labfs39: a year in the life of Lisa's reading (2012) - pt.3
Dette er en fortsættelse af tråden labfs39: a year in the life of Lisa's reading (2012) - pt.2.
Denne tråd er fortsat i labfs39: a year in the life of Lisa's reading (2012) - pt.4.
SnakClub Read 2012
Bliv bruger af LibraryThing, hvis du vil skrive et indlæg
Dette emne er markeret som "i hvile"—det seneste indlæg er mere end 90 dage gammel. Du kan vække emnet til live ved at poste et indlæg.
1labfs39
Welcome to the continuing saga of my reading adventures!
Currently reading:
Shavelings in Death Camps by Fr. Henryk Maria Malak
Life of Fred: Farming by Stanley F. Schmidt
Currently reading:
Shavelings in Death Camps by Fr. Henryk Maria Malak
Life of Fred: Farming by Stanley F. Schmidt
2labfs39
December:
80. The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay
November: 1595 p.
79. The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri, translated from the Italian by Stephen Sartarelli - (3*) - 224 p.
78. Hunger by Knut Hamsun, translated from the German by Robert Bly - (3.5*) - 243 p.
77. Life of Fred: Edgewood by Stanley F. Schmidt (3*) - 128 p.
76. Monsieur Linh and His Child by Philippe Claudel, translated from the French by Euan Cameron (5*) - 130 p.
75. Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron (4*) - 384 p.
74. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (4*) - 97 p.
73. A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary by Anonymous, translated from the German by Philip Boehm (4*) -261 p.
72. Life of Fred: Dogs by Stanley F. Schmidt (3*) - 128 p.
80. The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay
November: 1595 p.
79. The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri, translated from the Italian by Stephen Sartarelli - (3*) - 224 p.
78. Hunger by Knut Hamsun, translated from the German by Robert Bly - (3.5*) - 243 p.
77. Life of Fred: Edgewood by Stanley F. Schmidt (3*) - 128 p.
76. Monsieur Linh and His Child by Philippe Claudel, translated from the French by Euan Cameron (5*) - 130 p.
75. Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron (4*) - 384 p.
74. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (4*) - 97 p.
73. A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary by Anonymous, translated from the German by Philip Boehm (4*) -261 p.
72. Life of Fred: Dogs by Stanley F. Schmidt (3*) - 128 p.
3labfs39
October: 2314 p.
71. The Midwife by Jennifer Worth (4.5*) - 340 p.
70. The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (4*) - 334 p.
69. Killing Floor by Lee Child (2.5) - 524 p.
68. 22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson (3*) - 320 p.
67. The Journal of Best Practices: a Memoir of Marriage, Aasperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to be a Better Husband by David Finch (2.5*) - 224 p.
66. Robert Capa: The Definitive Collection by Richard Whelan - (3.5) - 572 p.
September: 1781 p.
65. Malka by Mirjam Pressler, translated from the German by Brian Murdoch (4*) - 280 p.
64. The Patient Survival Guide by Dr. Maryanne McGuckin (4.5*) - 222 p.
63. Death Had Two Sons by Yaël Dayan (3.5*) - 191 p.
62. Sheltered from the swastika : memoir of a Jewish boy's survival amid horror in World War II by Peter Kory (2.5*) - 217 p.
61. The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Wendy Watson (3.5*) - 28 p.
60. I am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits (4*) - 302 p.
59. Meet Me at the Ark at Eight by Ulrich Hub (3.5*) - 68 p.
58. Life of Fred: Cats by Stanley F. Schmidt (4.5*) - 125 p.
57. Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore (4*) - 402 (not counting bibliography or index)
56. Stories from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean (3.5*) - 226 p.
August: 1772 p.
55. Fatelessness by Imre Kertész, translated from the Hungarian by Tim Wilkinson (4*) - 262 p.
54. Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden (4*) - 205 p.
53. Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz, translated from the Arabic by William M. Hutchins (4.25*) - 327 p.
52. Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz, translated from the Arabic by William M. Hutchins (4*) - 445 p.
51. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz, translated from the Arabic by William M. Hutchins (4.5*) - 533 p.
71. The Midwife by Jennifer Worth (4.5*) - 340 p.
70. The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (4*) - 334 p.
69. Killing Floor by Lee Child (2.5) - 524 p.
68. 22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson (3*) - 320 p.
67. The Journal of Best Practices: a Memoir of Marriage, Aasperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to be a Better Husband by David Finch (2.5*) - 224 p.
66. Robert Capa: The Definitive Collection by Richard Whelan - (3.5) - 572 p.
September: 1781 p.
65. Malka by Mirjam Pressler, translated from the German by Brian Murdoch (4*) - 280 p.
64. The Patient Survival Guide by Dr. Maryanne McGuckin (4.5*) - 222 p.
63. Death Had Two Sons by Yaël Dayan (3.5*) - 191 p.
62. Sheltered from the swastika : memoir of a Jewish boy's survival amid horror in World War II by Peter Kory (2.5*) - 217 p.
61. The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Wendy Watson (3.5*) - 28 p.
60. I am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits (4*) - 302 p.
59. Meet Me at the Ark at Eight by Ulrich Hub (3.5*) - 68 p.
58. Life of Fred: Cats by Stanley F. Schmidt (4.5*) - 125 p.
57. Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore (4*) - 402 (not counting bibliography or index)
56. Stories from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean (3.5*) - 226 p.
August: 1772 p.
55. Fatelessness by Imre Kertész, translated from the Hungarian by Tim Wilkinson (4*) - 262 p.
54. Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden (4*) - 205 p.
53. Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz, translated from the Arabic by William M. Hutchins (4.25*) - 327 p.
52. Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz, translated from the Arabic by William M. Hutchins (4*) - 445 p.
51. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz, translated from the Arabic by William M. Hutchins (4.5*) - 533 p.
4labfs39
July: 2783 p.
50. Iran Awakening: From Prison to Peace Prize: One Woman's Struggle at the Crossroads of History by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni (4.5*) - 232 p.
49. Naftali the Storyteller and His Horse, Sus by Isaac Bashevis Singer, translated from the Yiddish (3.5*) - 143 p.
48. When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw & Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer, translated from the Yiddish by the author and Elizabeth Shub (3*) - 116 p.
47. Love and Exile by Isaac Bashevis Singer (3*) - 352 p.
46. The Land of Green Plums by Herta Müller, translated from the German by Michael Hoffman (3.5*) - 242 p.
45. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (4*) - 273 p.
44. Crusoe's Daughter by Jane Gardam (4*) - 265 p.
43. The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (3.5*) - 225 p.
42. Potsdam Station by David Downing (3*) - 340 p.
41. Stettin Station by David Downing (4*) - 289 p.
40. Silesian Station by David Downing (3.5*) - 306 p.
June: 2386 p.
39. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson (4*) - 202 p.
38. Parenting Gifted Kids by James R. Delisle (3.5*) - 212 p.
37. Sorry by Gail Jones (4*) - 232 p.
36. The Investigation by Philippe Claudel, translated from the French by John Cullen (4*) - 221 p.
35. The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller, translated from the German by Philip Boehm (3.5*) - 290 p.
34. In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner (4.5*) - 334 p.
33. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, translated from the Russian by Diana Lewis Burgin (4*) - 369 p.
32. Raising a Gifted Child by Carol Fertig (3*) - 233 p.
31. Zoo Station by David Downing (3.5*) - 293 p.
May: 1461 p. and 12.5 hours of audio
30. Raising Gifted Kids by Barbara Schave Klein (3*) - 293 p.
29. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (5*) - (audiobook)
28. A Small Fortune by Rosie Dastgir (3.5*) - 373 p.
27. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov, translated from the Russian by Michael Glenny (4.5*) - 158 p.
26. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick (3*) - 637 p.
50. Iran Awakening: From Prison to Peace Prize: One Woman's Struggle at the Crossroads of History by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni (4.5*) - 232 p.
49. Naftali the Storyteller and His Horse, Sus by Isaac Bashevis Singer, translated from the Yiddish (3.5*) - 143 p.
48. When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw & Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer, translated from the Yiddish by the author and Elizabeth Shub (3*) - 116 p.
47. Love and Exile by Isaac Bashevis Singer (3*) - 352 p.
46. The Land of Green Plums by Herta Müller, translated from the German by Michael Hoffman (3.5*) - 242 p.
45. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (4*) - 273 p.
44. Crusoe's Daughter by Jane Gardam (4*) - 265 p.
43. The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (3.5*) - 225 p.
42. Potsdam Station by David Downing (3*) - 340 p.
41. Stettin Station by David Downing (4*) - 289 p.
40. Silesian Station by David Downing (3.5*) - 306 p.
June: 2386 p.
39. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson (4*) - 202 p.
38. Parenting Gifted Kids by James R. Delisle (3.5*) - 212 p.
37. Sorry by Gail Jones (4*) - 232 p.
36. The Investigation by Philippe Claudel, translated from the French by John Cullen (4*) - 221 p.
35. The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller, translated from the German by Philip Boehm (3.5*) - 290 p.
34. In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner (4.5*) - 334 p.
33. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, translated from the Russian by Diana Lewis Burgin (4*) - 369 p.
32. Raising a Gifted Child by Carol Fertig (3*) - 233 p.
31. Zoo Station by David Downing (3.5*) - 293 p.
May: 1461 p. and 12.5 hours of audio
30. Raising Gifted Kids by Barbara Schave Klein (3*) - 293 p.
29. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (5*) - (audiobook)
28. A Small Fortune by Rosie Dastgir (3.5*) - 373 p.
27. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov, translated from the Russian by Michael Glenny (4.5*) - 158 p.
26. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick (3*) - 637 p.
5labfs39
April: 1532 p. and 10 hours 39 minutes of audio
25. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - (3.5*) - 10 hours and 39 minutes
24. Talking to the Enemy by Avner Mandelman - (4*) - 139 p.
23. The Girl Giant by Kristen Den Hartog - (4*) - 219 p.
22. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (4.5*) - 533. p.
21. Children in Reindeer Woods by Kristín Ómarsdóttir, translated from the Icelandic by Lytton Smith (3.5*) - 198 p.
20. The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (4*) - 443 p.
March: 1164 p.
19. River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh (3*) - 522 p.
18. In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner (4.5*) - 334 p.
17. Coventry: A Novel by Helen Humphreys (3*) - 179 p.
16. The Wedding of Zein by Tayeb Salih, translated from the Arabic by Denys Johnson-Davies (4*) - 120 p.
February: 2420 p.
15. Nemesis by Philip Roth (2.5*) - 280 p.
14. Maus II by Art Spiegelman (5*) - 136 p.
13. Maus by Art Spiegelman (5*) - 159 p.
12. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel (3.5*) - 925 p.
11. No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel (3.5*) - 325 p.
10. Secret Letters from 0 to 10 by Susie Morgenstein, translated from the French by Gill Rosner (4*) - 137 p.
9. Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi, translated from the Hungarian by Richard Aczel (3.5*) - 222 p.
8. Two Rings: A Story of Love and War by Millie Werber and Eve Keller (4*) - 236 p.
January: 2602 p.
7. The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America by John Demos (3*) - 252 p.
6. Tibet: Through the Red Box by Peter Sís, Caldecott Honor Book (4*) - 57 p.
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sís (3.5*) - 46 p.
The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sís (4*) - 160 p.
Madlenka by Peter Sís (3.5*) - 46 p.
The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin by Peter Sís (3*) - 37 p.
5. Mister Blue by Jacques Poulin, translated from the French by Sheila Fischman (4.5*) - 174 p.
4. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, winner of the Newbery Medal (4*) - 249 p.
3. Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman, translated from the Russian by Robert Chandler (4.5*) - 880 p.
2. We All Wore Stars by Theo Coster (3.5*) - 198 p.
1. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh (4*) - 503 p.
25. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - (3.5*) - 10 hours and 39 minutes
24. Talking to the Enemy by Avner Mandelman - (4*) - 139 p.
23. The Girl Giant by Kristen Den Hartog - (4*) - 219 p.
22. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (4.5*) - 533. p.
21. Children in Reindeer Woods by Kristín Ómarsdóttir, translated from the Icelandic by Lytton Smith (3.5*) - 198 p.
20. The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (4*) - 443 p.
March: 1164 p.
19. River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh (3*) - 522 p.
18. In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner (4.5*) - 334 p.
17. Coventry: A Novel by Helen Humphreys (3*) - 179 p.
16. The Wedding of Zein by Tayeb Salih, translated from the Arabic by Denys Johnson-Davies (4*) - 120 p.
February: 2420 p.
15. Nemesis by Philip Roth (2.5*) - 280 p.
14. Maus II by Art Spiegelman (5*) - 136 p.
13. Maus by Art Spiegelman (5*) - 159 p.
12. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel (3.5*) - 925 p.
11. No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel (3.5*) - 325 p.
10. Secret Letters from 0 to 10 by Susie Morgenstein, translated from the French by Gill Rosner (4*) - 137 p.
9. Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi, translated from the Hungarian by Richard Aczel (3.5*) - 222 p.
8. Two Rings: A Story of Love and War by Millie Werber and Eve Keller (4*) - 236 p.
January: 2602 p.
7. The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America by John Demos (3*) - 252 p.
6. Tibet: Through the Red Box by Peter Sís, Caldecott Honor Book (4*) - 57 p.
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sís (3.5*) - 46 p.
The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sís (4*) - 160 p.
Madlenka by Peter Sís (3.5*) - 46 p.
The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin by Peter Sís (3*) - 37 p.
5. Mister Blue by Jacques Poulin, translated from the French by Sheila Fischman (4.5*) - 174 p.
4. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, winner of the Newbery Medal (4*) - 249 p.
3. Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman, translated from the Russian by Robert Chandler (4.5*) - 880 p.
2. We All Wore Stars by Theo Coster (3.5*) - 198 p.
1. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh (4*) - 503 p.
6labfs39
A list of books by the author's ethnicity (as decided by me)
Australian:
Sorry by Gail Jones
Cambodian:
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
Canadian:
Mister Blue by Jacques Poulin
Coventry by Helen Humphreys
The Girl Giant by Kristen Den Hartog
Stories from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean
Czech:
The Conference of the Birds and others by Peter Sís
Dutch:
We All Wore Stars by Theo Coster
Egyptian:
Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz
Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz
French:
Secret Letters from 0 to 10 by Susie Morgenstein
The Investigation by Philippe Claudel
I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits
Monsieur Linh and His Child by Philippe Claudel
German:
The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller (born in Romania)
The Land of Green Plums by Herta Müller (born in Romania)
Malka by Mirjam Pressler
A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary by Anonymous
Hungarian:
Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi
Fatelessness by Imre Kertész
Icelandic:
Children in Reindeer Woods by Kristín Ómarsdóttir
Indian:
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh
Iranian:
Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi
Israeli:
Talking to the Enemy by Avner Mandelman
Death Had Two Sons by Yaël Dayan
Italian
The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
Japanese:
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Malayan
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
Norwegian
Hunger by Knut Hamsun
Polish:
Two Rings: A Story of Love and War by Millie Werber and Eve Keller
Love and Exile by Isaac Bashevis Singer
When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw & Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Naftali the Storyteller and His Horse, Sus by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Russian:
Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman
A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
Sudanese:
The Wedding of Zein by Tayeb Salih
Australian:
Sorry by Gail Jones
Cambodian:
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
Canadian:
Mister Blue by Jacques Poulin
Coventry by Helen Humphreys
The Girl Giant by Kristen Den Hartog
Stories from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean
Czech:
The Conference of the Birds and others by Peter Sís
Dutch:
We All Wore Stars by Theo Coster
Egyptian:
Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz
Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz
French:
Secret Letters from 0 to 10 by Susie Morgenstein
The Investigation by Philippe Claudel
I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits
Monsieur Linh and His Child by Philippe Claudel
German:
The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller (born in Romania)
The Land of Green Plums by Herta Müller (born in Romania)
Malka by Mirjam Pressler
A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary by Anonymous
Hungarian:
Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi
Fatelessness by Imre Kertész
Icelandic:
Children in Reindeer Woods by Kristín Ómarsdóttir
Indian:
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh
Iranian:
Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi
Israeli:
Talking to the Enemy by Avner Mandelman
Death Had Two Sons by Yaël Dayan
Italian
The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
Japanese:
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Malayan
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
Norwegian
Hunger by Knut Hamsun
Polish:
Two Rings: A Story of Love and War by Millie Werber and Eve Keller
Love and Exile by Isaac Bashevis Singer
When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw & Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Naftali the Storyteller and His Horse, Sus by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Russian:
Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman
A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
Sudanese:
The Wedding of Zein by Tayeb Salih
7labfs39
TIOLI Challenges July-
TIOLI challenges:
November:
Challenge #8: Read a second-hand book from a bricks-and-mortar bookstore
84, Charing Cross Road (Third Place Books)
Running the Rift (Third Place Books)
Challenge #10: Read a book with a LT Average Rating of 4.00 to 4.50
A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary (4.17)
Monsieur Linh and His Child (4.07)
Hunger (4.08)
Challenge #19: Read a book that you have checked out from a library
Life of Fred: Dogs
Life of Fred: Edgewood
The Shape of Water
October: 6 completed (3 shared)
Challenge #3: Read a book first released for publication over 100 yrs ago or in 2012
The Garden of Evening Mists* (2012)
Challenge #5: Read a book about Childbirth
The Midwife*
Challenge #7: Celebrate J*A*S*P*E*R - a rolling challenge
Robert Capa: The Definitive Collection
The Journal of Best Practices
Challenge #14: Read a book whose title includes both letters and actual numbers
22 Britannia Road*
Challenge #16: Read a book that has two or more 4's in its ISBN
Killing Floor
September: 7 completed
Challenge #5: Read a book that includes a diagram of a family tree
Young Stalin
Challenge #7: Read a book about a school(s), or in which a significant part of the action takes place in a school
Life of Fred: Cats
Challenge #9: Magic 9 - Read a book with 9 words in the title or a word in the title or author name that is 9 letters or longer
The Cats in Krasinski Square (Krasinski)
Challenge #16: Read a book first published in 2012
The Patient Survival Guide
Sheltered from the Swastika
I Am Forbidden
Meet at the Ark at Eight
August: 5 completed (3 shared)
Challenge #4: Read a book where the Title either begins with the same letter as the one above or ends with the same letter, alternating
Sugar Street (matched kidzdoc)*
Challenge #7: Read a book someone recommended to you in the last month
Fatelessness (Linda92007)
Challenge #13: Read a book where the first letter of the title words can be rearranged to make a single word
Palace of Desire (pod)*
Challenge #16: Read a book with a cover that is boring, uninteresting, uninspiring, or mostly brown
Palace Walk (sepia toned photo)*
Challenge #17: Read a book with an embedded first name in either the title or author's name
Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden
July: 11 completed
Challenge #1: Read a rainbow colored book
Potsdam Station (green cover)
Silesian Station (blue cover)
When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw and Other Stories (green)
Naftali the Storyteller and His Horse, Sus (blue)
Challenge #3: Read a book set in one of the countries or regions that comprise the traditional Middle East
Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni
Challenge #8: Read a book where the author's initials form a commonly used abbreviation
The Land of the Green Plums by Herta Müller (HM/Her Majesty)
Love and Exile by Isaac Bashevis Singer (IBS/Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Challenge #15: Read a book with a picture of something that can be carried by the wind on its cover
The Inimitable Jeeves (hat)
My Family and Other Animals (bird, bat, bug, dust, net)
Challenge #17: Read a book with "girl" or "woman" (or a synonym) in the title or the author's name
Crusoe's Daughter
Challenge #18: Read a book where the author's Surname is also a Place name
Stettin Station by David Downing (Downing Street, London)
TIOLI challenges:
November:
Challenge #8: Read a second-hand book from a bricks-and-mortar bookstore
84, Charing Cross Road (Third Place Books)
Running the Rift (Third Place Books)
Challenge #10: Read a book with a LT Average Rating of 4.00 to 4.50
A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary (4.17)
Monsieur Linh and His Child (4.07)
Hunger (4.08)
Challenge #19: Read a book that you have checked out from a library
Life of Fred: Dogs
Life of Fred: Edgewood
The Shape of Water
October: 6 completed (3 shared)
Challenge #3: Read a book first released for publication over 100 yrs ago or in 2012
The Garden of Evening Mists* (2012)
Challenge #5: Read a book about Childbirth
The Midwife*
Challenge #7: Celebrate J*A*S*P*E*R - a rolling challenge
Robert Capa: The Definitive Collection
The Journal of Best Practices
Challenge #14: Read a book whose title includes both letters and actual numbers
22 Britannia Road*
Challenge #16: Read a book that has two or more 4's in its ISBN
Killing Floor
September: 7 completed
Challenge #5: Read a book that includes a diagram of a family tree
Young Stalin
Challenge #7: Read a book about a school(s), or in which a significant part of the action takes place in a school
Life of Fred: Cats
Challenge #9: Magic 9 - Read a book with 9 words in the title or a word in the title or author name that is 9 letters or longer
The Cats in Krasinski Square (Krasinski)
Challenge #16: Read a book first published in 2012
The Patient Survival Guide
Sheltered from the Swastika
I Am Forbidden
Meet at the Ark at Eight
August: 5 completed (3 shared)
Challenge #4: Read a book where the Title either begins with the same letter as the one above or ends with the same letter, alternating
Sugar Street (matched kidzdoc)*
Challenge #7: Read a book someone recommended to you in the last month
Fatelessness (Linda92007)
Challenge #13: Read a book where the first letter of the title words can be rearranged to make a single word
Palace of Desire (pod)*
Challenge #16: Read a book with a cover that is boring, uninteresting, uninspiring, or mostly brown
Palace Walk (sepia toned photo)*
Challenge #17: Read a book with an embedded first name in either the title or author's name
Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden
July: 11 completed
Challenge #1: Read a rainbow colored book
Potsdam Station (green cover)
Silesian Station (blue cover)
When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw and Other Stories (green)
Naftali the Storyteller and His Horse, Sus (blue)
Challenge #3: Read a book set in one of the countries or regions that comprise the traditional Middle East
Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni
Challenge #8: Read a book where the author's initials form a commonly used abbreviation
The Land of the Green Plums by Herta Müller (HM/Her Majesty)
Love and Exile by Isaac Bashevis Singer (IBS/Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Challenge #15: Read a book with a picture of something that can be carried by the wind on its cover
The Inimitable Jeeves (hat)
My Family and Other Animals (bird, bat, bug, dust, net)
Challenge #17: Read a book with "girl" or "woman" (or a synonym) in the title or the author's name
Crusoe's Daughter
Challenge #18: Read a book where the author's Surname is also a Place name
Stettin Station by David Downing (Downing Street, London)
8labfs39
TIOLI Challenges Jan-June (23 completed)
June: 5 completed
Challenge #1: Read a book whose third title word has exactly three letters
The Master and Margarita
Challenge #6: Read a book dedicated to the author's father
In the Shadow of the Banyan - In the memory of my father, Neak Ang Mechas Sisowath Ayuravann
Challenge #8: Read a book with a title that has equal or more letters from the second half of the alphabet than from the first half
Zoo Station
Challenge #14: Read a One Word Titled Book by a Female Author
Sorry by Gail Jones
Challenge #23: Read a book whose title contains the word "of"
A Guide to the Birds of East Africa
May: 1 completed
Challenge #1: Read a book originally written in a Slavic language
A Country Doctor's Notebook (Russian)
April: 4 completed
Challenge #5: Read a work in which one of the main characters described with a word ending in –ologist
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (horologist)
Challenge #7: Finish a book that you started between January 1, 2012 and March 28, 2012
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Challenge #9: Read a book with a title that includes only the vowels in the word "April"
The Girl Giant by Kristen den Hartog
Challenge #15: Read a book with a wild mammal (no pets) in the title
Children in Reindeer Woods by Kristín Ómarsdóttir
March: 1 completed
Challenge #22: Read a book with an introduction or afterword by another writer
The Wedding of Zein by Tayeb Salih (intro by Hisham Matar)
February: 7 completed
Challenge #1: Read a book with an animal on the left hand page, a beverage on the right hand page, and the number 3 in both page numbers
No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel (234/crows - 235/water)
Challenge #3: Read a book with a word of at least 5 letters in the title that is an anagram
Secret Letters from 0 to 10 by Susie Morgenstern (letters/settler)
Challenge #10: Read a Book with a Title written in the first person:
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman
Maus II : a survivor's tale : and here my troubles began by Art Spiegelman
Challenge #12: Read a book with a cover that depicts love
Two Rings: A Story of Love and War by Millie Werber
Challenge #18: Read a book originally written in a language that you do NOT speak and read
Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
January: 5 completed
Challenge #7: Read a book that was published posthumously
Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman
Challenge #8: Read a book where a word in the title can be used as a verb as well as another part of speech
Mister Blue by Jacques Poulin (blue: verb and adjective or noun)
Challenge #9: Read a book with the name of a body of water in the title
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
Challenge #11: Read a work of narrative non-fiction
We All Wore Stars by Theo Coster
The Unredeemed Captive by John Demos
June: 5 completed
Challenge #1: Read a book whose third title word has exactly three letters
The Master and Margarita
Challenge #6: Read a book dedicated to the author's father
In the Shadow of the Banyan - In the memory of my father, Neak Ang Mechas Sisowath Ayuravann
Challenge #8: Read a book with a title that has equal or more letters from the second half of the alphabet than from the first half
Zoo Station
Challenge #14: Read a One Word Titled Book by a Female Author
Sorry by Gail Jones
Challenge #23: Read a book whose title contains the word "of"
A Guide to the Birds of East Africa
May: 1 completed
Challenge #1: Read a book originally written in a Slavic language
A Country Doctor's Notebook (Russian)
April: 4 completed
Challenge #5: Read a work in which one of the main characters described with a word ending in –ologist
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (horologist)
Challenge #7: Finish a book that you started between January 1, 2012 and March 28, 2012
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Challenge #9: Read a book with a title that includes only the vowels in the word "April"
The Girl Giant by Kristen den Hartog
Challenge #15: Read a book with a wild mammal (no pets) in the title
Children in Reindeer Woods by Kristín Ómarsdóttir
March: 1 completed
Challenge #22: Read a book with an introduction or afterword by another writer
The Wedding of Zein by Tayeb Salih (intro by Hisham Matar)
February: 7 completed
Challenge #1: Read a book with an animal on the left hand page, a beverage on the right hand page, and the number 3 in both page numbers
No One is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel (234/crows - 235/water)
Challenge #3: Read a book with a word of at least 5 letters in the title that is an anagram
Secret Letters from 0 to 10 by Susie Morgenstern (letters/settler)
Challenge #10: Read a Book with a Title written in the first person:
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman
Maus II : a survivor's tale : and here my troubles began by Art Spiegelman
Challenge #12: Read a book with a cover that depicts love
Two Rings: A Story of Love and War by Millie Werber
Challenge #18: Read a book originally written in a language that you do NOT speak and read
Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
January: 5 completed
Challenge #7: Read a book that was published posthumously
Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman
Challenge #8: Read a book where a word in the title can be used as a verb as well as another part of speech
Mister Blue by Jacques Poulin (blue: verb and adjective or noun)
Challenge #9: Read a book with the name of a body of water in the title
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
Challenge #11: Read a work of narrative non-fiction
We All Wore Stars by Theo Coster
The Unredeemed Captive by John Demos
11labfs39
Although I would have preferred to start my new thread with a book, I watched a movie this afternoon that was just amazing, and I want to share it.
