Our book club recently read Wally Lamb's Wishin' and Hopin' which according to reviews I read, was quite a departure from other of his novels. Certainly at 465 pages it was much longer. The themes were more intense and the plot spanned a great deal more time in the life of the main character---ages 4 to mid-30's for Delores in this novel as opposed to a few months in the life of Felix in Wishin' and Hopin'. It seemed that Felix had a rather lovely family life contrasted to the unfortunate life of Delores. Both novels could be categorized "coming of age" but with the process for Delores being much more painful.
Delores suffers a trauma at age 13 that leaves her literally "coming undone". I found her reactions believable and though she could be quite harsh to those around her, literally taking out her anger on them and on herself, I found myself rooting for her to put herself back together! I thought it was interesting how whales kept figuring into this story; they seemed to symbolize more than one aspect of the plot.
Though it was not as much fun to read as Wishin and Hopin, I did find She's Come Undone to be a "page turner." I would rate it a 4 and will definitely read other novels by this author. I found both of these novels by Lamb to be nostalgia trips as they take place in the 50's to 70's mostly, with mentions of Woodstock, the first moon landing, Watergate, etc. Also both novels take their titles from popular songs of a similar span of time, in the case of this one "Undun" by The Guess Who, lyrics that could have been written by the fictional Delores herself, they describe her so well! The words go like this:
She's come undone
She didn't know what she was headed for
And when I found what she was headed for
It was too late
She's come undone
She found a mountain that was far too high
And when she found out she couldn't fly
It was too late
It's too late
She's gone too far
She's lost the sun
She's come undone
She wanted truth
But all she got was lies
Came the time to realize
And it was too late
She's come undone
She didn't know what she was headed for
And when I found what she was headed for
Mama, it was too late
It's too late
She's gone too far
She's lost the sun
She's come undone
Too many mountains, and not enough stairs to climb
Too many churches and not enough truth
Too many people and not enough eyes to see
Too many lives to lead and not enough time
She's Come Undone was Wally Lamb's first novel and was chosen as an Oprah Book Club selection in 1992. It was also a New York Times Bestseller. One intriguing review states: "As you read She's Come Undone your entire life will flash before your eyes...It's a little bit like strolling down memory lane with Dick Clark on one arm, Jean-Paul Sartre on the other. It's scary, but Lord, it's wonderful!" (Cathie Pelletier, author of A Marriage Made at Woodstock)
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
I have read and enjoyed many John Grisham novels and Skipping Christmas is certainly a departure from his usual legal thrillers.
At the beginning of the story the Kranks are seeing their daughter, Blair, off to Peru for a year. Almost immediately Luther Krank becomes convinced that it is senseless to spend extreme amounts of money and time to celebrate Christmas without Blair. He decides he and his wife will "skip" Christmas and take a Caribbean cruise instead. His wife, Nora, goes along with the plan a bit reluctantly. Suddenly when they should be packing for their cruise, a surprise phone call throws them into a panic!
I would recommend this novel to empty-nesters and especially to read at this holiday time of year. It is a short (only 177 pages), easy read but offers some food for thought: Do we ever get so frustrated that we would want to "skip Christmas"? I personally would never want to omit all that the holiday brings but I have to admit when I hear about cultures in which Christmas is celebrated only as a religious holiday, I am envious. I do often wish we did less decorating, shopping, and eating. Oh, to simplify the preparations and just focus on and enjoy the true reason for the season---the birth of Jesus Christ!
At the beginning of the story the Kranks are seeing their daughter, Blair, off to Peru for a year. Almost immediately Luther Krank becomes convinced that it is senseless to spend extreme amounts of money and time to celebrate Christmas without Blair. He decides he and his wife will "skip" Christmas and take a Caribbean cruise instead. His wife, Nora, goes along with the plan a bit reluctantly. Suddenly when they should be packing for their cruise, a surprise phone call throws them into a panic!
I would recommend this novel to empty-nesters and especially to read at this holiday time of year. It is a short (only 177 pages), easy read but offers some food for thought: Do we ever get so frustrated that we would want to "skip Christmas"? I personally would never want to omit all that the holiday brings but I have to admit when I hear about cultures in which Christmas is celebrated only as a religious holiday, I am envious. I do often wish we did less decorating, shopping, and eating. Oh, to simplify the preparations and just focus on and enjoy the true reason for the season---the birth of Jesus Christ!
Monday, December 10, 2012
The Year Everything Changed by Georgia Bockoven
I just finished The Year Everything Changed last night. It was one I wanted to finish but I won't say I loved it. I would rate it a 3.
The story involves 4 adult women who find out they have a father, Jessie, in common---yep, that makes them sisters! A couple of them have never known their father at all and the other two were abandonned by him. They are all clueless about their sisters until called together by their father's lawyer who informs them that he is dying. In light of the fact that Jessie was an absent father it was surprising to me that all four would even fly to Sacramento for this meeting. Curiosity won out, I suppose.
Each of the sisters---Elizabeth, Christina, Rachel and Ginger---are dealing with their own life struggles at the time of this divulgement. The events which cause them to change their attitudes and feelings toward their dead father and each other make for an interesting plot, and of course, are foreshadowed by the title. The technique used by the author to reveal Jessie to his daughters is quite clever, as well.
