truths that are mistaken for illusions, which makes the whole figuring out right and wrong and the in-between more important to find.
The Poisonwood Bible is thought-provoking and has valid points to make. I think the portrayal of the father is a bit one-sided as he remains static and the explanations of his behavior are almost nearly a plea to allow his character to remain believable (and, I know that this kind of person can and does exist), but I probably would have left out the excusing sections of the book. A static character is a static character. On the other hand, Rachel proved to be a great court-jester and kept things from getting too serious and preachy. Her ignorance not only in human interactions but her mistakes in speech made me laugh. It's a clever author to write intelligent characters at the same time as writing one so blatantly dumb-blond and clueless to the fact.

Brideshead Revisited

I have a lot of jumbled thoughts at the moment, but need to record something before I forget.
I can definitely say that I like the way Evelyn Waugh writes. Although there may have been inappropriate things going on, he never felt the need to expound on them and turn his writing into a dirty novel (unlike how I felt about Kurt Vonnegut's book).
I think there are lot of truthful statements within these pages. Like about anger. Typically when someone despises something in another human, it is because of the mirror effect and hating that attribute in oneself.
This is a concept that has fascinated me most of my adult life. I studied this in college under the direction of one of my professors. All of those negative feelings do tend to rise from how we view ourselves. I see this in my interactions with other individuals as well. It's not something you can teach another person. They have to come to understand it and change it themselves by understanding and changing inside.
I also appreciate the religious aspect. There is so much that cannot be conveyed to an unbeliever much in the same way an unbeliever cannot explain to the convincing of a believer, either. This is why religion is such a personal matter. You are only permitted to know for yourself, although you can be a tool in assisting others to come to your personal knowledge.
I think maturing and becoming more insightful and, therefore, wiser, is so individually prepared and has a different path for everyone. I think this is what I truly got out of Brideshead Revisited.

One Thumb Up, One Thumb Down

The thing I really like about Slaughterhouse-Five is the writing style. I love the way Kurt Vonnegut composes the story as he weaves in and out of time. Following a chronological order would have made the book a complete flop. On the other hand, I am dissatisfied with certain language in the book. Do war related novels REQUIRE such dirty language? Apparently so. I could recommend this book but with a big warning that there is frequent use of fowl language.

Slaughterhouse-Five

Quick read. It surprises me sometimes at how quickly I speed through books with a touch of science fiction. I wouldn't necessarily call myself a sci-fi fan, but it can be interesting to me.
I'm not touting Slaughterhouse-Five as traditional sci-fi, but since he "travels" through memory to being in different periods of time, both future and past, it seems to be attached.
I also appreciate learning things from books. When something is mentioned, I love to go and do my own research regarding the topic. The Children's Crusade is a strange and unknown to me event in history. So, it was interesting to check into it and know a little more about the Crusades, but especially the efforts of children and what happens when they need a little guidance but lack responsible leaders to be willing to direct aright.

Still Waiting

I mentioned awhile back that I wanted to read some books in French. I have actually ordered and am (slightly impatiently now) waiting for my French copy of Les Miserables to arrive.
It's coming from France and there have been some issues with travel in Europe due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland. So, I'm trying to be understanding, although we are passed the proposed delivery time now.

Cry, the Beloved Country

I'll admit, the reason I was interested in this book is two-fold. First, I really don't know much about apartheid and was hoping there would be a little more exposure to the situation. Secondly, my most favorite short story entitled "Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordimer that deals with apartheid as well.
I enjoyed the book but feel that there must be more to it if I could just talk to someone about it. There is obviously a lack of understanding on my part and I need to do more research on the subject. That's one of the perks of handling the Great Works Book Club...I'm accountable to others for research on the books we read.
The message is good, though. Things happen and sometimes seem terrible but that God has his hand in all things. When God is involved, what may be seen as a dire situation can be turned into a blessing. Positivity out of negativity. I always love those messages.

