blackdogbooks year 2008

Hello obsessive readers,

I am new to Library Thing and brand new to this group. I keep a reading journal in which I keep notes about the books I am reading, transcribe favorite passages, write a quick review or reaction to the book, etc. This seemed a good match to my journal only in electronic form. Last year I read 74 books (only about 68 are tagged "2007" in my library because I banned them from my shelves after having a negative reaction to them for one reason or another). So, this year, I think I shoudl be able to get the goal or at least 75.

So far this year, I have read:

The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughs
Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
Change Your Heart Change Your Life by Gary Smalley
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
An Unfinished Life by Mark Spragg
Dune by Frank Herbert
Shopgirl by Steve Martin
The Fair Tax Book by Neal Boortz and John Linder
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
Blaze by Stephen King
The Dark River by John Twelve Hawks
Cloudsplitter by Rusell Banks
Shane by Jack Schaeffer
On the Beach by Nevil Shute
Jazz by Toni Morrisson
Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

I also tried but gave up on (I have a 50 page rule):

V by Thomas Pynchon
To the Lighthouse by Virgina Wolfe
Miracle at St. Anna by James McBride
The Negotiator by Frederick Forsythe
Anna Hastings by Allen Drury

As you can see, I have a pretty eclectic reading habit. Currently, I am reading

What Would the Founders Do? by Richard Brookhiser

and

Dream Lucky by Roxanne Orgill
( I got Dream Lucky through the Early Reviewers program and I am about half-way through the book. So far, it is a very melodic description of 1937 and the cultural events of the day. Great read)

I am trying to start reviewing the books I read as I get through them but since I am new to LT, I am quite behind. I've decided to write a review on any book I finish and 1 other book I recently finished until I can catch up somewhat. Look forward to your comments and suggestions here. If you want my take on a book I've mentioned, happy to provide it until I can get my reviews up.

hey blackdog, welcome to the 75 book challenge!
I have Enduring Love and Shopgirl in my TBR pile. What did you think of them? I really enjoyed Atonement and I wanted to read another of Mcewan's books and a friend said he really liked Enduring Love, so I am thinking of giving it a read soon.

I never read Sons and Lovers but I saw the miniseries. It had to qualify as one of the most painful experiences of my life. It was TERRIBLE. I just wanted it to end so that I could go wash my brain with soap. Would you recommend the book? I ask because I want to read the book, hoping the miniseries was just an abberration. Also I am one of those people who feels compelled to finish a book even if it is horrible so I would rather not start if it is not a good book.

Yes, welcome! We'll look forward to your future comments (we are a nosey crowd here)

Hey TrishNYC,

Thanks for the warm welcome.

I would recommend both Enduring Love and Shopgirl. Interestingly, movies have been made from both of those books also, though I have only seen Shopgirl.

As to Enduring Love (EL), I read it shortly after seeing Atonement at the theatre and being intrigued by the weave of the story. EL does not have the same kind of feeling as the story in Atonement (though I am going only by the movie version) but it still seems to be a study of relationships and the way that factors, seemingly outside the characters grasp, can affect them. As I read EL, I often wanted to crawl into the main character's skin and put him on a different path or give him a different perspective. There is a stalking aspect to the story and I found it very credible, however crazy it got, and my job provides me a bit of insight. Not what I expected going in but all in all, a very good read.

Have you seen Atonement? If so, how did you feel about its treatment of the book?

As to Shopgirl (GL), I read the book after seeing the movie. I really enjoyed the quirky characters in the movie and was looking forward to more of them in the book. The book delivered, more on some characters than others, but delivered nonetheless. The study of the primary character, Mirabelle, was much more rounded and insightful, touching her relationships with much more than just her two suitors. Martin has a haunting way, both on film (Mixed Nuts, Roxanne, Grand Canyon) and on the page, of portraying the loneliness and emptiness of unconnected lives. He is able to make you grin in one line and then ache in another. Short read but well-written and well-drawn characters.

Sons and Lovers is a harder call. I had never read any of his books even though they are considered classics by most literate people. Going in, I was a bit worried that the books would not be for me. I was quickly surprised by the subject matter, not having any idea what the book was about before plowing in. The book felt like a study on the affects on a family from living with an abusive and un-affectionate husband/father. The characters lives seem completely composed from this dynamic. Feel free to peruse my review for more, as its one of the few I've gotten to so far. But, I can't enthusiastically recommend that one, given its dark nature. Also, found myself feeling like Lawrence covered the same material more than once in mapping out the characters relationships and stories.

I used to have the same compulsion about finishing a book once started. After reading A Guide to a Well Read Life, Steve Leveen (of Levenger), I stopped the obsessive reading of stuff I didn't like. Too many books in the world, and my own library, I will enjoy to waste time on ones I don't. Thus, the 50 page rule. Sometimes I'll go back and try again, allowing for the possibility that I tried to read the book at the wrong time in my life. But, no more than 1 re-try, then its out with the offending book and on to something I want to read!!!!

I sure like this concept of groups and exchanging ideas and information on books. Thanks very much for the comment!!!!

Bring on the Nosy Nellies!!! I love this whole idea!!!

Hello all,

Finished Dream Lucky by Roxanne Orgill last night. That makes 21 so far!!

I will review this one because I got it through the Early Reviewers Group, so trip on over to my library and check out the review.

Moving on to finish What Would the Founders Do? by Richard Brookhiser. Thought this would be a good time to read it with the Democratic Primary still marching on and the General Election looming.

Okay,

So I haven't yet figured out the touchstone tool here.....so, i'm gonna try again.

The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughs
Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
Change Your Heart Change Your Life by Gary Smalley
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
An Unfinished Life by Mark Spragg
Dune by Frank Herbert
Shopgirl by Steve Martin
The Fair Tax Book by Neal Boortz and John Linder
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
Blaze by Stephen King
The Dark River by John Twelve Hawks
Cloudsplitter by Rusell Banks
Shane by Jack Schaeffer
On the Beach by Nevil Shute
Jazz by Toni Morrisson
Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Dream Lucky by Roxanne Orgill

Just finnished:

23. What Would the Founders Do? by Richard Brookhiser

So that puts me up to date.

Not sure why On the Beach comes up in red and without the author??? Anyone know why that happens?

Missed Dune by Frnak Herbert

I'll get the hang of it yet.

Hey blackdog, thanks for you review of Enduring Love and Shopgirl. They have definitely gotten a move up in the TBR pile. I absolutely love Daniel Craig who is in the movie version of Enduring Love but somehow I always get caught up in something else every time that I want to see the movie.

As for Atonement, the movie, I really liked it. However, I feel that I would have liked it better had I not read the book because for me I feel like the surprise can only surprise you once. Its not like many movies where you can read the book and the movie may still hold some surprises. I feel like with this work, its either movie or book. For me I loved the book and I am glad that I read the book first because the surprise at the end was so stunning and it is one of those surprises that only the written word can convey. I remember when I first read the book, I was so angry when I got to the end. I really disliked Briony and I personally never forgave her. I know many people who saw the movie felt that she was just a kid and so should be forgiven. I did not buy that argument though I was open to trying to begin to forgive her. But the end sealed her fate for me cause as far as I was concerned it was her final act of arrogance and self importance. I don't want to mess it up for anyone who has not read it but I hope you get what I mean. Anyway I thought the movie was good. The girl who played Briony was brilliant. And I loved that typewriter music score(and I also really liked the use of Debussys Claire de Lune. It really fit in well with the movie)I gotta say that I know that many have raved about Keira Knightly's performance and I am a bit puzzled by that as she just stood there and wore beautiful clothes. I do not say this as a criticism of her as I actually really really like her as an actress but the character of Cecelia does not do much and is not required to do much so all the praise being piled on her seemed odd to me. I also thought that James McAvoy did a good job.

As to my reading habits, I know that I really find it hard not to finish a book. I have actually never not finished a book in my life. But you are right there are way too many books in the world to waste it reading stuff that you do not find interesting or at the very least somewhat intriguing.

Thanks also for you review of D.H Lawrence and Sons and Lovers in particular. I may give the book a skip for now cause the memory of that miniseries is still in my head.

Anyway I will reply to my opinion of the Pullman trilogy and Dean Koontz later today. Its 3:40 in the morning and I really should be in dream land(hours ago) :-)

TrishNYC

3:40 am.......Gosh, hope you got some dreams in....looking forward to your comments about the Pullman books and Koontz!!!!

24. Cottonwood Saints by Gene Guerin

For those of you scratching your heads, don't worry. It appears that I and one other LT'r are the only ones with this book in their library. Don't let that put you off. I really enjoyed this book. It is from a local author in New Mexico and it's his first book. I won't post a complete review here but will on the books page. So, feel free to investigate there, I encourage it.

Since it is a debut, I didn't feel like the writers honed his skill altogether but the book is definitely worth reading. A wonderful, and I thought accurate, portrayal of a traditional, Hispanic family from Northern New Mexico. And, great use of the state, it's foibles and oddities, as a character in the book.

Won't get five bones but I'll give it four.

LOL blackdog, yes I do tend to be up late many nights. I think that I have not shed the whole "staying up late to finish/study for midterms" habit that I picked up in college. Though now I am not studying for anything, I tend to get caught up in one thing or another and end up staying up late. Its crazy I know, considering I have been out of school for a few years.

Anyways, I promised you my opinion of His Dark Materials by Pullman. Though a Christian myself, I was not inflamed by his books. This may have more to do with my personality than the material itself. I guess for me I tend to believe in truly investigating something and not condemning without truly giving it a chance. The books were entertaining to start off with but I definitely felt that the quality deterioriated as they series progressed. I have to say that I personally never connected with the heroine, Lyra. I found her to be very self involved and downright obnoxious sometimes. Though I liked her more as the series progressed, she will definitely never be a literary favorite of mine. I know the sense is that she is supposed to be an independent and strong little lady but there is strong and indepedent and then there is rude and somewhat obnoxious. Unlike most people I really liked the subtle knife which is the middle book best of all. Maybe its because it is the book in which we meet Will, the "hero" of the series. He was also a child and he was strong and independent but he was extremely likable.

My accessment of the book was that Pullman had an excellent idea but kinda lost his way. By the third book, characters seemed to totally transform themselves in ways that were less than believeable. Characters that we thought we knew suddenly did a 360 transformation and that really made the story weak and seem like Pullman had run out of ideas. And characters that we were told would be pivotal to the story just seemed to fizzle and serve no real purpose. I felt that by the end Pullman's agenda may have overtaken the plot of the stories. For a story that started off so well, the final product was a bit "That's it?". Having said all that, I would highly recommend it even if it is just to see what all the fuss is about. In general the books are well written and present a great fantasy and magical creatures that will thrill any reader. The end was sad and touching. A good read in my opinion.

As for Kootnz, you are right, I should give him another chance. I think I will concentrate on his older stuff cause the new stuff is a bit...I can't find the word but all in all the new stuff has been less than desirable.

Hi blackdogbooks!

Can I ask your opinion of Slaughterhouse Five? I recently (well, last year) started trying to read Timequake, also by Kurt Vonnegut, but got absolutely nowhere with it (I just found it incredibly tedious). One of these days, I shall probably try it again (I hate not finishing things), but probably not for a _long_ time (life's too short). I was just wonding if it was worth trying something else he's written (I've read several people who say that Timequake isn't one of his best)... Do you have any thoughts?

...and isn't Wide Sargasso Sea a great book? Have you read anthing else by Jean Rhys, because Good Morning, Midnight is also very good (if even more depressing...)

#13 Well, I'm afraid I am not a fan of Slaugherhouse Five. I recommend giving it a try (I have a 50 page rule....no need to waste your time if you can't get into it by that time) because it is so well received. However, I had the feeling throughout the book that Vonegut was toying with me. He never really made it clear, at least to me, whether the main characters plight was real or perceived. The difference, for me, means a great deal. If the character is perceiving the unusual events as a way to deal with the awful things happening to him, then, that gives me a direction to look. But, if the unusual events are really happening, I don't know how to feel about the story. I'm purposefully trying to be a bit vague so as no to ruin it for you if you give it a try. But, if you do try it, shoot back a response and let me know what you think.

Wide Sargasso Sea was a great, great book. I read Jane Eyre farily young and loved it though I wasn't expecting to. I have an anthology of Rhys from which I read WSS and plan to return to the other works....I will keep you recommendation in mind!!

#13 TrishNYC Midterms, and school in general, get in the way of a good book.

Well, I may pass on the Golden Compass books for awhile based on your thoughtfull critique. While you said it was a good read, I have a hard time with main characters who are not likable. I finiished Under the Volcano by Malcom Lowry and had the same feeling. "That's it!!!!"

Old Koontz is always a good bet. Though, I did like From the Corner of His Eye, which is fairly new. Give that one a try. It felt like old Koontz

25. The Heart Shape Box by Joe Hill

Loved this book. Five bones!!!

Written by Stephen King's son. A great read....Check my review if you want to know more but I highly recommend this one for horror genre lovers!!!!

blackdog, thanks for your comment on my reading Ulysses. I was pretty proud of myself. I used this website (http://robotwisdom.com/jaj/ulysses) as an annotation. It gives a synopsis of each chapter, an analysis if you want it, and just a lot of information you can take or leave. One suggestion I was given when reading this was to read it the first time without trying to understand it, just "listening" to the language. I knew I'd never read it again, so sometimes when I got really bogged down, I just let it "sing" to me, and found that I could catch up on the details using the website.

tloeffler,

you may be a lifesaver....I really want to read it but was beat down a bit after getting through the stream of concious part either in or just after the 2nd chapter. I intend to revive my attempt at reading it this year with the help of your website.

Noticed an unusual thread in the three most recent books I have read or am reading; there is a Father/Son theme to them all. The Heart Shaped Box was written by Stephen King's son and I am a big King fan. And, both Zen and the Art of Mortorcycle Maintenance and The Road are about Fathers and Sons. In fact, I could also include Shane, which I read just a few books ago. I guess my Dad is on my mind these days.

A belated thanks for the non-recommendation of Slaughterhouse Five blackdogbooks - I've been trying to decide whether or not to give Kurt Vonnegut another go for a while, but I think I'll postpone him for a bit and get on with some new people...

#18 Oh fun! I've never saved a life before (that I've known of)!

#20 - flissp, no problem....I am a big science fiction fan and the concept of Slaughterhouse Five seemed a great concept but I was very disappointed. I will try another Vonnegut before I write him off altogether.

#18,#21 - tloeffler, now your eligible for the LT medal of honor for service above and beyond the call of a constant reader!!!!

26. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

Good book, portions were moving and wonderfully intuitive while other portions meandered and redundant. I get that the whole idea of the book was a comment philosphy but I thought it was a bit overdone with that part of the story, especially given that the book really seemed to get more at the life of the narrator, his troubles, and his relationships. But, I did enjoy the book, just got a bit bogged down in some chapters. More in a review on my library to be posted soon!!

#21 tloeffler: I also thank you for the link to Ulysses info. I'll save it on my Favorites, and maybe it will eventually help me feel brave enough for Ulysses. But, this year, trying to reach my "75" goal, I'm thinking it might slow me down.

blackdogbooks: have you ever read Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson?

alaskabookworm: never heard of the book or the author......I am intrigued....tell me more please!!!

Re Slaughterhouse-Five: I went through a Vonnegut phase last year where I read three or four of his in a row, but I read S-5 a few years before that, in high school, and I can't remember anything about it. Of the books I read last year, "Cat's Cradle" (no touchstone?) was by far the best. It's more linear, I think, and more tightly written. Also, I think the story was more interesting (although, like I said, I don't remember much from S-5, so I might be wrong). Anyway, if you want to give Vonnegut another shot, I definitely recommend "Cat's Cradle"--if you don't like that one, you probably won't like any of his stuff.

Well, Shadow Divers is nonfiction. It is about some deep ocean divers who happen across the wreckage of a German Uboat from WWII about 50 miles of the coast of New Jersey. I don't want to say much more because part of the fun of the book are the twists and turns events take. (Although I will if you decide not to read it!) But, despite the fact that initially I wasn't too excited about the subject matter, (diving isn't a hobby), once I started it, I couldn't put the book down until it was done.

Kurson was up in Anchorage last year promoting his new book Crashing Through, which was also interesting. He talked a bit about Shadow Divers, talking about the men he got know while researching the book; about how the rights to a feature film have been bought. It was a small crowd and he is a really nice guy.

27. Two Brothers-One North, One South by David H. Jones

Posted a review in the library and you can check it out if interested. This was an ER book for me.

28. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Can't say enough about this book or Cormac McCarthy. His spare and beautiful writing is superb.

#25 wunderkind. thanks for the suggestion. I am looking for a used copy of that very title now to give him one more try.

#26 alaskabookworm. I am not a diver but given your library, I take your suggestions very seriously. So, I will add that to my list of books I am looking out for. Thanks!!

blackdogbooks, I can add my recommendation to Shadow Divers which I listened to on audio. It's nonfiction written much like a thriller. They guys are nuts (aka risk-takers). I learned some interesting bits along the way.

I was looking at your list again at the top and it seems you are attracted to relatively short novels. Coming from a bookstore background I tend to visualize the book when I see the title and that's what struck me when reading your list. I can have long periods where the books I read are all under 300 pages, especially when I am occupied with research and writing. Also, one can read 800 pages in one book by one author or read 3 novels from three different authors...(see how my little brain works?:-) Did I read somewhere that you were a student?

Not a student.....but my job keeps me busy about 60-70 hours per week.....less reading time, unless i am traveling, when I get to read and read while on a plane or sitting in a motel room. I tend to try and be diverse with my choices in a lot of ways. I'll sprinkle the short novels in with the long novels, the deep and dense novels with the shallow and wispy novels, throw in a little non-fiction along the way and it keeps my little brain sharp. Right now, reading Stephen King's new one Duma Key and it is about 600 pages. Not extremely dense but not a quick read either. Finished Dune and Cloudsplitter recently, both of which were fairly long and one particulary dense reading. I have a couple of long ones on my next TBR stack looming The Fountainhead and The Studs Lonigan Triology. So, it just depends on when you catch me.

Book 29. Duma key by Stephen King.

In full disclosure, I am a huge Stephen King fan, one of the constant readers, if I do say so myself.

Having made this disclosure, I highly recommend this book. I recommend this one for readers familiar with King and those new to him. For those of you familiar with King, you will find much in this novel which harkens back to early King novels. The unfolding story is so lightly written and the supense and tension so carefully layered, the simple frights in the book take the reader completely by surprise. I usually like anything King writes. But it has been awhile since I've had to turn the lights on or have felt reluctant to turn my head at an unfamiliar sound. This one did that to me.

The book also reminds of earlier King work in its sweet and dark melancholy. The characters so often teach us about the regrets of living life halfway and not seizing every opportunity to be completely present in the lives of those closest to us.

So, five bones, for sure!!!!! To those of you with whom I have discussed this book, letting you know I was reading this soon and promising to share my thoughts, I say to you: Move this up in your TBR stack. For those of you not keen on the horror genre, don't be turned off by the thought of reading King. Most of his stories cut to the heart of the human existence. They just do it from a slightly different angle, looking at the human condition from the corner of the room where the dust has been settled for awhile.

I've heard the same things about Duma Key. I'm not a King fan (although I did like The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon), but one of my reading buddies said I really should read it, so I guess I'll talk him into loaning me his copy. PS I loved The Fountainhead--not as much as I did Atlas Shrugged but close to it!

Thanks for the support on The Fountainhead. I am approaching that read with some trepidation....you are the first person who has ever said anything positive to me about haveing read any Ayn Rand. So, that gives me some hope.

Definitely borrow Duma Key. There are different kind of King books; some are more accessible to the non-fan and some are not. This one is defintely more accessible. There's not a lot of gore, really most King writing is not that gory. He just gets a reputation as being a goremeister. But, this one has the great characters and relationships which are, for me, his hallmark and the reason for his success and the reason more people should read him. I would also recommend Blaze highly for someone like you. That's a recent read for me and is also very accessible for the non-fan. It's very much an old fashioned ghost story married to an old fashioned cime story. It's very likable. Try them both out. Another recommendation for a similar typ King book would be Bag of Bones. And I am not just recommending all King books for you, some you probably just wouldn't like.

Thanks! 2 more for the list. I am going to be so sorry I joined this group--instead of getting 75 books read and off my list, I've added 75 more! Not that I'm complaining!

Thanks! 2 more for the list. I am going to be so sorry I joined this group--instead of getting 75 books read and off my list, I've added 75 more! Not that I'm complaining!

the last novel i read of Ayn Rand's was more than a decade ago, but i remember enjoying her books immensely. i also remember liking The Fountainhead better than Atlas Shrugged - the latter was a bit too utopian for me. an early novel of hers which i liked a lot is We The Living. be prepared to be introduced to her Objectivist philosophy.

Book 30. Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading by Maureen Corrigan

Corrigan's memoirish comment on reading and its numerous affects on her life started out beautifully, capturing the mindset of the obsessive reader with her misanthropic comments about longing to be reading when in the company of friends. The first section of the book carefully balances her stated subject matter, reading and books, with a look at her life in books. A number of times, I reread passages which described my feelings about reading and books with a frightening accuracy.

The meat of the book, the four primary chapters, did not live up to the promise created in Corrigan's introduction. I am a life-long and obssessive reader, just as Corrigan describes herself, and I expected the remainder of the book to expand on reading and books from this angle. But Corrigan's literary review and classification of both fiction and non-fiction works important to her seemed overly professorial. The concepts she uses to describe the development of certain strains of writing are interesting but, after awhile, seem dull and clunky. While I appreciated her insights, I felt like Corrigan was too often preachy in trying to convince the reader of her positions on feminism, religion, and class in fiction and non-fiction.

Even in the midst of these tutorials, however, Corrigan still conveyed pieces of the feelings she grounds in her introduction. From the quirky story of how she chose and what she chose for her trip to adopt her daughter to the heart-warming interludes of how her reading habits and her father's were interwoven. These passages kept me reading the book.

The epilouge of the book falls completely into memoir, describing Corrigan's attendance at a party in New York a few days before 9/11 and her reconnection with old friends and family. The material has a built in readability. Unfortunately, Corrigan didn't tie this material back to her stated subject much more than to wonder how important reading and literature were in light of the terrible events.

All in all, I expected more from this book. While I enjoyed reading it, I would more likely reccomend Ruined By Reading, A Life in Books by Lynne Sharon Schwartz or Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose. Both were much more on point and neither tried to do too much. I guess, for me, it felt like Corrigan tried to do too much; write an essay on reading, defend literary hypotheses, and write a memoir.

3 bones!!!

#35 Thanks to you too deebee1 for the Ayn Rand Support.....I am putting off starting The Fountainhead for just a few books as it will take some time and I wanted to read a couple of other shorter books that I've been longing to read. But the comments here from my fellow 75ers have definitely prepared me for the journey.

#34 Tloeffler you want be sorry for adding those to your list and, while I have the same problem with adding to my TBR stack based on comments here in the 75ers, I have also changed my mind about reading some books and either removed them from my list or moved them down in my list. Ultimately, I've added more though. Hey, that's what books are for!!!

#36. I read Corrigan's book (last year, I think) and was very disappointed by it; felt it didn't live up to its description. Her infatuation with genre fiction (mysteries/detective stories) was totally lost on me. Alternatively, So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson is spot on and well worth reading.

I am taking your advice and currently reading Duma Key. My take so far? Well, I'm 300 pages in.... AND LOVING IT!!!! Can barely put it down, in fact. As I may have mentioned before, it's been more than 15 years since I've read King; there was a time when I just got tired of the cussing and italics and bizarre descriptions of sex and violence, though I always continued to deeply admire his craft and ability. But Duma Key is absolutely marvelous. I am so pleased! Thanks so much for the encouraging recommendation. If it keeps on this way for the second half, it will for sure get five stars. And I will probably recommend it to people who have never even considered reading King.

#7. I note you read Wide Sargasso Sea. How did you like this book.
I found it difficult to follow, but very much enjoyed the creativity of the author to image Rochesters life before meeting Jane Eyre. Also thought it fascinating to read the way in which the author depicted the steps leading up to the demise of Crazy Bertha in the attic.

blackdog, saw over on another thread that you're reading The Handmaid's Tale. There will be a discussion it on the Atwoodians group beginning the week of the 18th, if you're interested. My husband just read it for the first time, and I reread it for the fifth or sixth. It holds up really well on rereads, and like other classic dystopian novels remains relevant.

#38, alaskabookworm, glad my recommendation fit your tastes. That's actually a common complaint about King, sometimes it seems he doesn't edit his fantasy on the page at all and he is unafraid of writing anything. Duma Key didn't have much of the base side of King. Don't remember if you read Blaze but, if not, you should also read that soon. It's just as wonderful. These two felt a bit of a return of the old King with his focus on character and story. Obviously, agreed on Corrigan's book. I felt like it had a geat voice but the voice was ultimately wasted.

#39, Whisper1, I noticed you also read it and almost posted to your thread. But, in answer, I loved Wide Sargasso Sea. The concept, for me was great, especially because I loved Jane Eyre. The prequel nature of analyzing the Rochesters and their difficulties was very intriguiging. I also had a bit of trouble in a couple of passages where i felt like I lost track of whose voice I was reading, a little confusing. But, I loved Rhys writing and hope to read more of her. Have you read any of the others. I have a compendium of her work and don't know where to go next.

#40, avaland, Thanks for the invitation. I hope to finish The Handmaid's Tale up today. It's a wonderful book and I find myself jotting all kinds of ideas down in my reading journal as I read through it. I have never participated in a book discussion on LT before. How does it work?

Book discussions on LT, I suppose, have varying results because of the linear nature of the threads (one post after another) and the fact that participants are not posting at the same time. Some day, LT will have a live chat feature and then we will all have to find a time when the groups are all awake at the same time, until such time, these threads are what we have. Sometimes thread discussion resembles a back and forth discussion, other times a collection of posts on the same subject, still other times an evolution of posted thoughts - each building on the previous person's post. I think the latter is what one hopes for. On the Atwoodians' book discussion, I've asked that we each end our intitial posts (which would contain our general responses and reactions to the book) with a question - something we might be still mulling over, or something that came up during the reading. This will encourage, I hope, more of integrated discussion.

