fuzzy_patters fanciful reading feast

The cat food of club read is back. I hope to get some serious reading done this year including increased quantity and quality of the books I read. My reading tends to be in fits and spurts depending on when school breaks are, so don't be surprised if this thread is mostly dormant for awhile but then reawakens with a flurry of activity. That's just the life of a teacher.

On the intro thread, you mentioned that you enjoy reading sports books.

I do, too, particularly baseball and hockey. I love the Cubs and the Blackhawks but will read almost anything on these two sports. For other sports, I'm pickier as to what I read.

I'm a Sox fan so I doubt we'd get along; although, I do love the Blackhawks.

I have completed my first book for 2011, and it is the first book that I have ever read on my new ereader. How exciting! Book number one is...

Dubliners by James Joyce (4 stars)

Dubliners is a collection of short stories about the Irish middle class. Each story is about a different person or group of people, and they are not really connected to each other in theme until you get to the last two pages of the book. At that point, you come to realize Joyce's purpose in writing this collection, and it all comes together for you.

This is one of those books that I could not put down, had a profound affect on me emotionally at times, and yet, I doubt there is any one moment or character that will stick with me. In a way, that's the genius of it in that it perfectly captures the prosaic life of the middle class. In the end, one begins to lament the meaninglessness of his own life and the fact that most of our lives are not really worth telling stories about. Joyce celebrates this commonality in a moving way by telling it to us straight with little flourish, which would serve to make it maudlin. Come to think of it, I guess this book might just stick with me a little longer than I thought.

4 - I've been meaning to pick this up for some time but haven't found a cheap copy. Might just have to break down and get it.

Fuzzy_patters, I haven't read a lot of Joyce, but I've read Dubliners and it's one of my favorite collections. After The Dead, I think The Boarding House is my favorite story. I still haven't seen the 1987 Huston film of The Dead. Have you?

No, I haven't. I agree that those two were great. I would also add Eveline and Counterparts as being excellent stories.

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (3 stars)
I enjoyed reading Uncle Tom's Cabin in many ways, and I found the character of Uncle Tom to be one of the most heroic characters of whom I have read. It should also be pointed out that this was one of the most important novels written in American history because of the influence that it had on opening northern eyes to the horrors of slavery.

However, the book does present some difficulties to the modern reader. For one, Stowe frequently refers to the races in stereotypical terms. To Stowe, people of African decent are all magnanimous, warm-hearted beings, which robs them of the humanity and ability to be unique individuals. I should probably give Stowe a pass for this, but it was difficult to get past as a modern reader.

With that being said, the book was very well-written for a nineteenth century house-wife who was not a writer by trade. Considering her background, I was very impressed with her ability as a writer and am even more impressed with the guts it must have taken for a woman to speak out about injustice in a society that would not allow her the right to vote and have a say in how society was run. For this reason, Stowe's work is something that should still be read and admired by modern readers.

I enjoyed your review of Uncle Tom's Cabin. I'll have to get to it, one of these days...

Family Happiness by Leo Tolstoy (3.5 stars)

Family Happiness is about a young woman who marries an older man and the trials and tribulations of trying to remain in love while wanting different things out of life due to their age differences. It is psychological in its approach and is told in the first person from the perspective of the young wife. This serves to give the reader the opportunity to get a deeper understanding of the inner turmoil of the character, Masha, and her struggle to understand herself and her husband better.

I thought that it was a good book, but I was a little let down. This was my first Tolstoy but not my first nineteenth century Russian novel, as I have read three Dostoevsky novels. I was expecting this book to be more like those, but it never packed the punch for me that those did. If anything, it was more similar to a novel like Jane Eyre than anything by Dostoevsky.

The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (5 stars)

A Russian judge finds the meaning of life through death and struggles with the reality of his own mortality. I was quite taken aback by the relevance of this work even today. I found myself on numerous occasions pondering whether I have lived my own life the right way and what I can do to live better in the future.

I found this to be a much better novella than Family Happiness. Now I get what all the fuss is about when people talk about Tolstoy. This story was very moving and thought provoking.

Ivan Ilych sounds great. And I bet I can get it free for Kindle! thanks for the review. :o)

Enjoying your Tolstoy reading. He's a major hole in my lit. education (and there are many!).

just stopping by to catch-up...very interesting comments on Dubliners.