Water (2005)
Director: Deepa Mehta
Writers: Anurag Kashyap (dialogue), Deepa Mehta
Stars: Lisa Ray, John Abraham and Seema Biswas
According to tradition and a 2000 year old religious work attributed to Manu, Indian widows have three choices: commit sati (self-immolation on their husbands pyres), marry their husbands' younger brother, or remain chaste and removed from society from the moment their husbands die. Many are sent to widows ashrams where they live in poverty and even prostitution in order to survive. In 1938, Gandhi advocated for the rights of widows, and a law was passed allowing them to remarry. Currently there are more than 40 million widows in India, and the majority (especially in West Bengal) live in poverty and isolation, despite the passage of time and laws allowing remarriage and prohibiting sati.
The movie, Water, begins with seven-year-old Chuyia becoming a widow. Her hair is shaved, she is dressed in white, and she is interred at an ashram for widows in Varanasi. Faced with permanent exile from her family and everything she has known, Chuyia rebels until she realizes that no one is coming for her. She becomes friends with some of the other widows, including the young and beautiful Kalyani. An educated Brahmin and follower of Gandhi named Narayan happens to see Kalyani, and with Chuyia's help, the two young people meet. Undeterred by her caste and her status as a widow, Narayan pursues Kalyani and vows to free her.
I found the movie emotionally powerful, both in the story and in the real life situation. I would highly recommend Water. 5* Tissues advised.
Water (2005)
Director: Deepa Mehta
Writers: Anurag Kashyap (dialogue), Deepa Mehta
Stars: Lisa Ray, John Abraham and Seema Biswas
According to tradition and a 2000 year old religious work attributed to Manu, Indian widows have three choices: commit sati (self-immolation on their husbands pyres), marry their husbands' younger brother, or remain chaste and removed from society from the moment their husbands die. Many are sent to widows ashrams where they live in poverty and even prostitution in order to survive. In 1938, Gandhi advocated for the rights of widows, and a law was passed allowing them to remarry. Currently there are more than 40 million widows in India, and the majority (especially in West Bengal) live in poverty and isolation, despite the passage of time and laws allowing remarriage and prohibiting sati.
The movie, Water, begins with seven-year-old Chuyia becoming a widow. Her hair is shaved, she is dressed in white, and she is interred at an ashram for widows in Varanasi. Faced with permanent exile from her family and everything she has known, Chuyia rebels until she realizes that no one is coming for her. She becomes friends with some of the other widows, including the young and beautiful Kalyani. An educated Brahmin and follower of Gandhi named Narayan happens to see Kalyani, and with Chuyia's help, the two young people meet. Undeterred by her caste and her status as a widow, Narayan pursues Kalyani and vows to free her.
I found the movie emotionally powerful, both in the story and in the real life situation. I would highly recommend Water. 5* Tissues advised.
12brenzi
Hi Lisa, I finally get to your thread and when I get to the bottom and am all caught up I see it's been continued over here. So...lovely new thread and I loved the pictures of your chickens (esp. the ones with Katie) and I'm happy to hear she's continuing to improve from her bout with pneumonia which I know can be pretty scary.
For a minute there I thought you rated the movie 5 Tissues. That would be a real tearjerker I guess.
And I see you liked Palace Walk too. I just finished Palace of Desire which was good but not as compelling as its predecessor.
For a minute there I thought you rated the movie 5 Tissues. That would be a real tearjerker I guess.
And I see you liked Palace Walk too. I just finished Palace of Desire which was good but not as compelling as its predecessor.
13avatiakh
Hi Lisa - While I'm enjoying my current read I am forbidden, I must get going on Palace Walk, everyone has been enjoying it and I liked what I read so far.
I'm back to doing all my exercise classes now and just taking cardio easy for a bit. My trainer gave me some hip-strengthening exercises to work with so I'm probably now at about 90% of my previous activity level. I wasn't aware of the extent of your injury till you mentioned it in one of your recent posts.
I'm back to doing all my exercise classes now and just taking cardio easy for a bit. My trainer gave me some hip-strengthening exercises to work with so I'm probably now at about 90% of my previous activity level. I wasn't aware of the extent of your injury till you mentioned it in one of your recent posts.
14EBT1002
Lisa, referencing your prior thread, I love the pics of Katie and Bill with Chocolate and Captain.... and the chicks! When we lived in Oregon, we had two hens named Iris and BC. We shared them with our neighbors, having built a fine A-frame coop for them. I used to let them out into our yard and I would supervise their foray through our flower beds (picture me in cold weather, wrapped in a down jacket and with a glass of wine in my hand, making sure "the girls" didn't wander into the street....). I just thought they should have a bit of freedom now and then. Come spring, there was not a single slug to be found in that garden! They were great pets (just being honest) and we enjoyed the fresh eggs.
I'm currently reading Palace Walk and very much enjoying it.
I'm currently reading Palace Walk and very much enjoying it.
15rebeccanyc
Love the chicken and people pictures on the old thread, and I'm impressed by your list of books by country/ethnicity. I'll have to try that!
16Linda92007
Excellent new thread, Lisa! Great lists and some more damage to my wishlist! Also loved your review of Water. I believe that I saw it a number of years ago (the memory woes, you know) and greatly enjoyed it.
17DieFledermaus
Great pictures of the chickens and family! The chicks are adorable and that is a very impressive coop.
I have to say, I got a kick out of reading the list of challenges. How did you go about finding the book for the
an animal on the left hand page, a beverage on the right hand page, and the number 3 in both page numbers
challenge?
I have to say, I got a kick out of reading the list of challenges. How did you go about finding the book for the
an animal on the left hand page, a beverage on the right hand page, and the number 3 in both page numbers
challenge?
18labfs39
#12 Hi Brenzi, glad you found me. I thought you rated the movie 5 Tissues LOL. That's about what it took me!
#13 I just received a copy of I am Forbidden too, Kerry. It looks good. I'm getting around the house without crutches now, so I guess the torn muscle is healing. I'm glad you are nearly back to full strength.
#14 Ellen, we used to let our hens roam our fenced back yard too, but five chickens was far too hard on the landscaping. We fenced a smaller area just for them, and they have scratched and packed every speck of grass or small plant to death. Occasionally the dog will let them out and then the hens run to the bird feeder and scratch for any fallen seeds. I'm glad you are enjoying Palace Walk. I'm about half way through the next one, Palace of Desire. Boy, is that Jamil a louse.
#15 Our animals have a way of becoming part of the family, Rebecca. Other people put up baby pix, but we have our animals. :-)
#16 Thanks, Linda. It was an impressive movie and, like a good book, it inspired me to do more research and reading.
#17 My hubby is an engineer, DieF, so everything is built to withstand an earthquake--even the chicken coop! My contribution was asking for it to have wheels so that we could... spread the wealth, so to speak. As for the Take It or Leave It Challenges (TIOLI), I read what I want and when I finish I see if it fits any challenges for the month. So rather than looking for a book with the animal, beverage, and number three, I just checked the books I finished that month. Much easier!
#13 I just received a copy of I am Forbidden too, Kerry. It looks good. I'm getting around the house without crutches now, so I guess the torn muscle is healing. I'm glad you are nearly back to full strength.
#14 Ellen, we used to let our hens roam our fenced back yard too, but five chickens was far too hard on the landscaping. We fenced a smaller area just for them, and they have scratched and packed every speck of grass or small plant to death. Occasionally the dog will let them out and then the hens run to the bird feeder and scratch for any fallen seeds. I'm glad you are enjoying Palace Walk. I'm about half way through the next one, Palace of Desire. Boy, is that Jamil a louse.
#15 Our animals have a way of becoming part of the family, Rebecca. Other people put up baby pix, but we have our animals. :-)
#16 Thanks, Linda. It was an impressive movie and, like a good book, it inspired me to do more research and reading.
#17 My hubby is an engineer, DieF, so everything is built to withstand an earthquake--even the chicken coop! My contribution was asking for it to have wheels so that we could... spread the wealth, so to speak. As for the Take It or Leave It Challenges (TIOLI), I read what I want and when I finish I see if it fits any challenges for the month. So rather than looking for a book with the animal, beverage, and number three, I just checked the books I finished that month. Much easier!
19detailmuse
(re: your previous thread) Lisa yes I was able to read the text from Nature Stories, thanks for posting it AND THE PICS! of family, including chicks. Sorry about Stripe; not as violent a death as the others but still traumatic. It's all so interesting!
20labfs39
Chickens are curious animals. Despite their minuscule-sized brains, they are quite entertaining. For instance, if they get loose, our hens run to the bird feeder to see if any seeds dropped, then they usually come and stand in front of the sliding glass door and watch what we are doing. One time I was dusting and three little chicken heads went back and forth following the dust rag. Very funny!
21EBT1002
Of our two, I also have fond memories of holding BC (Iris wouldn't let me pick her up) and just petting her soft feathers while she sort of cooed. She was really very sweet.
22markon
Lisa, I flirt with getting a few chickens periodically, but then I ask myself, "What will they do in the winter when it gets cold?" Building a coop with with electricity for a heat lamp is beyond me. Now if one of my neighbors wanted to do that I'd be glad to go in with someone on expenses and care . . .
Meanwhile I enjoy other peoples stories & photos. :)
Meanwhile I enjoy other peoples stories & photos. :)
23labfs39
Hi Ardene! We just run an extension cord from the house to the coop when it gets cold. It's not that far.
24labfs39
51-53. The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz, translated from the Arabic by William M. Hutchins
The Cairo Trilogy is an epic family drama spanning the years 1917-1944 and three generations of a religious family in old Cairo. From the traditional, tyrannical, and well-respected patriarch to his radicalized grandsons, one of whom resembles the author himself, the novel explores the complexities of Egyptian religion, class, gender roles, politics, and modernization. Because the books that comprise the trilogy follow one another closely (each sequel begins with the same thought or theme with which the previous book closed, although time has elapsed), I read and am reviewing them as a single entity. In my opinion, it would be impossible to read them out of order, and the story is not complete until you have read them all.
Palace Walk centers around Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, a well-respected member of the traditional religious neighborhood of el-Gamaleyya. A shopkeeper, Al-Sayyid Ahmad's life is spent in three spheres: family, community, and a private life with a group of select friends. Like his father before him, Ahmad believes his duty towards his family lies in safeguarding their honor, and therefore his own. To achieve this, he keeps a tyranical hold over his wife, Amina, who is never allowed to leave the house, and his five children. The three boys are kept on short leashes until they have graduated school and secured jobs, and even then his hand is felt in every aspect of their lives. The two girls are kept in isolation, with no education, and whose purity includes being protected from the eyes of men outside their family. Even potential bridegrooms are not supposed to have seen them. Small rebellions by any of them are quashed by the father with an unbending fury. His word is law.
Yet, in the small community of el-Gamaleyya, Al-Sayyid Ahmad is well-respected, even beloved. His piety and good works are well known, as is his support for the Wafd party to which he makes donations. Community members come to him for advice and to settle disputes; he supports his employee's son through university. But his family only hears of this good-natured benevolence through others.
However, it is when he is with his three dearest friends, that his laugh is to be heard. Unbeknownst to most, Ahmad loves music and gaity, drinking and having affairs with the areas most notorious female entertainers. His capcity for drink and fortitude with women are reknowned in certain circles, and his friends think the world of him, this lion of men.
This first novel is centered around themes of traditional mores versus modernity, the growing Eygptian demand for freedom from paternal British rule, and the consequences of tyranny both within a country and within a family. I found this first book of the trilogy to be a fascinating look at life within a family and a community rooted in a time and place that was quickly changing. I think it is the strongest book of the three.
26kidzdoc
Excellent review of Palace Walk, Lisa. Now that I've finished The Cairo Trilogy I agree that Palace Walk is the strongest book of the three.
Your review also reminds me that I need to write my review of Sugar Street.
Your review also reminds me that I need to write my review of Sugar Street.
27Linda92007
Congratulations on finishing The Cairo Trilogy, Lisa. I'm looking forward to the remaining two installments of your review. Am I correct in assuming you will post it on the book page as a whole?
28EBT1002
Well done, Lisa. I still plan to read Palace of Desire and then I'll see if I want to read Sugar Street.
You, Darryl, and others have pretty consistently said that the first was the strongest, making it tempting to just stop with having read that.
You, Darryl, and others have pretty consistently said that the first was the strongest, making it tempting to just stop with having read that.
30labfs39
#25 Soon, I hope, Barry. We just got back from Vancouver Canada. I wrote the first part of my review at the B&B on a lousy laptop that was missing the B key. (I knew I should have brought my laptop!) Hopefully I'll be able to finish the review on my own computer at home this weekend.
#26 There's a lot more I would like to say about Palace Walk, Darryl, but I thought it most important to share my thoughts about Al-Sayyid Ahmad, because I think he is a more complex and interesting character than some reviewers have found him to be. In the next part of my review I hope to expand on some of the other characters and themes.
#27 Hi Linda, I'm not sure how or if I will post it. To put the entire review on the Cairo Trilogy page would be too long, I think. But I intend to refer back, so I'm not sure it will make sense as separate reviews. It might just be for those of you who peek in on my thread. And for myself, of course.
#28 Sorry, Ellen, but I think the second book was the weakest of the three, and you can't miss Sugar Street. It was very good! So keep reading, girl!
#29 No worries, Dan, I need to run over to your thread and get caught up on your trip review. :-)
#26 There's a lot more I would like to say about Palace Walk, Darryl, but I thought it most important to share my thoughts about Al-Sayyid Ahmad, because I think he is a more complex and interesting character than some reviewers have found him to be. In the next part of my review I hope to expand on some of the other characters and themes.
#27 Hi Linda, I'm not sure how or if I will post it. To put the entire review on the Cairo Trilogy page would be too long, I think. But I intend to refer back, so I'm not sure it will make sense as separate reviews. It might just be for those of you who peek in on my thread. And for myself, of course.
#28 Sorry, Ellen, but I think the second book was the weakest of the three, and you can't miss Sugar Street. It was very good! So keep reading, girl!
#29 No worries, Dan, I need to run over to your thread and get caught up on your trip review. :-)
31labfs39
I had the most fun border crossing into the US ever. The customs agent asked what we bought in BC, and my husband and I answered in stereo "books". He couldn't believe it. "You went to Canada and bought books?!" He thought we were crazy. Maybe we are. ;-)
For my daughter, we bought from the University of British Columbia's Botanical Garden shop:
The Art of Botanical Drawing, which has a beautiful cover
and The University of British Columbia Botanical Garden. The gardens and canopy walkway there are absolutely wonderful, btw. I loved the replica 16th century monastic physick garden. It was recreated from a Dutch etching. I would love to read The Herball or General History of Plants (1597) by John Gerard or The English Physician Enlarged (1653) by Nicholas Culpeper, because the quotes in the garden by these two were fascinating.
At Chapters (thank you vancouverdeb for the directions) I found:
Stories from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean (a humorous book, woo hoo!)
and
The Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore (for only $5.99), which I've been wanting to read since DieF reviewed Stalin: Court of the Red Tsar. Rebecca, I think you've already started it, haven't you?
For my daughter, we bought from the University of British Columbia's Botanical Garden shop:
The Art of Botanical Drawing, which has a beautiful cover
and The University of British Columbia Botanical Garden. The gardens and canopy walkway there are absolutely wonderful, btw. I loved the replica 16th century monastic physick garden. It was recreated from a Dutch etching. I would love to read The Herball or General History of Plants (1597) by John Gerard or The English Physician Enlarged (1653) by Nicholas Culpeper, because the quotes in the garden by these two were fascinating.
At Chapters (thank you vancouverdeb for the directions) I found:
Stories from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean (a humorous book, woo hoo!)
and
The Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore (for only $5.99), which I've been wanting to read since DieF reviewed Stalin: Court of the Red Tsar. Rebecca, I think you've already started it, haven't you?
32rebeccanyc
No, Lisa. But it's on my mental "need to buy" list!
33DieFledermaus
>31 labfs39: - In that case, I have the craziness too. I love going to bookstores on vacations or trips for work - it's fun but also refreshing. I like to support bookstores and it's interesting to see what weird things different stores have. People do say - you can buy books at home! a lot though.
I will interested to read your review of Young Stalin when you get around to it.
I will interested to read your review of Young Stalin when you get around to it.
34EBT1002
Not crazy. Absolutely sane.
We go to Victoria about once a year or so. I almost always buy a book or two. Or three. :-)
We go to Victoria about once a year or so. I almost always buy a book or two. Or three. :-)
35vancouverdeb
Hi Linda! I so glad that at least you found Chapter's bookstore. There is a independent bookstore at the University of British Columbia too, but I did not think to let you know about it. In any case, it's hours are quite limited - 10 - 5 on Saturdays, closed on Sunday's and open 10 am to 5:30 pm during the week. My son worked there part time while he went to school there. Beautiful place for a university, I think.
Stories from the Vinyl Cafe is a great book! Funny and a great slice of life. If you like the book, he has quite a few books telling yet more funny stories about the same neighbourhood! Very Canadian! :) Glad you enjoyed the Botanical Garden and found a book for your daughter.
Did you slip down to " Wreck Beach" while you by UBC - it's a legal nude beach in Vancouver! ;)
I'll be interested in Young Stalin too when you get to it. I'm also hoping to one day get to The Cairo Trilogy. Well, touchstones seem to not be working at this hour! Sorry about that!
Stories from the Vinyl Cafe is a great book! Funny and a great slice of life. If you like the book, he has quite a few books telling yet more funny stories about the same neighbourhood! Very Canadian! :) Glad you enjoyed the Botanical Garden and found a book for your daughter.
Did you slip down to " Wreck Beach" while you by UBC - it's a legal nude beach in Vancouver! ;)
I'll be interested in Young Stalin too when you get to it. I'm also hoping to one day get to The Cairo Trilogy. Well, touchstones seem to not be working at this hour! Sorry about that!
37rebeccanyc
Now I feel under pressure to buy Young Stalin, so at least it can sit on my TBR shelves and stare at me!
39rebeccanyc
Cluck cluck cluck!
40msf59
Morning Lisa- Hope you are having a great weekend. Everyone seems to be loving Palace Walk, so that's been on my WL.
Thanks for the "Water" rec too! Always up for a good film.
Thanks for the "Water" rec too! Always up for a good film.
41brenzi
I'm reading Sugar Street right now Lisa and would agree that the first book is the best of the three. Al-Sayyid Ahmad is such a complex character and thought his diminution over the course of the three books provided a fascinating character study. I didn't realize one of the grandsons resembled the author so of course now I have to find out which one.
42labfs39
#32 Young Stalin was on the bargain table, so I of course snatched that right up. Given that books are typically more expensive in Canada, it was a good find. We went from the bookstore to dinner, and I of course had to browse all the photo sections before the food was served. I think the book is going to score points both for readability and research.
#33-34 Thanks, DieF and Ellen, for supporting my crazy book buying lust!
#35 I didn't give you much time to think about bookstore recommendations, Linda, I appreciate your help! I read the first four chapters of Stories from the Vinyl Cafe and am enjoying them. Someone recommended Stuart McLean's books to me, but I was having a hard time finding them around here. Chapters had the first six or so, but I picked up just the one, as I wasn't sure if I would like them. My daughter's friend had told us a Dave story at a sleepover, and it went on and on and on. Soured me on my first impression of Dave. The book, however, is without a nine-year-old's interpretation of what is funny. :-)
#36 You are a better man than I, Gunga Din.
#37 Hee, hee, Rebecca. I haven't even read it yet, and you want it. Wow, I'm good!
#38 I'm going to look for the butterfly book you mentioned, qebo, for my daughter. She'll want to plant some things that attract local ones, I'm sure. She loved your pictures (as did I).
#39 Follow them there tracks!
#40 Hi Mark! Water tells an amazing story; I hope you get to see it. I have another movie I should post too.
#41 According to what I read about Mahfouz, he resembled Kamal as a youth.
#33-34 Thanks, DieF and Ellen, for supporting my crazy book buying lust!
#35 I didn't give you much time to think about bookstore recommendations, Linda, I appreciate your help! I read the first four chapters of Stories from the Vinyl Cafe and am enjoying them. Someone recommended Stuart McLean's books to me, but I was having a hard time finding them around here. Chapters had the first six or so, but I picked up just the one, as I wasn't sure if I would like them. My daughter's friend had told us a Dave story at a sleepover, and it went on and on and on. Soured me on my first impression of Dave. The book, however, is without a nine-year-old's interpretation of what is funny. :-)
#36 You are a better man than I, Gunga Din.
#37 Hee, hee, Rebecca. I haven't even read it yet, and you want it. Wow, I'm good!
#38 I'm going to look for the butterfly book you mentioned, qebo, for my daughter. She'll want to plant some things that attract local ones, I'm sure. She loved your pictures (as did I).
#39 Follow them there tracks!
#40 Hi Mark! Water tells an amazing story; I hope you get to see it. I have another movie I should post too.
#41 According to what I read about Mahfouz, he resembled Kamal as a youth.
43labfs39
52. The Cairo Trilogy continues with Palace of Desire:
Although five years have passed since the sad conclusion of Palace Walk, the next book in the trilogy, Palace of Desire, seems to begin where the previous book left off. {As a note, the books are titled after streets in the neighborhood where the family lives.} The smooth transition between books reinforces the sense that the author is telling a single story. Yet the characters have evolved in the intervening years and although Al-Sayyid Ahmad continues to be his larger than life self, he is changed by the loss of his middle son, Fahmy. It is reflected in his relationship with his youngest son, Kamal.
The father found himself torn between his tyrannical tendencies and his recognition of a son's right to choose a school for himself. He was solicitous for Kamal's future and reluctant to admit defeat, but in an uncharacteristic way — or more precisely, one that would have been out of character in the old days — he finally let reason have the upper hand.
Ahmad is not the only one to have changed. His wife, Amina, spent the first sixteen years of their marriage secluded in their house, and even when confronted with her husband's mistress in Palace Walk, she quickly suppressed her anger with all the force of a woman who did not acknowledge that she had a right to get angry. But now, things are different. Although endlessly patient and devoted to her husband, she now goes to visit the shrines and the cemetery when she wishes and without express permission. Her sorrow has allowed her some freedoms that were unthinkable in the first book. Unfortunately for us, we are not given much insight into Amina's inner world in Palace of Desire. Nor are the two daughters as engaged in the plot now that they are married with children. Kamal plays a role as a martyr to love, but the majority of the stage is now given over to Al-Sayyid Ahmad's eldest child, Yasin.
Yasin has inherited his father's good looks, love of a good time, and passion for women, but none of his desire for respectability or good sense. Although he is a man, and therefore somewhat independent, although he still lives at home, Yasin is reckless, driven by lust, and reprehensible in his views of women:
"What more does any woman want than a home of her own and sexual gratification? Nothing! women are just another kind of domestic animal, and must be treated like one. Yes, other pets are not allowed to intrude into our private lives. They stay home until we're free to play with them. For me, being a husband who is faithful to his marriage would be death. One sight, one sound, one taste incessantly repeated and repeated until there's no difference between motion and inertia. Sound and silence become twins... No, certainly not, that's not why I got married... If she {Zaynab, his wife} is said to have a fair complexion, then does that mean I have no desires for a brown-skinned woman or a black? If she's said to be pleasingly plump, what consolation will I have for skinny women or huge ones? If she's refined, from a noble and distinguished family, should I neglect the good qualities of girls whose fathers push carts around in the streets?... Forward... forward."
Yasin marries more than once, and two of his wives leave him, to his disgrace. One goes on to a better life, and one to a lesser, but interestingly both are able to take action on their own behalf and affect change. Finally, he meets a woman who is his equal in deception and his better at manipulation.
I found Palace of Desires to be my least favorite of the three books in the trilogy, perhaps in part because I found Yasin so distasteful. In addition, I missed the voices of the women, especially Amina, and wish that the story had remained as balanced between the voices of each member of the family. Finally, the book seemed to have less focus and action than the other two.
44labfs39
Blindness (2008) based on the novel by José Saramago
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Starring: Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, and Gael García Bernal
A man suddenly goes blind at a traffic intersection. A mysterious white blindness that passes from one person to another. The government panics and quarantines those with the illness in an abandoned mental hospital. As people continue to go blind, and society outside the facility breaks down, utter brutality rules inside the institution. Only one person retains her sight, and she must make horrific decisions in order to lead some to a more humane life.
I thought the book by José Saramago was brilliant and was leery about a film version. Although the movie is condensed and simplified, I thought it was well done. It kept to the original plot and intent, and the cinematography played off the ideas of light and dark, blindness and sight in interesting visual patterns and images. At times the acting was a bit overdone, perhaps, but overall I was pleasantly horrified, as I was meant to be.
45janemarieprice
44 - I wasn't blown away by Blindness though I enjoyed it a good deal, but it has stuck with me quite a bit and I find myself thinking about it. Glad to hear the movie is pretty solid.
46Mr.Durick
The DVD of Blindness is available from BN.COM for $6.35, a seriously tempting price. But IMDb's rating is not very high. I may have to make up my own mind. I'm glad you brought it up regardless of what I decide.
Robert
Robert
47EBT1002
I read Blindness a few years ago and have decided that I have a love/hate relationship with it. It was brutally upsetting and it has stuck with me, in detail, more than most books tend to do.
48labfs39
#45 I found the book Blindness, like Saramago himself, to be something of an enigma. I enjoyed puzzling over it and found a reread helpful. I could make neither heads nor tails of Seeing, however. After two 100+ page attempts, I finally abandoned it. I have enjoyed many other Saramago books since then, but Blindness was my first, and a brutal introduction.
#46 Welcome, Robert. I hadn't looking at the IMDB rating to be honest, so after reading your comment I went and read a few of the reviews. I think reviewers were especially hard pressed to appreciate the movie if they had not read the book. It was obvious from Roger Ebert's review, for instance, that he had not read the book or been able to suss out the meaning from the movie alone. I thought TimeOut London's review to be more nuanced, although it too was not altogether positive. It laments that the movie is not the book, with time to meditate, think, and reflect on what is happening. My advice: read the book (if you haven't already), and then, if motivated, watch the movie. The latter is not a substitute for the former, but a creative visualization of the main action.
#46 deux I hear what you are saying, Ellen. It was brutally upsetting, like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or Lord of the Flies (two books/movies to which it was compared). I could barely read some of the scenes they were so disturbing. But I didn't find it gratuitous violence, and Saramago's use of language and imagery was spellbinding. I too have thought about it long after finishing the book.
#46 Welcome, Robert. I hadn't looking at the IMDB rating to be honest, so after reading your comment I went and read a few of the reviews. I think reviewers were especially hard pressed to appreciate the movie if they had not read the book. It was obvious from Roger Ebert's review, for instance, that he had not read the book or been able to suss out the meaning from the movie alone. I thought TimeOut London's review to be more nuanced, although it too was not altogether positive. It laments that the movie is not the book, with time to meditate, think, and reflect on what is happening. My advice: read the book (if you haven't already), and then, if motivated, watch the movie. The latter is not a substitute for the former, but a creative visualization of the main action.
#46 deux I hear what you are saying, Ellen. It was brutally upsetting, like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or Lord of the Flies (two books/movies to which it was compared). I could barely read some of the scenes they were so disturbing. But I didn't find it gratuitous violence, and Saramago's use of language and imagery was spellbinding. I too have thought about it long after finishing the book.
49Linda92007
Great review of Palace of Desire, Lisa. I especially appreciate the way you describe the transition between the books. Awaiting installment three!
