Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Title: Notes from a Small Island

Author: Bill Bryson

First Published: 1995

No. of Pages: 317

Synopsis (from B&N): "After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson - best selling author of The Mother Tongue and Made in America - decided to return to the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out on a grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home.

Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: If you've read this blog for any length of time, you'll know that I adore Bill Bryson. His travel books crack me up, in part because his sense of humor is very similar to my husband's, so I feel that he and I would really hit it off. This one is another winner.

One of the things I enjoy about Mr. Bryson is that he is so much an everyman. The average reader can really relate to him and his style of traveling. He goes to the same type of restaurants, stays in the same types of hotels and B&B's, and visits the same types of sites as most of us. I love this, as it makes for a very realistic armchair travel experience. It's nice to read about ritzy places and all, but sometimes you want to read about travels that you would actually take and not just dream about.

Another thing is the ruminations and digressions you get along with the descriptions of wherever he happens to be. This is not unusual in these type of books, but part of the reason that I enjoy his reading so much is that his ruminations and digressions are so close to what I can imagine myself or my friends saying. It's less theoretical and intellectual than you may get in other books but always interesting and often amusing. He also throws in little bits of history relevant to the location; it's not always the kind that would make it into a history book but will probably stick in your mind longer.

One other thing to love about this book is that it includes a glossary of British words so that American readers will have some idea of what the author is talking about. Several I'd heard or read before but didn't know the meaning of ("bank holiday," for instance), so this was extremely welcome.

Challenges: 999 ("Travel")

Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi

Title: Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope

Author: Shirin Ebadi

First Published: 2006

No. of Pages: 256

Synopsis (from B&N): "The moving, inspiring memoir of one of the great women of our times, Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize and advocate for the oppressed, whose spirit has remained strong in the face of political persecution and despite the challenges she has faced raising a family while pursuing her work.

Best known in this country as the lawyer working tirelessly on behalf of Canadian photojournalist, Zara Kazemi – raped, tortured and murdered in Iran – Dr. Ebadi offers us a vivid picture of the struggles of one woman against the system. The book movingly chronicles her childhood in a loving, untraditional family, her upbringing before the Revolution in 1979 that toppled the Shah, her marriage and her religious faith, as well as her life as a mother and lawyer battling an oppressive regime in the courts while bringing up her girls at home.

Outspoken, controversial, Shirin Ebadi is one of the most fascinating women today. She rose quickly to become the first female judge in the country; but when the religious authorities declared women unfit to serve as judges she was demoted to clerk in the courtroom she had once presided over. She eventually fought her way back as a human rights lawyer, defending women and children in politically charged cases that most lawyers were afraid to represent. She has been arrested and been the target of assassination, but through it all has spoken out with quiet bravery on behalf of the victims of injustice and discrimination and become a powerful voice for change, almost universally embraced as a hero.

Her memoir is a gripping story – a must-read for anyone interested in Zara Kazemi’s case, in the life of a remarkable woman, or in understanding the political and religious upheaval in our world."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: This is an absolutely wonderful book. The style is engaging and conversational, and you can't wait to find out what happens next. That sounds somewhat flippant, given that this is nonfiction and tells of life in a totalitarian state, but it's true. The author relates numerous individual stories of friends and clients, and each time you hope that the person's story will have a happy ending. Unfortunately, most do not. But on the positive side, you also see how so many don't give up hope, don't succumb to despair, and try to keep living by their principles the best they can.

As an American, I can scarcely imagine living in a country such as Iran, especially being a woman. But this book helps me to remember that a country's leadership is not always representative of its citizens and that all countries, no matter how bleak the political and social landscape, have positive features and that there are people that love that country and consider it home. In addition to this, the book makes the point that Islam is not in itself a dangerous or discriminatory religion; rather, it is the extremists' interpretation of the religion that makes it so. This is so important to remember these days, and so easy to forget, despite the fact that the same could be said of any religion.

The author also does an excellent job of giving a concise but clear overview of 20th century Iranian history. For someone too young to have paid attention to world events at the time of the Iranian revolution, this was especially helpful. The book takes the reader through 2003 and I am curious to find out more of what has happened to the author since then.

Challenges: 999 ("Dewey Decimal"); Dewey Decimal; Support Your Local Library; World Citizen

The Catholic Woman by Jeanne Pieper

Title: The Catholic Woman: Difficult Choices in a Modern World

Author: Jeanne Pieper

First Published: 1993

No. of Pages: 225

Synopsis (from B&N): "Through interviews with Catholic women from all walks of life and by sharing her own experience, Pieper explores both the surprising and the expected answers to many questions which have come to light as Catholic women speak out about their religion, their families, and their God."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: I've tried very hard to think of something positive to say about this book. About the best I can say is that the author was well-intentioned. First, the author acknowledges that her research was anecdotal and unscientific. This wouldn't be a problem except that the reader is left wondering whether the problems identified by the people interviewed are real problems or just the opinion of a few. Given that there are millions of women that consider themselves Catholic, any book that purports to speak for your average Catholic woman should use scientific research methods to insure its validity.

The author also gives a brief overview of her history with the Church, but this is insufficient to overcome her obvious bias. It's clear throughout that the author identifies with the liberal viewpoint, which she is certainly entitled to do, but she should not then present the book as an overview of the beliefs and feelings of your average Catholic woman without greater objectivity.

Finally, the lack of objectivity weakens many of the problems identified by the interviewees. The reader is given the general impression that the author's goal is advocacy, but many of her subjects' quotes on which she relies are illogical, inaccurate, or simply miss the point. The author then makes little or no attempt to bolster her case, so that the reader is left with ineffective and sometimes contradictory arguments.

