Tag: Books

Ishmael:An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit, by Daniel Quinn

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Cover ImageFinished 12-6-08, rating 3/5, fiction, pub. 1992

“TEACHER seeks pupil.  Must have an earnest desire to save the world.  Apply in person.”   -Chapter 1

The narrator of this book answers this ad in the local paper and finds a full-grown gorilla, Ishmael, waiting for him in an office.  Ishmael and the narrator can talk to each other and Ishmael shares the truth about the history of the world and mankind.  The narrator is a willing, if somewhat daft, student and becomes convinced that everything the gorilla says is true, from his take on overpopulation and how it relates to feeding starving people to the destructive things Mother Culture teaches us that are ruining the planet.

Jason and I read this together and it took us over 6 months and not because it was long!  This book is an overly repetitive philosophy lesson.  It has some really interesting and thought-provoking ideas, but went out of the way to repeat each idea ten different ways so that it made me feel like I was back in school with a bad teacher.  There was no plot or storyline to follow, just a guy listening to a gorilla tell him what was wrong with the world and how to fix it. 

Okay, so if I disliked it so much why did I give it 3 stars?  The ideas themselves were good.  It didn’t necessarily change my view of the world, but it did reinforce some of what I already believed about man’s need to conquer the world at any cost.  Jason’s favorite part was the retelling of the Cain & Abel story to fit the philosophies of Ishmael. 

If you are looking for a good story, skip it.  If you want to be exposed to different ideas about the our society and the world I think you’ll probably get a lot out the book.  It won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship , a half million dollar prize, when it was published.

Books = Gifts

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This year I had decided to make books the theme of my Christmas gift giving.  We have an independent bookstore that I will support by shopping there and I’m compiling my list of ideas before I go.  Last night I found the website, http://www.booksequalgifts.com/, and was excited to see a site with links to good gift ideas, a book sweepstakes, and this fun video
America’s book publishers are proud to debut a holiday video featuring Elmo, Martha Stewart, Jon Stewart, Barbara Walters, Dean Koontz, Maya Angelou, Mary Higgins Clark, Kathie Lee Gifford, Bill O’Reilly, Christopher Paolini, Frank McCourt, Arianna Huffington, Deepak Chopra, Julie Andrews, Cesar Milan, Carol Higgins Clark, Alec Baldwin, Deidre Imus, Jim Cramer, Nora Ephron, Dan Brown, Judy Blume, Jonathan Lethem, Scott Westerfeld, Rachael Ray, and John Lithgow sharing their reasons why books make great gifts.
I hope you will all join me this year in supporting authors, booksellers, and publishers by buying books for gifts 🙂

Sundays at Tiffany’s, by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

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Cover ImageFinished 12-1-08, fiction, rating 3.5/5, pub. 2008

“Please don’t leave me, Michael.  I’m begging you.  You can’t – not now, not ever!  You don’t know how important you are to me!”

“You’ll see, Jane,” he promised her.  “You’ll forget me, and it won’t hurt tomorrow.  Besides, you said it yourself: Love means you can never be apart.  So we’ll never be apart, Jane, because Iove you so much.  I’ll always, always love you.”

And with those words, Michael began to fade out of the room, in imaginary friend-style…”     -Chapter 7

Jane was a lonely child with a successful but neglectful mother.  Jane’s imaginary friend, Michael, gave her friendship and love before he had to leave her on her 9th birthday.  Fast forward 23 years and Jane has never forgotten Michael, achieving her own success by putting their story on the Broadway stage.  Even with this success she is still a lonely girl who never feels good enough.  Michael is between assignments and sees Jane on the New York streets and decides to follow her.  Michael is shocked to find out that Jane remembers him, something that has never happened before.

This is a fast read (I finished it in a day) and one that will open your imagination.  Who doesn’t want to have an imaginary friend whose sole purpose is to make them happy?  I was prepared to put my disbelief out in the snow while I cozied up to a lighthearted read.  It did tickle my imagination in a light, if not superficial way.  Michael was the perfect man and Jane was a normal girl who had never stopped loving him.  I even got past the fact that somehow Michael never aged, so when he was friends with an 8 year old girl he was the same age as when he fell in love with the same girl 23 years later.

The ending ruined much of the magic, for me at least.  I won’t ruin it for you, but I was disappointed because it felt lazy.  It could have been powerful or poignant, but it was…boring and short on explanation.  I liked the book and maybe not everyone will have a problem with the ending.  Total romantics will love it.  I consider myself more of a romantic realist, so I was a bit disappointed.  Overall it was a fun read with lots of potential, but one I’ve already rewritten in my head a half dozen ways and liked better!

 

Free books for December

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Leave a comment, tell me which book you want and I’ll get the book to you for FREE either by mail or personally if I’ll see you soon.  The first one to request each book wins.

Once you’ve ‘won’ the book I can get your shipping address if I need it.  Also, you can come back and get a free book every month if you want. 

1. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice writing as A.N. Roquelaure – brand new hardcover book club copy for Bobbie

2. Comfort Woman by Nora Okja Keller – trade paperback read once

3. Midnight on Julia Street by Ciji Ware – paperback read a few times

4. Over the Edge by Jonathan Kellerman – paperback read once for Satish

5. 1st To Die by James Patterson– like new paperback for Debby

Thanks for helping me clear my shelves!  Happy Reading 🙂

Mistletoe & Holly, by Janet Dailey

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Cover ImageFinished 11-24-08, rating 2.5/5, romance, pub. 1982

“It isn’t that I don’t like Christmas,” she tried to qualify her aversion to the season.  “It’s all the fuss that goes along with it.  It’s the decorations and the gift-giving and all the meaningless things that go along with them.  Too many people are making too much money off a day that’s supposed to be a religious holiday.  I guess I believe the meaning of Christmas has become lost under the fancy foil wrappings and bright ribbons.”            -Chapter 4

Leslie has a broken leg, a dislike for the Christmas season, and an aunt who will take her into her Vermont home while Leslie heals.  Her aunt Patsy’s new neighbors are a handsome man and his daughter who draw Leslie into the holiday spirit even as she tries to fight off the jolly pair.  Taggert and Holly include Leslie in their family and hope that she will want to stick around permanently.

I remember reading Janet Dailey in junior high and high school.  She wrote a romance for each of the states and I tried to collect them all.  I picked this up at a used book sale for 25 cents thinking I’d take a trip down memory lane.  I guess, as with many things I read when I was in junior high, it didn’t really hold up all that well.  I thought the writing was pretty bad at the beginning, but once I was drawn into the sweet story I didn’t think it was distractingly bad.  The story was charming, but as with most short romances it wasn’t a fulfilling read.

The Ark, the Reed & the Fire Cloud, by Jenny Cote

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The Ark, the Reed, and the FirecloudThe Ark, the Reed, & the Fire Cloud. Finished 11-21-08, rating 4/5, children’s fiction, pub. 2008

This is book 1 in The Amazing Tales of Max & Liz

Max is a Scottish terrier who is called by the Maker to follow a fire cloud.  He leaves everything he knows behind and follows the cloud through Scotland, across Europe, to the Middle East.  Along the way he meets friends who are also being called to follow the fire cloud.  He meets a new best friend, an orange cat named Al, a mate for life, the beautiful white dog Kate, and a partner in leadership, the intelligent black cat, Liz.  Their adventures are fun and exciting and educational.  Liz loves sharing her knowledge with the others, like where rain and thunder come from and how food is fuel.

Their journey is entertwined with the story of Noah and his family as they build the Ark.  Noah’s family is shunned by their neighbors as they spend 100 years building the Ark as God has instructed.  One day animals from every place on earth begin to make their way to the Ark and a new adventure begins once they all board.

This book is magical and adventurous and fun.  It entertains, but also teaches and I think it is a must have for any Christian library.  It expands on the story of the flood without ever changing the biblical tale.  It is about friendship, loyalty, and hope.

This is a 450 page book for children 8-12.  I think it is beautifully done- the cover and the drawings inside.  Have you seen The Princess Bride?  Where Peter Falk is reading this grand adventure story to his grandson, Fred Savage?  Well, that is what I envisioned as I was reading this book.  It is a perfect book for you and a child to read together.  This is a perfect Christmas gift for preteen readers.

Author Jenny Cote has already written the next three in the series of Max and Liz and is also working with a movie studio to produce this book into a film.  I think it would be a wonderful movie.  Visit her website for more details and information, http://www.maxandliz.com/

2009 Book Challenge

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readown3I’ve decided to participate in my first reading challenge.  This one is right up my alley and it should help me clear off my shelves.  The challenge is to read books already on my shelf.  If you haven’t seen how many that is for me, check this out. 

I perused the hundreds of titles on my shelves and chose these 50 that I’m committed to reading in 2009.  I know I will read more than that, but these are titles that have been on my shelves awhile and I need to get them read! 

I know it’s early, but these are the 50 I’ve chosen…

1. A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving

2. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

3. Second Nature by Alice Hoffman

4. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

5. The Pigman by Paul Zindel

6. Skinny Legs & All by Tom Robbins

7. The Little Friend by Donna Tartt

8. The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood

9. The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

10. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

11. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophi Kinsella

12. The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve

13. The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver

14. Naked Came the Matinee by Hiaasen et al.

15. Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

16. Summer’s Child by Luanne Rice

17. The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks

18. Mercy by Jodi Picoult

19. The Tenth Justice by Brad Meltzer

20. An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender

21. Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts

22. Joy School by Elizabeth Berg

23. Nickel & Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

24. Damage by Josephine Hart

25. Wacky Chicks by Simon Doonan

26.. The Rival by Brenda Joyce

27. Deep Shaker by Les Roberts

28. Small Town Girl by Lavyrle Spencer

29. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

30. The Angel by Carla Neggers

31. Summer in the City by Robyn Sisman

32. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

33. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

34. Watchers by Dean Koontz

35. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

36. The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

37. The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

38. Bump & Run by Mike Lupica

39. Billy Budd by Herman Melville

40. Chocolat by Joanne Harris

41. Murder by the Glass by Michele Scott

42. The Stone Monkey by Jeffrey Deaver

43. The Time Machine by HG Wells

44. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

45. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

46. Red Light by T. Jefferson Parker

47. Dead Sleep by Greg Iles

48. On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon by Kaye Gibbons

49. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

50. The Thieves of Faith by Richard Doetsch

(Yes, I’ve doubled my original goal.  I looked at my shelves and decided I needed to do it.)