Like any group discussion, everyone comes to the discussion with different baggage (i.e.education, personal experience, other reading experiences...). It should be interesting, I think

I'd be interested in what ideas you jotted down in your journal:-)

#41 Like you, I love the book Jane Eyre. If I'm on a desert island and can only take two books, here are the ones
1) Jane Eyre
2) A Prayer for Owen Meany

In answer to your question, I have not read any other of Ryh's books and I'm not sure I want to pursue this option. While I liked the book, I found it difficult to follow the change of voice. While I read to escape, I don't like getting lost and if it takes too much work, then I'm most inclined not to read another of that particular person.

Book 31. The Handmaid's Tale

I write this review with some trepidation, noting the other 127 reviews and the popularity of the novel. But, as reading and literature is such a subjective endeavor, I will offer my thoughts about this great book.

The Handmaid's Tale is the recounting of one woman's life in the midst of what appears to be a religious and political revolution. The parameters of the revolution are vague because the tale is told in the first person and deals more with Offred's personal suffering and struggle to survive. Offred is a surrogate, enslaved and reprogrammed to provide children to the ruling class, most of whom are sterile. Her movements, diet, and day to day activities are dictated and monitored. But, however her captors try to change and influence Offred's thoughts, they fail and the tale contains a vital thread of thoughts, recriminations, and longings from Offred's past.

The dystopian story, in my mind, is a comment on the politics of power, not so much on the macro or geo-politcial scale, but on the personal and individual scale. Amidst all of the rules and regulations of the Gilead society, the characters are constantly struggling with one another to gain the upper hand in their personal relationships and dealings, each one choosing a different angle to work. Surely there are messages here for us about the power of religion, class society, and gender politics. But, for me, the most striking elements of the story are those dealing with the seesawing relationships between Offred and each of her captors. Atwood's novel ultimately exposes the fragile balance we all try to achieve between our true self, deeply held and protected, and the compromises in life we are willing to make for survival, or in some cases, for the upper hand. Offred, the Commander, his wife, and even many of Offred's friends make choices that help them negotiate the new rules of the Gilead society. But these choices each also have very personal motivations, affecting the dynamics of their relationships in very personal ways.

The novel also has much to say about reality , perception, and the need to control. There is so much in this short work to discover, it's no wonder that it has become such a favorite, as it is sure to bear up under multiple re-reads.

Atwood's writing is never overbearing. She always allows Offred's voice to carry the narrative. Neither is the underlying framework for the story prohibitive, as can be common in dystopian attempts. Rather, Atwood is able to give us a frightening sense of the oppressive ruling government without beating us over the head with the structure or with horrific, detailed accounts of abuse and suffering. While the rules and regulations are laid out and the suffering described, it is always carried on Offred's perspective and always informs her story.

Highly recommended!

5 bones!!!!!

#42, avaland. I hope to join the group discussion about The Handmaid's Tale on 5/18. Do I just go over to the Atwoodians Group (Is that the name?) ? And given you comments, I see that the time is open given the worldwide nature of LT.

As to the thoughts I wrote down in my reading journal, some of them are contained in my review which I just posted. And, I'm sure more will follow in the group discussion. I'm really interested in other perspectives on the book also. This was my first reading and there's so much in the book. One thought I didn't put down in my review is the uneasy feeling I had reading the "historical note" at the end of the novel. The condescending and snobbish tone of the lecture gave me chills. I think everyone would agree that the Gilead society was way off mark. But the tone of the anthropoligical review of the society didn't inspire confidence that the problems were fixed over time. I'd be very interested in a "Tale" about that society.

#43, Whisper1. I understand your comments. Though, the introduction to my compendium doesn't indicate that same tool was used by Rhys in her other novels. I re-read the introduction and post again on what that author thinks is Rhys best other work. Maybe there's something in there with her great writing but not the changing voice stuff.

I have a copy of Own Meany but haven't read it yet and haven't seen many comments about it. Tell me more!!! Maybe I'll move it up in my TBR stack.

blackdog, Here's the link to the Atwoodians group. I think I have it set that one doesn't have to join to post, but I can't remember. I think your review is interesting and can be transferred over to the discussion thread next weekend and thereafter. I'm sure we will all sound redundant for awhile on the thread as we post our thoughts. I think you even have the making of a question to end with in your unease about the 'historical notes"!

And the last line of the book. "Any questions?"

#46. Ah, gosh, how should I best comment on this book. There are so many nuances that it is akin to trying to describe your "best" friend or your child should someone ask what you like about them.

I read this book years ago after John Irving spoke at the Lehigh University graduation service. Prior to hearing him, I tried some of his other books and didn't particularly care for them.

Yet, when he spoke about this book he was writing at the time, I was hooked.

While reading A Prayer For Owen Meany, I laughed while reading one page and then cried when turning the next.

The primary theme is one of abiding friendship that touches the life and soul. Irving includes politics (anti Viet Nam war), the role of fate/predestination and in addition, he weaves the compelling need of forgiveness throughout life.

As one reviewer on Amazon said,
"A Prayer for Owen Meany" is NOT your typical book.

#47, avaland, thanks for the link. I always feel a bit presumptuous posting a review on such a book, especially one that has such a following. I always feel like I've missed the point or that I'm just to thick to get it. But, it helps me to put my thoughts down in such a way to sort of organize or vet them. I am sure looking forward to hearing about everyone elses thoughts. I purposefully did not read any of the other reviews of the book posted in anticipation of the discussion.

#48, Whisper1, OK. This group and LT in general is bad for my reading habits. Owen Meany will have to go up in my priority list. I never have enough reading time!

Owen Meany is my favorite book of all time. I read it as a teenager/young adult when it first came out; then reread is just this last January. It was even better the second time. It's an old friend.

Hi Alaskabookworm.

Have you seen the movie Simon Birch, produced in 1998. It is a drama loosley based on A Prayer for Owen Meany. If you haven't seen this, you might want to try to rent it if you can find it.

Aha!!!!! I saw that movie and I think I may have been one of the few people I know who saw it and liked it. Now I am definitely moving up A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Bit late responding but your book #30 Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading by Maureen Corrigan triggered a book hunt for me. Sadly I don't have that one or Ruined By Reading, A Life in Books by Lynne Sharon Schwartz or Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose at my library, but I will keep an eye out. Just wondering if you've read John Baxter's A Pound of Paper? It was awhile ago now, but I remember enjoying it. And The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee.
Oh, and while I'm at it, is it too late to say I couldn't take Slaughter-House Five either or that I loved Wide Sargasso Sea? ;)

Thanks so much for the book suggestions for books on books and reading. I enjoy these kinds of reads because I feel like they sharpen my eye in close reading and overall enjoyment of storytelling, not to mention, they expose me to many other novels and authors. As to the Corrigan book, I would much more higly recommend either of the other two over Corrigan's. And, while I'm at it, check out On Writing by Stephen King. Great read and some funny stories about his life and influences.

And, never too late to comment on your enjoyment or disappointment in reading particular books. While I am always quick to point out the subjective nature of this endeavor, it's nice to hear from others who had similar experiences in reading certain books.

Book #33, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

This story follows the life of Okwonkwo, a powerful member of an African village, his successes and failures. Okwonkwo's life seems to be dominated by a fear of failure and a fear of becoming too much like his father, a lazy and worthless man in Okwonkwo's life.

The short novel reads very much like a Greek tragedy. Okwonkwo, determined to be different from his father, looks at all around him as inferior. And, while he does succeed in many endeavors, this hubris is ultimately his undoing.

The story, written by a man who grew up in an African village at a time when Anglican missionary work was expanding in Africa, is deeply rooted in African culture and perspective. The narrative is very non-linear, doubling back on itself in several sections to highlight history and background information. Having worked some in Native American cultures, I found the non-linear narrative familiar, though it might put some readers off.

On balance, while enjoying the exposure to a different culture, the story just did not grab me as I'd hoped. There is nothing in the writing style or storytelling which is lacking, but, for some reason, I just didn't connect with the story.

3 boness!!!

Next up, Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler

I agree about Things Fall Apart. I read it for a class and I couldn't connect with it either.

Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler is on my reading list this year too. Let me know what you think of it!

#57, Oklahoma, So far I am very intrigued by it. The style is very accessible and enjoyable and the story is interesting. I found myself rereading certain passages because they read so easy but still offered a lot of insight from a closer read. I like this a good deal better than I expected I might, as I was just going to try it out. But if it holds to my first impressions, I will be highly recommending it.

I think I'll pull it a little closer to the top of the TBR pile!

#51 A bit late in responding: yes, I did see "Simon Birch". I have seen it, and I liked it. When I heard that "Owen Meany" inspired a feature-film, I was ecstatic. The book is so broad and panoramic, it is impossible to capture it in 90 minutes. Thus, a focussing in on one thread from the book for the purposes of the movie was a wise move.

blackdogbooks: I finished "Duma Key." FINALLY. Man, I'm slow. I loved it! Five stars! And I RARELY give five stars. Thank you for encouraging me to get to it. Is it just me, or is this an older, wiser Stephen King? His protagonist is an unfailing father, a parent, a friend. I identified very deeply with him. What a great story.

I also have to tell you this little antecdote: As I read it, I didn't think I was overly creeped out, but what DID happen was that I found myself worrying about my kids a lot more. Suddenly, there just seemed to be dangers at every turn; as if some kind of a malevolent force was waiting to take them out. THen, in the space of a week three weird-ish things happened: a) my littlest one, four, threw his "lovey" on the stovetop lighting it on fire. Thank the good Lord I was there to immediately put the fire out; the "lovey was saved but required a substantial "patch" job. I thought of Edgar trying to protect Ilse. Then, b) My 6-year-old was chasing her friend outside and sort of missed seeing the neighbor's SUV blindly backing up right towards her. I screamed; everything was fine, but I was VERY shaken. Again, I thought of Edgar and Ilse. THEN, c) this last weekend, we went camping, and we were surrounded by a lake, a bonfire, chainsaws, axes, a gun, and a rope swing, and I was thinking CONSTANTLY of Edgar and Ilse. My four "babies" were running amok, and I imagined the worst. In the end my premonition seemed justified, when my eight-year-old broke her arm (this very morning, in fact; I'm still reeling; my first broken bone since beginning motherhood a decade earlier). But it didn't result from any of the above-mentioned hazards: rather, my daughter simply fell while trying to find a better hiding place during hide-and-seek. If that isn't like something out of Duma Key, I don't know what is.

Thanks for listening!

OK, you posted your thoughts here; I just got done leaving you a note on your thread asking about the read.

First, 'older and wiser' King? Maybe. I will say that much of his fiction since his near death experience has been infused with themes related to the effects of major and life threatening events, the overcoming of the negative and the embracingt of the positve ones. This paticular book was filled with that; Edgar is afflicted or gifted, depending on your perspective and the portion of ht ebook your reading, with this power and he must work through how it affects his life and how the underlying accident affected his life.

I am truly sorry about your daughter's break and I hope she is feeling well. The experience you have had here is not uncommon for King readers. He has an unusual gift in getting under the readers skin and touching your fears and worries. I think it's because he often uses the mundane in his frights and gets into his characters thoughts so deeply.

Your thoughts while reading the book may get at part of what I thought his message might have been.....no matter the amount of worry and concern for our lives and those around us; no matter the amount of power we have, we can never control the events around us and those close to us. We can only learn to deal with them; hopefully dealing better and better as we grow. I thought Wireman was there to show Edgar how he'd learned to live with the choices and events of his life. And even when Edgar takes matters into his own hands and changes Wireman's life, Wireman ends up paying for it with a shorter life in the end, at least that's the way I read it. Same with Ilse!!! What if Edgar had not mettled? Would Ilse's life run the same course?

Anyway, hang in there and sign your daughter's cast for me with a big paw!!!!!

You've read several books that are on my wish list, in particular Dune and Duma Key. I've never read King but I've heard so many good things about this one, and the conversation in this thread cemented it for me!

If you like Duma Key when you read it, put Blaze on your wish list too. This is another recent King which is just as good in most of the same ways as Duma Key.

Dune was wonderful!!!! My first time reading. Again, so much more than it's modern handling in other sotries and TV shows and movies.

Any of the others your curious about, let me know.

#63 Thanks for the tip on Blaze. I read through the blurb on Amazon and it looks like I would enjoy that as well.

Would you recommend Wide Sargasso Sea? I understand it's supposed to be a prequel to Jane Eyre (one of the my all-time favorites).

Also, what's your opinion of Shopgirl re: book vs. movie. Should I read the book first or see the movie first? The movie's been on my Blockbuster queue for ages now.

I loved Wide Sargasso Sea and came to it because it was on one of my 100 best lists. So, I didn't seek the book out and hadn't read any of Rhys other stories, though I plan to now. It's sort of a prequel to Jane Eyre but it's really more of a look at Mr. Rochester and his wife and what happened in their lives before, as imagined by another author, without any connection to the later work. The writing was great. The only trouble I had was that the story changed voice a couple of times and it took me a few pages to shift gears to figure out who was the narrator and what was going on.

If you have Shopgirl the book, read it first and then see the movie. If you don't have the book, go ahead and see the movie. I don't think the experience of either will affect the other substantially. The underlying themes of the book are well tailored in the movies and the casting for the characters was right on. The book is worth reading after seeing the movie because of Steve Martin's unique, smart style and because of his ability to cut to the heart of a characters lonliness and despair in a matter of a couple of words; and then, make you laugh. Both were very good and i highly recommend them both.

#34 Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler

A somewhat transcendental comment on politics, power, and revolution. Rubashov, an important member of the revolutionary movement in what is obviously Russia, becomes a ruling member of the party. As he grows in stature in the party, the party begins to change around him. Eventually he is suspected of having anti-party thoughts and engaging in anti-party activities. He is arrested and interrogated. The story of Rubashov's life and membership in both the revolution and the party is told through Rubashov's own musings while awaiting interrogation in his cell and through the interrogations themselves.

I was hooked on this story immediately because of the superb first few pages which wonderfully set the tone of the story and established several thematic elements which recur throughout. The description of Rubashov's prison and how natural elements are reflected against it was very nice.

Rubashov is only enlightened about the inherent value of human life beyond its use as a means to some political or social end when he is imprisoned himself and subjected to the same policies and treatment which he previously supported and used. While imprisoned, Rubashov begins to reflect on the lives he has taken, examining each in light of some flawed characteristic which he has retained: Richard's stutter, Arlova's heavy body, Loewy's weak stomach, and Bogrov's unmanly whimpering. As he ruminiates on his relationships with these people, he begins to see that the party policy of viewing people only as a means to an end may not be proper.

During Rubashov's second interrogation, he and Ivanov discuss this their differences about the value of human life in light of Crime and Punishment. It seems that the book is a comment on this very disagreement, as Dostoyevsky writes about the killing of the old lady and whether it was justified by the killer's need for food and struggle to survive. This discussion made me want to read Crime and Punsihment.

Rubashov ultimately declares that all political and social progress can be described as one leg of a swinging pendulum, reaching slightly higher with each swing. Technological or social advancement moves too fast for people and spawns chaos which, in turn, leads to the rise of a totalitarian regime. But, as society adjusts to the changes, their is a push towards more freedom and democracy.

As you can see, there is a lot to think about from this book. The only catch is that the book is not driven by the story but by Rubashov's internal musings and theoretical discussions with himself. This may turn some off. I quite enjoyed this aspect of the book as it was never redundant or overly indulgent with Rubashov's internal discussions; each one seemed to move Rubashov further towards his final understanding.

4 bones!!!!

Next up for me is Lord of the Flies. I seem to be choosing my books with a thematic connection without really trying. This one fits in nicely with Darkness at Noon and The Handmaid's Tale I think.....power, politics, totalitarianism, etc.

Last time I seemed to have a bit of a father and son theme with the Road Zen and the Art of motorcycle maintenance and The Heart Shaped Box.

After you read the book Lord of the Flies, try to find the movie- it is very powerful. I saw it in a film class this year.

66.
I went to the library today and checked out Darkness at Noon Hopefully, because it is a holiday weekend, I'll be able to read this. I'm on a Russina history journey these days.

Thanks for the description of this book.

#68, torontoc Isn't there more than one version of The Lord of the Flies? If so, which one do you recommend?

#69, Whisper1, Good Luck with Darkness at Noon. I hope you enjoy it!!!!

Book 35. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Ralph, Piggy, Sam and Eric the Twins, and Jack, along with their other schoolmates are wrecked on an uninhabitated Pacific Island without any adults. The boys vary in age from about 6 to young teens. Ralph is immediately elected as their leader and he sets about trying to organize and care for the group, building shelters, providing water and food, and creating a signal fire. The group quickly decompensates into chaos and Jack, the leader of the hunters, breaks off and establishes his own tribe, based primarily on his baser and more violent nature. Jack quickly draws most of the boys to his tribe and then begans to punish and hunt those who refuse, chief among them Ralph, Piggy, and the twins.

Golding himself wrote in a press kit for the American publication of the book that, "The therm is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable." In this formula, Ralph represents the humane and ethical part of human nature while Jack represents the base, power hungry, and violent part of human nature.

Initially, I was a bit turned off by what I thought was a largely dark and bleak view of human behavior. On further reflection, I found the fact that Golding closes the book with Ralph's rescue, as a conclusion that, ultimately, good will win out, though not without some losses. Piggy, Ralph's intellectual advisor, and the twins, Sam and Eric, the loyal followers, are all lost in some way; Piggy is killed and the twins are forced to switch their loyalty. Each of these tries to stand with Ralph based on the strengths of their own gifts, intelilgence and loyalty, but each fails. Ralph alone maintains a pure heart, resting his decisions sqaurely on his own simple yet strong sense of right and wrong.

I found the book a little hard to connect with for the first two thirds or so but it grew on me in the final third. I think I was hoping for more of an examination of Ralph and his inner dialog. For that matter, it would have been nice to know a little more about all of the main boys, how they got to be who they were and why they made the decisions they did. Golding left that part of the landscape somewhat blank, almost as if to say that there were no choices only reactions.

A good read.

3 bones!!!

I found the themes in this book echoed some of my thoughts about The Handmaid's Tale. Especially given on Golding's description of the theme of the book, individual personality shapes socities. Also, the struggle for power and control in Flies seemed a base version of some of the same struggles in Handmaid. I'm glad I read these two at about the same time.

Next up, I Am Legend by Richard Mateson. I need a bit of a palate cleanser and I haven't really read any Sci-Fi for awhile.

Book #36, I Am Legend is the story of the last man on earth amongst an epidemic of vampires. Immune himself, he studies the vampires in attempts to uderstand the nature of the affliction and the nature of vapirism in general, hoping ot find a cure. He begins to understand that much of the vampire's behavior is psycologically induced from long-standing legends, learned over many centuries, about vampires.

The original story here is much darker than the updated Will Smith movie version, including the ending. Ultimately, this last uninfected human is captured by the vampires and executed. Before he is executed, however, he feels gets a taste of the hate, fear, and misunderstanding the vampires have about him; he realizes that he has become the new legend.

A light and fun read but much better writtent than I expected.

Also, there is a fun collection of short stories following the main story. here are some highlights of the best of them:

"Prey: - A Zuni warrior fetish doll comes alive and its spirit possesses its owner.

"Mad House" - A man's blistering angry attitude begins to infect and inhabit the inanimate objects in his house, eventually attacking and killing him. A real comment on controling your emotions.

"Person to Person" - A man begins to hear a ringing telephone in his head. He begins a dialog with the voice who could be a secret government agent or an inventor or his dead father or a unhappy dead soul or satan or his own subconcious. It's ultimately unclear whether he begins the story crazy or is driven crazy by the voice.

4 bones!!!!

Next up, The Fountainhead

Just slightly into The Fountainhead but I am surprised to find how much I enjoy it so far. I watched a movie about Ayn Rand's life some years ago and was a bit put off. I should have remembered the old adage, "Authors are best read and not met."

The edition I am reading has a very interesting preface by Rand explaining her goals and her thoughts on the validity of the book over time. I read the preface several times as it was a fascinating philosophical discussion of Rand's peculiar humanist point of view. While I don't entirely agree with her theories, the discussion was very thought provoking. Man as an end in himself. Ethics and moral value flowing inherently from man and religion as a distortion of those tendencies.

I wanted to let you know I picked up Blaze at second hand bookstore yesterday. Realistically, won't get to it for a little while, but went ahead and read the intro which I found very moving/interesting/entertaining. King is such an amazing writer.

alaskabookworm,

how's your daughter's arm? hope she is mending well!!

The arm seems to be doing quite well. Turns out the break wasn't a bad one (thankfully). Better yet, the cast is waterproof, so she has been able to run amok, play in sprinklers, and take baths. That sure makes it easier. The cast will come off in only one more week. Thanks for asking.

I've been meaning to read Darkness at Noon for weeks but got a pile i promised to read to the end before picking up a new one. would like to see how Crime and Punishment ties in to the story.

I read The Fountainhead ages ago and among her dense novels, enjoyed it the most. However I think an early work, We The Living is her most beautifully written novel which, rather than serving like a discourse, as in the later novels, of her philosophy, is a portrayal of it in the lives of 3 characters under the Soviet communist regime.

I don't think you'll be disappointed by Darkness at Noon. So far, The Fountainhead is much more accessible in style than I expected. I thought there would be much more of the philosophical discussions, like the preface, played out over 700 pages. But, she is a much better story teller than I gave her credit for. I'll keep the earlier work in mind if I ultimately enjoy the whole book.

I am finding it much harder to stick to my piles and my dogged OCD in reading it through before getting a different book down off the shelves, especially since joining LT. Good luck with the pile, let me know how you find Darkness.

geez, as i knew i eventually would, i broke my promise to myself and just finished Darkness at Noon :-) this is definitely 5 stars for me...

if u do end up enjoying Ayn Rand and read the earlier work i mentioned, it writes about the same theme but set at an earlier time and from the point of view of young idealists.

Still plugging away at The Fountainhead and still enjoying it, though there have been a few philosophical rabbit trails. Mostly, I am really enjoying the story of these people. while not exactly likable, they are fascinating and their lives, so far, are keeping my attention. I don't know what I am in for in terms of resolutions with either Roark or Keating, but the path of their lives, their choices (and manipulations) are a great read.

Glad you enjoyed Darkness at Noon so much. any thoughts on the book? Pretty cool tie in with Crime and Punishment, huh?

Book #37, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Howard Roark is a gifted and painfully principled young architect. Expelled from school and forced to work the odd construction job to support himself, he refuses to compromise his vision of modern architecture. Peter Keating is just the opposite, eager to please and desperate to succeed, he will do anything and manipulate anyone to make his way in the field. The two end up as sort of rivals for both architectural commissions and for the love of Dominique Francon. Keating is initially heralded as the newest and best arcitect while Roark is ridiculed and penniless. Eventually Roark's fortunes change and he begins to gather a following. Francon marries Keating and then another of Roark's enemies, only to find that she cannot forget about Roark.

The Fountainhead is a humanist treatise, founded on Rand's notion that "man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress" She sets up Roark, the ultimate egotist, as the person through whom this notion will be proven. Roark never compromises throughout the entire novel, not when it is in his best interests or when it is necessary. Nonetheless, he is eventually recognized as an artist and important thinker. On the other hand, those around him never live up to his rugged individualism and determined principals. Francon, the woman he most loves, engages in two different relationships simply because she doesn't believe that she is worthy of Roark. His best friend ultimately betrays him.

Rand is never far from her theme. From the first paragraphs, she roots Roark atthe center of the universe, though grounded in a way that would suggest he is to grow. "So that the world seemed suspended in space, an island floating on nothing, anchored to the feet of the man on the cliff." Roark. In the last paragraphs, Rand gives Roark his success, suspending him in the air, his new bride swinging to him on a flying girder, raising her to his level now that she has finally lived up to Roark's uncompromising values.

The writing style was surprisingly controlled for the better part of the story. Rather than using the pages as an opportunity to engage in endless philisophical musings, Rand uses the story to make her points. Though there were a few diatribes by certain characters throughout the novel, these were not long and could be forgiven because of the well told and well written story. At times, it felt like Rand's characters were driven so completely by her motivation to prove her philisopical point of view that their decisions made sense only in the context of the story. Again, though, this seemed forgivable because of the well drawn characters themselves. The last complaint for me is that the book, the characters, and the story sometimes seemed just a bit too intelectually snobbish. It was as if all of the characters and Rand herself were the choosen protectors of a very select and important club and they were not all sure that the reader would get an invitation to join.

On balance, I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. I watched a movie on Rand some years ago and was unimpressed with her. The novel was better and more enjoyable than the movie of her life.

3.5 bones

That's halfway!!!! The last one took me awhile to get through!!!

Next up Out West, His Journals and Letters by Owen Wister and The Virginian by Owen Wister.

Yay--good for you on your halfway point! At this rate, you may get in some extra beyond your 75!

It's been a long time since I read The Fountainhead. Your review makes me think it's time to reread and see what I think of it now.

Good day!

Just browsed through your message list after you kindly wrote to me in this forum recently. In case you or any of your correspondents are interested, here's my take on some of your commentaries:

Not Finishing Books: Rarely happens to me, but the one book no one in my book club got past page 60 (except the recommender) was The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers. All the metaphorical allusions drove each of us away by that point. We just wanted the story and Powers insisted on showing how every plot point relates to something musically.

Kurt Vonnegut: Cat's Cradle is much more accessible, and I enjoyed rereading it as an adult over the first reading as a teen. Vonnegut is an acquired taste, and this book had humor sprinkled liberally enough to make the horrific consequences of the book almost palatable.

I cannot seem to read Atonement cover to cover. I keep reading sections and chapters, out of order, and I figure by year's end, I will have completed the novel. Didn't see the movie (on my list), but knew the plot line, and that didn't help. I was thoroughly annoyed by Briony early on, and that's part of the problem.