I probably identified most with Ginger, who was adopted, since my only daughter is adopted. I wondered how she would react to being introduced to biological siblings out of the blue. As I was growing up with 3 brothers, I always wanted a sister. What if you were wishing for a sister and suddenly found you had three! Well, I actually do have three now but they are my sisters-in-law!
One of the guys in our group would say The Year Everything Changed was "chick lit" and I'd have to agree. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to the men!
The story involves 4 adult women who find out they have a father, Jessie, in common---yep, that makes them sisters! A couple of them have never known their father at all and the other two were abandonned by him. They are all clueless about their sisters until called together by their father's lawyer who informs them that he is dying. In light of the fact that Jessie was an absent father it was surprising to me that all four would even fly to Sacramento for this meeting. Curiosity won out, I suppose.
Each of the sisters---Elizabeth, Christina, Rachel and Ginger---are dealing with their own life struggles at the time of this divulgement. The events which cause them to change their attitudes and feelings toward their dead father and each other make for an interesting plot, and of course, are foreshadowed by the title. The technique used by the author to reveal Jessie to his daughters is quite clever, as well.
I probably identified most with Ginger, who was adopted, since my only daughter is adopted. I wondered how she would react to being introduced to biological siblings out of the blue. As I was growing up with 3 brothers, I always wanted a sister. What if you were wishing for a sister and suddenly found you had three! Well, I actually do have three now but they are my sisters-in-law!
One of the guys in our group would say The Year Everything Changed was "chick lit" and I'd have to agree. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to the men!
Monday, December 3, 2012
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
A Long Walk to Water was a quick and easy read but it packed a wallop in terms of social value. It is a work of fiction but based on a powerful true story of one of the surviving "Lost Boys." Two main characters, two time periods but both stories taking place in Southern Sudan. Nya in 2008 is a young girl walking miles each day to the pond to get water for her family. In 1985 Salva is a young boy who must flee his homeland in the midst of violence, leaving his family behind. He ends up walking hundreds of miles, living off the land, enduring terrible conditions in refugee camps and finally and fortunately ending up in the United States as a young man.
This book was especially meaningful to me because our church in past years has helped to fund the digging of wells in Tete Province and Madagascar. It makes me very sad to know that so many people in Africa and other parts of the world do not have clean water to drink---something we Americans take totally for granted!
You may guess the ending of this novel but I won't tell you---only that it is quite satisfying.
This book was especially meaningful to me because our church in past years has helped to fund the digging of wells in Tete Province and Madagascar. It makes me very sad to know that so many people in Africa and other parts of the world do not have clean water to drink---something we Americans take totally for granted!
You may guess the ending of this novel but I won't tell you---only that it is quite satisfying.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb
I chose Wishin and Hopin' for our book club's November read partially because its subtitle is A Christmas Story and partially because it was available from the library as a Book Bundle (15 copies).
Our book club met to discuss the book at the end of November. One of our members who is quite the chef and caterer baked Christmas cookies and someone else brought Hawaiian Punch. We had a lively discussion, as we always do, even though I never found discussion questions online specific to the novel. We had to go with generic fiction questions. Much of the talk and laughter centered around our memories of the 1960's culture brought to mind by the story. The group gave Wishin' and Hopin' a rating of 3.3 with no votes of 5 or 1. We pretty much agreed it wasn't a great work of literature but it was an entertaining read!
I actually loved the novel, a sort of fictionalized memoir of a 5th grade boy. When I taught 5th grade I encouraged my students to make text-to-self connections while reading. In other words to compare the experiences of their own lives to the characters, events, setting, etc., of the story. Though I am not Catholic and didn't attend parochial school, I could so identify with the setting, 1964, and the preteen humor, thanks to teaching 11-year-olds for 20+ years. The main character, Felix Funicello, was several years behind where I was in 1964 but I was flooded with memories of Annette Funicello, the Mickey Mouse Club, American Bandstand, the '64 presidential election, Dusty Springfield and other pop singers.
When we think back to our own school days, most of us can probably think of classmates who were "Rosalie" or "Lonny" or a favorite teacher who was "Madame." We elementary school teachers have a much larger pool of students to compare to the characters! I can't say I remember a "Zhenya" but she was such a colorful character, an amusing addition, and she served to remind us of the paranoia about communists back in the day.
This novel also seemed a timely choice since the story pretty much began in October and ended at Christmas time; we began reading near Halloween, were being bombarded with presidential campaign ads, would be discussing it just after Thanksgiving and anticipating Christmas. As a rule our book club doesn't meet in December so a Christmas story seemed an appropriate way to wind up our 2012 year.
I am often involved in drama and had recently learned about and even participated in "tableaux vivants." The Christmas production at the end reminded me so much of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson, one of my favorite Christmas stories ever---very funny!
The fictional epilogue was an interesting addition and made me think of animated movie out-takes, contrived but often hilarious.
I thought Wishin' and Hopin' was a quick, easy read, both heartwarming and amusing! I gave it a 4, in case you're wondering.
