Well, it is the last day of the first month of this little experiment and it has certainly been interesting so far. I absolutely love how much I am reading. All of the books I have been fortunate to read up until now have been excellent reads. I would whole-heartedly recommend any one of them. And often do! That fact has made an otherwise very stressful month much more tolerable. They lived up to their purpose of providing me a delightful escape. A few things to note at this point, however. This month has been especially busy, getting a new quarter started and dealing with a myriad of family issues, but positive and negative. As mentioned, the reading helped to deal with the stress, but I am also beginning to realize just how big of an undertaking this little venture really is. As promised, I never read a book to the point where it adds to my stress and is anything less than an absolute pleasure. However, I must be mindful of not using this New Year's Resolution as an excuse to put off my real work. Required reading has been hefty, but it must get worked in somewhere too. As I am sure anyone with adequate math skills can deduce, I am currently behind "schedule" if any such thing existed. But I should average 8-9 books a month to meet the goal, which I have not done yet. But I do anticipate being able to catch back up during breaks throughout the year. And the six I have read have been real winners at least!
Bottom line at this point in the game is that, although this is a major time commitment, I have loved every minute of the reading and am thrilled that I am gaining exposure to so many great stories. I just have to focus on time management!
That brings us to the wrap-up discussion of my most recent read.
Here are the stats on The Wednesday Sisters.
Author: Meg Waite Clayton
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date: 2009
My start date: 1-25-10
My finish date: 1-31-10
If you are looking for motivation and inspiration, this book is for you. As I mentioned in the last post, I, too, have aspirations to write fiction but often find myself lacking confidence. However, much more than just writing, I have a whole long list of things I want to accomplish in my life. Although this whole book made me feel ready to go out and check things off my list, there is a particular scene in the book that just really made me step back and wonder what I am waiting for. Read this book and look for the coffin scene; you will know what I mean afterwards. The book is set in the 60s and early 70s and the main characters are all traditional housewives but experimenting with being a little bit more than what is expected of them. At first I had a hard time identifying with the characters. Then at some point I could no longer stop reading and at every chapter I felt myself more and more inspired to get started on things. Read this if you need a boost!
Besides the motivational factor, I loved loved loved the friendships in this book. I kept thinking throughout about what life would be like if I had a group of friends like that one. Now, don't get me wrong, I have some great friends. Friends whom I love dearly and who have been there for me on any number of occasions. But I am specifically speaking here of the group aspect. You can't help but wish you were a part of the Wednesday Sisters by the time you are finished. It is kind of like how most of us (go ahead, admit it) really wished we were a part of the tight-knit circle on the TV show Friends. There is just something so appealling in having a group like that. I don't know, maybe it is just me.
One final great thing here: the issues. Clayton effortlessly works in the major events and political issues of the period in a way that makes those of us not alive during the era really feel like we can understand life then. But even better, all of the women deal with major life issues that are still applicable today and you just get pulled right into the story as you experience their brushes with illness, tragedy, marital issues and everything else. That being said, guys, sorry, but this is probably a more interesting read for females. That doesn't mean you shouldn't read it though! You never know, maybe you will get a new perspective on things! ;-)
So, that wraps that up. On to other news and business. Below is the promised link to The Wednesday Sisters. I do recommend. As requested, I will be adding links to the Kindle products as well, for your reading ease, but that will likely be tomorrow in a seperate post. As to what I am reading next, I am not entirely sure yet (don't forget, Clarissa still looms...!) but plan on picking tonight and will update tomorrow!
Until then, keep reading!
Sarah
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tales of Writing
I finally was able to break away from 18th century epistolary novels today and spend some time on The Wednesday Sisters. While I am not quite finished yet, this book has proven to be very inspirational to me thus far! As I started reading it, I initially wasn't very drawn in. I just didn't feel like I connected with the housewives of the 1960s and was worried that I would have difficulty going on. And then it all changed. I am not at all sure at which point I totally started loving the characters, but suddenly, I couldn't put this book down!
One of the main connection points for me is the discussion of the writing process and how personal it is. Having aspirations of writing the great novel myself oneday, that literary focus was what initially encouraged me to get the book in the first place. Lately I have been having frustrations with professors seeming overly critical of my work and have found it hard to take constructive criticism from my writing class colleagues. Every bit of redirection, no matter how helpful, can come across harsh and completely squash me. Yet, following this group of women as they learn how to channel their thoughts into increasingly brilliant writing and watching how they all experience repeated criticism and rewrites reminds me that it is all just part of the process and not to take it personally. As I said, this novel comes at a particularly relevant time for me!
So, back to reading, hope to have it finished for you tomorrow!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
One of the main connection points for me is the discussion of the writing process and how personal it is. Having aspirations of writing the great novel myself oneday, that literary focus was what initially encouraged me to get the book in the first place. Lately I have been having frustrations with professors seeming overly critical of my work and have found it hard to take constructive criticism from my writing class colleagues. Every bit of redirection, no matter how helpful, can come across harsh and completely squash me. Yet, following this group of women as they learn how to channel their thoughts into increasingly brilliant writing and watching how they all experience repeated criticism and rewrites reminds me that it is all just part of the process and not to take it personally. As I said, this novel comes at a particularly relevant time for me!