Thank you for your kind comments GCPLreader, theaelizabet, and dchaikin. Tolstoy is new to me, too, and I have many holes in my literary education as well. I was a history major and have read most of my literature on my own.

edit: I just want to add that Joyce and Tolstoy are old enough to be no longer under copyright, so their works can be accessed through Project Gutenberg free of charge if you have an ereader.

8 - Interesting thoughts on Uncle Tom's Cabin. I found it a difficult go. Though impressive on several levels I had trouble with the preachiness.

Enjoying your Tolstoy stuff as well, someone I haven't read yet.

The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy (5 stars)

My readings of Tolstoy's novellas continues with the Kreutzer Sonata. The narrator of this story tells us about a conversation he has with a man on a train who introduces himself as the infamous man who has been in all of the papers for murdering his wife. He proceeds to explain to the narrator why he committed the murder and how the very nature of love and sexual attraction between men and women inevitably leads to heartbreak and anger.

I found this to be the best of the three Tolstoy novellas that I have read so far. It was easy to empathize, if not exactly sympathize, with the murderer and his wife, and there were many facets of their relationship that I feel are true of every male/ female relationship. Tolstoy does an excellent job of telling us just how messed up our relationships are by using this character and the extreme nature of the way his marriage ended. Every note of Tolstoy's Sonata struck a chord with me as the reader and the book left me reexamining the very nature of my beliefs about love and marriage. While I don't necessarily agree with the murderer's beliefs, it does make you think.

17 - I've never read anything by Tolstoy; I own Anna Karenina, but the sheer size of it is discouraging - I am not a tome reader. However, these novellas all sound very interesting, and I think you've hooked me with The Kreutzer Sonata. Thanks for some great comments!

My internet is fixed! I'm back after a weekend off line.

Thanks for your comments, Cait86. Happy reading!

Sadly, I have finished my collection of Tolstoy novellas. I am still reading Ulysses. I am about 520 pages into its 750 page length.

Hadji Murad by Leo Tolstoy (4 stars)
I found Hadji Murad to be reminiscent of some of the great American western movies of the mid-twentieth century, which made me wonder how many western authors and movie-makers had been influenced by this book. The book had many aspects of the American western including political intrigue, blood feuds, frontier skirmishes, and a woman who understands the horrors of war and violence much more than the men do.

On the whole, I would say that this was a good read that was very interesting because of all of the aforementioned elements. On the other hand, I would not say that it is a great novel because it never really left me reconsidering or challenging preconceptions or even empathizing with others, which I believe are hallmarks of great literature. Instead, it was a very entertaining read that just never quite lived up to some of Tolstoy's other works.

Ulysses by James Joyce (5 stars...make that 5 million stars)

Did I like Ulysses? I tagged it "brilliant" and "amazing", so yes I liked it. At times it felt like slow torture until I slowly found myself becoming immersed in Joyce's mind, and I began to love it. I'm not sure where to begin about what it was about this novel that made it so wonderful. Was it the many layers of Stephen as Telemachus and Leopold as Odysseus while Stephen is also Hamlet and Leopold is almost a Hungarian-Irish-Jewish Christ. Was it the witty puns such as, "Where man hath a will, Anne hath-a-way," when Stephen explains his theory on Shakespeare? Was it the brilliance of the writing when the narrator gives birth to the English language at the same time as Mrs. Purefoy gives birth to her child? In the end, what I will take away from this novel is how Joyce made me love Leopold, laugh at Stephen, and even pity Molly a bit. The underlying novel and characterization beneath all of the brilliant writing is what will stick with me long after finishing the novel. I just finished it five minutes ago and can already say that I love this novel.

Congrats on getting through Ulysses. I haven't tried. I have a copy around here somewhere, but not yet ready to even think about trying it.

Resurrection: The Miracle Season that Saved Notre Dame by Jim Dent (5 stars)

I highly recommend this book to all Notre Dame fans and all sports fans in general. The period of the late 1950s and early 1960s were the darkest period of Notre Dame football, and the 1963 season was their worst season in history. This is the story of the 1964 season when a new, young coach, Ara Parseghian, nearly took one of the worst teams in the country and won a national championship. Jim Dent's excellent writing help this come to life for us and allows us to experience this uplifting, underdog story.

For whatever reason, I love the Lost Generation. I have no idea why I relate to them so much, but the authors of this generation never fail to strike a chord with me.