Our book club met to discuss the book at the end of November. One of our members who is quite the chef and caterer baked Christmas cookies and someone else brought Hawaiian Punch. We had a lively discussion, as we always do, even though I never found discussion questions online specific to the novel. We had to go with generic fiction questions. Much of the talk and laughter centered around our memories of the 1960's culture brought to mind by the story. The group gave Wishin' and Hopin' a rating of 3.3 with no votes of 5 or 1. We pretty much agreed it wasn't a great work of literature but it was an entertaining read!
I actually loved the novel, a sort of fictionalized memoir of a 5th grade boy. When I taught 5th grade I encouraged my students to make text-to-self connections while reading. In other words to compare the experiences of their own lives to the characters, events, setting, etc., of the story. Though I am not Catholic and didn't attend parochial school, I could so identify with the setting, 1964, and the preteen humor, thanks to teaching 11-year-olds for 20+ years. The main character, Felix Funicello, was several years behind where I was in 1964 but I was flooded with memories of Annette Funicello, the Mickey Mouse Club, American Bandstand, the '64 presidential election, Dusty Springfield and other pop singers.
When we think back to our own school days, most of us can probably think of classmates who were "Rosalie" or "Lonny" or a favorite teacher who was "Madame." We elementary school teachers have a much larger pool of students to compare to the characters! I can't say I remember a "Zhenya" but she was such a colorful character, an amusing addition, and she served to remind us of the paranoia about communists back in the day.
This novel also seemed a timely choice since the story pretty much began in October and ended at Christmas time; we began reading near Halloween, were being bombarded with presidential campaign ads, would be discussing it just after Thanksgiving and anticipating Christmas. As a rule our book club doesn't meet in December so a Christmas story seemed an appropriate way to wind up our 2012 year.
I am often involved in drama and had recently learned about and even participated in "tableaux vivants." The Christmas production at the end reminded me so much of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson, one of my favorite Christmas stories ever---very funny!
The fictional epilogue was an interesting addition and made me think of animated movie out-takes, contrived but often hilarious.
I thought Wishin' and Hopin' was a quick, easy read, both heartwarming and amusing! I gave it a 4, in case you're wondering.
Reading List 2012
Park Lake Page Turners has now completed their 5th year together. From the looks of our ratings, this was not our best year. The funny thing is we always enjoy our discussions whether we loved the book or not! And several of us have admitted that we sometimes like the book more after we hear others' opinions and interpretations.
Well, here are our titles, authors and ratings for 2012:
Away by Amy Bloom 2.6
Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore 2.7
The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi 2.7
Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb 3.3
The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich 3.4
The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark 3.7
Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland 3.7
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 3.7
Room by Emma Donaghue 3.9
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard 4.2
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs 4.5
If I had rated these myself, it would be nearly the same but my personal ratings would have been higher on most. Probably I enjoyed The Painted Drum more than others because I delved into some background I found online. I really enjoyed Wishin' and Hopin' since the narrator is a fifth grade boy (I taught 5th grade for years) and it took me on a nostalgia trip to the 60's. My least favorites would be the same, though I must say I learned a lot about the art world of 19th century Paris from Sacre Bleu. Clara and Mr. Tiffany was another novel involving the art world and became even more meaningful after several of our group visited the Morse Museum in Winter Park, FL, which has an outstanding Tiffany exhibit. We even found Clara's name on a few pieces!
I thoroughly enjoyed Destiny of the Republic although it was a nonfiction piece which is not my favorite genre. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is in the medical field OR happens to be a history buff like me. Another nonfiction I enjoyed was Unbroken, a truly inspiring story of a WWII POW.
I really liked The Book of Unholy Mischief, perhaps more so because I listened to the audio version, which came alive with Italian dialect.
The Year of Living Biblically might not have made #1 on my personal list but it was SO very funny---entertainment value very high!
If you have read any of these I would enjoy reading your comments!
Well, here are our titles, authors and ratings for 2012:
Away by Amy Bloom 2.6
Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore 2.7
The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi 2.7
Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb 3.3
The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich 3.4
The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark 3.7
Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland 3.7
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 3.7
Room by Emma Donaghue 3.9
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard 4.2
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs 4.5
If I had rated these myself, it would be nearly the same but my personal ratings would have been higher on most. Probably I enjoyed The Painted Drum more than others because I delved into some background I found online. I really enjoyed Wishin' and Hopin' since the narrator is a fifth grade boy (I taught 5th grade for years) and it took me on a nostalgia trip to the 60's. My least favorites would be the same, though I must say I learned a lot about the art world of 19th century Paris from Sacre Bleu. Clara and Mr. Tiffany was another novel involving the art world and became even more meaningful after several of our group visited the Morse Museum in Winter Park, FL, which has an outstanding Tiffany exhibit. We even found Clara's name on a few pieces!
I thoroughly enjoyed Destiny of the Republic although it was a nonfiction piece which is not my favorite genre. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is in the medical field OR happens to be a history buff like me. Another nonfiction I enjoyed was Unbroken, a truly inspiring story of a WWII POW.