So, back to reading, hope to have it finished for you tomorrow!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Book Shopping
Well, as I mentioned, my reading of Clarissa leaves little time for pleasure reading today, however, I did make a slight change to the blog that is designed to be useful to the readers. Many people have expressed interest to me in reading the books I have discussed themselves. So, if you fall into this category, I have partnered my blog with Amazon to enable links directly to their sites for the books. I chose Amazon because, honestly, that is where most of my books come from these days. Although I am also a devoted, card-carrying member of Barnes and Noble, in recent months it has simply become a lot easier and cheaper at Amazon. It is easier in that, since I order so many books, I am set up as an Amazon Prime member, so my 2 day shipping is free, which means I get my books quickly, but without having to drive to the store. But more importantly, the number of books I read starts to add up, financially, and books on Amazon lately, somehow, manage to be significantly reduced from any store sales I have found. Not sure how they are doing it, but we are talking about at least 30% cheaper, sometimes more. Anyway, long story short, if you want these books, they are now only a click away!
Normally I will link directly from the appropriate post going forward, but to catch up on what we have missed, here are the books I have already finished:
Happy Reading!
Sarah
Normally I will link directly from the appropriate post going forward, but to catch up on what we have missed, here are the books I have already finished:
Happy Reading!
Sarah
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Clarissa begins...
I knew this point would come...I have been trying to prepare for it since the beginning of this project. But now it is here. One of the classes I am in has assigned the reading in its entirety of Samuel Richardson's Clarissa, or, The History of a Young Lady. If you are not familiar with it, you should look it up. It is a great story and very entertaining. However, it is also one of the longest novels in the world. Literally. At my last check it ranked #7 on the wikipedia list of longest novels in a western language. So, the point of all this is that between class yesterday and class tomorrow, and between this and my other class, I was assigned to read somewhere approaching 500 pages. No joke. Long story short, pretty much no progress on The Wednesday Sisters. Tomorrow might not be very promising for pleasure reading either, but count on a good update on Thursday night for sure!
That said, Clarissa is indeed a truly interesting story (keep in mind, that comes from someone who has chosen of her own free will to write a dissertation of several hundred pages on the 18th century novel...) and if you are looking for a longer-term challenge than your typical size pleasure reading novel, you might check it out! There is even an abridged version that is only 800 odd pages...
Keep Reading (I know I will...)
Sarah
That said, Clarissa is indeed a truly interesting story (keep in mind, that comes from someone who has chosen of her own free will to write a dissertation of several hundred pages on the 18th century novel...) and if you are looking for a longer-term challenge than your typical size pleasure reading novel, you might check it out! There is even an abridged version that is only 800 odd pages...
Keep Reading (I know I will...)
Sarah
Bitter Sweet
I just finished a great book! And, man, did I need it after a day like today, which involved hospital visits by a number of loved ones. And when I consider that it was Jamie Ford's debut novel, I get really jealous! Hats off to you Mr. Ford! Let's look at the stats for Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.
Author: Jamie Ford
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date: 2009
My start date: 1-21-10
My finish date: 1-25-10
So, first of all, as I mentioned in my last post, I especially enjoyed reading about the history of the city in which I live. Yes, this is a fictional novel, but the places and major events are all real. I started reading this book while sitting at Kobe Terrace Park in International District, never realizing until later when I looked it up, that I was within sight of the Panama Hotel discussed in this book. Had I only looked up from my reading, I would have seen it! However, that is my point. The novel was such a good read, that I didn't often take time to look up once I dove into the world of Ford's WWII Seattle.
Ford's characters make this book. The dynamics of the main character, Henry Lee's family are so real. Henry is caught between his confused identity as American born, but of Chinese background in a time in which race and politics are hot spots for members of all ethnic communities in the US. This is further complicated, as Henry is between childhood and becoming an adult during the main action of the story. On the one hand he is losing the innocence of believing that his parents are infallible and on the other he is confronted with the realities of adult decisions. However, while these qualities all make him a realistic and intriguing character, I will admit that I loved him for the delightful love story with Keiko, another absolutely charming character and the female lead. This love, which went against tradition and logic and which defied any number of obstactles reminds you what a good old-fashioned, pure and uplifting story can be. No sarcasm or cynicism needed. I only wish I had known a thirteen year old as dedicated, gentlemanly (if that is a word) and brave as Henry.
Even more great than these two leads, the side characters were a treat. I fell in love with the characters of Sheldon and Samantha. You will too, but I won't tell you more, because you are going to go out and read this yourself, right? Self discovery is always more fun, I think.
I started the discussion in my last post about the topic of the Japanese Internment. I am just not sure what to say about it and won't pass off any conclusion here. I recognize that things were very different then and wartime USA was a whole different world. But at the very least, I will say that it is a tragedy that it couldn't have been handled in a better manner. You try reading the scenes in which innocent Japanese families are forced to burn their memories and leave behind their most precious possessions simply to avoid be arrested as being too Japanese and thus a threat. I am one quarter German. My grandmother lived during this era and I am thankful that, to my knowledge, she was never rounded up or otherwise harrassed for her German heritage. But she could have been. The idea that something like this could happen today makes me shudder. Who would we round up, disregarding a person's full citizenship or having been a multi-generational American family, simply on the basis that they look different or their great-grandfather lived once upon a time in a different country but came here looking for a better life? What would the rest of us do? I certainly hope it would be different.
Enough deep thoughts for a very long and stressful day. I need rest. And you need to go out and buy this book. In the meantime, I have started my next read: Meg Waite Clayton's The Wednesday Sisters.
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Author: Jamie Ford
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date: 2009
My start date: 1-21-10
My finish date: 1-25-10
So, first of all, as I mentioned in my last post, I especially enjoyed reading about the history of the city in which I live. Yes, this is a fictional novel, but the places and major events are all real. I started reading this book while sitting at Kobe Terrace Park in International District, never realizing until later when I looked it up, that I was within sight of the Panama Hotel discussed in this book. Had I only looked up from my reading, I would have seen it! However, that is my point. The novel was such a good read, that I didn't often take time to look up once I dove into the world of Ford's WWII Seattle.
