Falling behind again, but that means I get to post a few books back to back. Let's see what I can find to say about The Lost Symbol.
Author: Dan Brown
Publisher: Double Day Book
Date: 2009
My start date: 4/5/10
My finish date: 4/11/10
Ok, so what can I say about a book you probably know at least a little something about. This book has shattered sales records, so there is a good chance that you or someone you know already own this book. If you don't, I imagine there is a good chance that you have read or watched the movie versions of Brown's two previous mega-hits, Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code. And if you have, you already know this book.
Several years ago when this books predecessors became huge, I was also caught up in the hype. I loved the puzzle aspects in this books especially. Plays on words, dissecting art, conspiracy theories, secret societies, I still love all of it. And this third novel involving professor Langdon doesn't fail to produce all of the exact same elements. In fact, at times, it feels almost too much of the exact same. The books are starting to get a little too predictable. I knew the ending several hundred pages before I got there, especially the very predictable identity of the bad guy. But then again, I read for a living, so maybe I have just gotten used to the clues an author has to put in to make it work. Hopefully you won't see it coming so early and will continue to enjoy it.
That isn't to say that I didn't enjoy it. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit and I really do like books that make me try to reason puzzles and keep me guessing, regardless of how formulaic they are. The main character is likable (despite his Harvard connections, I am not a big fan of Harvard and Yale, but that is a whole separate blog...) and unlike the previous two books, which took place in Europe, this book brings it closer to home by examining conspiracies here in the US--although that opens another whole set of comparisons, because it starts to be strikingly similar to the Disney movies, National Treasure, starring Nicholas Cage.
Anyway, at the end of the day, if you like the previous books or the Disney movies, if you like conspiracy puzzles, if you like have a wealth of secondary literature, which has sprung up on every magazine stand and across the internet explaining the truth behind the book, and you don't care if it gets a little predictable, go get this book. That is, if you aren't one of the millions who already have. Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for Tom Hanks to reprise his role and Langdon and provide us with a film version. To my understanding, it is already long since in production.
Time to run off to class, but check back tomorrow for a post about the next book I read, involving witches!
In the meantime,
Keep reading!
Sarah
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Historical fiction that isn't so fictional
One more book and then I am caught up! And honestly, I haven't read anything for fun since I finished this one, so fresh start after this! But this book was really a pretty great one, so let's get the stats:
Title: The Commoner
Author: John Burnham Schwartz
Publisher: Vintage
Date: 2009
My start date: 3/27/2010
My finish date: 4/3/2010
Schwartz opens his novel with a nice little note that, while inspired by real figures, this book is entirely fictional. So I thought that this was simply a Japanese fairy story. The story revolves around a Japanese girl/young women of common birth and her courtship with the Japanese Crown Prince during the 50s. In the story, this girl is the first commoner to to marry into the Japanese royal family and the story details the extreme hardships she faced as such. So, out of curiousity, I did my usual thing and researched the real Japanese royal family to see when and if the royal family had allowed common blood to marry into the family. Considering the warning, I was mildly surprised that this novel is in fact based very closely on the real life experiences of Empress Michiko. Almost all of the major plot lines carry over to real life. The dates are exact, the place where the couple meet is the same, the major traumas are just as detailed by the media. Later in the novel, Haruko, as the fictionalized version of the Empress is called, must counsel her new daugher-in-law and at this point almost all of the details of the life of the real Crown Princess Masako are also fictionalized into story. So, I guess the warning is just to remind us that no one really knows what the mindset of these women might have been or what conversations took place in reality. After all, this family is one of the most isolated and secluded in the world, so Schwartz is going entirely off of media and has no actual connection to the real Japanese royal family. And to be fair, some of the more minor details (such as number of siblings, offspring, etc) are changed slightly.
Now, having said all that, I don't want to present the idea that I was not pleased with the novel. It was indeed very engaging and I feel like I have a much better understanding of the Japanese royal family now. In fact,I rather like that he kept so close to reality. And if ever there was a fascinating "normal girl marries prince" story, this is it. It paints the reality of being a royal and that reality isn't pretty.
