Tag: Books

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

The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson

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Cover ImageFinished 11-9-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2008

“I wanted to cry but my tear ducts had been burned shut.”    -Chapter 2

The narrator of this goth-like tale is a drugged out pornography star who wrecks his car and ends up in the burn unit with severe burns covering his entire body.  When he becomes stuck in the hospital, constant  surgeries and treatments force him to see that he had no real friends before the crash that took his beautiful body from him forever.  He vows to get out of the hospital so he can commit suicide.  Then he meets Marianne, who becomes his friend and protector and she promises him that they have known and loved each other for 700 years.

The graphic burn details turn into a beautiful and confusing love story full of suspicion and obsession.  The enigmatic Marianne opens the narrator’s mind and heart to past experiences and present delusions.  Marianne takes him in and goes about carving out the last of her gargoyles, so that she can give away her last heart.  Is she crazy or is she telling the truth?

When the narrator goes cold turkey in vanquishing his morphine addiction he moves into the many realms of Hell, which anyone who is familiar with Dante’s The Inferno will appreciate.

“Seeing the look of revulsion on my face, Francesco said, ‘None are here by accident.  Hell is a choice because salvation is available to anyone who seeks it.  The damned choose their fates, by deliberately hardening their hearts.’

I couldn’t agree.  ‘No one would choose to be damned.’

Francesco shook his head.  ‘But it is so easy not to be.'”   -Chapter 29

I had read so many reviews of this book that my expectations were high.  I was not disappointed, but I can’t say I completely fell in love with it either.  It is perhaps the most original story and original voice that I’ve read.  Considering this is Davidson’s debut novel, I am impressed.  But the wandering style of moving between centuries and stories was somewhat distracting to me.  I also thought sometimes it was unnecessarily descriptive.  But, that does not take away from the beauty and freshness of the book.  If you get bored by reading the same old thing or are always looking for the next big thing-this is the book for you.

Free books if you vote

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Every month I pass on books I’ve read and you help me clear off my bookshelves.  For November I’m offering free books, but only if you vote in the Presidential election on Tuesday.  Since some states have early voting and some have voted absentee (like me) so I will start offering the free books today. 

To get your free book  1. VOTE  2. Leave a comment telling me what state you voted in and which book you want  3. I’ll email you and get your address and send the book free of charge. 

You do not have to say who you voted for, but you can if you want.  I will delete anything negative said about either candidate. 

I have plenty of books and can add more later if needed.  I’ll leave this open until the day after the election.

I mailed my absentee ballot from the Buckeye state this week since I will be working at the polls on Tuesday.

These books have all been read once or twice. 

CLOSED

Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane

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Cover ImageFinished listening to on 10/30/2008, mystery, rating 4/5, pub. 2003

US Marshal Teddy Daniels and his partner Chuck are sent the Shutter Island, off the coast of Boston, where the Hospital for the Criminally insane were housed and treated.  Teddy and Chuck were trying to find  the escaped murderess, Rachel.  While there they also wanted to find out what kind of practices were really taking place on the island.   Teddy had his own reasons for being there.  The man who murdered his wife was there.  A hurricane blows in and the men are trapped on Shutter Island, which provides much of the action. 

I was not all that impressed with the story until the last two cds of seven.  I thought it was slow and weird.  But then the last part of the book just blew me away and made up for all the rest.  That’s really all I can say about it.  To say more would ruin it for you.

This book is in production and slated for an October 2009 release date.  Martin Scorsese directs and Leonardo DiCapprio plays Teddy.  Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer, and Michelle Williams round out the cast.  I always think the book is best, but this could be a better movie than book, especially with such a compelling cast.

Sarah’s Sin, by Tami Hoag

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Cover ImageFinished 10-29-08, rating 2/5, romance, pub. 1991

Dr. Matt Thorne recuperates from his injuries at his sister’s quaint inn in small town Minnesota.  While there a local Amish woman cares for him and sparks fly between Matt and Sarah.  She is a widow, not well educated, but loves to read and learn.  Matt is a big town doctor who charms women into his bed without much effort.  What will happen when they fall in love and Sarah has to choose between her family and Matt?

I found this romance tedious and very predictable.  It was full of the cliches that riddle bad romances – she walks in on him naked, he walks in on her naked, she needs to shave him because he is too weak to do so…  The book is only 246 pages and it did not really get interesting until the 200 mark.  She could have done so much more with the Amish aspect, but it came too late in the book.

I have read almost all of Hoag’s mysteries and enjoyed them all, but the two romances I’ve read have not been good.  So, even if you like her mysteries I caution you to not waste your time on the romances she wrote early in her career.  She’s gotten so much better since then.

The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch

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Cover ImageFinished 10-22-08, rating 4/5, non-fiction, pub. 2008

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”   -Chapter 39

Professor Randy Pausch was a man who had it all – a dream job, wonderful wife, three healthy children.  What the 47 year old did not have was a lot of time.  He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a short time to live.  This book is a companion to the Last Lecture he gave at Carnegie Mellon University in August 2007. 

I’m not sure what I expected, but it was not the upbeat and entertaining read that the book proved to be.  His ability to deal with his prognosis in such a constructive and inspirational way was profoundly touching.  This book was written for his children and it is full of advice and wisdom, but also filled with stories that will make you smile, like Randy and Jai’s hot air balloon ride on their wedding day.

I liked so many things about this book.  His argument for handwritten notes, his take on dented cars, and his belief in being a true mentor for his students are a few things that come to mind.  He also mentioned Ohio State in passing and that always gets points with me. 

I would recommend this book to anyone without hesitation.  It only takes a short time to read, but it will leave you feeling better about life.

The website, http://thelastlecture.com/index.htm, has access to extra information and you can watch the hour long Last Lecture from there as well.  Randy died in July, but his great spirit will live on not only through his words, but also through the thousands of people he touched during his lifetime.