Nickelini's 2009 Reading

SnakClub Read 2009

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Nickelini's 2009 Reading

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1Nickelini
jan 3, 2009, 7:54 pm

1. Fruit: a Novel About a Boy and His Nipples, Brian Francis

Contemporary literature, 2004

When I'm out in public and I see a group of young teenage boys, I try my best to avoid them or ignore them. If I don't, I'll be subjected to fart humour, really dumb attempts at jokes, and foul language (apologies to any articulate, polite young teen boys for making this stereotype, but it's based on my experience). Despite this aversion, I enjoyed reading Fruit, a novel that takes you deep into the mind of a thirteen year old boy. Peter lives in 1980s Sarnia, Ontario, and is friendless, obese and gay. The story is very funny in parts, amusing throughout, and a little sad too. The author, Brian Francis, absolutely nails the details of Canadian life, so if you're looking for a novel that captures typical middle class Canadian culture, this is a good one. Rating: 4/5 stars.

Why I read this now: 1. It's one of the five contenders for the upcoming CBC Canada Reads competition, and 2. the library had it available to read from their website without me having to leave the comfort of home, so I read this off the laptop (which is a nice lap-warmer on a winter's evening). I'm not sure WHAT exactly Canada Reads is supposed to be. Does it mean that everyone in Canada should read these books, or at least the winner? If so, I'm not sure if this is the right book for the competition. For one thing, humour is subjective, so while many people will find it hilarious, I know a bunch of people who wouldn't. Also, there is some pretty bad language and very personal and lewd details, so I know some people out there would find this book offensive. Definitely not a book for every reader.

2avaland
jan 4, 2009, 6:27 pm

Perhaps Canada Reads is supposed to provide a common reading experience for everyone - while promoting Canadian authors. Still, I think you are right, it doesn't sound like a book that would be a good choice. What are the other four books?

3Nickelini
jan 4, 2009, 7:41 pm

It is indeed . . . here is the blurb I found on the website:

"Canada Reads is a week-long show hosted by Jian Ghomeshi. In this annual literary bun-fight, five celebrity panelists are asked to defend their favourite Canadian work of fiction. Day by day, books are voted off the list, until one panelist triumphs with the book for Canada to read this year."

For more info, go to: Canada Reads Website

The other four books are:

The Book of Negroes, Lawrence Hill
The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant, Michel Tremblay
Mercy Among the Children, David Adams Richards
The Outlander, Gil Adamson (which FINALLY has a touchstone!).

The Book of Negroes and Fruit are published under different names in the US, but I don't know what they are. The Fat Woman Next Door was originally published in French. Mercy Among the Children, which I own, is apparently very depressing. And I know you've read The Outlander, Lois.

4avaland
jan 4, 2009, 9:01 pm

>3 Nickelini: Yes, I have The Book of Negroes which is published in the US as Someone Knows My Name on my amazon wishlist to remind me about it:-) The Outlander is certainly something that most could read and enjoy.

5cocoafiend
jan 4, 2009, 10:24 pm

Hmm. Did you ever see the Thom Fitzgerald film The Hanging Garden? - it was also a Canadian tale of a gay, obese, largely friendless youth. It's an excellent film, so if you haven't seen it, I do recommend it...

6amandameale
jan 5, 2009, 8:02 am

I have The Outlander and this is a BIG book year for me. Looking forward to it.

7Nickelini
jan 5, 2009, 11:36 am

Cocoa-- that sounds like a movie I can get at the uni library. I'll look out for it, thanks.

Amanda -- are you talking about the Gil Adamson The Outlander? Just wondering 'cause I wouldn't call it a big book, and your link goes to Diana Galaldon. (I don't know what the publisher was thinking to put this book out there with the same title as a popular series.)

8amandameale
jan 6, 2009, 7:52 am

Yes Joyce. I've just had another look at my copy - it's a big hardback but only c.350 pages. Thanks for that!

9Nickelini
jan 6, 2009, 2:21 pm

2. Helen of Troy, Margaret George

Historical fiction, 2006.

There are many different narratives of Helen of Troy, and there are many different Helens. Here Margaret George follows a fairly conservative version of the story. In this fictionalized "autobiography," she weaves together many tidbits of Helen found in Ancient writing to create a coherent story; tidbits not just from Homer, but other classical sources too. And as with her other novels, George puts a tremendous effort into research. In this book she uses a slightly formal tone of voice to add authenticity to the epic story. While I understand why the author made this choice, unfortunately, this tone keeps the characters at a distance. Some readers have complained about her including the Greek gods of mythology, but I vehemently disagree: they are integral to the story. Without them, the human character's motivation would collapse, and further, the gods were part of the Ancient versions of these stories and so firmly belong there.

Although it is long (over 638 pages), this book is not challenging. It's more of a vacation read that you can get swept up in for a few days. Or, if you're not in the mood for the classical Helen myths, this is a decent mainstream version. Of all the Helens, my favourites are still two from Euripides: Helen, where she is hidden in Egypt, and The Trojan Women, where she runs verbal circles around the other characters.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Why I read this now: Last term I took a course on women in Greek mythology, and most of the myths we studied centred on Helen and the Trojan War. After all the classical and academic texts, I thought it would be an interesting contrast and a nice treat to read a popularized version over the winter break.

10nohrt4me
jan 6, 2009, 2:47 pm

Really like your reviews, Nickelini. I think I'm maxed out on hx fx for this year, but I may look for a used copy of "Helen of Troy" for a summer read.

11Nickelini
jan 9, 2009, 5:18 pm

3. Larry's Party, Carol Shields

Contemporary fiction, 1997

Carol Shields was truly a master at writing about ordinary people. In this novel, she structures Larry's story in a maze-like pattern, mostly moving forward, but occasionally doubling-back. The story ends in the centre of the maze, which is supposed to be a spot of brief and delightful respite. In the book, this is represented by a dinner party Larry throws. Larry himself is a designer of garden mazes, and the details about his job--and his passion--are the most interesting in the novel. As this is a story about our passage through life, Shields also includes a theme about body changes brought on by age--I found these parts to be boring (and I admit, that may be because I avoid dwelling too much on thoughts of my own aging). I thought there were too many details of Larry's body, especially about his penis: can you say "too much information"? Overall though, I rather enjoyed it. I bought this book years ago when I was reading through Carol Shields oeuvre, but I never got to this one after a few friends gave it a "meh" rating. And then several LTers absolutely hated it. So I let it slip off my radar. But not everyone sees the same things in books, and so I think it was better than "meh."

Rating: 4/5 stars

Why I read this now: Mainly I read this because it's an Orange book, and there is a Orange group read going on this month. I own a few other Orange books, but this one also counts toward my 999 categories for Prize Winner and Oldest Books in My Closet (and Canadian Lit and Women Writers).

12sussabmax
jan 9, 2009, 5:39 pm

I loved Larry's Party, and I am surprised to hear that many people hated it! I think Carol Shields is an absolute genius. I am not reading it now for Orange January, because it wasn't that long ago that I read it, but I did read another Shields--Unless. Glad to hear that you liked this one.

13Nickelini
jan 13, 2009, 12:38 pm

4. The General, CS Forester

British literature, 1936

As you can tell from the title, this is a war novel, in this case WWI. My prof promised that this read like an adventure story, but I am happy to say that I disagree. Thankfully, the descriptions of battles (which I always find incredibly boring) were kept to a minimum. What was more prevalent, and what I really enjoyed about this book, was how Forester showed the decay that was rampant throughout the English aristocracy of the period. This novel is a very interesting look at the British class system.

I have a bit of trouble rating this book because it's not something I would ever read on my own--I just don't have a military bone in my body. And I probably won't reread it. But on the other hand, the writing is solid, it was an enjoyable and interesting read, the protagonist isn't a clear hero (in fact, by the end I didn't like him at all), and Forester has some interesting things to say. I think I'll give it 4/5 stars.

Why I read this now: Assigned novel for the early 20th century British literature class I'm taking.

14Nickelini
jan 13, 2009, 12:39 pm

5. after the quake*, by Haruki Murakami

Japanese literature, 2002

This is a collection of six short stories that all take place in Japan in the month after the 1995 Kobe earthquake. None of the characters are directly involved in the quake, but all have some tie to Kobe. The stories are all rather different from each other, but they all have a main character involved in an unusual relationship, and something happens to shake up their world view. The quakes in this book are all internal.

My favourite story is the most unusual one: "Super-frog Saves Tokyo," and from what I understand, it is the most typical Murakami of the bunch. If that's true, I'll definitely read more of his work in the future.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

Why I read this now: There's a Japanese literature group reading going on this month at the Reading Globally group, and I am embarrassed to realize that I've never read a Japanese author before (not that I can remember anyway). With my schedule, I had to read something short, and I thought I might as well fit in something from the 1001 list, and something available at the library (since I didn't own any Japanese books). This book met all the criteria.

* apparently Murakami wants the title in all lowercase. Whatever.

15amandameale
jan 15, 2009, 8:00 pm

Enjoying your reviews.

16Nickelini
jan 15, 2009, 8:21 pm

thanks, Amanda! By the way, my flight to Australia is delayed . . . we're fogged in. I'll be there as soon as I can.

17avaland
jan 16, 2009, 11:33 am

>16 Nickelini: yeah, and they're de-icing my plane. . .

18cocoafiend
jan 19, 2009, 4:25 pm

Nickelini, Have never read Murakami before but I've been thinking about starting with a collection of stories, so thanks for the thoughtful review!

19bobmcconnaughey
jan 19, 2009, 4:48 pm

After the Quake is very good, but a bit atypical (if it's fair to describe any give book by Murakami w/ that adjective.) I happen to think he's at his very best in his novels Kafka on the Shore and the Wind-up Bird Chronicles being, perhaps, maybe, possibly....my favorites.. BUT there's a largish set of his short stories translated into English in the Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman collection, which, iirc, includes the short story that evolved into Wind-up Bird Chronicles. 20+ stories, so you get a LOT of Murakami for your money/time.

20cocoafiend
jan 19, 2009, 4:51 pm

Thanks, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is the very book I had added to my short stories TBR category!

21Nickelini
jan 29, 2009, 1:19 pm

6. Parliament of Fowls, The Book of the Duchess, and Legend of Good Women, Geoffrey Chaucer

Middle English Literature, 14th century

These are three long poems that are available as small books: I'm counting the three as one book. I read them in the original Middle English, and then I cheated and read Modern English translations too so I can make sure I really understood what I read. All three involve that obtuse narrator, "Geoffrey," his books, his dreams, and a whole handful of other Chaucerian conventions. Pretty fun, but challenging. I have a wonderful prof, otherwise I'd be fairly lost reading this stuff.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

Why I'm Reading This Now: Assigned reading for the Chaucer course I have to take for my English lit degree.

22Nickelini
jan 29, 2009, 1:20 pm

7. Return of the Soldier, Rebecca West

British Literature, 1918

This is the story of three English women and their love for one soldier. It is one of the first, if not the first, novel about shell shock in WWI.

Return of the Soldier is perhaps the most perfect book I've ever read. While I consider myself lucky to be studying it at university right now, you do not need to take a class on this book to love it. You can enjoy it just reading it for the story, or you can pull it apart and do a deep literary reading--it works beautifully on both levels. West uses beautiful, evocative language, and creates intriguing characters, and an interesting story. What more could a reader want? Of the 30 students in my class, no one admitted to hating the book, and only one gave it a so-so review.

Rating: If you haven't guessed, 5 out of 5 stars.

Why I read this now: Assigned novel for my early 20th century British literature class. Bonus: it's also on the 1001 list.

23Nickelini
jan 29, 2009, 1:21 pm

8. Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, Terry Jones

Non-fiction, 2004

Some people have the most spectacular careers. Terry Jones has had two: star of Monty Python's Flying Circus and medieval scholar. Terry Jones' Medieval Lives is the second book of his I've had the pleasure to read (The other was the physically beautiful Who Murdered Chaucer?). This is what I think they call "popular history," in that it's written to entertain a lay audience and not for academic study. That does not mean it's simplistic, and nor is it written for a beginner of medieval history. This is good stuff, lots of interesting--occasionally funny--information presented in a readable format. I particularly liked his medieval myth-busting of silly and erroneous things we've been led to believe about people in the middle ages (things like they believed the world was flat.)

I didn't realize it when I picked it up, but the book is a companion to a BBC series of the same name. There are a few clips on YouTube, and they look even better than the book. I will definitely order the series on DVD.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Why I read this now: I actually forgot that I had this book until I re-sorted Mnt TBR over Christmas break. I thought it would be appropriate to read now, as I'm studying Chaucer. Each chapter discusses a different sort of person from the period, for example Knight, Damsel, Peasant, and I saw a parallel with the various pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales.

24Nickelini
Redigeret: jan 29, 2009, 1:23 pm

9. A Fine Brush on Ivory: an appreciation of Jane Austen, Richard Jenkyns

Non-fiction, 2004

The title of this book is very accurate: it's an appreciation of Jane Austen. This piece reads like a literary critique, but the author has very little negative to say about Austen's writing. Okay, so rather than reading it as straight literary criticism--the positive and the negative--I looked at it as a study of the hows and whys of her authorial decisions. This is a great book for those readers with an intimate knowledge of Austen's novels; it probably wouldn't make much sense to a Jane-neophyte.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Why I read this now: Well, Orangeena made it sound interesting, and then I saw it at the library, and they had such a shiny-new unread copy, and I recently read Sense and Sensibility and kept getting distracted by the writing, and . . . I really didn't have time for this one, but I squeezed it in anyway.

25Kirconnell
jan 29, 2009, 1:26 pm

Hi Nick. I bought Who Murdered Chaucer from a Barnes and Noble remainder table (actually I passed it up the first time and then returned for it), but I didn't know about Medieval Lives. I will look for it now. Thanks for the heads up. You are right though the Chaucer book is fabulously beautiful.

26lauralkeet
jan 29, 2009, 8:52 pm

Glad you liked Return of the Soldier. It is so little known and underrated!

27tiffin
jan 29, 2009, 9:35 pm

Really enjoying your thread, your reads and comments.

28aluvalibri
jan 30, 2009, 8:19 am

Nickelini, your reviews are very informative and quite enjoyable. Thanks!

29fannyprice
jan 31, 2009, 11:21 am

Nickelini, you're always reading such interesting things. I've had Rebecca West on my list of "to meet" authors for a while - I'm adding both The Return of the Soldier and the Terry Jones book to my wishlist!

30Nickelini
feb 5, 2009, 11:56 am

11. Chaucer, Peter Ackroyd

Biography, 2004

Chaucer really had the most amazing life beyond his position as the Father of English Literature; he was a Renaissance Man before the renaissance. Just some of the events he was part of, or witnessed first hand: the Black Death of 1348 (and four subsequent outbreaks), the Hundred Years' War, the Great Schism (he was in Italy when it occurred), the Peasant's Revolt, and the usurpation of Richard II by Henry Bolingbroke. Whew!

12. Jacob's Room, Virginia Woolf

British literature (modernist), 1922

Beautiful language and imagery, but I am having trouble assembling these fragments into a whole. Will write more after I've taken my seminars on this one.

Why I read this now: Assigned reading for my 20th century British literature class; I took the class because I wanted to study Woolf.

31Nickelini
feb 19, 2009, 2:23 pm

13. Speaking of Sex: are you ready to answer the questions your kids will ask?, Meg Hickling

Parenting, 1996

Just as the subtitle of the updated edition says: what your children need to know and when they need to know it. Practical, logical information presented in a reader-friendly format. A parent can't read this too soon. I read the original edition when my daughter was a toddler, and now again as she's in puberty. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Why I Read This Now: I read this for the first time when my daughter was about 12 months old, she's now 12 years old, so I thought it was time for a refresher.

32Nickelini
feb 19, 2009, 2:23 pm

14. The Great War and Modern Memory, Paul Fussell

Literary criticism, 1975

Why I read this now: Somewhere along the line I had heard that this was an essential must-read for anyone interested in World War I, so I added it to my TBR list. I ran across it at the library and thought now was the time to read it, as I'm studying WWI British literature. I actually thought it was a history book, not lit crit and didn't quite know what I was getting.

Comments: In this book, Fussell talks about how the WWI British soldiers were influenced by British literature, and in turn, how WWI influenced British literature after the war (up to the date of his writing, in fact). Lots of detailed analysis of WWI poetry and the writers of the era. Many sections of this book were fascinating; other sections, where he discusses texts I haven't read, were utterly meaningless.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

33Nickelini
Redigeret: feb 19, 2009, 3:14 pm

12. Jacob's Room, Virginia Woolf, part 2

Back at post 30 I promised to come back and post after my lectures when I had more thoughts. I still have one more lecture to go, but at this point I can confidently say that this is an extremely complex novel. As my prof likes to say "you can not read this book until you've read the book" (in other words, you need to read it twice to begin to understand it). This book is exhausting in its layers of meaning and symbolism. I think if you just reads it as a regular novel, you really won't get much of anything out of it other than some nice language and imagery. As Anne Berke says in her ultra-condensed version of the Collected Works of Virginia Woolf: "Life is beautiful and tragic. Let's put flowers in a vase." If you don't dissect Jacob's Room, that's all you'll get out of it.