I really liked The Book of Unholy Mischief, perhaps more so because I listened to the audio version, which came alive with Italian dialect.
The Year of Living Biblically might not have made #1 on my personal list but it was SO very funny---entertainment value very high!
If you have read any of these I would enjoy reading your comments!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
"It's weird, isn't it?...That you can have this whole entire life, with all your opinions, your loves, your fears. Eventually those parts of you disappear. And then the people who could remember those parts of you disappear, and before long all that's left is your name in some ledger. This Marcy person---she had a favorite food. She had friends and people she disliked. We don't even know how she died. I guess that's why I like preservation better than history. In preservation I feel like I can keep some of it from slipping away."
from The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, page 76
This story centers around Connie, a young doctoral student, whose eccentric mother, Grace, asks her to take on the preparation of her late grandmother's long-abandonned house for sale. In Connie's first exploration of the dusty, moldy house she finds, in an ancient Bible, a key and a note with the name Deliverance Dane. This discovery not only gives her the impetus for her dissertation but also sends her on the path to some amazing revelations about her own family and even some romance along the way.
The action moves back and forth between Connie in 1991 and the family of the mysterious Deliverance Dane in the 1690's. The author calls these trips back in time Interludes and I found this technique to be very effective. I loved how each Interlude shed more light on Connie's research in the "future."
I found myself thinking back to the trip my husband and I took to Boston in 2009. I had wanted to visit Salem but unfortunately we didn't have time to get there. What excellent background that would have been!
When I first picked up ...Deliverance Dane I was intrigued by the premise. Historical fiction is my favorite genre and I must admit being curious about the Salem witch trials. When I taught fifth grade I enjoyed reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare and Blackwater Swamp by Bill Wallace.
Ms. Howe, like her main character Connie, was a doctoral student in American and New England Studies at the time she wrote this novel so her research for the book must have done double duty. It was interesting to learn some theories about the origin of the witch frenzy of this period. A paragraph on page 341 is very enlightening where Connie is thinking about the nature of the word bewitchment and reflects on how the meaning has changed over time. I was struck by the statement that 17th century folk were "operating without sophisticated understanding of the difference between correlation and causation." In other words coincidences might easily have been seen as cause and effect. In addition the author seems to take the premise that the witchcraft of the past was not necessarily mutually exclusive of religious faith. That was very surprising to me.
Katherine Howe's debut novel is a fascinating mixture of history and suspense with a touch of magic. I found it to be a "page turner" but from the looks of reviews I've read, people either loved or hated it. Some said it was too predictable. Perhaps they read the book jacket; I did and there were hints about the plot. Predictability was not a problem for me. In fact the beginning of the novel captured me and toward the end I did not want to put it down. The only weakness to me was the slow-down of the action toward the middle. The dialect was a little challenging but I rather enjoyed it; that added to the realism for me.
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane reminded me of The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark and People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. All are historical with each involving the journey and/or contents of a mysterious book. I enjoyed them all!
from The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, page 76
This story centers around Connie, a young doctoral student, whose eccentric mother, Grace, asks her to take on the preparation of her late grandmother's long-abandonned house for sale. In Connie's first exploration of the dusty, moldy house she finds, in an ancient Bible, a key and a note with the name Deliverance Dane. This discovery not only gives her the impetus for her dissertation but also sends her on the path to some amazing revelations about her own family and even some romance along the way.
The action moves back and forth between Connie in 1991 and the family of the mysterious Deliverance Dane in the 1690's. The author calls these trips back in time Interludes and I found this technique to be very effective. I loved how each Interlude shed more light on Connie's research in the "future."
I found myself thinking back to the trip my husband and I took to Boston in 2009. I had wanted to visit Salem but unfortunately we didn't have time to get there. What excellent background that would have been!
When I first picked up ...Deliverance Dane I was intrigued by the premise. Historical fiction is my favorite genre and I must admit being curious about the Salem witch trials. When I taught fifth grade I enjoyed reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare and Blackwater Swamp by Bill Wallace.
Ms. Howe, like her main character Connie, was a doctoral student in American and New England Studies at the time she wrote this novel so her research for the book must have done double duty. It was interesting to learn some theories about the origin of the witch frenzy of this period. A paragraph on page 341 is very enlightening where Connie is thinking about the nature of the word bewitchment and reflects on how the meaning has changed over time. I was struck by the statement that 17th century folk were "operating without sophisticated understanding of the difference between correlation and causation." In other words coincidences might easily have been seen as cause and effect. In addition the author seems to take the premise that the witchcraft of the past was not necessarily mutually exclusive of religious faith. That was very surprising to me.
Katherine Howe's debut novel is a fascinating mixture of history and suspense with a touch of magic. I found it to be a "page turner" but from the looks of reviews I've read, people either loved or hated it. Some said it was too predictable. Perhaps they read the book jacket; I did and there were hints about the plot. Predictability was not a problem for me. In fact the beginning of the novel captured me and toward the end I did not want to put it down. The only weakness to me was the slow-down of the action toward the middle. The dialect was a little challenging but I rather enjoyed it; that added to the realism for me.