The Diary of Anne Frank

My father is a WWII buff. All things history are amazing, but he's had a fascination with this particular war as long as I can remember. Growing up in his home, I was exposed to a lot of information in various forms surrounding WWII. It has gotten into my blood and I'm curious to how the whole thing even happened.
I guess I came up with my own ideas about Anne Frank, as well. I knew she was a Jew. I knew she kept a journal. I knew she was in hiding. I had my own concepts of how the journal and the hiding happened and I was WRONG! For some reason I had it in my head that she hid in a closet in someone's home. I thought she wrote on newspaper or something. After reading The Diary of Anne Frank, I realize how much preparation went into securing a safe hiding place not just for Anne, but her whole family, another family, and an additional Jewish man.
More than clarifying the conditions, my eyes were opened to the questions and insecurities of a pre-teen. I remember feeling that way and also not enjoying those years of growing up. It also brought me to confront reality a little more as I have two young girls that will one day be those ages...and that it really isn't that far in the future.
Reading her journal did not awaken new understandings of the war or Jews or anything dealing with WWII. I can recommend other historical fiction novels for that. It did, however, remind me of things I need to be careful about and instruct my children. It has raised a few questions and discussions I have since had with my husband regarding the rearing and raising of two darling little girls. There is so much to contemplate as a parent and I believe reading the frank words of our girl Anne can help parents realize that education and information will always find it's way into the minds of our children...we just need to ensure that the correct information is given at the right time and in the right situations, but that we also can't arrange it by arbitrary means or we might be too late.

Things Fall Apart, No Matter What

Can you fight destiny or fate? Can you reconfigure the way your life will ultimately play out? Okonkwo attempts to overcome the fates and the history his father left him. From young to middle-aged, Okonkwo strives in his efforts to be seen as the ultimate provider and warrior. However, in the end, he struggles to conform to the changes his tribe makes with the involvement of the white man. No matter how much he struggled and pushed for success, he ended no better, truly, than his father.
In general, people face the cycle of success and failure. The true measure of humanity is not in how long a success survives, but how that individual copes throughout both bounty and famine. Adjusting and surviving and striving through all walks of life are a better measure than only in times of trial or in times of plenty.

The Awakening

Two other characters from different stories are reminiscent of Edna in Kate Chopin's The Awakening. Both Nora from Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" as well as Frances from Dirty Dancing are apparent in the persona of Edna: women who are awakening to their own powers and selves.
Marriage is such a serious commitment that I have always viewed it with great reverence. I have often worried about people getting married at very young ages. Moreso than the age, however, it is the lack of real experience in life and love. Most teenagers believe they have experienced love when they have their first boyfriend/girlfriend. However, in most cases, this is only infatuation and ends in a turbulent breakup. It is not until an individual gains life experience through living on her own and discovering how much is required of her to provide for her own happiness. Happiness is neither found nor discovered solely in the relationship with another being. It comes from within and emanates outwardly, affecting the relationships in which she develops.
Chopin's character Edna has not experienced enough of life before marriage. She has remained submissive and unthinking from her father's home to that of her husband. Thus, when she begins choosing for herself, she finds herself unsatisfied with what has been given to her. Her husband is wealthly and in good society. On the surface, there appears to be a lack of what would cause unhappiness and complacency. However, things cannot make a person happy and once Edna has experienced the accomplishment of learning to swim, she seeks other opportunities to find that same self-worth and adoration. She affixes her attentions to Robert but when he is not near, she allows others to fulfill her needs; even as much as finding a stranger's look to be almost intoxicating.

Tidy Packages

Typically, I get really annoyed at writers who seem to tie everything up in perfect packages by the end of the story. I just don't think that life happens that way and reject authors who, by doing this, reject reality and make it seem like they just didn't know how to end a story. In this respect, Alexandre Dumas does not give a perfect ending to the story, but rather, resolves enough of the goals of his main character to accomplish the purpose of the story without it feeling undone in the end. Of course, after nearly 1500 pages, it would have to have time to develop and complete the cycles presented at the beginning.
In finishing this novel, I have probably 5 different thesis ideas. I'll have to store those away so I have something to give a dissertation about when I get the chance to go back for my masters.