If you're interested, I've posted some of my class notes over at the Virginia Woolf Author Theme Read Group, here

34kiwidoc
feb 19, 2009, 4:34 pm

Nickelini - thanks for the latest books. I am putting the Ackroyd, the Woolf and the Fussell book on my TBR pile.

35wandering_star
feb 19, 2009, 5:10 pm

Me too on the Fussell!

36fannyprice
feb 21, 2009, 9:45 am

>32 Nickelini:, The Great War and Modern Memory is on my TBR list, Nickelini. I thought it would be a mix of history and lit crit. Obviously one can't read every piece of WW1 fiction or poetry, but I'm sensing that you would recommend that one get a little more exposure to the genre before trying to read this, so that it is more meaningful?

37marise
feb 21, 2009, 1:04 pm

My husband read The Boys' Crusade by Paul Fussell and thought it very good. I will look for The Great War and Modern Memory as he has a bday soon!

38Nickelini
feb 21, 2009, 4:04 pm

Fanny, yes Great War and Modern Memory is definitely a mix of lit crit and history, but weighs in more on the lit crit side. It was very interesting when I was familiar with the writers and texts. For example he has a lengthy section on Goodbye to All That, which I studied a few years ago, and I found that really interesting. Had I never read Goodbye to All That, it wouldn't have meant much. Hope that helps.

39Nickelini
Redigeret: mar 12, 2009, 5:08 pm

15. Vile Bodies, Evelyn Waugh

British literature, 1930

Why I read this now: Assigned reading for my British Lit class.

Comments: I definitely liked this book. It was a fairly quick and for the most part pleasant read, and it sort of reminds me of a Nancy Mitford book I read in '07, and also of those 1930s movies with the madcap couples and their butler. But I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I will post more when I've mulled it over for a while. I'll be back.

40Nickelini
Redigeret: mar 12, 2009, 5:08 pm

16. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

British literature, 1861.

I always find it difficult to comment on classic books--what is there left to say? Yes, I enjoyed this very much, thought it was well-done, etc. Unfortunately, I had to fit this 500+ page novel in between all my school reading, so I didn't give it the attention it deserved (in other words, don't quiz me on it!).

I did, however, find something interesting written about Great Expectations. Browsing at the library, I tripped across Dickens's Great Expectations (no touchstone), a 2002 scholarly work, by Jerome Meckier. His theory is that Dickens wrote Great Expectations to "subvert" the Victorian era's "Cinderella Complex." Apparently GE is his response to rival novels that he thought were fairytales--books such as Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, The Woman in White, and most emphatically, Jane Eyre. Meckier says Dickens wrote GE to "darken characters, themes and situations he found unrealistic." He thought the Victorians had a "dangerous attitude" of "unqualified ascent" (aka Cinderella complex) that he wanted to comment on with this novel. I found the chapter comparing GE to Jane Eyre (and the characters Pip and Jane) very interesting. He drew many complex parallels between the two novels, and I found his argument plausible. I skimmed over the chapter comparing GE and Wuthering Heights, but I didn't find it very convincing. Anyway, I found that looking at GE this way made the novel richer and more interesting.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

Why I Read This Now: It was my book club read for February. Also, I have a personal goal to read one Dickens novel a year until I've read the six or seven I'm interested in. Bonus: it's on the 1001 list.

After finishing GE, I read:

17. A Critical Commentary on Dickens's 'Great Expectations (no touchstone), by John Barnes.

Literary Criticism, 1966.

Short, but interesting, criticism on the Dickens novel. Excellent chapter on irony.

41Nickelini
Redigeret: mar 27, 2009, 3:59 pm

15. Vile Bodies, Evelyn Waugh
Also, book # 20 (reread)

Back in post 39 I promised to come back with more comments about this book, so here I am.

This is another one of those novels that can be read on multiple levels. You can read it purely for enjoyment, and follow the escapades of a bunch of madcap party animals in Roaring 20s London. Even at this level though, there is a biting undercurrent, so you know there's something else more serious going on. Another reading is a look at the "lost generation" that reached adulthood in the interwar years. Lots of bitter social commentary at that level. Either way, I highly recommend it.

This was my first Waugh, and it was quite different from what I expected. I hope to read more of him soon. Brideshead Revisited, which I own, and Handful of Dust are the next two on my list.

For those of you who enjoyed Vile Bodies too, I have to point out one of the LT reviews (by SMJMorton): "Too, too delight-making." That's just too, too laugh-making.

42dchaikin
mar 16, 2009, 12:17 pm

Nickelini - Interesting thoughts on 'Great Expectations' and the Critical Commentary. I haven't read Waugh, although for a few years I lived just off the street in Houston that was apparently named after him :).

43Nickelini
mar 31, 2009, 4:43 pm

21. The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer

Middle English, 14th century

Why I read this now: assigned reading for English 306: Chaucer

Rating: 5/5 stars

Comments: Reading the Canterbury Tales is like playing with one of those stacking Russian dolls; by that I mean there are layers and layers of complexity. Figuring out the Middle English was the easiest of the challenges. I've studied Chaucer in two previous university classes, so wasn't expecting it to be such a challenge--but the more complex and challenging I found the material, the more interesting and fun I found it. (example of the complexity, below)

The Canterbury Tales are all about social commentary, and so the more I learned about 14th century society, the more I got out of the Tales. Also, Chaucer never reveals his cards, so it's fun to try and figure out what side of the issues he favours. We'll never know, of course, but that doesn't stop me from trying to solve the mysteries in the text.

Even more interesting than the Tales themselves is the frame around the Tales. The real story is in the reactions of the pilgrims as they ride along to Canterbury. The most fascinating character for me was the Prioress, both in the General Prologue and also in her own Prologue and Tale.

Okay, as promised, here is just one example of the complexity I was talking about:

Thise cookes, how they stampe and streyne
and grynde
And turnen substaunce into accident
To fulfillen al they likerous talent!
(Pardoner's Tale, 538-540)

First you have to translate the language, and then you have to figure out what that combination of words says (these two acts are not the same thing). Okay, so you think you've got it. But do you also see that this is a comment on transubstantiation, which was a major doctrinal issue of the day? And can you further see that that alludes to a 12th century commentary written by a bishop about Aristotle? And that this whole thing may be a clue to Chaucer's views on Lollardy? But, being Chaucer, the "joke" can be read two different ways--one in favour of Lollardy, one against. So it's really up to the reader to decide.

Ey' carumba! It made my brain ache! But it was lots of fun. So glad I took this in depth course--I'd never have been able to read at this level on my own. I can see how a scholar could spend an entire career reading this one text. Ah, in another life . . .

44Nickelini
Redigeret: mar 31, 2009, 4:57 pm

22. Parade's End, Ford Maddox Ford

British literature, 1928

Why I read this now: assigned reading for English 340: British literature to 1945.

Rating:1/5 stars (had it been between 100 and 200 pages, I may have given it a 3/5 stars. But it was definitely 600 pages too long.)

Comments: This is An Important Novel. Hey, it's #57 on the Modern Library's 100 Greatest Novels of the 20th Century list. Who am I to disparage it? Yet, I must. This book was ten and a half weeks of tedium for me, and I want those hours back. I want revenge on the author with the silly name. Unfortunately, I have no power, and besides, he's dead. So all I can do is mock his name.

Of all the other people I know who have read this, I seem to dislike it the most. So if you like long, complex modernist novels, you may like it. And I'll bet anything that if I read it again, I'd like it better the second time around (there is a lot of jumping between different people's consciousness and times that makes it confusing). But I shan't read this again--there are just too many books in this world that I'd rather try. As Ford Maddox Ford says repeatedly, there will be no more parades, and for me, there will be no more Parade's End.

45avaland
mar 31, 2009, 5:50 pm

>44 Nickelini: Loved this review. Really. It was a nice break in a brain-busting day of writing, thinking, writing, thinking (you know how this goes).

46tiffin
apr 2, 2009, 1:50 pm

the Wife of Bath had a "likerous nature" as well, so there is yet another dimension in that short segment you cited. You can see now why he was a spy for the English king, right? Our lad grasped subtleties.

47Nickelini
apr 3, 2009, 12:35 pm

24. The Frozen Thames, Helen Humphreys

Historical fiction, 2007

Rating: 4/5 stars

I just wrote a review of this, but I submitted it at the same time that LT crashed, and it was lost (sob). Let's see if I can recreate any of it . . .

Comments: "In its long history, the river Thames has frozen solid forty times. These are the stories of that frozen river . . . ". Helen Humphreys writes a vignette set each time the river froze, starting with the siege of Queen Matilda in 1142 and ending with the final freeze in 1895. It is a clever concept, enhanced by the beautiful colour illustrations throughout the small (5x6 inches) book. Its weakness is in the vignettes: most are interesting and entertaining, but some are flat. This is inherent in the structure, as it's a difficult task to tell many very short stories and write them so that they all elicit an emotional response. But as I said, most of the vignettes were good. I especially liked the poor woman in 1716 who was enslaved by poetry and the ice.

Why I read this now: after completing all my assigned school reading, I needed a treat that was 1. completely different, 2. short!, 3. not too mentally taxing. This worked out perfectly.

48kjellika
apr 12, 2009, 4:35 pm

Did you read Orlando by Virginia Woolf?
In that novel The Thames was REALLY frozen!!

49Nickelini
apr 12, 2009, 5:59 pm

Although I own it, I haven't read it yet. I have seen the movie though. The winter carnivals that they had looked so pretty.

50Nickelini
maj 1, 2009, 12:12 pm

25. Generation X, Douglas Coupland

Postmodern fiction, 1991

Rating: 3.75/5 stars (I would have rated it higher had I read it closer to its publication date).

Comments: I have read several things by Coupland, so was looking forward to reading this famous book that started the whole Gen X thing. At first I was a tad disappointed--it seemed like it had been done before, somewhat dated, yada, yada . . . but by a quarter of the way in I started really getting into it. Coupland is a talented writer and has a fabulous gift of social and cultural observation. This one suffers some typical first novel weaknesses, but overall was worth reading. I think he is one of those writers who's entire oeuvre I will eventually read.

Apropos of nothing, for some reason when I go to write "Douglas Coupland" my pen tries to write "Stewart Copeland." Who of course was the drummer for the Police, and has little to do with Douglas Coupland, as far as I know.

Why I read this now:This was the second book in my "now for something completely different" read-a-thon. I think I've now purged a term of high-modernism and Medieval texts out of my mind and I can get back to normal reading.

51Nickelini
maj 1, 2009, 12:13 pm

26. Veronika Decides to Die, Paulo Coelho

Comments: There probably isn't anything really wrong with this book--I think it's just not the book for me. I felt like I was being Taught a Lesson on the Deep Meaning of Life. This is my second, and probably last, Coelho.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.

Why I read this now: I wanted to read something short, and it fits my 1001 category for the 999 challenge.

52Nickelini
maj 1, 2009, 12:14 pm

27. The Lost Painting: the Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece, by Jonathan Harr

Non-fiction, audiobook

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Comments: I enjoyed listening to this immensely. For a non-fiction book about a non-animate object (Carravaggio's painting The Taking of Christ), it is a surprisingly character-driven book. Harr uses fiction techniques to tell a non-fiction story, and at times this is apparent and pretty strange (lots of details about a character's appearance and mental processes--much like an omniscient narrator). But it all adds up to a compelling story.

The reason I really liked this book though was because it appealed to several of my geeky selves: the historian, the archivist, the serious student, and the art lover. I'm always fascinated by the whole art world, and this book satisfies that interest. But it also goes into detail about how scholars use achieves, and how restorers repair paintings, and all that was what I really found fabulous. I've read well-reasoned one-star reviews of this book, but those readers--although obviously intelligent--were obviously not art/history/research geeks (or they were beyond the geek stage). But for me, it was right up my alley.

Why I read this now: I needed an audiobook, it was available from the library, it was on my TBR list, and I'm on my way to Italy, so it's topical.

53Nickelini
maj 1, 2009, 12:15 pm

28. Mutiny on the Bounty, John Boyne

Historical fiction, 2009

Comments: I hear that the story of the mutiny on the Bounty has been written and filmed many times, but I've never paid any attention to them. So I was surprised by how much of the story I had picked up though cultural references.

This version of the story is told from the point of view of a Captain Bligh's cabin boy. Turnip, as he is called by the crew, is an abused street kid who's given the choice between working on the ship or a year in gaol. He is a likable and charming character, and his dialogue is especially entertaining to read. At times his views were rather 21st century, but I didn't find the anachronisms jarring or annoying (as I often do in historical fiction). The writing flows and I found this to be a quick and enjoyable read. And the book had maps! I love books with maps! I recommend this book, especially as a beach or vacation read.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Why I read this now: I scooped this in the Early Reviewer program.

54Nickelini
Redigeret: maj 1, 2009, 12:16 pm

The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton

philosophy?, audio book

Comments: I started listening to this audio book this morning, and got about a quarter of the way through, but I'm going to quit it. The narrator has a very enjoyable reading voice, and de Botton certainly knows how to turn a phrase, but overall it is really boring. At times the author's anxieties are rather annoying. He really needs to convert to Buddhism, or start seeing a psychologist or something along those lines. I've read two other of de Botton's books, and they didn't impress me either. Yes, he's a good writer, and yes, he's intelligent, but alas, he bores me.

Rating:2/5 stars

55Nickelini
Redigeret: maj 1, 2009, 12:18 pm

29. Mister Pip, Lloyd Jones

2009, fiction

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Comments: I spent two months in Papua New Guinea, and my brother lived there for eight years, so I was excited to read this novel right from the time it was published. Perhaps I anticipated it too much, because now that I finally had time to read it, all I can say is that it was "okay."

I think what bothered me the most is that it didn't capture the feeling of Papua New Guinea at all--granted, it takes place on Bougainville, but I still expected to feel like I was visiting PNG. After all, the reason I like to read books set in other countries is to take an arm chair journey.

I also felt that one event in the book was overly harsh, and clashed with the tone of the rest of the book.

In coming up with my 3.5 rating, I took at least one star off for lack of PNG atmosphere, but added half a star for writing a book about PNG in the first place. Don't see many of those, and I'd like to read more.

My, that was a lot of words for a review that basically said "it was okay."

Why I read this now: it was the monthly book for my book club.

56Nickelini
Redigeret: maj 1, 2009, 12:19 pm

30. Travelers' Tales Tuscany: True Stories, James O'Reilly, editor

Travel literature, anthology, 2002

my rating: 2/5 stars

comments: The subtitle for this book is "true stories," to which I respond: "ha ha ha ha ha ha ha." That's a good one. With a few exceptions, these assorted tales are pure travel fantasy. I've been to Tuscany three times, and it's nothing like the dream world most of these authors conjure up. Do you want to read entertaining real life travel stories? Just go to posts #122-137 of my 75 Books Challenge thread. Now that's good travel writing!

why I read this now:I bought this shortly after my last trip to Tuscany, when I thought I might like to do some travel writing of my own (checking out what was out there and all), but then it sat in Mnt. TBR for years. I only pulled it out now because of my upcoming trip. I have now decided that travel literature is just not my genre.

57Nickelini
maj 1, 2009, 12:20 pm

31. 100 Ways America is Screwing Up the World, John Tirman

rating: 3/5

comments: I picked this up because I thought it was sort of a joke, especially when I opened it at random and saw #64 Mel Gibson. But it actually isn't a joke, and was quite interesting. Each point is 2-3 pages, and after reading one, I felt oddly compelled to go on to the next point, and then the next one. This book is worth reading, but mostly by the type of person who would never read it.

why I read this now: I have no idea. I really didn't need to read this at all, and I had more interesting books waiting for me, but yet I read it anyway.

58Cariola
maj 1, 2009, 1:19 pm

Classes are over, right? ;)

59Nickelini
maj 1, 2009, 2:27 pm

Gee, how can you tell? Can't fool you!

60avaland
maj 1, 2009, 5:23 pm

I enjoyed the Harr tale also and yes, it read like fiction. I would recommend a nonfiction book The Bounty :The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty by Caroline Alexander. It's fascinating detective work on her part and a very interesting story.

61rebeccanyc
maj 1, 2009, 5:59 pm

Caroline Alexander is a wonderful writer. I can also recommend her The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition.

62lauralkeet
maj 1, 2009, 7:00 pm

Wow, what a lot of new/recent reads there! You must be happy to be choosing your own stuff now vs. required reading.