A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway

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Cover ImageFinished listening to on 11-17-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 1929

“When I saw her I was in love with her. Everything turned over inside of me. She looked toward the door, saw there was no one, then she sat on the side of the bed and leaned over and kissed me. I pulled her down and kissed her and felt her heart beating.”

Lieutenant Frederic Henry is an American serving as an ambulance driver in the Italian army during World War I.  Catherine Barkley is a nurse who meets and flirts with Frederic before he is wounded on the war front. He recovers in a hospital in Milan with Catherine as his nurse and the two begin a love affair.  Before Frederic is sent back into duty Catherine finds out she is pregnant.  I’m not going to say more because I don’t want to give too much away. 

I’ve read that this is one of the best war novels ever written and that it is one of the best love stories ever penned.  I don’t agree with either of these, although I do think it does a great job of bringing the war to life and it is a grand love story.  Some of the problem may be that the character of Catherine felt very flat to me.  She felt like she was written by a man and, well, not all that sympathetic.  Surprisingly, I did enjoy the aspects of the war Hemingway chose to share.

This is an American classic, but because it is a war story I avoided it.  And somehow I earned my degree in English Education without ever having read a Hemingway novel.  I decided to listen to it and was pleased with the reader, John Slattery.  He did an excellent job.  Some of you may know him from his current job on the tv show Mad Men.

A Dangerous Love, by Brenda Joyce

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Cover ImageFinished 11-14-08, rating 4/5, romance, pub. 2008

A book in the De Warenne Dynasty.  Cliff’s daughter from A Lady at Last is the heroine.

“God willed the Rom to be Travellers.  Yet in all of history, the Roma have never been able to travel freely.  You should be able to travel freely.”

“There have always been laws against us.” Stevan said resignedly.  “If you insist on leaving with us, so be it.  You are always welcome.”    – Chapter 15

It’s 1820 England and 24 year old Ariella De Warenne is living life on her own terms.  Her loving father, Cliff, is not placing any expectations on her, knowing that when she falls in love he will support her.  Viscount Emilian St. Xavier is a man with loyalties to two worlds.  He was born to a gypsy mother, but raised by his English father from the age of ten.  When Emilian and Ariella meet he is thirsting for revenge and she falls in love.

The story explores the truly ugly nature of prejudice and intolerance.  Emilian feels unworthy because he has always been treated a half-blood and his struggle to find balance was moving.  Ariella’s love for him and her desire to right the world’s ills make her a beautiful heroine.  Emilian and Ariella find they have much incommon and are very much a perfect match, but Emilian has many demons he must slay before peace can be found.

This was a very romantic story full of love and lust, but it also had something to say and was able to do it without being too in your face about it.  My only small complaint was that the DeWarenne men are an eclectic bunch, but they seemed a bit too good to be true in this book.  I am very much looking forward to the rest of their stories.

If you like historical romances there is no one better than Brenda Joyce.

Jumbled Bestsellers Quiz

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Kathy and Aidan got 2 each 🙂  Thanks for playing!

Here’s how to play…Identify the title and author. Leave a comment with the # and the answer and I’ll cross it off the list. No Googling, that’s cheating and no fun! If you know them all, please don’t guess every one, maybe five max?

THESE ARE THE TOP TEN BESTSELLERS FROM 10 YEARS AGO

1. A AMN NI LULF  by mot wefol A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe – Kathy

2. RROMRI MEGIA by eedilanl leseet  Mirror Image by Danielle Steele – Janet

3. HWNE ETH DINW WSBLO by sjmesa teptesoan When the Wind Blows by James Patterson

4. LAL GRUTHOH HET INTHG by ymar gigsinh carkl  All Through the Night by Mary Higgins Clark – Don

5. GAB FO NOBSE by petshne gink Bag of Bones by Stephen King – Aidan

6. HET RAMPVIE MAADRN by nena crie The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice

7. TEH ATHP FO GAGDRES by borrte dranjo The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan – Aidan

8. HTE SWINDOOPOO IBLEB by brabraa singrolkve The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

9. BORNIWA XSI by otm cancly Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy – Jason

10. CLOWEEM OT ETH RODWL, YABB RILG by ninefa glagf Welcome to the World, Baby Girl – Kathy