Ford's characters make this book. The dynamics of the main character, Henry Lee's family are so real. Henry is caught between his confused identity as American born, but of Chinese background in a time in which race and politics are hot spots for members of all ethnic communities in the US. This is further complicated, as Henry is between childhood and becoming an adult during the main action of the story. On the one hand he is losing the innocence of believing that his parents are infallible and on the other he is confronted with the realities of adult decisions. However, while these qualities all make him a realistic and intriguing character, I will admit that I loved him for the delightful love story with Keiko, another absolutely charming character and the female lead. This love, which went against tradition and logic and which defied any number of obstactles reminds you what a good old-fashioned, pure and uplifting story can be. No sarcasm or cynicism needed. I only wish I had known a thirteen year old as dedicated, gentlemanly (if that is a word) and brave as Henry.
Even more great than these two leads, the side characters were a treat. I fell in love with the characters of Sheldon and Samantha. You will too, but I won't tell you more, because you are going to go out and read this yourself, right? Self discovery is always more fun, I think.
I started the discussion in my last post about the topic of the Japanese Internment. I am just not sure what to say about it and won't pass off any conclusion here. I recognize that things were very different then and wartime USA was a whole different world. But at the very least, I will say that it is a tragedy that it couldn't have been handled in a better manner. You try reading the scenes in which innocent Japanese families are forced to burn their memories and leave behind their most precious possessions simply to avoid be arrested as being too Japanese and thus a threat. I am one quarter German. My grandmother lived during this era and I am thankful that, to my knowledge, she was never rounded up or otherwise harrassed for her German heritage. But she could have been. The idea that something like this could happen today makes me shudder. Who would we round up, disregarding a person's full citizenship or having been a multi-generational American family, simply on the basis that they look different or their great-grandfather lived once upon a time in a different country but came here looking for a better life? What would the rest of us do? I certainly hope it would be different.
Enough deep thoughts for a very long and stressful day. I need rest. And you need to go out and buy this book. In the meantime, I have started my next read: Meg Waite Clayton's The Wednesday Sisters.
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Culture and War-Time Politics
Just a short post since I haven't posted in a couple days, but wanted to start thinking about some topics coming out of Jamie Ford's Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. This is an amazing book, especially for the author's debut novel. It gives me hope that my debut novel might be decent, whenever I get around to writing it... Anyway, this is a really fun read for me on one account, because it takes place in wartime Seattle, which is where I happen to be living at the moment. Well, Seattle, that is, not the wartime part. Obviously. But Ford really knew his history and Seattle geography, so it is really fun to read about streets, sights and even shops and restaurants that I know and visit myself! On the other hand, while very interesting to learn about, this book brings up a very unhappy topic: the internment of the Japanese during WWII. The conditions these families were forced to live in is simply appalling. The loss of personal property, family heirlooms, memories, careers, and freedom to American citizens simply because of their ancestry just makes me so sad and, frankly, so embarrassed. How can we have treated people this way?
More on this after I finish, tomorrow.
Til then, Keep reading!
Sarah
More on this after I finish, tomorrow.
Til then, Keep reading!
Sarah
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Biblical fiction
Today I finished Marek Halter's Sarah, the life story, told in the first person, of the Biblical Sarah/Sarai, wife of Abraham. Here are your stats:
Author: Marek Halter
Publisher:Crown Publishers
Date: either 2003 or 2004, I believe this translation was 2004
Originally Published in France with Robert Lafont
My start date: 1-17-10
My finish date: 1-21-10
I began my discussion of this book yesterday by introducing the topic of taking holy figures from religion and creating fictionalized accounts of their lives, making them more realistic or ordinary, if those are the right words. So, I will think along those lines first. As I mentioned, I have read many of this kind of work in the past, some great, some not, but all very interesting to me. Halter's book is one that I will probably categorize in the former category. Although, to the research I can find, several of the details of this fictional Sarai's life do not coordinate with those of the standard story (for example, according to wikipedia-which we all know is the great source of all things true ;-), the standard story of Sarah indicates that she was of the same family or at least tribe as Abraham, whereas this Sarah is nobility from a very different civilization) yet I was able to overlook that in the telling of the story. I couldn't put it down! Halter writes a very multi-dimensional Sarah who is her own leader and makes her own decisions. She is feisty, passionate, sometimes selfish, sometimes angry, but all together is makes for a very believable character. He focuses on the female experience of the time and, without being shy about it, discusses such issues as Sarah's experiences with menstration, marriage, surrogacy, and sex. This is all the more interesting to me, because throughout the book, you would never have believed it was a man writing this female perspective! Further, Halter somehow manages to describe a setting in the very, very distant past completely realistically. Bottom line: this book had the most important characteristic for me in a novel of any kind. It called for total submersion. I sank straight into the world of Sarai and Abram and only unwillingly could be dragged back out again. Put this on your must read list.
Ok, I am going to end it there for tonight.