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane reminded me of The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark and People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. All are historical with each involving the journey and/or contents of a mysterious book. I enjoyed them all!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Land by Mildred D. Taylor
I discovered author Mildred Taylor over twenty years ago and have read most of her novels, some more than once. I was teaching 5th grade when I became a fan and still consider her my favorite author. It had probably been 10+ years since I read The Land so when I picked it up this week it was almost like reading it for the first time. And I LOVED it, perhaps not quite as much as Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, my #1 in the Logan family saga.
The Land is a prequel to the Newberry Award-winning Roll of Thunder... and in the midst of a touching story of family and friendship and intense racial tensions, describes the beginning of the Logan family and explains their obsession with holding onto "the land."
After reading both Song of the Trees and Roll of Thunder... several times, including oral readings to my students, and Let the Circle Be Unbroken and Road to Memphis on my own, I feel I absolutely know and love the Logan family. I have a special affection for Cassie who narrates most of the tales and is a smart and spunky girl. Ms. Taylor has said many times that her stories come from her own family remembrances and some characters are based on family members and Mississippi neighbors of the past.
Aside from her thorough character development, the two aspects of Ms. Taylor's writing that impress me are her descriptive powers and her integrity in portraying the setting. She can paint a scene so vividly, you feel as though you are there. Her stories elicit strong emotions as well---stomach-churning intensity, fist-pumping triumph, tears of both sadness and joy.
I also admire Ms. Taylor's determination to use the language of the times, in spite of controversy, especially over the use of the "n" word. She is committed to show the ugliness of the pre-Civil Rights South, rather than trying to "clean up" history. She is in good company here since Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston and others have experienced the same criticism.
If you have not read any of Mildred Taylor's novels before, please do! I recommend you begin with Roll of Thunder... and if you finish it not wanting to read another, I will be amazed. After ...Thunder... you could most likely read any of the others and find familiar characters. Don't be fooled by the shorter illustrated novels. They may look like they are for children but they have powerful plots and memorable themes.
I have hesitated to choose any of these books for our book club to read. I guess I am worried that if someone didn't like it, I would take it personally. It would be like someone criticizing a close friend!
I'd rate The Land a 5! And this morning I went to Amazon online and ordered a copy of each book I've mentioned here and more. I have long wanted to own a hardcover collection. When they arrive I will start rereading them all, one by one. Maybe you will go to the library or bookstore and start one, too!
The Land is a prequel to the Newberry Award-winning Roll of Thunder... and in the midst of a touching story of family and friendship and intense racial tensions, describes the beginning of the Logan family and explains their obsession with holding onto "the land."
After reading both Song of the Trees and Roll of Thunder... several times, including oral readings to my students, and Let the Circle Be Unbroken and Road to Memphis on my own, I feel I absolutely know and love the Logan family. I have a special affection for Cassie who narrates most of the tales and is a smart and spunky girl. Ms. Taylor has said many times that her stories come from her own family remembrances and some characters are based on family members and Mississippi neighbors of the past.
Aside from her thorough character development, the two aspects of Ms. Taylor's writing that impress me are her descriptive powers and her integrity in portraying the setting. She can paint a scene so vividly, you feel as though you are there. Her stories elicit strong emotions as well---stomach-churning intensity, fist-pumping triumph, tears of both sadness and joy.
I also admire Ms. Taylor's determination to use the language of the times, in spite of controversy, especially over the use of the "n" word. She is committed to show the ugliness of the pre-Civil Rights South, rather than trying to "clean up" history. She is in good company here since Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston and others have experienced the same criticism.
If you have not read any of Mildred Taylor's novels before, please do! I recommend you begin with Roll of Thunder... and if you finish it not wanting to read another, I will be amazed. After ...Thunder... you could most likely read any of the others and find familiar characters. Don't be fooled by the shorter illustrated novels. They may look like they are for children but they have powerful plots and memorable themes.
I have hesitated to choose any of these books for our book club to read. I guess I am worried that if someone didn't like it, I would take it personally. It would be like someone criticizing a close friend!
I'd rate The Land a 5! And this morning I went to Amazon online and ordered a copy of each book I've mentioned here and more. I have long wanted to own a hardcover collection. When they arrive I will start rereading them all, one by one. Maybe you will go to the library or bookstore and start one, too!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Reading List 2011 The Year of (Mostly) Classics
What was I thinking when I decided we should read classics this year? I can tell you the idea got mixed reviews! Here are the titles I chose and what we thought of them:
Dewey, the Small Town Library Cat by Vicki Myron 2.6
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway 2.8
The Great Gatsy by F.Scott Fitzgerald 3.7
Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 3.7
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 3.8
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 4.0
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 4.0
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 4.5
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 4.5
You would probably notice right off the bat that the title atop the list is NOT a classic. The selection of Dewey... was made pretty much because it was available as a Book Bundle (multiple copies) from the library. It gave our members a break in having to find their own copies. It was a sentimental little cat story, pleasant enough to read, but not extremely popular as you can see.