I did have one technical complaint, however. Michiko/Haruko suffers a very well documented nervous breakdown at one point, in which she loses her voice and does not speak for many months. Considering how important of an episode this was in real life, and similarly how traumatic this would have been even in the fictionalized character's life, I didn't feel enough time or depth was spent on this incident. This was a great opportunity to really probe some issues, especially considering the authorial liberty of playing with a "fictional" character at Schwartz's fingertips. I wish he would have done a little more with that episode.
Otherwise, this was a really great read. Anyone with an interest in Asian culture or royal families should definitely consider this novel, and even those who are just looking for entertainment would find something of value in The Commoner.
Whew, caught up! Until next time...
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title: The Commoner
Author: John Burnham Schwartz
Publisher: Vintage
Date: 2009
My start date: 3/27/2010
My finish date: 4/3/2010
Schwartz opens his novel with a nice little note that, while inspired by real figures, this book is entirely fictional. So I thought that this was simply a Japanese fairy story. The story revolves around a Japanese girl/young women of common birth and her courtship with the Japanese Crown Prince during the 50s. In the story, this girl is the first commoner to to marry into the Japanese royal family and the story details the extreme hardships she faced as such. So, out of curiousity, I did my usual thing and researched the real Japanese royal family to see when and if the royal family had allowed common blood to marry into the family. Considering the warning, I was mildly surprised that this novel is in fact based very closely on the real life experiences of Empress Michiko. Almost all of the major plot lines carry over to real life. The dates are exact, the place where the couple meet is the same, the major traumas are just as detailed by the media. Later in the novel, Haruko, as the fictionalized version of the Empress is called, must counsel her new daugher-in-law and at this point almost all of the details of the life of the real Crown Princess Masako are also fictionalized into story. So, I guess the warning is just to remind us that no one really knows what the mindset of these women might have been or what conversations took place in reality. After all, this family is one of the most isolated and secluded in the world, so Schwartz is going entirely off of media and has no actual connection to the real Japanese royal family. And to be fair, some of the more minor details (such as number of siblings, offspring, etc) are changed slightly.
Now, having said all that, I don't want to present the idea that I was not pleased with the novel. It was indeed very engaging and I feel like I have a much better understanding of the Japanese royal family now. In fact,I rather like that he kept so close to reality. And if ever there was a fascinating "normal girl marries prince" story, this is it. It paints the reality of being a royal and that reality isn't pretty.
I did have one technical complaint, however. Michiko/Haruko suffers a very well documented nervous breakdown at one point, in which she loses her voice and does not speak for many months. Considering how important of an episode this was in real life, and similarly how traumatic this would have been even in the fictionalized character's life, I didn't feel enough time or depth was spent on this incident. This was a great opportunity to really probe some issues, especially considering the authorial liberty of playing with a "fictional" character at Schwartz's fingertips. I wish he would have done a little more with that episode.
Otherwise, this was a really great read. Anyone with an interest in Asian culture or royal families should definitely consider this novel, and even those who are just looking for entertainment would find something of value in The Commoner.
Whew, caught up! Until next time...
Keep reading!
Sarah
Catch up time
Ugh, back to school. That first week is always such a mess. My first week of a new quarter was no exception. To make things more frustrating, Spring Break wasn't exactly as slow paced and low key as I had predicted, meaning that I got not nearly as much reading done, nor very much blogging at all done, as anticipated. So, catch up time.
Stats:
Title: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Author: Garth Stein
Publisher: Harper
Date: 2008
My start date: 3/25/10
My finish date: 3/27/10
So, many of us have read or seen the recent phenomenon, Marley and Me. To be honest, I have only seen the movie and have not read the book, but have been assured that the movie remains pretty faithful. If you liked that work, you will like this one. It is basically the same concept, taking the dog-family relationship from the introduction of the puppy to the inevitable end of the road. However, this story offers an interesting twist, which I feel makes it at least a little superior than all of the those trendy "here is how my pet affected our family" stories--this one is told from the dog's perspective. And Stein nails it. I mean, admittedly, I am decidedly a cat person, but I do in fact love dogs as well, and Stein writes and speaks as I can only imagine a dog would. He never falters in his voice. It is really quite inspired. Of course, it didn't hurt that I read this while staying at my sister's, where, poor thing, she had to work all day and I got to stay behind and read in the company of her delightful Sheltie dog. Young Toby and I bonded nicely as I read and was encouraged to think from his perspective. I highly recommend reading this in the company of a beloved canine friend of yours.