Loved, loved, loved The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The writing was spare and crisp--and the story heartbreaking. Question tossed around during my book club meeting: Does it have a happy ending?

I, too, am a huge Stephen King fan. I always suggest The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon to newbies and it is now on several high school reading lists. Not too long, simple plot line, and, really, what about the bears in the woods?

I would like to add Insomnia as suggestion. It's got a lot of the tricks King uses in all his novels, but I thought it more accessible in terms of "real life"--as much as any King story is "real life." It's stayed with me over several years.

I can't seem to get through A Prayer for Owen Meany, but my entire family loves Simon Birch. The movie is a secret pleasure in many ways, and the thematic structure very sound. Plus it's got some great one-liners!

Darkness at Noon is another book (The Handmaid's Tale is another) that I read as a very young adult and recently reread. I thoroughly enjoyed both on the rereading and found the themes very topical in today's political climate.

Richard Matheson is a god! I Am Legend is only one of the truly great stories he wrote, and several were converted to small screen honor, including Prey. Oddly enough, the latest film follows the story most closely--try watching The Omega Man to see how far afoul of the intent a film can be. I'm something of a Charleton Heston fan, but this is not one of his best. However, Will Smith seems to be taking on Heston's 70's mantle of Everyman in the future (distant and not-so-distant).

When you go for oldies, try George Eliot as well. There are several truly excellent British television adaptations of her work, including Middlemarch (I know, purists will howl). When I read Silas Marner, I was amazed--my mother had actively worked to keep me from reading it.

And for oldies but goodies, try some children's books: Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field; Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow; The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss; the first Oz books by Baum; Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry. There are good reasons why these books are still recommended!

Wow, where do I begin???? First, thanks for taking the time to read along through my thread here and make some comments.

On McCarthy and The Road....I do think that the ending is a hopeful one, while not exactly a happy one. But it is a more hope filled ending than most of the McCarthy I've read.

On King....both of your suggestions are good ones, though I was a bit surprised that you would condsider Insomnia as one of his 'real life' type stories. It has been awhile since I read it, but I remember thinking it to be one of his more fanciful and fantasy-oriented works. Since you've already read through the thread, I won't belabor my recommendations of Duma Key and Blaze. But, I will add Bag of Bones to those recommendations. It is rooted more firmly in 'the real' than some of his other works. Often the works most firmly rooted in 'the real' are his most frightening to me. Dolores Claiborne, Misery, and Gerald's Game. All of these last three are terrifying in their depiction of minds gone awry and the awful conswquences.

On King and Matheson....I intend to read much more of Matheson's works. Just noticed on King's website that he and his son, Joe Hill, will collaborate on an anthology/homage book on Matheson's work. The publisher is marketing it as a collector type book, getting them all to sign copies for sale.

On George Eliot.....looking forward to reading this author. Toss up between Silas Marner and Middlemarch to start. Probably they will make a TBR stack in the not too distant future.

On Baum, etc....Been looking for some good old, used copies of some of Baum's works, but having trouble finding them. Seuss is a favorite. The others are new names to me and I will have to check them out>

Book #38, Out West, His Journals and Letters by Owen Wister

This is an absolutely beautiful book. Wister journaled throughout his life, particularly during his trips to the Frontier West. HIs voice is so solid and his style so easy. He captures the West in all of its beauty and all of its ugliness. The place and the people who populated this part of the country were hard and elegant, base and full of integrity all at the same time. Wister can describe a lonely mountain town, shanty construction and all, in such a compeling and true way. I have read few accounts of a Western sunset which are as accurate and awe inspiring as those found in his journals.

Wister, a contemporary and friend of Rudyard Kipling, Henry James, Frederic Remington, and Theodore Roosevelt, did not have the same staying power of reputation evidenced by his friends. But it is not because he wasn't deserving of the reputation. His journals show the germination of his Virginian, in stories relayed to him from the men and women he met in his travels. This first cowboy of modern literature is still the mold by which all other cowboys are shaped in literature and screen. Unfortunately, Wister was not a prolific writer and left u s with only a few stories by which his career should be measured. These journals are evidence of a style and voice that, were he more prolific, would have been compared kindly to near any writer who preceeded or followed him.

5 hearty bones!!!!!

That's just not enough.....I loved this book more than many I've read in the last two years. Here's one of his sunsets......read it aloud to yourself to get the full lyrical quality of his writing and remember it's only an unpolished journal.

"After a stunning drive up through the canyon where rocks lay in such architectural heaps that I could have imagined a druid sitting beneath them, and where the lifeless trees stood up on the plain like monsters on their hind legs or lay sprawling like skeletons of fearful spiders, we saw a sunset more remarkable than any yet. The mountains rose between us and the sun, but from behind them rose a saffron and gold vapor that seemed to be exhaled from some heavenly volcano. All around the sky big patches of woolly clousds made a crimson stationary background, while over the face of this, long lines and fragments of slate-colored streamers sped like messengers."

Also, his letters to his mother are so poignant, as it is clear she neither approved of his writing nor him. He so longed and sought her approval and yet she obviously was only capable of coldness and scorn, especially as it relates to his writing. Nonetheless, he perservered and created a whole genre of modern fiction with The Virginian and some short stories in Harpers Monthly. As he rode on trains across the West, he garnered anonymous congratulations as other passengers read his stories, not knowing that they sat next to the writer. These few comments from unknown travelers sustained him. And his frequent trips to his beloved frontier also sustained him.

Next up.....what else the Virginian

Hello again,

Funny about King--people who like his writing have really variant takes on his novels. His short stories generally cause me very long sleepless nights (I remember Night Shift quite vividly and I won't tell you how many years ago that was!), but where his lead characters are not children, I tend to recall his novels with more fondness. The Stand is still my all-time favorite, having read it in both versions.

Discovered Jeff Long last year with Year Zero and Descent, and he has a lot of the same staying power. Also the ability to incense and inspire you as a reader almost at the same moment.

I started reading more of Matheson's stories in the past couple of years, and they hold up remarkably well. I hope you get to read much more. I'm also reading a lot more Philip K. Dick these days. His works are very popular with movie makers, and I wanted to go to the source.

And I was one of those with The Road--it's a hopeful ending. McCarthy himself comes across as very glum, but I felt the story moved slightly to the "up" side at the end. I just loved the writing.

If you're new to Eliot, Middlemarch is a huge bite to take, and a very long storyline. You may want to watch the 1994 mini-series first. It's slightly over 6 hours, so you know the Brits tried to include the entire story and all its asides. Plus there's a marvelous "extra" with Eliot scholars and the Eliot fan club that's well worth the watching. Silas Marner or Mill on the Floss are much faster to read simply because they are shorter stories. But I have enjoyed Eliot's writing.

If you haven't read The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilberg Clark, you should try this western. The film is an absolute classic with Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Harry Morgan and Anthony Quinn. Dark-themed, shot to reflect the themes--it's a truly great film, not just a western.

As for the children's books I recommended: Celia Garth is the flip side of Johnny Tremain. He's a teen in colonial Boston at the start of the Revolutionary War. She's a teen in Charleston at the start of the Revolutionary War. Albert Payson Terhune wrote dogs stories, mostly about collies, and Marguerite Henry wrote about horses. Brighty, like many of her books, is based on an actual equine (or relation), and it's just a great story for young people. Hitty is a fabulous tale of a wooden doll and "her first hundred years." Years after I read this, when I read one of Uris's novels which featured a doll in the plotline, I was reminded of Hitty's adventures.

Incidentally, I discovered Edna Ferber last year. I watched Cimarron and wanted to find out if Richard Dix was just hopelessly overacting his role or playing it according to the book. The book wins.

Wishing you good reading!

I am touched by your response to Owen Wister. I haven't read any of his stuff, but it sounds wonderful. I have The Virginian somewhere in my stack.

I am working on Dreamers of the Day which I am loving.

These authors ought to be paying you. You have a way of describing books that I would never expect to read in such a way that makes them move to the top of the list. You'll be glad to know I'm working on Duma Key--at first I couldn't put it down, but it's getting kind of weird. But weird in a way that I want to see what happens next. So I'm staying up too late at night, and dragging myself to work the next day. Shame on you!

And now, thanks to your sunset description, I have two more books for my list....

Thanks for your kind comments. I am glad you're enjoying Duma key. With any King you have to expect a certain amount of wierd but it's good that you want to know what's gonna happen next. Mind you, not all King is so accessible. Sometimes the wierd takes over a bit. But, you've got a good one there.

How is The Virginian going?

Finished it, just.

#39, The Virginian by Owen Wister.

We never know the Virginian's name and maybe this was the way 'The Man with No Name' western got started. In any case, the Virginian was the first true cowboy in literature. With his story, Wister spawned a whole genre of literature and, in turn, movies. The story follows the Tenderfoot's introduction to both the Frontier West and the Virginian and tracks the growth of their friendship, their travels, and the events of their lives. The Virginian goes from a practical joking youngster to a ranch foreman while the Tenderfoot gains respect as a frontiersman. The Virginian is faced with horse thieves and mean spirited ranchers who abuse their animals. He saves and falls in love with the new school teacher, fresh from the East, and must work for three years to win her love and respect. He must hang his once best friend who has turned to horse thievery. And, he is forced into a gun battle on the eve of his nuptials.

While much of this sounds cliche, the reader must remember that this book establised all that would become cliche in the genre of cowboy and western literature. What's not cliche is Wister's well-rounded, complete, and deeply emotional hero, the Virginian. While this character inspired much of the strong, silent cowboys in westerns, he is not that kind of a character. Though not effusive, he is plain about his love and intentions for Miss Molly Ward. Though not weak, he is talkative and clear about how hanging his once best friend haunts his dreams and his waking thoughts. Though not afraid, he does not quickly and unthinkingly decide to meet the evil Trampas in gun battle, fearing the loss of his love's understanding and respect. The depth of the Virginian's character is unsurpassed and it only makes you want to know more about him.

Much of the novel is inspired by Wister's own travels in the Frontier West. Wister is clearly the mold for the Tenderfoot, as the compilation of his journals and letters makes clear. And, the Virginian was inspired by a couple of individuals Wister met and befriended on these journey's. The writing is filled with wonderful depictions of the rough country and the rough men and women who populated it. Wister makes clear that there was a distinct difference in language, culture, and perspective between the East and West at the time. But he also makes clear that, whatever differences might exist, the West and its inhabitants were not the savage, uncooth, and unprincipaled heathens there were thought by those in the East. Instead, he viewed and described them in the novel and his other writings as highly principaled and honorable people, depending on such principals and honor to survive the West and create a new civilized piece of the world.

Obviously, I loved this book. And, as stated before, I also loved Out West, His Journals and Letters a great deal. I would suggest to anyone who reads and enjoys The Virginian to seek out this compliation of his journals and letters as it details the seminal thoughts in his writing career and the real life events and people who inspired the later novel.

5 bones!!!!!

Started The Stranger by Albert Camus

#95 Wow!!!! I'm speechless!

Hello again. I reread a new translation of The Stranger last year and it was marvelous. Much cleaner and (I hope) more authentic than the one I read in high school. Enjoy!

I've starting reading on at least three tracks now (which is kind of funny because I use public transportation): the series I enjoy reading; the books from my book club at work; and books from the 1001 Must Read. The last is a challenge to me because many of the "great" works on it which are pre-20th century I've read in high school or college. The "great" writers of the last century and this one are not always interesting to me, so I'm going to try a couple to see if I just wasn't ready for them yet.

Just finishing one that is fabulous: The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor. The writing is spare, ala McCormack's The Road, which makes this shorter novel all the more poignant. Also really enjoying The Princess of Cleves from the earliest entries on the list.

At work next month, we're celebrating Harry Potter's birthday. If you're a naysayer on Harry, pooh on you! Rowling's books are much more entertaining than many authors I can mention. I just love reading it all.

Since I always have at least 3 books in "reading mode," I'm also into The Wildcats of Exeter by Marston (Domesday mystery) and The Nightingale by Kara Dalkey (part of the truly wonderful Fairy Tale Series).

Okay Blackdog, I am finally breaking down and want to read a Steven King book. You have spoken so well of him that I just want to read something of his(especially since Dean Koontz has fallen oh his face, a loss which I mourn very much). I have seen The Shinning, Storm of the Century, Dolores Clairborne and the The Mist and I loved them all(though The Mist was probably the weakest of them all). The Shinning and The Storm of the Century scared the life out of me and Clairborne was just brilliant.

By the way I just remembered I also loved Misery, Kathy Bates is one scary mama.

Anyway my question is what book would you recommend to someone who as never read any King books. I would prefer to read something that I know nothing about so I would rather not read any of the books upon which the aforementioned are based.

By the by, I saw the movie version of Enduring Love. I actually liked it but I am not so sure how well it sticks to the book. I can't quite put my finger on it but I felt that there was a certain something missing. I think that it was very good at portraying the main character's overanalytical side and his girlfriend's detachment from the situation. Overall I would give it a 3 out of 5.

Yup, totally agree on the Enduring Love. It seemed like all of the parts were represented well. All of the characters were well played. The plot and story were mostly well translated. But.....I don't know. Perhpaps the book connected for us because we were able to view the dark regions of the minds of both the main characters. Visually that is much harder to get across. Either the actor is so adept at letting you glimpse his mind or the script gives you that opportunity by building it into the characters actions.

Now, on to all things King!! This is a bit of a tough task because you already have so much familiarity with his stories from the movies you've seen. And, for the most part you've seen the movies which better captured his stories. By the way, The Mist is a very powerful story as written but one of the more difficult to translate to the screen. King's scare power very frequently rests in his ability to tap into the imagination of the reader, especially the part of our imagination from our childhood which we grow out of. The other way that he frigthens, for me, is to write unapologetically real mean and base people. These characters are often juxtaposed with honorable but flawed good people in a struggle between good and evil. Often, these mean and base people are at their most frightening when featured in a story which isn't particularly fantasy or horror driven.

Anyway, enough of that.....suggestions:

The Stand - most King fans agree that this is his best novel. Epic in nature, it follows the battle between evil and good after an apocolyptic event. Wonderful, complete characters and a story that, though played out over hundreds of pages, never ceases to be interesting. On the down side, this is one of his most familiar and even if you haven't seen the movie, you may already know somethin of it.

Needful Things - a good vampire story, though not your typical one. King at his best, in my mind, composing a whole town full of rich and interesting characters. And you get to see them at their best and their worst. Not too fantasy or horror driven, it scares me in the way that the vampire appeals to the townspeople, playing on their own worst temptations and basest thoughts to corrupt them. By the way, a not well-known but fairly good movie was made of this one.

Bag of Bones - newer King, but harkens back to his best older works. King himself said this was the first novel in which he allowed a love story to play out in the pages. A middle aged writer not able to get over the death of his wife is haunted in his dreams and then in hsi waking moments. A couple of close the book and turn on the lights scares for me in this one, as always when you least expect them, in the daytime.

And, you've probably seen my comments of late about his two newest Duma Key and Blaze. Either would be good introductions to King.

PS: hard to narrow my favorite author's work down and so I'll mention one more, though it's more of a set. With The Stand, King's fantasy series The Gunslinger is seen as his best work. I think it's as good as any fantasy series available, even next to Narnia or Lord of the Rings. It combines apocolyptic type fantasy with the gritty western genre. The first in the series is short and readable in one sitting but the series is seven books long and thousands of pages. So, maybe that's something you try if the genre interests you and you've already decided you like his writing.

#97, Prop2gether, My review on The Stranger will follow and your comments about spare writing styles and McCarthy were in the forefront of my mind in reading Camus' novel. Have to say though, my high school french wouldn't allow me to figure out if the translation I read was a good one or not.

Noticed your're reading a bunch of Marston novels and I've never heard of him. What's the series like?

I have never perfected the art of reading more than one thing at a time. I get so lost in the story I'm reading, I can't focus on another one.

Just been skimming the last several posts and have to second you (third you?) in support of Stephen King - I steered clear for years because I thought I wouldn't like him (not a big fan of horror films, except the ones that are so bad they're funny), but when I finally got around to reading him (I can't remember if it was Misery or Carrie first), I couldn't think why I'd never read him before. He does write very well and the stories (that I've read anyway) are truly gripping (although I sometimes worry about an imagination that can come up with some of the ideas he has come up with!). _Loved_ Dolores Claibourne and Misery in particular - the latter for me was one of those books that once you begin it, you really can't put it down... Been a while since I read one though - maybe it's time to give The Stand a go!

Also agree about I am Legend - I read it a few years ago and loved it - it was a completely random buy - took me by surprise. Although the film is really quite different, I did actually quite enjoy it...

What are your thoughts on the Camus so far?

Book #40, The Stanger by Albert Camus

Meursault, our anti-hero, loses his aging mother but doesn't seem much affected by the loss. Then, helping a friend with a domestic situation leads him to kill someone. He is arrested and tried for the murder. Throughout his imprisonment and trial, Meursault is urged to explain himself and his unusual perspective on life. He finally does, at the closing of the story, explaining to a priest why he doesn't believe in God.

I initially viewed Meursault as an anti-social personality, apparently a common reading of the book which is looked down upon by critics. As I continued to read, I picked up on Meursault's view that, since man is destined to die, and nothing can change that, nothing in life much matters. The introduction to the book (which I read after) put said Meursault was simply driven by "..the only truth in man's possession, namely his individual existence in the here and now." This view caused many, the writer of the introduction included, to put Meursault in the existentialist genre, even though Meursault himself disagreed. The introduction characterizes Meursault as detached and unemotional "..becuase he is living and responding within a radically different scheme of values, one in which the past (regret) and the future (hope) are meaningless."

I don't agree completely with this reading, as the more commonly recognized existentialists, Emerson and Thoreau, were never driven to this level of unemotional detachment. On the contrary, they were driven to a deeper connection with their surroundings. Meursault's only connection with his surroundings, his emotions, and his senses was to sexual gratificaiton and stimulation. Which brought me arond to the anti-social reading of the book, viewing Meursault as a disconnected and emotionally detached character. Yes, he was certainly living by a different set of values, but how did he come to those values. This would have have made the story much more interesting for me, seeing the formation of this way of life. The book also never really discusses whether Meursault's values are useful and conducive to community. Though the comments on Meursault's choices by the other broadly drawn characters (the priest, the prosecutor, the judge) suggest that Camus didn't want Meursault to be condemned, as he has the characters make their comments at the same time he draws the reader to look condescendingly on them.

2.5 bones!!

One of the most interesting things about the book was Camus' spare writing style, which reminded me a bit of McCarthy. In fact, the introduction commented that the "flat, inert, colorless" writing was meant to point to Meursault's detachment and his belief that he was powerless to change anything. McCarthy seems to use some of the same type of spare, direct language; though, for me, it seems his use of the language points to a different inevitability, that of violence. McCarthy's writing often deals with the pervasiveness of violence and his character's are always touched by it, regardless of whether they make good or bad choices. McCarthy, however, always peppers his stories with very spiritual and otherworldy sections, usually in the context of dreams, to suggest that, though the violence may play itself out here, this is not the only playing field. This perspective gives value to the actions of the characters and to their thoughts outside of themselves.

Just to clarify - Thoreau and Emerson weren't existentialists, far from it: they were transcendentalists. There are fundamental differences between the two systems - belief in God, idealism, etc.

Camus wasn't really an existentialist either, he was an absurdist; but that's by-the-by.

Meursault kills the Arab because he is responding to the glare of the sun: throughout the novel he only reacts to physical stimuli. He, in effect, lacks an inner life. He has no values, as we understand them.

In the second half of the novel, Meursault is given options of rejecting his non-spiritual life but refuses to accept any of the relative systems that he is offered - religion, justice, etc. By remaining honest to his actions, and accepting his fate, Meursault finds his, for want of a different word, humanity.

Yup, I got that wrong there....transcendendtalists is right. And, as I said, Camus always rejected the notion that he was an existentialist. The person who wrote the introduction ignores that and declares him one, based on The Stranger and a couple of his essays. He also calls him an absurdist. I get that Camus was writing Meursault as a person living outside the 'normal' realm of values, but I guess I didn't connect with him or the book because there was discussion of the value system or how it came to be or what 'value' it had or how Meursault came to the system. Camus installs Meursault as the hero of the story and looks down his nose at those who would change Meursault but doesn't deign to explain much about him or his beliefs or why they give him his humanity. And these choices were a system of values, not those of the others in the story but values nonetheless.

And I also realize how Camus was using the sun and the glare off of the knife to give Meursault reason to shoot but again I didn't find a constant thread in Meursault reacting to physical sitmuli. They were other occasions where Meursualt didn't react to plain and obvious stimuli, instead staying detached.

Okay, I guess I just didn't like the book that much. But that's the beauty of this obsession, there are plenty of others to read and enjoy and this one will connect with others.

Thanks for straightening me out there on the transcendentalist thing; I just got that plain wrong.

For absurdist, try The Madwoman of Chaillot. If you're not into reading plays, try finding the film version with Katherine Hepburn in the lead. It's not a great translation of the play or a great film, but you'll get the essence.

It would be fabulous if my language training was sharp enough to read authors in their original languages, but having struggled through Garcia Lorca, Cervantes, and several others in high school Spanish, I stay with translations, and try to find those that work best for me. Brian Hooker's version of Rostand's Cyrano de Berger still holds all the poetry for me. All of which is a roundabout way of saying, I really did enjoy the newest translation of The Stranger, and found it very compelling.

Found Edward Marston when I was wandering through the library. I'm a sucker for mystery writers (love Minette Walters!) and this paperback called The Railroad Detective sounded like it had possibilities. Set in Victorian England around the time of the Exposition, Colbert is a Scotland Yard detective with a fondness for trains. When a murder occurs on one, he is assigned to the case. I should also mention that I love historical novels, so long as the history is accurate. Marston does his research. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and its follow-up, The Excursion Train. Couldn't find the next in series, so I checked out Marston's website. He's extremely prolific, having written mysteries under several names, and in several periods. He appears to be quite popular in England, which is his home, but he is always pretty prominent on the local library shelves. I'm a Shakespearean fiend and a theatre fan, and found the Nicholas Bracewell series a hoot to read. Then went on the Domesday series set a century or two earlier, and I'm off to the races here. The stories are predictable, while the villains are not. They progress nicely and, happily, they are fun to read, and a fast read for me. I like Marston for his historical accuracy as much as for his characters. Under the name of Conrad Allen, he has a series of murder mysteries on ocean liners which looks like fun.

I have the latest Minette Walters (Chameleon) on my next to read group, and I can heartily recommend her writing. She doesn't carry any character line from book to book, which is unusual for a mystery writer, and I have never (although I once came close!) figured out the villain before the end.

Needless to say, I'm something of a compulsive when I find a writer I like. In my teens, it was Steinbeck and various playwrights. Then science fiction, and I pretty much devoured anything by Piper, Zelazny, Asimov, and Heinlein, as well Herbert before Dune (okay, also after Dune). Try The Santaroga Barrier for fun some time. Now that the sometimes ridiculous 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list has come out, I'm trying to find those writers I skipped over the years, and see if something in their writing calls to me.

I also am a movie/play fan, and watch a lot of "great book" minis--which often leads me back to the book. That happened with Cimarron (Ferber) which led me to her Fanny, Herself, a delightful study of a turn of the last century career woman. It also happened recently with Longitude and stories of various Antarctic expeditions.

And I love history, even when it is not happy or friendly. But that's an entire other discussion.

Have fun with your reading!

>106 Jargoneer: - to be honest I'm not that keen on the novel either: the problem with existentialist (or absurdist) literature in general is that it quite detached. I did subsequently read The Plague and thought that was a brilliant novel - full of the humanity missing from the more famous book.

>107 TrishNYC: - the Conrad Allen mysteries are fun but perhaps not great mysteries. Probably best enjoyed if you think your period detectives in the inter-war period.

Blackdog, thanks for the recommendations. I think I will start with The Stand as it sounds like it will be a great read. And I just realized something, I have actually read Stephen King before. I read Carrie years ago as a teenager and I remember it freaked me the heck out. That creepy mother was just a horrid woman. Anyway I will start with The Stand and move to the other ones you recommended. Again thanks.

Blackdog, thanks for the recommendations. I think I will start with The Stand as it sounds like it will be a great read. And I just realized something, I have actually read Stephen King before. I read Carrie years ago as a teenager and I remember it freaked me the heck out. That creepy mother was just a horrid woman. Anyway I will start with The Stand and move to the other ones you recommended. Again thanks.

Msg #107, Good luck with it Trish, you picked a good one. Carrie is a great read and if it freaked you out, then he hit the mark. Interesting about that one, I read a recent introduction to that one and King based Carrie's character on a couple of girls from his elementary and high school days. His memories of them and how they were treated, both by him and his schoolmates, was sad and frightening. That gets at what I was saying about how he frightens me; he can hit on disturbing behavior and personalities which come from everyday life...stuff you might actually see but not comment on, just turn your head away and try to forget.

Let me know how you do with The Stand...I suggest a copy of the unedited or complete version, if you can find one.

Msg #106, I may try The Plague someday but not anytime soon. Too many other books I am looking forward to and I didn't enjoy The Stranger all that much.

Msg #105, Prop2gether, I feel your pain on the obssession thing. I am doing something like that with a few 100 best lists I found. I am determined to try all of them, but it may take awhile. And I do the same thing when I find an author I like; I go about finding all of their books. Steinbeck is one of my favorites also. Haven't read them all yet though.

Book #41, All Quiet on the Western Front

First, thanks to TrishNYC for encouraging me to move this up in my reading. She has great taste and I was happily rewarded with this read.

What can I add to what has been said about such a classic novel. The gut wrenching, emotional charged writing is diificult but compels you to read on. Remarque captures so much of the soldier's life: monotony, adrenaline, blood, and comraderie. There is not a coner of the military and war culture that doesn't seem to be painted with honesty and accuracy in this novel. Often, in reading his account of the soldier's love and devotion to one another, I was reminded of We Were Soldiers Once...and Young, which is a similar account of the soldier's life played out in one battle in the Vietnam war.