I am a docent at the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando and have read and heard quite a bit about Zora Neale Hurston. A Zora Festival is held each January in Eatonville, FL, where she made her home at one time. One of our Page Turners suggested we should read one of her novels and attend the festival together. A friend who was a high school English teacher recommended Their Eyes Were Watching God, seen by many to be Ms. Hurston's best. My teacher friend even volunteered to facilitate our discussion. One of our members who "catered" many of our meetings, prepared a Southern brunch for us which was wonderful! We started the year with this selection and most of us were glad we read it. The discussion of the book was thought-provoking and enlightening. It was truly a memorable meeting! And four of us did meet and attend the festival together.
In February I chose Cross Creek because my husband and I would be attending a Road Scholar (Elderhostel) program in North Central Florida in March which involved the life and work of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Ms. Rawlings was a contemporary of Zora and both are considered literary lionesses of Central Florida. I perform a cameo role at the History Center where I "become" Marjorie. I have read much of her work, including Cross Creek but choosing it for a group book gave me an excuse to read it again. Yes, I do think my rating was probably one of the higher ones in the group!
Later I read Crossing the Creek by Anna Lillios which is about the literary friendship of Marjorie and Zora. I recommend it only to folks who are more academically-minded and are really into the two authors!
We obviously didn't love ...Gatsby but we surely had fun meeting to talk about it! We met in April at the lakeside pool in our condo complex. Our "caterer" member set a beautiful table with petit fours and other elegant fare. We wore white attire and some, even hats. We may have given the book a 3.7 but we would surely have rated the meeting a 5!
My personal favorites on this list are ....Mockingbird (one of the best ever) and ...Huckleberry Finn, followed by the two Florida authors I described previously. I really didn't like As I Lay Dying but some of it will most likely stick in my head forever! I guess that is a factor in determining a classic.
Our group was happy to have the year of (mostly) classics over so we could get back to some current fiction! Ah, well "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger," right?
Dewey, the Small Town Library Cat by Vicki Myron 2.6
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway 2.8
The Great Gatsy by F.Scott Fitzgerald 3.7
Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 3.7
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 3.8
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 4.0
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 4.0
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 4.5
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 4.5
You would probably notice right off the bat that the title atop the list is NOT a classic. The selection of Dewey... was made pretty much because it was available as a Book Bundle (multiple copies) from the library. It gave our members a break in having to find their own copies. It was a sentimental little cat story, pleasant enough to read, but not extremely popular as you can see.
I am a docent at the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando and have read and heard quite a bit about Zora Neale Hurston. A Zora Festival is held each January in Eatonville, FL, where she made her home at one time. One of our Page Turners suggested we should read one of her novels and attend the festival together. A friend who was a high school English teacher recommended Their Eyes Were Watching God, seen by many to be Ms. Hurston's best. My teacher friend even volunteered to facilitate our discussion. One of our members who "catered" many of our meetings, prepared a Southern brunch for us which was wonderful! We started the year with this selection and most of us were glad we read it. The discussion of the book was thought-provoking and enlightening. It was truly a memorable meeting! And four of us did meet and attend the festival together.
In February I chose Cross Creek because my husband and I would be attending a Road Scholar (Elderhostel) program in North Central Florida in March which involved the life and work of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Ms. Rawlings was a contemporary of Zora and both are considered literary lionesses of Central Florida. I perform a cameo role at the History Center where I "become" Marjorie. I have read much of her work, including Cross Creek but choosing it for a group book gave me an excuse to read it again. Yes, I do think my rating was probably one of the higher ones in the group!
Later I read Crossing the Creek by Anna Lillios which is about the literary friendship of Marjorie and Zora. I recommend it only to folks who are more academically-minded and are really into the two authors!
We obviously didn't love ...Gatsby but we surely had fun meeting to talk about it! We met in April at the lakeside pool in our condo complex. Our "caterer" member set a beautiful table with petit fours and other elegant fare. We wore white attire and some, even hats. We may have given the book a 3.7 but we would surely have rated the meeting a 5!
My personal favorites on this list are ....Mockingbird (one of the best ever) and ...Huckleberry Finn, followed by the two Florida authors I described previously. I really didn't like As I Lay Dying but some of it will most likely stick in my head forever! I guess that is a factor in determining a classic.
Our group was happy to have the year of (mostly) classics over so we could get back to some current fiction! Ah, well "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger," right?
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Reading List 2010
It was a very good year for books from my perspective. Here is the list, from lowest-rated to highest:
Nothing with Strings by Bailey White 1.7
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 3.1
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult 3.3
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls 3.5
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns 3.8
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson/Relin 3.9
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese 4.1
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 4.6
The Help by Kathryn Stockett 4.7
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows 4.9*
I personally can't remember disliking any of these books. Nothing... is a story collection, very different from our steady diet of novels. I had chosen it for the holiday season but obviously it didn't go over that well. Interestingly The Guernsey... is top-rated still, after 5 years and close to 50 books! My picks from this list would be the top 3 of the group and in addition, Cold Sassy..., one of my all-time favorites. (Get the audio version if you can!) I was truly fascinated with The Glass..., a memoir. A Thousand... is pretty intense and not easy for a woman to read but so touching and inspiring. It was coincidental that 3 titles on the list involved middle eastern culture.