I had only one complaint about this book, and it is a personal taste issue rather than any sort of technical fault. The main human figure is a professional race car driver. Which might be fascinating to many, but not so much to me. There is a LOT of reference to racing, drivers, historical races, driving technique, etc. It all had a point in the long run, but at times it was a bit tedious to me. Now, if the human had been an equestrian...{Sigh}...Oh well.
Anyway, I also, once again, loved that this book was set in beautiful Seattle. It is so fun to read references that I can actually go visit. Seriously though, I am not seeking these Seattle based books out. It is purely coincidence! I guess Seattle is just that cool that everybody wants to write about it. ;-)
Ok, onward. This book was the last book to be completely finished in March, so a end of first quarter thought is due. I will admit that around this time and in the last week or so I have begun to experience a little bit of reading burn out. As promised, I do not churn through books just for the numbers, which is why you have seen a slight drop off of late. And, although my numbers are low for my goal (if you have lost count, this book was 16 for the year), I remind myself as well, that if I could count novels read for school, that number would jump to 31, a number which includes such daunting works as the infamous 1500 page long Clarissa. However, we aren't counting those, and if I intend to meet my goal, I best get reading! Fortunately, my reading load this quarter promises to be a bit more friendly and I think I feel my second wind coming on. So keep checking back for more good reads!
In the meantime...
Keep reading!
Sarah
Stats:
Title: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Author: Garth Stein
Publisher: Harper
Date: 2008
My start date: 3/25/10
My finish date: 3/27/10
So, many of us have read or seen the recent phenomenon, Marley and Me. To be honest, I have only seen the movie and have not read the book, but have been assured that the movie remains pretty faithful. If you liked that work, you will like this one. It is basically the same concept, taking the dog-family relationship from the introduction of the puppy to the inevitable end of the road. However, this story offers an interesting twist, which I feel makes it at least a little superior than all of the those trendy "here is how my pet affected our family" stories--this one is told from the dog's perspective. And Stein nails it. I mean, admittedly, I am decidedly a cat person, but I do in fact love dogs as well, and Stein writes and speaks as I can only imagine a dog would. He never falters in his voice. It is really quite inspired. Of course, it didn't hurt that I read this while staying at my sister's, where, poor thing, she had to work all day and I got to stay behind and read in the company of her delightful Sheltie dog. Young Toby and I bonded nicely as I read and was encouraged to think from his perspective. I highly recommend reading this in the company of a beloved canine friend of yours.
I had only one complaint about this book, and it is a personal taste issue rather than any sort of technical fault. The main human figure is a professional race car driver. Which might be fascinating to many, but not so much to me. There is a LOT of reference to racing, drivers, historical races, driving technique, etc. It all had a point in the long run, but at times it was a bit tedious to me. Now, if the human had been an equestrian...{Sigh}...Oh well.
Anyway, I also, once again, loved that this book was set in beautiful Seattle. It is so fun to read references that I can actually go visit. Seriously though, I am not seeking these Seattle based books out. It is purely coincidence! I guess Seattle is just that cool that everybody wants to write about it. ;-)
Ok, onward. This book was the last book to be completely finished in March, so a end of first quarter thought is due. I will admit that around this time and in the last week or so I have begun to experience a little bit of reading burn out. As promised, I do not churn through books just for the numbers, which is why you have seen a slight drop off of late. And, although my numbers are low for my goal (if you have lost count, this book was 16 for the year), I remind myself as well, that if I could count novels read for school, that number would jump to 31, a number which includes such daunting works as the infamous 1500 page long Clarissa. However, we aren't counting those, and if I intend to meet my goal, I best get reading! Fortunately, my reading load this quarter promises to be a bit more friendly and I think I feel my second wind coming on. So keep checking back for more good reads!
In the meantime...
Keep reading!
Sarah
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