63dchaikin
maj 2, 2009, 12:36 am

Just curious if you've read Harr's A Civil Action. I found it so interesting and so well done, Harr is kind of hardcore in the immersion school of journalism. But, when I read The Lost Painting my reaction was - he put all that work into that? Oh well, glad you enjoyed. I still look forward to another of his books.

64Nickelini
maj 2, 2009, 12:40 am

No, I haven't read A Civil Action (or even heard of it, until I read the Caravaggio book). I have found that people who love one book really dislike the other . . . it's as if they were written by two different authors. I'm a total art history, research and archive geek, so the Lost Painting appealed to me. I can see why others wouldn't like it.

65Nickelini
maj 2, 2009, 12:45 am

32. Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction, David Sheff

Memoir, 2008, Audio book

rating: 4/5

comments: This memoir is haunting. Sheff clearly has a deep and palpable love for his family that he is able to articulate beautifully. Most of the book focuses on his son Nic's descent into a horrendous crystal meth addiction and struggle for normality, but he frequently talks about his other family members and himself too. This makes the book more than a look at addiction, but also a exquisite study of a family. He has a gift of capturing the experiences that make us human . . . he sure made me feel the pain of having a drug addicted child.

This is perhaps one of those books that should be a must-read for all parents. It certainly shows the power of addictions and how they can take over people in a way you'd never expect. My only criticism is that at times he is overly wordy. Writing this book was obviously therapeutic for him, but I think his editor should have been a bit sterner. Minor complaint though, I highly recommend this.

His son, who was sober at the time of publication, has also written his side of the story. I must now read this, because Nic disappears for huge periods during this story, and you don't know what he's doing (other than being a stoned wreck). I love hearing two sides to a story, so Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines, by Nic Sheff, is now high on my TBR list.

why I read this now: I needed an audio book, and my sister-in-law (who has great taste in books) recommended this.

I posted this on my 75 Challenge thread a few minutes ago, and a LT friend responded: I'd been working on LT Local a while back and noticed both the father and son were doing book tours together. That would have been an interesting presentation to hear.

To which I responded: I'm so glad to hear that! . . . really, it almost brings tears to my eyes. David Sheff brought me right into his family, and I am completely wrapped up in their lives. To hear that the two of them are touring together means his son is not using, and that makes me so very happy for the whole family. Okay, your post actually has brought tears to my eyes. I guess Beautiful Boy was a pretty powerful book! Thanks for your post and letting me know they are okay.

66dchaikin
Redigeret: maj 2, 2009, 12:50 am

#64 - His techniques and style I thought were similar. But the subjects were dramatically different - and the...lessons? ... meanings? ...were in very different places.

67chrine
maj 3, 2009, 5:58 pm

Hola Nicholini

I did the same thing you are doing. I read Beautiful Boy then Tweak about a month later. I think the books work well as a pair to be read together, adding to each others story.

68arubabookwoman
maj 3, 2009, 6:14 pm

#66 I haven't read The Lost Painting, but like you I found A Civil Action a compelling read--in fact, a very suspenseful page-turner.

69Nickelini
maj 5, 2009, 12:30 pm

33. Where Angels Fear to Tread, EM Forster

Brit lit, 1905

comments: According to Wikipedia, the title comes from Alexander Pope, who wrote:"For fools rush in where angels fear to tread". The fools, in this novel, are the staid, class-conscious English characters, who are contrasted to the passionate Italians. Evidently, when they are confronted with life in Italy, Edwardian tourists lose all resolve.

I loved this book, but I'm not able to describe why. It many ways it's very similar to A Room with a View, although in many ways it's rather different. For one thing, there is more action, and quite a few plot twists (which I didn't expect). Maybe I just have a soft spot for those stuffy, confused Edwardians that Forster is so magnificent at capturing in his novels.

rating: 4.5/5 stars

why I read this now: It fits perfectly in my 999 category "Books to Read for My Trip to England and Italy," because, well, it's set in England and Italy. And as I said, I just love those Edwardians.

70Nickelini
maj 5, 2009, 12:30 pm

34. M is for Magic, Neil Gaiman

Short stories, 2007

comments: As with all anthologies, there are stories I like and those I don't care for. Overall, these were pretty quirky and interesting.

The thing that really confuses me about this book though is how it is marketed. I found it in the children's section, and on the back it says "ages 10 and up." I think that's much too young. For one thing, almost all the characters are adults, with adult concerns (I think there are only two children in the whole book, and both of them hang out in cemeteries). My 12 year old, who is an advanced reader, liked it but I had to explain a lot of it to her. I think they'll miss their audience if they keep this in the children's section--it's definitely more suitable for teens.

rating: 3/5 stars

why I read this now: My 12 year old asked me to read it.

71Nickelini
Redigeret: maj 14, 2009, 12:36 pm

35. Leonardo's Swans, Karen Essex

Historical fiction, 2006

rating: 3/5 stars

comments: This is a fictional treatment of the d'Este sisters, Beatrice and Isabella, and their relationship with Leonardo da Vinci. Although I can't think of anything really wrong with this book, I didn't especially like it. Unlike really egregious historical fiction, the historical details didn't scream "wrong!," and the characters didn't behave as if they were 21st century actors in period costume (yes, they were fiesty, but I've come across them in my studies, and Isabella in particular was one tough number). I appreciate that Essex decided to write about these women. I also really like that she included the supporting character of Cecilia Gallerini, who is one of my all time favourite Renaissance people (and subject of Leonardo's wonderful painting Lady with an Ermine). So in theory I should have loved this book. But I didn't. She just didn't make the story all that interesting.

Why I read this now: After reading nine books in a row by men, I thought I needed a book by a female author. I've wanted to read this since I studied these women and Leonardo a few years ago, and I thought that now--before my trip to Italy--would be as good a time as any.

72Nickelini
maj 14, 2009, 12:38 pm

36. Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam, Peter Goldsworthy

Australian literature, 1993

Comments: A poignant novella about a couple who lead a charmed life until their three-year old daughter is diagnosed with leukaemia. Their plan to handle the situation is both insane and rational, and also completely unique. I don't want to say more and give away the story for anyone who manages to track down this book. The writing is sparse, but Goldsworthy captures emotions beautifully. He had me completely drawn into the story immediately and held my attention to the end. I think he could have filled this story out to make a novel-length book. I will definitely look for more of this author's work (not sure how available he is here in Canada); based on this short piece, I think he deserves to be more widely read. By me, anyway! I expect this story will stay with me for quite a while.

rating: 4.5/5 stars

why I read this now: I've been wanting to read it since my Aussie friend gave it to me late last year, and yesterday I was looking for something short to read.

73Nickelini
maj 14, 2009, 12:39 pm

37. The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women, by Jessica Valenti

Women's studies, 2009

rating: 5/5 stars

comments: Wow, I don't really know how to talk about this book in a paragraph or so. I read it with a pencil in hand, and my copy is marked up throughout. I could quote huge passages, but I'll restrain myself. Basically, Valenti is trying to rupture our culture's dichotomy that a woman is either "pure" or a slut, or as she says, "it's time to teach our daughters that their ability to be good people depends on their being good people, not on whether or not they're sexually active."

The most interesting chapters were those on the fetishizing of youth and virginity, and how the porn industry and the purity advocates feed off each other. A little less interesting to me were the chapters on the draconian anti-women laws and practices in the US--though if I lived in the States I'd been incensed. So while this wasn't fully relevant to a non-US resident, there is enough cultural seepage that influences Canadians (and the rest of the western world), that I think this book was an important read. It certainly opened my eyes to some damaging attitudes, and helped me articulate some thoughts I hadn't quite found the words for. Highly recommended.

Why I read this now: My daughter attends a parochial school, and of course is getting (useless) abstinence-only education. So the job of sex education is fully on my shoulders. I'm trying to get as much information as possible so I can help her grow up with healthy attitudes about her body and sexuality.

74aluvalibri
maj 14, 2009, 12:55 pm

Joyce, as usual, your reviews are an utter pleasure to read. Thank you!
:-))

75Nickelini
maj 14, 2009, 1:18 pm

Why thank you! I try my best.

76avaland
maj 14, 2009, 3:49 pm

>73 Nickelini: Interesting review. We have a purity fetish? an obsession with virginity? This made me think of the feminist book The Madwoman in the Attic which talks about the dichotomy articulated in 19th century literature between the wild, unruly madwoman and the 'angel in the house'.

I don't remember how old your daughter is, but it seems there is a point where my daughters were far less influenced by me than their peers, but I think the most important thing is to maintain communication (which in my case, sometimes felt like too much information ...from them! oy!)

77Nickelini
maj 14, 2009, 4:07 pm

Apparently yes, evidenced by Brittney Spears and her sexy Catholic school girl dance. I think the author would say that not much has changed since the madwoman and the angel. My daughter is 12, and I'm trying to get in what I can before she starts high school next year :-)

But there's nothing like a good feminist text to get my blood pressure up!

78avaland
maj 14, 2009, 4:16 pm

>77 Nickelini: ah, 12 and high school so soon?

Apparently, I missed the dance (perhaps, I have missed a lot of things...)

79Nickelini
maj 14, 2009, 4:23 pm

Apparently, I missed the dance

Consider yourself blessed!

80fannyprice
maj 14, 2009, 5:55 pm

>73 Nickelini:, Joyce, Thanks for posting your thoughts on Jessica Valenti's new book. I read her first book, Full Frontal Feminism, which admittedly was not intended for me & was completely unimpressed with her writing. I really wanted to read this new one, though, so I am glad you were impressed with it! Another new addition to the Kindle.

(I accidentally posted this on both your threads! I am really stalking you....)

81Nickelini
maj 14, 2009, 6:56 pm

I've heard about Full Frontal Feminism, and I think I might get it for my daughter in a year or so. Doesn't sound like I'm the target audience either. in The Purity Myth, I liked her writing well enough, but I haven't read a lot of feminist theory, so perhaps I'm not as discerning as I could be. ??

82fannyprice
maj 15, 2009, 9:41 pm

>81 Nickelini:, No no no, I didn't mean to sound like a snob! My problem with Valenti's first book is that its written for teenage girls who don't necessarily self-identify as feminists and are concerned that feminism might not be cool. I'm 31, a loud & proud feminist, and I don't really give a sh*t if it's cool or not. Also, in Valenti's first book, I think she tried to self-consciously to appeal to "cool" teenagers, so a lot of times her analysis consisted of nothing more than...."well, that sucks!" or "Well, f*ck it!" I think that kind of colloquial language is fine for a blog & I very much enjoy the blog that Valenti writes, but in a book, I wanted something a little more articulate than that. Valenti is too smart to resort to that.

FWIW, I have very little exposure to feminist theory either. :)

83Nickelini
Redigeret: maj 15, 2009, 10:39 pm

Oh, I see where you're coming from . . . no worries about me thinking you're a snob. I know you well enough from other conversations, so that wasn't it . . . all I was trying to say is that I haven't read a lot of feminist theory, so someone who has read more may not get out of it the same things that I got. I would say The Purity Myth is articulate, and definitely well cited--lots of notes and background material. Yeah, I don't worry about being cool either, and I can't imagine NOT being a feminist. I'm sure I'll buy Full Frontal Feminism for my daughters, but I'm wondering if I'm being too pushy if I buy it for my nieces (14 & 17). They don't know they're feminists at this point--though of course they are.

84fannyprice
maj 15, 2009, 11:03 pm

>83 Nickelini:, "They don't know they're feminists at this point--though of course they are."

That's an idea Valenti emphasizes in Full Frontal Feminism - young women might shirk from the term "feminist" because it implies someone uptight, uncool, unfun, etc. but Valenti basically says "Do you think you should have the right to do the same job as any man? Do you think you should be paid the same amount for doing the same job as a man? - You're a feminist." And variations on the theme. Which I think is great. Dispelling the myths about feminists being harpies or shrews. All we want is what's fair! :)

85Nickelini
maj 15, 2009, 11:15 pm

Hmmm. Sounds like I should buy this book for my nieces then. Okay, check that one off the Christmas gift list. Valenti actually softens what I tend to say . . . for example:

my mother: "You're so lucky you have daughters, they can do their own laundry"

me: "oh, so if I had a son, his penis would get in the way?"

She never liked it when I used that logic on her, but I felt it needed saying.

:-)

86RidgewayGirl
maj 16, 2009, 3:53 pm

Ha! But also so true about an earlier generation. My One and Only was raised fully believing that elves came at night and tidied up -- or at least the evidence supports that theory. He's come a long way but still sometimes points out a mess or a chore as if it's resolution has nothing to do with him; he's just the messenger.

And in relation to raising a daughter--have you noticed how boy's footwear is designed for action and girl's shoes are made to make running, climbing or any other physical activity impossible? My eight-year-old daughter ended up choosing a pair of boy's sandals, since there were none fit for purpose in the girl's section.

87aluvalibri
maj 17, 2009, 11:59 am

I am really enjoying this thread. I have been a feminist forever, and so, luckily, is my only daughter.
Occasionally, I have been very angry with (stupid) women who felt they had to make clear that they are NOT feminists but, ultimately, I realized that it is their loss.
Even if my brother (who is now almost 64) was never required to do anything around the house, whereas my sister and I were, I was brought up thinking that women are superior to men in many ways.
I think it is excellent that you are passing your ideas to your 12 year old daughter, Joyce, it is never too early to begin!

88avaland
maj 19, 2009, 8:31 am

One of my most memorable moments with my daughters was when they participated with me in the March for Women's Lives in Washington D.C. in 2004. They were in their 20s ( Now they are in their late 20s). I still think they take a lot for granted and perhaps they don't realize some of the inequalities that still exist but they have developed a healthy sense of entitlement. Phylis Chesler wrote a small book, Letters to a Young Feminist a few years back. Her definition of young though might have been someone your age, fanny.

89dchaikin
maj 19, 2009, 9:54 am

Nickelini - thanks for the great review of The Purity Myth.

90Nickelini
jun 1, 2009, 2:17 pm

38. Late Nights on Air, Elizabeth Hay

Canadian literature, 2007

Comments: This novel is about a group of misfits that work at a small radio station in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and most of it is set against the golden twilight of the long days of northern summers. The first half of the book takes place in the town, and most of the second half takes place on a canoe trip through the deep wilderness.

I wasn't sure what I expected with this one--I've seen comments from "hated it" to "loved it." I'd say I liked it a lot. Elizabeth Hay does a superb job of capturing the feeling of the True North (I haven't been to Yellowknife, but I spent 6 summers in the Yukon and northern BC). The biggest flaw, I think, was her heavy-handed use of foreshadowing. But other than that, it was a good read.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Why I read this now: It was the May read for my book club, but it also fits my Prize Winner category on the 999 Challenge (it won the 2007 Giller Prize).

Recommended for: someone who wants to take an armchair journey to the True North.

91Nickelini
jun 1, 2009, 2:18 pm

39. The Shipping News, E. Annie Proulx

Contemporary lit, 1993

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Why I read this now: This is a borrowed book that I needed to return.

Comments: I liked this one, but I can't say exactly why. I guess I liked the evocative, inventive writing style mixed with quirky characters. The author did a wonderful job of creating a world that I certainly have never visited before!

Recommended for:someone who wants to read something completely different.

92Nickelini
jun 1, 2009, 2:20 pm

40. The Graduate, Charles Webb

Contemporary fiction, 1963

Comments: Reading this book, I realized that I have only seen the first third or so of the iconic Dustin Hoffman movie (including the hilarious swimming pool scene). I see now that the main character goes from being disillusioned and unmotivated to rather psychotic by the end of the book. He certainly was a less-than-charming individual, despite the impression Dustin Hoffman has left in my memory.

Why I read this now: I felt like a quick snappy read, and I need to return the book to its owner.

Recommended for: lovers of the movie version, anyone who is interested in a satirization of early 1960s US culture.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

93avaland
jun 1, 2009, 7:34 pm

I like your "Recommended for" feature, Joyce.

94Nickelini
jun 2, 2009, 1:21 am

Thanks! On my 75 book thread I went back to January and did one for each book, but I won't have time to do the same here. It's fun.

95Nickelini
Redigeret: jun 4, 2009, 1:09 pm

I was just researching the reading list of a course I'm probably going to take next fall (Studies in Canadian Literature since 1920: Prairie literature), and came across this review on Amazon.ca. It's just too good to not share, and I don't know where the LT thread is for "amusing reviews other people wrote," so I'm copying it here.

The book is As For Me and My House, by Sinclair Ross.

from Amazon.ca:
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Candidate for the most boring book ever written, Nov 28 2007
By Jol O'Lantern (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) -
This review is from: As for Me and My House (Mass Market Paperback)

"While I understand the views of other reviewers, and might concede that Ross' treatment is a vivid exploration of the bleakness of the life of the main protagonists, I would also suggest that in this novel, were "eliciting boredom" an Olympic sport, Ross could have bored for his country. Even the part of the book dealing with the husband's extramarital affair was tedious. Anyone with an interest in developing themes of boredom and indifference in their own writing would do well to read this novel."