I abandoned reading Blindness years ago, but recently saw the movie and it has actually motivated me to go back and finish the book. I don't think I have ever reacted that way to a book-movie combination before.
I abandoned reading Blindness years ago, but recently saw the movie and it has actually motivated me to go back and finish the book. I don't think I have ever reacted that way to a book-movie combination before.
50baswood
Agree with Linda - a great review of Palace of Desire
51DieFledermaus
Glad to read more about The Cairo Trilogy. I've decided that I want to read it and it's good to see some of the negative points as well.
I also found Blindness to be powerful and memorable - I did know what I was getting into when I started it so even though it was disturbing, I was expecting bad things. For some reason I never had the desire to see the movie. I must have read some bad reviews or something because I'd be interested in that cast.
I also found Blindness to be powerful and memorable - I did know what I was getting into when I started it so even though it was disturbing, I was expecting bad things. For some reason I never had the desire to see the movie. I must have read some bad reviews or something because I'd be interested in that cast.
52SassyLassy
Way back at >31 labfs39:: Lovely looking book. The UBC Botanical Gardens is one of my very favourite spots in Vancouver and the store never fails to tempt with its books.
I haven't read Stuart McLean, but I have often heard his Dave stories on the radio and suspect this might be the best way to appreciate him. He has his own website and is also prominently featured on the CBC website.
Had the same border experience driving back from Boston once: "You went to Boston and all you bought was books and music?!!!" followed by a search of the car. Too funny.
I haven't read Stuart McLean, but I have often heard his Dave stories on the radio and suspect this might be the best way to appreciate him. He has his own website and is also prominently featured on the CBC website.
Had the same border experience driving back from Boston once: "You went to Boston and all you bought was books and music?!!!" followed by a search of the car. Too funny.
53kidzdoc
Excellent review of Palace of Desire, Lisa. I agree with your assessment of it; Yasin's debauchery and immorality combined with the de-emphasis of the main female characters made it the least interesting novel of the three.
I loved the novel Blindness but I haven't seen the movie yet. I'm glad to hear that it is worthwhile, if not entirely true to the book.
I loved the novel Blindness but I haven't seen the movie yet. I'm glad to hear that it is worthwhile, if not entirely true to the book.
54Rebeki
Hi Lisa, I've been enjoying catching up with your threads, especially seeing the photos of meet-ups, your family and chickens! I hope your daughter's feeling better now.
I borrowed Zoo Station from the library recently. I hadn't heard of the series till reading about it on Cushla's thread. Since your reviews are less glowing than hers, I've adjusted my expectations accordingly, although I notice you zipped through a few in quick succession.
My reading has been very narrow of late - mostly UK and US authors and mostly quite light reading - but you've inspired me to do something about that! Your list of authors by ethnicity is impressive and I love the variety in your reading.
I borrowed Zoo Station from the library recently. I hadn't heard of the series till reading about it on Cushla's thread. Since your reviews are less glowing than hers, I've adjusted my expectations accordingly, although I notice you zipped through a few in quick succession.
My reading has been very narrow of late - mostly UK and US authors and mostly quite light reading - but you've inspired me to do something about that! Your list of authors by ethnicity is impressive and I love the variety in your reading.
55bonniebooks
Hi, Lisa! Love the stories about your chickens. I was laughing at imagining them observing you through your sliding glass door. Palace Walk is one of my Top 100 favorites and I actually have Palace of Desire in my possession, so I skipped over your review above--not that I would remember it when I finally get to it. I'm just worried that if I do read it, it will give me another excuse to delay reading it. (It doesn't take much.)
One of the best things about Blindness for me was noticing how the author made me feel like I was there by how he punctuated. Other readers have expressed their annoyance, but I thought it was brilliant. Trying to figure out who was talking made me blind too. I was sort of thrilled with that, and my admiration for his writing kept me going through the horrific parts.
One of the best things about Blindness for me was noticing how the author made me feel like I was there by how he punctuated. Other readers have expressed their annoyance, but I thought it was brilliant. Trying to figure out who was talking made me blind too. I was sort of thrilled with that, and my admiration for his writing kept me going through the horrific parts.
56detailmuse
Blindness is on my wishlist and I've mentally moved it to the top, bottom, top, bottom... while reading everyone's comments! Maybe finally getting to The Plague in my TBRs will do for now.
Yes Lisa how is Katie doing? Is she home-schooled or enrolled in school?
eta: fix touchstone. Who is Henry Green to be dominating the Blindness touchstone!
Yes Lisa how is Katie doing? Is she home-schooled or enrolled in school?
eta: fix touchstone. Who is Henry Green to be dominating the Blindness touchstone!
57labfs39
#49 I'm glad the movie re-motivated you to read Blindness, Linda. It's backwards to what usually happens with me!
#50 Thanks, Barry.
#51 Hmm, I didn't mean to be negative about The Cairo Trilogy. I found them all 4-4.5 star worthy. It's just that I can't help compare the three, and Palace of Desire is the weakest in my opinion. I definitely don't want to turn you off to reading them. And the third book Sugar Street is very good too.
The movie Blindness cannot be as good as the book, nor does it try to be, and as I said earlier, people who have not read the book, may not get or enjoy the movie. But it enhanced my experience of the book as it does some interesting things visually, IMO.
#52 Do you go to Vancouver often, Sassy? How are the other gardens (Nitobe, etc)?
Your email prompted me to try and find McLean's radio show Vinyl Cafe. Come to find out it plays on KUOW 94.9 at 12pm on Sundays here in Seattle. I also downloaded some of the podcasts.
#53 Thanks, Darryl. I don't think the movie is untrue to the book, just not the right medium to convey everything.
#54 Hi Rebeki. I think you are in the right mood for Zoo Station. They are "quick, light reading" and fun. I got hooked on them because of Cushla too. It just so happened that I read them when I was looking for something a bit meatier. All about that elusive book fit and mood, I think.
#55 Oh, Bonnie, if you love Palace Walk, you need to read Palace of Desire, only if to get to Sugar Walk! Which I liked almost as much as Palace Walk.
Yes, the chickens continue to be a lot of fun. My daughter has now created a second generation Chicken-Mobile. She has so much fun with them, and they don't seem to mind being carted around. Now the chicken basket zip line is a little more questionable. She said only Lemon volunteered for that one.
One of the best things about Blindness for me was noticing how the author made me feel like I was there by how he punctuated. Other readers have expressed their annoyance, but I thought it was brilliant. Trying to figure out who was talking made me blind too. I was sort of thrilled with that, and my admiration for his writing kept me going through the horrific parts.
Aptly put. Did you read Seeing?
#56 Hi MJ! Katie seems to have recovered from the pneumonia, although she is still tired. Perhaps it's jet lag, although she got home a week ago. I just don't want her to have a relapse. She starts school on Wednesday. She's been going to the same private school since preschool. It was convenient when I worked down the street, but now it's a burdensome commute (45 minutes each way). We are considering alternatives, but it is a good school for quirky kids like K, and we are very excited about her teacher this year. He likes drawing maps by hand and exploring science too!
#50 Thanks, Barry.
#51 Hmm, I didn't mean to be negative about The Cairo Trilogy. I found them all 4-4.5 star worthy. It's just that I can't help compare the three, and Palace of Desire is the weakest in my opinion. I definitely don't want to turn you off to reading them. And the third book Sugar Street is very good too.
The movie Blindness cannot be as good as the book, nor does it try to be, and as I said earlier, people who have not read the book, may not get or enjoy the movie. But it enhanced my experience of the book as it does some interesting things visually, IMO.
#52 Do you go to Vancouver often, Sassy? How are the other gardens (Nitobe, etc)?
Your email prompted me to try and find McLean's radio show Vinyl Cafe. Come to find out it plays on KUOW 94.9 at 12pm on Sundays here in Seattle. I also downloaded some of the podcasts.
#53 Thanks, Darryl. I don't think the movie is untrue to the book, just not the right medium to convey everything.
#54 Hi Rebeki. I think you are in the right mood for Zoo Station. They are "quick, light reading" and fun. I got hooked on them because of Cushla too. It just so happened that I read them when I was looking for something a bit meatier. All about that elusive book fit and mood, I think.
#55 Oh, Bonnie, if you love Palace Walk, you need to read Palace of Desire, only if to get to Sugar Walk! Which I liked almost as much as Palace Walk.
Yes, the chickens continue to be a lot of fun. My daughter has now created a second generation Chicken-Mobile. She has so much fun with them, and they don't seem to mind being carted around. Now the chicken basket zip line is a little more questionable. She said only Lemon volunteered for that one.
One of the best things about Blindness for me was noticing how the author made me feel like I was there by how he punctuated. Other readers have expressed their annoyance, but I thought it was brilliant. Trying to figure out who was talking made me blind too. I was sort of thrilled with that, and my admiration for his writing kept me going through the horrific parts.
Aptly put. Did you read Seeing?
#56 Hi MJ! Katie seems to have recovered from the pneumonia, although she is still tired. Perhaps it's jet lag, although she got home a week ago. I just don't want her to have a relapse. She starts school on Wednesday. She's been going to the same private school since preschool. It was convenient when I worked down the street, but now it's a burdensome commute (45 minutes each way). We are considering alternatives, but it is a good school for quirky kids like K, and we are very excited about her teacher this year. He likes drawing maps by hand and exploring science too!
58labfs39
Drats. I'm four reviews behind, nothing new, but I was trying to turn over a new leaf.
Iran Awakening
Sugar Street
Escape from Camp 14 and
Fatelessness
All were excellent.
Iran Awakening
Sugar Street
Escape from Camp 14 and
Fatelessness
All were excellent.
59labfs39
This was kind of fun:
What Kind of Book Reader Are You? A Diagnostics Guide
I'm a wannabe Chronological reader and a Bookophile with a touch of Delayed Onset Reader #1 in that I buy/borrow books faster than I can read them. :-)
What Kind of Book Reader Are You? A Diagnostics Guide
I'm a wannabe Chronological reader and a Bookophile with a touch of Delayed Onset Reader #1 in that I buy/borrow books faster than I can read them. :-)
60labfs39
Finally, a warning: there are no source notes included in the paperback version of The Young Stalin, although there are a few footnotes. The end note numbers are still in place, and I was going crazy trying to find the notes. Then I discovered a little paragraph between the acknowledgments and the bibliography saying
In order to make the paperback a manageable and readable size, the author and publishers have decided not to include the notes in the paperback. We hope readers will agree that, for most, the balance of convenience is best served by this policy.
There is a link to the author's website where you can find the source notes, but still... I was irritated. How can an author's reliability and research acumen be judged without them. Besides, I find them interesting and a potential source for further reading. Am I being ridiculous in taking offence?
In order to make the paperback a manageable and readable size, the author and publishers have decided not to include the notes in the paperback. We hope readers will agree that, for most, the balance of convenience is best served by this policy.
There is a link to the author's website where you can find the source notes, but still... I was irritated. How can an author's reliability and research acumen be judged without them. Besides, I find them interesting and a potential source for further reading. Am I being ridiculous in taking offence?
61Linda92007
I don't think you are being ridiculous at all, Lisa. Leaving out the notes to make it a manageable and readable size sounds to me like a weak excuse to cut corners on cost. But really, how much could it have saved? It also feels insulting to the reader, as if they assume no one makes use of them anyway. I just bought Stalin: Court of the Red Tsar, notes intact (although longer to begin with?), but would like to read The Young Stalin first. Maybe I'll check on whether the Kindle edition includes notes.
By the way, I am really looking forward to your review of Fatelessness.
By the way, I am really looking forward to your review of Fatelessness.
62labfs39
It also feels insulting to the reader, as if they assume no one makes use of them anyway. Exactly. Perhaps I'll write a little note expressing this reader's disappointment.
BTW, the hardcover edition does include the source notes, according to the publisher. I don't know about Kindle.
BTW, the hardcover edition does include the source notes, according to the publisher. I don't know about Kindle.
63rebeccanyc
Lisa, that is so annoying about the paperback version of Young Stalin. I looked for it in a bookstore today and only found a used copy of the hard cover, and was on the verge of ordering the paperback from Amazon. Now I think I'll get the hardcover edition. Thanks for the warning.
64SassyLassy
I was horrified to discover this too, but the book was a gift, and a welcome one, so not much I could do. Even though it was published later, I suggest reading Young Stalin first.
>57 labfs39: Unfortunately I don't get to Vancouver often enough. The Nitobe garden is wonderful; I have been watching it fill in over the years. It's well worth a trip to Vancouver Island to see gardens all over the island, but I would especially recommend the Abkhazi garden in Victoria. It's small but beautifully planned and I love the story behind it. You can get to the island right from Washington state by ferry. Butchart Gardens is certainly worth the trip too.
Glad you can hear Stuart McLean-- it makes all the difference.
>57 labfs39: Unfortunately I don't get to Vancouver often enough. The Nitobe garden is wonderful; I have been watching it fill in over the years. It's well worth a trip to Vancouver Island to see gardens all over the island, but I would especially recommend the Abkhazi garden in Victoria. It's small but beautifully planned and I love the story behind it. You can get to the island right from Washington state by ferry. Butchart Gardens is certainly worth the trip too.
Glad you can hear Stuart McLean-- it makes all the difference.
65dchaikin
I do like the idea of having the notes and sources available online where they are easier to copy and paste and to reference in online conversations...and where they are updatable. But that's a cheap trick to not include them in the print version.
66rebeccanyc
After writing that I would get the hardcover edition, I'm now leaning towards the paperback just because it's easier to read/transport. If I find it in B&N when I'm there later today (not available in either of the two independent stores I frequent), I'll probably buy it; otherwise I'll order a used hard cover.
67labfs39
53. Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz, translated from the Arabic by William M. Hutchins
Mahfouz returns with something a little different in Sugar Street, the third and final book of The Cairo Trilogy. It is more philosophical and political than the previous two novels, and the narrative continues to adopt the internal dialogue that made Kamal's voice so distinctive in Palace of Desire. Although the worst of his torment caused by the rejection of his love and almost religious awe is supressed, Kamal ceases to seek meaning in his religion, his work, and his life. Lonely and isolated due to his existential ideas, he seeks comfort where his father and Yasin have before him: the brothels and the bottle. But despite his philosophical stances, religion and familial devotion remain strong in his psyche, and Kamal suffers from a love-hate relationship with himself.
Happily, once again the women's voices flow through the narrative, especially as Al-Sayyid Ahmad falls into decline and a more proactive woman takes Yasin in hand. As the matriarch of the family, Amina seems strong in spirit, even as her body ages; Aisha and Faima cling to one another in their co-dependent grief; and while Khadija is as opinionated as ever, but finds that she no longer has the authority she once had over her sons. Abd al-Muni'm has gone back to his religion's roots and joined the Muslim Brethren, while his brother, Ahmad has become equally radicalized, but as a Communist. Their staunch surety of their beliefs and proactive behavior stands as a sharp contrast to Kamal's philosophical self doubts and inaction. And finally there is Yasin's son, Ridwan, whose personal choices are a sign of Egypt's modernization and changing cultural norms.
I enjoyed Sugar Street and consider it nearly as good as the first book, Palace Walk. As a whole, The Cairo Trilogy is a cohesive and compelling family drama that deserves to be read in its entirety. The characters are well-drawn and memorable, the plot is engaging, and, for someone who knows little of Egyptian life and history, the descriptions and dialogue paint an informative view of Egypt from the First World War to the 40s. As I came to the final pages, I wished that, like Zola's Rougon-Macquart novels, Mahfouz had continued to write of further generations of the family and continue the story of Egypt's 20th century history.
69avatiakh
I've just finished Palace Walk and so have had to skim your reviews of the other two books but will continue to read the trilogy, just don't feel like diving in to the second book straight away.
Also looking forward to your review of Fatelessness and will go ahead and recommend the film, Fateless, (Kertesz wrote the screenplay).
Also looking forward to your review of Fatelessness and will go ahead and recommend the film, Fateless, (Kertesz wrote the screenplay).
70labfs39
#63, 66 I think you will find Young Stalin a good read, Rebecca, whether you get the PB or HC. I just find the whole note thing odd.
#64 I would agree, Sassy. Although I haven't read Court of the Red Tsar yet, it makes sense to read Young Stalin first. Am I right in thinking you haven't read it yet?
We've been to Vancouver Island several times, and Butchart Gardens in different seasons, but I have never heard of the Abkhazi garden. I will have to look it up. I promised my mom we would go to Victoria the next time she visited, so I'll be able to go in the next year, I hope.
I finished the first Stuart McLean book last night, and I liked the small town gentle humor of it. Today I started listening to one of the podcasts (it's the earliest I could find on iTunes, from 2010). I'm enjoying it so far, but it's not what I was expecting. The one I'm listening to is live from Cape Breton. It's much more like a Lake Wobegon broadcast, whereas the books are just the stories. Frankly, I'm not sure which I prefer yet. I'm tempted to pick up the next book — for continued bedtime reading. It's a bit more soothing to fall asleep after a Dave story rather than a chapter on Stalin. :-)
#65 Hi Dan. I agree that having them online is nice, especially for searching, but I would have preferred them in the book, I think. It sounds like Rebecca saw the hardcover and found it a bit large for easy reading though.
#68 Thanks, Barry. It was nice to finish wanting more, especially after 1300 pages!
#69 I don't see your review yet, Kerry, but I see you gave Palace Walk 4*. I'll be interested in your thoughts.
I will definitely see if I can find the film, Fateless, based on your recommendation. Amazon sells the DVD but doesn't seem to have an online version.
#64 I would agree, Sassy. Although I haven't read Court of the Red Tsar yet, it makes sense to read Young Stalin first. Am I right in thinking you haven't read it yet?
We've been to Vancouver Island several times, and Butchart Gardens in different seasons, but I have never heard of the Abkhazi garden. I will have to look it up. I promised my mom we would go to Victoria the next time she visited, so I'll be able to go in the next year, I hope.
I finished the first Stuart McLean book last night, and I liked the small town gentle humor of it. Today I started listening to one of the podcasts (it's the earliest I could find on iTunes, from 2010). I'm enjoying it so far, but it's not what I was expecting. The one I'm listening to is live from Cape Breton. It's much more like a Lake Wobegon broadcast, whereas the books are just the stories. Frankly, I'm not sure which I prefer yet. I'm tempted to pick up the next book — for continued bedtime reading. It's a bit more soothing to fall asleep after a Dave story rather than a chapter on Stalin. :-)
#65 Hi Dan. I agree that having them online is nice, especially for searching, but I would have preferred them in the book, I think. It sounds like Rebecca saw the hardcover and found it a bit large for easy reading though.
#68 Thanks, Barry. It was nice to finish wanting more, especially after 1300 pages!
#69 I don't see your review yet, Kerry, but I see you gave Palace Walk 4*. I'll be interested in your thoughts.
I will definitely see if I can find the film, Fateless, based on your recommendation. Amazon sells the DVD but doesn't seem to have an online version.
71DieFledermaus
>60 labfs39: - Oh dear, that does sound very wrong. I don't know that I've heard of something like that before - usually just issues with using too many secondary sources or questionable ones or something like that. I got Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar as a library ebook and was planning to do the same with Young Stalin. All the sources were listed in the former ebook and the author had a note about how he'd chosen his sources. I don't think size is a good reason to leave them out. I'll look for the sources when I get the ebook.
72Linda92007
Great review of Sugar Street, Lisa. Also, Netflix has Fateless and I just added it to my queue.
73StevenTX
I've enjoyed following your and others' reviews of The Cairo Trilogy. It's a work that will be forever linked in my mind with two other great sagas of merchant families that I just happened to have read in the same year: Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann and The Makioka Sisters by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki.
Back when I was reading mostly history the first thing I would do when I saw a new work in the bookstore was turn to the back to see what sources the author used and how well it was documented. If I had picked up the paperback Young Stalin, I would have just put it right back down.
Back when I was reading mostly history the first thing I would do when I saw a new work in the bookstore was turn to the back to see what sources the author used and how well it was documented. If I had picked up the paperback Young Stalin, I would have just put it right back down.
74msf59
Morning Lisa- " but Blindness was my first, and a brutal introduction." LOL. That's exactly my line too! I have still not seen the film version, although I've been meaning to. Hope you are enjoying a very nice weekend.
75rebeccanyc
#70, etc. Well, I thought I posted about this yesterday, but I must not have clicked on "post" or maybe LT ate it -- that's the second time in the past several days this happened to me.
In any case, I bought a paperback copy of Young Stalin yesterday, and it does indeed have all of the source notes and the bibliography. It was published by Vintage in 2008 --maybe it's a different edition from the one you have, Lisa.
#73 I loved Buddenbrooks.
ETA I probably won't get to Young Stalin until I finish Citizens; I'm close to the halfway mark but there's still some 400 pages to go.
In any case, I bought a paperback copy of Young Stalin yesterday, and it does indeed have all of the source notes and the bibliography. It was published by Vintage in 2008 --maybe it's a different edition from the one you have, Lisa.
#73 I loved Buddenbrooks.
ETA I probably won't get to Young Stalin until I finish Citizens; I'm close to the halfway mark but there's still some 400 pages to go.
76detailmuse
>67 labfs39: As I came to the final pages, I wished that {...} Mahfouz had continued to write of further generations of the family and continue the story of Egypt's 20th century history.
I've wishlisted Palace Walk but this is a terrific endorsement of the whole trilogy.
I've wishlisted Palace Walk but this is a terrific endorsement of the whole trilogy.
77labfs39
#71 I hope the Kindle version of Young Stalin has the source notes, MJ. I think being able to search notes would be one of the great advantages of reading electronic versions, as the notes are not usually included in the index.
#72 I haven't yet subscribed to Netflix as I'm not sure I would watch enough to make it worth while. But every once in a while I am definitely envious of those that do. Popcorn party at Linda's!
#73 Ah, you are right, Steven. I had limited time to shop, I knew I wanted to read the book, and the photos were so numerous (and interesting), that I gave only a cursory glance at the notes. There was a family tree, several maps, pages of acknowledgments, and a select but lengthy bibliography, and I assumed that the footnotes included the source notes. There is a 39 page PDF that you can download and print that contains all the source notes, and I have used it some. It just struck me as an odd publishing choice.
#74 Thanks, Mark. I'm way behind on your thread again, but hope springs eternal. (Especially when a new thread is close at hand, and I can feel as though I'm caught up!
#75 Interesting, Rebecca. So the publisher is to blame, as I suspected. My copy is published by McArthur and Company, a Canadian firm. Ah well, at least I supported a small Canadian company. Buy in haste, repent at leisure. Buy Vintage.
#76 I wonder if Mahfouz deliberately left the door open with Sugar Street so that he might write another if he wanted, or if he always intended to leave it a trilogy. SS ends with several of the characters in predicaments that made me want to keep reading and find out "how it ends". But I suppose with a multi-generational family drama, that could go on forever!
#72 I haven't yet subscribed to Netflix as I'm not sure I would watch enough to make it worth while. But every once in a while I am definitely envious of those that do. Popcorn party at Linda's!
#73 Ah, you are right, Steven. I had limited time to shop, I knew I wanted to read the book, and the photos were so numerous (and interesting), that I gave only a cursory glance at the notes. There was a family tree, several maps, pages of acknowledgments, and a select but lengthy bibliography, and I assumed that the footnotes included the source notes. There is a 39 page PDF that you can download and print that contains all the source notes, and I have used it some. It just struck me as an odd publishing choice.
#74 Thanks, Mark. I'm way behind on your thread again, but hope springs eternal. (Especially when a new thread is close at hand, and I can feel as though I'm caught up!
#75 Interesting, Rebecca. So the publisher is to blame, as I suspected. My copy is published by McArthur and Company, a Canadian firm. Ah well, at least I supported a small Canadian company. Buy in haste, repent at leisure. Buy Vintage.
#76 I wonder if Mahfouz deliberately left the door open with Sugar Street so that he might write another if he wanted, or if he always intended to leave it a trilogy. SS ends with several of the characters in predicaments that made me want to keep reading and find out "how it ends". But I suppose with a multi-generational family drama, that could go on forever!
78labfs39
We went out to the San Juan Islands yesterday to celebrate the last true day of summer vacation, and I discovered a wonderful new used bookstore in Friday Harbor called Serendipity. We only had half an hour to browse, and I feared I wouldn't find anything under the pressure of finding a book. Instead of getting overwhelmed by all the delicious piles, I limited myself to one bookshelf and came away with three books. My wearing virtual blinkers paid off.
Silence by Shusaku Endo
Old Filth by Jane Gardam and another Gardam called God on the Rocks (both Europa Editions). The latter was a Booker finalist.
My DD also found a couple and has been immersed in one, Island of the Aunts, all day.
Silence by Shusaku Endo
Old Filth by Jane Gardam and another Gardam called God on the Rocks (both Europa Editions). The latter was a Booker finalist.
My DD also found a couple and has been immersed in one, Island of the Aunts, all day.
79DieFledermaus
>75 rebeccanyc: - Okay, glad to hear that not all the Young Stalins are note-less. The library's ebook will probably have them then. If there's going to be a cabal reading Young Stalin, I will join - will read The Whisperers after.
I loved Buddenbrooks too though I think my favorite Manns are Doctor Faustus and The Magic Mountain.
>78 labfs39: - A perfect day for going to Friday Harbor! Hope you enjoy Silence. Island of the Aunts looks kind of cute also.
I loved Buddenbrooks too though I think my favorite Manns are Doctor Faustus and The Magic Mountain.
>78 labfs39: - A perfect day for going to Friday Harbor! Hope you enjoy Silence. Island of the Aunts looks kind of cute also.
80rebeccanyc
#79 I have to reread Doctor Faustus because a lot of it went over my head. I think I love Joseph and His Brothers the best after Buddenbrooks. I can't believe how young Mann was when he wrote Buddenbrooks.
81labfs39
Oh, do read Young Stalin, DieF. It's very entertaining in a frightening sort of way. I never realized how many bank robberies, etc. went into funding the Revolution or the extent of Stalin's involvement. I also never thought about how Stalin's numerous run-ins with the Okhrana and his experience of the Tsar's punishment of internal exile, went into forming his own ideas about security organizations: the NKVD and the Gulags.
Island of the Aunts is a book that K and I read together last year, but now that she has her own copy, she is rereading on her own. Reminded me of Roald Dahl.
I'm still Mann-less. I have Magic Mountain, but just can't get myself to commit.
Island of the Aunts is a book that K and I read together last year, but now that she has her own copy, she is rereading on her own. Reminded me of Roald Dahl.
I'm still Mann-less. I have Magic Mountain, but just can't get myself to commit.
82labfs39
Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni
Every once in a while I read a book that not only personalizes a human rights issue, but does so in a way that inspires without candy-coating the situation. The first book I think of in this category is I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish, who wrote about the Gaza Strip and some of the atrocities there, but also about the hope he sees for the future. Iran Awakening is another such book. Shirin Ebadi is a long-time human rights lawyer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. Her life has been a constant struggle as an Iranian woman to be educated, to become a female jurist, and to practice her profession with dignity despite the many obstacles in her way. When women are forbidden from being judges, she doesn't let that stop her, and becomes a renowned human right lawyer defending women and children from the vagaries and abuse of the government's system, often working pro bono. Learning there is a fatwa out for her assassination doesn't stop her. Imprisonment doesn't stop her. Disappointment doesn't stop her. She is single-minded in her demand for a better Iran, one which is ruled by law, not whims.