5 bones!!!!!

Next up, The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Ah, the Color Purple is near the top of my tbr pile, too. I'll be interested in hearing what you think about it.

All Quiet on the Western Front was made into a truly classic film starring Lew Ayres (later Dr. Kildare and, interestingly, a conscientious objector during WWII as a result of his role in the film), and directed by Lewis Milestone. Milestone used German veterans to insure authenticity in some scenes, and there is no music in the film. Simply ignore the Hallmark version directed by Delbert Mann and starring Richard Thomas. It's good, but the original will rock you as much as the book did. I recently re-watched it on DVD and was amazed.

Enjoy The Color Purple. I like Alice Walker's works, and this is still one of her best.

#111: I read All Quiet on the Western Front recently, too, and completely agree with your assessment. I wondered what took me so long to read it since I normally enjoy war stories.

Book #42, The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Celile's life is not one to trade for. Raped by her step-father repeatedly, she bears two children before she has made it past her teens. Her step-father removes the children from the home to hide his sin and Celie doesn't know if they are alive or dead. Soon after bearing her second child, her step-father gives her away to be married to a widower, who is looking more for a maid and nanny than a soul mate. Celie's only happines is in the love of her dear sister, Nettie, who comes to live with her for a short period. But Celie's husband has an eye on Nettie and Celie has to tell Nettie to leave for her own safety. The two live decades apart but their love for one another never dies.

The story is told as letters from Celie to God and as letters from Nettie to Celie. Though this might seem cumbersome for a narrative, it wonderfully opens the window into Celie's crisp mind and her perspective on the events around her. A beautifully written book that never looses its unusual voice.

I enjoyed this one a good deal and found it to be a much quicker read than expected. Strong feminist thread running through this one but on another level, a simple story of love and devotion, told from a peculiar angle.

Next up Studs Lonigan, A Triology....I'm going to go ahead and take three for this one as it is actually three books in an anthology and quite lengthy.

A bit of a slog on the first Studs story, though I do like it. I should finish up the first one in the series this weekend. Reminds me a bit of a A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in the subject matter and story, though the writing and tone of the books are very different.

Book #43 Young Lonigan by James T. Farrell

This is the first in a triology of stories chronicling the coming of age and life of Studs Lonigan in pre-World War I Chicago. The story picks up on the day of Studs' graduation from eigth grade, facing a decision of whether to follow his mother's wishes and choose a life of service to the Catholic Church, follow his father's wishes and take over the family business, or neither and follow his own meandering wishes. Studs comes across as a bit of a wanna-be 'tough', always looking for ways to impress the older, more experienced kids. Studs eventually makes several choices, each of which is salve for a fragile ego, and ends up as part of a gang of Irish Catholic kids always on the lookout for the quick, easy fun. Studs often battles feelings of guilt, issues of morality, and feelings of pure love for some of his friends. But, in the end, he ignores these feelings.

The story has the feel of a grimy version of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. There is littel of the hopeful and loyal and true characters of that story but there is much of the same subject matter; poverty, racial divides and bigotry, and class distnictions. The writing and tone here are much more gritty and edgy. Much of the book is played out in Studs battling mind and the reader is privy to much which Studs would deny to his new found gang of friends.

I slogged through this a bit but enjoyed this first story enough to want to know what happens to Studs next. I already am pretty sure Studs will not meet with a happy end, but he is an interesting enough character to want to finish the ride.

Whoa blackdog, thanks. That is high praise especially coming from you.

I just ordered The Stand and I am really excited to read it. It has not arrived yet but I can't wait. I have a very long vacation coming up and I intend to sit at home, read, watch TV and engage in many idle activities. By the way I did not realize that The Stand was such a big book. I ordered it online and it says that it has 1,200 pages!! I am excited, cause if its as good as you say then that is a whole lot of fun times ahead.

I was just reading your review of I am Legend and it sounds really good and somewhat different from the movie version. I loved the movie version(even if the end was a bit blah) so I am definitely on the look out for a copy.

Well, I hope The Stand comes in before your long vacation. That would be perfect because you will be able to really lose yourself in the characters and story. Epics are always best that way. And I just hope that it lives up to the expectations I have created for it.

As to I Am Legend, you should definitely find a copy. I read the book largely because I enjoyed the movie so much. The lonliness of the main character's life and the provocative vision of NYC emptied of people and returning to nature fascinated me. What I loved about the book and what surprised me so much was how much deeper the story ran into the main character's lonliness and desparation, as well as, the lives and thoughts of the vampires. The really is a moving and thought provoking story here, far beyond the action sequences in the movie. And the short stories in the paperback copy of the book I read were wonderful also. I had a remarketed, movie copy of the book. Something I don't usually do but it was a free 'found' copy and I couldn't beat the price.

Book #44, The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan by James T. Farrell

This one is growing on me a bit. I slogged throught the first book of the trilogy, sticking to it mostly for the well written prose and description of life in early 1900 Irish Catholic Chicago. This second novel points to the undercurrents established in the first leg of the story, mostly fear of death and the unknown and the battle over choosing good versus easing into choices of self gratification.

This second part of Farrell's examination of a life describes the subtle, unnoticed passing of days in Studs' life now that he has arrived in manhood. Studs was eager to reach the age of accountability but now that he has reached it, he longs for his youth. Rushing towards his adult life, eager for the years, Studs passed into manhood without fanfare or acknowledgement, only to find the uncertainty of his future and the certainty of a monotonous passing of hours and days. Realizing that the days are now flying past him, carrying him farther away from the innocent days of his youth and closer to death, Studs faces daily moral quandries. His battles to hold to the Catholic churches teachings, his families expectations of him, and his own committments to his health, well-being, and lover are the meat of this story. Studs fails more than he succeeds in the battles, succombing to the easy, ego stroking crowd of his youth who seem to be engaged in missions of self-destruction.

I am drawn more and more to Studs' character as Farrell lights the inner thoughts of his heart. His struggles to live a good life and look for true love are so often battered by his own insecurity. The story has become, for me, a morality tale reflecting the common human plight.

On to the last book in the trilogy. I don't think it is going to end well for Studs as it is title Judgement Day.

Hey, blackdog, I have The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan in my library. Would you recommend that I get the first book and read it before this one, or is it that important? (especially since you said you had to slog through it)
I'm just not sure where some of the books in my library came from. I suspect they were childhood books of my ex-husbands that he left here, and I never paid much attention to until I started cataloging on LT...

I can't be sure if the slog was more my own fault than the it was the book's fault. I think I was a bit daunted looking at this omnibus edition with some 1100 pages facing me, all with fairly small print. That said, I do think the first book is worth reading if you intend to read the Studs triology, as it sets up much of Studs' later problems with self-esteem, moral issues, and difficulties with sticking to his promises to himself about his life choices. The first novel is only 200 pages as compared to the longer 2nd and 3rd and it is just as well-written as the rest. The characters really grow on you and the description of early 1900's Chicago is so compelling.

One note of caution which I intended to put in my last review but will post now. There is a very strong current of racism in the books. It's hard to tell if this was a choice of the author to describe the feelings of the time or a personal notion of the author which leaked into the story. In any case, I think the thread, though probably accurate to the feelings of the time, can be a bit hard to read sometimes.

Let me know if you decide to read these and tell me what you think.

Book #45, Judgement Day by James T. Farrell

With this, the Studs Lonnigan triology is complete. I have to admit to enjoying this set of books more than I expected. With each chapter, the characters and the story grew on me a little more.

In this final episode of the story, Studs inner life is focused more and more on longing for his early days. As a young lad, Studs couldn't grow up fast enough but, at 30, Studs seems to compare all of his life, his failures and his successes, to his life as an adolescent. As the title suggests, Studs meets with an early death, largely the result of his own careless and hard lived youth.

Farrell, in an introduction to this edition written just about six years after the first publication of the novels, says that his story was written as an examination of 'a normal American boy of Irish-Catholic extraction' and the 'spiritual poverty' of his education and life. By 'spiritual poverty' Farrell seems to mean the emptiness of a certain set of social values common to the time and group. I didn't necessarily agree with his determination that the values were empty and useless but Farrell's story evokes the cyclical nature of life and generations. The story also gives a powerful voice to the common plight of all people in their inner struggle between their faith and temptation. The best parts of the books were the sections when the reader is given access to Studs' thoughts as he constantly commits to live differently but then gives in to his temptations or when he dreams of himself as a tough, confident young man only to choose the weakest or easiest way out of a difficult situation. In the end, I was not looking at Studs' life in judgement. Rather, I felt a deep kinship with him and his struggles.

4 bones!!!!

Forgot.....next up, Black by Christopher Whitcomb. This is a thriller but is written by someone I used to know. So, I am looking forward to reading it.

Book #46, Black by Christopher Whitcomb

In full disclosure, I have a bit of a hard time being objective about this book because I knew the author. But I think you all know I am not a big believer in true objective opinions when it comes to books anyway.

Set in today's world, the story follows a Senator, an undercover CIA operative, and an FBI agent as they manuever through the modern day world of terror investigations. All of them enter from a different angle in a story of a telecommunications mogul who is introducing an encrypted telephone at prices for the every day customer. The introduction of the phone allows completely secure communications which cannot be intercepted by any government agency. The CIA agent's cover is compromised, the Senator is framed for a murder, and the FBI agent is hoodwinked into a seemingly unauthorized rendition of a group of terrorists in Yemen.

Now I don't require absolute accuracy in all my legal thrillers and action/spy tales. Indeed, much of the fun of them is their existence in a fantastic world not tied to the rules and obstacles of 'the real' (Matrix speak). But, I do have my limits and sometimes put down books with extreme fanciful stories and details. I came to this book with an expectation of some accuracy as the author is a former FBI agent and sniper. One of his other titles is a memoir of his days with the FBI and the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team. (A good read with first person accounts of Waco and Ruby Ridge from a guy who was there for both.) What I found was a strange mix. In some ways, Whitcomb's details are painfully accurate. In other passages, Whitcomb's story stretches my capability to willingly suspend disbelief and enjoy the story. I think what Whitcomb was reaching for here was a balance of accuracy in the small, mundane details with an exciting story not bound by the same need for accuracy. Mostly, he reaches that goal.

For a first novel, this is pretty well written. Whitcomb's prose was easy to slip into but not overtly simple. The characters were more complete than a lot of cardboard cutout thriller characters. The FBI agent, while abandoning his familty to do his duty, actually considers and meditates on the consequences to his family and the damage to his relationship with his wife. Unfortunately, the story is so complex that Whitcomb sometimes shortcuts these passages in formulaic ways. The books primary weakness is that the story is so complex that the characters and story development sometimes suffers; Whitcomb almost feels rushed sometimes to get in the next twist but still feels compelled to get the twist in with style.

I liked this book. For those who like this genre of book, I would recommend spending the day or two it will take you to read. For those with a super critical eye or those who don't enjoy turning off 'the real', this probably isn't for you.

3 bones!!!

Next up, White by Christopher Whitcomb. I guess this says something about what I thought of the book, as this is the sequel. I am going to upgrade 1/2 bone.

Book #47, White by Christopher Whitcomb

A follow up to Whitcomb's Black, this novel follows the further adentures of an ultra secret black-ops group. The United States is facing new terror attacks staged to look like they were committed by the islamic jihadists. Behind the attacks is a domestic, Christian fundamentalist group bent on ridding the world of Islam. A Manchurian Candidate subplot also lays just under the surface.

Not much new territory is covered here for the characters, which is the biggest weakness for the novel. What made the first story interesting was getting to know the characters. But in this installment, the story takes over completely and that is not Whitcomb's forte. The plot seems forced, always trying to surpise and shock with the next twist, while the characters get lost in the shuffle, just plodding through.

Both of these books were fun diversions. I hope Whitcomb's next book focuses more on prose and character development and less on trying to 'wow' the reader with his plot. Or maybe he returns to non-fiction, a move that would serve him, since his memoirs of a life in the FBI were well written and enjoyable.

Next up, Night by Elie Wiesel....thanks to Cal8679

Night is a great choice. Knowing how Wiesel spent the rest of his life after the events he describes is especially compelling. It will be interesting to hear your "take" on the story.

I agree that Night by Elie Wiesel is a great choice. He is one of my heros.

Like Prop2gether, I'll be reading your posts to see what you thought of this book.

Hopefully I will get to it this weekend and post some thoughts. I am traveling for work and working through the weekend, but I will probably have a lot of down and idle time while I'm working or, at least when I travel to my next location.

Cal8769 and some other LT'ers convinced me to try it and then Cal 8769 was kind enough to send me a copy!!!! I love this website!!

Hey Blackdog, I just finished I am Legend and I loved it!!! It was such a great tale and so well done. I do have one question. What does he mean at the end when he says "I am legend"? I took it to mean that just as he read books and knew of the stories of the vampires that supposedly had existed centuries before, so would he be spoken of in the future. As a thing to be spoken of in hushed tones and feared. What do you think?

Thanks for recommending this :)

TrishNYC,

The phrase "I am legend" has all sorts of connotations and you can find most of them linked to this story, especially with the recent film version. "Legend" can mean a story carried down through generations or it can be a huge number of people or things. Is the narrator, now presumably the sole immune human on earth, a "legend" because of his uniqueness or because of his survival ability, or because he may hold the future in his hands?

It's a fun exercise to work through. What did you think when you first read the lines?

No matter what, though, it is a great novella.

TrishNYC,

I tend to agree with Prop2gether that the meaning of the final words vary with the reader. But, I am close to your interpretation. My take is that Neville is making a comment on the cycles of human interaction. Neville, the last unaffected human on earth, was left to noodle out the cause and effects of the disease. In the novella, he is not a scientist. So, he is left to figure things out and he uses THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. Woohoo!!!! Anyway, he has to sift through the 'legends' collected over centuries about vampires. Many of the legends turn out to be informative, while others are a collection of speculation, uneducated guesses, and xenophobic misunderstandings. I felt that Neville's final words, dripping with irony, described his understanding of why he was executed - xenophobic misunderstandings or 'legend'. In the end, he was the legend, the unusual, the outsider to be feared rather than truly understood. This perspective, for me, rang loudly with implications for everyday human interaction.

Glad you enjoyed it, Trish!!!! I will be hunting up more Matheson SciFi.

I did not have access to the internet for about a week and you guys have left me a lot of work. I have dozens and dozens of posts to read.

Book #48, Night by Elie Wiesel

Haunting was the first word which came to mind upon finishing this book. Wiesel's own demons, visited upon him by the suffering inflicted on his family, friends, and people, crawl off of the page, demanding attention. Wiesel's spare and beautifully descriptive writing is such a counterpoint to the material and the immediacy of the tone makes clear how cathartic it was to put his experience to paper. Since his generation, there have been more genocides in Africa, the Middle East, and again in Europe. Wiesel must have been horrified to see the fate of his people played out again and again on the world's stage.

This was a moving book and well worth the read. Thank you Cal8679 for the loan of the book. I have already given it to a friend to keep up the book karma.

For those of you who have read this account, I have to recommend Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. Frankl's account is every bit as moving and beautifully written. The difference is that Frankl goes the extra step and examines more deeply what allowed some victims of the Holocaust to survive while others gave up all hope. The first half of the book, which focus on Frankl's experiences in the camps, are worth the read alone. For those interested in psychology, the second half of the book, takes his observations and expands on them. If you don't care for the psychology portions, you should still read this book.

Next up.......The Spy Within: Larry Chin and the Chinese Penetration of the CIA by Tod Hoffman......an ER book.

Really glad you enjoyed Night, if enjoyed is actually the correct verb here. And, if you follow Weisel's life, he was active in not only Holocaust work, but genocide as a peculiar aside to our late century. His work lives on his writings, of course, and the various institutions which dealt with his work. Good going!

I just picked up Twilight at one of my book store haunts this weekend by Wiesel.

I agree with both of you (Blackdog and Prop2gether). I also like the further explanation offered by both of you.

Prop2gether--to answer your question, the first thing I thought when I read that last line was "I am symbol?" I thought, of a direct literal translation of the word Legend and the above was my immediate reaction. Then I guess I thought more on it and that is when I got to the line of reasoning that I formulated in my previous post.

I am currently working on Hell House by the same author and its interesting so far.

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Hi blackdogbooks:

I am glad to see a post regarding Victor Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning. This book impacted me greatly! I read it years ago while in college and it stays with me still.

It truly is incredible. I think he coined the term logotherapy (but I'm not sure.) It has been a long day.

Thanks again for your observations re. both Frankl and Elie Wiesel

Hi blackdogbooks,

Welcome back! Have you read any John Barth? He's the author of Giles Goat Boy, which I haven't read, but I just finished The End of the Road and can recommend it. It's a short, often very funny romp through part of the year of a young man who can't figure out his life--at 28 years of age! Through plot circumstances, he meets a professor of his age with a wife and two children. The professor believes in honesty to the exclusion of all else in the world, and the discussions between the protagonist, the professor, and the professor's wife are either very sad or very funny, depending on your perspective. The story takes a twist about half-way through and that philosophy is very much tested. I really enjoyed it--and it's another one off that 1001 Must Read. Who knew?

Yes, I have not been posting as often here because my job has intruded!! Darn the paycheck!!!! Anyway, my reading and posting has slowed but not completely come to a standstill. I should be posting a review to my July ER book here later today.

Book #49 The Spy Within by Tod Hoffman

We may never truly understand Larry Chin's life and his choices but then he may not have had a firm grip on his own life. He lived in the dark world of espionage for so long, deceipt lurked behind every move, every decision, every comment. Recruited in his college days by a communist sympathizer, Chin was a spectator, and participant, for all of the most important events in Asian-American relations, including the Chinese cultural revolution, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the restoration of relations by Nixon. Chin became a CIA analyst, trusted with some of the most sensitive intelligence available regarding China, and worked a whole lifetime in the agency, retiring at the end of a long and distinguished career. When another Chinese intelligence operative was recruited by the United States and defected, Chin's secret life was uncovered. Chin was investigated by the FBI, eventually arrested and convicted at trial, only to kill himself in his cell before he was sentenced. He remains one of the deepest penetrations of a United States intelligence service by a foreign operative.

Hoffman, obviously thrgouh a closely developed relationship with the lead FBI agent, presents a unvarnished, unusually close and accurate depiction of an FBI investigation. The subtle interplay between agents, the minutia which directs investigative decisions, and the depth of feeling towards subjects described by Hoffman is rarely so well developed in true crime works. Hoffman, though he surely owes a lot to the men of the FBI he interviewd, also has a keen eye for detail and the process of investigative work.

Hoffman's book is well-researched and well-supported by documentary evidence. At the same time, Hoffman too often reverts to the "I think" or "I believe" in his telling of Chin's story. Hoffman would have done well to stick to "must have" or "probably" for some of the portions of the book wherein he supposes what Chin was thinking or feeling. As Hoffman himself wisely asserts, the life of a spy, not to mention the life of a Chinese born and bred spy, will not comport with normal or with a Western version of normal.

Another failing of the book cannot be laid at Hoffman's feet but at that of his editor. While this is an early release version of the book, it is set for release in the next few weeks. And there are typographical, grammatical, and word choice errors everywhere. Hopefully, this will get fixed before the final release of the book.

Finally, Hoffman's narrative thread sometimes gets lost in his shifts in time to pick up cultural and historical detail necessary to understand the context. I don't think he included any unnecessary information, I just thought he could have organized some sections of the book a little better so as not to lose the reader.

The final section of the book has some of Hoffman's best prose. It was as if he was finally unchained by the detail of the story and could finally bring his literary perspective to the book. These last few pages, specifically in the last three chapters earned him another half star from me.

I'd recommend this book and my recommendation would be strengthened by a little polish from both author and editor.

4 bones!!!!

Next up......Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun.

A strong recommendation and loan from a friend at work. He was glowing in his description of the book and its affect on him, so I am a little daunted in strating it. Hope to enjoy it half as much as he did.

Book #50, Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamson

Reading like a fable, this book recounts the story of Isak and Inger, a hard working Norwegian farming pair. Isak searches out and claims a rich piece of land in the hills, miles from the nearestg village and begins to slowly work the land. Inger, shunned because of a hare lip, comes to Isak and they begin to make a life together, full of toil but also of love and the rich rewards from both. The two face hardship that would make most relationships crumble and most people give up. Inger is imprisoned for killing her own child, reported to the police by a close friend. One of their children refuses to work and leeches off the family. But they perservere together, making a rich life by refusing the values of those around them in favor of hard work, loyalty, and love.

The prose here is simple and accessible, allowing the underlying morality tale to take center stage. The plot is mostly a day to day, year to year account of the events in the families life but this again only lets the moral of the story shine through. That moral, for me, was that simple, hard working folk ultimately have the richest lives.

This was a recommendation and loan from a friend who told me the book changed his life some years ago. I enjoyed the book a good deal but di dnot have a life changing experience. Still, Hamson shows up on some 100 best lists with his other title Hunger and this was a good book.

4 bones!!!!

I'm behind.....I have another review to write but work keeps nosing in!!!!

Book #51, Red Lights by Simenon

This book goes on my favorite reads of this year. I devoured the book in about three hours in two sittings, on a trane from Philadelphia to New York and on a plane stuck on the tarmac at La Guardia.

Steve and Nancy are on their annual Labor Day trek to pick up their children from camp. Their lives are fairly droll and ordinary, though pain lays just under the surface of their routine existence. As the trip begins, Steve insists on drinking more and more alcohol, making frequent pit stops to imbibe. Nancy, fed up with his selfish behavior threatens to leave and he challenges her by taking the keys to the car with him on one of his bar stops. When he returns, Nancy is gone. Assuming she traveled on by way of the bus, Steve, now free to do as he pleases, continues his bar crawl, meeting up with an escpaed convict. The convict presses Steve for a ride and Steve, eager for intrigue, willingly agrees. Steve wakes up in his car the next morning, behind the wheel of his car, his wallet stolen and his wife missing, as she never reached the children's camp. The rest of the story follows Steve's search for his wife and his penance for his night of selfish living.

Rich and brooding, this novels tension builds with every paragraph, expressed in the description of Steve's inner thoughts of annoyance with Nancy, a gathering thunderstorm, and the frequent reports of traffic fatalities reported on the radio. Though Steve seems unable to describe his feelings about his wife, it soon becomes clear that his loathe for his wife is a substitution for his own self loathing. Nancy's cool, unflappable veneer only infuriates Steve further. Though Nancy's stoic visage bely her true emotions, evident only in her final abandonment of Steve.

Without giving too much away, the novel ends with the Steve and Nancy's redemption and reconnection. Through suffering, the two are able to final express their own shortcomings to one another and regain a companionship they lost over the routine days of their marriage. Steve finally directs his critical eye inward and discovers why he chose to engage and befriend the criminal, hoping to see something in the convict that he felt missing. In truth, what Steve was missing was respect and honor for the life he was living. When Steve is finally forced to honestly value the things in his life, he realizes that his own shortcomings and is put on the path to self love and love for those around him again.

In an introduction to this edition, Simenon's overarching theme is described. "A life will go wrong, usually because of an element in the protagonist's make-up which impels him to self-destruct, to willfully seek disgrace, exclusion, ruin in his search for a fulfillment adn a fatal freedom which take on an aura of destiny." This seemed a fairly apt general description of the plot of this book. What made the book really breathe for me, though, was that the characters, their lives and emotions, jumped off the page. Simenon did not describe Steve's descent in a sterile and disconnected way. Rather, he made it seem the same descent which lies just outside the day to day decisions for us all.

Highly recommended.

5 bones!!!!!

Next up..........Emma by Jane Austen

This is my first reading of any Austen work. I am quite looking forward to it.

Just learned that Simenon from above wrote a detective series, Inspector Maigret. Never heard of it. Anyone read any of them?

Hi blackdogbooks
Like you I have never read an Austen work. I'll be checking your posts to read your imporessions.

Oooh, me me! I've read some inspector maigret books. Though I have to admit, I prefer ms. christie's poirot. The maigret mysteries are nice though because you get some glimpses of french life (the food, etc...madame maigret is always cooking something for lunch...there's actually a madame maigret's recipes book...I own it!) Give them a try. Hemingway loved the simenon mysteries and devoured them.

I knew I could count on the 75'ers to point me right on that. I am a Hemingway fan and did not know of his love for the Simenon mysteries. I will now be looking. Is it better to read them in chronological order as published or does it matter?

I don't think it matters really. Just pick whichever ones sound interesting to you. You also might want to check out the I See Dead People's Books librarything group. Hemingway's extensive library is catalogued as well as several others.

Hi, thanks for the review of Growth of the Soil, which is another on the 1001 Must Read and looked interesting.

Hope you're enjoying your Austen--Emma is one of the most accessible, although I prefer Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice because their heroines are more likeable in many respects. Emma's probably more typical of her era, however.

Just finished Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler and have to say that I prefer Hammett's writing, but both men did define the detective mystery/thriller quite nicely.

And I'm within 90 pages of finishing Rushdie's Grimus (three months and counting!). Never thought I'd actually get through it--still may not, but I'm working on it.

Glad the review on the Hamsun book was useful.

Love Hammet but haven't tried any Chandler yet.

Emma is good so far, just a few pages in. Liking it better than I thought I would.

I can't wait to see what you think of Emma when you are done. I love Austen, she is one of my favorite authors. Like Prop2gether, I also prefer Pride and Prejudice to Emma. My second fav is Persuasion. Emma as a heroine is sometimes annoying and manipulative. I guess that Austen wanted to create a very different kind of female lead, one unlike Elizabeth Bennett, Anne Elliot or Elinor Dashwood who were quite exceptional. Emma was probably true to many wealthy and priveldged young ladies of her time. A wonderful read all in all.

I like Persuasion as well, but was first introduced to it by the excellent film version of about five or six years ago. Then the book was even more delicious! Really glad to hear you're enjoying Austen, especially because she's often considered a "woman's" writer.