I just love it.

96Cariola
jun 4, 2009, 1:40 pm

That's hilarious. Let's hope your course isn't that boring!

97RidgewayGirl
jun 7, 2009, 4:01 am

I would be interested in seeing your reading list for this course, or will you be posting the books as you read them?

98Nickelini
jun 7, 2009, 7:57 pm

I'll post my reading list after I register--I don't know for sure what I'm taking yet. Should be sometime in July.

99Nickelini
jun 14, 2009, 12:39 pm

41. Portrait of a Lady, Henry James

19th century literature, 1880

Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars

Comments: My introduction to Henry James was in my first university course, where his "short" story (or "nouvelle" as he calls it) The Beast in the Jungle was recommended reading. I found it completely impenetrable--could not get past the first sentence. Since then I've found James to be one of the most daunting authors to suggest himself to my TBR lists. I've since read The Turn of the Screw and Washington Square, and survived to talk about it, so when I saw this beautiful edition of A Portrait of a Lady at a used bookshop last year, I thought I'd buy it. I had no intention of reading it soon, or even in this decade. But this year, it leapt off the shelf and right on to the top of my TBR pile. Funny how books do that.

Anyway, I loved it. Yes, at times it was challenging, but I wouldn't call this one impenetrable. Henry James does like to use a lot of words, and even though it's only 608 pages, this novel is definitely a chunkster. And there is almost no physical action, but the way James writes psychological action is fascinating. So in my final assessment, I'd say I loved Portrait of a Lady more than I liked Middlemarch, but not quite as much as I loved Anna Karenina.

By the way, I've gone back to retry The Beast in the Jungle a few times, and I still can't get past the first sentence.

Why I read this now: Well, like I said, it leapt into my lap. I was defenseless against its charms. Also, it's set in Italy and England, where I'm traveling later this month.

Recommended for: Fans of lengthy and intense 19th century novels, readers who loved Middlemarch and Anna Karenina.

100Nickelini
jun 14, 2009, 12:39 pm

42. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris

Memoir, 2004

Why I read this now: it was my book club read; half our members are school teachers, and it's a super busy time for them, so we wanted something super light and fast to read.

Comments: I remember when this book was on the best seller lists. I thought it was a self-help book for parents that really was about dressing your family in corduroy and denim, and probably some other money-saving tips or something. Even when my book club announed this read, I had no idea that it wasn't. Well what a surprise for me then! Instead this is a memoir--likely embellished and exaggerated--spanning Sedaris's life. Mostly interesting, often truly laugh-out-loud funny. Not really what I was in the mood to read after Henry James, but it was okay.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (I may have rated it higher if I were in a different mood).

Recommended for: readers who want a quick, funny read about a somewhat odd family living in the late 20th century.

101Nickelini
jun 14, 2009, 12:40 pm

43. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson

Brit lit, 1985

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. It was difficult to rate this book. At times I thought it was a 3, but many times it crept towards a 5. So, in the end, I'll give it a 4.

Comments: This is Winterson's debut novel, and I've learned, it's highly autobiographical. What an early life she had! Adopted by a fundamentalist nutbar mother, and raised to be an overseas missionary, teenage Jeanette finds that she's gay, and her religious communty doesn't accept her. To stress that every story is fiction, Winterson intersperses her story with myths, fables and philosophy. This part really didn't work for me at all--I found them rather boring and interupting of the flow of the story. I think she needed to use a different way to show her point. Unfortunately, they take up about 1/6th of the novel, and all of it was too much for me. But the other 5/6th were great--and as a bonus, even laugh out loud funny in many parts. Overall, a great book, too bad about the fantasy tangents.

Why I Read This Now: I really needed to read something written by a woman, and this one has been calling from Mnt. TBR for a long time.

Recommended for: Hmmmm . . . I think this would make a fabulous book club read, but it's more literary than many of the typical book club choices. Okay, I recommend it for the book club that wants some less mainstream material.

102aluvalibri
jun 14, 2009, 1:39 pm

Joyce, have you read The Passion by Jeanette Winterson? Fairylike atmosphere set in a misty and dreamy Venice, I think you would like it.

103tiffin
jun 14, 2009, 2:36 pm

#95: that review cracked me up, Joyce.

Catching up from 50 on down...good reviews, good books, good discussions.

104RidgewayGirl
jun 15, 2009, 7:02 pm

Not to be nosy, but where in England and Italy are you going?

105Nickelini
jun 16, 2009, 1:41 am

First we're going to London for a few days (British Museum, National Gallery), and then we're renting a car and heading west for a few days to points unknown. Bath? Stonehenge? Cotswolds? And then we wrap up the week with a visit with an LT friend in the Oxford area (if it still suits her). Then we fly to Rome, where we'll spend a few days and then rent a car and go to visit family in Lucca. From there we'll do some side trips--I'd like to go to San Marino, but we'll see. It's my fourth trip to the area, so I'd like to see something different. We're in Italy for three weeks.

106RidgewayGirl
jun 16, 2009, 4:34 pm

Enjoy! I am a little bit jealous, but will just pretend that I'm going...

And Italian ice cream really is better than any other. If you have a car, I highly recommend picking a few small towns without much mention in the guidebooks. Sometimes they're boring, but often they're stunning, just somehow forgotten by the tourism industry. In England, see if there are any country fairs on while you're in the area as they are fantastic. I especially recommend the Uffington country fair, near Oxford and the Uffington white horse. Okay, enough! You've been before and are sure to have lists of your own.

107Nickelini
jun 18, 2009, 1:50 pm

44. The Robber Bride, Margaret Atwood

Canadian literature, 1993

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

Why I Read This Now: It's the group read over at the Atwoodians group starting this July, but I will be away from a computer for that month, so I started early.

Comments: A deeply enjoyable read. This is the story of three very different women who become friends after they meet at university, and how their lives are rocked by a fourth woman. One one hand it's very literary--tightly structured, overlapping themes and allusions, masterful use of language; but on the other hand it's a devilish, page-turning good read that makes it a superior example of chick lit (dare I say!). This is my sixth Atwood novel, and it's now my favourite. I will make more comments over at the Robber Bride thread at the Atwoodian group.

Recommended for:readers who want a rascally good read that doesn't compromise their intelligence.

108avaland
jun 23, 2009, 10:12 am

>107 Nickelini: I have to agree with you here, I found it, as you say, "deeply enjoyable" this time around and I love your use of the word 'devilish.'

109Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 12:42 pm

Wow, I haven't been over here for a while. Time to update my comments. . .

45. The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story, Horace Walpole

British literature, 1765

Rating: one-and-a-half out of five stars (maybe The Robber Bride is too tough an act to follow).

Why I Read This Now: wanted a short book, thought I was in the mood for it.

Comments: This is officially the first gothic novel, and I wanted to read it before I read Northanger Abbey later this year.
What I liked: Fabulous illustrations--the book was only $2, so I'm going to rip them out and use them in art projects. As for the story, the silliness was sort of amusing.
What I didn't like: I found the 18th century language (especially the dialogue) really stilted and difficult to follow. It's never been my favourite century. It was a long 92 pages.

Recommended for: people who like 18th century fiction.

110Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 12:43 pm

46. The Numerati, Stephen Baker

Non-fiction, 2008, Audiobook

Comments: The author looks at the "Numerati," those mathematicians who capture and analyze all the zillions of pieces of information about us. He discusses how our data is used in chapters titled Worker, Shopper, Voter, Blogger, Terrorist, Patient and Lover. There's nothing really wrong with this book--it was interesting enough to listen to, and easy to understand the science he describes, but my overall thought is "so?" Yeah, so your employer tracks where you go on the Internet . . . this is news? And do you think they're paying you to chat with your friends on Facebook? Some of it was pretty interesting though, like the stuff on analyzing voters and the chapters about bloggers and terrorists. At times Baker discusses something that is pretty neutral and uses language to make it seem bad . . . he makes some of those mathematicians out there sound downright nefarious. He did rectify this in the conclusion though, where he pointed out that the mathematicians live in the world with the rest of us, and are also part of the data pool.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Why I Read This Now: needed an audio book and this one was available to download from my library. It was okay to listen to while I ironed and cleaned out cupboards.

Recommended for: according to the review page here at LT, people who work in these fields find it interesting, although I would have thought the book to basic for them.

111Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 12:45 pm

47. Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines, Nic Sheff

Memoir, 2008

Why I Read This Now: This was a companion read to Beautiful Boy, by Nic's father, David Sheff. I was just too curious to know the other side of the story.

All I can say at this point is that Tweak was a worthwhile read in companion to Beautiful Boy, but the caliber of writing and story telling is nowhere near as good. I thought I'd be really interested in what Nic was off doing when he disappeared in Beautiful Boy, but it turns out that I find drug addicts are actually pretty boring, pathetic, unlikeable people. The parts where he was clean were actually more interesting. Also he is very star struck and a celebrity worshiper, which just does nothing for me at all.

Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommended for: Readers looking for a memoir by a drug addict--he seems pretty honest, and that works in the book's favour; readers who loved Beautiful Boy.

112Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 12:46 pm

48. The London Scene, Virginia Woolf

Essays, 1931

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Comments: This book is a collection of six short essays about diverse aspects of life in London. Not my favourite work of Woolf's there are moments of her expected brilliance.

Why I Read This Now:This was a reread for me, but I couldn't resist since I'll be in London in a few days. I will now endeavor to find the statues of politicians in front of the House of Commons that look like seals emerging out of the water.

Recommended for: Virginia Woolf fans and Anglophiles.

113Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 12:46 pm

49. Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro

1988, British literature, Booker Prize winner 1989

Rating 4 out of 5 stars

Comments This is they type of book that I like to refer to as "a quiet novel." Almost completely no action, but things happening all the same. It was better than okay, but didn't really grab me the way I expected it too. I saw the movie at the theatre when it came out and was mystified by the nothingness of the film. I hoped the book would clear out that feeling, but it didn't really. Still, I did like the book, and it has a certain appealing charm.

Why I read it now: I had wanted to read it for my Prize Winner category in the 999 Challenge, and during my trip to England was the perfect time for it. Parts of the book are set in Salisbury and Dorset, and I read those chapters while I was in those same places. I could really relate to what he said, especially the hedgerows so dense and high that they blocked the countryside.

Recommended for: lovers of literature. Not recommended for readers who need action in their stories.

114Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 12:47 pm

50. Enchanted April, Elizabeth von Arnim

1922, British literature

Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars

Comments Four very different English women escape their dreary lives in London for a month-long holiday at a villa on the sunny Italian coast.

This book is part of the Italian fantasy genre where English-speaking people go to Italy and are magically transformed. Other books of this ilk include Under the Tuscan Sun, A Thousand Days in Venice, Room with a View and Where Angels Fear to Tread. Having just returned from my fourth trip to Italy, I can confidently say that Italy (including Tuscany) is not magical, and the Italians are not simple/backwards/endlessly charming people who will Teach You Lessons. The air in Italy does not contain magical properties either. Nor does Italy transform one from an unhappy, drab Anglo-American into a wise, calm new person. Despite my obvious and deep annoyance at this genre, I still loved Enchanted April (and the two EM Forester books mentioned, though I'd rather eat steel wool than read de Blasi or Frances Mayes ever again), and I love Italy too.

This book was great fun, the characters were highly entertaining, and overall it was a very happy book (which is a rare thing, I think).

Why I Read This Now: I've been packing this book around for years--at least 12, possibly many more. I was never in the mood for it. But the perfect time finally came--having just left England, I too went to Italy, and was about 50 miles from where it is set.

Recommended for: English lit lovers who want to read an amusing, happy story.

115Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 12:49 pm

51. Short Stories in Italian, edited by Nick Roberts

1999, Italian literature

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

Comments: This is a book of nine short stories written by Italian authors. The original Italian is written on the left page and the English translation is on the right. I bought this book after two university terms of Italian classes which left me with a B+ ability to do Italian grammar exercises, some ability to read Italian, a vague ability to somewhat kind of understand what my husband's Italian family was talking about, and almost zero ability to speak to them. But right after I bought it, my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the book (and all thought of the Italian language) disappeared to the deep tunnels of Mnt. TBR.

Fast forward to packing for my trip to Italy--I can usually get lots of reading done because my husband spends hours speaking with family and friends and I can't join in. I came across this book, which I now thought I'd never get around to reading, and figured if I were ever to read it, this trip was the time. For some reason I thought it was a collection of didactic folktales, poorly written and poorly translated. WRONG. When I pulled it out in Italy, I saw that this was real literature, by talented Italian writers including Primo Levi and Italo Calvino.

What a delight! I loved six of the stories, and the other three were perfectly readable. The translations are done by different people, and vary from close translation to very loose. Sometimes I read the English first and then tried to read the Italian word for word. Other times I just glanced back at the Italian were I was interested in what the translation must be . . . but whenever I said to myself "chuck the Italian, just read the English," I always found myself going over to the Italian side anyway. I didn't bother to pack my Italiano-Inglese dictionario (BIG mistake), so I scoured this for help understanding what I was hearing every day.

Anyway, the stories in English were great, with or without trying to figure out the Italian. I'm SO glad I brought this book along. My favourite story was "A Naughty Schoolboy" (or "Un Cattivo Scolaro") by Stefano Benni, which is the story of a 12 year old's stand for independence, and a commentary of the silliness of the Italian school system all at the same time (the second part I got from the book's notes, because of course I know nothing about the Italian school system). The reason I liked this story is because I started out thinking "wow, really? That's how it works here?" and by the end of 8 pages I said "oh, he's exaggerating to make a point." And the journey from one point to the conclusion was very entertaining.

Why I Read This Now: Well, if you managed to read the above, it'll be obvious that I thought it would be a worthwhile read while traveling in Italy.

Recommended for: Obviously anyone studying Italian, but moreover, anyone who likes quality short stories. Forget the Italian pages and just read these stories in English, because they're great. Also good for anyone who is interested in REAL Italian culture (vs. that silly fantasy Under the Tuscan Sun crap).

Note for Juliette07, if you're reading this message: This book was displayed in Blackwell's, along with Penguin's French edition. Keith picked up the French one and I told him I had the Italian along with me. Based on my experience, you two might want to take a chance on the French.

116Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 12:49 pm

The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone

1961, Historical fiction

**Abandoned at page 93 out of 760**

Comments: This is Stone's epic written to be worthy of Michelangelo's masterpieces. I bought this book years ago but never got around to reading it. A couple of years ago I studied the Intellectuals of the Italian Renaissance, which covered Michelangelo thoroughly. So I recognized all sorts of primary sources that Stone worked into his dialogue--I'm positive that this book is meticulously researched. And I figured, since I was going to be in Rome and Florence, there was no better time to read this novel.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get interested. One of the things I learned in the above mentioned course is that I don't really like Michelangelo. Of course he's one of the top five artistic geniuses that ever lived. No question. And I think the Creation scene from the Sistine ceiling where God reaches toward that fabulously lackadaisical Adam is one of the most beautiful paintings ever . . . but otherwise all those marble sculptures just leave me cold. Four visits to Florence and no thought yet of visiting "David". Personally I think Michelangelo was hugely misogynistic (if you don't believe me, take a look at his paintings and sculptures of women . . . okay, maybe he didn't hate women, but he certainly didn't know any, either).

Anyway, I love the Italian Renaissance, but for me, it's Leonardo and Botticelli all the way. I just can't get interested in the fabulous Mr. Buonarrati.

117Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 12:50 pm

52. Immaculate Deception, Iain Pears

Mystery, 2000

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Comments: Very average art theft/murder mystery set in Rome and various points in Tuscany. A long time ago, I used to read a lot of mysteries, so I think I'd still recognize a good one. The author got his characters into a pretty untenable position by the end, and wiggled them out of it satisfactorily. So I guess this was a good one. His representation of Italy seemed reasonable (no Disneyland Under the Tuscan Sun crap).

But I really didn't care. I like a good meaty art story that teaches me something (which I think was part of the appeal of The Da Vinci Code--readers felt like they were learning some cool stuff while whisking along on a roller coaster--never mind that Brown's art history details were invented to fit his story--if you don't know better, who cares?). I didn't feel like I was learning cool stuff here, and the protagonists were marginally likable. Apparently this is book seven of seven, and while the book stands alone, maybe I would have liked it had I started the series at book one.

Why I Read This Now: It was supposed to be my light, fun holiday read (set in places where I was).

Recommended for: Iain Pears fans.

118Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 12:52 pm

53. The End of the Alphabet, CS Richardson

Canadian literature, 2007

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Comments: This is a charming little book that I read one afternoon at the beach. It is the story of a 50 year old Londoner who is diagnosed with a terminal illness and has one month to live, so he embarks on a whirlwind trip with his wife. Quirkiness and loveliness abounds. Oddly, it is not depressing, even though it's about the end of a life and the end of a relationship. This novella begins and ends with the statement "this story is unlikely," and it reads like a fable. If you read it with an eye for realism, it won't work. But as a slightly otherworldly story, it is positively enchanting.

Why I Read This Now: it seemed like a good vacation read.

Recommended for: readers are in the mood for a quirky, romantic little book. I can see that this one isn't for everyone--one of the reviewers called it "treacly," and although I vehemently disagree, I can see how someone might think that.

119Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 12:53 pm

54. Death in Venice, Thomas Mann

German literature, 1912

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Comments: I think that if I had studied this book at university and had to write essays about it and speak about it coherently in class, I would have come to love it, and rated it five stars. But as a vacation read, I didn't give it the full concentration that it probably deserved. Part of the problem is that there are huge sections of this short book that delve into convoluted philosophy, and I never, ever pack my philosophical brain cells along when I go on holiday.

On the back cover it says that Mann claims this book is about "the voluptuousness of doom." Yikes! I have to agree with a reviewer here at LT who describes it as a "strange, creepy little novel." The protagonist's erotic obsession with a teenage boy, who Mann strangely feminizes, is disturbing (although rather interesting). But his evocative imagery of a decaying and diseased Venice is beautifully disturbing, and really makes the book for me.

I plan to read this again some day, and expect that I will get more out of the philosophizing.

Why I Read This Now: it was short, set in Italy, and something more serious to counter the lighter stuff I packed along.

Recommended for: people in the mood for a deep, serious book.

120rebeccanyc
jul 22, 2009, 1:50 pm

You've certainly been busy reading!

I too loved Enchanted April and can't stomach most of the "Italy transforms you" genre. But you might be interested in a book called Any Four Women Could Rob the Bank of Italy; it may be out of print but I remember it as quite funny take on the genre.

121Nickelini
jul 22, 2009, 2:34 pm

Thanks for the recommendation, Rebecca. I'll try and hunt it down.

122aluvalibri
jul 22, 2009, 4:42 pm

Italy (including Tuscany) is not magical, and the Italians are not simple/backwards/endlessly charming people who will Teach You Lessons. The air in Italy does not contain magical properties either. Nor does Italy transform one from an unhappy, drab Anglo-American into a wise, calm new person.

I must say that I TOTALLY agree with you, Joyce.
After all these years in the US, I still get very annoyed when people talk to me about Italy as if it were a place where everyone plays the mandolin, smiles, dances the tarantella, and eats spaghetti and meatballs without having no worries whatsoever.
Thank you for saying that!

123kiwidoc
Redigeret: jul 22, 2009, 4:59 pm

Bah - that is really too disappointing to hear, Paola. I was hoping that Italy would transform my life when I retire to my Umbrian villa and live like a relaxed,calm and contented Queen bee.

124aluvalibri
jul 22, 2009, 5:09 pm

Well, living in your Umbrian villa can be a lovely experience nonetheless. After all, it is one of the nicest parts of Italy!
:-))

125merry10
jul 22, 2009, 7:56 pm

Great reviews Joyce.

126avaland
jul 24, 2009, 3:32 pm

Yes, great reviews, Joyce. I can only wonder when you had time to read on your trip.

127Nickelini
jul 24, 2009, 4:06 pm

I had no time to read while we were traveling, but in Italy we spent 12 nights at my husband's aunt's. They sit and visit for hours in the evening, and since I can't join in, I go and read. I always get lots of reading done there. The girls did too (Nina read six books, and Charlotte four).

128Nickelini
aug 4, 2009, 1:20 pm

55. Divided Minds: Twin Sisters and Their Journey Through Schizophrenia, Pamela Spiro Wagner and Carolyn Spiro

Memoir, 2005

Comments: What a great premise--identical twins, one with schizophrenia, the other a psychologist--and true, too! Each tells her side of the story of their lives. This book gets rave reviews at Amazon, but it didn't quite work for me. I think its strength was Pamela's descriptions of her schizophrenic episodes. I don't know much about schizophrenia, and I didn't realize the intensity and bizarreness of the delusions it causes. Talk about serious paranoia and delusions of grandeur.

Unfortunately, I found both authors a little prickly and dysfunctional (the psychiatrist too), and both of them were confusing. . . a lot of contradictions, a lot of dropped threads (for example, they were competitive anorexics in high school and college, but then they just stopped talking about that--I'd like to know how that played out. Was it still a thing? Did they get cured?), too many unanswered questions and comments left unexplained. Why didn't the psychologist take a more active roll in helping her sister? And the schizophrenic sister has other disorders too (including narcolepsy). Is that part of schizophrenia, or is she just really unlucky? I could go on and on.

While this book does a great job of showing the schizophrenic's experience, I can't say I learned anything concrete about the disease (other than it's really horrible).

Rating 2.5 out of 5

Why I Read This Now: borrowed book and I'm seeing the owner next week.

Recommended for: readers interested in twins and also the experiences of people suffering mental disorders.

129Nickelini
aug 4, 2009, 1:20 pm

56. Unformed Landscape, Peter Stamm

Swiss literature, 2001, translated from German

Why I Read This Now: this was part of the polar challenge over at the Reading Globally group for this month.

Comments Here are some of the comments I posted over at the challenge thread:

For this challenge, I read Unformed Landscape, which is set on the coast of northern Norway, near the Russian border, and also in the area the northern extremes of Sweden and Finland. It's by Swiss author Peter Stamm, and originally written in German.

I enjoyed the sparse writing style that added to the remote, chilly atsmosphere. The unformed landscape of the title refers not to the drifting snow that covers the national borders, but to the main character Katherine, who drifts through life without any vision or purpose. This novel is a bildungsroman, so by the end she has grounded herself and stopped drifting.

1. Would have the story have worked as well outside the polar setting? and 2. were the themes sufficiently universal to apply to other geographic regions or were they specific to the setting of the story?: As a story of self-discovery, I guess the basic story could be set anywhere. But the northern setting stamps a unique mark on this novel.

It was the setting that attracked me to this book. When I think of "polar" I envision punishing cold, emptyness, ice flows and big white bears. None of this was in Unformed Landscape, except perhaps the emptyness in the main character. But rather than cold, the author focused on the contrasts of the endless light and the endless dark. The book also shows that people in this far northern village are not isolated or stuck, as both the visitors and the inhabitants come and go and almost everyone is well travelled.

Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars

Recommended for: fans of contemporary literature.

130Nickelini
Redigeret: aug 4, 2009, 1:23 pm

57. Paula, Isabel Allende

Memoir, 1994

Comments: In the early '90s when Isabel Allende's daughter Paula slipped into a deep coma, she wrote this book for her. It is part history, part family memoir, and part bedside ruminating.

Allende says that Nobel Prize Chilean poet Pablo Neruda told her that she had too much imagination to be a journalist, and should be a novelist instead. Several times she drops hints throughout the book that she is, shall we say, embellishing the story. Which, I think, makes it more interesting. But then the memoir enters the realm of fiction. I really enjoyed all her stories; wasn't so interested in her long passages about her feelings . . . in fact, once I could tell she was getting going, I'd skip to the next paragraph. I hear this was a real tear-jerker for a lot of readers, but those parts just left me cold.

This book badly suffers from the need of a good editor. She says that her mother is her editor, and it shows. This book had annoying structural problems (lack of chapter breaks, single paragraphs that went on for two complete pages), and was overly wordy. Especially when she talked about her emotions, or her new age philosophies, less would have been so much more. But when she got over herself and told a story, it was excellent. Further, I felt that I learned somethng about living in Chile in the 20th century. I will definitely seek out some of her fiction sooner rather than later. (I started House of the Spirits a few years ago and was loving it, but it came due at the library and I didn't have time to renew it, and I've never had a chance to get back to it. Must make the time).

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Why I Read This Now: My sister-in-law lent it to me last summer, and I'm seeing her today and wanted to return it.

Recommended for: well, seeing that I didn't react emotionally the way most other readers of this book did, I'm not sure I should answer this question.

131Nickelini
aug 4, 2009, 1:24 pm

58. Five Quarters of an Orange, Joanne Harris

Contemp lit, 2001

Why I Read This Now: I bought this book for almost nothing at a library sale a few years ago, but it was a hard cover that took more than its fair share of shelf space, so it was time to read it and move it out. Also, it fulfilled the "woman's author" catagory of my 999 challenge. Lastly, it is an Orange book that I can read for the Orange July read that's going on.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Comments: This was a pretty quick and entertaining read. What I liked were all the food elements (even though the fruit 'n' nut character names were a bit much). All the talk of French cooking really made me want to come home and pull out my French cook books. What I didn't like: there was a tone to some parts of the book that was cold and impersonal. I'm not sure I empathized with the main characters as much as the author wanted me to.

recommended for: Readers who like books set in rural France. Harris captured that feel very well.

132Nickelini
Redigeret: aug 6, 2009, 10:55 am

#120 - I too loved Enchanted April and can't stomach most of the "Italy transforms you" genre. But you might be interested in a book called Any Four Women Could Rob the Bank of Italy; it may be out of print but I remember it as quite funny take on the genre.

Rebeccanyc . . . (are you a Rebecca that lives in New York City?) . . . anyway, I got Any Four Women Could Rob the Bank of Italy from the library yesterday, and I just, just started it. So far, so good. Thanks for the recommendation (it leap frogged the 300 books in my physical TBR pile, so that's saying somethin'!).

133kiwidoc
aug 5, 2009, 10:46 pm

I would read anything that Rebecca recommends. She has excellent taste.

134rebeccanyc
aug 6, 2009, 8:21 am

Aw, you are too kind! And yes, I'm a Rebecca who lives in NYC -- creative, right?

135kidzdoc
aug 6, 2009, 11:14 am

I agree with kiwidoc about Rebecca.

136avaland
aug 6, 2009, 7:24 pm

I would read almost any book that rebeccanyc recommends;-)

137rebeccanyc
aug 7, 2009, 10:03 am

Will you stop, already?! I'm blushing.

I share more books with kiwidoc than with almost anybody, and I avidly follow kidzdoc's and avaland's recommendations, so we're about to turn into a mutual admiration society and completely hijack poor nickelini's thread. (Kidzdoc in particular has cost me a lot of money!)

138Nickelini
aug 15, 2009, 2:24 pm

59. The Child in Time, Ian McEwan

Contemporary Brit lit, 1987

Comments: Okay, I'll be frank. I didn't really "get" this novel. Reading the reviews of it here at LT helped a bit, and several people suggested it makes more sense on second reading. So I'll put it aside and look at it again some day, because I really do like McEwan's writing. This is my sixth McEwan, and the first one I've had trouble with.

Why I Read This Now: I started it while still in Europe, it was the last unread book I had along with me (I actually bought it in England).

Rating: 3/5 stars. At one point I considered giving it a one, but then I realized that even though I didn't understand it, it was still rather pleasant to read.

Recommended for: I don't know. McEwan fans?

139Nickelini
aug 15, 2009, 2:25 pm

60. Any Four Women Could Rob the Bank of Italy, Ann Cornelisen

Contemporary lit, 1983

Rating: 3 3/4 stars

Comments: When our intrepid protagonist, El, is waved through a series of police roadblocks in Italy, she finds herself insulted that the police do not consider it possible that a woman could be the criminal they're looking for. She devises a plan that not only proves them wrong, but also exposes high level corruption in the Italian government.

It was an interesting story, with lots of clever and original writing. I also found the author accurately and realistically depicted both Italians and life in Italy (no Under the Tuscan Sun nonsense here!). For that I rate it four stars. However, I'm taking back a quarter star because at times it's a bit confusing, and there is too much mad-capped, over the top action that I thought detracted from the book. But that's a quibble, and overall it was a great read.

Why I Read This Now: RebbecaNYC recommended it as the anti-Under-the-Tuscan-Sun novel, and it was available at the library (I believe it's out of print).

Recommended for: readers in the mood for something fun, a little light, but still clever and well-written.

140Nickelini
Redigeret: aug 15, 2009, 2:27 pm

61. Halfbreed, Maria Campbell

Memoir, 1973

Rating: 3.5 stars

Why I Read This Now: I read this for the Aboriginal Book Challenge, going on over at the Reading Globally group. I selected it for several reasons--first, it's required reading for a course I'm taking next term; two, of the aboriginal books I own, this is the only one written by a woman, and three, it was calling to me the loudest.

Comments: Here are the comments I made over at the Reading Globally thread:

This is the story of Campbell's growing up Metis in the 1940s and 50s. The Metis are one of the three officially recognized Aboriginal groups of Canada (the other two are First Nations and Inuit), and are the descendants of French and Scottish settlers and First Nations women.

Campbell was born into a large, loving family that suffered through periods of poverty followed by times of extreme poverty. When she was 12, her mother died and things really went downhill. When she was 15 she came up with a very bad plan to bring her family some money and keep them together--she got married to a man she didn't like. Hard to believe there was anywhere further down to go, but yes, things went downhill from there. Campbell ends up living in squalor in Vancouver, and cycles through several periods of drug abuse and life on the streets. The section about her recovery is quite brief, but she is now an acclaimed playwright, educator and spokesperson, so it's no spoiler to say that hers is a success story.

I enjoyed the book--very much. The tone is quite casual, and not very polished, but she tells her story well. A few times I wondered about the veracity of what she wrote--she certainly romanticized her childhood. Despite the extreme poverty and harsh living conditions, she painted it as an idyllic scene. For example, she talked about her parents great love for each other, but described scenes where her father beat the tar out of her mother. Perhaps in 1973, when she wrote this book, that behavior wasn't as absolutely unacceptable as it is now.

(response to question on how the Aboriginals are depicted in the book:) The Metis in the book were portrayed as real people--kind, mean, intelligent, dumb, confused, determined, hard-working, lazy--just like people everywhere. She did show that the extreme cycle of poverty, coupled with prejudice against them (by both whites and the First Nations), made it almost impossible to change their lives. Some, like Maria, tried. Others just accepted their pitiful lot in life.

One of the strong themes in this book that I really liked was Campbell's feminism. Within the downtrodden Metis culture, the women were further held down. She is a strong voice for women who previously had been silent (or silenced).

Still thinking about what I learned. I guess I learned a little about Metis culture--I was always pretty confused by who they are and what their story is; I'm still confused, but not as much.

Recommended for: people wanting to read an interesting life story, or stories about strong women.

141Nickelini
aug 15, 2009, 2:28 pm

62. Green Grass, Running Water, Thomas King

Canadian lit, 1993

Rating: 5 stars

Why I Read This Now: I read this for the Aboriginal group read going on over at Reading Globally. I chose it because it's been on my TBR stack for a while--I'd read a fabulous Thomas King short story in my first university course, and it had always stuck with me, so I wanted to read more by him.

Comments Here are some of my comments from my post at Reading Globally:

2. Before I get started, I have to say that this book was BIG FUN and highly enjoyable. But it's a difficult book to describe. I've read reviews here and at Amazon, and while these readers have definitely read the same book, I see it very differently from them. Let's see . . . there are several interwoven stories (a university professor, a man who wants to block the building of a dam, a TV salesman, a lawyer, a doctor and janitor . . . all somehow connected to a Blackfoot reserve in Alberta) interspersed with creation stories and folklore. Oh, I'm not doing a very good job here . . .

3. I loved this book. It will definitely show up on my list of top reads for the year. It was fun, it was intelligent, it was sophisticated, it was literary, it was interesting . . . what more could you want? I have to add that I tend to be adverse to folklore and myth, and this book has a lot of it . . . but it's done in great fun, and is important to the stories about the "real" people. I tended to read those sections pretty quickly, and I wish there was a bit fewer of them. Also, there are bits of magic realism throughout the book, which I loved, but I know some readers just don't do magic realism.

4. The Blackfoot characters were shown negotiating the two sides of their lives--their traditional culture, and the getting on with everyday life in late 20th century North America.

Thomas King is an acclaimed First Nations Canadian author, which is one of the big reasons I wanted to read this. I was rather dismayed to learn that 1) he didn't become a Canadian until he was an adult, and 2) his mother is Greek . . . he was born in California, and his father is Cherokee. So while King has been a successful voice for the First Nations people of Canada, he's not an authentic representative who has lived their experience (Hmmm . . . kinda makes me think of Obama).

4. Oh, this book is saying a lot . . . one of the themes I really enjoyed was "selling-out" . . . what is selling-out, what is not? Where is the line?

5. The best thing I learned is that Aboriginal fiction does not have to be grim or depressing. This is an intelligent, well-written book that isn't a downer. How refreshing.

I don't use the "favourite" status at LT very often, but Thomas King will join my favourites list today.