Although the story of her public life alone is enough to open eyes and inspire, I found the juxtaposition of her public and private lives to be the most complex and culturally interesting part of the book. For at home, Ms. Ebadi is a traditional wife and mother. Her faith is very strong and often helps her in her work, as she is able to quote religious passage back to imams who seek to create law based on very narrow interpretations of Islam. In addition, she sees herself as a woman devoted to her family, and in her context, that means cooking and freezing meals for her family so that they will eat well while she is in prison. She is devoted to her children and takes their upbringing seriously, while at the same time knowingly exposes them to danger through her work. She doesn't see a contradiction in these things. In her words:
In the last twenty-three years, from the day I was stripped of my judgeship to the years doing battle in the revolutionary courts of Tehran, I had repeated one refrain: an interpretation of Islam that is in harmony with equality and democracy is an authentic expression of faith. It is not religion that binds women, but the selective dictates of those who wish them cloistered. That belief, along with the conviction that change in Iran must come peacefully and from within, has underpinned my work.
I would highly recommend this book. It's a bit dated now, having been published in 2006, and I wish a new edition would be published, with updates. The message is important for those of us in the West to hear, and her life is an inspiring example of how to effect change in a complex political climate. The book is written with the assistance of Azadeh Moaveni, who went on to write her own very engrossing memoirs of her life as a young person in Iran: Lipstick Jihad and Honeymoon in Tehran, two books which I would also recommend. My one fault with Iran Awakening is that the transitions between voices can occasionally be jarring. Some parts I assume Moaveni wrote (about politics and Iranian history, which are her forte) and other parts are clearly in Ms. Ebadi's voice (personal statements of belief and how she has chosen to live her life). Sometimes the transitions are seamless, sometimes not. But that is a minor quibble, and I would still encourage everyone to read this book.
83Linda92007
Excellent review of Iran Awakening, Lisa. I am taking your recommendation and adding it to my wishlist.
84rebeccanyc
#81 I'm still Mann-less. I have Magic Mountain, but just can't get myself to commit.
Start with Buddenbrooks. It's infinitely more readable than MM, and hard to put down.
ETA I tried and failed to read MM in my teens, 20s, and 30s; skipped my 40s and finally read it and enjoyed it in my 50s after reading and loving Buddenbrooks
Start with Buddenbrooks. It's infinitely more readable than MM, and hard to put down.
ETA I tried and failed to read MM in my teens, 20s, and 30s; skipped my 40s and finally read it and enjoyed it in my 50s after reading and loving Buddenbrooks
85baswood
Excellent review of Iran Awakening
86DieFledermaus
>80 rebeccanyc: - I need to read Joseph and His Brothers now that it seems there's a newer translation out. I think for awhile I only saw the old version.
I think a lot of the Magic Mountain and Doctor Faustus went over my head but I loved them anyway. Definitely the philosophical debates in MM and that one chapter on music theory in DF. I don't know if I'd be much more enlightened on the philosophy now but I'm hoping the music stuff would make more sense and it would be interesting to compare Leverkuhn's pieces to Schoenberg's. Need to do a DF reread.
I do think Buddenbrooks is easier to get into but MM was the first one I read and that was what got me hooked on Mann.
>81 labfs39: - I think I'll try to check that out after I'm done with the ebooks I have out now. I don't remember too much about bank robberies in Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar but the multiple exiles and escapes did make tsarist punishments seem pretty lax. In Gulag, that was also mentioned - though rampant indifference, corruption and laxity in running the camps was common, escapes were treated seriously.
>82 labfs39: - Great review of Iran Awakening. It sounds like it is pretty inspiring but also depressing.
I think a lot of the Magic Mountain and Doctor Faustus went over my head but I loved them anyway. Definitely the philosophical debates in MM and that one chapter on music theory in DF. I don't know if I'd be much more enlightened on the philosophy now but I'm hoping the music stuff would make more sense and it would be interesting to compare Leverkuhn's pieces to Schoenberg's. Need to do a DF reread.
I do think Buddenbrooks is easier to get into but MM was the first one I read and that was what got me hooked on Mann.
>81 labfs39: - I think I'll try to check that out after I'm done with the ebooks I have out now. I don't remember too much about bank robberies in Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar but the multiple exiles and escapes did make tsarist punishments seem pretty lax. In Gulag, that was also mentioned - though rampant indifference, corruption and laxity in running the camps was common, escapes were treated seriously.
>82 labfs39: - Great review of Iran Awakening. It sounds like it is pretty inspiring but also depressing.
87rebeccanyc
#86 I did read a newer translation of Joseph and His Brothers -- an Everyman's Library edition translated by John E. Woods. He provided a fascinating discussion of his translation in his introduction, saying that he tried to capture Mann's more earthy and casual writing as opposed to the King James-esque cadences of the previous English translation.
88dchaikin
#81/#84/#86 - MM is project. Highly recommended, but you may want to plan ahead, and set some time aside. It's also a book I need to read again...
#82 - a great review. The only problem I have with Ebadi is it makes me think about how much simpler her logic could be if she could abandon the faith part. Of course, that's not the point.
#82 - a great review. The only problem I have with Ebadi is it makes me think about how much simpler her logic could be if she could abandon the faith part. Of course, that's not the point.
89labfs39
#83 Thanks, Linda, I hope you like it too.
#84 Sounds like good advice, Rebecca. I have a nice Franklin edition of Magic Mountain, but it may have to wait!
#85 Thank you, Barry. We are trying to plan a trip to France for next June. Haven't decided much beyond revisiting my old haunts in Paris and the Loire Valley. I would like to find a quiet place to stay for a few weeks, rent a cottage, and have Katie work on her French. Any suggestions?
#86 I have Joseph in Egypt, I think that is the same work as Joseph and His Brothers, but I haven't read it yet either. It's an old translation. H. T. Lowe-Porter in 1939.
As regards bank robberies, that's only the beginning. Stalin also organized pirate-like robberies on the Caspian Sea, kidnapping and ransoms, protection rackets, you name it. Fascinating stuff.
I think Stalin took away from his exiles under the Tsar that there needed to be a system, that the Okhrana needed to be replaced with professionals (NKVD) and criminals (dangerous men unafraid to kill, like those he befriended in Baku and elsewhere), that the notion of giving an allowance to prisoners was insane, instead the State should earn from them, and that exiles needed to be much longer and much better guarded. No more living with families in a village and getting food baskets from home. The Tsar's exiles became a joke among the revolutionaries, and Stalin's personality would never have allowed that. And the economy became an important factor, as Applebaum shows so convincingly. Just my thoughts at the moment, anyway.
#87 Rebecca, it would be interesting to have both my old translation and John E. Woods so see what the differences are. Like we explored with the Master and Margarita.
#88 I think you are right, Dan. I'm feeling a little reluctant to undergo a project at the moment having just finished The Cairo Triology. I have so many shorter things I am desperate to get to.
Ah, but there is the rub, and what made it so interesting for me. If Ebadi had been a Western feminist, so to speak, her life would have been straightforward to Western eyes, but would have complicated things for her in Iran. As a woman of faith, she retained some credibility with the mullahs, who allowed her to travel to the West and speak, for instance. They knew that she was not going to bash Islam. Her faith also allowed her to remain in touch with the majority of the women whom she represented. She was not radical, but one of them, and advocating rights based on a liberal interpretation of Islam. Finally, her faith was a personal and cultural touchstone of her life. As you say, logic is not the point when it comes to belief.
Did you see the Wellcome Prize list on Darryl's thread? One of the books was about belief being irrational but self-reinforcing and strong (belief in all sorts of things). What was it? Ah, The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer.
#84 Sounds like good advice, Rebecca. I have a nice Franklin edition of Magic Mountain, but it may have to wait!
#85 Thank you, Barry. We are trying to plan a trip to France for next June. Haven't decided much beyond revisiting my old haunts in Paris and the Loire Valley. I would like to find a quiet place to stay for a few weeks, rent a cottage, and have Katie work on her French. Any suggestions?
#86 I have Joseph in Egypt, I think that is the same work as Joseph and His Brothers, but I haven't read it yet either. It's an old translation. H. T. Lowe-Porter in 1939.
As regards bank robberies, that's only the beginning. Stalin also organized pirate-like robberies on the Caspian Sea, kidnapping and ransoms, protection rackets, you name it. Fascinating stuff.
I think Stalin took away from his exiles under the Tsar that there needed to be a system, that the Okhrana needed to be replaced with professionals (NKVD) and criminals (dangerous men unafraid to kill, like those he befriended in Baku and elsewhere), that the notion of giving an allowance to prisoners was insane, instead the State should earn from them, and that exiles needed to be much longer and much better guarded. No more living with families in a village and getting food baskets from home. The Tsar's exiles became a joke among the revolutionaries, and Stalin's personality would never have allowed that. And the economy became an important factor, as Applebaum shows so convincingly. Just my thoughts at the moment, anyway.
#87 Rebecca, it would be interesting to have both my old translation and John E. Woods so see what the differences are. Like we explored with the Master and Margarita.
#88 I think you are right, Dan. I'm feeling a little reluctant to undergo a project at the moment having just finished The Cairo Triology. I have so many shorter things I am desperate to get to.
Ah, but there is the rub, and what made it so interesting for me. If Ebadi had been a Western feminist, so to speak, her life would have been straightforward to Western eyes, but would have complicated things for her in Iran. As a woman of faith, she retained some credibility with the mullahs, who allowed her to travel to the West and speak, for instance. They knew that she was not going to bash Islam. Her faith also allowed her to remain in touch with the majority of the women whom she represented. She was not radical, but one of them, and advocating rights based on a liberal interpretation of Islam. Finally, her faith was a personal and cultural touchstone of her life. As you say, logic is not the point when it comes to belief.
Did you see the Wellcome Prize list on Darryl's thread? One of the books was about belief being irrational but self-reinforcing and strong (belief in all sorts of things). What was it? Ah, The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer.
90labfs39
Now for a completely different list: the 2012 Washington State Book Awards (awarded to WA state authors)
Fiction
A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism by Peter Mountford (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Mountford's novel follows a flawed anti-hero as he follows the election of a new president of Bolivia. He says he's a journalist, but he may be something else altogether. "The book lives up — brilliantly, scathingly — to its title, as it explores the tricky junctures where American power collides with Third World native interest," said the Seattle Times review.
Mountford, a Ballard resident, is currently a writer-in-residence at Seattle's Richard Hugo House.
Poetry
Woodnote by Christine Deavel (Bear Star Press). Deavel's poetry collection incorporates the poet's memories of small-town life in the Midwest, diaries and the loss of family members. Deavel is co-owner of the Wallingford bookstore Open Books: A Poem Emporium.
Biography/memoir
In Earshot of Water: Notes from the Columbia Plateau by Paul Lindholdt (University of Iowa Press). Lindholt, a Spokane resident, writes about the Columbia plateau, drawing inspiration from his own wanderings, the journals of Lewis and Clark, the logs of Captain James Cook, and Bureau of Reclamation records, says the publisher.
History/general nonfiction
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson (Crown). Seattle author Larson's latest best-seller follows an American family thrust into the nightmare of 1933-1934 Berlin, as Hitler consolidates his hold on Germany.
Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award
To Market, To Market by Nikki McClure (Abrams). Olympia artist McClure, who constructs amazing images with colorful paper cuts, makes a book for children about farmers markets, both the food and the people who produce and sell it.
Something to Hold by Katherine Schlick Noe (Clarion Books). Seattle resident Noe writes the story of a young white girl who moves to an Oregon Indian reservation in 1962, and finds her place in a very different culture. (For 10- to 18-year-old readers.) Noe, who teaches at Seattle University, says she based the book on her own childhood experiences living on Indian reservations in Washington and Oregon.
Fiction
A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism by Peter Mountford (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Mountford's novel follows a flawed anti-hero as he follows the election of a new president of Bolivia. He says he's a journalist, but he may be something else altogether. "The book lives up — brilliantly, scathingly — to its title, as it explores the tricky junctures where American power collides with Third World native interest," said the Seattle Times review.
Mountford, a Ballard resident, is currently a writer-in-residence at Seattle's Richard Hugo House.
Poetry
Woodnote by Christine Deavel (Bear Star Press). Deavel's poetry collection incorporates the poet's memories of small-town life in the Midwest, diaries and the loss of family members. Deavel is co-owner of the Wallingford bookstore Open Books: A Poem Emporium.
Biography/memoir
In Earshot of Water: Notes from the Columbia Plateau by Paul Lindholdt (University of Iowa Press). Lindholt, a Spokane resident, writes about the Columbia plateau, drawing inspiration from his own wanderings, the journals of Lewis and Clark, the logs of Captain James Cook, and Bureau of Reclamation records, says the publisher.
History/general nonfiction
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson (Crown). Seattle author Larson's latest best-seller follows an American family thrust into the nightmare of 1933-1934 Berlin, as Hitler consolidates his hold on Germany.
Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award
To Market, To Market by Nikki McClure (Abrams). Olympia artist McClure, who constructs amazing images with colorful paper cuts, makes a book for children about farmers markets, both the food and the people who produce and sell it.
Something to Hold by Katherine Schlick Noe (Clarion Books). Seattle resident Noe writes the story of a young white girl who moves to an Oregon Indian reservation in 1962, and finds her place in a very different culture. (For 10- to 18-year-old readers.) Noe, who teaches at Seattle University, says she based the book on her own childhood experiences living on Indian reservations in Washington and Oregon.
91rebeccanyc
#89 Lisa, Joseph in Egypt is the third of four volumes that make up Joseph and His Brothers. You should definitely not start with that! If you want to stick with Lowe-Porter (which I wouldn't, because I've really enjoyed the Woods translations of this and other Mann works), you should at least read the first two volumes, The Stories of Jacob and Young Joseph, first. This is one work that should absolutely be read in order. The edition I read combined all four books into one volume.
#90 Cool to have a Washington State book award program!
#90 Cool to have a Washington State book award program!
92labfs39
Oh! Thank you for clearing that up, Rebecca. I would have been very confused! I'll look for the first one in the Woods translation.
93baswood
Lisa, June is a great time to visit France. Everywhere will be fairly quiet because as you may know the French take their holidays in the last couple of weeks of July and in August. Mostly they holiday in France (why would they want to go anywhere else?).
I live in South West France near the town of Marciac in the Gers and it is very quiet here and there will be plenty of places to rent in June. Marciac is rural France, no great sites to see but it is a couple of hours away from the Atlantic coast and a couple of hours from the Pyrenees. Great walking country and very very French.
Pm me if you want any more information
I live in South West France near the town of Marciac in the Gers and it is very quiet here and there will be plenty of places to rent in June. Marciac is rural France, no great sites to see but it is a couple of hours away from the Atlantic coast and a couple of hours from the Pyrenees. Great walking country and very very French.
Pm me if you want any more information
94EBT1002
93> Well, I'm starting to plan a return trip to France........ I love exploring the quiet, rural areas of other countries!
Hi Lisa!
Hi Lisa!
95markon
Lisa, your review of the Cairo trilogy has made me put in on my "to read" list. I'm hesitant to take it on right now, though it would complement some of my other current reading.
I am s-l-o-w-l-y working my way through A peace to end all peace by David Fromkin, about WWI/how the allies created the politics of the Middle East we know today out of the Ottoman Empire, and have also just finished In the Eye of the Sun by Ahdaf Soueif (though I haven't written a review yet).
Have you read any of Tariq Ali's Islam quartet books? I read two or three several years ago, and think I may need to revisit them. They are not set in Egypt, but cover the time period when "the west" started pushing back against Islam in 15th century Spain through the present day.
I am s-l-o-w-l-y working my way through A peace to end all peace by David Fromkin, about WWI/how the allies created the politics of the Middle East we know today out of the Ottoman Empire, and have also just finished In the Eye of the Sun by Ahdaf Soueif (though I haven't written a review yet).
Have you read any of Tariq Ali's Islam quartet books? I read two or three several years ago, and think I may need to revisit them. They are not set in Egypt, but cover the time period when "the west" started pushing back against Islam in 15th century Spain through the present day.
96brenzi
I'm finally caught up with your thread Lisa. You have really been reading some great books. I finished The Cairo Trilogy last month and am so glad to have read it. I also thought Palace Walk was the best of the three but they were all good. I think Sugar Street could have gone farther. It was the shortest of the three volumes and seemed to end in an odd spot with several threads left dangling.
You've reminded me that I have I Shall Not Hate on my iPad and wanted to get to it this month but I'm not sure that will happen. I'm fairly well booked up. Finally, thanks to encouragement from others on your thread I am going to plan on reading Buddenbrooks during the winter. I've wanted to try Mann and didn't really know where to start.
You've reminded me that I have I Shall Not Hate on my iPad and wanted to get to it this month but I'm not sure that will happen. I'm fairly well booked up. Finally, thanks to encouragement from others on your thread I am going to plan on reading Buddenbrooks during the winter. I've wanted to try Mann and didn't really know where to start.
97dchaikin
Lisa - after reading your posts, I looked up The Believing Brain, and it's now on my wishlist. As for those awards, I really liked Lindholdt's In Earshot of Water, although his writing is a bit quirky. I have a review posted.
98vancouverdeb
Thanks for stopping by my thread, Lisa. I think that you would quite like Mormon Girl , because as you say, she does not write a sensationalistic book, but rather her memoirs, which are quite touching in places and also quite eye opening. Johanna Brooks maintains a real affection for he faith, even to the end of the book.
Hmm - I'm noticed Bonnie's I Shall Not Hate on her Ipad. I found that to be a real eye opener as to Israeli - Palestinian relationships. It's an interesting read and a quick one too. I hope to get to The Cairo Trilogy one day.
Great review of Iran Awakening. I'll have to put that on my wishlist and I see that you've already read I Shall Not Hate. Oh and Young Stalin . So many books, so little time.
Hmm - I'm noticed Bonnie's I Shall Not Hate on her Ipad. I found that to be a real eye opener as to Israeli - Palestinian relationships. It's an interesting read and a quick one too. I hope to get to The Cairo Trilogy one day.
Great review of Iran Awakening. I'll have to put that on my wishlist and I see that you've already read I Shall Not Hate. Oh and Young Stalin . So many books, so little time.
99labfs39
News flash from Archipelago Books:
First of all, congratulations to Polish translator Bill Johnston for winning the PEN Translation Award for his superb rendering of Wiesław Myśliwski's Stone Upon Stone. His translation also earned him the Best Translated Book Award earlier this year. This makes three years in a row that an Archipelago title was awarded the prize!
Okay, off the TBR pile it comes and onto my table.
First of all, congratulations to Polish translator Bill Johnston for winning the PEN Translation Award for his superb rendering of Wiesław Myśliwski's Stone Upon Stone. His translation also earned him the Best Translated Book Award earlier this year. This makes three years in a row that an Archipelago title was awarded the prize!
Okay, off the TBR pile it comes and onto my table.
100TadAD
LOL, Lisa...re your post on my thread...I downloaded In the Shadow of the Banyan last night since my appetite for Indochina wasn't completely sated... :-D
101rebeccanyc
OK, I'll guess I have to read Stone upon Stone. He's also the translator of the all the Magdalena Tulli books I've read, so I guess he's the Polish translator of choice these days -- or at least Archipelago's Polish translator of choice.
102kidzdoc
Good news about Stone Upon Stone. I'll move it a bit higher on my TBR list, although I doubt I'll get to it before next year.
103dchaikin
#99 Nice to know. Avaland sent me a copy a long time ago. ... Now, when can I get to it?
104deebee1
Interesting news. I just got Stone Upon Stone last week. Same question here...when to get to it?
105Trifolia
Hi Lisa, I'll also add Stone upon Stone to my list. I read A Treatise on Shelling Beans by the same author back in 2010 and I loved it (http://www.librarything.com/work/4632727/reviews/63736715), so I cannot miss this opportunity. It seems it's at the extreme right side of my "Will you like it"-option. And finally, it's available at my library. So all the signs are good :-)
106labfs39
#93 Thanks for the information, Barry, I may PM you once a couple of other things are settled.
#94 Hi Ellen!
#95 Wow, all three of the books (well one is a quintet) sound good, Ardene. I'll look forward to your reviews of A peace to end all peace and In the Eye of the Sun before I add them to my list, but I went ahead and added Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree right away. The series sounds interesting. What did you think of the ones you read?
#96 I hope you get to read I Shall Not Hate soon, Bonnie. The author's story is incredible.
#97 As soon as I read about Paul Lindholdt's In Earshot of Water, I thought of you. I was going to recommend it to you, but you are way ahead of me. Beautiful review, BTW.
I'm not sure if or when I'll get to The Believing Brain, but I will be checking out the reviews.
#98 Linda, the discussion on your thread about The Book of Mormon Girl inspired me to begin reading I am Forbidden, a novel about two girls and their divergent paths growing up in a Hasidic family in the years following WWII. Like Mormon Girl, it is (so far) a thoughtful and respectful view of how people respond to religion over their lifetimes.
#100 :-) Perfect timing, Tad!
#101 Do you know, Rebecca, if In Red also nominated for this award? I can't remember. I was interested to learn that Bill Johnston is at Indiana University, one of my alma maters. Our paths would have certainly passed, but he came after I had left. His translation of Tulli's Dreams and Stones was the winner of the 2005 AATSEEL Translation Award.
#102 I hear you, Darryl. I am eager to read Stone Upon Stone, but I think it's the biggest Archipelago book I've ever seen, and I'm feeling a little weary after the Cairo Trilogy.
#103 We'll have to start a I-want-to-read-stone-upon-stone-but-don't-know-when club, Dan!
#104 You can be the 5th member of the club, DeeBee1!
#105 I read your review of Myśliwski's A Treatise on Shelling Beans, and it too sounds wonderful, Monica. *sigh* Onto the list it goes. :-)
ETA: Why can't I add it to my LT wishlist. Grrr.
#94 Hi Ellen!
#95 Wow, all three of the books (well one is a quintet) sound good, Ardene. I'll look forward to your reviews of A peace to end all peace and In the Eye of the Sun before I add them to my list, but I went ahead and added Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree right away. The series sounds interesting. What did you think of the ones you read?
#96 I hope you get to read I Shall Not Hate soon, Bonnie. The author's story is incredible.
#97 As soon as I read about Paul Lindholdt's In Earshot of Water, I thought of you. I was going to recommend it to you, but you are way ahead of me. Beautiful review, BTW.
I'm not sure if or when I'll get to The Believing Brain, but I will be checking out the reviews.
#98 Linda, the discussion on your thread about The Book of Mormon Girl inspired me to begin reading I am Forbidden, a novel about two girls and their divergent paths growing up in a Hasidic family in the years following WWII. Like Mormon Girl, it is (so far) a thoughtful and respectful view of how people respond to religion over their lifetimes.
#100 :-) Perfect timing, Tad!
#101 Do you know, Rebecca, if In Red also nominated for this award? I can't remember. I was interested to learn that Bill Johnston is at Indiana University, one of my alma maters. Our paths would have certainly passed, but he came after I had left. His translation of Tulli's Dreams and Stones was the winner of the 2005 AATSEEL Translation Award.
#102 I hear you, Darryl. I am eager to read Stone Upon Stone, but I think it's the biggest Archipelago book I've ever seen, and I'm feeling a little weary after the Cairo Trilogy.
#103 We'll have to start a I-want-to-read-stone-upon-stone-but-don't-know-when club, Dan!
#104 You can be the 5th member of the club, DeeBee1!
#105 I read your review of Myśliwski's A Treatise on Shelling Beans, and it too sounds wonderful, Monica. *sigh* Onto the list it goes. :-)
ETA: Why can't I add it to my LT wishlist. Grrr.
107EBT1002
Adding Stone Upon Stone to my list. I have a soft spot for all most things Polish (no, I don't have any Polish "blood," but I did spend three memorable months living in Krakow in 1981).
108dchaikin
"#103 We'll have to start a I-want-to-read-stone-upon-stone-but-don't-know-when club, Dan!"
I'm in!
Also, thanks for the very nice compliment on my old review.
I'm in!
Also, thanks for the very nice compliment on my old review.
109rebeccanyc
#106 I don't know about In Red, Lisa, and I couldn't find information on the nominees on the PEN web site. Stone upon Stone is a much more substantial book lengthwise, of course. According to the information I put into LT, SuS was published in 2010 and IR in 2011, so I'm not sure what schedule they're on with the awards. And you can add me to the I-want-to-read-stone-upon-stone-but-don't-know-when club!
110Linda92007
Hmmm. I see that I will need to join your wanting to read Stone Upon Stone club, Lisa. It's always great to see new translations of award-winning international authors.
111labfs39
#107 Having a personal connection with a place influences my reading as well, Ellen. I studied the literatures of countries from France to the (then) Soviet Union in school, and traveled or studied in many of those countries as well. I don't find it that odd (although it is regrettable) that I read much more from those countries than literature from parts of the world I have never visited or studied. I am trying to improve that though, using my author ethnicity list and prompts from LTers. I do want to be a citizen of the world. Perhaps I just need to buy some plane tickets!
#108 Welcome to the club, Dan! Of course, one of us with have to read Stone Upon Stone first, and then it will be like lemmings to the sea. ;-)
#109 I couldn't find the shortlists either, Rebecca. For those who might be interested, a list of winners can be found here. From what you say though, In Red may be a nominee for next year.
Welcome aboard the club, Rebecca and Linda!
#110 It is nice, Linda. I wish there were even more, but it's the demand not stimulating supply problem. Here's the stats from Three Percent, if you haven't seen them before:
Unfortunately, only about 3% of all books published in the United States are works in translation. That is why we have chosen the name Three Percent for this site. And that 3% figure includes all books in translation—in terms of literary fiction and poetry, the number is actually closer to 0.7%. While that figure obviously represents more books than any one person could read in a year, it’s hardly an impressive number.
#108 Welcome to the club, Dan! Of course, one of us with have to read Stone Upon Stone first, and then it will be like lemmings to the sea. ;-)
#109 I couldn't find the shortlists either, Rebecca. For those who might be interested, a list of winners can be found here. From what you say though, In Red may be a nominee for next year.
Welcome aboard the club, Rebecca and Linda!
#110 It is nice, Linda. I wish there were even more, but it's the demand not stimulating supply problem. Here's the stats from Three Percent, if you haven't seen them before:
Unfortunately, only about 3% of all books published in the United States are works in translation. That is why we have chosen the name Three Percent for this site. And that 3% figure includes all books in translation—in terms of literary fiction and poetry, the number is actually closer to 0.7%. While that figure obviously represents more books than any one person could read in a year, it’s hardly an impressive number.
112arubabookwoman
Well I'll have to join the club too, since I also have Stone Upon Stone on my shelf.
113dchaikin
with so many stones, maybe it's too heavy to pick up and read... Who will boldly heft first?
114rebeccanyc
Can't read anything long while I'm still plugging away at Citizens because I need one lighter book to take on the subway.
115labfs39
#112 Okay, this is starting to sound like an avalanche of stones! Well, the good news is that I am finally getting the first of my hips replaced on Oct. 2, and I should have lots of time to read in the weeks following. Maybe we should make October Stone Reading Month. Keep each other company and all that. :-) I don't want to create an official group read, but if anyone wants to join in, you are welcome!
#113 Are you volunteering to be the first to crack it, Dan?
#114 I hear you, Rebecca. The wrist breakers are hard to travel with, which is why Archipelago Books are usually perfect for that sort of thing. I often end up loving the chunksters though. Something about a 500+ book just gives me room to settle in and get comfy.
P.S. I emailed Archipelago and got a lovely response back from Florence Lui, Associate Editor/Publicist. Archipelago did in fact nominate In Red (written by Magdalena Tulli, and translated by the same Bill Johnston as well.