Tomorrow (or maybe even tonight?) I start a new novel, Jamie Ford's debut novel, and one which takes place right here in sunny (haha, yeah, right) Seattle. Check back later to hear about On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Author: Marek Halter
Publisher:Crown Publishers
Date: either 2003 or 2004, I believe this translation was 2004
Originally Published in France with Robert Lafont
My start date: 1-17-10
My finish date: 1-21-10
I began my discussion of this book yesterday by introducing the topic of taking holy figures from religion and creating fictionalized accounts of their lives, making them more realistic or ordinary, if those are the right words. So, I will think along those lines first. As I mentioned, I have read many of this kind of work in the past, some great, some not, but all very interesting to me. Halter's book is one that I will probably categorize in the former category. Although, to the research I can find, several of the details of this fictional Sarai's life do not coordinate with those of the standard story (for example, according to wikipedia-which we all know is the great source of all things true ;-), the standard story of Sarah indicates that she was of the same family or at least tribe as Abraham, whereas this Sarah is nobility from a very different civilization) yet I was able to overlook that in the telling of the story. I couldn't put it down! Halter writes a very multi-dimensional Sarah who is her own leader and makes her own decisions. She is feisty, passionate, sometimes selfish, sometimes angry, but all together is makes for a very believable character. He focuses on the female experience of the time and, without being shy about it, discusses such issues as Sarah's experiences with menstration, marriage, surrogacy, and sex. This is all the more interesting to me, because throughout the book, you would never have believed it was a man writing this female perspective! Further, Halter somehow manages to describe a setting in the very, very distant past completely realistically. Bottom line: this book had the most important characteristic for me in a novel of any kind. It called for total submersion. I sank straight into the world of Sarai and Abram and only unwillingly could be dragged back out again. Put this on your must read list.
Ok, I am going to end it there for tonight.
Tomorrow (or maybe even tonight?) I start a new novel, Jamie Ford's debut novel, and one which takes place right here in sunny (haha, yeah, right) Seattle. Check back later to hear about On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Still Reading...
Well, not much to say for tonight, since I am just about to wrap up Marek Halter's Sarah, so I should be reading instead of blogging!
I will leave you with a little preview though. This is a category of literature which has long enchanted me. I am not sure when fictionalizing religion became a popular thing, but I find the genre fascinating. Beginning with the first time I read The Gospel According to the Son, by Norman Mailer, I have never been entirely sure what I thought of taking these exalted figures of religious history and making them into real people. I have been decidedly drawn to these stories; most recently before Sarah I read Petru Popescu's Girl Mary, but the list is long and includes many others. On the one hand, these stories bring holy figures down to an ordinary level and at times take liberties with what are generally accepted events in religious history, to the extent that I occasionally worry about blasphemy. On the other hand, these novels make important stories from our religions more approachable, more understandable and certainly more interesting than the drier formats in which we are accustomed to reading them. (Obviously, no disrespect meant to the holy writings) Further, they have the decided benefit of sending me running back to the internet or to my copies of holy scriptures to fact check, which means I am reading the originals with more attention than I might likely otherwise would have spent!
Anyway, the debate in my head rages on and your thoughts and contributions to the subject are certainly welcome! In the meantime, I must return to the world of Sarai and Abram until tomorrow. And don't worry, you can be sure I have already prepared with my historical fact checking! :-)
Keep Reading!
Sarah
I will leave you with a little preview though. This is a category of literature which has long enchanted me. I am not sure when fictionalizing religion became a popular thing, but I find the genre fascinating. Beginning with the first time I read The Gospel According to the Son, by Norman Mailer, I have never been entirely sure what I thought of taking these exalted figures of religious history and making them into real people. I have been decidedly drawn to these stories; most recently before Sarah I read Petru Popescu's Girl Mary, but the list is long and includes many others. On the one hand, these stories bring holy figures down to an ordinary level and at times take liberties with what are generally accepted events in religious history, to the extent that I occasionally worry about blasphemy. On the other hand, these novels make important stories from our religions more approachable, more understandable and certainly more interesting than the drier formats in which we are accustomed to reading them. (Obviously, no disrespect meant to the holy writings) Further, they have the decided benefit of sending me running back to the internet or to my copies of holy scriptures to fact check, which means I am reading the originals with more attention than I might likely otherwise would have spent!
Anyway, the debate in my head rages on and your thoughts and contributions to the subject are certainly welcome! In the meantime, I must return to the world of Sarai and Abram until tomorrow. And don't worry, you can be sure I have already prepared with my historical fact checking! :-)
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Eastern Intrigue
My third fun-book this year was straight-up good fiction. Moving away from the memoirs, I read Maureen Lindley's The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel.
Stats:
Author: Maureen Lindley
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Date: 2008
My start date: 1-11-10
My finish date: 1-16-10
This book reminded me of what good old fashion pleasure reading should be: a pure escape. This story takes you far away to exotic locales and exotic (in my opinion) times. The book is a (fictionalized) retelling in the first person of the life of the Manchu Princess Eastern Jewel in the first part of the 20th century. Early on, the character's rebellious nature causes her father to ship her off to Japan, where she is adopted and takes the name Yoshiko Kawashima. She later returns to China as a Japanese spy and this novel recounts her perspective on all the various twists and turns her life takes.
Important to know: Yoshiko Kawashima was a historical person. In many, if not most instances, Lindley remains fairly true to the main historical facts of her relationships and her activities, to the best of our historical knowledge. The fascinating thing about this novel is that Kawashima is most decidedly not regarded as a positive figure in history. She was ruthless, cruel, addicted to sex and opium and lived a rather corrupt kind of life. This puts the reader in an interesting position. For a protagonist, she offers little in the way of "pros". You kind of want to hate her for most of the novel! Yet, at the same time, the story explains how she became the way that she way. Of course, we don't really know what the real Kawashima was thinking, so who knows how accurate Lindley's portrayel is, but it is fun to think about.
One great thing about this book is the setting. Again, just as the main character, the setting that Lindley is portraying is dark, dirty and corrupt, yet absolutely fascinating. Japan and China in the first half of the 20th century were both experiencing massive changes. I have always been interested in the Shanghai scene of the 20s and 30s. Think about the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, or the vivacious mixture of wealth, progress, corruption and poverty depicted the scenes of 1930s Shanghai in Lisa See's recent novel Shanghai Girls (which is another great book that I highly recommend). This period fascinates me, regardless of where in the world it is. There is something about that guildedness, that image of high glamour, tuxedos, wing-tip shoes, and night clubs just barely masking the poverty outside the door that piques my curiousity. Add to that mix the additional ingredients of Asian culture on the edge of change and the entire world facing war and you have a great setting. It doesn't hurt that Lindley's descriptive style really brings the images to you.