Have you read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien? I just finished it for book club and found it brilliant. I find myself recommending it to total strangers.

Posted on your thread about that one!!!!

ahhhhhh....another book added to the pile.....The Things They Carried sounds really good.
Thanks... (I think)

blackdog: Got the GRE book! Thanks again! It got here so quick, I can hardly believe it. Now I can return the library copies with a light heart.

Spent the day "winterizing" our garage. What a mess. We park outside during summer, and the empty space gets filled with bicycles, sidewalk chalk, and discarded fishing lure. Meanwhile, the mice had been at it again. Had to sweep every nook, corner and shelf. Yuck. Got rid of a lot of stuff.

Once again, I seem to have a case of "reading elbow" (from the repetetive stress of holding a book).

Hope your weekend is great. Thanks AGAIN!

Not long ago, I saw many comments and posts on Cold Comfort Farm, most with something about "the woodshed". I was a little lost, not having read the book or seen the movie.........but, now, I have to report............I saw something nasty in the woodshed!!!!!!!

Cold Comfort Farm has been added to my mountain of tbr books.
I think that if we have the 75 book challenge next year, I will simply read all the books I've added to the tbr pile as a result of reading these posts...(I'm smiling)

Well, I wish it was my elbow that was sore after reading for hours on the couch.

Loved the film Cold Comfort Farm, but haven't gotten to the book although it's on my eternal list.

How was Emma?

Definitely recommend Cold Comfort Farm - very funny!

#162 Whisper: You mean you've only added 75?!

Good point alcottacre.

I've note counted, but I know there are some days when I add ten books to my list.

#163, Emma keeps getting interupted by life. But I still go back for more. I hope to finish it soon and will put my thoughts in order then.

By the way, for those of you who are ER'ers, I was supposed to get a book about a soldier's return from the war in Iraq, non-fiction, and I got The Charlemagne Pursuit. Is this normal? I am not one to complain, a free book is a free book and I like to try new things. Just curious about others experiences with this kind of thing????

There were some extra copies of The Charlemagne Pursuit that Abby was able to send out. I suspect that the two issues aren't connected. If you drop a note to Abby, she'll let you know what's going on.

BTW, I thought The Charlemagne Pursuit was a pretty decent thriller. Not award winning literature, but quite fun for me.

On your suggestion I picked up Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon and have started reading it! I had it on my wish list of books to look for . Yesterday I found at my favourite " remainder " book store.

torontoc, I hope you enjoy it. I did. It sounds like you and I shop/read/collect books similarly. I am the same, always on the look out for a used copy of books on my lists.

doc, thanks for the heads up, I guess I should still expect the other book, although it seems quite late in getting here.

I have finished Emma and my thoughts are percolating, though I am somewhat nervous about posting those thoughts on something like that. But I will drive on and put something up here soon.

Started The Leopard and there is some truly beautiful prose there, an incedible paragraph on the smells in a garden. I haven't read enough to know if the story and characters will hold my attention yet.

Book #52, Emma by Jane Austen

First "thought": I guess Austen wrote that she wanted to write a character who was not entirely likable. And, at first, she is not the warmest of characters to cosy up next to. But, the other characters in the book seem to rave about her and her perfection in almost cartoonish ways. Emma's inner life never seems to match the feelings of the other characters towards her. It seemed to me that Austen juxtaposed Emma's inner mean and manipulative streak with the other character's praise and adoration for her on purpose. What interests me is what motivated Austen in this endeavor. Was she sending up someone she knew personally? Was she making a comment on the society she saw around her? Was she focusing an author's sharp pen on some trait in herself? All of these seemed possibilities to me. And the tension between the two made the book very interesting.

Thought #2: One of the comments in the introduction to this edition said that the book was a great work because of the character's constantly shifting and evolving perspectives and feelings. This was one of the best things about the book for me. None of the characters was a cardboard cutout, least of all Emma. We are all a bundle of contradictions and Austen nailed this difficult aspect of the human condition in a way that few authors have. By the end, I wanted to feel more compassion for Emma and like her more. But she seemed constantly, to the bitter end, able to slip towards manipulation and selfishness, and then also beat herself up for it and inch towards redemption.

I shall like to try some more Austen. For all you Jane-ites; please, tell me which should be my next?

Try Persuasion next. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book but over the years, I have begun to develop an even deeper appreciation for Persuasion. Its about love lost...the rest you will find out when you read it.

Totally agree with your read on Emma. There were times when I was just appalled by Emma as she manipulated her way through situations and circumstances. I was glad that a character like Knightley was created who was not taken in with her charms. He liked her, but he did not think twice about calling her on her many mistakes. Everyone else just feed her behavior and would never dare reproach her for anything. Glad you liked it.

Oh, yes, Persuasion or Pride and Prejudice would be good. Persuasion is more complex in its social mores and situations and the heroine really must decide what to do for herself. Pride and Prejudice is better known for all the take-offs and current supplementals, but it's like reading Measure for Measure as opposed to Much Ado About Nothing: great pleasure in all of it, but greater depth in one.

Thanks for the Persuasion suggestions. Another thought on Austen; I have read a bunch of very spare prose and I was a bit concerned that Austen's prose would overwhelm me completely. But her long and meandering sentences never seemed to lose me. Her talent was obviously great, as that kind of complexity in thought and style is hard to put on the page without losing a reader.

Book #53 The Leopard

The Prince of Salina is a very complex character, ruling his roost with all of the arrogance and condescension of a great noble. He is typically flawed, following his own desires and whims without much thought as to the consequences or the feelings of his family. Yet, in the middle of a revolution and the birth of the modern Italian nation, he very carefully adn thoughtfully handles several matters of potential trouble, working through them with the utmost thought of others feelings and place in the trouble. We are all a bunch of contradictions, and the Prince is no different

This is a really well written book with wonderful description of the smells and sights of the Sicilian countryside. There are also great passages where Lampedusa attributes human characteristics to inanimate objects and is able to get across a feeling and thought so much easier.

There are so similarities to Darkness at Noon in the description of the cycles of human history and interaction, especially in the context of a revolution. One passage has a priest describing these circular happenings to a peasant who has just been complaining about his own repression. When the priest makes some sense of it, the peasant grows unhappy and begins to ignore him, eventually falling asleep. The priest, emboldened by the peasant's slumber, waxes on and has a good bit to say about class, race, and socio-economic distinctions which really don't make people all that different at their base.

blackdogbooks if you get a chance you might want to watch the 1963 film of The Leopard with Burt Lancaster. It's an amazing visual treat.

I don't know if this is at all something you'd be interested in, and I haven't actually read it myself (though was sufficiently intrigued by the title to buy it), but Fay Weldon wrote a nonfiction book called Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen, which looks interesting and maybe even helpful.

alaskabookworm, I always find your suggestions helpful and worth looking into! Thanks.

streamsong, the edition I read mentioned the movie. i will put it on my netflix list. Thanks.

next up..........Iraq Through a Bullet Hole

Edit trying to get the touchstone to work, but to no avail.

Another book that might be interesting to you if you're going to continue with Austen is What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool. It was given to me as a gift and I started reading it after reading Pride and Prejudice. It makes reading the books a bit more fun when you know what Mrs. Elton means when she keeps bragging of her barouche-landau. :-)

TadAD
I agree with you regarding the book What Jane Austen Ate and Charles dickens Knew. It was delightful and very informative.

Book #54, Iraq Through a Bullet Hole

A journal of one Iraqi citizens return to his war-torn, home country. Jameel returns home in 2005 after having fled Iraq some 12 years earlier. Now living in Australia, Jameel has also converted to Christianity. So, his return home is marked by unease, fear, and confusion. His family, a Sunni Muslim family, has taken up their religion with a new found fervor. The neighborhoods of his memory have turned into poverty stricken slums. And civil war seems about to break out.

I anticipated a much richer view of Iraq and the troubles afflicting it. While Jameel is able to describe some of the changes and difficulties of living in Iraq, his descriptions don't often move pass the surface. Many of the descriptions of the violence which must be pulsing just under the surface of day to day life never capture any real emotion or sense of danger. On a couple of occasions, Jameel recounts threats made on his family members with a detachment that seemed odd. One of the larger themes of the latter half of the book concerns his efforts to reclaim and sell his old home in Kirkuk. As I read of his efforts, I was baffled by the notion that someone would spend such effort on such a pointless and hopeless endeavor. All in all, part of the disconnect may be Jameel's own sense of distance having fled the country, converted, and settled in a Western culture.

That said, some of hte passages of the book are rich with emotion, particularly those focused on his families efforts to re-convert Jameel back to Islam. The theological and philisophical discussions about the Bible, the Qu'ran, and true religion were fascinating. Jameel's resistance to his familiy's efforts and his devotion to Christianity leapt off the page. Other passages about Saddam's reign, Sadaam's efforts to repopulate Kurdish areas with Arab people, and Jameel's forced military and work history were also told with a great deal of emotion. These passages made the book worth reading.

This is Jameel's first attempt at writing a book in English. The effort to keep Jameel's voice in the book has afflicted the editing a bit and it needs a good second going over. Nonetheless, Jameel's style and narrative choices are very interesting as they originate in a world of thought and perspecitve very different from the West.

Three bones!!!

next up.............The Brief History of the Dead

This book sounds very interesting. Despite its failings, it appears that there were some interesting details to keep one reading. Maybe a better editor would have been able to tighten up the narrative and suggested a more in depth analysis of his emotional response to the Iraq he returned to.

Book #55, The Brief History of the Dead

Laura is stranded in an Antartic research station while the rest of the world faces a pandemic. While she tries to figure out how to save herself, she ruminates on her life and the people who she has touched and who have touched her. Laura's memory sustains a city neighborhood full of ghosts who are waiting to cross over to the next peice of their existence. The ghosts arrive with dreamlike remembrances of their crossing after death to find a city which looks like the world they just left . The struggle for life in these parallel universes are intertwined by the power of memory.

Brockmeier has constructed a truly unique story. There are shades of a C.S. Lewis book I read many years ago describing a purgatory-like existence for those who have died. There are shades of a Jon Krakauer adventure. There are dystopian shades which call to mind Orwell or Dick, with a litle Matrix sprinkled over. All of this is tied together with a solid, exciting story with a compelling central character. In fact, if I have any criticism, it is that Brockmeier spent too little time with Laura. I took a half bone because I would have liked to know more about Laura and gotten to kjnow her better.

That said, the method Brockmeier uses to fill us in on Laura and her life is to let us get to know the people in her life who are depending on her survival for theirs. This was both facinating and very rewarding.

Another recommendation for this book is in Brockmeier's ability to recount dreams and dream-like experiences. Often, writers do not hit the mark with such efforts, putting to paper unusual or scary or disjointed happenings to get across a dream. Brockmeier's dreams, however, have the taste of real dreams; they feature a stream of conciousness but always with a unifying theme of some kind; they are rich in details, colors, smells, and feelings; and they are fitted together with the events of the characters life and circumstances so tightly.

41/2 bones!!!!!

Thanks to all of you 75'ers who encouraged me on reading this one. I really enjoyed it!

Next up..............The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry, an ER Book

oh my...I simply should not read the posts and then the mountain of tbr would not be as high...BUT, I'm having such great, good fun reading all the posts about such interesting books and thus I simply have to add A Brief History of the Dead to pile that I hope to read throughout 2008 and into 2009.

Thanks blackdogbooks! I really enjoyed reading your description of this one!

#183 blackdogbooks: I read A Brief History of the Dead last year and enjoyed it, too. Glad to hear you liked it. I completely agree with what you had to say about the character of Laura.

I've had Brockmeier's book floating about the TBR pile for awhile. I'll have to move it way up.

#183: I loved this book too - just thought it was so beautiful the ways in which Laura had touched the lives of so many people. Really well thought through too and carefully constructed. And the most amazing descriptions of real, bone-breaking cold that I have ever read (but then I am a cold-blooded wimp and feel the cold horribly easily).

Shortly after I finished this book a friend of mine started working for Cocoa Cola and I have had to fight the urge to send him a copy...

FlossieT: send the book!

I'm reading A Brief History of the Dead right now. Loving it so far, but not too far into it. Its title certainly gets attention from people. Then when I try to describe the premise, I get many confused looks. Anyway, I'm so glad I'm reading it!

Just a note to say, I finished Blaze and it's now a favorite King read. And, yes, I, too, would recommend it to non-King fans. I've pulled out my DVD of the Burgess Meredith/Lon Chaney version of Of Mice and Men because it seems so close to the book (first) and could easily segue into Blaze. Thanks for the recommendation.

A Brief History of the Dead was definitely a good book! If you haven't read it yet, bump it up on the TBR list.

Slogging through an ER book, doing my homework, The Charlemagne Pursuit. And I haven't read the threads in about a week and I think you guys posted about 200 messages!!!! I'll hopefully finish this one and get my thoughts up on the thread here soon. then, I think I am going to rearrange my TBR pile and get more Halloween type books on in the "spirit of the season"!

Glad that you all are enjoying these books, there was some good writing in both Blaze and A Brief History of the Dead.

I love Halloween! If you post Halloween type books, I will be sure to check your thread for recommendations

#190 I did indeed move A Brief History of the Dead up the list; am currently reading it now. Very good so far. I can't imagine how its going to end.

Enjoy the adventure!!!!

Isn't this your month for the GRE?

Book #56, The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry
An ER book!

Everyone has guilty pleasures. This series may well fall into that arena for some but it missed the mark for me. Believe me, I love my guilty pleasures; I love Michael McGarity, a southwest writer who churns out passable mysteries and has an eye for the oddities of the Soutwest and it's people; I love David Morell, who writes tightly wound spy thrillers with more than the typical cardboard cutout hero. But I just didn't connect with Berry and his Cotton Malone.

The story follows Malone's quest to locate his father, a submariner who's vessel was lost without a trace. In seeking the truth about his father's death, Malone steps into the middle of a larger quest for an acient civilization which conatcted and affected several other civilizaitons around the world before disappearing. He has to form an alliance with one of two identical twin sisters who are also searching for the remains of the ancient people, hoping to make good on their ancestors beliefs and claim an inheritance of fame and fortune. Meanwhile, Malone's former spy organization has also become part of the plot, with a naval intelligence admiral bent on murdering his way into the Vice President;s office.

Plausible? Of course not. Fun reading and escapist? I'm sure that is Berry's intent but it missed it's mark with me. I read The Da Vinci Code, a book which is very similar in tone and story, awhile back and had the same reaction. I didn't understand what everyone was raving about. But, I am sure many would say the same types of things about my guilty pleasures. There's nothing wrong with reading a book just to have fun; I just didn't have as much fun reading this one as I'd hoped. Perhaps part of the problem is that I do not have the history of the previous titles in the Malone series.

Next up.....a little Halloween reading.....The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Book #57 The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

What is the nature of fear and from where does it originate? Does it live in the darkened corners of a lonely and dusty room, waiting for the unsuspecting and innocent victim? Or does it live in the darkened corners of the mind, battling its way to the surface, eager to rule.

Shirley Jackson built Hill House, describing it brick by brick as evil incarnate. She placed six souls in its rooms: Dr. Montague, a doctor searching for the paranormal; Mrs. Montague, the doctor's faddish wife, complete with a pranchette (think Oiuja Board); Albert, a friend of the doctor's wife, meant to protect everyone with his revolver; Theo, a sensitive and high strung artist; Luke, a member of the family who owns the house; and Eleanor. Eleanor is the one who truly connect swith the house's evil and insistent spirit, plagued by guilt over her mother's death and insecurity. Her imaginative nature leaves her open to the evil power of the house, or is it that the house feeds off of her psychic power, or is it that most of the paranormal happenings originate in Eleanor's own troubled spirit.

Jackson has given Hill House all of the human elements of a character in this story and, in doing so, has brought the story alive with possibilities and tension. The house's malice is evidenced from its outward countenance of sharp and assymetrical lines to its inward dark soul, mirrored in dark panneling and clownish bright colors. Yet the real heart of the story is Eleanor and her battle with her own guilt, insecurity, and fear. One minute Eleanor is lost in daydreams of other potential lives and the next she is bitterly evaluating the other guests stares and whispered conversations. Ultimately, Hill House, with it's dark and homicidal past, connects with Eleanor, giving her a place to finally belong, however twisted an existence that might mean for her.

The penultimate haunted house. They broke the mold with this one. Indeed, the story has been adapted numerous times for film and TV. Stephen King drew heavily on the story for his miniseries "Rose Red". As is often the case, the original is the most interesting. Jackson's characters more complete and interesting in their contradictions. The ambiguous nature of the paranormal events leaving you to wonder about the true nature of fear.

41/2 bones!!!!!

Next up.........Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney

I really like your well written description of The Haunting of Hill House. A few weeks ago I finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle and found it fascinating.

Haven't read that one yet.....it sits next to The haunting of Hill House on the shelves. I have read a very large compendium of her short stories which was very rewarding. She is a great writer! the Magic of Shirley Jackson

Good review of Hill House, It's been a long time since I've read it, (over 30 years ago) but I'll never forget the movie "The Haunting" (Julie Harris version). We were just talking about it the other night how it was considered one of the all time scary movies to watch late at night on TV when we were young.

Haven't seen that version......have to put it on my Blockbuster list for Halloween viewing!!!!

Book #58, The Body Snatchers

Miles Brennel is a small town, old fashioned doctor, the kind who used to make house calls. He still stores files detailing the aches and pains of much of the towns residents in one of the rooms of his house, a house he inherited from his father. The town. The town is sleepy and insular. The story opens with Miles seeing his last patient of the day, a sprained thumb, the kind of mundane, simple problems Miles is used to treating.

So, when Becky Driscoll shows up and tells Miles that her aunt is certain that her unle is an imposter, Miles is faced with something completely outside his realm of experience. More and more residents report similar fears that their loved ones have been replaced with exact duplicates and Miles refers them to a psychiatrist. Little does Miles know that the psychiatrist is not the person he used to be.

Eventually, Miles and Becky learn that the towns residents are slowly being replaced with duplicates grown from seed pods from outer space. The pods, interested only in the survivial of their own species, replace humans, assimilating their memories, experiences, and motives with the human host's, taking control of the human. The only real difference in the human experience after replacement is a curious lack of emotion and will. This difference is ultimately what helps Miles and Becky focus their defiance.

Escaping from the replaced town residents, Miles and Becky stumble on a field of newly grown pods, ready for distribution to the rest of the country and world. They set fire to the pods and the pods, in an act of survival, begin floating up and back to outer space to visit some other unsuspecting planet.

Most of the film adaptations of Finney's story focus on the paranoid, conspiratorial nature of the townspeoples efforts to replace everyone. Many of the early literary criticisms boiled the story down to a McCarthy era, anti-Communist allegory. The story that shines through to me, however, is a more basic one - a battle against outside societal influences which tend to numb our own personal human experience - the destruction of human interaction and community.

Many will discount this book as pulp sci-fi. But there is a lot more here to appreciate for the careful reader.

4 bones!!!!

Next up........Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Blackdog, great review! So if you haven't read (or not for a long while) John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids or The Midwich Cuckoos--check them out. You'll love them, and will also recognize the film adaptations which fall somewhat short of expectations.

Great suggestions. I sometimes feel like such a naif when I get suggestions from folks like you. I had never heard of either of the books nor the author, though in looking them up, I obviously recognized the stories. That's what is great (how many times have I said this in my thread alone, let alone read it in other's threads) LT is so great.

There's also The Stepford Wives, although no aliens in that one...

Aliens, while making a story more fun, are not absolutely necessary!!

FYI, just a note--I found Wyndham's on the 1001 Must Read list.

Those darn lists.....I have already made up my mind to really try and finish a couple of my 100 best lists next year and start on the 1001 list, largely because of your baaaaaad influence!

I'd apologize, but...I'm having too much fun finding "new" books and authors to share with others. :)))

Cool beans! Glad I ran across this thread - more sci-fi classics to add to my ever growing TBR Continent.

>207 blackdogbooks:: blackdogbooks
thanks for sending those darn lists to me :-)
greatly appriciated

Whoa, I loved your review of The Body Snatchers. I really want to read it. Is this the book upon which all those movies like Invasion was based on?

Yep, this is the original. There have been four or five film adaptations. One memorable one is the last 1970's version with Donald Sutherland and Leornard "Spock" Nemoy; a less memorable 1990's version with Gabrielle Anwar; and the most recent version with the new Bond guy and Nicole Kidman. I don't think many of these have stuck faithfully to the book's story but all have had some elements of the story featured.

Book #59, Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Over the years, the name Frankenstein has been more and more associated with the creature in Shelley's novel and les associated with Victor Frankenstein, the creature's maker. Perhaps such a shift is appropriate in some ways; perhaps Shelley intended such an ambiguity. The Barnes and Noble Classics book jacket suggests that Shelley wrote the story as a cautionary tale on the dangers of science. In reading the book, however, I came more and more to see it as a cautionary tale about human obssession. As other critics have noted, the creature appears to be a part of Victor Frankenstein, maybe even his dark half. I would go the extra step and say that the creature is Victor Frankenstein, his obssession incarnate.

Victor's first obssession appears to have been his newly presented cousin, Elizabeth. When his mother introduces Elizabeth as a "present" for Victor, he takes her at his word and begins a long relationship with her, treating her as his own, to do with as he pleases. At an early age, just thirteen, Victor happens on some cast away copies of some natural scientist and philosophers, long discredited. Victor's father offhandedly rejects Victor's fascination. Victor, however, is undaunted and pours himself into the study of the fringe ideas presented in the tomes. Just as quickly, he turns his back on these ideas, tossing them away as quackery. Then, embarking upon his new education at the university, he grabs hold of the ideas again, encouraged and fueled in his obssessions by a professor. At this point in the story, Victor's obssession hatches a physical manifestation, the creature. After seeing the creature, it's ugly, superhuman figure, he recoils and soon falls into a sickness. As he emerges from his malaise, Victor comments that he feels as good as before he "was attacked by the fatal passion."

Though recounted in passive voice, in this statement, Victor recognizes his own obssession and the danger of the progeny it has born. His revelation is close on the heels of his father's warning against such a nature, "A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind and never allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquillity....If this rule were always observed; if no man allowed any pursuit whatsoever to interfere with the tranquillity of his domestic affections, Greece had not been enslaved, Caesar would have saved his country; America would have been discovered more gradually; and the empires of Mexico and Peru had not been destroyed." Sadly, recognition is not enough for Victor and he battles his passionate nature for the rest of his life; losses all he loves, and his own humanity, in the battle. That the creature is Victor's obssession breathed to physical life is evident in his constant ravings of guilt for the creature's murders.

The framework of the story could have easily been tiring and confusing, as it is told as stories within stories. Indeed, the introduction to the sotry concerns the obssession of another character altogether, Robert Walton, who is bent on some life-altering adventure in the frozen fields of the North Pole. He saves Victor from the icy ocean after the ice Victor was sleding on in pursuit of the creature breaks apart. While Walton nurses Victor back to health, Victor tells his tale of obssession. At the midway point of Victor's story, he recounts meeting and palavering with the creature, and recounts the creature's story. Most adaptations of Shelley's novel have cast off this framework and it has done the story a disservice. For in these stories within stories, Shelley is able to create tension and perserve ambiguity over the creature's motivation and intent.

Frankenstein is much more than a classic horror story. The horror is more palpable given its origins in everyday human tendencies.

Highly recommended.

5 bones!!!!!

Next up............The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

Great review!

wonderful review! Thanks!

Wow blackdogbooks! You make me jealous that you can write such inciteful reviews. You also want to make me go back and read Frankenstein again. On to Continent TBR it goes.

Thanks for the nice comments on the review. I think it was mostly just the great book shining through!

BTW, I watched a movie last evening called "The Hoax" about Clifford Irvings unathorized/authorized biography of Howard Hughes. Has anyone hear read the book this movie was based on or any of his other writings? I am curious about him.

Great review of one of my favorite books! I avoided it for a long time because I don't care for horror stories. (However, I've bought Blaze and will be reading it soon--on your recommendation.) When my book group in Savannah selected it several years ago I finally read it. It is absolutely incredible and if I remember correctly Mary Shelley was only about 19 years old when she wrote it! (I think I'm right about that--it seems to me she wrote it in answer to a challenge from her husband and his friends. I guess I'll have to try and find out where I got that information!)

I think the edition I have listed her age at 18 on first writing it. For a long time, after she first published the book, many thought her husband wrote it. And you were right on about the challenge. Shelley and her husband and a couple of friends challenged each other to write a ghost story. Shelley was the only one who followed through. The challenge was made after a night around a camp fire telling ghost stories. Her story turned out to be so much more.

Good luck with Blaze! I think you'll like it.

Thanks for saving me the trouble of having to hunt up that information--glad my memory, at least about books!, is still functioning.

I'm anticipating Blaze--I loved Of Mice and Men, mysteries make up about 1/3 of my reading each year (I used to not count them as "real reading") and, as you can see, if the story is really good I can "tolerate" horror. If I really love Blaze I may come back and ask for other suggestions!

MusicMom, Blaze is barely horror, but it is a great homage to a great work. I hope you enjoy it very much. And trust me--Blackdog is one of those to send you to bigger and badder works in the genre. :-)

I'll be starting the year with Blaze because I will have a scifi category in the 999 challenge and I need to be sure I can find nine I want to read! I think it will be a good way to start a new year. I've packed it away because I'm really tempted to read it sooner!

ETA So far I have 2 more besides Blaze: The Magician by Michael Scott (my son is lending me his because he wants me to read it) and The Left Hand of Darkness (because my older son wanted me to read it this year and I didn't get around to it.)

This is a category I read mostly to please my sons (Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are excluded from that--I was the one who got them started on fantasy as children with their fantasy books-- firs, the Chronicles of Narnia then The Hobbit and the rest of them!). If anyone has suggestions for this category I would be happy to entertain them!

Hmmm, realized I responded with a list to MusicMom41, but this is blackdogbooks thread. :-)

Putting it over in her thread.