#113 Are you volunteering to be the first to crack it, Dan?
#114 I hear you, Rebecca. The wrist breakers are hard to travel with, which is why Archipelago Books are usually perfect for that sort of thing. I often end up loving the chunksters though. Something about a 500+ book just gives me room to settle in and get comfy.
P.S. I emailed Archipelago and got a lovely response back from Florence Lui, Associate Editor/Publicist. Archipelago did in fact nominate In Red (written by Magdalena Tulli, and translated by the same Bill Johnston as well.
116labfs39
Okay, I have had these six books on my desk for months, and it's time to clean house. I never got around to reviewing these because I loved (or in one case disliked) the books, and wanted to write a thoughtful review. Well, months have gone by with nada, so it's time to cave and just write a few comments.
9. Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi, translated from the Hungarian by Richard Aczel (3.5*) - 222 p. - NYRB
The main comment I wanted to make about this book was that although the story of Skylark and her parents was interesting, I think the book was actually more about Hungarian society at the turn of the century. Sometimes readers' reviews have expressed disappointment with the plot, and I agree that it can be a bit thin in places. But the underlying depictions of the Hungarian fin de siècle are quite good. The decadence of the fading bourgeoisie, who are neither at their height of power nor yet quite relics, but stuck in a place where indolence, indecisiveness, and a facade of respectability lead to boisterous parties and alcoholism as a way to mask their fear. Young dandies, who sense their time is coming, a time of modernism, industrialization, and the rise of cities, strut about as useless as their elders but with a growing sense of power. Small towns like Sárszeg are a perfect microcosm for depicting not only the powerful changes happening in Hungary, but in all of Europe. Worth a look.
12. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel (4*) - 925 p. - Knopf
When I read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, I wasn't sure if I liked Murakami. It was my first and only book by him, and when I finished reading I was confused about the plot, the people, and the meaning. Not the way I like to finish a book (personal preference). I heard such intriguing reviews of 1Q84, however, that I decided to try it, and I really enjoyed it. Since the edition I have is all three English language books in one, I was excited enough to write a review after finishing the first book. I then raced through the next two books without stopping for air and had so many ideas floating around my head that I stalled and didn't write any more. My personal opinion is that 1Q84 is much more readable and coherent than WUBC, full of mystery, magic, and an odd, but inevitable love story. There are still the somewhat excessive American pop culture references and a weird alternate universe, but I am very glad that I didn't give up on Murakami.
9. Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi, translated from the Hungarian by Richard Aczel (3.5*) - 222 p. - NYRB
The main comment I wanted to make about this book was that although the story of Skylark and her parents was interesting, I think the book was actually more about Hungarian society at the turn of the century. Sometimes readers' reviews have expressed disappointment with the plot, and I agree that it can be a bit thin in places. But the underlying depictions of the Hungarian fin de siècle are quite good. The decadence of the fading bourgeoisie, who are neither at their height of power nor yet quite relics, but stuck in a place where indolence, indecisiveness, and a facade of respectability lead to boisterous parties and alcoholism as a way to mask their fear. Young dandies, who sense their time is coming, a time of modernism, industrialization, and the rise of cities, strut about as useless as their elders but with a growing sense of power. Small towns like Sárszeg are a perfect microcosm for depicting not only the powerful changes happening in Hungary, but in all of Europe. Worth a look.
12. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel (4*) - 925 p. - Knopf
When I read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, I wasn't sure if I liked Murakami. It was my first and only book by him, and when I finished reading I was confused about the plot, the people, and the meaning. Not the way I like to finish a book (personal preference). I heard such intriguing reviews of 1Q84, however, that I decided to try it, and I really enjoyed it. Since the edition I have is all three English language books in one, I was excited enough to write a review after finishing the first book. I then raced through the next two books without stopping for air and had so many ideas floating around my head that I stalled and didn't write any more. My personal opinion is that 1Q84 is much more readable and coherent than WUBC, full of mystery, magic, and an odd, but inevitable love story. There are still the somewhat excessive American pop culture references and a weird alternate universe, but I am very glad that I didn't give up on Murakami.
117labfs39
15. Nemesis by Philip Roth (2.5*) - 280 p.
This was my first book by Philip Roth, and unfortunately it was not an impressive first impression. The plot sounded interesting, about a polio epidemic in New Jersey in 1944 and how the multicultural community responds to the outbreak. Unfortunately, I found the main character, Bucky Cantor, to become increasingly irksome, until I reached a point where I thought he was one of the most unlikable characters I have met in recent years. His transformation over the course of the book is a rapid downhill slide until you want to throttle him. Perhaps Roth intended readers to feel this way and contemplate the fate of the anti-hero, but it didn't work for me. I cannot recommend.
118rebeccanyc
I enjoyed Skylark, although I actually found it a little horrifying. I do think it was somewhat metaphoric, and had somewhat of a political edge too.
Although I haven't read Nemesis, Roth's recent works are not a good place to start; it seems like he's been writing short novels to bring in the money. I like Roth a lot, but not everything he's written, and I haven't read anything by him in quite a few years. His masterpiece, in my opinion, is American Pastoral.
Although I haven't read Nemesis, Roth's recent works are not a good place to start; it seems like he's been writing short novels to bring in the money. I like Roth a lot, but not everything he's written, and I haven't read anything by him in quite a few years. His masterpiece, in my opinion, is American Pastoral.
119DieFledermaus
Of course, one of us with have to read Stone Upon Stone first, and then it will be like lemmings to the sea.
Heh heh heh. I like being a book lemming and don't need much convincing to get Archiplago books. Looking forward to the reviews of Stone Upon Stone.
I have jumped on the Young Stalin bandwagon though. Only on chapter three but it's pretty interesting so far.
Good review of Skylark - that one has been on the to-buy list for awhile now. I would definitely be interested in reading about turn of the century Hungarian society.
I wasn't a big fan of 1Q84 but glad you enjoyed it. If you're planning to read more Murakami - some of his are more realistic, some tend to have more streamlined or less weirdness. Norwegian Wood and South of the Border, West of the Sun are generally realistic. Sputnik Sweetheart and After Dark have just a couple of Murakami's weird turns.
Heh heh heh. I like being a book lemming and don't need much convincing to get Archiplago books. Looking forward to the reviews of Stone Upon Stone.
I have jumped on the Young Stalin bandwagon though. Only on chapter three but it's pretty interesting so far.
Good review of Skylark - that one has been on the to-buy list for awhile now. I would definitely be interested in reading about turn of the century Hungarian society.
I wasn't a big fan of 1Q84 but glad you enjoyed it. If you're planning to read more Murakami - some of his are more realistic, some tend to have more streamlined or less weirdness. Norwegian Wood and South of the Border, West of the Sun are generally realistic. Sputnik Sweetheart and After Dark have just a couple of Murakami's weird turns.
121msf59
Linda- I'm glad you decided to tackle 1Q84. We will be having a Group Read on it, next month, maybe you could follow along. I am a big fan of Murakami but, like you, I did have some mixed feelings about The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles. I would recommend Kafka on the Shore,my favorite, although that does contain some magical elements as well.
122Linda92007
Mark, I think you have confused me and Lisa. She is the one who has read the behemoth IQ84. I am the one that has it staring at me from my TBR pile. I had hoped to participate in the October group read, but I'm not sure I can, as I am woefully over-committed for the month.
123labfs39
#118 I don't think I'm ready to give up on Roth, Rebecca, but I was disappointed with this first foray. Have you read his Plot Against America? It's the only other one of his that I own, but maybe I should look for American Pastoral first.
#119 I'm look forward to your comments on Young Stalin, DieF. I was impressed enough to want to continue on to Court of the Red Tsar. I do wish the book had had a list of characters. There are so many, often with the same nicknames, and I was a bit confused by the end. I almost bought a Vintage edition of the book Thursday, just so that next time I read it (if), I would have the source notes.
I wouldn't really call it a review, more like a written thought. These few titles have been hanging around since Feb and I wanted to jot down a few thoughts, mainly so I wouldn't forget!
Not sure when I'll get to more Murakami, but after 1Q84 at least I know I will try again.
#120 20th century American classics tend to leave me a little cold. Cather, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, etc. just don't resonate with me. I must be missing the gene governing appreciation of those titles. I got in trouble on one thread for saying I was so glad not to have to read My Antonia again. Evidently it is a cherished favorite for many.
#121 Hi Mark! Yes, I dug into 1Q84 fairly soon after it came out. Good luck with your group read. Could you send me the link to the thread, if you think of it? I don't mind the magical elements in Murakami, it's just sometimes I feel he goes a little over the top and it becomes incomprehensible (i.e. WUBC).
#122 I hope you get to it at some point, Linda.
#119 I'm look forward to your comments on Young Stalin, DieF. I was impressed enough to want to continue on to Court of the Red Tsar. I do wish the book had had a list of characters. There are so many, often with the same nicknames, and I was a bit confused by the end. I almost bought a Vintage edition of the book Thursday, just so that next time I read it (if), I would have the source notes.
I wouldn't really call it a review, more like a written thought. These few titles have been hanging around since Feb and I wanted to jot down a few thoughts, mainly so I wouldn't forget!
Not sure when I'll get to more Murakami, but after 1Q84 at least I know I will try again.
#120 20th century American classics tend to leave me a little cold. Cather, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, etc. just don't resonate with me. I must be missing the gene governing appreciation of those titles. I got in trouble on one thread for saying I was so glad not to have to read My Antonia again. Evidently it is a cherished favorite for many.
#121 Hi Mark! Yes, I dug into 1Q84 fairly soon after it came out. Good luck with your group read. Could you send me the link to the thread, if you think of it? I don't mind the magical elements in Murakami, it's just sometimes I feel he goes a little over the top and it becomes incomprehensible (i.e. WUBC).
#122 I hope you get to it at some point, Linda.
124rebeccanyc
#123 I didn't like The Plot Against America, Lisa. I thought the premise was interesting but I felt Roth was hitting the readers over the head with the point.
125dmsteyn
>124 rebeccanyc: I see I gave The Plot Against America four stars, but I think I was a bit generous. It's not a terrible novel by any stretch of the imagination, but I agree with Rebecca: Roth was very polemical at times, and some of his interpretations of history seemed very far-fetched. Coetzee has an interesting essay on Plot in his collection Inner Workings, but I can only find a bit of the essay on the Internet. You'll need access to The New York Review of Books to read the rest.
126markon
#95, 106 Islam Quintet I liked the ones I read, but it's been so long ago that I don't remember them clearly. Almost done with Peace to end all peace, & still trying to figure out what to say about Eye of the Sun - it's a rich novel, well worth reading.
127labfs39
#124 Hmm, maybe I'll add The Plot Against America to my pile to donate to the library book sale and look for American Pastoral instead.
#125 Or not. Hi Dewald. Thank you for the link. I'll have to check into it some more.
#126 Well, Ardene, I went ahead and put a hold at the library on the first of the Islam Quintet. I'm not sure if it's necessary to read them in order, but I thought I would start there. I'll look forward to you reviews on your thread.
#125 Or not. Hi Dewald. Thank you for the link. I'll have to check into it some more.
#126 Well, Ardene, I went ahead and put a hold at the library on the first of the Islam Quintet. I'm not sure if it's necessary to read them in order, but I thought I would start there. I'll look forward to you reviews on your thread.
128labfs39
In preparation for my impending hip replacement (15 days, but who is counting), I am stocking up on books like crazy. I am trying to find things that will be distracting, but not too difficult. Here are some of the more interesting ones:
The House at Tyneford or The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons. Jewish woman escaping the Nazis ends up working at a manor house and falling for the owner's son.
The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan. The reviews have been all over the place with this one.
The journal of best practices : one man's quest to be a better husband : a memoir of marriage and Asperger syndrome by David Finch. I heard an interview with the author, and it sounds fascinating, although I don't understand how the family could have missed the diagnosis on this one.
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. Epistolary novel recommended by Tad.
22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson. WWII, post-Holocaust
By a Slow River by Philippe Claudel. Not light, but I love his books (at least the ones I've read). Rec by Monica.
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. Soviet thriller
Also got some things for the kiddo and hubby so they wouldn't feel left out. ;-)
The House at Tyneford or The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons. Jewish woman escaping the Nazis ends up working at a manor house and falling for the owner's son.
The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan. The reviews have been all over the place with this one.
The journal of best practices : one man's quest to be a better husband : a memoir of marriage and Asperger syndrome by David Finch. I heard an interview with the author, and it sounds fascinating, although I don't understand how the family could have missed the diagnosis on this one.
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. Epistolary novel recommended by Tad.
22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson. WWII, post-Holocaust
By a Slow River by Philippe Claudel. Not light, but I love his books (at least the ones I've read). Rec by Monica.
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. Soviet thriller
Also got some things for the kiddo and hubby so they wouldn't feel left out. ;-)
129rebeccanyc
For reasons other than a hip replacement (and thinking of you with that), I've needed books that are "distracting but not too difficult" recently, and I can enthusiastically recommend both Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series and Zola.
130SassyLassy
Catching up since I came back on all 61 comments!
Going way back, I did read Young Stalin and have read the beginning of the In the Court of the Red Tsar. I think Young Stalin not only helped with information on the man himself, but also gave some good background on Georgia and the Chechens.
Now wondering if I should join the stoner:)
I would say keep trying Roth. His books are really dependent on your mood at the time, and I would agree with Rebecca about the later ones, at least those I have read. Don't try him during your recuperation though! Like your list and hope all goes well.
Going way back, I did read Young Stalin and have read the beginning of the In the Court of the Red Tsar. I think Young Stalin not only helped with information on the man himself, but also gave some good background on Georgia and the Chechens.
Now wondering if I should join the stoner:)
I would say keep trying Roth. His books are really dependent on your mood at the time, and I would agree with Rebecca about the later ones, at least those I have read. Don't try him during your recuperation though! Like your list and hope all goes well.
131labfs39
#129 Thanks for the recommendation, Rebecca. I'll put in some holds on the first few mysteries. Do you need to read them in order? Never mind answering that, I always read them in order. :-)
#139 Welcome back, SassyLassy! The good thing is that I haven't been on my thread much, so it's much easier to catch up here than on, say, Darryl's thread.
I'll try to pick up a copy of The Court of the Red Czar before my surgery.
Absolutely!
Sounds good. I'll wait til I'm in the right frame of mind to tackle Roth again.
#139 Welcome back, SassyLassy! The good thing is that I haven't been on my thread much, so it's much easier to catch up here than on, say, Darryl's thread.
I'll try to pick up a copy of The Court of the Red Czar before my surgery.
Absolutely!
Sounds good. I'll wait til I'm in the right frame of mind to tackle Roth again.
132labfs39
A local charity had a book sale, and I had to help them out, right? Here are my purchases:
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart (humor, Tower of London, British)
The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu (signed by the author, Ethiopian)
Death had Two Sons by Yael Dayan (fiction, post-Holocaust, Israeli)
Vinyl Cafe Diaries by Stuart McLean (humor, Canadian)
Malka by Mirjam Pressler (YA, Holocaust, German)
The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein (memoir, WWI, British)
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart (humor, Tower of London, British)
The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu (signed by the author, Ethiopian)
Death had Two Sons by Yael Dayan (fiction, post-Holocaust, Israeli)
Vinyl Cafe Diaries by Stuart McLean (humor, Canadian)
Malka by Mirjam Pressler (YA, Holocaust, German)
The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein (memoir, WWI, British)
133avatiakh
Hope everything goes well for you regarding the hip replacement. Sounds like you have a lot of good reading lined up. I love the Montalbano books too. And an interesting good book haul.
134rebeccanyc
Lisa, you don't have to read them in order but you will enjoy them much more if you do because the characters develop over time.
Nice haul, too.
Nice haul, too.
135labfs39
62. Sheltered from the swastika : memoir of a Jewish boy's survival amid horror in World War II by Peter Kory (3*) - 217 p.
I have read dozens of Holocaust memoirs, and I appreciated much about this one. For instance, Peter Kory (Korytowski) lived a fairly normal life with his family until June 1943. They left Germany ahead of the Nazis and lived first in Belgium and then France. When his parents are finally captured and sent to the camps, Peter goes to live with a family contact, Contesse Alix de Bonnefoy, in her ancestral manor. Not a typical story of a child Holocaust survivor, but important in that it documents all the different ways in which people survived. I also appreciated hearing the author's views on French vs. American education and life in both a lycée and a war orphanage.
Unfortunately, however, I had two problems engaging with the book. First, the author tries to write a history of the war as well as a memoir in just over 200 pages. The result is that I felt as though I were shortchanged in both respects. And as the author himself writes I am sure some people may even consider me pedantic! Second, the author writes in a matter of fact, distant way that made it hard for me to engage emotionally with the text or empathize with his childhood self. Even when writing of the moment when young Peter sees his parents in German custody and decides not to join them, the author gives no window into the emotional trauma he must have been experiencing.
I applaud the author for adding his memoir to the soon to be finalized body of survivor literature, and I wish that I had been able to engage more fully with his story.
136labfs39
I originally gave the above book 2.5*, but I felt guilty. The author is in his 90s, and who am I to judge the way he tells his story? So I changed it to 3*, but...
137labfs39
61. The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Wendy Watson (3.5*) - 28 p.
I loved this children's picture book for many of the same reasons that I enjoy those of Peter Sis, another author I discovered as an adult. Hesse combines history, a gentle story, and beautiful illustrations in this story of a girl who helps the Warsaw Resistance fighters get food from an incoming train to the ghetto with the aid of dozens of stray cats.
Here are my two favorite pages (facing each other):
138labfs39
I enjoyed The Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker and finished the last book Ghost Road ages ago, but never reviewed it. The book has rested collecting dust on my desk, and in an effort to clean house, I am going to skip writing a review, which would be dated and stale. Instead, I am going to share some of my favorite passages. First, here are the links to my reviews of the first two books:
Regeneration (4.5*)
The Eye in the Door (3.5*)
The Ghost Road by Pat Barker (3*)
Prior thinking about how his adjunct is so young he might have missed the war:
'Cowed subjection to the ghosts of friends who died.' That was it exactly, couldn't be better put. Ghosts everywhere. Even the living were only ghosts in the making. You learned to ration your commitment to them.
The psychologist, Rivers, acknowledging that patients who return to war (like Prior), serve another purpose for the profession without thought of the patient:
Rivers said slowly, as he went to get Prior's coat, 'Do you remember saying something to me once about the the the real ones who go back b-being the real test cases? From the point of view of finding out whether a particular therapy works?
A letter written by Prior on the eve of battle:
Saturday, 7 September
Posted to the 2nd Manchesters. We leave tomorrow.
It's evening now, and everybody's scribbling away, telling people the news, or as much of the news as we're allowed to tell them. I look up and down the dormitory and there's hardly a sound except for pages being turned, and here and there a pen scratching. It's like this every evening. And not just letters either. Diaries. Poems. At least two would-be poets in this hut alone.
Why? You have to ask yourself. I think it's a way of claiming immunity. First-person narrators can't die, so as long as we keep telling the story of our own lives we're safe. Ha bloody fucking Ha.
Prior writing from the trenches:
What can one say? And yet I've got to write something because however little I remember now I'll remember less in years to come. And it's not true to say one remembers nothing. A lot of it you know you'll never forget and not be able to. But the connections go. Bubbles break on the surface like they do on the flooded craters round here — the ones that've been here years and have God knows what underneath.
Two bubbles break here. Longstaffe sliding back into the trench with a red hole in his forehead and an expression of mild surprise on his face. And the bayonet work. Which I will not remember. Rivers would say, remember now — any suppressed memory stores up trouble for the future. Well, too bad. Refusing to think's the only way I can survive and anyway what future?
Prior:
For the first time it occurs to me that River's job also requires courage.
We don't even mention our own dead. The days pass crowded with meaningless incident, and it's easier to forget. I run the ball of my thumb against the two first fingers of my right hand where a gob of Hallet's brain was, and I don't feel anything very much.
We are Craiglockhart's {the asylum in England where Rivers works and Prior was treated} success stories. Look at us. We don't remember, we don't feel, we don't think — at least not beyond the confines of what's needed to do the job. By any proper civilized standard (but what does that mean now?) we are objects of horror. But our nerves are completely steady. And we are still alive.
Rivers reflecting on his time as an anthropologist studying an isolated island tribe:
Head-hunting had to be banned, and yet the effects of banning it were everywhere apparent in the listlessness and lethargy of the people's lives. Head-hunting was what they had lived for. Though it might seem callous or frivolous to say so, head-hunting had been the most tremendous fun and without it life lost almost all its zest.
This was a people perishing from the absence of war. It showed in the genealogies, the decline in the birth rate from one generation to the next — the island's population was less than half what it had been in Rinambesi's youth — and much of that decline was deliberate.
Regeneration (4.5*)
The Eye in the Door (3.5*)
The Ghost Road by Pat Barker (3*)
Prior thinking about how his adjunct is so young he might have missed the war:
'Cowed subjection to the ghosts of friends who died.' That was it exactly, couldn't be better put. Ghosts everywhere. Even the living were only ghosts in the making. You learned to ration your commitment to them.
The psychologist, Rivers, acknowledging that patients who return to war (like Prior), serve another purpose for the profession without thought of the patient:
Rivers said slowly, as he went to get Prior's coat, 'Do you remember saying something to me once about the the the real ones who go back b-being the real test cases? From the point of view of finding out whether a particular therapy works?
A letter written by Prior on the eve of battle:
Saturday, 7 September
Posted to the 2nd Manchesters. We leave tomorrow.
It's evening now, and everybody's scribbling away, telling people the news, or as much of the news as we're allowed to tell them. I look up and down the dormitory and there's hardly a sound except for pages being turned, and here and there a pen scratching. It's like this every evening. And not just letters either. Diaries. Poems. At least two would-be poets in this hut alone.
Why? You have to ask yourself. I think it's a way of claiming immunity. First-person narrators can't die, so as long as we keep telling the story of our own lives we're safe. Ha bloody fucking Ha.
Prior writing from the trenches:
What can one say? And yet I've got to write something because however little I remember now I'll remember less in years to come. And it's not true to say one remembers nothing. A lot of it you know you'll never forget and not be able to. But the connections go. Bubbles break on the surface like they do on the flooded craters round here — the ones that've been here years and have God knows what underneath.
Two bubbles break here. Longstaffe sliding back into the trench with a red hole in his forehead and an expression of mild surprise on his face. And the bayonet work. Which I will not remember. Rivers would say, remember now — any suppressed memory stores up trouble for the future. Well, too bad. Refusing to think's the only way I can survive and anyway what future?
Prior:
For the first time it occurs to me that River's job also requires courage.
We don't even mention our own dead. The days pass crowded with meaningless incident, and it's easier to forget. I run the ball of my thumb against the two first fingers of my right hand where a gob of Hallet's brain was, and I don't feel anything very much.
We are Craiglockhart's {the asylum in England where Rivers works and Prior was treated} success stories. Look at us. We don't remember, we don't feel, we don't think — at least not beyond the confines of what's needed to do the job. By any proper civilized standard (but what does that mean now?) we are objects of horror. But our nerves are completely steady. And we are still alive.
Rivers reflecting on his time as an anthropologist studying an isolated island tribe:
Head-hunting had to be banned, and yet the effects of banning it were everywhere apparent in the listlessness and lethargy of the people's lives. Head-hunting was what they had lived for. Though it might seem callous or frivolous to say so, head-hunting had been the most tremendous fun and without it life lost almost all its zest.
This was a people perishing from the absence of war. It showed in the genealogies, the decline in the birth rate from one generation to the next — the island's population was less than half what it had been in Rinambesi's youth — and much of that decline was deliberate.
139labfs39
#133-134 Thanks, Kerry and Rebecca. I have put The Shape of Water on hold at the library. Frantically trying to get my desk cleared before the big day. My table with all my new for-the-recovery books is bursting at the seams. I would have to spend six months recovering to get through all these and years to get through all the TBRs on my shelves! At least I should have something for every mood. :-)
140DieFledermaus
Best wishes for your hip replacement and hope you get a lot of reading in.
The Court of the Red Tsar did have a character list (at least in the ebook version I read) but if I had an actual copy, I would have added more notes to the character list (maybe post-its if didn't want to write in the book). The author gives everyone's name, job, who they're married to, but I would have included characteristics and what they did or what Stalin did to them - like "had tons of children" "bisexual dwarf" or "Stalin had his wife killed then pretended to sympathize and acted like she had run off". At least the first section could be confusing since the whole cast was introduced.
Some nice book hauls at 128 and 132. I'm currently reading Child 44 - was interested after reading Poquette's review and thought it would be a good time - on a Soviet kick.
I think 135 was a very fair review - you said why it didn't work for you and gave examples which is always helpful.
Nice pictures at 137.
The Court of the Red Tsar did have a character list (at least in the ebook version I read) but if I had an actual copy, I would have added more notes to the character list (maybe post-its if didn't want to write in the book). The author gives everyone's name, job, who they're married to, but I would have included characteristics and what they did or what Stalin did to them - like "had tons of children" "bisexual dwarf" or "Stalin had his wife killed then pretended to sympathize and acted like she had run off". At least the first section could be confusing since the whole cast was introduced.
Some nice book hauls at 128 and 132. I'm currently reading Child 44 - was interested after reading Poquette's review and thought it would be a good time - on a Soviet kick.
I think 135 was a very fair review - you said why it didn't work for you and gave examples which is always helpful.
Nice pictures at 137.
141rebeccanyc
Enjoying reading your reviews, and wishing you easy surgery and a speedy recovery (well, maybe not so speedy; you do want to read all those books!).
142SassyLassy
Enjoyed reading your excellent reviews of the first two novels in The Regeneration Trilogy and the excerpts from the third. I read the trilogy two or three years ago, so it's still too early for a reread, but it is definitely a reread set of books. Here is a picture of Craiglockhart Military Hospital in Scotland, from The First World War Poetry Digital Archive ( http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/ ). Dr Rivers is in the front row between two nurses.
145labfs39
#140 Thanks, DieF. Your suggest about The Court of the Red Tsar character list is a good one. I did something similar with One Hundred Years of Solitude in which they reused the same names for generations.
#141 Six weeks should allow me to make a dent, Rebecca!
#142 That's a great photo, and a great site. I discovered it looking for some of Wilfred Owen's poetry. I should try to find a nonfiction book about Craiglockhart; it was a fascinating place in WWI.
#143 Thanks, Darryl. I've used advice from The Patient Survival Guide and feel ready to advocate for infection prevention. Thanks for leading me to the book. Who knew it would come in handy so soon?
#144 I sure am looking forward to a pain-free joint, Barry.
#141 Six weeks should allow me to make a dent, Rebecca!
#142 That's a great photo, and a great site. I discovered it looking for some of Wilfred Owen's poetry. I should try to find a nonfiction book about Craiglockhart; it was a fascinating place in WWI.
#143 Thanks, Darryl. I've used advice from The Patient Survival Guide and feel ready to advocate for infection prevention. Thanks for leading me to the book. Who knew it would come in handy so soon?
#144 I sure am looking forward to a pain-free joint, Barry.
146detailmuse
Lisa I've heard so many people comment about their pain-free joints after replacement. Hoping you get to yours smoothly and quickly!
btw The Journal of Best Practices is very light and quite funny, a good pick.
btw The Journal of Best Practices is very light and quite funny, a good pick.