Several of our Page Turners went to see the movie "The Help" when it came out. We thought it was very well done and the acting, superb.
Nothing with Strings by Bailey White 1.7
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 3.1
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult 3.3
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls 3.5
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns 3.8
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson/Relin 3.9
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese 4.1
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 4.6
The Help by Kathryn Stockett 4.7
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows 4.9*
I personally can't remember disliking any of these books. Nothing... is a story collection, very different from our steady diet of novels. I had chosen it for the holiday season but obviously it didn't go over that well. Interestingly The Guernsey... is top-rated still, after 5 years and close to 50 books! My picks from this list would be the top 3 of the group and in addition, Cold Sassy..., one of my all-time favorites. (Get the audio version if you can!) I was truly fascinated with The Glass..., a memoir. A Thousand... is pretty intense and not easy for a woman to read but so touching and inspiring. It was coincidental that 3 titles on the list involved middle eastern culture.
Several of our Page Turners went to see the movie "The Help" when it came out. We thought it was very well done and the acting, superb.
A Choice of Angels by Charles Sobczak
I finally got around to reading this novel that I purchased and had autographed by the author in Sanibel in February, 2011. I wasn't sure I was going to like it at first; it seemed predictable and repetitive, and longer than most of the books I've read recently, close to 400 pages. However, halfway in or so the plot did grab me and my predictions were not always panning out. I came to care about some of the characters, especially Ayse and J.J. and eventually, Daniel. I found it unique that one of the two main characters, Daniel, is a writer and even writes poetry in his journal which he calls his Book of Midnights. This allowed the author to share his poetry which I thought was quite good. Jordan, or J.J., was my favorite character. I loved his idea of christian as opposed to Christian! (Now you'll have to read it to know what that's about!)
Mr. Sobczak certainly had his work cut out for him since he is from Minnesota originally, now a resident of Sanibel, FL, and is something of an expert on the natural environment of SW Florida. He has set this novel primarily in Atlanta, GA but goes from there to Istanbul and back a number of times. Not only did he have to know these geographical locations well but would have had to delve into Islam and conservative Christianity to establish the theme of religious intolerance. I wouldn't want to give away the plot and thus far have given fewer hints than the back of the book.
I would recommend A Choice of Angels to women and those whose religious faith is on the liberal side. In our book club the men would probably call this "chick lit" since it involves a love story. Atheists or agnostics might be bored with all the preaching and scripture quoting. Our group rates books on a 1 to 5 scale with only whole numbers allowed. Since this was not a group selection, I will give it a 3.5. I am glad I read it!
Mr. Sobczak certainly had his work cut out for him since he is from Minnesota originally, now a resident of Sanibel, FL, and is something of an expert on the natural environment of SW Florida. He has set this novel primarily in Atlanta, GA but goes from there to Istanbul and back a number of times. Not only did he have to know these geographical locations well but would have had to delve into Islam and conservative Christianity to establish the theme of religious intolerance. I wouldn't want to give away the plot and thus far have given fewer hints than the back of the book.
I would recommend A Choice of Angels to women and those whose religious faith is on the liberal side. In our book club the men would probably call this "chick lit" since it involves a love story. Atheists or agnostics might be bored with all the preaching and scripture quoting. Our group rates books on a 1 to 5 scale with only whole numbers allowed. Since this was not a group selection, I will give it a 3.5. I am glad I read it!
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Reading List 2009
In 2009, we read 10 books, all with ratings between 3.1 and 4.7, so no real duds. Here's the list in order from low to high:
Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet 3.1
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti 3.2
Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan 3.3
North River by Pete Hamill 3.5
Run by Ann Patchett 3.5
The Ghost by Robert Harris 3.6
Beach House by Jane Green 3.6
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks 3.8
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski 4.0
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett 4.7
My personal favorites here were Pillars... (much longer than most we take on!) and People of.... which fascinated me. I found them both to be "page turners"! I have no idea how Edgar... ended up in second place as it is probably my least favored of this list, and maybe ALL our lists! (Too "doggy" for me!). I remember liking the other books but don't really remember characters and plots that well. Born on a Blue Day is the only nonfiction of the year, a memoir written by the author and quite memorable and worthwhile because we learned a great deal which was indicated by the subtitle, Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant.
Some of us went to see the movie based on The Ghost and found it suspenseful and pretty true to the novel.
Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet 3.1
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti 3.2
Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan 3.3
North River by Pete Hamill 3.5
Run by Ann Patchett 3.5
The Ghost by Robert Harris 3.6
Beach House by Jane Green 3.6
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks 3.8
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski 4.0
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett 4.7
My personal favorites here were Pillars... (much longer than most we take on!) and People of.... which fascinated me. I found them both to be "page turners"! I have no idea how Edgar... ended up in second place as it is probably my least favored of this list, and maybe ALL our lists! (Too "doggy" for me!). I remember liking the other books but don't really remember characters and plots that well. Born on a Blue Day is the only nonfiction of the year, a memoir written by the author and quite memorable and worthwhile because we learned a great deal which was indicated by the subtitle, Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant.