142avaland
aug 17, 2009, 6:58 am

Wow, you are on a roll, Joyce!

143Nickelini
aug 29, 2009, 1:09 pm

63. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf

British literature, 1927

Rating: 5/5 stars

Comments: This is probably my favourite Virginia Woolf book yet. However, when I studied her yet again this past spring (3rd university course that covered her), I learned that you have to read her books at least twice--if not more often--to understand what the book is about. So I make that judgement on first reading.

What can I say about To the Lighthouse that better educated minds haven't already said? Commenting on classics is so difficult. Here are some bits of floating thought (much like the thoughts of the characters in a Virginia Woolf novel, actually) . . . I like Mrs. Ramsey's sense of impending doom (I can relate to that). Yet, being a Woolf novel, I know that things won't be THAT bad--people may die in the war, but you won't read the details.

I like the mesmerizing and lulling, yet mysterious, mood of the novel. And Woolf paints such stunning scenes--that's what keeps me coming back to her books.

I look forward to rereading this book.

Why I Read This Now: I was in the mood for a Virginia Woolf novel. She may be my favourite author ever, and although I don't pretend to understand her, I enjoy her very much.

Recommended for: people who like fiction that's challenging and has a strong mood (and you know that nothing really horrible is going to happen).

144Nickelini
aug 29, 2009, 1:10 pm

64. Brixton Beach, Roma Tearne

Comments: Another fabulous novel from the author who wrote Mosquito, one of my all-time favourite books. I'm going to review it on Belletrista.com, so I'll let you know when my review is available.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

145Nickelini
aug 29, 2009, 1:10 pm

65. Kingdom Coming: the Rise of Christian Nationalism, Michelle Goldberg

Politics and religion, 2006

Rating: 4.5 stars

Comments: Last week I was asked to fill out a silly quiz on Facebook, and one of the questions was "What are three things that you're afraid of?" I answered 1. being in a plane crash, 2. primates, and 3. fundamentalists. Now, I never, ever read books about primates, and I tend to avoid all media coverage of plane crashes as best I can. But for some reason, I'm just fascinated by fundamentalists. Christian, Islamic, Jewish (. . . and if I ever heard of a Buddhist or Hindu fundamentalist, I'd probably be interested in them too). I'm also fascinated-slash-horrified by the mix of religion and politics in the United States.

I read a great review of Kingdom Coming when it was published, and so it went on my TBR list. But then I took it off, because I figured my time would be better spent reading books that were more relevant to my life (like maybe learn something about the politics of my own country). However, resistance was futile, and I couldn't resist. This was indeed a fascinating look at a small, but very powerful group of extremist Christians who I think are doing great damage to the United States. They make me crazy, and I don't even live there.

This book is well researched and well written, and so interesting. I also appreciate that Goldberg comes up with some steps and actions that people can take to help diffuse the power of these Christian nationalists.

Why I Read This Now: I felt like a quick non-fiction break before diving back into novels. Also, I thought with the change in US leadership, this book would become obsolete if I left it sit on Mnt. TBR too long. Wrong! Obama can't make these people go away--they're regrouping and planning their next step.

Recommended for: This is a must read for everyone who lives in the United States. It's also an interesting read for those of us who don't, but are concerned anyway.

146Nickelini
aug 29, 2009, 1:13 pm

66. The Things That Matter: What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life, Edward Mendelson

Literary criticisim, 2006

Comments: "This bookis about life as it is interpreted by books." In it, Mendelson explores seven novels, all written by women:

1. Birth: Frankenstein
2. Childhood: Wuthering Heights
3. Growth: Jane Eyre
4. Marriage: Middlemarch
5. Love: Mrs. Dalloway
6. Parenthood: To the Lighthouse
7. the Future: Between the Acts

The strongest section was chapter two on childhood, and would be worth reading for anyone who doesn't "get" Wuthering Heights. I also thought his take on Mrs. Dalloway was interesting just because it's so different from how I've looked at that novel. Otherwise, I have to admit that this book didn't do a whole lot for me.

Why I Read this Now: it looked interesting (I've read six of the seven novels), and it was available at the library.

rating: 3/5 stars

Recommended for: readers who have read the seven novels and want to explore them further.

147dchaikin
aug 29, 2009, 10:25 pm

Wow, lots of great comments today, especially on Virginia Wolf, who I've never read. Although ("This is a must read for everyone who lives in the United States.") perhaps I should look up Kingdom Coming. :)

148Nickelini
sep 4, 2009, 2:10 pm

67. Quite a Year For Plums, Bailey White

1998, Contemporary fiction

Rating: 3/5. Not really my style of book, but I'm glad I read it.

The best way I can think to describe this book is "oddly nice." There's not much story, really, just a series of vignettes about a group of quirky characters living in smalltown, Georgia, USA. Definitely not my area of interest, but what made this book interesting were all the tidbits of information the author wove into the stories: bits about farming and breeds of chickens, and forest fires and embroidery, and peanut growing and how to paint pictures of poultry. Sounds odd, but it made the book. Also, most of the characters were intelligent and kind -- no stereotypical rednecks or Bubbas here (I guess that's to be expected since the author apparently also works for NPR).

Why I Read This Now: I read it for my 999 challenge, Oldest Books in My Closet category. At about 10 years old, it was definitely one of the older unread books I own, and I've never really been in the mood to read it. If I remember correctly, I bought the book because I loved the cover. I still love the cover, and I'm happy that there was actually a strong connection between the cover art and the story. Here's the cover that attracted me (it's like something from the pages of Country Life magazine):



Recommended for: people who like books about quirky characters where nothing really horrible happens.

149Nickelini
sep 4, 2009, 2:12 pm

68. The Accidental, Ali Smith

2006, British literature, audiobook

Rating: 4.5 /5 stars

Comments: I picked up this audiobook on sale for $2, and I really didn't have a clue what I was getting, other than that it had been on the Booker shortlist. I actually had some vague idea that it was about Indian immigrants in London. Wrong! I guess I confused Ali Smith with Monica Ali, another writer who I've heard of but know nothing about. Anyway, knowing nothing about this book, I had no expectations, and so it was a very pleasant surprise.

In case you're like me and don't know the story, The Accidental is about an English family (mom, step-dad, teenage son, preteen daughter) on holiday in Norfolk, where a mysterious stranger comes into their holiday home and their lives. It is told by multiple narrators, each self-absorbed and distant from the other members of their family. The mysterious stranger is a catalyst for change with each family member.

I loved the free flowing narration, and the tangents each character went off on; I loved the multiple points of view of the same event; I just all round found this a pleasure to listen to. I'm not sure how I would have reacted to this book if I'd read it--this audio presentation was superb, with an ensemble cast reading the different narrators (I know someone will ask, so here are the names: Heather O'Neill, Stina Nielsen, Jeff Woodman, Simon Prebble, Ruth Moore). Some day I'd like to read this book. I listened to the last big chunk of this on my iPod in my garden while doing a marathon weeding session, and I had no idea that I was near the end (it's not like a book where you can tell you're running out of pages!). I was so disappointed that it was finished--I could have continued listening to this family and their odd experiences for hours more.

I'm really surprised at all the negative comments and reviews here at LT--are we talkin' about the same book? Many people dissed the ending, but it really made me laugh. Out loud, out there weeding my herb patch. I'm sure my neighbours thought I was daft!

Recommended for: Well, I would have thought this book had broad appeal, but based on the negative comments on the review page, maybe not so much!

150Nickelini
sep 4, 2009, 2:16 pm

69. Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy

British literature, 1891

Rating 4.5/5

Comments: Despite it being long winded, and having several infuriating characters, I thoroughly enjoyed Tess. There's just something I love about 19th century literature. My 21st century feminist self really wanted to rip Tess out of the novel to give her a good shaking, and I really wanted to sit Angel Clare down and give him a piece of my mind. But other than that, it was a great tragic read.

Why I Read This Now: I've been wanting to read Hardy ever since visiting Dorset this summer, and this book filled a spot in my Oldest Books in My Closet category for my 999 challenge.

Recommended for: 19th century fiction lovers, readers who like a book chock-full of dire events all dumped on one pretty heroine.

151Nickelini
sep 4, 2009, 2:18 pm

70. Hana's Suitcase, Karen Levine

Non-fiction childrens, 2002

Rating 4/5

Comments: Fumiko Ishioko is working to put together the Tokyo Holocaust Museum. She is haunted by one of the museum's few exhibits: a suitcase that had belonged to a girl named Hana at Aushwitz. Fumiko searches to find out whatever she can about Hana, a search that takes her to Prague and Toronto. The chapters alternate between Hana's story and Fumiko's search. A quick, satisfying read that tells a great story.

Why I Read This Now:I found my 12 year old daughter in the bathroom crying after reading this a few months ago and have meant to read it ever since.

Recommended for: This is a quick, easy read with lots of photos and drawings, so I'd recommend it for older kids but also for adults interested in the Holocaust.

152avaland
sep 5, 2009, 5:31 pm

>149 Nickelini: I thought The Accidental was great. I'm reading her collection of short stories off and on. They're quirky, I like them. I think I have two more in the collection to read.

153Nickelini
sep 6, 2009, 1:41 pm

71. Beloved, Toni Morrison

American lit, 1987

Rating: 4/5

Comments: This is Morrison's masterpiece about slavery and a ghost, and also about the ghosts of slavery. Before I read it, I thought the novel was probably an interesting, well-crafted book that wasn't really my thing. After reading it, I'd still agree with that, although I liked it more than I expected to. I can see why it is widely acclaimed, and I think those acclamations are deserved, but I have to admit that sometimes I found my mind wandering and had to go back and reread sections.

Why I Read This Now: It was sitting on Mnt TBR, fluttering its pages at me and calling my name.

Recommended for: a wide-range of readers. This book appears on a lot of must-read lists, and it belongs there.

154sussabmax
sep 14, 2009, 12:22 pm

I read The Accidental for Orange January this year, and I loved it, too. The end was a bit odd, so I can see why some people don't like it, but I thought it was good. It was a bit uncomfortable, and I was really mad at the mom, but it was a good ending for the book.

155RidgewayGirl
sep 14, 2009, 12:55 pm

If you liked the Accidental, then I would highly recommend her earlier book, Hotel World.

156Cariola
sep 14, 2009, 2:26 pm

Hmmm, I loved The Accidental but didn't care for Hotel World.

157Nickelini
sep 24, 2009, 12:45 pm

72. Sweeter Than All the World, Rudy Wiebe

Historical fiction, 2001

Comments: Two interwoven plot lines make up this novel. The first is the story of Adam Wiebe (same surname as the author), a physician living in late 20th century Alberta, and obsessed with finding meaning from his ancestral past. The second story follows some of his Mennonite ancestors as they are chased by religious persecution through Europe—from Counter Reformation Antwerp and Friesland where some were burned at the stake, to 17th century Danzig were one, also named Adam Wiebe, was a prominent civic engineer, and another an artist; to Russia, Central Asia, and Paraguay. There are some particularly harrowing scenes of their torment under Stalin and during World War II.

Wiebe, an officer of the Order of Canada, is a masterful writer who ties these two storylines together to create both one—and many—stories. Ultimately, however, I was disappointed with this book. I think it came down to my expectations: I expected d, e, f and he gave me f, g, h.

What I liked: The author knows his history; no problems with accuracy or anachronisms here. He based the parts about the civic engineer in Danzig on a real person named Adam Wiebe, so it is with purpose that his characters have the same surname as he does (he’s not saying that he’s actually related to this 17th century person. Wiebe is a common Mennonite last name, my mother’s maiden name in fact, and I’m not related to Rudy Wiebe and probably not to this historical person either).

What I disliked: Throughout the 436 pages, I struggled to figure out what it was that I didn’t like and what was annoying me, and I still can’t find the words for it. I think it is that the narrative is just too disjointed. He skips from one train of thought to another, and often from location to location, and I didn’t see any purpose for it. I would have appreciated a more straightforward writing style. Also, Wiebe assumes his reader is both intelligent and well-educated; he spells out nothing, but I would have appreciated a bit more connection between his dots. To enjoy this book, the reader must have a good understanding of northern European history (the Low Countries, Prussia and Russia). I think this is a flaw that limits the potential readership for this otherwise fine novel.

I’m always on the lookout for the quintessential Mennonite novel to recommend to people who ask me to explain Menno history in fewer than three sentences. I had great hopes that this would be it, but alas, I think many readers would just be confused. As far as I know, there is no novel that goes back to 1500s Holland and forward to the 20th century. It’s a shame, because there are so many fabulous stories to tell—I guess I’ll just have to write that book!

Why I Read This Now: It’s one of the oldest books on Mnt. TBR, and I paid big bucks for it when it was published, so I thought I’d better just read it.

Recommended for: Readers who appreciate detailed accuracy in their historical fiction.

158Nickelini
sep 24, 2009, 12:45 pm

73. As For Me and My House, Sinclair Ross

Canadian lit, 1941

Comments: This is the story of a very unhappy wife and her very unhappy (and unpleasant) husband living in the dry wind-swept Canadian Prairies during the Great Depression. The novel is part of the Canlit canon, and is considered the quintessential example of "Prairie Realism". Reviews of this book say that it is excellent but dark, extremely depressing and/or incredibly boring. I can see those points of view, but none of them fit my thoughts on the novel. I thought it was pretty interesting and not totally depressing. Currently, I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars, but I have to write an essay on it in a few weeks, so will probably come back with more meaningful comments and a higher rating. Wait for it.

Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars

Why I Read This Now: Assigned reading for my Canadian literature course.

Recommended for: Readers who want to experience life in the Prairies during the Depression, people who want to read the CanLit canon.

159Nickelini
Redigeret: sep 26, 2009, 7:39 pm

74. Thames: Sacred River, Peter Ackroyd

Non-fiction, 2007

Comments: This book would have been great if only it had a strong editor. As it is, it's poorly organized (despite the impressive looking table of contents) and repetitive. It strikes me that Ackroyd did all this research, and didn't want to leave anything out, so included every little tidbit he found. Too often he simply lists names and places. Parts of it are extremely interesting, and I think the whole book would have improved if he had been pickier about what he included, and expanded on the stories he did use. The book is great when he sticks to historical stories and interesting trivia and facts; it falters when he strays into speculation and trying to tie in his "sacred" theme. I also would have enjoyed more scientific and geographical detail (although the book does include many detailed maps, which I think is fabulous). It took me almost two months to read this book--one, because it was too big to take along on my holidays, but mostly because I could only read a chapter or two at a time. That's okay, it's just that type of book. This book is 447 big pages, but I think it would have been much stronger if he'd edited it down to about 300.

Why I Read This Now: When I was in England this summer we stayed at a farmhouse B&B outside the village of Ewen (Gloucestershire) that advertised itself as "next to the infant Thames". (see post 164, below, for the picture). The Thames in their field was really just a puddle. Across the road, we walked along the Thames footpath for about a mile, and were stunned to see that this swampy trickle was the mighty Thames that flows past the Houses of Parliament all those miles away. I don't think many tourists in England just happen across the source of the Thames (well, technically the actual source was about a mile away, but close enough for someone who hadn't planned it!). I found this utterly fascinating, so when I saw this beautiful blue book, full of illustrations and maps, I just had to buy it. Despite my criticisms, I plan to keep this book and will use it to plan my future excursions along the Thames.

Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars

Recommended for: Readers interested in the cultural aspects of the Thames and who have a good feel for the geography of the area (even with the maps, he speaks to someone who knows where Wapping is).

160RidgewayGirl
sep 24, 2009, 1:32 pm


Recommended for: Readers who want to experience life in the Prairies during the Depression

Anyone? Anyone?

I keep picking up this book and putting it right down again. You've pushed me a little closer to reading it; I look forward to any further thoughts you have about it.

161Nickelini
sep 24, 2009, 1:40 pm

#160 - Last night I read an academic article on For Me and My House that proposes that the husband is a closeted homosexual. Apparently Sinclair Ross himself was gay, so I don't think that suggestion is one of those cases of reading something into a novel that totally isn't there. And now that I look at the book from that view, I think it's WAY more interesting. Also, one of our possible essay questions is whether the narrator is reliable or not -- I have to admit, she didn't strike me as an unreliable narrator, so that sets off a little voice in my head telling me that she isn't reliable after all. I think if you keep those two things in mind, rather than just giving it a straight read, you may have some fun with this one!

162RidgewayGirl
sep 24, 2009, 3:28 pm

That's it. I'm off to pull this one down off my shelves and onto the (somewhat precarious) pile on my bedside table.

163Nickelini
Redigeret: sep 25, 2009, 1:41 am

75. The Story of Lucy Gault, William Trevor

Irish literature, 2003, audiobook

Rating: 4/5 stars

Comments: The Anglo-Irish Gaults see the writing on the wall when the Troubles hit their area of Ireland--and their home--in 1920. So they decide to pack up the house and leave the country. Eight-year old Lucy has other plans, however, and through a series of unfortunate events, she is believed to be drowned. Of course, that couldn't be true, because it's early in the book, and look at the title. Anyway, her parents believe it and flee the country.