147labfs39
Lemon Tree (2008)
Original title Etz Limon, in Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles
Director: Eran Riklis
Actors: Hiam Abbass, Rona Lipaz-Michael and Ali Suliman
This powerful Israeli film depicts a typical confrontation in Israel: a property dispute between an Israeli and a Palestinian. I must say that I was somewhat surprised that the film was decidedly on the side of the Palestinian, and yet still portrays how futile it all is and that no one wins from these confrontations. I was riveted.
Instead of a full review, I would point you to the NYT Critics' Pick which begins:
Salma Zidane (Hiam Abbass), the proud, handsome 45-year-old Palestinian woman at the center of “Lemon Tree,” an allegory of Israeli-Palestinian strife, has the misfortune of living in the wrong place at the wrong time. Widowed for 10 years, with a son in the United States, Salma earns a meager living from a lemon grove on the Green Line separating Israel from the occupied territories of the West Bank. The grove has been in her family for 50 years.
Her solitary life suddenly turns upside down when the Israeli defense minister, Israel Navon (Doron Tavory), moves into a fancy new house that abuts the grove. Overnight a watchtower is constructed, and security guards and soldiers begin patrolling the property...
148Linda92007
I agree with you about Lemon Tree, Lisa. It is a great film.
Good luck with your hip replacement. I know three people (one young, one middle aged, one older) who have had them recently and all of them were up and around pretty quickly. Under the circumstances, I would be happy to hear that you did not have as much reading time as you had wanted, as hopefully that would mean a rapid and comfortable recovery!
Good luck with your hip replacement. I know three people (one young, one middle aged, one older) who have had them recently and all of them were up and around pretty quickly. Under the circumstances, I would be happy to hear that you did not have as much reading time as you had wanted, as hopefully that would mean a rapid and comfortable recovery!
149rebeccanyc
Just to let you know re hip replacement that my father had one when he was in his 90s! And with physical therapy, he improved rapidly afterwards (although not to the point a youngster like you can, and although he never believed physical therapy was helping him, even though everyone else could see it did!). I"m sure you'll do great and, as Linda said, you may not have as much reading time as you secretly want!
150TadAD
Lemon Tree sounds great!
151labfs39
Picked up two more "recovery reads" when I realized my history selections were a little low:
The Lost City of Z by David Grann
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
Both should easy, fun reads.
The Lost City of Z by David Grann
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
Both should easy, fun reads.
152qebo
I've been lurking without much to say, but keeping an eye on the hip replacement schedule and the book collecting...
153msf59
Lisa- Good luck with the hip replacement! Please keep us informed. Thanks for the film rec with "Lemon Tree", I've added it to my Netflix queue. I finally saw "A Separation" and it was excellent. Seek it out.
Here is the thread for the 1Q84 Group Read: http://www.librarything.com/topic/142496
Stop by if you can!
Here is the thread for the 1Q84 Group Read: http://www.librarything.com/topic/142496
Stop by if you can!
155EBT1002
Lisa, I hope the surgery went well and that you are recovering well. And getting in lots of good reading. :-)
157baswood
Just noticed you have Robert Capa: The Definitive collection and I am envious.
158rebeccanyc
Just checking in to see how you're doing!
159cushlareads
Just caught up on tons of messages here - really hope your operation went well and you're recovering quickly!
160labfs39
Thank you, everyone, for your good wishes. The surgery went very well, and recovery (after a slight mishap) is progressing smoothly. I haven't felt up to LT during this time, but I hope to get back to reading your threads soon. I haven't read much:
The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to be a Better Husband by David Finch (2.5*)
22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson (3.5*)
Killing Floor by Lee Child (2.5*)
My mom is here, and she and I have been watching seasons 1 and 2 of Downton Abbey. She hadn't seen it before and is now completely hooked. We'll watch the last episode tonight.
Barry: Unfortunately I don't own the Capa collection, but borrowed it from the library. He was an interesting photographer and led an adventuresome life.
The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to be a Better Husband by David Finch (2.5*)
22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson (3.5*)
Killing Floor by Lee Child (2.5*)
My mom is here, and she and I have been watching seasons 1 and 2 of Downton Abbey. She hadn't seen it before and is now completely hooked. We'll watch the last episode tonight.
Barry: Unfortunately I don't own the Capa collection, but borrowed it from the library. He was an interesting photographer and led an adventuresome life.
162cushlareads
Great that it went well!
Still haven't watched Downton Abbey... I am the only one of my RL friends here not to have, I think. They all love it.
Still haven't watched Downton Abbey... I am the only one of my RL friends here not to have, I think. They all love it.
163rebeccanyc
Absorbing TV is the best when you're not up to reading! I confess that's how I got hooked on Law and Order (not quite as highbrow as Downton Abbey) one time when I had the flu.
Glad to hear that your recovery is progressing well.
Glad to hear that your recovery is progressing well.
164Linda92007
Great to see you here, Lisa, if only for a moment. I hope your recovery continues to go smoothly and that you will soon feel up to more reading and LT. You have been missed!
167DieFledermaus
Good to hear that things went smoothly. Best wishes during your recovery and hope you'll be back on soon!
168avaland
Just peekin' in and skimming the 167 messages here. I have no hope of actually catching up on everyone's reading, so I pay special attention to the last few entries. Glad your hip surgery went well. XXXX
PS: I have have heard elsewhere on LT that season 3 of Downton Abbey is better than the 2nd but not quite as good as the 1st. And this UK source, said that she was still forming an opinion with regards to Shirley Maclaine (as Cora's mother). If you need another series to get hooked out, I suggest "Doc Martin" or "William and Mary" (also Martin Clunes) - not costume drama, mind you, but a nice way to wile away the hours.
PS: I have have heard elsewhere on LT that season 3 of Downton Abbey is better than the 2nd but not quite as good as the 1st. And this UK source, said that she was still forming an opinion with regards to Shirley Maclaine (as Cora's mother). If you need another series to get hooked out, I suggest "Doc Martin" or "William and Mary" (also Martin Clunes) - not costume drama, mind you, but a nice way to wile away the hours.
169janemarieprice
Glad to hear thing are going pretty well. Hope everything continues that way!
170rachbxl
I've come to this very late but I hope your recovery continues to go well. I had both hips replaced several years ago and haven't looked back since - hope it's as successful for you, too.
171markon
Glad to hear you're making progress with your recovery, and having fun watching Downton Abbey.
172labfs39
Thank you, everyone, for your continued good wishes. I have progressed to just a cane, and I'm driving now, which is a mixed blessing. :-? My mom returned home today, and I will miss her company and her enormous help. I also got her re-hooked on LT.
Thanks, Lois, for the additional series to watch. I'm not familiar with Martin Clunes, but I'll definitely check it out.
Rachbxl, aren't hip replacements wonderful? I'm only one month post-op, and I'm amazed at how fast the recovery has been and how little it has hurt. In fact, my new joint doesn't hurt at all, whereas my right is declining even faster now that I've been putting more weight on it. How long did you wait between operations? I'm hoping to schedule my next in January.
Thanks, Lois, for the additional series to watch. I'm not familiar with Martin Clunes, but I'll definitely check it out.
Rachbxl, aren't hip replacements wonderful? I'm only one month post-op, and I'm amazed at how fast the recovery has been and how little it has hurt. In fact, my new joint doesn't hurt at all, whereas my right is declining even faster now that I've been putting more weight on it. How long did you wait between operations? I'm hoping to schedule my next in January.
173labfs39
I received a couple of gift cards for my birthday, and I have had lots of fun spending them. Here's some of my purchases I've treated myself to in the last month:
The toughest Indian in the world by Sherman Alexie (signed by the author, a local NW author)
The towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay (fictional account of a woman's travels in Turkey in the 1950s, NYRB)
Dancing lessons for the advanced in age by Bohumil Hrabal (a Czech novel I've never read by an author I like, NYRB)
Born under a million shadows by Andrea Busfield (a novel about a boy growing up in Afghanistan, post Taliban)
The midwife : a memoir of birth, joy, and hard times, better known as Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth (the basis for a PBS series, the story of a young woman who becomes a midwife and works in the 1950's London East End) 4.5*
A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary by Anonymous (currently reading, excellent; rec by kiwiflowa)
Monsieur Linh and his child by Philippe Claudel (a favorite author, rec by kidzdoc)
The house of returned echoes by Arnošt Lustig (another favorite author; fictional account of the author's father who died in Auschwitz in 1944; Jewish Lives publisher series)
The bitter smell of almonds by Arnošt Lustig (is a compilation of Street of Lost Brothers: Stories, Dita Saxova, and Indecent Dreams: A Novella. I already own Dita Saxova, but not the others; also in the Jewish Lives publisher series)
Running the Rift: A Novel by Naomi Benaron (first recommended by Mark, I think; about an Olympic hopeful in running from Rwanda)
Cleopatra : a life by Stacy Schiff (I first first heard about the book on NPR, but reviews by friends on LT tipped me over the edge)
Without reservations : the travels of an independent woman by Alice Steinbach (a search for self through travel written by a Pulitzer winning journalist)
Confessions of a mask by Yukio Mishima, translated from the Japanese by Meredith Weatherby (Japanese novel about a homosexual youth who must "live behind a mask of propriety"; originally published in 1948 in the aftermath of the war)
The toughest Indian in the world by Sherman Alexie (signed by the author, a local NW author)
The towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay (fictional account of a woman's travels in Turkey in the 1950s, NYRB)
Dancing lessons for the advanced in age by Bohumil Hrabal (a Czech novel I've never read by an author I like, NYRB)
Born under a million shadows by Andrea Busfield (a novel about a boy growing up in Afghanistan, post Taliban)
The midwife : a memoir of birth, joy, and hard times, better known as Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth (the basis for a PBS series, the story of a young woman who becomes a midwife and works in the 1950's London East End) 4.5*
A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary by Anonymous (currently reading, excellent; rec by kiwiflowa)
Monsieur Linh and his child by Philippe Claudel (a favorite author, rec by kidzdoc)
The house of returned echoes by Arnošt Lustig (another favorite author; fictional account of the author's father who died in Auschwitz in 1944; Jewish Lives publisher series)
The bitter smell of almonds by Arnošt Lustig (is a compilation of Street of Lost Brothers: Stories, Dita Saxova, and Indecent Dreams: A Novella. I already own Dita Saxova, but not the others; also in the Jewish Lives publisher series)
Running the Rift: A Novel by Naomi Benaron (first recommended by Mark, I think; about an Olympic hopeful in running from Rwanda)
Cleopatra : a life by Stacy Schiff (I first first heard about the book on NPR, but reviews by friends on LT tipped me over the edge)
Without reservations : the travels of an independent woman by Alice Steinbach (a search for self through travel written by a Pulitzer winning journalist)
Confessions of a mask by Yukio Mishima, translated from the Japanese by Meredith Weatherby (Japanese novel about a homosexual youth who must "live behind a mask of propriety"; originally published in 1948 in the aftermath of the war)
175kiwiflowa
Oh gosh I had no idea you are recovering from surgery. I'm so glad it's going well! I love Downton Abbey and am watching season 3 as it's airing in NZ currently. Your current book haul is terrific!
176rebeccanyc
Great book haul! I really enjoyed The Towers of Trebizond and Cleopatra, and I look forward to exploring Hrabal and Lustig. So glad your recovery has been swift and easy!
177Linda92007
Lisa, it's good to see you back. Glad that your recovery has gone well!
178EBT1002
Lisa, I'm glad you are on the mend well! Cleopatra: a Life is one of the many books on my TBR pile(s). I'd like to actually read it sometime soon.
179labfs39
Thanks, everyone. I seem to be in a recovery plateau at the moment, but that seems to be how it goes: a few days at the same level, then BUMP, up to a better, more mobile place.
Lucky ducky, Lisa! Downton Abbey season 3 isn't coming here until Jan. 6! I can't even seem to get the UK version on Amazon. I think I would improve much better with a little Downton Abbey. :-)
Hi, Rebecca. Have you not read any Hrabal or Lustig? My favorite Hrabal is Too Loud a Solitude. Lustig has written too many wonderful books to pick a favorite, but I think I read Children of the Holocaust first. He writes fictionalized accounts of his own Holocaust experiences. Although I don't usually read Holocaust fiction, this is only thinly veiled life, and it's wonderfully written.
Ellen, I don't know when I'll get to Cleopatra: A Life, but maybe we can compare notes then.
Lucky ducky, Lisa! Downton Abbey season 3 isn't coming here until Jan. 6! I can't even seem to get the UK version on Amazon. I think I would improve much better with a little Downton Abbey. :-)
Hi, Rebecca. Have you not read any Hrabal or Lustig? My favorite Hrabal is Too Loud a Solitude. Lustig has written too many wonderful books to pick a favorite, but I think I read Children of the Holocaust first. He writes fictionalized accounts of his own Holocaust experiences. Although I don't usually read Holocaust fiction, this is only thinly veiled life, and it's wonderfully written.
Ellen, I don't know when I'll get to Cleopatra: A Life, but maybe we can compare notes then.
180rebeccanyc
Lisa, I have I Served the King of England for Hrabal, but it's been on the TBR for several years, and nothing by Lustig. I think I've read enough Holocaust fiction and memoirs, but maybe you can talk me into Lustig.
181labfs39
Hmm. Lustig is not light, cheerful reading, but I like his prose and his perspective. He was sent to Theresienstadt at 15, and then to Auschwitz and later Buchenwald. He escaped from a train to Dachau and joined the Resistance. Most of his stories are about young people, either himself or those he saw. Unlike many memoirs by child survivors, he wasn't hidden, but had to survive an endless succession of horrors.
I too have read a lot of Holocaust stuff, but I can't seem to stop. I feel as though I need to know what it was like for those who survived and those who didn't. It's so incomprehensible, I don't think I will ever reach the bottom and say, Ah, so that it what it was like.
I too have read a lot of Holocaust stuff, but I can't seem to stop. I feel as though I need to know what it was like for those who survived and those who didn't. It's so incomprehensible, I don't think I will ever reach the bottom and say, Ah, so that it what it was like.
182msf59
Hi Lisa- It's great having you back posting! We missed you. Glad you are slowly improving. What a great book haul! And, I've not read any of them, so I'll be watching for your thoughts.
It's so good to hear the 3rd season of DA is kicking butt. I have been re-watching the 1st season with the DW, because she bailed on me the 1st time around. You can not beat that 1st season!
It's so good to hear the 3rd season of DA is kicking butt. I have been re-watching the 1st season with the DW, because she bailed on me the 1st time around. You can not beat that 1st season!
183brenzi
Great to hear that your surgery and rehab have gone well Lisa. You have me chomping at the bit for Season 3 of Downton Abbey on Jan. 6.
184DieFledermaus
Glad to see you back on LT and to hear that your recovery is going well.
A Woman in Berlin sounds like some heavy reading! Hope you have something light to go along with it.
That's a great list of books - Cleopatra was good, very informative, and I loved The Towers of Trebizond. My Lustigs are still in the book-shaped black hole that ate various other books so I haven't read anything by him yet. I haven't read that Hrabal yet though I've seen it and plan to read it since it's a combo of Hrabal + NYRB. Is that the one where the whole book is one sentence?
A Woman in Berlin sounds like some heavy reading! Hope you have something light to go along with it.
That's a great list of books - Cleopatra was good, very informative, and I loved The Towers of Trebizond. My Lustigs are still in the book-shaped black hole that ate various other books so I haven't read anything by him yet. I haven't read that Hrabal yet though I've seen it and plan to read it since it's a combo of Hrabal + NYRB. Is that the one where the whole book is one sentence?
185markon
Waving hello. If you get better too quickly, how will you read all those wonderful books? Just kidding. Glad your recovery is going well.
The only one of your book haul that I have read is Running the rift, and I did find it very enjoyable. Got to hear the author talk at the book festival this fall too.
The only one of your book haul that I have read is Running the rift, and I did find it very enjoyable. Got to hear the author talk at the book festival this fall too.
186labfs39
#182 Hi Mark! Fortunately, I think I'm getting my other hip done in January, and I'll have all that time to watch Season 3. LOL. (The entire season 3, UK version comes out on Amazon in late January.)
#183 Ditto, Bonnie!
#184 A Woman in Berlin was pretty rough, DieF. In the beginning, the journalist attempts to be distanced emotionally from what is going on around her and to her. But she just couldn't keep it up and by the end she's not in very good shape. To counterbalance that, I next read 74. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, which was simply delightful.
Yes, Dancing lessons for the advanced in age by Bohumil Hrabal is one sentence. The other three books I've read by him have all been rather traditional, so I'm curious to see where this one goes.
#185 Hi Ardene, nice to see you. I'm reading Running the Rift now and finding it quite good. Wish I had time to sit down and make a big dent in one go. Now that my mom's gone home, I have to run all the errands, including driving my daughter to and from school 45 minutes away. I need to get an audio book going. How was Naomi Benaron as a speaker?
I should start writing some mini reviews and attempt to get caught up, but Running the Rift is calling my name, and Bill's on bedtime duty tonight. A cup of tea and the heating pad, and I'll be in Nirvana!
#183 Ditto, Bonnie!
#184 A Woman in Berlin was pretty rough, DieF. In the beginning, the journalist attempts to be distanced emotionally from what is going on around her and to her. But she just couldn't keep it up and by the end she's not in very good shape. To counterbalance that, I next read 74. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, which was simply delightful.
Yes, Dancing lessons for the advanced in age by Bohumil Hrabal is one sentence. The other three books I've read by him have all been rather traditional, so I'm curious to see where this one goes.
#185 Hi Ardene, nice to see you. I'm reading Running the Rift now and finding it quite good. Wish I had time to sit down and make a big dent in one go. Now that my mom's gone home, I have to run all the errands, including driving my daughter to and from school 45 minutes away. I need to get an audio book going. How was Naomi Benaron as a speaker?
I should start writing some mini reviews and attempt to get caught up, but Running the Rift is calling my name, and Bill's on bedtime duty tonight. A cup of tea and the heating pad, and I'll be in Nirvana!
187Trifolia
Hi Lisa, I'm glad to see your hip's improving. Don't worry about plateaus. Every mountain-hiker welcomes a plateau every now and then, so why should a hip be any different.
I really liked Monsieur Linh and his child back when I read it in 2010. It's one of those Claudel-gems that I adore. I'll be looking forward to your review when you get to it.
Btw, series 3 of Downton Abbey starts here on November 24th :-)
I really liked Monsieur Linh and his child back when I read it in 2010. It's one of those Claudel-gems that I adore. I'll be looking forward to your review when you get to it.
Btw, series 3 of Downton Abbey starts here on November 24th :-)
188detailmuse
I'm so happy to hear about your progress! And that you'll tackle the other hip soon. Be especially good to yourself during the plateaus, that's when your body is working hard behind the scenes.
189labfs39
#187 Hi Monica, I may read Monsieur Linh and His Child next. I've had it on my list since Darryl, kidzdoc, recommended it. I also have By a Slow River on by table, another Claudel, and one you, I think, recommended to me. I just love Claudel. Have you read his newest, The Investigation yet? I liked it, but it was different than the other books of his that I've read.
#188 Thanks, MJ. It's hard to be patient. At least I know that I can get better now. Before it was just a long decline with surgery waiting at the end. To be honest, I wish I had done this three years ago when I was first diagnosed. But I guess I needed the time to expend all my other options.
#188 Thanks, MJ. It's hard to be patient. At least I know that I can get better now. Before it was just a long decline with surgery waiting at the end. To be honest, I wish I had done this three years ago when I was first diagnosed. But I guess I needed the time to expend all my other options.
190labfs39
I thought of Steven (steven03tx) when I bought these the other day. Someone was cleaning out their shelves and had some unusual things for donation at the library.
Persian letters by baron de Charles de Secondat Montesquieu, originally published in Holland in 1721. It caused quite the sensation and ran 10 editions in the first year. According to the publisher's blurb, it's an epistolary novel using the correspondence between Usbek and his wives in his harem and the eunuchs who guard them to explore manners and customs, sexual freedom and restraint, religion, justice, etc.
Sun & Steel by Yukio Mishima, is an autobiography of sorts
to compliment Confessions of a Mask also by Mishima, which I got from the same source a few days ago
Persian letters by baron de Charles de Secondat Montesquieu, originally published in Holland in 1721. It caused quite the sensation and ran 10 editions in the first year. According to the publisher's blurb, it's an epistolary novel using the correspondence between Usbek and his wives in his harem and the eunuchs who guard them to explore manners and customs, sexual freedom and restraint, religion, justice, etc.
Sun & Steel by Yukio Mishima, is an autobiography of sorts
to compliment Confessions of a Mask also by Mishima, which I got from the same source a few days ago
191Linda92007
Great finds, Lisa. I wish our library had that quality of books at their sales. But your thread always tempts me and I am happy to see that our central library has both By A Slow River and A Woman in Berlin. I'm hoping to have the time to swing by and pick those up today, as if I really need more books to read right now!
192qebo
189: I wish I had done this three years ago
Hindsight... You wish this because you chose the option that worked.
Hindsight... You wish this because you chose the option that worked.
193Trifolia
# 189 - Yes, I just loved By a Slow River. It's one of my all-time-favourites. I didn't really like The Investigation though. It's a bit atypical for Claudel and I feel he left out the things I like most about his style: the poetry and thoughtfulness.
I'm actually still recovering from the 5-star-read of Stoner. I can't bring myself to write a review because it's just so beautiful that any attempt to catch this feeling in words would not do it justice.
I hope you enjoy Monsieur Linh and His Child!
I'm actually still recovering from the 5-star-read of Stoner. I can't bring myself to write a review because it's just so beautiful that any attempt to catch this feeling in words would not do it justice.
I hope you enjoy Monsieur Linh and His Child!
194kidzdoc
I bought The Investigation yesterday, due in part to your recommendation of it and Steven's comments about it.
195StevenTX
I thought of Steven (steven03tx) when I bought these...
Now why would that be? Actually I don't have either one of these. They look appropriate for my wishlist, though.
(Oh well, why not? The Oxford edition of Persian Letters is just $5.26 for the Kindle. It's now on my reader. See what you did!)
Now why would that be? Actually I don't have either one of these. They look appropriate for my wishlist, though.
(Oh well, why not? The Oxford edition of Persian Letters is just $5.26 for the Kindle. It's now on my reader. See what you did!)
197labfs39
#191 Hi Linda, Unfortunately our library is experiencing a decline in both the quantity and quality of the books begin donated for our sales. We (I am a member of the Friends board) throw away more books than we put out for sale, they are in such gross condition. Fortunately for me, I wandered in the other day, strictly as a patron, and snagged a few interesting titles that were all donated by the same person it would seem. I wish I had been there when the donation came in as I would probably have bought most of them!
Although I can heartily recommend A Woman in Berlin, I have not yet read By a Slow River, although I intend to read it soon. I just finished a book by the same author, Philippe Claudel. It was a five star read for me, and thank you, Darryl, for your wonderful review of it, which began my long hunt for a copy. Claudel is an amazing author.
#192 I know, qebo, hindsight is always 20/20!
#193 Thanks to you, Monica, Claudel is now one of my favorite authors. I buy anything of his I can find. I just finished Monsieur Linh and His Child, and OMG! It is so beautiful and moving with such powerful themes around dislocation and refugees, isolation and friendship, loss and grief, aging, and love. I cried like a baby at the end.
I will have to look for Stoner since it's a five star for you. I added it to my wishlist.
#194 As you can tell from my gushing above, Darryl, I am a firm Claudel fan. The Investigation is more Paul Auster-like than the other Claudel books I have read, but there are many of the same themes: dislocation, the isolation of living in the city, things not being what they appear. I hope you like this one too.
#195 There, I knew they were Steven-ish books!
#196 I know, Ellen, and I am grieving horribly that I had to miss it. But way back before having a date for my surgery, I had promised the Girl Scouts in our troop that I would take them to a friend's cabin and explore Mt. Rainier for the weekend. After surgery, I felt that I couldn't call it off, and recruited my DH to come with me. So it was me, 8 girls, and a few chaperons in a cabin for the weekend. Rainier was glorious! On Friday we explored Longmire and did the Trail of Shadows (flat and less than a mile long). A friend said it was the best she had seen me walk since she knew me, even though I did use my crutches. Then Saturday we did the Nisqually Vista Trail up at Paradise. 1.5 miles on crutches through 3" of snow probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but, as my husband said, it was good for my soul. Despite not being able to get out of bed the next morning, it felt great. I used my soreness as an excuse to spend three hours in bed yesterday with tea and book. I finally finished Running the Rift, which was my 75th book read this year. You've read it I assume. What did you think? I thought it was a very long lead up to a fine finish.
Although I can heartily recommend A Woman in Berlin, I have not yet read By a Slow River, although I intend to read it soon. I just finished a book by the same author, Philippe Claudel. It was a five star read for me, and thank you, Darryl, for your wonderful review of it, which began my long hunt for a copy. Claudel is an amazing author.
#192 I know, qebo, hindsight is always 20/20!
#193 Thanks to you, Monica, Claudel is now one of my favorite authors. I buy anything of his I can find. I just finished Monsieur Linh and His Child, and OMG! It is so beautiful and moving with such powerful themes around dislocation and refugees, isolation and friendship, loss and grief, aging, and love. I cried like a baby at the end.
I will have to look for Stoner since it's a five star for you. I added it to my wishlist.
#194 As you can tell from my gushing above, Darryl, I am a firm Claudel fan. The Investigation is more Paul Auster-like than the other Claudel books I have read, but there are many of the same themes: dislocation, the isolation of living in the city, things not being what they appear. I hope you like this one too.
#195 There, I knew they were Steven-ish books!
#196 I know, Ellen, and I am grieving horribly that I had to miss it. But way back before having a date for my surgery, I had promised the Girl Scouts in our troop that I would take them to a friend's cabin and explore Mt. Rainier for the weekend. After surgery, I felt that I couldn't call it off, and recruited my DH to come with me. So it was me, 8 girls, and a few chaperons in a cabin for the weekend. Rainier was glorious! On Friday we explored Longmire and did the Trail of Shadows (flat and less than a mile long). A friend said it was the best she had seen me walk since she knew me, even though I did use my crutches. Then Saturday we did the Nisqually Vista Trail up at Paradise. 1.5 miles on crutches through 3" of snow probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but, as my husband said, it was good for my soul. Despite not being able to get out of bed the next morning, it felt great. I used my soreness as an excuse to spend three hours in bed yesterday with tea and book. I finally finished Running the Rift, which was my 75th book read this year. You've read it I assume. What did you think? I thought it was a very long lead up to a fine finish.
198labfs39
Since I am now well into my 77th book, I decided it was time to pare down the huge stack of books on my desk awaiting reviews. Some may be mini-reviews, but I need to power through this Sisyphusian task!
54. Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden (4*) - 205 p.
How do you assess the truthfulness of an unreliable narrator? The journalist, Blaine Harden, struggled with this question during his interviews with the subject, Shin Dong-hyuk, the only survivor of Camp 14 in North Korea to escape to the West. Harden believes he was able to ferret out the real story, and it's an incredible one.
Shin Dong-hyuk was born in a high security forced labor camp, one that North Korea denies even exists. Google Earth proves otherwise. Shin's mother and father were awarded the right to conjugal visits as a recognition of their hard work, and paired at random. From this primitive union, Shin Dong-hyuk was born. Living in the same shack with his mother and brother, Shin was raised by the camp system. There was no sense of family or family loyalty. For as long as he can remember Shin was on his own, learning the system, how to manipulate it for more food, and how to survive hard labor. His entire youth was a blur of executions that everyone was forced to watch, torture, hunger, and a survival instinct like that of a starved wolf. Then someone from outside the camps is imprisoned with him, and tells Shin of amazing things about life outside the camp. Shin is incredulous, then determined to see for himself. He makes a harrowing escape, and eventually makes his way to the West.