The Count and Counting

In case I forget about this important thought...
There is a moment when the Count says "mysteriously", "One!" I have about one hundred pages left and I haven't seen any further counting from the Count. Presently, it is evoking the way "The Count" from Sesame Street counts. I will be happy to have the answer to my question. I'm curious to see if I am correct in my assumptions that he is calculating how many reparations he has completed. As of yet, no further indication is given.
I'm really enjoying this novel. In the first few hundred pages I was wondering about vengeance and how such a tale has continued to have such popularity throughout time. Assuredly, it is more important to finish reading the novel to understand that it is not a tale of complete vengeance, but rather the way those who do not repent easily fall into their own vices to eventually bring sorrow upon themselves. It's more the saying of "what goes around, comes around."
I adore the figures of Morrel's daughter Julie and her husband Emmanuel Herbaut. In a time of economic turmoil and our own strivings to get out of debt and own our home, these characters may be very sideline types, but they are heroes in their own right. More people need to evaluate who they should be emmulating: the Danglers and Villeforts or the Herbauts. Truly, we would solve such world crises if individuals found satisfaction in being able to fulfill their true needs instead of trying to create a world of unsatisfiable wants.

The Count and Les Miserables

I definitely know that when I am able to go back for my Master's, I will be wanting to complete it in French literature. I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo and Les Miserables right now and am completely captivated. It is taking me longer to read because I am basically savoring the words and images these writers create for me. After I finish reading The Count, I plan on going back and reading the abridged version we picked up for Eric (he really wants to read, but has drastically less time for it than myself). I'm curious to see if the things I would have shortened or removed in the interest of time and space are the same as previously committed. I'm sure I'll get to the point of doing the same with Les Miserables. Of course, those are both with the desire to some day in the future obtain French copies of these classics and be able to read and comprehend them in the vernacular. Great expectations? Think I'll make it?

Just as Good in Round Two

When I married my husband, we began two immediate collections: board games and books. These are two categories of must-haves for any growing family. In the acquisition of books, Eric suggested The Giver. I had never read it before and was curious after his explanation. I quickly devoured the book and loved it. There's so much in those pages! Choosing it for Book Club required me to re-read it since it had been four years. This is one book I won't mind reading and re-reading. I'm immediately in the society and can see it in my mind's eye. After reading and thinking about it this second time, I love it even more. Part of that may also be my exposure to other novels similar in theme such as Fahrenheit 451 and 1984. The drabness enforced upon the societies in order to achieve "sameness" is similar in both The Giver and 1984. The trash receptacles, rules, and punishments all hum a similar tune. The lack of culture found in literature and art are missing, all in the pursuit of different yet similar goals.
We gave a copy of this novel to one of our nephews for Christmas. We didn't just randomly choose it. It's one of our favorites because it has so much to teach within those pages.

I Hate, I Love

I have a friend who told me that she was able to skate through not only high school, but also a bachelor's and master's degree programs with having read this book. She read The Good Earth in 7th grade and hasn't really read anything since.
I could say that I understand why. There were times that I just wanted to stop reading. I'm not sure if it was because it got slow or because it was so frustrating for the husband to treat his wife so poorly. On the other hand, there's a lot of good things in the book to. Yes, we go from rags to riches and have a semi-circularness to the plot, but there are some truisms within that you can't avoid. For instance, if you aren't careful, you can become so wrapped up with appearances and the opinions of others that you forget what is truly important. You can also loose site of the ones who truly care for you and love you in the pursuit of trying to make comparative strangers pleased and boastful about your accomplishments.
I love, love, love the character of O-Lan. Sure, she isn't the most physically desirable woman, but the remaining qualities she has completely trump that!! Her frugality truly leads to the husband's success and yet she is constantly sidelined and ignored. I also have to give props to a woman who would work up to the point of labor, give birth, and then return to the field to assist her husband. That's amazing fortitude there!
So, with this book of both love and hate, I have to say that I would recommend it to others to read and reflect on their priorities...a great read for the end of last year to prompt my new resolutions and hopes for a great 2010. Now, to read the remaining two books of her trilogy.