I really enjoyed the writing, and the mood, and the sense of place, and basically the whole feeling of the novel. But as the story progressed, I found myself saying "hey!" and getting frustrated. "What do you mean no one can locate the parents?" "What do you mean the landowners never once check on their property . . . in TWENTY years? Really?" I guess you could chalk this up to my 21st century sensibilities in a world of passport checks and the digital recording of every aspect of our lives, which I realize didn't exist in 1920. But still. Really? At this point, I started thinking of the book as an Irish Home Alone.

But still, I really did like the book, and for those of you who don't think Home Alone, there's lots of sad stuff about wasted opportunity and missed chances and such.

Why I Read This Now: Needed an audiobook, this one was available, and I picked it because it's on the 1001 list, which has recommended some pretty interesting books to me that I wouldn't have otherwise read.

Recommended for: a broad audience.

164Nickelini
sep 26, 2009, 7:38 pm

Re: post 159, above. This is the head of the Thames River, in Ewen, England (July 2009). Please click on the picture to see larger detail.

165aluvalibri
sep 27, 2009, 11:48 am

WOW!

166Nickelini
sep 28, 2009, 9:35 am

76. For Grace Received, Valeria Parrella

Italian fiction, 2005

Rating: 4/5

Comments: Guess what? I'm not going to tell you . . . if you want to hear about this unusual book, check out a future issue of Belletrista. ;-)

Why I Read This Now: Because Lois wanted me to.

Recommended for: Readers who like something different, fans of current Italian literature.

167cushlareads
sep 29, 2009, 12:46 am

#76 ok, I trust you, I'm going to look out for it! Not in the Wellington library yet though...
the Story of Lucy Gault sounds really good too.

168Nickelini
sep 29, 2009, 2:17 pm

77. The Idea of Canada and the Crisis of Community, Leslie Armour

Non-fiction, 1981

Rating:2/5

Comments: Poli-sci meets philosophy in Canada. Had some interesting moments, but overall pretty dull.

Why I Read This Now: Req'd reading for my Humanities in Canada class.

Recommended for: Canadian poli-sci philosophy geeks, those suffering from insomnia.

169Nickelini
sep 29, 2009, 4:43 pm

RidgewayGirl -- Although I encourage you to read As For Me and My House, I do have to add that I delight in some of the poor reviews out there. I just found one at http://reviewcanada.ca/reviews/2007/12/01/great-disappointments/ My favourite line: "This dreary icon of CanLit could tempt new readers to change citizenship."

There's also a great one-star review at Amazon.ca that I must quote here, even though I've already quoted it elsewhere at LT:
"While I understand the views of other reviewers, and might concede that Ross' treatment is a vivid exploration of the bleakness of the life of the main protagonists, I would also suggest that in this novel, were "eliciting boredom" an Olympic sport, Ross could have bored for his country. Even the part of the book dealing with the husband's extramarital affair was tedious. Anyone with an interest in developing themes of boredom and indifference in their own writing would do well to read this novel."

So your first instincts may be right, but I think there is great fun to be had with this bleak little book.

170RidgewayGirl
sep 29, 2009, 4:54 pm

Well, now I'm determined. I have a fondness for books where the joy is in the having read rather than the reading. I put them on my shelf and every time I see one of them, I think to myself in a wholly satisfied way, "I've read that".

171Nickelini
okt 19, 2009, 7:27 pm

78. Under the Ribs of Death, John Marlyn

Canlit, 1957

Rating 2/5

Comments: I think this is the first Canadian novel to explore the immigrant experience. Set in the mean streets of North Winnipeg, the story follows the son of Hungarian immigrants from boyhood in 1913 into the Great Depression. Lots happens in this story, but it just didn't hold my interest. Definitely wouldn't have read this on my own. But it does have a really pretty purplish-blue cover.

Why I Read This Now: assigned reading for my Canlit class.

Recommended for: oh, I have no idea.

172Nickelini
okt 19, 2009, 7:28 pm

Back in post #158 about As For Me and My House, by Sinclair Ross, I said I'd probably be back with more comments and a higher rating once I wrote my essay on this novel. Well, here I am, and I'm sticking with my 3.5/5 star rating, although I will say that this book has proven to be much more interesting upon deeper study. It's full of slippery language and ambiguity, which is always fun.

173Nickelini
okt 19, 2009, 7:29 pm

79. The Diviners, Margaret Laurence

Canlit, 1974

Rating: 4/5 stars

Comments: Wow. I don't really know what to say about this novel--there's just so much going on in it. Basically, it's the story of a middle-aged woman looking back on her memories. A lot on the nature of memory, what is real and what isn't and does it matter, etc. There are lots of interesting well-fleshed out characters, and a few important characters that are mysterious. Hmmm, don't know what else to say without writing a book myself. All I can say is give it a try . . . but devote some time to spend with the novel. I started out reading just a page or two at a time and it really wasn't clicking, but once I was able to read 50-100 pages in a sitting, it got so very much better. My only complaint is that I thought it was a bit long (525 pages)--not that I thought anything needed to be cut out, I think it's just that I personally like shorter books. But it flows, so even with its length, it's a fairly quick read.

Why I Read This Now: assigned reading for my CanLit class.

Recommended for: a broad audience who enjoys literary fiction.

174Nickelini
okt 19, 2009, 7:30 pm

80. Blindness, Jose Saramago

Literature, 1997

Comments: I expected to really love this book based on what I'd heard about it. Well, I didn't. It started out fine, quickly deteriorated, then got better, and then had an ending that didn't work for me. The writing was interesting and I thought worked well with the blindness metaphor-theme thingy going on, but there were several times I said to myself "Really? Is that where he's going to take us? Do we have to go there?" and several times where I rolled my eyes and said "only a man would write this!". I also had trouble actually picking this one up--I just didn't find it all that interesting. Still, it wasn't all bad, and did have it's moments. I liked the doctor's wife, although she was a bit saint-like. But she rose to the challenge of what was thrown in front of her, I guess.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Why I Read This Now: my book club

Recommended for: dystopian fiction fans

175fannyprice
okt 19, 2009, 7:47 pm

>80 fannyprice:, I love your comment that only a man would write parts of Blindness. What parts specifically do you mean? PM me if you don't want to leave spoilers for others?

176Nickelini
okt 19, 2009, 10:32 pm

Oh, no spoilers, but I'll get back to you tomorrow . . .

177charbutton
okt 20, 2009, 3:06 am

The Diviners has been sitting on my shelf for ages. I think it's time I picked it up!

Interesting review of Thames: Sacred River. I'm about 80 pages in to it and have got stuck. I think it's a dreadful book! Ackroyd is so arrogant - OK, I accept that the Thames is linked to the development of Britain as it is part of London but I don't think it's been vital to the creation of Britishness as a whole. He has such a London-centric view.

I love London, I love the Thames and I can understand it's significance for worship/religion and artists over the centuries but I could have done without the 40-odd pages of mythologising the river at the beginning of the book.

GRRRRR.

Sorry, rant over!

178Nickelini
okt 20, 2009, 10:19 am

Oh, yeah, that whole mythologizing thing he did irritated me too. I thought the book had such potential, but didn't deliver. I would have written it so differently (and shorter!).

179Nickelini
okt 20, 2009, 10:58 am

I love your comment that only a man would write parts of Blindness. What parts specifically do you mean? PM me if you don't want to leave spoilers for others?

Okay, here goes. (I don't consider these spoilers, but if you're super-fussy about that sort of thing, stop reading here).
,
,
,
,
The one that really stood out for me is when the girl with the dark glasses had sex with the doctor, with his wife's blessing. Sounds like a male fantasy to me. But pretty much the whole section of the book where they are in quarentine, especially the parts where the women are treated like sex slaves. I'm not saying it wouldn't happen, or that a woman wouldn't include that in a book, but the attitudes toward it were so male. My book club is discussing Blindness tonight, so if I see the specific passages, I'll come back and post them so you can see the language that I'm talking about. But otherwise I didn't like the book enough to go hunt them down! After tonight I don't really want to see that book again. Did you read it? What did you think?

180fannyprice
okt 20, 2009, 4:10 pm

>179 Nickelini:, I did read it and I totally concur on your first point about the girl with the dark glasses thing. Male fantasy extraordinaire. (No offense, guys...)

The sex slave part I just read with disgust - I'm not sure I was capable of thinking anything else at that point.

That said, I remember actually "enjoying" the book - but not finding it enjoyable, obviously, given the subject matter. I thought it was interesting, although some parts did drag, and I liked the writing style. I thought the nameless-ness of the characters was strange, though, because one could argue that our names become more important forms of identification if we can't use visual clues.

181Nickelini
okt 22, 2009, 12:35 pm

81. Lament for a Nation: the Defeat of Canadian Nationalism, 40th Anniversary Edition, George Grant

Political science, 1965

Rating: 3/5 stars

Comments: the Canadian poli-sci classic, with an 85 page introduction. When Grant wrote this he predicted that Canada was destined to be absorbed into the American empire. Apparently this book rekindled some degree of Canadian nationalism, and Petro-Can. Poli-sci and philosophy aren't my area of interest, so I would have given this two stars, but it made me think, so I bumped it up a star.

Why I Read This Now: assigned reading for my humanities in Canada class.

Recommended for: Historians, philosophers and poli-sci people who are interested in Canada.

182Nickelini
okt 22, 2009, 12:35 pm

82. The Valley: a novel, Gayle Friesen

Contemporary literature, 2008

Rating: 2/5 stars

Why I Read This Now: I bought this book on a whim last month--it was to be my little escapist treat in between all my assigned reading.

Comments: 38 yr old Gloria returns to the family farm that she left when she was 18 to finally confront her old demons. I looked forward to reading this because it's set about an hour from where I live and where many of my cousins grew up on similar farms, and I expected to really relate to both the characters and the setting. Nope. Although the book had its moments, overall it rang false. I didn't relate to the characters, and I really disliked the main character. Friesen has written several YA books (some of which I read and liked), and this book definitely had the YA feel, despite the adult themes.

Recommended for: unfortunately, I can't recommend this book.

183Nickelini
Redigeret: okt 26, 2009, 4:48 pm

83. Too Much Tuscan Sun, Dario Castagno

Travel, Memoir, 2004

Rating: 4/5 stars

Comments: Those of you who follow my threads may remember that I have a pet peeve about books where some English-speaking person glides into Italy and effortlessly sets up housekeeping whilst being entertained by lovable locals and learning valuable life-changing lessons. The most egregious offender of this genre is Under the Tuscan Sun, but I've read many others. I picked up Too Much Tuscan Sun because it sounded like I may have found a kindred spirit as the book is billed as telling "a native Tuscan's side of the story."

Dario Castagno is a travel guide working in the Siena area. The chapters alternate between interesting information about the area and stories of the, uhm--entertaining--clients he has taken on tours. This wasn't quite the anti-Tuscan Sun that I had in mind . . . he still over-romanticizes Tuscany, and I've had enough Tuscan rhapsody to last me the rest of my life. But that's not his fault--he does, after all, make a living by showing people the fabulousness of Tuscany. But the parts about the tourists were priceless. Laugh out loud funny in places. I wish he'd written more on them and a bit less on Tuscany itself.

Why I Read This Now: I just learned about it and it was at the library.

Recommended for: Anyone who is thinking, or even just day dreaming, of traveling to Tuscany . . . if you're undecided now, you'll be booking a trip with him when you finish the book! He's very likable, and you want him to be the one to show you around the place.

184cushlareads
okt 26, 2009, 10:32 pm

OK, I'm definitely looking for that one. I read Under the Tuscan Sun and liked bits of it, mostly the bits without her and the wondrous renovations, but was too nauseated to read Bella Tuscany. We had a wonderful but bitterly cold few days in Siena back in 2003, and I'm hoping to get back to Italy while we're just up the road in Basel! (Everything is relative...)

185avaland
okt 27, 2009, 4:15 pm

My you've been busy since I was here last. And I must protest at your assertion in #166. That little collection of contemporary Italian realism was in response to your Italy rant;-) Consider it therapy.

Interesting discussion of Blindness, btw. I haven't read it yet.

186Nickelini
Redigeret: okt 30, 2009, 12:06 am

84. Kiss of the Fur Queen, Tomson Highway

Canlit, 1998

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Comments:This beautifully composed book follows the lives of two Cree brothers from their birthplace in northern Manitoba, to their school years when they were forced to attend an abusive Catholic residential school, through their adult years as artists (one became a concert pianist, the other a dancer). The novel covers some pretty rough areas, but the storytelling is absolutely lyrical. I would expect a book that covers sexual abuse, drug and alcohol abuse and homosexual struggles to be completely depressing, but Highway's use of magical imagery and humour made this a wonderful read.

Why I Read This Now: assigned novel for my CanLit class.

Recommended for: I highly recommend this book to mature readers who appreciate well-crafted prose and aren't squeamish about difficult subject matter.

187Nickelini
nov 5, 2009, 10:53 pm

85. A Climate For Change: Global Warming Facts For Faith-based Decisions, Katharine Hayhoe & Andrew Farley

Non-fiction, 2009

Rating 3.5/5

Comments: A straightforward review of all the evidence for climate change, including charts, illustrations and lists of further reading. Written specifically for the reader who is resistant to accepting that climate change is happening.

Why I Read This Now: ER book.

Recommended for: anyone who wants a simple (but not simplistic) explanation of climate change. Their target audience is the group of Christians*who deny climate change--I'm not sure if this rational approach will convince anyone who irrationally denies climate change.

*I still can't get my head around what Christianity has to do with denying climate change.

188Nickelini
nov 5, 2009, 10:54 pm

86. Full Frontal Feminism, Jessica Valenti

Non-fiction, 2007

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Why I Read This Now: I am considering buying this for my niece and wanted to preview it.

Comments: I was very impressed by the same author's Purity Myth when I read it last spring. Full Frontal Feminism covers a lot of the same material, but is written in a different tone of voice--the author was aiming at teens and young women, whereas Purity Myth is written for a broader audience. I'm not the target audience, so I'm not sure that it's fair for me to critique her writing style, but I don't know that it would have appealed to me even when I was 18. I appreciate a well-placed swear word, but I would call Valenti's use of foul language here to be gratuitous swearing. Unfortunately, I think over use of bad language makes the speaker sound inarticulate and less intelligent. Which is too bad, because Valenti is obviously articulate and intelligent. My other problem with this book is that it's very US-centric, which limits its value. Even though Valenti is obviously writing to a US audience, it would have been both interesting and inspiring to hear about the struggles and triumphs of women in other parts of the world. I think The Purity Myth is a much better book, but I will go ahead and purchase Full Frontal Feminism for my niece, just because social activism is new to her and I think this book will speak to her on her level.

Recommended for: the target audience (14-22 year olds).

189Nickelini
nov 5, 2009, 10:55 pm

87. The Kappa Child, Hiromi Goto

Contemporary lit, 2001

Rating: 4/5 stars

Why I Read This Now: required for my Canadian lit class.

Comments: This is a most unusual book. The protagonist is a one of four sisters in a Japanese family who settle on the Canadian prairies where the father tries to grow rice (wrong climate!) and she tries to model her life after Little House on the Prairie. This is interspersed with the pajama-wearing protagonist as an adult, now living in the big city (Calgary) and trying to sort out herself and her place in her dysfunctional family. There are Japanese mythological creatures, alien abductions, lesbians and lots of cucumbers.

The book started out strong, but then got kinda confusing. There were parts I thought were great, but there were too many time periods and places, and I wasn't sure where and when I was. Also, the author was really fixated on bodily fluids--she covered all of them, including eye boogers (though I think she missed belly button lint, ear wax and toe jam). Talking about bodily fluids is not really my thing. But in the second half of the book, things came together, I stopped being annoyed by the protagonist and had more fun with her, and the weirdness grew on me. I've always been a fan of weird art, but this was almost too weird, and honestly, if I didn't have to read this for class, I might have given up. But I didn't, and I'm so glad. I finished it this morning, and I've thought about the book all day in a very warm, happy way. I have to write a paper on it, so I'll reread it, and I'm looking forward to revisiting it. I initially gave it 3.5 stars, but I've reconsidered and raised it to 4.

Note: this book won the Tiptree Award, which I've never heard of, but is "an annual literary prize for works of science fiction ("SF") or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender." Cool.

Recommended for: Readers who enjoy weird books.

190wandering_star
nov 6, 2009, 1:09 pm

Sounds extremely intriguing. I always prefer books which are ambitious but fail, to books that don't even try. This might fit right into that category.