The story is a page-turning horror of inhumanity and human rights abuses. It is also a fascinating look inside a very secret corner of North Korean reality. But what I found most intriguing was the mental and emotional state of Shin in the camp and his struggles to learn to think differently, to feel empathy, and to find a place for himself as a survivor: most fascinating, and most open to question. Shin originally told his stories to officials in different ways, cunningly using his camp skills to try and manipulate the system, to keep secrets, to dissemble. Unable to trust anyone, Shin went through a long period of post-traumatic stress. Three years after Shin's escape, Harden met the now 26 year old. Eager to bust open a political hot spot, Harden interviewed and met with Shin several times over a number of years, developing a relationship that Harden believes allowed him to get the real story.
Although I would highly recommend reading Escape from Camp 14, I would even more highly recommend reading Barbara Demick's Nothing to Envy first. Demick's book is also about North Korean escapees, but she provides both historical and cultural landmarks that allow those of us not North Korean experts to place both books in context. Taken together, they provide a startling and damning portrayal of the North Korean regime and raise the question, in my mind at least, of how we can allow such human rights abuses to continue, simply because North Korea has no resources that we want and lies in the shadow of two powerful giants.
54. Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden (4*) - 205 p.
How do you assess the truthfulness of an unreliable narrator? The journalist, Blaine Harden, struggled with this question during his interviews with the subject, Shin Dong-hyuk, the only survivor of Camp 14 in North Korea to escape to the West. Harden believes he was able to ferret out the real story, and it's an incredible one.
Shin Dong-hyuk was born in a high security forced labor camp, one that North Korea denies even exists. Google Earth proves otherwise. Shin's mother and father were awarded the right to conjugal visits as a recognition of their hard work, and paired at random. From this primitive union, Shin Dong-hyuk was born. Living in the same shack with his mother and brother, Shin was raised by the camp system. There was no sense of family or family loyalty. For as long as he can remember Shin was on his own, learning the system, how to manipulate it for more food, and how to survive hard labor. His entire youth was a blur of executions that everyone was forced to watch, torture, hunger, and a survival instinct like that of a starved wolf. Then someone from outside the camps is imprisoned with him, and tells Shin of amazing things about life outside the camp. Shin is incredulous, then determined to see for himself. He makes a harrowing escape, and eventually makes his way to the West.
The story is a page-turning horror of inhumanity and human rights abuses. It is also a fascinating look inside a very secret corner of North Korean reality. But what I found most intriguing was the mental and emotional state of Shin in the camp and his struggles to learn to think differently, to feel empathy, and to find a place for himself as a survivor: most fascinating, and most open to question. Shin originally told his stories to officials in different ways, cunningly using his camp skills to try and manipulate the system, to keep secrets, to dissemble. Unable to trust anyone, Shin went through a long period of post-traumatic stress. Three years after Shin's escape, Harden met the now 26 year old. Eager to bust open a political hot spot, Harden interviewed and met with Shin several times over a number of years, developing a relationship that Harden believes allowed him to get the real story.
Although I would highly recommend reading Escape from Camp 14, I would even more highly recommend reading Barbara Demick's Nothing to Envy first. Demick's book is also about North Korean escapees, but she provides both historical and cultural landmarks that allow those of us not North Korean experts to place both books in context. Taken together, they provide a startling and damning portrayal of the North Korean regime and raise the question, in my mind at least, of how we can allow such human rights abuses to continue, simply because North Korea has no resources that we want and lies in the shadow of two powerful giants.
199labfs39
Wow! Did I just learn something useful. I accidentally closed my Google browser tab before saving my review. I thought all hope was lost. But pressing CTRL SHIFT T, not only brought the page back up, but my unsaved review as well! My determined attack on my pile almost ended as it began.
200rebeccanyc
Great review. I agree with a lot of what you wrote, and also that it is worthwhile to read Nothing to Envy first.
201qebo
Oh dear, I have read Nothing to Envy, and Escape from Camp 14 is too intriguing to skip past. Onto the wishlist.
202labfs39
55. Fatelessness by Imre Kertész, translated from the Hungarian by Tim Wilkinson (4*) - 262 p.
This has been a hard book to digest and even harder to review. It is about the Holocaust, which is a delicate topic to discuss in itself, and problematic because it provides an intellectually alternative view of how to perceive the horrors and the ultimate meaning of fate and freedom. I have read many books about the Holocaust, and I have come to expect not only a certain plot line (denial, ghetto, camps, horrors, survival or not, with occasional attempts at escape or resistance), but also a certain communal mindset about the entire event: inhumane to the point of vowing "Never again" (rather futile words given the continued perpetuation of genocides). We have a collective understanding of what the Holocaust was and even a general sense of how survivor's felt: horror, grief, suppression of emotional response in some cases, and then moving on, many not wanting to speak of their experiences. When a book comes along that challenges this set of collective beliefs, it is very hard not to simply deny or negate what the author says. I found this to be the case for me when I read Scheisshaus luck and I'm No Hero, both memoirs of young men who found the war and their internment to be no reason to stop chasing women, taking advantage of opportunities for self-benefit, or struggling with the adolescent angst of moving from child to man. At first I was horrified: poking fun, bawdy, irreverent - the Holocaust?
In a different way, Fatelessness provoked a similar response in me. Georg Koves is a fictional character that observes and accepts without question or malice what happens to him. Constantly throughout the book, Georg uses phrases like "naturally", "purely in my eyes, of course", "it goes without saying", "in my case at least", "for me at any rate", and others that convey the sense that what he experiences in the Holocaust and the camps is natural, although the author acknowledges that this may not be the same view others take.
At the very beginning, I still considered myself to be what I might call a sort of guest in captivity—very pardonably and , when it comes down to it, in full accordance with the propensity to delusion that we all share and which is thus, I suppose, ultimately part of human nature.
In addition, Georg, sees the beauty of nature and the joy possible in the camps. Even when he is so ill and emaciated that he doesn't expect to live, he thinks
Thus, when I, along with all the others on whom it was clear not too much further hope can have been pinned of being set to work again here, in Zeitz (a subcamp), was returned to sender as it were—back to Buchenwald—I naturally shared the others' joy with every faculty that was left me, since I was promptly reminded of the good times there, most especially the morning soups.
Joy at returning to Buchenwald, where good times were had? This is only one of several instances where some readers might be incredulous and even angry at the perceived belittlement of the true horrors of the place.
One could assume that the character Georg is delusional or that he was emotionally stunted from the beginning. His lack of emotional response as his family prepares first to send his father off to forced labor, and then himself to Auschwitz, seems inappropriate even to a fourteen year old child. And indeed there are passages at the end of the book when he truly does not seem to understand human emotion. Or is it that he understands it too well?
In the end, I found that people on all sides were looking at me, heads shaking, and with a most singular emotion on their faces, which was a little embarrassing because, as best I could tell, they were feeling sorry for me. I felt a strong urge to tell them there was no need for that after all, at least not right at that moment, but I ended up saying nothing, something held me back, somehow I couldn't find it in my heart to do so, because I noticed that the emotion gratified them, gave them some sort of pleasure, the way I saw it. Indeed—and I could have been mistaken of course, though I don't think so—but later on (for there were one or two other occasions on which Ii was similarly questioned and interrogated) I gained the impression that they expressly sought out, almost hunted for, an opportunity, a means or pretext for this emotion for some reason, out of some need, as a testimony to something as it were, to their method of dealing with things perhaps, or possibly, who knows, to their still being capable of it at all...
"The emotion (of pity) gratified them." Although Georg is referring to fellow prisoners, can the idea of seeking an opportunity to feel pity for the innocent victims of the Holocaust refer to us as well? Personally, I believe there are many reasons why people read Holocaust memoirs, visit memorials, and educate themselves about the history of the Holocaust. But could there also exist this desire to feel pity, to seek opportunities to be horrified and sorry for others? It's a loaded question. When people speak to or read the words of survivors, what do they want to hear?
For even there, next to the chimneys, in the intervals between the torments, there was something that resembled happiness. Everyone asks only about the hardships and the "atrocities", whereas for me perhaps it is that experience which will remain most memorable. Yes, the next time I am asked, I ought to speak about that, the happiness of the concentration camps.
If indeed I am asked. And provided I myself don't forget.
204labfs39
As for the meaning of the book's title, here is an addendum to an already very long review:
When Georg returns home after the war, he tries to explain to his family the steps that led him to the physical and emotional place where he is now. His own steps, in not trying to save his father, in not trying to escape the roundup, in living in a delusional state of acceptance, led to his fate. I took the steps, no one else, and I declared that I had been true to my given fate throughout.
Did they want this whole honesty and all the previous steps I had taken to lose all meaning? Why this sudden about-face, this refusal to accept (their own roles)? Why did they not wish to acknowledge that if there is such a thing as fate, then freedom is not possible? If, on the other hand—I swept on, more and more astonished myself, steadily warming to the task—if there is such a thing as freedom, then there is no fate; that is to say—and I paused, but only long enough to catch my breath—that is to say, then we ourselves are fate...
By turning a blind eye, accepting, deluded themselves, those both in the camps and out were participants in their fate. His uncle is furious,
"So it's us who're the guilty ones, is it? Us the victims!" I tried explaining that it wasn't a crime; all that was needed was to admit it, meekly, simply, merely as a matter of reason, a point of honor, if I might put it that way. It was impossible,they must try and understand, impossible to take everything away from me, impossible for me to be neither winner nor loser, for me not to be right and for me not to be mistaken that I was neither the cause nor the effect of anything; they should try to see, I almost pleaded, that I could not swallow that idiotic bitterness, that I should be merely innocent.
When Georg returns home after the war, he tries to explain to his family the steps that led him to the physical and emotional place where he is now. His own steps, in not trying to save his father, in not trying to escape the roundup, in living in a delusional state of acceptance, led to his fate. I took the steps, no one else, and I declared that I had been true to my given fate throughout.
Did they want this whole honesty and all the previous steps I had taken to lose all meaning? Why this sudden about-face, this refusal to accept (their own roles)? Why did they not wish to acknowledge that if there is such a thing as fate, then freedom is not possible? If, on the other hand—I swept on, more and more astonished myself, steadily warming to the task—if there is such a thing as freedom, then there is no fate; that is to say—and I paused, but only long enough to catch my breath—that is to say, then we ourselves are fate...
By turning a blind eye, accepting, deluded themselves, those both in the camps and out were participants in their fate. His uncle is furious,
"So it's us who're the guilty ones, is it? Us the victims!" I tried explaining that it wasn't a crime; all that was needed was to admit it, meekly, simply, merely as a matter of reason, a point of honor, if I might put it that way. It was impossible,they must try and understand, impossible to take everything away from me, impossible for me to be neither winner nor loser, for me not to be right and for me not to be mistaken that I was neither the cause nor the effect of anything; they should try to see, I almost pleaded, that I could not swallow that idiotic bitterness, that I should be merely innocent.
205labfs39
#200 Now I'm curious, Rebecca, as to what you didn't agree with? :-)
#201, 203 I'm glad I'm adding to your wishlist and your resolve, qebo. If only mine lasts. I have 14 to go.
#201, 203 I'm glad I'm adding to your wishlist and your resolve, qebo. If only mine lasts. I have 14 to go.
206rebeccanyc
#205, I think I agree with all of it, Lisa. I probably just didn't phrase it well!
207Linda92007
I love your reviews, Lisa. Reading your thoughts on Fatelessness was like experiencing the emotional ambivalence of the book all over again.
ETA: I hope you will post your review on the book's work page.
ETA: I hope you will post your review on the book's work page.
208StevenTX
Great review of Fatelessness, Lisa. I chanced to read it around the same time as J. G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun and was struck by their similarity in the theme of taking comfort in the structured life of captivity. This also brought to mind The Woman in the Dunes by Kôbô Abe and even The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. It shouldn't diminish our horror of the Holocaust to recognize that there is something in the human psyche that craves order and fears the responsibility and uncertainty that come with freedom.
Regarding the title and Georg's notion of fate: I have a friend like that who excuses every failure or injustice with statements like "it wasn't meant to be." To me that's a very Medieval attitude, excusing everything as being inevitable and preordained by Fate or God. Most of us are more inclined to credit or blame individuals and the choices they make. But in harsh times it may be more comforting to retreat into the delusion that neither the victims nor their tormentors can changed their predestined roles.
Regarding the title and Georg's notion of fate: I have a friend like that who excuses every failure or injustice with statements like "it wasn't meant to be." To me that's a very Medieval attitude, excusing everything as being inevitable and preordained by Fate or God. Most of us are more inclined to credit or blame individuals and the choices they make. But in harsh times it may be more comforting to retreat into the delusion that neither the victims nor their tormentors can changed their predestined roles.
209labfs39
#206 :-)
#207 I'm so glad you stopped by, Linda. I wanted to tell you that although I may have acquired Fatelessness as a result of your thread, I didn't actually read your entire review until after I had written mine. You capture the essence of the book so well, without giving away too much. Mine is more like an endless essay with the temerity of addenda! I didn't add it to the book page at first, because it didn't really seem like a review, more just thoughts, but after your nudge, I did. I didn't add the addendum though. I mean, really, how much does a potential reader want to know? Mine is more a discussion after reading the book. Do you know what I mean?
#208 Thanks, Steven. I agree that children do seem able to cope and adjust to unnatural situations in ways that adults can't. Similarly, I'm reminded of Escape from Camp 14, in which a child is born and raised in a high security labor camp, and because he knows no different, to him famine and child labor seem normal. Empire of the Sun is hard for me to talk about objectively, since I'm still angry that he presents the story as memoir, when it is 90% fiction. Grr. Self-defeating, I know. Anyway, I have The Woman in the Dunes on my table and am rather anxious to read it, despite rumors of how depressing it is. But then again, I'm currently reading Hunger by Knut Hamsun, and a blurber of this book writes: "One of the most disturbing novels in existence." Evidently we don't read the same books, because I am finding Hunger to be rather Dostoevsky-like and familiar feeling. Hmm. Maybe I need to find some more of those happy books...
#207 I'm so glad you stopped by, Linda. I wanted to tell you that although I may have acquired Fatelessness as a result of your thread, I didn't actually read your entire review until after I had written mine. You capture the essence of the book so well, without giving away too much. Mine is more like an endless essay with the temerity of addenda! I didn't add it to the book page at first, because it didn't really seem like a review, more just thoughts, but after your nudge, I did. I didn't add the addendum though. I mean, really, how much does a potential reader want to know? Mine is more a discussion after reading the book. Do you know what I mean?
#208 Thanks, Steven. I agree that children do seem able to cope and adjust to unnatural situations in ways that adults can't. Similarly, I'm reminded of Escape from Camp 14, in which a child is born and raised in a high security labor camp, and because he knows no different, to him famine and child labor seem normal. Empire of the Sun is hard for me to talk about objectively, since I'm still angry that he presents the story as memoir, when it is 90% fiction. Grr. Self-defeating, I know. Anyway, I have The Woman in the Dunes on my table and am rather anxious to read it, despite rumors of how depressing it is. But then again, I'm currently reading Hunger by Knut Hamsun, and a blurber of this book writes: "One of the most disturbing novels in existence." Evidently we don't read the same books, because I am finding Hunger to be rather Dostoevsky-like and familiar feeling. Hmm. Maybe I need to find some more of those happy books...
210avatiakh
Hi Lisa, I really appreciated your discussion of Fatelessness, my reading of it was influenced by having seen the film first and all the images replayed as I read the text. I recently discovered that Fatelessness is the first in a set of three based on his experiences, the other two are Fiasco and Kaddish for an Unborn Child.
211EBT1002
Lisa, despite being accompanied by 8 Girl Scouts, the weekend at Rainier sounds wonderful. I'm glad you are walking so well following the surgery. It sounds like it was worth it!
I have not yet read Running the Rift so I can't much contribute. I will investigate....
I have not yet read Running the Rift so I can't much contribute. I will investigate....
212detailmuse
Lisa, your review of Fatelessness: very, very intriguing. Onto the wishlist.
213DieFledermaus
Two good reviews of very depressing-sounding books. You raise a number of interesting points about Holocaust memoirs/novels. I remember reading reviews of a book (I think it was a novel) that was published recently (in the last couple of years) which looked at the "Holocaust industry" - tours, museums, fundraising and the opportunities to feel pity and horror, like you mention. Can't think of the name right now.
I'll remember to read Nothing to Envy first - after reading the reviews of the two, I'd like to read both though maybe not for awhile.
I'll remember to read Nothing to Envy first - after reading the reviews of the two, I'd like to read both though maybe not for awhile.
214dchaikin
Fatelessness is now on my wishlist. I still recall Linda's review and being horrified by the narrator. Your excerpts certainly bring out more of the nuance; and much more to think about. Really hope to read Kertész sometime.
My first instinct to give a strong yes to your question: "But could there also exist this desire to feel pity, to seek opportunities to be horrified and sorry for others?" I think a part of us desperately seeks a variety of emotional outlets, including pity and especially including the horrifying. I think that is what draws us to stories in the first place.
And on that note...I also enjoyed your review of Escape from Camp 14...
My first instinct to give a strong yes to your question: "But could there also exist this desire to feel pity, to seek opportunities to be horrified and sorry for others?" I think a part of us desperately seeks a variety of emotional outlets, including pity and especially including the horrifying. I think that is what draws us to stories in the first place.
And on that note...I also enjoyed your review of Escape from Camp 14...
215labfs39
#210 Hi Kerry, I hadn't realized there was a movie version of Fatelessness, but when I looked it up on IMDB the picture looks familiar. From the tiny blurb they give, it sounds less controversial or thought-provoking than the book. I'll be curious to see it now, just to compare it to the book.
It's curious you bring up the trilogy aspect, because I was trying to figure that out last week. Is it a publisher's series, or did Kertesz write them as a trilogy? Or are they simply chronological? What would you call the series, the Fatelessness series? A series of books about Kertesz' Holocaust experiences?
#211 Hi Ellen, ugh, isn't this weather dreary? I'm waterlogged and blah. It's hard to get out and do my walking during the second deluge. Running the Rift is a book about a young boy in Rwanda that gets turned on to running and grows up to be an Olympic hopeful. Unfortunately there is the small matter of his being Tutsi. I thought you might be interested in part because the author is a runner herself and speaks about the addictive pain of long distance running, as well as the joy.
#212 Thanks, MJ, I'll look forward to your reaction.
#213 Yes, DieF just call me the reader of all that is horrifying in the world! I did read a murder mystery yesterday, The Shape of Water, which although had several murders, prostitution, abuse, etc., was more uplifting than most of the books I read!
I remember the discussion on your thread about the Holocaust industry, and it was very much in my mind as I wrote that part of the review.
#214 I too remember vividly Linda's review, Dan, and I reread it after I read the book for myself. My review was in large part a discussion in response to her review. I agree that Gyorgy is not a particularly likable character or one that we have come to expect in a Holocaust semi-autobiographical novel. But I thought the novel, albeit a bit clumsily, does explore a survivor's reaction to the constant question of Tell me about the atrocities and how you suffered, and comes up with some emotionally disturbing but perhaps legitimate alternative views. Along with the couple of other non-traditional memoirs I have read, it has rippled the smooth understanding I thought I had of the Holocaust experience.
Happy Turkey Day tomorrow everyone!
It's curious you bring up the trilogy aspect, because I was trying to figure that out last week. Is it a publisher's series, or did Kertesz write them as a trilogy? Or are they simply chronological? What would you call the series, the Fatelessness series? A series of books about Kertesz' Holocaust experiences?
#211 Hi Ellen, ugh, isn't this weather dreary? I'm waterlogged and blah. It's hard to get out and do my walking during the second deluge. Running the Rift is a book about a young boy in Rwanda that gets turned on to running and grows up to be an Olympic hopeful. Unfortunately there is the small matter of his being Tutsi. I thought you might be interested in part because the author is a runner herself and speaks about the addictive pain of long distance running, as well as the joy.
#212 Thanks, MJ, I'll look forward to your reaction.
#213 Yes, DieF just call me the reader of all that is horrifying in the world! I did read a murder mystery yesterday, The Shape of Water, which although had several murders, prostitution, abuse, etc., was more uplifting than most of the books I read!
I remember the discussion on your thread about the Holocaust industry, and it was very much in my mind as I wrote that part of the review.
#214 I too remember vividly Linda's review, Dan, and I reread it after I read the book for myself. My review was in large part a discussion in response to her review. I agree that Gyorgy is not a particularly likable character or one that we have come to expect in a Holocaust semi-autobiographical novel. But I thought the novel, albeit a bit clumsily, does explore a survivor's reaction to the constant question of Tell me about the atrocities and how you suffered, and comes up with some emotionally disturbing but perhaps legitimate alternative views. Along with the couple of other non-traditional memoirs I have read, it has rippled the smooth understanding I thought I had of the Holocaust experience.
Happy Turkey Day tomorrow everyone!
216deebee1
Interesting thoughts on Fatelessness, Lisa. I've not read the book, but I have the film version which I've not seen yet. Now is probably a good time to watch it while your review is still fresh in my mind.
Don't you just love this about LT -- how others' reading experiences and views can provide motivation or the needed push to read about or explore related things that would otherwise remain only dimly fluttering just beyond one's consciousness?
Don't you just love this about LT -- how others' reading experiences and views can provide motivation or the needed push to read about or explore related things that would otherwise remain only dimly fluttering just beyond one's consciousness?
217avatiakh
I would think that they are chronological rather than a trilogy. Kaddish for an Unborn Child has been around for a while, but from what I understand Fiasco has only recently been translated. The movie has some stunning moments, though I'm relying on memory as I haven't had the heart to rewatch it since reading the book.
218EBT1002
Happy Thanksgiving, Lisa. I hope you are able to stay dry. These storms that keep rolling through are incredible! And I'm not a fan of high winds....
I'm looking forward to 4 days away from work. I have few plans other than read, rest, and run. My favorites.
Oh, and I'll eat a bit, too. :-)
I'm looking forward to 4 days away from work. I have few plans other than read, rest, and run. My favorites.
Oh, and I'll eat a bit, too. :-)
219rebeccanyc
#215, Lisa, it was The Shape of Water that got me hooked on all Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano mysteries, which I sped through earlier this year. Waiting to see if you get hooked too!
220labfs39
From an email from Europa Editions:
Butt Out! Apple Censors Europa title for Erotic Content, Amazon follows.
Last week, Apple decided to pull Salwa Al Neimi's THE PROOF OF THE HONEY from its iTunes bookstore due to the "inappropriateness of the cover" (close your eyes: *gasp* it features a woman's derriere). Following Apple's decision, we at Europa Editions decided to make the ebook available through other retailers at a discounted price so that readers could judge for themselves whether the book and/or its cover were truly inappropriate.
Now, it turns out that Apple is not alone in its opprobrium. This week we were informed that all digital retailers, en masse, have deemed the erotic writing of PROOF OF THE HONEY scandalous. So scandalous, in fact, that they will not promote the book in any way on their platforms. In other words, even if we wanted to give away THE PROOF OF THE HONEY for free on Amazon.com, we couldn't. They’ll carry it, they’ll sell it, but they won’t give you a deal.
THE PROOF OF THE HONEY is a significant work of literary fiction, with erotic content. It is perplexing (and frustrating) that some retailers are willing to promote and to sell certain other, vastly inferior works with so-called "erotic content" that seek merely to titillate, but they will not promote Al Neimi's groundbreaking, courageous THE PROOF OF THE HONEY.
THE PROOF OF THE HONEY is available at independent bookstores across the country. And if they don't have it in stock, they'll order it for you. Unlike their online counterparts.
Read more about the controversy at The Huffington Post, The Guardian, and Moby Lives.
____________
I find this censorship appalling. Give me a break. What is the real reason they are doing this?
Steven, you read this book. What is your take? Although the censorship is not of the content, but the cover. In your review, you gave it 3.5*. Were you offended by the cover? *snark*
Moby Lives shows similar covers that are not censored, including:
Butt Out! Apple Censors Europa title for Erotic Content, Amazon follows.
Last week, Apple decided to pull Salwa Al Neimi's THE PROOF OF THE HONEY from its iTunes bookstore due to the "inappropriateness of the cover" (close your eyes: *gasp* it features a woman's derriere). Following Apple's decision, we at Europa Editions decided to make the ebook available through other retailers at a discounted price so that readers could judge for themselves whether the book and/or its cover were truly inappropriate.
Now, it turns out that Apple is not alone in its opprobrium. This week we were informed that all digital retailers, en masse, have deemed the erotic writing of PROOF OF THE HONEY scandalous. So scandalous, in fact, that they will not promote the book in any way on their platforms. In other words, even if we wanted to give away THE PROOF OF THE HONEY for free on Amazon.com, we couldn't. They’ll carry it, they’ll sell it, but they won’t give you a deal.
THE PROOF OF THE HONEY is a significant work of literary fiction, with erotic content. It is perplexing (and frustrating) that some retailers are willing to promote and to sell certain other, vastly inferior works with so-called "erotic content" that seek merely to titillate, but they will not promote Al Neimi's groundbreaking, courageous THE PROOF OF THE HONEY.
THE PROOF OF THE HONEY is available at independent bookstores across the country. And if they don't have it in stock, they'll order it for you. Unlike their online counterparts.
Read more about the controversy at The Huffington Post, The Guardian, and Moby Lives.
____________
I find this censorship appalling. Give me a break. What is the real reason they are doing this?
Steven, you read this book. What is your take? Although the censorship is not of the content, but the cover. In your review, you gave it 3.5*. Were you offended by the cover? *snark*
Moby Lives shows similar covers that are not censored, including:
221rebeccanyc
I agree with you completely about the censorship. Really shocking. And it certainly makes me want to run right out and buy it!
222msf59
Happy Thanksgiving, Lisa! Have a wonderful day with your family. I miss seeing you around! Hugs!
223dchaikin
I should be horrified, but I'm too busy gawking over how silly the whole thing is. The cover isn't at all scandalous. As for the content...oye...isn't fifty shades of gray consider soft porn?
But, yes, the censorship thing, regardless, is absolutely awful.
But, yes, the censorship thing, regardless, is absolutely awful.
226edwinbcn
>>224 StevenTX: I probably bought it because of the cover!
Hmm, Steven. It seems you are stealthily building an erotic collection. How is your reading of Irène (aka as ...Oeps...) coming along?
Hmm, Steven. It seems you are stealthily building an erotic collection. How is your reading of Irène (aka as ...Oeps...) coming along?
227EBT1002
I'm thinking to see if I can get a copy of the edition with the cover just because I ought to be able to do so.
And I'm wanting to get back to the Camilleri novels. I've only read two of three of them.
And I'm wanting to get back to the Camilleri novels. I've only read two of three of them.
228labfs39
#216 Don't you just love this about LT -- how others' reading experiences and views can provide motivation or the needed push to read about or explore related things that would otherwise remain only dimly fluttering just beyond one's consciousness?
I do indeed, deebee1, and very beautifully put. I think serendipitous connection and the sense of friendship I find on LT are the things that keep me here, despite all that is going on and my desire to spend more time reading. It's quite a remarkable community.
#217 I think you are right, Kerry. I have had Kaddish for an Unborn Child around for several years, but I'm glad I didn't read it until Linda got me to read Fatelessness. Now I can read them in order.