One further note about the vividness of Lindley's depiction of Kawashima's scandalous personality must be noted. I am not at all sure how much of this can be confirmed as true attributes of the historical Kawashima, but Lindley's character was decidedly obsessed with two things: drugs and sex of all kinds and descriptions. A good deal of the book is spent in describing Kawashima's many sexual encounters and opium highs. It certainly serves its purpose in establishing the character, and again, may very well be realistic, but just be informed that it is there!
So, setting aside that riveting novel, I am now caught up to my current read, which is Marek Halter's Sarah, a tale of the life of the Biblical Sarah, wife of Abraham. Quite a jump, from drug and sex addicted spies to women of the Old Testament, but then, hey, it keeps my life exciting.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Stats:
Author: Maureen Lindley
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Date: 2008
My start date: 1-11-10
My finish date: 1-16-10
This book reminded me of what good old fashion pleasure reading should be: a pure escape. This story takes you far away to exotic locales and exotic (in my opinion) times. The book is a (fictionalized) retelling in the first person of the life of the Manchu Princess Eastern Jewel in the first part of the 20th century. Early on, the character's rebellious nature causes her father to ship her off to Japan, where she is adopted and takes the name Yoshiko Kawashima. She later returns to China as a Japanese spy and this novel recounts her perspective on all the various twists and turns her life takes.
Important to know: Yoshiko Kawashima was a historical person. In many, if not most instances, Lindley remains fairly true to the main historical facts of her relationships and her activities, to the best of our historical knowledge. The fascinating thing about this novel is that Kawashima is most decidedly not regarded as a positive figure in history. She was ruthless, cruel, addicted to sex and opium and lived a rather corrupt kind of life. This puts the reader in an interesting position. For a protagonist, she offers little in the way of "pros". You kind of want to hate her for most of the novel! Yet, at the same time, the story explains how she became the way that she way. Of course, we don't really know what the real Kawashima was thinking, so who knows how accurate Lindley's portrayel is, but it is fun to think about.
One great thing about this book is the setting. Again, just as the main character, the setting that Lindley is portraying is dark, dirty and corrupt, yet absolutely fascinating. Japan and China in the first half of the 20th century were both experiencing massive changes. I have always been interested in the Shanghai scene of the 20s and 30s. Think about the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, or the vivacious mixture of wealth, progress, corruption and poverty depicted the scenes of 1930s Shanghai in Lisa See's recent novel Shanghai Girls (which is another great book that I highly recommend). This period fascinates me, regardless of where in the world it is. There is something about that guildedness, that image of high glamour, tuxedos, wing-tip shoes, and night clubs just barely masking the poverty outside the door that piques my curiousity. Add to that mix the additional ingredients of Asian culture on the edge of change and the entire world facing war and you have a great setting. It doesn't hurt that Lindley's descriptive style really brings the images to you.
One further note about the vividness of Lindley's depiction of Kawashima's scandalous personality must be noted. I am not at all sure how much of this can be confirmed as true attributes of the historical Kawashima, but Lindley's character was decidedly obsessed with two things: drugs and sex of all kinds and descriptions. A good deal of the book is spent in describing Kawashima's many sexual encounters and opium highs. It certainly serves its purpose in establishing the character, and again, may very well be realistic, but just be informed that it is there!
So, setting aside that riveting novel, I am now caught up to my current read, which is Marek Halter's Sarah, a tale of the life of the Biblical Sarah, wife of Abraham. Quite a jump, from drug and sex addicted spies to women of the Old Testament, but then, hey, it keeps my life exciting.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Monday, January 18, 2010
Take one down, pass it around, 99 books left...
My next literary project was Susan Richard's Chosen by a Horse. And the stats are...
Author: Susan Richards
Publisher: Harcourt Books
Date:2006
My start date: 1-7-10
My finish date: 1-10-10
I should preface this discussion by saying that I love horses. I have been a sincere and devoted horse lover since early, early childhood and have taken lessons in the various equestrian disciplines off and on throughout my life. So, to be honest, I was taken with the title. I have definitely had horses in my life that have made me feel chosen. I always felt that my most recent equine friend liked me above all others. Perhaps that wasn't true, but it sure felt good to think it!
It was for this reason that this book kept me interested, although I am convinced that anyone who has had any kind of innocent creature, be it horse, dog, cat, or even child which touched their life and made them feel important would find something in this book with which to identify. If you liked books like Marley & Me, this one might be for you.
As with the last book I read, this book is also a memoir and similarly to the previous one, the author weaves her story of her experiences with Lay Me Down (the horse), which happen in the (literary) present, with her personal life story and how she came to be in possession of a broken heart and spirit in the first place. The back story was indeed interesting, and although I didn't always agree with the author's decisions and lifestyles, the back story certainly explained how she got there. Another great aspect of this book is in her characters. Obviously, the show stealers are the horses, of which there are five in the story and she writes them in a way that they definitely come to life. However, the secondary, human characters, right down to the fairly minor players, are all infused with enough life to make the story really well rounded and full. I especially liked her best friend, Allie.
Also like the last book I read, this book inspired me to find out more and want to take action. Animal cruelty is a serious thing. Fortunately, at about the same time I was reading this book, I was able to get involved with some really great groups. I had been looking for some volunteer work to do, and also a way to get back to my equestrian addiction, being that my current finances (I am a student, after all...) don't allow me to train. Just this week I was able to start my involvement with two great groups in my area, one focusing on the rescue of greyhound racing dogs and another focusing on rescuing horses who are either set for slaughter or who are found in cases of extreme abuse and neglect, much like Lay Me Down was in Richard's story. This worked out well, because as I read the abuses in Richard's story, it angered me enough to really want to do something. And, fortunately, I can!