191fannyprice
nov 7, 2009, 11:20 am

>188 Nickelini:, I felt EXACTLY the same way about FFF that you did, Joyce. Valenti is way too smart to be writing a book where the analysis ends in "whatever, f-it" half of the time.

192solla
Redigeret: nov 7, 2009, 12:59 pm

189 James Triptree Junior was a woman who wrote science fiction as a man and wrote some extraordinary works which got praised for how a man could write sensitively to women. This praise caused her to come out of the closet and admit that she was Alice Sheldon. The works that stick in my head are a short story, The Women Men don't See, and novel called up the Walls of the World, told from multiple points of view. The Women Men Don't See is online at http://web.archive.org/web/20080119040143/http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classi...

193Nickelini
nov 8, 2009, 1:18 pm

Hey, have you all checked out the latest issue of Bellestrista yet? If not, go there right now! http://www.belletrista.com/2009/issue2/i...

I wrote two reviews, and I promised to give you links to them, so here you go:

64. Brixton Beach, by Roma Tearne
http://www.belletrista.com/2009/issue2/r...

76. For Grace Received, by Valeria Parrella
http://www.belletrista.com/2009/issue2/r...

194Nickelini
nov 8, 2009, 1:18 pm

88. The Midwich Cuckoos, John Wyndham

Science fiction, 1957

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Comments: Some strange force causes life in a small English village to stop for a day--they call it the Dayout. No one can remember what happened, and no one can explain it. Soon they learn that every female of childbearing age who was in the village that day is pregnant. Of course it turns out that the babies, all 61 which are born on the same day, are not human, and have strange powers. They quickly grow into some pretty scary children.

The book is very post-WWII Britain, which to me is an unexpected setting for a science fiction novel (though SF isn't my genre, so what do I know). But it's very Englishness is what pulled this out of the regular SF fare for me.

Why I Read This Now: I recently listened to the BBC radio play, and read the book as a comparison. I much preferred the radio play.

Recommended for: fans of vintage SF, Agatha Christie readers looking for a twist . . .

195kidzdoc
nov 8, 2009, 5:02 pm

Great reviews, Joyce! Your review of Brixton Beach reminded me how much I loved this book. Have you read her other novels, Bone China and Mosquito?

196solla
nov 8, 2009, 5:39 pm

I know I went through a phase of reading everything I could find by John Wyndham, though so long ago I don't remember specifics very much. Except Day of the Triffids in which the narrator is saved from the blindness experienced by most of the world by being somewhere without windows, so he didn't look up when the event happened that caused everyone to look up. The triffids are giant plants that have become able to move around, somehow a by-product of the same event, and they attack humans.

Odd what you remember isn't it. I also remember one of his narrators talking about his wife being different from most women, about how she had a "masculine mind." Those being the days when women weren't supposed to trouble their pretty little brains. At the time I didn't take this to be misogynist, and I think it probably wasn't - it was probably more of a commentary on how women were raised in the 50's.

197Nickelini
nov 8, 2009, 7:17 pm

Great reviews, Joyce! Your review of Brixton Beach reminded me how much I loved this book. Have you read her other novels, Bone China and Mosquito?

Thanks, Darryl. I read Mosquito as soon as it was available here in Canada and was one of the first people to shamelessly push it here on LT. I didn't know about Bone China though until Brixton Beach was published. I'm used to a slower cycle from writers, so I wasn't looking for anything else from her yet. I have to admit that I preferred Mosquito to Brixton Beach, but I'm still very eager to read her other book.

198Nickelini
nov 8, 2009, 7:25 pm

The triffids are giant plants that have become able to move around, somehow a by-product of the same event, and they attack humans.

Day of the Triffids has been on my TBR list for some time, but now I think I need to actively hunt down a copy. Your description reminds me of the first week I came back to Vancouver after living in Australia for a year. After living yellow and red arid Oz, the verdant lushness of Vancouver felt absolutely creepy. All the over-grown shrubs and trees and vines that were absolutely EVERYWHERE seemed like they were menacingly taking over the city--and no one was noticing. I could hear them snickering "we're going to grow over you and smother you in the night!" but no one else seemed to hear them. Luckily, I soon left town for a more arid area, and it helped me to adjust before returning to Vancouver :-)

Now you've got me thinking about those overgrown shrubs in my front yard . . . you'd better tell me how they overcome the Triffids at the end of the story before I start that one.

199Nickelini
nov 8, 2009, 7:28 pm

I also remember one of his narrators talking about his wife being different from most women, about how she had a "masculine mind." Those being the days when women weren't supposed to trouble their pretty little brains. At the time I didn't take this to be misogynist, and I think it probably wasn't - it was probably more of a commentary on how women were raised in the 50's.

Yes, there's definitely some of that in Midwich Cuckoos too. As you say, I think it's more a commentary on the 50s than anything else, because I see the author trying to be progressive otherwise. That's one of the reasons I prefer the BBC radio play--they worked with that 50s mentality and somehow updated it while still making it feel authentic to the 50s.

200Nickelini
nov 8, 2009, 7:30 pm

I know I went through a phase of reading everything I could find by John Wyndham, though so long ago I don't remember specifics very much.

Yes. I can see that I would have enjoyed this more if I'd read it twenty-five years ago when I was into Stephen King and Agatha Christie (which the Midwich Cuckoos is kind of a cross of). But it's interesting reading it with the mindset I have now.

201kidzdoc
nov 8, 2009, 7:33 pm

Mosquito is now at or near the top of my TBR list, and Bone China won't be far behind. I have both books, so I'll read them very soon.

I stumbled upon Brixton Beach when I was in London this summer. I had no idea that she had written another book at the time. I was going to wait to read it, but the opening lines grabbed me right away, and I was caught up in the story to the end.

202Nickelini
nov 8, 2009, 8:23 pm

I hope you love Mosquito as much as I did! It could be just the charm of my first experience with the author, but I really think it was a tighter book. In Brixton Beach, we kind of meandered through Alice's childhood in Sri Lanka, but then whole chunks of her life in London were super-compressed. It seemed a little like Tearne was writing this girl's story, and then realized how long it was taking, so cut it off. It felt both too long and incomplete. I think Mosquito is better balanced, and just the right length.

203kidzdoc
nov 8, 2009, 9:08 pm

I absolutely agree with you that Alice's life in London and the last 1/4 or so of the book felt rushed and incomplete. Because of that, I knocked my rating down to 4-1/2 stars. However, I think I enjoyed the first 300 or so pages as much as any other book I've read this year.

204rachbxl
nov 15, 2009, 3:24 pm

Darryl, where have you been??? I can't believe there's anyone left on LT who doesn't know that Joyce has read Mosquito! (I'm one of the zillions of people who read it because of her, and I loved it too).

205Nickelini
nov 24, 2009, 4:04 pm

90. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway

1926

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Why I Read This Now: I needed something to read before bed and I thought it was time to read this one since I've been packing it around since the early 1990s.

Comments: I rather enjoyed this one--more for the writing style than what Hemingway actually has to say. I can see why some readers find this one less than enthralling and dislike the characters--mostly they just move from one exotic locale to another and get drunk. I think there are quite a few novels about this "lost generation" of disillusioned post-WWI adults, and I much preferred Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies just because it was funnier. But the Sun Also Rises did have some nice imagery of northern Spain that makes me want to go there. Overall a quick read and not a waste of time.

Recommended for: lovers of sparse prose.

206Nickelini
nov 24, 2009, 4:05 pm

89. The Disappeared, Kim Echlin

Contemporary lit, 2009

Rating 4/5 stars

Comments: You'll have to check the next issue of Belletrista.com to see my comments on this story of obsessive love set in Montreal and Cambodia.

Why I Read This Now: writing a review for Belletrista.com

207Nickelini
dec 1, 2009, 1:16 pm

91. Kiss of the Fur Queen, Tomson Highway

Yes, I recently read this book at #84, but this weekend I did a thorough reread so I can write an essay on it. What a fabulous book. I definitely missed things the first time through--many themes showed up, and I really noticed the fabulous writing. This is a book that should be read slowly. I think this would make a great selection for the CBC Canada Reads competition (the 2010 selections will be announced Dec 1).

208Nickelini
dec 1, 2009, 1:17 pm

92. The Malaise of Modernity, Charles Taylor

Philosophy, 1991

rating: 3/5

Why I Read This Now: assigned reading for my Humanities in Canada course.

Comments: The most readable of the books assigned for this course. This is the book form of the 1991 Massey Lectures.

Recommended for: readers of philosophy, poli-sci, the Canadian canon (it's on the Canadian Literary Reviews 100 Most Important Books list).

There is a touchstone, but it won't load this morning.

209Nickelini
dec 1, 2009, 1:17 pm

93. First Nations? Second Thoughts, Tom Flanagan

Non-fiction, 2000

rating: 4/5

comments: This is a difficult book to summarize in a sentence or two, because it's so politically loaded, so I'll cheat and copy from the back cover: "both controversial and thought-provoking, Thomas Flanagan's First Nations? Second Thoughts disccescts the prevailing orthodoxy that determines public policy towards Canada's aboriginal peoples." He shows how "while trying to help an entire group, we end up helping only a fraction--the least needy members of the group--while actually harming the life chances of the majority." A very interesting book.

recommended for: every Canadian taxpayer, anyone interested in indigenous issues. The leaders of band councils will not like it.

why I read this now: I've been reading a lot about Canada's indigenous people this term, some of it from the POV that "anyone who's ancestors weren't here before 1492 needs to leave Turtle Island (North America)". This was a good balance.

210Nickelini
Redigeret: dec 5, 2009, 8:32 pm

94. Push, Sapphire

Fiction, 1997

rating: 4/5

Why I Read This Now: This is the novel that the current movie Precious is based on. I saw the movie trailer for the first time when the film was shown the Toronto Film Festival, and I find it so intriguing--I think it's the acting and the main character that really grab me. So when I saw the novel, I couldn't resist.

Comments: Even though the book is set in NYC, Claireece Precious Jones lives in a world that I can't even imagine. This is the US at its ugliest--her life is as horrible as any child's could be. Unloved, she is abused by the mother she lives with and the father that visits occasionally--often enough to get her pregnant at 12 and then again at 16. She's completely illiterate and knows nothing of the world other than slavery and abuse. But she ends up in an alternative school, and through the guidance of a teacher who believes in her, Precious learns to read and realizes that there is hope for her.

The novel is written in non-standard English, to mirror what is going on in Precious's mind (although she sure knows how to spell profanity, and my, does she use a lot of it!), and the English improves as the novel--and her education--progresses.

Overall, a hopeful and positive novel, with strong feminist undertones. And a quick read.

Recommended for: a good story for anyone who can stomach the graphic details and frequent crude language.

211Nickelini
dec 17, 2009, 12:05 pm

95. Technology and Empire: Perspectives on North America, George Grant

Non-fiction, 1969

Comments: A collection of political philosophy essays. Zzzzz.

Why I Read This Now: required reading for Humanities 323

Recommended for: Lovers of Canadian politics and philosophy.

Rating: 2/5

212Nickelini
dec 17, 2009, 12:05 pm

96. The Malaise of Modernity, Charles Taylor

Comments: This was a detailed, sentence-by-sentence reread in preparation for an essay I have to write. Amazing how difficult books change on the second reading.

213Nickelini
Redigeret: dec 17, 2009, 12:07 pm

97. The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse, Gregg Easterbrook

Non-fiction, 2002

rating: 3/5

comments: interesting book looking at why people in the Western world are so miserable when the quality of life has never been better. A nice balance for all the intellectual nihilism I've been drowning in this past week. I think a lot of his facts are wrong, but I'm not sure if it makes all that big a difference to the overall message.

why I read this now: I had to wait in the library the other day and I came across this. It's related to the paper I'm currently writing and takes a different view, so I thought I'd read it.

recommended for: people who think life has no meaning. Maybe it does, after all.

214Nickelini
dec 17, 2009, 12:07 pm

98. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen

British literature, 1818

rating: 3.5/5

comments: A charming story about a naive young girl who reads too many Gothic novels. At 17 she gets the opportunity to leave the sleepy village where she lives to visit the bright lights, big city of Bath. She doesn't encounter the Gothic horrors and evils that she expects to find, but instead finds the horrors and evils of Regency period English society.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as other Austen books I've read, but that might be because instead of immersing myself in the book, I read it in bits and pieces over several weeks.

why I read this now: This was book 5 of my Austen-a-year reading plan. One more to go! (I'm not worrying about Sanditon, The Watsons or Lady Susan but maybe one day I'll hunt those down).

recommended for: Janeites and fans of Gothic lit.

I just noticed that I finished this book on Dec 16, Jane Austen's birthday. Happy 234th b-day, Jane!

215Nickelini
dec 22, 2009, 2:25 pm

99. Disgrace, JM Coetzee

South African literature, 1999

Why I Read This Now: I wanted to read something completely different from what I've read that past few months. The other morning I was listening to Paul Simon's Graceland album, and I thought "Africa! I need to read something African." Disgrace was the first book that I found in my TBR pile that fit the African & Completely Different description.

Comments: This book had a lot to say, but I don't have much to say about it. This is my first Coetzee, and I think he's a gifted writer. I thought the characters were very real, although they weren't particularly likable. I really wanted to like Lucy--I can see her point, but she frustrated me.

Rating: 3.5/5 . . . I feel I should rate it higher, but I just can't.

Recommended for: Readers who like their fiction literary and dark.

216Nickelini
dec 22, 2009, 2:26 pm

100. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: a Memoir of Going Home, Rhoda Janzen

Memoir, 2009

Why I Read This Now: I am always on the lookout for the perfect Mennonite book--the one I can hand to people who don't know what a Mennonite is. Of course this is as silly as expecting to find a book that sums up the entire Jewish experience, or Japanese, but yet my search continues. I didn't expect this book to be the answer, but it did pretty well (for the record, the closest I've found is A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews--still far trom the perfect all-encompassing Menno book, but way up there).

Comments: A 40-something woman returns to her parents' home and community after some serious health problems and the end of a disasterous marriage. She had entered "the mainstream," as Janzen likes to call it, as an adult and her return to her culture helps her to heal.

This book is known to be "laugh out loud" hilarious, but some reviewers say that her humour wears thin after a while. However, I found the humour to be a more subtle kind of amusing, and rather than wearing thin, her memoir got more serious and reflective as she revealled the details of her past. Lots there about pain and growth for the reader who isn't particularly interested in her ethnicity.

As for the Mennonite details, however, I think she did a good job. My upbringing was a lot more liberal and we just didn't do the whole dorky thing that she suffered through, although I did know some dorky Mennonites too, so I could understand what she was saying. And dorky childhood stories are so much more entertaining than non-dorky. Also, I only shared about 40% of her food experiences, which is odd because food is such a huge component of any culture.

Rating: 3 3/4 out of 5

Recommended for: people who like memoirs of survivors of horrific marriages inserted with a good dose of humour; readers who want to learn a bit about Mennonite culture.

217avaland
dec 24, 2009, 12:18 pm

>214 Nickelini: ah, but you don't mention that Austen wrote Northanger Abbey as a parody to the Gothic novels that were all the rage back then. It would be the equivalent to writing a parody of Twilight these days. Even as a parody, it's a great read (not my fave, mind you - which is Persuasion - but a great read)

218lauralkeet
dec 25, 2009, 7:24 am

>217 avaland:: ditto opinions on Northanger Abbey and Persuasion !

219aluvalibri
dec 25, 2009, 10:54 am

#217 & 218> same here!

220Nickelini
dec 28, 2009, 1:23 pm

101. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Winifred Watson

Britlit, 1938

Rating: 3.5 /5

Comments: A charming book about a spinster who has led a dull, sheltered life and accidently falls in with a group of glamorous bohemians. As the title suggests, all the action happens in a day.

Why I Read This Now: looking for a light read

Recommended for: readers working through the 1001 Books list and need a break from all the grim, depressing books on the list.

221Nickelini
dec 28, 2009, 1:24 pm

102. Incident Report, Martha Baillie

fiction, 2009

Rating: 4/5

Comments: This is an unusual little novel, written in the first person voice of a library worker who uses the form of library incident reports. Many of the incident reports sound like posts in the "Annoying things that patrons do, say, don't say, etc." thread over at the Librarians Who LibraryThing group ( http://www.librarything.com/topic/64782#...), which just happens to be one of my favourite threads here at LT. But there is also a story going through the incident reports, and in her strange, detached way, Baillie tells quite a moving story--I almost cried at one point, and that's a rare thing.

Why I Read This Now: I'm fascinated with libraries, but this one pretty much makes it certain that I never want to work in a public library. At least not in a dodgy area of town.

Recommended for: readers who enjoy something different, and of course, anyone who has ever worked in a library.

222Nickelini
jan 4, 2010, 3:33 pm

This thread is now complete. You can find me at: http://www.librarything.com/topic/79448