The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald (5 stars)

Fitzgerald's brilliance lied in his ability to explain human emotions and motivations to us as readers that we can recognize in ourselves but would otherwise find it difficult to put into words. The Beautiful and the Damned is a perfect example of this. Most people struggle when they reach young adulthood to figure out where true happiness lies for them. Many go so far as to refuse to turn away from youthful idealism and become pragmatic rather than admit their own mediocrity and live a humdrum life like the rest of us. Fitzgerald's protagonist, Anthony Patch, is a perfect example of this.

Anthony Patch is set to inherit millions of dollars once his grandfather, Adam Patch, dies. As such, he is bound and determined to never have to work for a living like his friend, Richard Caramel, who, after writing one good novel, has become a mediocre author who writes novels quickly and carelessly in order to make a quick buck. Anthony would much rather prove that he is not as mediocre as Richard by refusing to ever work at anything and hope that he can get by until his money runs out. This trait is exacerbated when Anthony falls in love with Richard's cousin, Gloria, who is even more impractical than he is. She only cares about being rich and beautiful and is not willing to do anything to attain that state.

Fitzgerald brings these characters to life for us in such a way that we see some of them in ourselves even though we may not be New York socialites waiting to inherit millions. The reader can relate to the crises of youth faced by the two characters, provided that the reader has lived through his twenties and their awkwardness. This is the brilliance of Fitzgerald. He can make us relate to people that would be otherwise unrelateable.

Update:

It may be awhile before I finish any more books. I am reading Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential, Writings of Thomas Paine by Thomas Paine when I am downstairs and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy when I am upstairs. These may take me awhile.

I haven't posted here in awhile because I have been very busy and haven't done very much reading lately. I did finish the Thomas Paine book a few weeks ago. I must admit, I thought that Thomas Paine had some good ideas early on but became a bit of a crackpot in some of later writings. I'm not really sure why the last few writings were considered to be "essential" as they dealt a lot with tax reform in the nineteenth century, which was completely irrelevant to the modern reader.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2 stars)

My wife insisted that I read this because she liked it a lot. Here is my review.

"Nothing jars me more that poorly written dialogue, and this novel has a ton of it. I felt like I was reading a poorly acted made for TV movie. The story itself was interesting if not particularly original or insightful. The best part of the book was that Gruen did so much research on Depression era circuses. The book provides a unique glympse at a by-gone era."

That pretty much sums it up. I suggest my wife read The Road as her half of the bargain because I love McCarthy, and she has never read him. She thought it was a great novel. I guess one of us has better reading taste that the other.

now, now... be nice to your wife (I totally agree with you by the way!). congrats on finishing Ulysses. my upcoming book challenge is going to be Mason and Dixon. wish me luck --Jenny :o)

I hope you enjoy it, Jenny!

For my most recent Early Review, I reviewed The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak. I am a sucker for any book that has a lot of symbolism, and I am an even bigger sucker for anything having to with the World War I. This book met both requirements, and I loved it. My official review follows.

The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak (5 stars)
Andrew Krivak's The Sojourn follows young Jozef Vinich through his life being born in America to a family of immigrants, growing up in the old country, fighting in World War I, and coming back home to America. Krivak's writing style is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy in that he writes with great imagery despite an economy of words. Likewise, his writing is reminiscent of Hemingway in the stoicism of his protagonist despite adversity and Remarque in his portrayal of World War I from the perspective of a soldier fighting for the Central Power.

I found this to be a very compelling book. The biblical imagery comparing Jozef's life to Moses and well as references to Shakespeare in having Vinich meet a character named Banquo, who correlated strongly with the character of the same name in MacBeth, was very appealing to me as a reader. As much care as was given to use biblical and literary symbolism, every bit as much care was put into ensuring that the characters were believable and relateable enough so that the reader would begin to question the same things about the world that Vinich questions in the novel. In the end, this is a novel that has a lot to say about war, peace, life, death, and why we live. I came away very impressed with this novel. ( )

The Right Time: John Henry "Pop" Llloyd and Black Baseball by Wes Singletary (4 stars)

Although I am a big baseball fan, I didn't know much about baseball and baseball players in the "negro leagues" other than "Cool Papa" Bell and Satchel Paige prior to reading this book. The book's author, Wes Singletary, does an excellent job of bringing the action to live for you while painting it against the background of the time in which the events unfolded. Because of this book, I have a much greater appreciation for black baseball in the early twentieth century. My only lament is that, because there is little video of these players and because they were not allowed to compete in the Major Leagues, we will never really know how great they really were. All we can do is stop, wonder, and appreciate what they did in the circumstances they were given.