One last thing about this book: the author recently published a sequel about how her life is progressing and the ongoing impact of Lay Me Down. I have not read it (yet) but it might have to be added on down the list!
Ok, one last catch up tomorrow, when I will talk about the extremely intriguing, albeit scandalous life of the "Eastern Mata-Hari" in Maureen Lindley's The Private Papers of Easter Jewel.
Until then, keep reading!
Sarah
Author: Susan Richards
Publisher: Harcourt Books
Date:2006
My start date: 1-7-10
My finish date: 1-10-10
I should preface this discussion by saying that I love horses. I have been a sincere and devoted horse lover since early, early childhood and have taken lessons in the various equestrian disciplines off and on throughout my life. So, to be honest, I was taken with the title. I have definitely had horses in my life that have made me feel chosen. I always felt that my most recent equine friend liked me above all others. Perhaps that wasn't true, but it sure felt good to think it!
It was for this reason that this book kept me interested, although I am convinced that anyone who has had any kind of innocent creature, be it horse, dog, cat, or even child which touched their life and made them feel important would find something in this book with which to identify. If you liked books like Marley & Me, this one might be for you.
As with the last book I read, this book is also a memoir and similarly to the previous one, the author weaves her story of her experiences with Lay Me Down (the horse), which happen in the (literary) present, with her personal life story and how she came to be in possession of a broken heart and spirit in the first place. The back story was indeed interesting, and although I didn't always agree with the author's decisions and lifestyles, the back story certainly explained how she got there. Another great aspect of this book is in her characters. Obviously, the show stealers are the horses, of which there are five in the story and she writes them in a way that they definitely come to life. However, the secondary, human characters, right down to the fairly minor players, are all infused with enough life to make the story really well rounded and full. I especially liked her best friend, Allie.
Also like the last book I read, this book inspired me to find out more and want to take action. Animal cruelty is a serious thing. Fortunately, at about the same time I was reading this book, I was able to get involved with some really great groups. I had been looking for some volunteer work to do, and also a way to get back to my equestrian addiction, being that my current finances (I am a student, after all...) don't allow me to train. Just this week I was able to start my involvement with two great groups in my area, one focusing on the rescue of greyhound racing dogs and another focusing on rescuing horses who are either set for slaughter or who are found in cases of extreme abuse and neglect, much like Lay Me Down was in Richard's story. This worked out well, because as I read the abuses in Richard's story, it angered me enough to really want to do something. And, fortunately, I can!
One last thing about this book: the author recently published a sequel about how her life is progressing and the ongoing impact of Lay Me Down. I have not read it (yet) but it might have to be added on down the list!
Ok, one last catch up tomorrow, when I will talk about the extremely intriguing, albeit scandalous life of the "Eastern Mata-Hari" in Maureen Lindley's The Private Papers of Easter Jewel.
Until then, keep reading!
Sarah
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The First Book
The first book I read this year was Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.
Here are the stats:
Author: Ishmael Beah
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date: 2008
My start date: 1-1-10 (New Year's Day!)
My finish date: 1-7-10
Now to the book. Wow. It was intense! I realized later that it was a rather heavy book to begin my year, but it was a good read and did have a rather hopeful conclusion. For those of you who haven't encountered this book yet, it is a very fascinating memoir of Beah's childhood experiences in Sierra Leone, especially of those experiences during the gruesome civil war, for part of which he was a child soldier. Beah weaves his story together in a breathtaking way, interspersing the blunt and shocking wartime images with memories of a more idyllic past and in a way that paints a beautiful picture of the culture of Sierra Leone, which is something that often seems lost, in my opinion, to outsiders who generally only have the opportunity to see the violent images of children branded with the RUF initials and toting AK47s.
Beah does not sugarcoat the realities of wartime Africa. If you are not sure of your ability to handle strong images of violence and death in your literature, this might not be your best read. However, in my opinion, anyone who can handle it, should. Education is always a good thing and I think it important that we understand what happens in other places of the world. I took a course in college on the Literature of the Holocaust, which really affected me. The imagery in those works was so strong that by the end of the semester, I was having regular dreams that my roommate was trying to gas me. However, those works brought me as close to understanding the Holocaust experience as I will ever be able to. This book brought back some of those same feelings. Once again, I was reading a pain that I can never truly understand, but at the very least it was causing me to think. Some of the shocking stories in this work were very reminiscent to me of the style of writing in Jerzy Kozinski's The Painted Bird. It isn't pretty, but these things are happening (or have happened in the case of the Holocaust literature).
Now, one thing that I must bring up is the so-called controversy surrounding Beah's book. I am the type of person that when I read something, I always want to look it up on the internet to learn more. So, naturally I searched for Beah on wikipedia and was dismayed to read that there are several attempts out there trying to discredit him. The popular accusation is that Beah did not actually experience all of the things mentioned in his book, but rather that the story is more a compilation of all of the stories of his friends. Many try to argue that he could not possibly have experienced all of those things in the time indicated and some are very convinced that, although he indicates a time-span of multiple years for his service in the army, in reality it might only be a matter of months. Come on people! How much horror must a child experience before he is "legitimate"?? Even should the reality be that Beah was "only" a child soldier for "mere" months, is that really ok?? Any time that a child becomes a killing machine is too much! Beah openly acknowledges that the soldiers were heavily drugged and thus some details might become fuzzy. Similarly, so what if the stories come from more than one source? Chances are probably pretty good that the others will never have the opportunity to voice their experiences. If Beah can do it for them, more power to him. Further, if a child (or adult, as Beah is now, being a year older than I am) is so far traumatized that they must write such stories, that speaks volumes in itself. The above mentioned story by Kozinski was fictional, but that makes it no less relevent to the Holocaust experience. War and violence are horrifying and traumatizing. Period. I applaud Beah for escaping at all to write what he did.