Some of us went to see the movie based on The Ghost and found it suspenseful and pretty true to the novel.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs---October, 2012
Our Page Turners group gave The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs a 4.5 out of 5. Most of us in the group thought it was hilarious in many parts and thought-provoking in others. The majority of our members are Christians but none seemed to be offended by the premise or the silly results of applying the commands of the Bible literally. At least one person thought it was too silly and did not finish. Another did not find it all that well-written but most of us loved it, rating it 4 or 5. Some of the members said it made them laugh out loud and more than one made someone else listen to portions of it. We did agree that more conservative Christians might not find quite so much humor.
I found a discussion guide and a very interesting Q and A with the author regarding the book at the following site:
http://www.ajjacobs.com/books/yolb.asp?id=guide
We generally take turns providing refreshments for the group and occasionally we try to fit the food or drink to the theme of the book. I made "scripture cake" for this meeting---what could be more perfect? This is sort of a fruity, spicey cake with figs, almonds, raisins, cinnamon and other spices. Tasty but a little labor-intensive. The recipe gives scriptures that mention ingredients and you are meant to look them up in the Bible. There are several variations of the recipe: just Google Bible Cake or Scripture Cake. I used one with a "cheat sheet"! We had grape juice to drink---wine would have been better but we meet in the church at 10 in the morning, for goodness sake!
A few in the group had heard about a related book: A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband Master by Rachel Held Evans. Some of us saw the author on the "Today" show but one brought an article from Sojourners, November, 2012. An interview with the author informs us that Ms. Evans had read Mr. Jacobs' book about living Biblically and was taken with the idea of how different it would be from a woman's perspective. Apparently Ms. Evans is a Christian, as opposed to A.J. Jacobs self-description, a "reverent agnostic." I am going to read this one. I wonder if others in our group will, too.
I found a discussion guide and a very interesting Q and A with the author regarding the book at the following site:
http://www.ajjacobs.com/books/yolb.asp?id=guide
We generally take turns providing refreshments for the group and occasionally we try to fit the food or drink to the theme of the book. I made "scripture cake" for this meeting---what could be more perfect? This is sort of a fruity, spicey cake with figs, almonds, raisins, cinnamon and other spices. Tasty but a little labor-intensive. The recipe gives scriptures that mention ingredients and you are meant to look them up in the Bible. There are several variations of the recipe: just Google Bible Cake or Scripture Cake. I used one with a "cheat sheet"! We had grape juice to drink---wine would have been better but we meet in the church at 10 in the morning, for goodness sake!
A few in the group had heard about a related book: A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband Master by Rachel Held Evans. Some of us saw the author on the "Today" show but one brought an article from Sojourners, November, 2012. An interview with the author informs us that Ms. Evans had read Mr. Jacobs' book about living Biblically and was taken with the idea of how different it would be from a woman's perspective. Apparently Ms. Evans is a Christian, as opposed to A.J. Jacobs self-description, a "reverent agnostic." I am going to read this one. I wonder if others in our group will, too.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Reading List 2008
Our Park Lake Page Turners began in January of 2008 so I am WAY behind in starting a blog! I think I will use this first post to blitz through that first year. Here are the books we chose in the order we rated them, least favorite first:
If memory serves me (it doesn't always these days!), we started the year with Water... and loved it so much---nothing else came close to measuring up!
Eat, Pray... was one we didn't much care for because we thought the main character was too self-absorbed. Later on some us saw the movie and decided we liked it better and enjoyed Julia Roberts as Elizabeth.
Though we didn't love Thirteen... most of us were glad we read it. We learned a lot about the Cherokees.
The Double... was interesting, kept referring to or mirroring The Great Gatsby which most of us could not remember. We thought perhaps we should read the latter and then reread Bohjalian's book. We actually did read The Great Gatsby in 2011. Wonder if any of us reread The Double....---I know I didn't.
Marley... was just a fun read, hilarious in parts!
The Memory Keeper's... had a gripping plot but a rather dark subject.
The others were not very memorable except The Manny and that's because we still use it as a standard for a bad book!
- The Manny by Holly Peterson 1.8
- Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier 2.5
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert 2.8
- Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen 2.8
- Sister Mine by Tawni O'Dell 3.3
- Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult 3.5
- Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy 3.5
- The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards 3.6
- The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian 3.7
- Marley and Me by John Grogan 4.0
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen 4.8
If memory serves me (it doesn't always these days!), we started the year with Water... and loved it so much---nothing else came close to measuring up!
Eat, Pray... was one we didn't much care for because we thought the main character was too self-absorbed. Later on some us saw the movie and decided we liked it better and enjoyed Julia Roberts as Elizabeth.
Though we didn't love Thirteen... most of us were glad we read it. We learned a lot about the Cherokees.
The Double... was interesting, kept referring to or mirroring The Great Gatsby which most of us could not remember. We thought perhaps we should read the latter and then reread Bohjalian's book. We actually did read The Great Gatsby in 2011. Wonder if any of us reread The Double....---I know I didn't.
Marley... was just a fun read, hilarious in parts!
The Memory Keeper's... had a gripping plot but a rather dark subject.
The others were not very memorable except The Manny and that's because we still use it as a standard for a bad book!
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