#218 Thanks for checking in, Ellen. At least the last two days have been nice. I got out for a nice walk today. First without crutches, can, or hiking poles. Only about a mile, but it felt good. And according to Runkeeper, I did it at my fastest pace yet: 23 minute mile. :-)
#219 I borrowed The Shape of Water from the library, hopeful because of your recommendation, Rebecca. But I'm afraid I have never met a mystery series (or book) that hooked me. I'm just not a mystery reader, I guess. The only thing similar that I did get hooked on were the Mrs. Pollifax books, but they aren't mysteries, more like comedic espionage!
I do indeed, deebee1, and very beautifully put. I think serendipitous connection and the sense of friendship I find on LT are the things that keep me here, despite all that is going on and my desire to spend more time reading. It's quite a remarkable community.
#217 I think you are right, Kerry. I have had Kaddish for an Unborn Child around for several years, but I'm glad I didn't read it until Linda got me to read Fatelessness. Now I can read them in order.
#218 Thanks for checking in, Ellen. At least the last two days have been nice. I got out for a nice walk today. First without crutches, can, or hiking poles. Only about a mile, but it felt good. And according to Runkeeper, I did it at my fastest pace yet: 23 minute mile. :-)
#219 I borrowed The Shape of Water from the library, hopeful because of your recommendation, Rebecca. But I'm afraid I have never met a mystery series (or book) that hooked me. I'm just not a mystery reader, I guess. The only thing similar that I did get hooked on were the Mrs. Pollifax books, but they aren't mysteries, more like comedic espionage!
229labfs39
#221 Same here, Rebecca! Steven wrote a lukewarm review of it, so I was on the fence, but after all this hoopla, I feel like running out to buy it, just to prove I can!
#222 Thanks, Mark! I hope you had a pleasant family Thanksgiving. I'll be over to your thread, once I prove I can keep up on my own. I've been terribly neglectful. Thinking of you though! My husband just read Child 44, and I read your review. I worry that it will be too gruesome for me, but since it's set in the Soviet Union and it has proved gripping for so many people, it's next on my pile.
#223 I think the current jargon for Fifty Shades is "mommy porn, whatever that is. I agree, Dan. It's ridiculous. 50 Shades is a smash hit and a tasteful photo of a naked woman's buttocks on a serious piece of literature is taboo. Go figure. The only positive is that the scandal may actually help Europa Editions' bottom line. So to speak.
#224 Oh dear, Steven Now I wonder what you wrote that you felt compelled to delete.
#225 Thank you, Tad!
#226 Hmm.
#227 I'm thinking of making it my profile picture, Ellen. ;-)
I think I'll probably dip back into the Inspector Montalbano one of these days.
#222 Thanks, Mark! I hope you had a pleasant family Thanksgiving. I'll be over to your thread, once I prove I can keep up on my own. I've been terribly neglectful. Thinking of you though! My husband just read Child 44, and I read your review. I worry that it will be too gruesome for me, but since it's set in the Soviet Union and it has proved gripping for so many people, it's next on my pile.
#223 I think the current jargon for Fifty Shades is "mommy porn, whatever that is. I agree, Dan. It's ridiculous. 50 Shades is a smash hit and a tasteful photo of a naked woman's buttocks on a serious piece of literature is taboo. Go figure. The only positive is that the scandal may actually help Europa Editions' bottom line. So to speak.
#224 Oh dear, Steven Now I wonder what you wrote that you felt compelled to delete.
#225 Thank you, Tad!
#226 Hmm.
#227 I'm thinking of making it my profile picture, Ellen. ;-)
I think I'll probably dip back into the Inspector Montalbano one of these days.
230DieFledermaus
>220 labfs39: - How crazy and ridiculous - that does make me want to buy the book! I wonder if someone complained? It seems odd that the companies would just randomly target a book.
231deebee1
>220 labfs39: This cover is so tastefully and artfully done! I'm appalled at the retailers' decision. When big private interests can dictate what the public can or cannot access -- that is ominous.
232qebo
220: Give me a break. What is the real reason they are doing this?
It seems rather tame. Risk aversion because of the Arab connection?
It seems rather tame. Risk aversion because of the Arab connection?
233StevenTX
#229 Steven wrote a lukewarm review of it...
It wasn't my intention to be lukewarm. Guarded, perhaps, since there is content that not everyone finds agreeable (obviously not the people at Apple). I gave it 3 1/2 stars, which to me means "very good but not for everyone."
Cultures handle sexuality and its taboos in different ways. What this book shows is that the traditional Arab culture, while very prudish in respect to public behavior, has elements of private sensuality that are surprisingly frank and uninhibited. The novel includes stories from inside the Arab world developed within an autobiographical frame in which the narrator, a Syrian woman living in Paris, enjoys the combination of Arab sensuality and European freedoms.
It wasn't my intention to be lukewarm. Guarded, perhaps, since there is content that not everyone finds agreeable (obviously not the people at Apple). I gave it 3 1/2 stars, which to me means "very good but not for everyone."
Cultures handle sexuality and its taboos in different ways. What this book shows is that the traditional Arab culture, while very prudish in respect to public behavior, has elements of private sensuality that are surprisingly frank and uninhibited. The novel includes stories from inside the Arab world developed within an autobiographical frame in which the narrator, a Syrian woman living in Paris, enjoys the combination of Arab sensuality and European freedoms.
234rebeccanyc
When I read Distant View of a Minaret by Alifa Rifaat, a very traditional Egyptian woman who wrote in the 1950s-80s, I was surprised by the very straightforward way she wrote about sex.
235detailmuse
>220 labfs39: what a fabulous derriere! I wonder if the dust-up has increased sales? (it now ships in 1-4 weeks at amazon)
237labfs39
Hi everyone for stopping by. I agree with what everyone had to add about the Apple/Europa Editions debacle.
Steven, sorry for putting words in your mouth about your review. It's that whole star issue. For me, three and a half stars means better than average, nothing to rave about. Sorry for misinterpreting.
In my outrage at censorship this week, I lost sight of the most important thing: the content of the book. It's easy for me, and perhaps other Westerners as well, to be under the impression that veiled means suppressed in every way. Including that a hijab somehow makes a woman asexual or un-sexed. Propoganda to increase the sense of otherness (on both sides)? True cultural misunderstanding? Either way it is through access to books like The Proof of the Honey and the book Rebecca mentions, Distant View of a Minaret, that we learn and understand. In a similar way, I had many misconceptions about Iranian women corrected through books like Honeymoon in Tehran and Persepolis. Instead of fretting over buttocks, there should be a storm of conversation about how we Americans are led to think about women and Islam, and how we can learn to break down those unhelpful stereotypes through literature and memoirs. I applaud you, Ellen, for actually buying the book. You, like Steven, will actually have something to say about those buttocks, other than that Arab women have them too. I should do the same.
Steven, sorry for putting words in your mouth about your review. It's that whole star issue. For me, three and a half stars means better than average, nothing to rave about. Sorry for misinterpreting.
In my outrage at censorship this week, I lost sight of the most important thing: the content of the book. It's easy for me, and perhaps other Westerners as well, to be under the impression that veiled means suppressed in every way. Including that a hijab somehow makes a woman asexual or un-sexed. Propoganda to increase the sense of otherness (on both sides)? True cultural misunderstanding? Either way it is through access to books like The Proof of the Honey and the book Rebecca mentions, Distant View of a Minaret, that we learn and understand. In a similar way, I had many misconceptions about Iranian women corrected through books like Honeymoon in Tehran and Persepolis. Instead of fretting over buttocks, there should be a storm of conversation about how we Americans are led to think about women and Islam, and how we can learn to break down those unhelpful stereotypes through literature and memoirs. I applaud you, Ellen, for actually buying the book. You, like Steven, will actually have something to say about those buttocks, other than that Arab women have them too. I should do the same.
238labfs39
70. The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (4*)
Memory is like patches of sunlight in an overcast valley, shifting with the movement of the clouds. Now and then the light will fall on a particular point in time, illuminating it for a moment before the wind seals up the gap, and the world is in shadows again.
There are moments when, remembering what happened, I am unable to continue writing. What troubles me more than anything, however, and the instances when I cannot recall with certainty what has taken place. I have spent most of the my life trying to forget, and now all I want is to remember. I cannot remember what my sister looked like; I do not even have a picture of her. And my conversation with Aritomo by Usugumo Pond, on that night of the meteor shower..did it take place on the day of Templer's visit or did it occur on a different evening entirely: Time is eating away my memory. Time, and this illness, this trespasser in my brain.
Yun Ling Teoh is a successful judge, retiring because of a well-kept secret: a medical problem is causing deteriorating memory loss. In an attempt to help herself remember her life while she still can, Yun Ling decides to begin a journal recording her life. She begins by returning to the Garden of Evening Mists, the only Japanese garden in Malaya, and the home of her now deceased mentor, Aritomo. Theirs was a complex relationship and the plot of the novel unfolds these complexities and secrets in a steady, yet convoluted way. Much like a path in the famous garden with quiet surprises in unexpected places.
There is so much to discuss in this book, and I could have gone in many directions. Discussing the fascinating history of Malaysia and the Japanese invasion during WWII, leading to decades of lingering hatred and distrust. The wonderful art so lovingly depicted in the book: the art and soul of Japanese gardens, the taboos around body tattooing and the secret methods of the masters, the art of wood prints. The author's writing itself is one of the arts that make this novel so beautiful. Or I could have discussed race and class relations, the guerrilla war, or the survivor story and its role in the novel. But then I came across the passage I quote at the top of the review, and I knew that this was really the heart of the story, at least for me: the elusive quality of memory, the tension between the desire to forget (so rarely bestowed when wanted) and the unremitting loss of memory due to illness or age.
Since we as readers know from the beginning that Yun Ling's memories are being eaten away by disease, we must accept that she is an unreliable narrator. Is she really the only survivor of a Japanese work camp? Was her relationship with Aritomo as she writes? She never learns all of his secrets, do we ever learn all of hers? But even if all of the memories she relates are true (and I hope they are, because this fictional space the author creates is so compelling), how does time effect the way in which those stories are remembered? Malayan Chinese of her generation have layers of memories of the Japanese and their emotional responses to them. A survivor must learn to live with her memories and in doing so, remember her experiences in a way that validates her survival. We all remember history passing by in our own ways; and even our own lives, something we should know the truth of in exacting detail, is subject to haze and gaps and smoothed over areas. Our experience of memory is something that makes us humans unique. It is a gift and a curse. And then our memory is gone and a slice of truth is gone with it.
239labfs39
I know I jumped from reviewing book 55 to book 70, but it's very overdue at the library, and I don't want to deprive another reader of the pleasure.
Another library book due back is
79. The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri - (3*)
I know this is probably a very good mystery deserving far more than 3*, but I am just not a mystery fan. I try every now and then, especially when a book is supposed to be very good, but I never quite get it. I feel as though I have let some fellow readers down, but there we are.
Inspector Montalbano is an honest, but not necessarily a strictly law-abiding detective. He is true to his love interest, but pursued by most of the women he meets. Intelligent and savvy, he makes connections that no one else sees. All set on a rugged island in Italy.
This mystery, the first in the series, involves a politician who is found dead in an outdoor brothel. Everyone wants to save face and close the case quickly. All except the inspector and the dead man's widow. After wild car rides, a half-naked woman in the inspector's bed, a fascinating pimp with whom he went to school, and a sick child, all is resolved, but little is said.
Another library book due back is
79. The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri - (3*)
I know this is probably a very good mystery deserving far more than 3*, but I am just not a mystery fan. I try every now and then, especially when a book is supposed to be very good, but I never quite get it. I feel as though I have let some fellow readers down, but there we are.
Inspector Montalbano is an honest, but not necessarily a strictly law-abiding detective. He is true to his love interest, but pursued by most of the women he meets. Intelligent and savvy, he makes connections that no one else sees. All set on a rugged island in Italy.
This mystery, the first in the series, involves a politician who is found dead in an outdoor brothel. Everyone wants to save face and close the case quickly. All except the inspector and the dead man's widow. After wild car rides, a half-naked woman in the inspector's bed, a fascinating pimp with whom he went to school, and a sick child, all is resolved, but little is said.
240Linda92007
Great review of The Garden of Evening Mists, Lisa. I'm sorry that mysteries don't work for you. One of these days I intend to start the Camilleri series. Rebecca made it sound so tempting.
241dchaikin
Excellent review of The Garden of Evening Mists. Love the quote, fascinated by the plot.
242rebeccanyc
Sorry you didn't like the Camilleri. I enjoyed the series more for the characters and the setting than for the mystery.
243baswood
Loved your review of The Garden Of Evening Mists
244labfs39
#240 Thanks, Linda. It's one of the few genres that don't appeal. The others are horror/supernatural, crime, and poetry. Odd, huh?
#241 Thanks, Dan. I didn't really go into the plot, but ideas about memory and truth are always of interest to me. Were you part of the discussion on a previous thread about The Things They Carried? That was a good one.
#242 I know, Rebecca. I felt like I was letting you down. I'm sure they are top-notch, but The Shape of Water (a very interesting concept the author described in the book) just didn't grab me. Perhaps it was the wrong book at the wrong time. I would like to try the next in the series before I give up completely.
#243 Merci, Dan!
#241 Thanks, Dan. I didn't really go into the plot, but ideas about memory and truth are always of interest to me. Were you part of the discussion on a previous thread about The Things They Carried? That was a good one.
#242 I know, Rebecca. I felt like I was letting you down. I'm sure they are top-notch, but The Shape of Water (a very interesting concept the author described in the book) just didn't grab me. Perhaps it was the wrong book at the wrong time. I would like to try the next in the series before I give up completely.
#243 Merci, Dan!
245dchaikin
#244 - via 241 - I should have said premise, instead of plot. The Things They Carried ...wasn't that discussion was along time ago. My memories are not so clear.
246rebeccanyc
Oh, Lisa, don't be silly! You're not letting me down if you don't like books I like. After all, there are some you like that I don't like too!
248EBT1002
Nice review of TGoEM, Lisa.
You know, I do like mysteries although much less than I once did. I'm certainly pickier than I used to be. As a teenager and college student, I devoured them and read little else.
I hope you don't let the feeling that you've let fellow readers down sink in too much....
we get to like what we like. :-)
You know, I do like mysteries although much less than I once did. I'm certainly pickier than I used to be. As a teenager and college student, I devoured them and read little else.
I hope you don't let the feeling that you've let fellow readers down sink in too much....
we get to like what we like. :-)
249qebo
198: Shin Dong-hyuk of Escape from Camp 14 will be on 60 Minutes tomorrow.
250labfs39
#245 Yes, it was a long time ago, Dan. It remains in my memory only because it was such a rousing discussion.
#246 Oh, I know, Rebecca. I'm just super aware when a book is so well-recommended and it doesn't work for me.
#247 Thanks, Steven. I think you'll like it. I've put his first book, The Gift of Rain, on my wishlist.
#248 Your review of The Garden of Evening Mists was very good, Ellen. I read it after posting my own (finally). Hmm, I was thinking about what you said about your tastes changing, or rather refining. I went to a really lousy high school in rural Maine, and I was driven to read "classics" as I feared I would never be ready for college otherwise. Once in college, I relaxed and read more of what I wanted by picking classes whose syllabi I liked. Except for an abiding affection for Outlander and a brief flirtation with Suzanne Brockmann (blame that one on my sister), I haven't really changed my reading habits all that much in 25+ years. I'm not surprised, in that I'm the type of person who could eat the same thing every day for months without desiring change. In grad school I ate a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel with sliced banana and peanut butter every school day for 6-9 months. Sad, huh? Oh, well. Mark did get me to read some graphic novels, to my surprised appreciation. That's a step outside the comfort zone. I'm not a total fuddy duddy. :-)
#249 Thank you, qebo!! It's playing at 7 pm Pacific Time tomorrow night. I have put it on my calendar with an alarm.
Yea! I finally finished The Towers of Trebizond. It took me a loonnnggggg time.
#246 Oh, I know, Rebecca. I'm just super aware when a book is so well-recommended and it doesn't work for me.
#247 Thanks, Steven. I think you'll like it. I've put his first book, The Gift of Rain, on my wishlist.
#248 Your review of The Garden of Evening Mists was very good, Ellen. I read it after posting my own (finally). Hmm, I was thinking about what you said about your tastes changing, or rather refining. I went to a really lousy high school in rural Maine, and I was driven to read "classics" as I feared I would never be ready for college otherwise. Once in college, I relaxed and read more of what I wanted by picking classes whose syllabi I liked. Except for an abiding affection for Outlander and a brief flirtation with Suzanne Brockmann (blame that one on my sister), I haven't really changed my reading habits all that much in 25+ years. I'm not surprised, in that I'm the type of person who could eat the same thing every day for months without desiring change. In grad school I ate a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel with sliced banana and peanut butter every school day for 6-9 months. Sad, huh? Oh, well. Mark did get me to read some graphic novels, to my surprised appreciation. That's a step outside the comfort zone. I'm not a total fuddy duddy. :-)
#249 Thank you, qebo!! It's playing at 7 pm Pacific Time tomorrow night. I have put it on my calendar with an alarm.
Yea! I finally finished The Towers of Trebizond. It took me a loonnnggggg time.
251DieFledermaus
Good review of The Garden of Evening Mists. I've had it on the list for awhile since all the reviews around here have been positive and I do like 'unreliable narrator' books.
252msf59
Lisa- That is great review of The Garden of Evening Mists. I also recently read and loved it too. I have to find his first novel. Hope your weekend is going well.
253labfs39
#251 Thanks, DieF, it's one of those books that has something for everyone I think. So many levels and themes. And although I preferred to read it as though she were a reliable narrator, when thinking about memories, who is a reliable narrator?
#252 I agree, Mark, the hunt is on for his first book. Hope you are doing well. As soon as you start a new thread, and I have a hope of keeping up, I'll be over! :-)
Started reading Shavelings in Death Camps, and it is fascinating. I have read a lot of Holocaust memoirs, but almost all from the Jewish perspective and a few by POWs. This one is written by a young, sensitive, small-town Polish priest who is arrested, along with every Catholic leader in the district, when the Germans invade Poland, and spends the rest of the world documenting whom he saw in which camp and their fates. It is an attempt to keep a record for posterity, so we learn less about Malak than we might wish, but his account was used after the war to help the courts determine compensation for priests. Very moving despite its documentary nature.
We watched Julie and Julia with my daughter, and she fell completely in love with Julia. She put Mastering the Art of French Cooking on her wishlist. I am not a foodie and don't cook. Any recommendations for a good cookbook for a 9 year old cheesecake maker (with a raspberry sauce that is to die for)? Her current crop of cookbooks for kids is becoming passe, yet she isn't ready to debone a duck! Thanks for any suggestions.
#252 I agree, Mark, the hunt is on for his first book. Hope you are doing well. As soon as you start a new thread, and I have a hope of keeping up, I'll be over! :-)
Started reading Shavelings in Death Camps, and it is fascinating. I have read a lot of Holocaust memoirs, but almost all from the Jewish perspective and a few by POWs. This one is written by a young, sensitive, small-town Polish priest who is arrested, along with every Catholic leader in the district, when the Germans invade Poland, and spends the rest of the world documenting whom he saw in which camp and their fates. It is an attempt to keep a record for posterity, so we learn less about Malak than we might wish, but his account was used after the war to help the courts determine compensation for priests. Very moving despite its documentary nature.
We watched Julie and Julia with my daughter, and she fell completely in love with Julia. She put Mastering the Art of French Cooking on her wishlist. I am not a foodie and don't cook. Any recommendations for a good cookbook for a 9 year old cheesecake maker (with a raspberry sauce that is to die for)? Her current crop of cookbooks for kids is becoming passe, yet she isn't ready to debone a duck! Thanks for any suggestions.
254qebo
253: We watched Julie and Julia
I saw the movie when it was released, and again on TV recently. And I am neither a foodie nor a movieie. I bet Meryl Streep had a blast. I don't know about cookbooks, but an acquaintance has raved about Chop-Chop magazine.
I saw the movie when it was released, and again on TV recently. And I am neither a foodie nor a movieie. I bet Meryl Streep had a blast. I don't know about cookbooks, but an acquaintance has raved about Chop-Chop magazine.
255rebeccanyc
253 & 254. Loved Meryl/Julia, hated Julie!
256EBT1002
I got Mastering the Art of French Cooking for P after we watched "Julie and Julia" and she has enjoyed it (as have I). It may be a stretch for your daughter but she's pretty precocious, yes? P said that she has actually heard that the Betty Crocker cookbook is quite good and very accessible. I find this hard to believe, but in our house P is definitely the cook.
257labfs39
#254 Isn't Meryl Streep a fantastic actress? She has played such a variety of roles. I bet she had fun with both playing Julia Child and starring in Mamma Mia!
#255 Julie was a bit much, but didn't arouse much passion in me. What did you hate about her, Rebecca?
#256 Hmm, I was just checking out some of the other cookbooks that Child wrote and found that you can watch many of her television programs online. I bet my daughter would get a kick out of that.
#255 Julie was a bit much, but didn't arouse much passion in me. What did you hate about her, Rebecca?
#256 Hmm, I was just checking out some of the other cookbooks that Child wrote and found that you can watch many of her television programs online. I bet my daughter would get a kick out of that.
258labfs39
59. Meet Me at the Ark at Eight by Ulrich Hub (3.5*)
My 9 year old daughter and I read this short book in a few sittings and found it charming and funny. The author takes a perennial favorite story, Noah's ark, and turns it on its ear. Younger children might simple find the story fun. The two chosen penguins don't want to leave their young, irascible, yet endearing friend behind when they leave for the ark. So the two smuggle him aboard in a suitcase. The high jinx are wonderfully illustrated by Jörg Mühle. Discerning middle readers might pick up on more difficult questions, such as Why would God choose to punish even animals with the deluge? Why does the young penguin commit an evil act? Why is he forgiven? Can even God make mistakes? And there is an even subtler layer. The author has chosen to make the two penguins chosen to be saved on the ark male. Only through a careful watch of pronouns is this obvious. And when the two penguins disembark, there are indeed three of them, although through adoption not procreation. So whether the book is enjoyed as a witty children's story, a religious thought-provoker for middle readers, or a social commentary, I would recommend zipping through it for it's unique take on an old story.
Note: I read an uncorrected proof.
Edited to correct diacritics and touchstone.
259labfs39
Oh my! I just went and read the other reviews of this ER book. There are quite a few upset Christians that are tanking the book for being inappropriate for children based on theological issues, views on liberal marriage, and disrespect for Noah (who is portrayed as being a bit doddering in his old age). I encourage you to read them for a very different take on the book than mine, and maybe even a good laugh.
260avatiakh
I got The Way to Cook by Julia Child out from the library once and it looked like a pretty good starting out cookbook. Suggest you try looking through a few from the library first before you purchase any. I'd tend to go for a cookbook focusing just on baking, like The cake bible or something along those lines.
The Hub book sounds interesting given those reviews, I'll see if my library is getting it. Funnily enough I'm about to read Timothy Findlay's Not wanted on the voyage which is also based on the Noah story. Madeleine L'Engle's Many Waters is another Noah retelling though quite dark from memory and probably too old for your daughter.
The Hub book sounds interesting given those reviews, I'll see if my library is getting it. Funnily enough I'm about to read Timothy Findlay's Not wanted on the voyage which is also based on the Noah story. Madeleine L'Engle's Many Waters is another Noah retelling though quite dark from memory and probably too old for your daughter.
261labfs39
#260 Thanks, Kerry, for the suggestions. Using the library is a great idea. Yesterday she made white chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter ones with a hershey's kiss melted on top. They were good, but our cookbook was old, and when we substituted butter for shortening, things got rather flat in one case and puffy in the other. Is there a way to avoid shortening without these problems?
Not Wanted on the Voyage seems to be getting some similar responses to Meet at the Ark at Eight. I guess any time you mess with a classic, you can get flack. Someone suggested that Meet inspired such a response because it was an American audience reading a European book, and Europeans are much less uptight about these issues. I can see that. Do you think Canadian books tend to be edgy in that way for Americans?
Not Wanted on the Voyage seems to be getting some similar responses to Meet at the Ark at Eight. I guess any time you mess with a classic, you can get flack. Someone suggested that Meet inspired such a response because it was an American audience reading a European book, and Europeans are much less uptight about these issues. I can see that. Do you think Canadian books tend to be edgy in that way for Americans?
262rebeccanyc
#257 "Hate" may be too strong a word, but I felt the producer/director spent all that time on Julie, who was SO much less interesting than Julia, to bring in the younger audience. I mean, I could have done with 75% Julia, 25% Julie. But it's been several years since I saw it -- I actually saw it in a movie theater when it first came out because an elderly relative wanted me to go see it with her.
263avatiakh
Lisa - I'm not sure about the butter/shortening thing but see links below (bit of a science lesson!). I use food blogs quite a lot, there are lots of blogs that discuss a recipe at length and include lots of photos which can be useful when you want to know whether a recipe or cookbook is worth trying. I pin interesting recipes to my pinterest board.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/528743-what-happens-if-you-substitute-butter-f...
http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/01/shortening-substitute.html
Can't answer your question about Canadian vs American audiences but I know that lots of UK/Australian & NZ book titles are changed as the US publishers consider their market needs more literal titles. Agree about the European attitude being less uptight, you just have to look to the film industry.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/528743-what-happens-if-you-substitute-butter-f...
http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/01/shortening-substitute.html
Can't answer your question about Canadian vs American audiences but I know that lots of UK/Australian & NZ book titles are changed as the US publishers consider their market needs more literal titles. Agree about the European attitude being less uptight, you just have to look to the film industry.
264detailmuse
Lisa, Cooking Light magazine has a column by 11-year-old Matisse Reid, who prepares a dish each month and tests it on her brothers or friends. I’m amazed at her sophistication! Check out her past columns or her own blog. The magazine’s website also noted a couple other kid food blogs.
265labfs39
This cover is from a book in the Hot Reviewers list:
Not to beat a dead horse, but how is it different from:
Ok. Enough bottoms, I promise.
Not to beat a dead horse, but how is it different from:
Ok. Enough bottoms, I promise.
266labfs39
#262 I agree, Rebecca. More Julia! I am hoping to what some of her old TV shows off PBS with K. How fun to see the movie with an elderly person, who I am assuming had seen much of Julia?
#263 Thanks for the links, Kerry. I learned that there is such a thing as non-hydrogenated shortening, which would appease my health issues with shortening, but make better cookies. Now if I can find it!
#263 Wow, MJ! Matisse is quite the chef. I love her ratings from her siblings. I like Katie is going to like these sites.
#263 Thanks for the links, Kerry. I learned that there is such a thing as non-hydrogenated shortening, which would appease my health issues with shortening, but make better cookies. Now if I can find it!
#263 Wow, MJ! Matisse is quite the chef. I love her ratings from her siblings. I like Katie is going to like these sites.
267labfs39
Help! I just continued on a new thread without changing the title to pt. 4. Is there a way to fix? Or just deleted that thread? I'm searching help to no avail.
268qebo
267: I think you get 5? 10? minutes to change the title, but I'm not sure how (editing the first post maybe?). Probably too late now. You could ask Jeremy / jbd1.
269labfs39
Thanks, qebo! Jeremy fixed it. That would have bothered my for the rest of the year. Not that long, I guess, but still...
270detailmuse
>266 labfs39: Lisa, maybe Katie could email Matisse (via her mother? there's an email address on her CaringBridge page) to ask about her favorite cookbooks.
Denne tråd er fortsat i labfs39: a year in the life of Lisa's reading (2012) - pt.4.