Whew, heavy topic. But excellent first read.
Tomorrow, still playing catch up, I will discuss Susan Richard's Chosen by a Horse.
In the meantime, your comments are encouraged and keep reading!
Sarah
Here are the stats:
Author: Ishmael Beah
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date: 2008
My start date: 1-1-10 (New Year's Day!)
My finish date: 1-7-10
Now to the book. Wow. It was intense! I realized later that it was a rather heavy book to begin my year, but it was a good read and did have a rather hopeful conclusion. For those of you who haven't encountered this book yet, it is a very fascinating memoir of Beah's childhood experiences in Sierra Leone, especially of those experiences during the gruesome civil war, for part of which he was a child soldier. Beah weaves his story together in a breathtaking way, interspersing the blunt and shocking wartime images with memories of a more idyllic past and in a way that paints a beautiful picture of the culture of Sierra Leone, which is something that often seems lost, in my opinion, to outsiders who generally only have the opportunity to see the violent images of children branded with the RUF initials and toting AK47s.
Beah does not sugarcoat the realities of wartime Africa. If you are not sure of your ability to handle strong images of violence and death in your literature, this might not be your best read. However, in my opinion, anyone who can handle it, should. Education is always a good thing and I think it important that we understand what happens in other places of the world. I took a course in college on the Literature of the Holocaust, which really affected me. The imagery in those works was so strong that by the end of the semester, I was having regular dreams that my roommate was trying to gas me. However, those works brought me as close to understanding the Holocaust experience as I will ever be able to. This book brought back some of those same feelings. Once again, I was reading a pain that I can never truly understand, but at the very least it was causing me to think. Some of the shocking stories in this work were very reminiscent to me of the style of writing in Jerzy Kozinski's The Painted Bird. It isn't pretty, but these things are happening (or have happened in the case of the Holocaust literature).
Now, one thing that I must bring up is the so-called controversy surrounding Beah's book. I am the type of person that when I read something, I always want to look it up on the internet to learn more. So, naturally I searched for Beah on wikipedia and was dismayed to read that there are several attempts out there trying to discredit him. The popular accusation is that Beah did not actually experience all of the things mentioned in his book, but rather that the story is more a compilation of all of the stories of his friends. Many try to argue that he could not possibly have experienced all of those things in the time indicated and some are very convinced that, although he indicates a time-span of multiple years for his service in the army, in reality it might only be a matter of months. Come on people! How much horror must a child experience before he is "legitimate"?? Even should the reality be that Beah was "only" a child soldier for "mere" months, is that really ok?? Any time that a child becomes a killing machine is too much! Beah openly acknowledges that the soldiers were heavily drugged and thus some details might become fuzzy. Similarly, so what if the stories come from more than one source? Chances are probably pretty good that the others will never have the opportunity to voice their experiences. If Beah can do it for them, more power to him. Further, if a child (or adult, as Beah is now, being a year older than I am) is so far traumatized that they must write such stories, that speaks volumes in itself. The above mentioned story by Kozinski was fictional, but that makes it no less relevent to the Holocaust experience. War and violence are horrifying and traumatizing. Period. I applaud Beah for escaping at all to write what he did.
Whew, heavy topic. But excellent first read.
Tomorrow, still playing catch up, I will discuss Susan Richard's Chosen by a Horse.
In the meantime, your comments are encouraged and keep reading!
Sarah
A New Year's Resolution...
Every year I make a bunch of resolutions. Lose weight, travel somewhere, learn something new, eat better, and on and on. Most years those resolutions are forgotten by February thanks to the realities of life.
But this year I made a resolution that I very much would like to keep. I set a goal for myself to read 100 books before next New Year's. I know others have tried it. I know that it is a ton of reading. But I have my reasons. You see, I am an avid reader. Such an avid reader in fact, that I decided to get a PhD in Comparative Literature. Yet, ever since I started working on literature degrees, beginning with an M.A. in German literature started in 2006, I am so caught up in required reading, that I never take the time to do personal reading anymore. That, in my mind, is a tragedy. Don't get me wrong, I love my required reading. You have to, when it is hundreds of pages of 18th century foreign literature a week. But I miss reading a book for the sheer pleasure of being swept away in a story, without having to do a "close reading" about it, or without having to really care if the story is academically worthwhile.
What is worse, I had fallen prey to the easier distractions and time-wasters when I was not working on homework. I found myself watching more T.V. and (as we all seem to do...) spending WAY to much time on facebook...That time could be perfectly well spent on literary escape.
So I decided to give myself a literary goal that would coax me back into the world of best-sellers and good stories. I decided to try to read 100 books in 365 days-not including my required course readings. Now a couple weeks into my goal, I decided to blog my results in the hopes that the thought that others might see my progress would keep me from slacking off.
So, here is the setup:
*It must be enjoyable and non-required reading. While I may from time to time post thoughts on the literature I am reading for a class, those works do not count towards my 100 books goal. Also, any book read as part of research for a paper for a class, even if not technically required for the coarse, does not count. However, since I am still pretty early in my dissertation research, and naturally I enjoy my dissertation topic, some books I read that might help my dissertation down the line (which covers 18th century popular fiction) might qualify, as long as I read it for distracting pleasure and not for a deadline.