For those who might be interested, I also posted a list of recommended books in MusicMom41's thread.

What a wonderful list of books you have. I have seen Shirley Jackson's books mentioned in other threads, but now, I will definitely be on the lookout for them. Really enjoy your reviews.

MusicMom, you should trust the list of books Prop2gether, TadAD, and ronincats have given you as they are true afficianados. I haven't looked at their contributions, but I will add my own comments that it is safe to read anything by Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, or Charles de Lint. Dick is probably the most hardcore SciFi of those four; de Lint is more fantasy oriented and one whose stories are always very hope filled and positive; Bradbury crosses genre lines more freqauently and better than any of the four; and Heinlen is a close second to Dick in being hardcore, old fashioned SciFi. If you want a more recent SciFi from Heinlein, try Job: A Comedy of Justice which is a littel SciFi and a littel theological allegory.

Also, you should get some recommendations from DrNeutron. The doc is another expert in this area!!!

judylou, thanks for the kind comments about the reviews. You won't be disappointed by Shirley Jackson.

Book #60, The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

10 year old Regan's bed shakes and strange sounds echo from her room in the night. Some of her things have started disappearing and her heavy furniture seems to be moving itself. These strange happenings arrive at roughly the same time as Captain Howdy, Regan's new 'imaginary' friend who likes to communicate with her through a Oija board. As Regan continues to decompensate, falling into convulsions and ever more bizarre behavior, several Catholic churches in the area report foul desecrations. Regan's mother eventually takes her to a series of physicians and psychologists who, after lengthy testing, have no answers for Regan's behaivor and no way to treat the girl. Belieivng that Regan's acting out may be tied to a psychosomatic belief developed from reading about demon possession, the doctor's refer Regan's mother to a priest.

Damien Karras is a priest with a significant doubt about his own faith. His mother, whom he left to pursue the priesthood, has just died and he feels responsible for her decline and death. His role in the Catholic church has been to use his education and experience in psychology to help other priest's with their own troubles. Karras embarks on a study of Regan's behavior to determine whehter it is psychologically driven or a result of a true demon possession. Regan, or the demon inside her, taunts Karras repeatedly, giving him ambiguous signals about the origin of Regan's behavior. Ultimately, Karras is convinced that Regan is possessed by a demon and he asks the Catholic church for permission to conduct an exorcism. During the exorcism, Karras is convinced that Regan is about to die. He provokes the demon to exit Regan and enter his own body and then throws himself out of a window in an act of sacrifice and suicide.

Anyone who's seen the 1970's version of the movie need not pick this novel up, as the movie faithfully recounts the entire story, leaving out very little. In fact, the movie may be better than the book that spawned it. William Peter Blatty, as is noted on the book jacket, was a successful screenwriter when he penned this novel. The book often reads like what I'd imagine a screenplay to read - fed out in short one to three word bursts, disjointed and disconnected. Not until the book is half over does the prose begin to settle and flow.

If there is any reason to read this book after having seen the movie, it is to enjoy the more full examination of Karras' disturbed and broken spirit. The movie focuses so completely on Regan and her frightening behavior that it has little time for Karras' doubts and battles, though these may be the most compelling parts of the story.

So, all in all, a mixed recommendation. Blatty has certainly created some of the most recognizable characters in literary and horror culture. But, it is mostly in the visual adaptation that he succeeds in presenting these characters.

3 bones!!!

Next up......In the Night Room by Peter Straub

Whoa, you are really keeping with the scary theme.

I never knew that The Exorcist was a book first.

Yeah, the movie scared the ~@$@#! out of me for several yearsw before I was able to finish it. It's good Halloween fare!!!!

This new book, In the Night Room is a little more traditional horror. I don't know if I am going to like it though....I've had mixed results with Straub.

#228--Oh yes, The Exorcist was a book first! I had two friends who wanted desperately to see the film, and I insisted they read the book first because the reviews were consistent that the film followed the book. I didn't want anyone fainting in the theatre on me (had that happen once). So we went to the noon showing in a small LA theatre--bright sunny day until we exited the theatre and were engulfed in fog so thick you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Flash forward years to the VHS release and my children wanting to watch this film. Again, middle of the day only and with me in the room were my rules for viewing (her sister says this is the scariest film her brother never saw even though he was in the room). And I swear it's true, but it was another bright sunny LA day when we started and fog-engulfed when the film credits started rolling.

Stranger than fiction.....

I am NEVER watching a scary movie with you, ever.

Added Dracula, Frankenstein and The Exorcist to my TBR list.

Well, my daughter called from a summer film study she was taking and told me she had just watched the scariest film ever--this years after The Exorcist. Turns out it was Rosemary's Baby, and she was not amused by my response--"But sweetie, you never see the baby."

Actually, mostly I avoid anything like a slasher picture, or aliens eating everything in sight movies, but have you seen The Spiral Staircase?

Ain't Halloween great!!!!!! Sometimes fiction pales in comparison!!!!!

Piyushchouasia, you won't be disappointed by Frankestein. I haven't read Dracula yet, let me know what you think!!! I think it will be in my Halloweed pile next October. I hope to finish out with Bradbury's Something Wicked this Way Comes and David Morrell's Totem before All Hallow's Eve!

Prop2gether, never heard of The Spiral Staircase and the link didn't have any reviews of the book. Tell me about it.

One of my favorite scary movies is a classic, The Changling with George C. Scott. Not a slasher/gore film at all. Very spooky!

OMG, this film scared the willies out of me as a child, and that was with the erratic local television editing of the time. There are several remakes, but ignore every one of them, and go to the original 1945 version starring Dorothy McGuire and Ethel Barrymore. There's a serial murderer afoot who is killing people who have some sort of disability. Helen (McGuire) is mute and working for Barrymore in her house. Apparently the film took the basic plot from one novel, changed the time period, and then incorporated the spiral staircase from another novel (all details available at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038975/), but who cares when Helen is trying to figure out who she can trust to call on a phone for help...with a murderer lurking in the shadows--definitely a keeper!

Also for the season, the film version of Something Wicked This Way Comes with Jason Robards.

#61, In the Night Room by Peter Straub

Only a very small gap exists between the world of sanity and madness. Tim Underhill, a successful novelist, has bridged that gap on more than one occassion in his life. His writing often allows him the tools to save his mind and battle the demons dwelling in his psyche. Several of Peter Straub's other stories have followed Underhill's exploits, dating back to his days in Vietnam Koko and, most recently, the death of his nephew at the hands of a serial killer lost boy lost girl. This novel pierces that fragile gap between sanity and madness at the same time a killer pierces the gap between the real world and the world of fiction.

The framework for Straub's stories sometimes mirror Underhill's own writing and publication. So, this book picks up following the publication of lost boy lost girl in Underhill's world. He begins receiving unusual email messges which he soon learns are from recently deceased friends and acquaintances. Soon, Underhill is contacted by a long dead spirit, residing in a sort of purgatory, who informs him that, in writing his last novel, he offended the spirit of the serial killer who killed his nephew. The offense lies in Underhill's speculation that the serial killer abused and murdered his own daughter. Because of the offense, the killer has slipped through to the real world and is pursuing Underhill. Willy, the heroine of Underhill's new book, In the Night Room, also escaped the world of fiction along with the killer. Underhill soon learns that Willy is a character embodying the killer's daughter who survived his abuse. Underhill must help Willy travel to the home where the killer's daughter suffered her father's abuse and face the the night room where that terror played out in the real world. In his efforts to help Willy, Underhill also faces his own troubled past and his own inner struggles to overcome evil.

Straub's writing is often too dense for my tastes. He strings together overly complicated sentences with intricate language. And I have never been a great fan of Underhill. So, my feelings about this novel were somewhat lukewarm. That said, there were several passages, most notably Underhill's reunion with an estranged borther and Underhill's interview of the fosterparent to the killer's daughter, which broke through. The story was always readable and enjoyable but only those few passages were notable for me. During those passages, it seemed that Straub was able to shed the dense language and the plot framework and allow the characters to connect to the reader.

3 bones!!!

For a classic horror story, I would highly recommend Straub's Ghost Story!

Next up...........Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Book #62, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Melancholy drips from every page, every word of this story. In lesser hands, less poetic hands, the story would be nothing more than a juvenile ghost story, something uttered around a camp fire. But these are the words of one of America's premier poets and novelists, Ray Bradbury. Bradbury can haunt you and prick your heart in the course of one sentence, frighten you to the point of distraction with one phrase and cause you to ponder the dark corners of your own existence with the next phrase. The result, in this case, is a turn your lights on to read thriller which poses some of the basic questions of the human condition; questions about growing up, growing old, and death.

Will Holloway is a young boy on the verge of his teens, responsible and good beyond his years. His best friend, Jim Nightshade, who bears one of the best character names ever written, is the boy too young for his own taste, eager for manhood and rebellious in the face of anything standing in his way. The two are awake late one night when a carnival arrives in town, heralded by eeirie caliope music and a growing thunder storm. They watch in awe as the carnival is errected without a sound, choreographed by a dark man's mere hand movements. The boys are both drawn to the carnival and repulsed by it. As the story plays out, it becomes clear that the carnival feeds on the dark needs and desires of its customers, offering immortality without disclosing the fine print of the deal which could be servitude, madness, or death. Only Will's dad learns the magic weakness of the carnival's evil associates. The nature of the weakness points to the book's message: never loss the innocence, joy, and abandon of your youth; don't grow up to fast and never grow up altogether.

I can't comment on Bradbury's prose without breaking into superlative langauge. Suffice it to say that Bradbury, again, achieves poetry within the confines of the narrative prose style in a way that completely eludes most writers.

Highly recommended!

5 bones!!!!

Next up.......The Totem by David Morrell

Book #63, The Totem by David Morrell

Nathan Slaughter, a hard-edged, burned-out cop from Detroit, has been the Chief of Police in Potter's Field, Wyoming, ever since he was shot in a liqour store robbery. Fleeing from a nervous breakdown and the insecurity that followed, Slaughter fails at raising horses in the mountain town and then accepts the Chief job, more to compensate for his own fears than anything else. His job leaves him mostly chasing down the town drunk and dogs that bark all night. But then ranchers began to find their cattle killed and mutilated and a young boy, bitten by a raccon, vicisouly attacks his mother, biting and ripping at her throat like a wild animal. Theese unusual crimes bear an unusual connection to a 1960's hippie commune, long thought defunct. Slaughter must learn the connection before the town boils over into mayhem with the townspeople either quickly going mad or bent on murder.

Slaughter (another winner for best character name ever used) is driven by the need to control himself and his surroundings. His fear of failure and insecurity disgust him so thoroughly that he often over reacts, puffing out and over compensating for the weak behavior. As is usually the case, no one in his circle of friends and colleagues sees any weakness in him; his feelings of weakness are singularly personal. The story is really an examination in the human struggle to gain and maintain control of emotions and fears, with Slaughter as its main subject. Other characters are also afflicted in varying degrees with the same troubles and each deals with them differently and with varied success. The primary character besides Slaughter who faces such demons is Dunlap, another burn-out. Dunlap is a reporter with a serious drinking problem, who is often sent to the bottle of a morning to get through the day. The juxtaposition of Slaughter and Dunlap, their small victories and defeats in the battle to stay in control is the driving force behind the book.

Morrell, typically known for thrillers and espionage, takes on the classic story of the werewolve and gives it a new life, attempting to ascribe a scientific explanation for the origin of the myth. As usual, Morrell gives us characters much more carefully and deeply drawn than is the norm for the horro genre. Indeed, the first publication of the story in 1979 was an abbreviated version of the story Morrell actually wrote. The publisher was unhappy with both the length of the book and the lack of a 'love interest'. Morrell succombed and gave the publishing house what they wanted. In 1991, however, after the novel had gained recognition, he found the orginal manuscript and gave it to a publisher willing to stick with his vision. The result is a true, classic horror story, only better written than most.

The only disappointment, for me,were the last two to three pages. I was happy with the ending, as Morrell gave Slaughter an opportunity to go to extraordinary lengths to gain control. But Morrell opted to put together a ragtag 'family' of sorts for Slaughter, built from the survivors of the final, bloody battle. The group and some of the things Slaughter says in the last few paragraphs seemed inconsistent with the rest of the character's life on the pages. Nonetheless, this is a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone, especially horror fans or Morrell fans who haven't read it yet.

4 bones!!!!

Next up........The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston

I had to leave town unexpectedly and I am using my sister's computer to post on my thread here. The last few don't seem to be working?!@?# It's probably operator error because I am using a Mac and I am not used to it. ARGHHHH!!!!

#238 blackdogbooks: I will definitely have to look out for The Totem. It sounds like something quite different for Morrell - I have his Assumed Identity home from the library right now. Thanks for another great review (sister's computer notwithstanding).

alcottacre, I had no idea about Morrell's dabbling in the horror genre until very recently, though his imaginative and thrilling style was always suited for it. I recently found and read a short story compilation with several horror type stories Nightscape. It was a great read. I would definitely recommend it along with The Totem

Hello! Just an FYI-- If you are familiar with Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth" series, they have made it into a miniseries... The premiere is tonight.

www.legendoftheseeker.com you can search on there for the times and stations...

mamachunk

#241 blackdogbooks: I am not a big fan of the horror genre (I cannot handle Stephen King at all), but I will give Morrell's books a try. Maybe I will like them better. I will see if I can find a copy of Nightscape. Thanks for the recommendation!

blackdogbooks...
You did it again! You write such incredible reviews. I love your writing style! I totally agree with you regarding Ray Bradbury. IMHO, he is one of the best writers ever!

alcottacre, I know you dutifully tried to make it through a King novel and didn't enjoy it. I am not sure you will like The Totem though, again it is not your typical horror book. And, I note you like Assumed Identity which was one of my favorite thrillers. So, give it a try. There's not much gore, other than the descriptions of mutilated cattle. But definitely don't plod if it doesn't strike your fancy.

Whisper!, Yeah, Bradbury is going on my favs for my profile. I have Dandelion Wine in the TBR stack now that the spooky reading is over. Thanks for the kind words about the reviews. Like TrishNYC, I was a bit reluctant but you guys are a supportive crew.

I have to agree with Whisper1. You write the most literate, descriptive (without giving away the farm), and thoughtful reviews I've found on LT. I always look forward to them even if it's not a book I would read myself. Please, please keep them coming!

Thanks to your review, I decided to reread Something Wicked This Way Comes for Halloween. It's been a good while since I had read it, although I had Bradbury sign my vintage paperback in 1996 when he was here at Mysterious Galaxy, along with Dandelion Wine and The Illustrated Man. Dandelion Wine is my favorite book of his--it is like distilled essence of youth. I love Bradbury's prose as well--its lyrical flow just carries you along emotionally like a prose poem. However, what I noticed this time was that at times, that flow of language was hard to submerge into, generally because of other things going on around me. I know some people claim to have a problem with it, and that may be why. I suspect in my case it has to do with my diminished attention span as I age in concert with too much else going on around me.

I just put Dandelion Wine in my 999 challenge. It will be my first Ray Bradbury book but from what I'm reading here it won't be my last!

MusicMom
I don't think you will be disappointed in any Bradbury book. He can pack more vivid descriptions and wonderful, magical tones in one mere sentence than most writers do in a chapter....

ronincats, How lucky are you?!?!?!? That's a great prize to have a signed Bradbury signed book!!

Thanks for your kind words, also. I enjoy doing that much more than when I first started, mostly because of everyone's kindness and openness.

Looking forward to Dandelion Wine soon!!!

Hey there; long time no thread-ing. You've been busy reading!!!! What are you currently working on?

#245 blackdogbooks: Trust me, if I get to the 50 page point and do not like The Totem, the used bookstore down the street will get it back. I honestly tried with the King book (made it about 300 pages in), but after that experience, I am sticking solidly with my 50 page rule. I just have too many other books on Continent TBR to read something I am just not enjoying.

Book #64 The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston

Crime stories, especially the violent sort, have captured the human imagination in a way that few other things have in the last few decades. Television is over-populated with fictionalized serials and reality programming relating the lives and jobs of criminal investigators, crime scene technicians, and criminals. And the publication of books on serial killers, the serial killer psyche, and the classification of violent serial murder has grown exponentially. Rarely has a story as unusual and frustating as Douglas Preston's The Monster of Florence been told.

For nearly three decades, a serial murderer begin stalked the Florentine hills for young couples parked in secluded locations. At the time, the hills surrounding one of Italy's most beautiful and historic cities were often used by young lovers looking for a privacy. Beginning in 1968, the killer dispatched some 8 different couples, killing them in the throes of passion, and brutally mutilating and displaying the women. The Italian police and carabinieri were baffled and unable to identify and arrest anyone in connection with the crimes for nearly fifteen years. Then, in 1982, the first of a host of Italian petty criminals and fringe characters was arrested and charged as "the Monster". Over the next twenty years, nearly a dozen different people were charged for the murders or charged as part of a conspiracy linked to a mysterious satanic cult that law enforcement officials thought responsible for the murders. There to chronicle the whole sordid mess was Mario Spezi, a grizzled investigative journalist. Spezi was present at nearly every crime scene and used his superior network of police informants and sources to develop evidence and theories which infuriated Italian officials for their credibility.

In 2000, Preston, well-known for his fictional thrillers, decided to move his family to Florence, a life long dream. He settled, conincidentally, in a villa with an olive grove where "the monster" committed one of the murders. Intrigued, Preston began researching the murders and eventually partenered with Spezi in an attempt to uncover the identity of the murderer. As Preston and Spezi wrote articles and prepared to write a book about the killings, Italian officials, in a fit of jealousy and embarassment over their own ineptitude, charged and arrested both Spezi and Preston in connection with the murders. Preston was allowed to leave an Italian police interrogation and told to leave the country or expect to be jailed. Spezi was tried and acquitted.

Preston's account is compelling for the very reason that many readers will criticize it - their is no resolution. While Preston names the person he and Spezi both feel are responsible for the killings, that individual is never arrested or charged. And there is enough contradictory and ambiguous evidence that their choice for "the Monster" may not be right. While the book mostly villifies the Italian police and carbienieri, the narrative still makes clear how difficult such stranger murders, committed by a true sociopath, are to investigate and solve. The endless rabbit trails and dead ends which are necessarily followed in such an investigation are not unique to this set of murders but are a frustratingly common denominator in most murder investigations. This story just has more of them.

Preston's prose never gets in the way of the details, though such a mistake could easily befall a writer best known for fictional crime and near supernatural cops. Rather, Preston is able to infuse what could have been a dry accounting of facts with a wonderment over the beauty of the setting juxtaposing the brutal murders. He also employs a deft, light tone in describing the intricate history and subtle layers of Italian existence which inform the invetigation.

My main criticism of the book lies in the ending of the book which feels somewhat hurried. Preston was patient in providing all the necessary detials for the crimes and the investigation. Yet, when he and Spezi are arrested and charged, the book seems to rest more on a surface accounting. Some of this may be explained by the numerous legal, both civil and criminal, that the two authors face in the writing and publication of the tale. Nonetheless, it would have been nice if Preston had finished with the same luxuriously steady pace present in the first three quarters of the book.

Recommended!!!!

Four bones!!!!

Next up........Rocket Man by William Elliot Hazelgrove

Actucally, I am almost through with this ER book and hope to have my thoughts on it up within the next few days. Thanks to some computer problems, I haven't been able to get into LT for several days. Now, I am hundreds of thread postings down because you guys are quite prolific

Off to our annual Friends of the Library book sale this afternoon, $2 per bag of books. Ummmmm, book gluttony!!!!!!

Nice review! While you gave The Monster of Florence 4 stars and I gave it 3, our opinions line up pretty well, I think. Except you did a much better job of writing up the review... 8^}

I think I am probably too liberal with the rating portion. Though, anything below a 3 usually warrants trading in for something better and then comes off the library.

They raised the price on my bag of books at the Friends of the Library Book Sale to $3. How dare they!?!?!?!? Then again, I did come away with about 15 books for that price.

Thanks for the kind words on the review, doc.

I want to come to your house and borrow some books blackdog! What did you buy? The National Enquiree (that would be me) wants to know! (and isn't the price of everything going up these days?)

You got such a deal--now that the Halloween store has vacated the premises, the $1 book store is back. Argh!!! Even if I restrict myself to what they designate as classics (some interesting choices here), I'm still in trouble if I walk in the door. Have to find a new route from the library, that's all.

#65, Rocket Man by William Elliot Hazelgrove

Dale Hammer has the expensive home, the SUV, the corporate wife turned home-maker, and the two children which define the modern American suburban life. Look past the surface, though, and Dale's life looks a little more like a Dali-esque nightmare than the American dream. He can't afford the home because he is an out-of-print author who hasn't published a new novel in several years. Just to pay bills, Dale is brokering mortgages in an already faltering housing market. His wife has given up on him, figuring he is way past any hope of responsible and stable living. She has good reason for such a belief, as Dale has cut down their housing development sign, taken some of the cub scouts in his troop on an alcohol fueled four wheeling adventure, and almost mowed down his son's school crossing guard; that's just in the last week. Just as Dale's life seems completely out of control, his estranged, foul-mouthed, letcherous, and unemployed father takes up residence in his garage.

Dale's attempts to make sense of his life and re-connect with his family seem to fail at every turn. Most conversations with his wife turn into recriminations over their move to suburbia and the growing distance between them. Dale's son is ashamed of him, even as Dale tries to be the typical involved father. And Dale's father, even in the midst of attempts to bed down with one of the neighbors, seems bent on shaming Dale for his choices. Most of the fault, however, lays with Dale himself, as his ego won't allow him to see his own irresponsibility. Dale, always holier than all of his suburban neighbors, refuses to completely accept the suburban construct, always pining for his old edgier, more enlightened lifestyle. He looks down on everyone around him, all the while making a mess of his own life.

Dale's one chance at redemption with everyone is his role as the "Rocket Man" for the local scout troop. If he can successfully launch all the Scout rockets and avoid his usual disasters, maybe he can gain back some self-respect and win over his son and family. Who knows, he might even avoid arrest for cutting down the housing development sign.

William Elliot Hazelgrove is certainly a creative writer with a keen comedic timing, concocting unlikely situations filled with rich and colorful characters. His storty describe the absurdity of the modern American suburban existence, its contradictions and eccentricities. Hazlegove has an easy style, peppered with Dennis Miller type referential comments which shortcut character descriptions and provide added layers of context to characters. The downside of this style is that Hazelgrove risks losing or confusing readers who aren't in on the references.

My major complaint with the book has to do with the main character and the substance of his plight. Dale was not a likeable character, though maybe he wasn't meant to be. Dale's down the nose view of everyone and everything around him gets pretty old, especially in the face of his difficulty managing his own life, emotions, and problems. If the point of the book was to have Dale find a way to redeem himself, I would have expected him to find the redemption in something other than a final act of reckless defiance in the closing pages of the book. But, Hazelgrove gives Dale this redemption in an act meant to once more ridicule the suburban mentality and culture. While I might not be the picture of suburban bliss, I don't know that I would find all of the values in that life ridiculous and absurd. Hazelgrove writes Dale as a know it all writer who thinks anyone who lives a stable life is a sell-out. The idea of the put-upon writer, desperate in his attempts to convince everyone around him that their bourgeois lives are inferior, is a little tired.

So, a somewhat mixed review. I may try another of Hazelgrove's novels given his easy style and creative stroytelling.

3 bones!!!

#257,

alcottacre,

I got a lot of books which have been on one of my look for lists. Two Ron McLarty novels. Sari Shop, a recommendation from TrishNYC. Brick Lane, Hidden, Marley and Me, a illustrated 1948 copy of The Moonstone, Interpreter of Maladies, Abide With Me, Ghost, Shutter Island, The Seduction of Water, and replaced some paperbacks with hardbacks, etc...... I can't remember all of them. Between the book sale and the gift card at my used book shop I got about 35 books. Just a couple of weeks reading for you!!!!!!!

Next up........Marley and Me

Hey, bdb, David Wellington's got a chat thread in the Author Chat group for the next two weeks. I asked the first question!

#260 BDB: Cool beans! Sounds like you got some great books to read and at bargain prices, who can beat that deal?

#66, Marley and Me by John Grogan

Love, the undconditional variety, is an ideal rarely obtained in the course of a human life. It is desperately sougth by us all, everyone; we long ato feel the warming rays from all those most important in out lives. Yet often in our yearning, focused so much on the love we seek from others, we are wholly unfocused on the development of that same commodity in our own hearts for those around us. Not so with dogs. Not so with Marley.

Marley, the hero of John Grogan's memoir, was a 100 pound neurotic and playful yellow Labrador. He was flush with all of the typical retriever traits: boundless, unrestrained energy; unflagging loyalty, and bustling strength. These traits, though, were seasoned with a concoction of all the worst traits in the breed, or the species for that matter: supernatural destructive ability, a blissful ignorace of his own strength, little respect for boundaries in people or things, and a neurotic, near pathological, deep seated fear of loud noises, especially thunder. Though marked as 'untrainable' upon dismissal from obedience school, Marley was never short on love-love for life and love for his people-the unconditional variety.

Marley was also strong evidence for all of us dog/pet owners and lovers of the intuitive and emotional intelligence of animals. Many trainers and experts cast aside notions of an animal's ability to comprehend and process human thought and emotion and respond in kind. As you read of Marley's uncharacteristic gentle and subtle care of Jenny Grogan after a miscarriage or Marley's similarly uncharacteristic steady and silent guarding of a young girl who'd just been stabbed, you can hardly deny that animals are gifted with an instinctive empathy and the capability of feeling, expressing, and acting far beyond our human conmprehension.

Grogan, the author and owner of Marley, captures Marley so completely that any reader, even those who've decided they are not 'dog-people,' is bound to feel Marley's big-hearted, all-encompasing love glowing off of the written page. Grogan and family are ill-equipped to do any more than love this incorrigible animal with his same wild and unthinking abandon. As a reader, you are simply enveloped in this cocoon, awaiting the tragic but enlightening end. For I am not spoiling anything here to note what anyone whose read Old Yeller or Where the Red Fern Grows knows; a dog story usually ends in death. Marley's story is no exception.