My reading slump is over! After reading about half of War and Peace and then bits and pieces of Shadow Country before giving up reading all together for awhile, I have finally finished Shadow Country. Here is my review.

Shadow Country by Peter Mathiessen (4 stars)

The thing that most strikes me about this book is the unique way that is told. The author always intended for it to be told as one novel, but it was originally released as three separate novels. In this final version,
Shadow Country, the entire story is told as all one novel. The first third of the novel is told through the eyes of EJ Watson's neighbors about their rememberances of him, which are mostly shrouded in innuendo. The second third are told through the eyes of his son, which are mostly shrouded through filial love. Finally, the shadows of biased perspective are removed and we get a truer glimpse of Watson in the final third of the book, which is told by Watson from his own perspective.

Adding to the intrigue of this book is that there really was an EJ Watson who was gunned down bay his neighbors near Chokoloskee, Florida in 1910. Much of the book is based on the little that is known about the real man with Matthiessen filling in the rest from the muse of the fiction writer's imagination. Throwing in a dose of regional history and some allusions to The Illiad, Matthiessen crafts a work that sparks consideration in the reader of the power that perspective, bias, changing circumstance have on how we perceive the world. All in all, I found this to be well worth reading.

I started this one twice this year, read through page 68 both times...but I'll try again. Great review. And nice to see you back.

hey Fuzzy-- good to see you. Wonderful that you liked Shadow Country. I never quite made it to the end. So what's up next for you?

Funny you should ask, GCPLreader, I just finished my next book.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (4stars)

I am not sure how it took me thirty-thee years to getting around to reading this book. Most people had to read it in high school. When I was in school, it was assigned to the lower level kids, but the college prep kids read different books. Consequently, it was never assigned to me. As such, my thoughts in the book might be different from someone who read it in school. Our perceptions of things can change greatly as adults.

One of the main things that jumped out at me was why teachers would assign this particular book to high school students. Steinbeck writes brilliant descriptions
that paint a picture in the reader's mind and uses a tremendous amount of foreshadowing. These would make this book particularly useful for a teacher trying to teach these concepts to students, but this leads to the question of whether it holds beyond an academic setting?

For me it most certainly did. Writing during a time period where many Americans knew what it meant to struggle after the American dream and to fail to reach it, Steinbeck captured what it meant to struggle and fail and for it to seem that nothing will ever work out for you. This is exemplified throughout the book by nearly every character in the book, which serves to show just how elusive the American dream can be. In doing so, Steinbeck manages to make the mundane seem sympathetic and almost heroic despite what the reader knows will likely be a tragic ending. while it took me many years to get around to reading it, i am glad that i finally did. It is a wonderful book that can still move readers in the twenty-first century.

nice review of Of Mice and Men. A book that I have not yet got round to reading either. Must do so soon.

Stein and Hemingway: The story of a turbulent friendship by Lyle Larsen (4 stars) (early review)

I came to this book as a big fan of Hemingway who has not read much of Stein. As such, this book did not reveal much of Hem than I already knew, but I did learn a lot about Stein and her importance to Hemingway's career. The highlight of the book for me was the section that discussed Stein's favorite parts of speech, which sounds boring but was actually quite fascinating for me. The biggest disappointment was that the rest of the book did not hold as much discussion of the two author's evolving writing styles as I would have liked. Despite this, I still found this to be a very informative biography that gave me a better picture of how important these two authors were to each other.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo (2.5 stars)

The Alchemist is about a boy in search of his perxonal legend, a treasure that is supposed to be buried near the pyramids of Egypt. Before leaving on his journey, the boy must leave the sheep he tends as a shepherd in Spain. This is the first of many great sacrifices that the boy must make, and we learn through the story that each of us must be willing to make similar sacrifices in order to realize our own personal legends, which we are destined to fulfill.

Tthis was one of the main problems that I had with the book. I reject the notion that each of us are predestined to follow some sort of personal quest. This removes the free will that gives each of us our human dignity. Furthermore, in putting our quest before all others, as the boy does, we begin a narcissistic folly of turning our backs on serving our fellow man, which is repaid in turn through their serving us. I believe that leaving those who rely on you behind to chase your personal legend, as the boy does, would be a fool's errand that would leave you lonely with no one to share your treasure with.