*I will post as daily as I can, even if I haven't finished a new book. My goal here is to post my impressions or thoughts generated from the reading. Thus, I will try to avoid summaries (as I hope you want to read it too, and I don't want to give things away) but will discuss the book in a variety of other lights. Please feel free to add to the conversation or suggest other approaches you would like to see about a certain book! However, this is my pleasure reading, so the person who suggests I do a "close reading" of anything gets a frowny face. I get enough of that at school. Also, I am not here to criticize a writer's work. If I picked it up to read, it must have a redeeming quality. If it is a book I would not recommend, that will probably come out in my writing anyway, as I won't have much to say about it.
*I encourage comments!
*I will try to post as much information about the books as possible so that you can read them too! If you need or want to know something about a book, ask! However, I do not plan on posting the number of pages of a book, as many of the books I read are on an eReader and that distorts the true number of pages.
*This project requires an average of about two books a week. However, don't assume that if a book takes me longer to finish, I don't like it! I do still have my required readings and some weeks will simply be busier than others. On the flip side, I am sure there are those of you out there who think that reading books at this speed is not doing justice to the book itself. Although I can and regularly do read novels in a 24 hours period (I would never succeed in my chosen field if I couldn't read quickly and enjoy it), I will never read a book so quickly that I don't enjoy it. This is my attempt at pleasure reading after all! And as Henry Fielding says in his delightful book, Joseph Andrews "for however swift his capacity may be, I would not advise him to travel through these pages too fast; for if he doth, he may probably miss seeing some curious productions of nature which will be observed by the slower and more accurate reader. A volume without any such places of rest resembles the opening of wilds or seas, which tires the eye and fatigues the spirit when entered upon."
Ok, I think I have said it all for now...On to the project.
We being two-ish weeks into the new year already, I have already completed my first three books. The thoughts I had while reading these were the true inspiration to blog about it and hope for good conversation. The first three are:
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
Chosen by a Horse by Susan Richards
and The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley
I have tons to say about these, so seperate posts for each, but in the morning. It is getting late now and I have a new book to start.
But this year I made a resolution that I very much would like to keep. I set a goal for myself to read 100 books before next New Year's. I know others have tried it. I know that it is a ton of reading. But I have my reasons. You see, I am an avid reader. Such an avid reader in fact, that I decided to get a PhD in Comparative Literature. Yet, ever since I started working on literature degrees, beginning with an M.A. in German literature started in 2006, I am so caught up in required reading, that I never take the time to do personal reading anymore. That, in my mind, is a tragedy. Don't get me wrong, I love my required reading. You have to, when it is hundreds of pages of 18th century foreign literature a week. But I miss reading a book for the sheer pleasure of being swept away in a story, without having to do a "close reading" about it, or without having to really care if the story is academically worthwhile.
What is worse, I had fallen prey to the easier distractions and time-wasters when I was not working on homework. I found myself watching more T.V. and (as we all seem to do...) spending WAY to much time on facebook...That time could be perfectly well spent on literary escape.
So I decided to give myself a literary goal that would coax me back into the world of best-sellers and good stories. I decided to try to read 100 books in 365 days-not including my required course readings. Now a couple weeks into my goal, I decided to blog my results in the hopes that the thought that others might see my progress would keep me from slacking off.
So, here is the setup:
*It must be enjoyable and non-required reading. While I may from time to time post thoughts on the literature I am reading for a class, those works do not count towards my 100 books goal. Also, any book read as part of research for a paper for a class, even if not technically required for the coarse, does not count. However, since I am still pretty early in my dissertation research, and naturally I enjoy my dissertation topic, some books I read that might help my dissertation down the line (which covers 18th century popular fiction) might qualify, as long as I read it for distracting pleasure and not for a deadline.
*I will post as daily as I can, even if I haven't finished a new book. My goal here is to post my impressions or thoughts generated from the reading. Thus, I will try to avoid summaries (as I hope you want to read it too, and I don't want to give things away) but will discuss the book in a variety of other lights. Please feel free to add to the conversation or suggest other approaches you would like to see about a certain book! However, this is my pleasure reading, so the person who suggests I do a "close reading" of anything gets a frowny face. I get enough of that at school. Also, I am not here to criticize a writer's work. If I picked it up to read, it must have a redeeming quality. If it is a book I would not recommend, that will probably come out in my writing anyway, as I won't have much to say about it.
*I encourage comments!
*I will try to post as much information about the books as possible so that you can read them too! If you need or want to know something about a book, ask! However, I do not plan on posting the number of pages of a book, as many of the books I read are on an eReader and that distorts the true number of pages.
*This project requires an average of about two books a week. However, don't assume that if a book takes me longer to finish, I don't like it! I do still have my required readings and some weeks will simply be busier than others. On the flip side, I am sure there are those of you out there who think that reading books at this speed is not doing justice to the book itself. Although I can and regularly do read novels in a 24 hours period (I would never succeed in my chosen field if I couldn't read quickly and enjoy it), I will never read a book so quickly that I don't enjoy it. This is my attempt at pleasure reading after all! And as Henry Fielding says in his delightful book, Joseph Andrews "for however swift his capacity may be, I would not advise him to travel through these pages too fast; for if he doth, he may probably miss seeing some curious productions of nature which will be observed by the slower and more accurate reader. A volume without any such places of rest resembles the opening of wilds or seas, which tires the eye and fatigues the spirit when entered upon."
Ok, I think I have said it all for now...On to the project.
We being two-ish weeks into the new year already, I have already completed my first three books. The thoughts I had while reading these were the true inspiration to blog about it and hope for good conversation. The first three are:
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
Chosen by a Horse by Susan Richards
and The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley
I have tons to say about these, so seperate posts for each, but in the morning. It is getting late now and I have a new book to start.
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