Grogan makes his experiences not only accesible but familiar with his light and straightforward touch. This is especially true as he chronicles Marley's final days, plodding with dignity through hip failure, deafness, and digestive disorders. Grogan deftly translates Marley's life and death for himself, and for all of us, properly, realizing that Marley taught him more about life and love, the unconditional variety, than he had learned anywhere else.

Highly Recommended!!!!!

Five Bones!!!!!

Made my favorite reads for the year list!!!!!

Next up........Duty by Bob Greene

Oh my, you must read Timbuktu by Paul Auster after that lovely review of Marley and Me. :-)

And, just because you are such a King fan, I've added two of his books to my 999 Challenge for 2009: Lisey's Story and Duma Key. I figure that's almost an even trade for the 1001 Must Read list. Well, maybe not, but it's the best I can do right now!

FAIR TRADE!!!!! What are you talking about!?!?!??!? 1001+200 some odd others vs 2?!?!?!?! Oh well, enjoy the King. I'll get to you somehow. I feel like you're the antique shop owner in Needful Things, ferreting out my obssession.

I saw the Timbuktu comments and I think that's what got me to buy and read Marley and Me.

Great review of Marley and Me it was one of my favorites of last year. My golden is not nearly as incorrigible as Marley was, but I laughed and cried and recognized so many of those dog moments Grogan describes. You're right, he really captured the feel of being a pet owner, and that magic ability dogs have of knowing when you need a snuggle, or just a little lick to let you know they "know" and care.

Well, now, see, I haven't read Needful Things yet. Bit by bit....besides weren't you the one who mentioned 501 authors to read? I know you snuck in another list on my pile of TBR possibilities.

Oh, Needful Things is a goody!!

This site is kind of making me regret getting rid of all my Stephen Kings....

#268 FlossieT: If I had any, I would give you mine. Mr. King is just not for me. If I run across any, I will give them to you - any particular book you would like? I made it 300 pages into Needful Things and finally gave up. Oh, well, different strokes for different folks.

That's very kind of you, Stasia.. it's a sentimental impulse really! I read a lot of them as a student, then got rid of them after I graduated as I decided in my new disguise as a productive member of society, I probably wouldn't re-read them.

Right now I feel like re-disguising myself as a student so they would fit right in :-)

blackdogbooks..
WOW, WOW..What a wonderfully incredible review re. The Monster of Florence..now I simply have to move it up the top of the TBR pile.

Thanks very much for your great writing!
Linda

Hi.
Moving down the list of your reviews, I appreciate the one of Marley and Me I have this book on my shelf and I pick it up to read, and then put it down. I lost a precious dog (Whisper) a few years ago and I am still saddened by the empty space she left in the house. Somehow, I just cannot bring myself around to reading a book about the love and loss of a beloved pet....

I envy you that your library book sale sells a bag of books for $3. Our library sale was a week or so ago, and sadly, one hardcover was $3. Alas. Prices ARE going up. What are we poor book-buying fools going to do? Go without food, I guess.

Whisper1, I know it's hard to imagine reading Marley and Me but that was the point for me. I have lost several dogs over the years and own one now who will not be with me forever. But Grogan was able to identify the joy and sadness in owning dogs and pets so perfectly, allowing the reader to recognize their affect on our lives. Don't get me wrong, if you read it, I predict lots of weeping. But it was worth it for me. You may just not be ready for it. But when you read it, I gaurantee you will not be disappointed!!

Book #67, Duty by Bob Greene

Paul Tibbets seems to me one of the lonliest men in the world. He was tasked to organize, plan, and carryout one of the most violent and deadly wartime attacks ever considered or carried out - the bombing of Japan with the first atomic bomb. He did his duty with honor, with zeal, and with little thought about himself. Bob Greene's father, Bob Greene, Sr., also served with distinction during World War II. Greene, Sr., served in both North Africa and Italy and was bound for the shores of Japan before Tibbets flew his B-29 bomber, named Enola Gay for his mother, over Hiroshima and changed the course of human history. During Greene, Sr., last few days of life, his son reached out to Tibbets, knowing that his father carried an immense respect for the pilot. Tibbets and Greene, Jr., become friends and, through an ongoing dialog about Tibbets' career, Greene, Jr., begins to understand his own father.

Using material from a tape recording made by his father and interviews with Tibbets, Greene, Jr., chronicles both his father's World War II experiences and Tibbets'. More than that, Greene, Jr., tries to identify what was different about that greatest generation. In Tibbets, Greene, Jr., sees his father, sees his fathers battles with an ever-changing world; sees his fathers disappointment with an ever softening society. Tibbets and his crew, who shouldered one of the most frightening responsibilities ever, stand for more than just some plattitudes about duty and honor and service. In learning about their service, Greene, Jr., is able to process his own grief and give voice to his father's life.

There were some interesting passages in this book and I enjoyed reading it. The style is simple and quite journalistic, not surprising given the author's primary milieu. I often felt that Greene, Jr., in the course of his endless questions of Tibbets', bordered on cheapening the man and his life. Greene, Jr., asked endless questions about everything, including Tibbets and the crew ate on the flight to drop the bomb. I braced myself for the inevitable question about how they relieved themselves on the long flight but, thankfully, it never came. There were questions about whether Tibbets thought our American society's entertainment was too risque. There were questions about whether Tibbets thought people wearing hand-me-down fatigues were being disrespectful. I wanted to tell Greene, Jr., to leave the man alone, he's done enough.

That said, let me reiterate, the book was worth finishing. I found Tibbets a fascinating man. And Greene, Jr.'s, premise, to name the characteristics of that greatest generation, to understand them so that we might emulate them, was worthy. It just seemed that his own grief and need to reach out to a largely estranged father overwhelmed his purpose and overwhelmed his interactions with Tibbets.

A good read, especially for anyone interested in World War II or atomic history.

3 1/2 bones

Next up............Cricket in the Web: The 1949 Unsolved Murder that Unraveled Politics in New Mexico by Paula Moore

What a great review. My Dad served in the Pacific theater of WWII and did some duty in Japan immediately following the war. This book goes on my TBR list--I hope to find a place for it in my 999 challenge next year.

#275 BDB: I am putting it on to Continent TBR. I read quite a bit of WWII history and am always looking for new books on it. Thanks for both th review and recommendation!

BTW - you are getting awfully close to the 75 book mark. Keep up the good work!

# 275 BDB

also BTW re Duty -- Have you read Hiroshima by John Hersey? He went over there shortly after the bombing and interviewed in depth several survivors. About 40 years later he returned and again talked to the survivors he had interviewed--the ones who were still alive. This was also published under the same title in the mid '80s and is the one you want to read. It is a powerful and fascinating book that gives insight to the many ways people respond to a devastating event both at the time and as the years go by.

It also can be read in a single evening--WARNING--PUN ALERT--a big bang for your buck! (groan--I couldn't resist. It just popped into my head uninvited!)

Thanks for the 'punny' recommendation. I've noticed Hiroshima on a few threads here but haven't picked up a copy yet.

I hope you both enjoy the book. I'd love to hear your thoughts when you finish it. Let me know.

Book #68, Cricket in the Web: The 1949 Unsolved Murder that Unraveled Politics in New Mexico

Ovida "Cricket" Coogler, named such either because of the sound of her ever-present high-heels or because of the speed and zest of her childhood personality, could easily have been the long lost sister of Elizabeth Short. Indeed, there lives and brutal deaths are so similar as to suggest such a connection.

Cricket, a native and resident of the sleepy Southern New Mexican town of Las Cruces, was just eighteen when she disappeared, only to be found murdered and buried in the desert. She, like Short, was often engaged in unusually high risk sexual and social behavior, a sad fact whic contributed to her death. She was a waitress who is said to have been available for liaisons with politicians, law enforcement officers, and the budding gambling element in the region. Many people saw and interacted with her on the night of her disappearance, most eager to use her in some way. Few helped, aided, or looked out for this young, lost girl.

Cricket's death garnered attention primarily in the lack of honest and truthful investigation. The list of suspects included many of the very people who should have been responsible for looking into the case, including the local sheriff, Happy Apadoca. Apadoca, a policeman more interested in the use of his power to coerce sex from innocent young girls, was seen with Cricket on the night of her disapperance. Later, Apadoca would be imprisoned on a federal conviction for his part in toturing a suspect in hopes of obtaining a false confession to the crime. A special grand jury was convened to look into the Cricket's death because of the lack of police attention. Their work resulted in convictions of several highly place politicians for crimes related to gambling rings and payoffs.

Sadly, the end of all of the investigations provided no more closure to the crime than the cold, shallow grave in which Cricket's body was found abandoned. Her murder, though it incited political and social upheaval in the state, stands as one of the most mysterious, unsolved crimes of the West.

Paula Moore does this story a great honor in mapping out all of the contradictory facts of the case in painstaking and excrutiating detail. In her effort to do the crazily twisting story justice, she exposed herself to my main criticism. The characters in this story are introduced one at a time, described, not in a chronological way, but in a complete way, using information from both before and after the crime. This doesn't allow the reader enough time to slowly and comfortably get a feel for the characters before being confronted with the facts and details of the crime and its consequences. A slower, more time oriented narrative style might have served the story better, allowing the reader to get the feel and tone of the characters, the place, and the time. With such a style, Moore would have also risked less confusion, as she tended to jump back and forth in time to provide information to the reader.

All in all, this was a good book. It was terribly interesting from a local interest angle, providing a rich look at early New Mexico politics and corruption. The book also serves as a wonderful who-done-it, leaving the reader free to make up their own minds, as no one has ever been conclusively linked to the crime. In this end, Moore also provides an honest look into the world of crime and murder, leaving the proper, if frustrating, impression that many crimes go unsolved and many victims never receive proper justice.

Next up......The Hierophant of 100th Street by Cullen Dorn (An ER book which interrupts my true crime spree.)

I enjoy true crime books as well, BDB, so it sounds like Cricket in the Web will need to go on Continent TBR. Thanks for the review and the recommendation.

blackdogbooks - I have just read through your thread - some great reviews - I especialy liked your review of Frankenstein which you recommended in a comment on my profile. Really looking forward to reading that soon. You spoke about Dracula. My inciteful review of that is: piffle!

- TT

Cricket in the Web sounds fascinating. You get another one on my list. So in trade--I just finished another from the 1001 Must Read, The Manila Rope by Veijo Meri, a Finnish writer, taking place in the last days of WWII. It may be harder to find, but it is a classic of specifically Finnish, but generally Scandinavian humor. A Finnish soldier on the frontlines finds a length of rope which he is determined to take home--a challenge where your train home is on the same tracks as German troop trains. The book is really a series of stories of the men on the train, the men running the train, and the stories about war which they tell each other. Many are horrific, but many are hilarious--and I suspect--many are true with only the names changed to protect the innocent.

Manila Rope--again only one copy in the entire Valley Cat (all of Central California!) system, and that one is in storage! I am requesting it and hope it gets here before the 999 challenge is over!

I enjoy books with a WWII backdrop and it sounds like Manila Rope is a good one. Thanks for the review and recommendation. I will see if I can find a copy.

Still rather behind on your thread, but had to say I like the 50 page rule. Like it very much, but generally unless it's just terrible, I keep plugging away due to the scarcity of reading materials. (No, this isn't a plea for more, thanks but I can't get to the PO to pick them up without a major hassle.)

And, re: Sons and Lovers I found this so dismal. Came highly recommended but it just didn't work for me. I don't read to get depressed. I struggle with that enough all on my own. The book doesn't have to have a happy ending, but I prefer something other than just bleak.

Yeah, Sons and Lovers not for the meek. But it made me want to read some of Lawrence. He deserves his place in the halls of literature, even if a lot of the characters were not likable. For me, the best part was the psychological interaction between the characters.

Book #69, The Hierophant of 100th Street by Cullen Dorn, an ER Book.

Hierophant: An interpreter of sacred mysteries.

Even when he was a young boy, Adam Kadman seemed different. To his mother, he seemed much older than his years but disconnected from her and his brother, distant. All of his friends understood that he was enlightened but also dangerous and mysterious. They all sought his company, his advice, and his approval, though none fully understood him; none ever fully captured his attention or love. The aura surrounding Adam had little to do with his environment, as he grew up on 100th Street, Spanish Harlem, New York City; the intersection of a bubbling brew of ethnicity, bounded by Italians, Irish, African Americans, and Jews. Though for Adam, the neighborhood was also the intersection of base human need and transcendental mysticism. He could look through the human fraility, the hate, and the lust to find God in everything and everyone, from the stragnely fiercely proud man in the basement who shoveled coal to heat the building to his savage brother, John, to his clownish but quietly honorable friend, the Count.

As Adam leaves the neighborhood, it is just beginning a downward spiral into complete debasement at the hands of a mob drug dealer and his siren whore. Those he leaves behind pay the price in one way or another for his absence, finding measures of redemption in small acts of goodness. The Count's life is lost in a brutal act of revenge palayed out while he is trying to steal enough money for heroin. During his life, though, saves a young girl from a rapists hands and defends the neighborhood by killing those who would defile it.. John, Adam's brother, is unable to withstand the temptations of the neighborhood and lands in prison. But, while there, he glimpses a better life and has a Pauline type conversion on the prison yard just before he is shanked to death. All of these individual battles are meant to inform Adam's search for meaning and enlightenment. Through these and other experiences, Adam learns that we are all, at our core, spirits, simply involved in a brief phsyical journey. The gap between the spiritual world and the physical world is very slight for those who look but a gulf for those who refuse to see.

At his best, Cullen Dorn is a poet, turning phrases as few writers can. In the early descriptions of the neighborhood, his prose is so vivid that the sounds, the smells, and the tastes crash off the page, soaking your senses; reading becomes experiencing. He is able to wed unusual words in such unlikely but appropriate pairings that they linger long after the first reading. At his best, Dorn is also a great story teller. He creates such real stories and such recognizable characters that you never realize he is correographing their movements to make a deeper or more subtle point. The worth of this first novel is in its writing.

At his worst, Dorn is preachy and heavy handed with his philisophical rantings. There are far too many descriptions of the transcendental thought which underpin Adam's character and the book's message. While much of this may have been necessary to put Adam and his story in context. Dorn would have been better served by more subtle inclusion of the material through his characters and story. Instead, there are enough such passages shoe-horned into the book that some readers may be put off. At his worst, Dorn's ear for dialog is sometimes a little dull. There are times when his characters seem to use language wholly outside their milieu. Some of this may be explained by Dorn's attempts to create characters who are out of place in their environment, but they are often too far out of place to be believable.

These small criticisms are far outweighed by my experience reading the book. And whatever failings the book exhibits were probably accentuated by the beauty of its prose and the captivating story.

Highly recommended, though beware the new age, transcendental message if this does not usually appeal. A reader could actually get past these passages and still enjoy the story a great deal.


4 bones

Next up.......Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

>289 blackdogbooks: Blackdog, great review of The Hierophant of 100th Street.
Glad to see you got dem bones working!

- TT

ok, I would like guidance...how did you get "dem bones working" Seriously, how did you do this?
Thanks!

Book #69 sounds good. I enjoy your well-written reviews!

>292 Whisper1:: Whisper1

Basically, you need the image you want up on the Web somewhere. You could create it yourself and put it on the personal Web space your ISP probably gives you, or just find a suitable image somewhere already on the Web.

Then you just make a reference to it. For example, I sometimes post "stars" in my reviews. So, I have images of the various star ratings up on some personal space. Then, in my post, I put:

<img src="Image name here">

for example:

<img src="http://www.deffler.com/two_stars.jpg">

which would come out as:



I have separate images for each rating. If you wanted to type more, you could put just the image for a single star up there and type the reference as many times as you wanted it to appear.

> Whisper , if you have an image on your computer you can open a free account at http://photobucket.com/ and browse to the image on your computer from photobucket to upload it. You can then get HTML to copy into your posts.

- TT

Thanks for your hlep TT and TadAD!

TadAD and TT, thanks to you both for the wonderful technical advice. TadAD, you should probalby just create a new group yourself called, Ask IT TadAD. You seem to be our favorite source of technical advice about LT here.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all. I traveled to spend a little time with family. The bonus is that the town I traveled to has the best used book exchange store in the entire Southwest. So I took a bunch of books to trade and came back with many titles which have been poulating my wish list! Now, I have to go update the 'ole Library!

a holiday with a "bunch of books!" ..... sounds marvelous.

Happy belated Thanksgving to you as well.

That's it - forget the family and the turkey, just bring on the books! Certainly would save time - I spent 5 hours working on Thanksgiving dinner - and calories.

>298 alcottacre: Stasia, such self-sacrifice, giving up 5 hours of precious reading time just to feed the family. I call that going above and beyond the call of duty! So this year you may only read 995 books instead of your normal 1000! (Allowing for one hour per book!)

- TT

#299 TT: OK, by that reasoning (1 hour per book), I should only be reading 8784 books this year. I do not think I am going to quite make that! It would do wonders for the size of Continent TBR if I could though.

>300 alcottacre: Stasia, do I detect signs of fallibility here - surely not!

She will not be daunted!!!!

#301 TT: Definite signs of fallibility and weakness. I acknowledge that I cannot spend every waking moment reading, even granted that I have more waking moments than most.

Book #70, Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakaer

Driving along the freeway we are hard pressed not to crane at the accident on the shoulder. How bad is the car crumpled up? Is anyone still inside? Is that blood on the pavement? Something about other's pain draws us in; it demands our attention. Several times, reading Jon Krakauer's historical treatise on the violence of the early Latter Day Saints religion and its modern fundamentalist schisms, I felt like I was driving down that freeway, unable to turn away in the face of awful stories and eager to turn the page.

Krakauer's examination is centered around the murder of a young mother, Brenda Lafferty, and her two year old daughter. She was murdered by two of her brothers-in-law, Ron and Dan Lafferty, because she dared to stand up to them in the face of their demands for polygamous marriages. Brenda counseled and comforted one of Ron's wives, encouraging her to leave, though she refused to leave her own husband, even in the face of severely abusive behavior. After Ron's wife left him, he decompensated, falling further and further into fundamental LDS dogma. Eventually, Ron convinced himself that he had received a revelation from God directing him to kill Brenda and others who he felt responsible for his wife's departure. Using the Lafferty story as a foundation, Krakauer examines the birth of the LDS religion and its violent adolescence. There seems to be pain and death at every turn in the story. And yet, there remains ruggedly faithful people, committed to the genuine tenets of the faith.

I have studied the LDS faith on my own and have rarely found such a comprehensive and detailed account of its foundation and growth. The detail in the book is a testament both to Krakauer's research and to his ability to connect and communicate with people from a faith who are typically shy and reticent. The latter is especially true of the fundamentalist sects hiding in out of the way places so that they might practice plural marriage. It is in the book's exhaustive detail that I find my primary critique. Sometimes the pace and the narrative were lost in Krakauer's need to follow every rabbit trail and every familial connection. I understood his reason for laying out things so meticulously but found myself growing weary when I was faced with 8 or 10 pages about another offshoot of another family who was also part of another piece of brutal history.

While I am not a Mormon, I found Krakauer's book to be mostly fair. He points out that the LDS faith is not alone in its violent history; many other faiths have emerged in or suffered through periods of violent upheaval. And many faiths have given rise to fanaticism. This is merely a function of human weakness and not necessarily evidence of religious impurity. Krakauer hoped to come closer to grasping the nature of religious belief in examining the LDS faith. In his notes at the end of the book, he admits that he was not musch closer to understanding for the experience. Perhaps the reason lies in the natrue of faith itself. It is not something to be researched and described and understood; it is something for inner reflection.

Nonetheless, Krakauer is able to grasp and describe human nature in the context of religious fanaticsim, individual narcissism, and criminal behavior. For me, this was the value of the book - the reason I wanted to keep turning the page.


4 bones

And what did you think of book #70? I enjoyed it, but I like most of Krakauer's stuff.

You caught me as I was building my post!!!! Still gotta get my bones in there.

This was my first read of a Krakauer book - I watched the movie version of Into the Wild and watched the Sundance special with him and Penn. I liked this one and will definitely read more. I have Into Thin Air and will probably try that one next time.

Next up.......Every Knee Shall Bow by Jess Walter

>304 blackdogbooks: BDB, Excellent review - balanced, sensitive and informative. Makes we want to read Under the Banner of Heaven. Thanks.

ETA: I recently bought Brother Twelve by Oliphant which has a similar theme.

- TT

I haven't been able to figure out ETA -- stuck on estimated time of arrival, and figure that's not it! Finally go IMHO and IMO though :)

HND (Have a nice day!)

#310: ETA in this context is 'Edited to add'.

LOL THx Stasia, and here i've been spelling it out :)

#312 suslyn: Well, you can save yourself a few keystrokes now!

You can find a fairly long list of deciphered abbreviations here. Looking at the list, I realize that it's a bit out of control. I played an online game at one time and there were maybe a dozen or so useful shorthands that were used regularly. Now, it seems like an entire English conversation can be held without the actual use of English.

Having a teenager and a pre-teen right behind, I guess I'm going to have to cope. I've become my father&mdash:"Kids these days!"

I hope if I start talking like that on a regular basis someone will shoot me and put me out of their misery!

lol & thx tad

I have only just come to terms with the use of the word 'text' as a verb. Yes, I was the sad case spelling out 'send me a text message' long after the rest of the world had cottoned onto the 15-character saving available from the shorter form.

>310 suslyn: Suse, I had to ask what ETA stood for as well - now I can show my superior debasement of the English language like everyone else!

- TT (This means The Tortoise!) :)

lol

All I can say is thank goodness Valleyspeak was never translated into cyberspeak--I mean, like, you would, like, never ever, like, get to the end, like, of the sentence, like, or thought. Like wow!

#320: That kind of talk is for people who have entirely too much time on their hands :)

Message 320.
Thanks for this creatively written message...made me laugh..
Sadly, some of the students I supervise talk like this. It is usually coordinated with a hand gesture of flipping the long hair through the air.

True! When my daughter started using it in high school, I simply answered her in the same manner. She got so annoyed and thought it sounded horrible (really???) that she stopped! LOL--that, of course, was never my intent. **snicker, snicker**

>323 Prop2gether: Prop, that was brilliant!

Book #71, Every Knee Shall Bow by Jess Walter

blackdogbooks
What did you think of Every Knee Shall Bow?

Book #71, Every Knee Shall Bow by Jess Walter

Fanaticism, in all of its forms and origins, makes for fascinating reading. Walter tells the story of Randy and Vicki Weaver, two ordinary Americans, who drop out of society to live off the grid with their children on a rugged Idaho mountaintop. The two are driven to the path by an unusual, fanatical faith, largely of their own making, which combined aspects of Orthodox Judaism, Aryan Christian Identity movement, and fundamental Christian theology. As the family distances themselves more and more from the mainstream, they are drawn to radical and violent groups popular in the area at the time. In the course of associating with members of these groups, Randy makes himself a target of an ATF weapons investigation. After being arrested, Randy is released from jail and he then refuses to appear for his court date. When the US Marshall service tries to bring him in, they realize that he is not going to come off the mountain. By the time the story ends, dozens of lives are ruined and lost.

Walter has a knack for getting inside the heads of the members of this unusual family. He is able to evoke empathy and understanding for people who are truly on the margin. Walter also pinpoints how poor communication and a lack of common sence turn a simple fugitive investigation into a very public and very tragic ordeal. There is blame a plenty for all involved, including the law enforcement agencies involved. The book, however, is fair, not laying the blame solely at any one participant's doorstep, though a writer could easily have done so.

The book is well written and a good read. It doesn't get a better rating because it didn't grab my attention. It was a good read but not great. Certainly an interesting recommendation for anyone interested in true crime, law enforcement, or fanaticism.

3 1/2 bones

Largely based on Walter's uncanny ability to get inside the Weaver family and make them more than fringe fanatics.

Next up........My FBI by Louis Freeh

#326, hehehehe, Whisper, you caught me "building" my "review". There it is!!

Book #72, My FBI by Louis Freeh

"Reverence for God and country, the difference between right and wrong, and kindess"; these are the values that Louis Freeh was armed with by his hardscrabble, blue collar childhood. Freeh, the son of immigrants from Irish, German, and Italian origins, learned the value of hard work and service from his parents and his siblings. Working at several odd jobs, including a stint as a dock worker with the local Teamsters union, Freeh scratched his way through college and law school, together with his brothers the first generation to attain a college education. Freeh then embarked on a career of law enforcement, holding positions as an FBI agent, an Assistant United States Attorney, a Federal District Judge, and finally as the Director of the FBI.

Freeh's memoir covers his childhood and all of his exploits in federal law enforcement, including his tenure as FBI Director which was sandwiched between two seperate attacks on the World Trade Center towers. As an agent and prosecutor, he was at the center of some of the most successful efforts of the FBI, including cases which broke up both American and Sicilian mafia families. As the FBI Director, he was at the center of some of the most contentious and politically charged cases the Bureau managed, including various investigations which touched the White House and man who appointed him Director, Bill Clinton. What shines through all of these experiences, is Freeh's unflinching and unwavering honesty. Freeh's time at the FBI obviously infused the institution with a sense of purpose, a sense of integrity, and a sense of courage that was unequaled both before or after him.

Undaunted by political or media pressure, Freeh led the FBI with an understanding that, in addition to blind, justice must sometimes be silent. Freeh lays out behind the scenes detials about several investigations for which the Bureau was criticized. Seeing behind the curtain, the reader is able to understand that Freeh shouldered criticism and vilification in the interests of seeing these cases through to their logical conclusion, ever mindful of his dedication to fairness.

The only criticism for this book is that Freeh sometimes falls into his old persona as a bureaucrat, rattling off statistics and describing several cases at once, all in rapid fire detail. Though proving some point, these passages call out for the slower, more personal touch, that the remainder of the book is blessed with. Indeed, some of the best stories in the book are ones that Freeh takes his time with. Most notably, Freeh recounts his relationship and interaction with Clinton and Clinton's White House with great care and effort, methodically laying out subtle layers of motivation and personality.

Highly recommended, especially for anyone who has an interest in law enforcement, the FBI, or politics.

4 1/2 bones


Touchstones not working, arghhhh!!!!

Next up.........A Long Way Gone by Ishamel Beah

#329 BDB: OK,on to Continent TBR it goes (from the mother of 2 teenagers - one of whom wants to be a police officer and the other who would like to work for the FBI).

Great review of Under the Banner of Heaven. I really like Krakauer's books. Into Thin Air is fabulous. So is Into the Wild. It has been suggested to me (though I haven't done so yet) that Anatoli Boukreev's account of the Mt. Everest disaster (The Climb) be read as a companion piece to Into Thin Air.

So My FBI is not the book that comes up under the touchstone? The touchstone shows: The Autobiography of F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My… by Scott Frost. Just want to be clear as I'd like to get the book you reviewed for my nephew.

#333 suslyn

My FBI by Louis Freeh

Try this one. If the touchstone doesn't "flip" when I submit, this is the one that is on his profile page.

Thanks -- that is the one I wishlisted. Didn't think to check the profile -- duh.

blackdogbooks
I simply love to read your reviews. They are always so well written and informative!

Book #73, Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

Ishmael Beah, the author of this memoir, has lived through more in his short life to date than many could dream possible. At twelve, on the road to a talent contest where and he and his friends planned to lip sync to American rap songs and dance, the war in his native Sierra Leone bubbled over into his young life. Ishmael is forced to flee attacking rebels who would either kill him or indenture him as a soldier. Separated from their families, he and his friends spent the next few months on the road, traveling through a landscape of brutality and death, scavenging food and relying on the waning kindness and trust of strangers for aid. Eventually, Ishmael and his friends get word that their famlies are in a village nearby and quickly set out for a long awaited reunion. Just minutes before they arrive, the rebels destroy the village and kill everyone. Embittered, Ishmael, now thireteen, sets out on the road again, only to be picked up by government soldiers who draft him into service. The next few years of his life are a drug filled, murderous haze for the vengeful minded young boy. At sixteen, he is rescued from the military and place in a UNICEF rehabilitation center, where he is eventually able to find his heart again. Reunited with an uncle in Freetown, the war again catches up with Ishmael. He is forced to flee his native country bound for the safety of America.

That Beah lived to tell this story, speaking for thousands of other child soldiers like himself, is a miracle. That he wrote this book at only twenty-six years old also defies reason. Honest and insightful, the memoir suggests a maturity that can only be attained through fire. The frankness with which Beah describes cold bloodily slitting the throat of a prisoner is no different from the frankness with which he describes the wonder and fear of his first elevator ride in New York City. Equally direct and simple in descriptions of both horror and tragedy as well as beauty and joy, the books suggests an immeasurable gift.

Obviously a story of survival, Beah plainly focuses on the stripping of his humanity and his alienation. His battle to regain the ability to connect with others and develop normal human interactions is poignant and told with the kind of introspection that many of us fight to attain over an entire lifetime.

Highly recommended.....going onto my 2008 favorite reads.

Five bones!!!!!

#331, 333, 334, alcottacre and suslyn, you can't go wrong giving anyone this book who is considering law enforcement, however young they might be. At the beginning of the book, Freeh includes his FBI core values that he put together for the Bureau. These are very instructive and values to live by, either in work or in life in general.

Thanks for the nice comments about my posts. You guys are nice!!!

alaskabookworm, I think the next Krakauer book I have is Into Thin Air. Glad to hear you liked it.

And thanks to MusicMom (Go Giants!) for helping me out with the touchstones. They just weren't working for me las night.

Next up.........Timeline by Michael Crichton A couple of pallette cleansers before trying to finish the years reading with some favorites.

#338 BDB: I am going to give the book to both of my daughters for Christmas. I just ordered two copies from Amazon as a matter of fact. Thank you so much for the recommendation.

I am also adding Long Way Gone to Continent TBR. I will echo Linda's sentiments in thanking you for your wonderful, insightful reviews.

I know you probably don't really care whether or not you make 75, but hey, congrats on almost being there!

>337 blackdogbooks: Thanks BDB for another insightful review. You certainly read some wonderful books - mine seem like fluff by comparison! Note to self: read more non-fiction like BDB!

- TT

Well, I am on to a little "fluff" now. I try to give myself a wide and diverse set of titles, but I have guilty pleasures and like to read just for the fun of it also.

Thanks again to all of you for you kind words about my posts on my reading. I have gained more and more pleasure from putting these together.

alcottacre, I hope your daughters enjoy the book as much as I did. Freeh really is a bright example of ethics in action in a world where that doesn't seem to matter as much as it should.

Fluff? LOL!! As in "Cujo"? You dog, you!

#337

Long Way Gone

What a wonderful review. This sounds like an absolute must read.

I've been meaning to read Long Way Gone for a while now - you've inspired me to reserve it at the library!

A full disclosure warning: There has been some press, relatively little, about Beah's memoir being inaccurate or even outright fiction. I am no expert but it didn't read as fiction and I am not buying the few critics who are "barking" at this book. It seemed genuine and honest to me. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

Stepped on a few toes--did he? I think now I really have to read it!

blackdogbooks! Wow..You did it again, yet another wonderful review. I'm adding this to the HUGE TBR pile already accumulated for 2009.
Thanks!

Book #74, Timeline by Michael Crichton

A scientist has discovered the technology which allows humans to travel in time. He is using the technology to visit sites of historical significance in the hopes of exploiting those events for history theme parks. Blinded by his greed and self-importance, he ignores the risks inherent in the technology he is developing and sends a history professor to 14th century France. The professor's students and colleagues are sent back to save him. The unlikely group have only 36 hours to retrieve the professor and return to their own time before the batteries in their time traveling devices run out.

Crichton is not at his best with this novel. Usually, Crichton's characters are more complicated, occupying the grey edges of morality and ethics. And the meat of the story, whether set in corporate boardrooms or on isolated islands, is always the interaction between these fundamentally flawed characters. That dynamic has made for some great stories. This story, however, seems a lot more grounded in a fascination with history and cutting edge technology. The characters are much more one dimensional, occupying more stereotypical space in the narrative. There is the evil scientist, the fatherly professor, the nerd looking to break out, and literally the "knight in shining armor".

Try a different Crichton; his stories and characters in titles like Disclosure or Rising Sun are much more interesting.

2 1/2 bones!!

Next up...........The Executioners by John D. McDonald

#349 BDB: I have never read any Crichton, so I will try Disclosure and Rising Sun since they seem to be better books than Timeline. Thanks for the mention.

Book #75, The Executioners by John D. MacDonald

Sam Bowden figured he'd never see Max Cady again but he was deadly wrong. While on leave in Australia from his World War II JAG position, Bowden pulls Cady off of a fourteen year old girl whom Cady is raping in a dark alley. Cady is sentenced to life in prison at hard labor over the matter. Bowden returns home after the war, with Cady just a distant, if troubled, memory. As Bowden is at the apex of his life, enjoying success at work and at home, Cady is released after only thirteen years on his sentence. Cady tracks Bowden down with a reckoning in mind and begins a campaing of terror, tageting Bowdens famliy. Unable to get help from any legal authority, Bowden must handle Cady on his own, outside the constraints of the legal system in which he so ferverntly and innocently believes. As one dark figure tells Bowden, "Life is a continual process of compromise. ... The idea is to come out on the other end still clutching a few shreds of self-respect."

MacDonald is famous for his hard boiled fiction and there is some of that fare here. I was disappointed, however, with the first few chapters which focus more on Bowden and his family. The characterization of the Bowden family was a little too picturesque; the whole family is just a little too perfect, engaing in dialog which would be more at home in a bad commercial. Eventually, as Cady turns up the heat and Bowden's naive construct begins to unravel, the novel really begins to roll. Unfortunately, the ending is somewhat anti-climatic and hurried.

All in all, there was a lot to like about MacDonald's writing, certainly enough to try another.

By the way, movie lovers may remember either the Robert Mitchum version or the Robert DeNiro version of this book. The DeNiro version was called "Cape Fear".

Three bones!!!

Okay, I think the doc owes me a mojito!!!!!

I am happy to have reached this goal but I am a little disappointed because my overall reading this year was down. Last year I got to 87 and hoped to get past 100 this year. I still have a few more days and most of it on leave; so, there will be more books finished. Next year, I break the 100 mark!!!

Next up........Sweet Eyes by Jonis Age. She is a favorite of mine and I will also be reading a couple of other favorites to round out the year.

Nonetheless, let me be the first to congratulate you on reaching the 75 mark! Not only that but doing it in style with your wonderful, thoughtful reviews that help us all so much. Thanks!

>354 ronincats: Ron, I second the motion!

- TT

i could not finish duma key. i'm not a stephen king fan but thought this one would be different. i had heard that it was so good, but it just didn't do it for me.

Well, here ya go!



Congrats!

Congratulations! I'm sorry I don't know how to make mojitos--but you earned one!

Read 100 next year--but stay with us on 75--we enjoy "talking" with you. I also get a couple of weeks off, so hope to get a couple more done for 2008 and a couple done for 2009--don't go back to work until January 5! And no students until January 12!!!

Congrats Mac!
Yet another member reached the 75 ;-)

Congratulations! And thanks for all of the great reviews. I can't wait to see what you'll read in 2009!

blackdogbooks!
Congratulations. I've truly enjoyed reading and responding to your posts. I look forward to the 2009 group.

congratulations from me too!!

Woo Hoo!!

Thanks for all of the congratulations everyone!!!

I am a little depressed this am. I was looking at my 100best lists, with which I am obsessed and desperate to finish, and I realized that if I dedicated myself to finishing one of the lists, it would mean reading 62 books. I ahve nibbled for awhile now, geting a few off of each list every year. But Prop2gether has me intent on moving on to the 1001 list (muttering curses about Props enabling behavior). So, that would leave far too little time for all of the ER/ARC books and the fine recommendations from all of you. Oh well, I will just have to soldier on and do the best I can. This is why I pick small TBR stacks, so as not to overwhelm myself, he says with an overwhelmed sigh.

Nonetheless, one of the biggest challenges for me next year is to read, and finish this time, Ulysses. One of you, I think alaskabookworm, said that they read it with an online guide of some sort but I can't dig up that reference in the threads here. Whoever it was, please remind me!

Thanks for the mojito, doc, it makes me crave a cigar and a beach in Havana!!!!

Well done, BDB! Don't let yourself get too challenged out, hey?

>364 blackdogbooks: BDB: I read Ulysses with a guide that was almost as long as the Novel!
I spent six months reading them both. Many years ago now. I read Ulysses again last year or it may have been earlier this year and I skimmed most of it - found it totally uninteresting the second time around, yet totally absorbing the first time - so maybe it was the novelty and the fact that I used a guide that did it for me the first time.

Here is a short guide: http://www.ajdrake.com/e336_fall_03/materials/guides/c20_ulysses.htm

You may get more out of it if you get a full published guide as I did. Your library may have one.

Hope this helps,

- TT

Oh my, don't blame me for that 1001 Must Read list--I fought it myself for months this year, and then--just found that I liked more of the books and authors than I thought I would. Oh, and told you all in this group about them. Besides, most of the "masters" on that list are on your other 100 Best lists (I know because I have them too!).

Tee hee! If you double-check my 999 list, you'll find I managed to sneak "eligible" category books from the 1284 lists into 7 of the 9 categories. So, one way or the other!!!

In any event, congratulations on reaching your goal! You do know, right, that the more you read, the faster you read, the larger your vocabulary, and the greater number of TBR books on your shelf!

congrats on making 75!

Message 364 and 366

I love the art of J.W. Waterhouse. Here are some of his paintings based on themes from Ulysses

http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/view.cfm?recordid=62

http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/view.cfm?recordid=36

http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/view.cfm?recordid=61

And, blackdogbooks, Flossie said it better than I could...she is right. Don't get too stressed over a challenge.

Reading is supposed to be fun...

Hang in there
Happy Holidays.

Boy, that mojito sure looks good.

Congrats on 75! What you may feel you lack in books read for the year, you more than made up for in stellar reviews (thus contributing to everyone else's TBRs!)

As the new year dawns, remember that there is deep magic in the books we read: the what and the when. It is not so much that we find them, but that they find us.

Love the quote, Alaskabookworm!

Congrats, BDB, on reaching 75 and on the many
interesting and varied book choices! A number of them to add to my TBR list! Thanks .. I think :)

>369 Whisper1: Linda,

Thank you for sharing the Waterhouse pictures with us – I have come to appreciate him more and more the more I see of his pictures.

That picture of Circe is amazing; the way he was able to reveal the skin tones through the diaphanous material is very erotic without being pornographic.

The sirens are not exactly how I pictured them. I imagined them as semi-clad nymphs (like the Circe picture) whose erotic attraction was so powerful that it drove Ulysses mad with desire. But then that’s just me!

- TT

TT

Here is another Waterhouse print of Circe.

http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/view.cfm?recordid=63

Book #76, Sweet Eyes by Jonis Agee

The chaos and brutality of Honey Parrish's life doesn't match the bucolic reputation of small town Iowa where she lives. Hers is a life constantly spinning just off center, dangerously close to spiraling altogether out of control. When she begins an affiar with Jasper Johnson, Divinity, Iowa's only black man, it seems that the little balance Honey was able to manage has been finally lost forever. Haunted by a dead lover, plagued by a lecherous boss, and at odds with her entire family, especially her brother who seems to be intent on killing either her or Jasper or both, Honey richocets through her days without much reason. She is desperate to connect with someone on her own terms but unable to decipher what those terms might be. As she tries to map a course for her life and thoughts, using butcher paper tacked to the walls of her trailer, the town sheriff forces her to confront a decades old, unsolved murder and figure out whether her dead lover, her ex-husband, or her brother was the killer.

Jonis Agee is the queen of marginalized, small town characters. These are not glorified and heroic characters, brimming with optimism and sterotypical middle American values. These are not rolling hills and suntipped stalks of grain. No, Agee grounds her stories in the hard scrabble and mundane existence of farming and ranching. Her characters don't glide through grain fields, they slog through mud and snow and bitter cold and repressive, sticky heat. And her characters are all haunted, some of them quite literally. They are haunted by their past, their self-doubt, and their weakness. These characters, who all seem to be living on the ragged fringe of society, are sometimes difficult to read about. Their mistakes and the chaos that composes their lives can be frustrating but you always feel like you are reading about real people, people who might inhabit your life and your days if you scratched a little deeper beneath the surface.

Agee writes with a poetic turn of phrase that, though juxtaposed to stark reality, never seems out of place. This was her first novel and, thougb her writing style and poetic voice have grown much over the years, it is still evident here and a pleasure to read. What has improved more over the years is her storytelling ability. Though the overall story is a good one, Agee builds up the mystery so slowly, dribbling out juicy details a little at a time, that the reader is looking for the mystery to play a larger role than it does in the final resolutions for Honey. And Agee, always quirky and eccentric with the characters, writes a few passages which stretch the bounds of believability. Her later novels show a much more practiced and experienced voice.

All in all, a very good read. Highly recommended, but beware if you are impatient with characters who don't make good decisions.

Four bones!!!!


Next up.................Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

I will be reading Dandelion Wine here in the next few weeks, too, BDB. I will be interested in seeing your thoughts on it.

I'll be reading Dandelion Wine for my 999 challenge. I've never read Ray Bradbury before and he's been so highly recommended on LT I put two of his books in my challenge. I'm really looking forward to them!

I am curious to read comments re. Dandelion Wine It isn't one of my favorites of Bradbury, but I did like the book.

Sigh, another one added to the TBR list :(

I'm with Whisper1, not my favorite Bradbury; it will be interesting to see what you think.

Gosh, so many of you are interested in my thoughts on this one.......that's a lot of pressure :{

So far, the beauty of the writing is hypnotizing. I read along, enjoying the language so much, I forget to pay attention to what's happening. Should finish before the end of the year.

Piyush......which one did you add to you TBR list?

Now that all of you are reading/going to read Dandelion Wine, I also might start on this one next month. I haven't yet read any Ray Bradbury, but I already have Farenheit 451 also in my TBR list, now unless you give a bad feedback, Dandelion Wine is gonna be there.

I am anyways thinking of reading a few classics to start the year, probable ones being The Scarlet Letter, War and Peace, amongst others...

Let me just weigh in that Dandelion Wine IS one of my favorite Bradbury books. I think that he captures the spirit of childhood almost magically, and the quality of the prose description is lyrical. Some think it overdone, but I think it simply sings. I need to re-read it because I bought the sequel at a book fair a few months ago and need to read it.

ronincats

What is the sequel? If I love Dandelion Wine I will want to read that, too, I'm sure.

The sequel is Farewell Summer.

Piyush, put it on your TBR list. I haven't finished it yet but it will be one of my 2008 favorites. Looking forward to your list of classics as you always choose well. And then I get to pick your brain.

Thanks, BDB. I put it on my Amazon wish list--I think I want to own these for rereads.

Thanks for the information regarding the Ray Bradburysequel. I didn't know about this one. I'm looking forward to reading yet another wonderful Bradbury gem!

I did not know about the sequel either, so I appreciate the information. I put Farewell Summer on hold at the library so that I can get to it immediately upon finishing Dandelion Wine.

blackdogbooks

Have added Farewell Summer too to my TBR list, currently chilling with some fantasy series, have too many reading plans for 2009, hope they work out.

I have to say that I have put off reading Farewell Summer for some time in the certainty that it cannot possibly be as good as Dandelion Wine. It is the same dynamic as having not read the sequels to Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly, which I consider one of the top dragon stories ever, even though it has been over 20 years since the first book was written, and the sequels were written 9, 8, and 6 years ago. One of these days...

blackdog, re #364: See Message #17. I sent you a link to an online guide to Ulysses that I had used, after you said such nice things to me about having finished it (March was such a long time ago!).

Congrats on finishing your 75! I'm almost there too--rushing at the last minute, as usual. Thanks for the book tips this year!

terri

Book #77 Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

Douglas Spaulding has just reached the outer boundaries of maturity, the place where he first learns that he is alive. While this land is exciting and wondrous, full of endless discovery, it is also terrifying, for a quickening brings with it the inevitability of death.

In the summer of 1928, Douglas is just beginning to understand that his childhood, with all of its pleasures and freedom, is quickly fading. Douglas' days are filled with summer traditions, the bottling of danelion wine, the purchase of a new pair of tennis shoes, and the exploration of the city. In an effort to capture these childhood traditions, much as his grandfather captures the smell and taste of summer with the wine, Douglas begins to record his experiences on a tablet, describing the routine and expected happenings of summer alongside the things he is doing for the first time.

Douglas' observations include accounts of many of the city's most interesting characters. Among them, Mr. Auffman who attempts to make a happiness machine only to find that true happiness is found in the company of those close to him, his family and friends. Colonel Freeleigh recounts to Douglas and his brother, Tom, stories from a long and eventful life, giving the boys a feeling of having traveled in time. Miss Helen Loomis and William Forrester discover the cruel timing of fate as they fall in love after having met at opposite ends of their days on earth.

As the summer begans to stretch towards autumn, Douglas grows deathly ill. No doctor or medicine is able to overcome his malaise. Just as Douglas is about to fade into death, a concept he has only just begun to grasp, the city junk man, Mr. Jonas, pays him a visit. Mr. Jonas brings Douglas a magic medicine he is sure will revive him. As he administers the elixir, Mr. Jonas warns Douglas about people who grow sad too young, encouraging the boy not to allow his new understanding of sadness and and loss to cast a shadow over the rest of his life.

No one deals in melancholy like Ray Bradbury. He seems connected to youth and childhood in a way that few people are able to maintain into their adult years. The secrets of our young lives, the secrets we seem to forget a little each day as we grow towards maturiity, and the brilliant, naive wonder of youth play a prominent role in Bradbury's work. As children we all knew how to fly, knew how to be invisible, knew of the dangers of monsters lurking in dark corners and shadows, knew how to become other people in play, transforming sticks into guns and dirt mounds into castles - but we forget these skills a little more every year as we run headlong into adult life and responsibility. Bradbury taps into that magic, reminding us of all of the forgotten powers of our childhood. He is also able to tap into the regret we all feel as adults at the loss of these golden days, as well as, the melancholy we all feel upon looking back over our youth.

Dandelion Wine is really an exploration of the transition of age. Douglas, at the apex of his youth looks down on the life upon which he is about to embark and hesitates, realizing, with the events of the summer, that life is equal parts joy and sadness, equal parts discovery and loss. The people who surround Douglas are often struck with a longing for the identity and vibrance of their youth. Yet the characters who shine most in the story, like Douglas' grandparents, are the ones who look bravely and calmly upon their lives, living each of its days with verve, because they understand life's brevity and deaths looming presence.

Bradbury's prose is so infused with poetry, you may find yourself reading whole pages without paying attention to the story or the characters. The novel is neither sad nor particularly joyful, but infused with a sense of familiarity as you identify with Douglas' struggles and thoughts.

Highly recommended. This one goes onto my favorite reads of 2008.

Five bones!!!!!

Sounds fantastic, BDB - and a great review too. Finish 2008 on a high note!

You will all have to let me know if you get to Farewell Summer before I do. Bradbury is one of my new favorites. I just promoted him to my profile page.

By the way, (warning: Stephen King reference follows) King ruminates on many of the same issues and has a lot of similarities in his melancholy tone relating to lost youth. Granted, it is mixed with much more graphic-type horror, but there is a similarity.

To finish up the year, I am going to try and close out with two ER books.

First up.............The Weight of a Mustard Seed

Thanks tloeffler for the reminder. March was a long time ago. Perhaps with your help, I will finish Ulysses this year.

Book #78, The Weight of a Mustard Seed by Wendell Steavenson

An ER Book.

How? Why? These are two of the most common and, often, most unanswerable questions in life. The how and why of human action and interaction is a formula thick with variables, from inalienable nature to learned social values to cultural and religious eccentricities. So, the answers to these questions are rarely calculated to any degree of certainty and even more rarely calculated in a way that offers any understanding or solace to those standing outside of the formula itself. Nonetheless, Wendell Steavenson, a freelance journalist who has reported from many of the world’s battlegrounds, examines the personal lives of several Iraqi citizens and soldiers in an effort to learn how and why so many people allowed Saddam Hussein to maintain such a brutal reign of terror.

The Weight of a Mustard Seed centers on the life of General Kamel Sachet, once one Hussein’s most revered and powerful military leaders and a venerated war hero. Sachet worked his way up through the ranks of the Iraqi military, distinguishing himself in battle during the Iran-Iraq war and later serving as the head of Iraqi military in Kuwait City during Operation Desert Storm. As American forces landed in Kuwait City, though, Sachet was given a retreat order by Hussein, an order which he equated with humiliating defeat. With Hussein’s order, Sachet’s belief in and allegiance to Hussein begin to wane. Burning his uniform in disgust, Sachet leaves the military to become the Governor of an Iraqi province. Ruling there, he returns to his Islamic faith, taking up a more strict and literal practice of the Koran but also becoming a generous and charitable community leader, building neighborhood mosques and helping local people work out their difficulties in a time of great upheaval. Summoned back to Sadam’s side to serve, Sachet is summarily executed, bringing a devastating but an all too familiar end to his Iraqi life

Steavenson’s account of Sachet’s life is told through the eyes of family, friends, and colleagues. Each person offers a view of Sachet from a different angle, illuminating various facets of the man. Some views are from his wife and children, who only saw him as he returned from battle, either in glory or defeat. Others are from his friends and colleagues with whom he served in the military. But each time someone offers a perspective on Sachet, Steavenson is careful to offer the context of that person’s own history. In many instances, these personal histories from Sachet’s friends and family are more poignant.

Ultimately, Steavenson arrives at an unsatisfying, if predictable, conclusion: humans are complicated and weak and inconsistent. We are all subject to the whims of our own psyche and ego, able to heroically withstand temptation and persecution at one time while cowardly succumbing at most others. None of us is able to live our lives singularly committed to idealistic notions of right and wrong, particularly where the cost is great to our own self image or to the well being of those we love. Those who can are the great heroes of history.

Steavenson’s narrative is a little disjointed, firing back and forth in time and between accounts. Her unifying theme, General Sachet, is often lost in confusion as his various friends and family move back and forth in their own personal history detailing Sachet. This is especially true at the beginning of the account, just when the reader is testing the waters, deciding whether they can connect with the subject of the book. It is not until well into the narrative that Sachet is really introduced and described. And, then, Sachet is only ever detailed in second hand, never becoming real for the reader. Steavenson would have been well served to focus more on the cast of characters whom she interviews about Sachet. The stories told by Sachet’s friends and family are more vital, more real, and offer the reader a more close examination of Iraq and its sad, brutal history.

All in all, a good read, though you have to slog through the first 50-75 pages before the book really catches your attention.

Three bones!!!

Next up...........another ER book, though it will likely be the first in my 2009 reading..........Joker one by Donovan Campbell

Good review of Weight of a Mustard Seed. It sounds like a book that would help us better understand Iraq.

I'm eagerly waiting your review of Joker One--that is a book I requested and think I will really want to read. Tomorrow I'm starting Soldier's Heart by Elizabeth Samet, who is a literature professor at West Point. It's my ER book for October so I want to get it finished soon but it also goes in my 999 challenge so I must wait one more day.

Happy New Year! Good luck with all your 2009 reading!

>78 alaskabookworm: Another excellent review Mac. I always enjoy reading your reviews even when I realise at the end that it's a book that Iwill probably never read!

See you over iin the 2009 thread.

Happy New Year!

- TT

blackdogbooks

Post 391 -- WOW! You continue to amaze me with these wonderful, well-written reviews.

You creatively, magically captured the essence of one of my favorite authors. These simply isn't another like Bradbury!

I'm looking forward to reading more of your reviews in 2009.