I hate to wind up a review with so much negativity, but I found this book to be frustrating and a chore to finish. I'm sure many of the women interviewed have a deep faith, but I can only feel that this author did them a disservice in the way in which that faith was presented.

Challenges: 999 ("Catholicism"); Support Your Local Library

What are you reading on Mondays? - May 25

It's been a schizophrenic book week here. On the plus side, I finished a good biography and wrapped up two challenges. On the other hand, I'm finding two of the books that I started a real snore. One I've decided to give up on, the other I'm soldiering through but will be quite happy when I'm finished. Plus, in addition to being a chore in themselves, those two restricted me to only finishing one book this past week. I hate it when I get bogged down.

Recent completions:

Josephine: A Life of the Empress by Carolly Erickson -- review here

Reading this week:

The Catholic Woman: Difficult Choices in a Modern World by Jeanne Pieper

Middlemarch by George Eliot

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Up next:

Everyday Life in Imperial Japan by Charles J. Dunn

Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope by Shirin Ebadi

Challenge progress:

1% Well-Read: 5/10
18th and 19th Century Women Writers: 1/5
A to Z Challenge: 18/26
Baker Street Challenge: 0/4
Chunkster: 0/3
Classics Challenge: 2/6
Decades '09: 6/9
Dewey Decimal: 6/10
Elizabeth Gaskell: 0/2
Fill in the Gaps 100 Books: 1/100
George Eliot: 0/2
Guardian's 1000 Best Novels: 1/10
It's Good to Be Queen: 3/3 *** COMPLETE
Nonfiction 5: 2/5
Orbis Terrarum: 6/10
Spring Reading Thing: 9/9 *** COMPLETE
Summer Vacation Reading: 0/6
Support Your Local Library: 17/50
TBR Lite: 4/6
What's in a Name 2: 3/6
World Citizen Challenge: 3/7

999 Challenge (overall): 33/81

999 Subcategories:

• 1001 Books: 4/9
• Booker/National Awards: 2/9
• Through the Decades: 6/9
• Dewey's Books: 5/9
• C.S. Lewis: 1/9
• Biographies: 3/9
• Travel: 3/9
• Catholicism: 3/9
• Dewey Decimal: 6/9
  

It's Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event hosted by J Kaye's Book Blog.

It's Good to be Queen challenge complete

I really enjoyed this challenge and hope to see it offered again -- I've got several more books relating to queens and empresses on my TBR list. What I read this time:

1. Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Biography by Marion Meade -- completed 4/12/09; review here

2. Josephine: A Life of the Empress by Carolly Erickson -- completed 5/21/09; review here

3. The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett -- completed 5/8/09; review here

Spring Reading Thing challenge complete

I finished all but one of my original choices. I didn't love everything, but overall I'm quite happy with my choices. The recap:

1. Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt -- did not finish. A little dull, but it could have been me. I might give it another try.

2. The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis -- completed 4/27/09; review here

3. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells -- completed 4/21/09; review here

4. The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupèry -- completed 4/18/09; review here

5. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman -- completed 4/24/09; review here

6. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie -- completed 4/18/09; review here

7. Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein -- completed 5/1/09; review here

8. The Rosary: A Journey to the Beloved by Gary Jansen -- completed 4/18/09; review here

9. The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett -- completed 5/8/09; review here

10. Josephine: A Life of the Empress by Carolly Erickson -- completed 5/21/09; review here

Josephine: A Life of the Empress by Carolly Erickson

Title: Josephine: A Life of the Empress

Author: Carolly Erickson

First Published: 1998

No. of Pages: 349

Synopsis (from B&N): "In 1804, when Josephine Bonaparte knelt before her husband, Napoleon, to receive the imperial diadem, few in the vast crowd of onlookers were aware of the dark secrets hidden behind the imperial façade. To her subjects, she appeared to vet hew most favored woman in France: alluring, wealthy, and with the devoted love of a remarkable husband who was the conqueror of Europe. In actuality, Josephine's life was far darker, for her celebrated allure was fading, her wealth was compromised by massive debt, and her marriage was corroded by infidelity and abuse.

Josephine's life story was as turbulent as the age—an era of revolution and social upheaval, of the guillotine, and of frenzied hedonism. With telling psychological depth and compelling literary grace, Carolly Erickson brings the complex, charming, ever-resilient Josephine to life in this memorable portrait, one that carries the reader along every twist and turn of the empress's often thorny path, from the sensual richness of her childhood in the tropics to her final lonely days at Malmaison."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: This was an extremely interesting biography. Somewhere I got the idea that Napoleon and Josephine were one of history's great love affairs -- boy, did this book change that outlook. I suppose there was probably some love there, but overall their relationship appears to have been highly dysfunctional. He was abusive and domineering, she became destructively emotional and dependent to the point of clinginess, plus she had the in-laws from hell -- not the kind of the marriage to which a sane person would aspire. And you can't even blame it on self-interest, as Napoleon was essentially a nobody when she married him. But despite this, she still maintained many good points. She was always loving and devoted to her children, kind and generous to anyone who needed help, and gracious to all, whether highborn or common.

The style of the book is engaging and highly readable; you almost feel like you're reading an engrossing novel. The wealth of endnotes indicate that the author did her research homework, but she presents it with a light touch. An excellent choice for biography lovers or those interested in 18th and 19th century European history.

Challenges: 999 ("Biographies"); A to Z (author "E"); It's Good to Be Queen; Nonfiction 5; Spring Reading Thing; Support Your Local Library

What are you reading on Mondays? - May 18

I'm one book away from finishing up two challenges, and a good thing too because I added three more challenges to my list over the weekend. But two of the three are mini-challenges, so it's not really so bad.

Recent completions:

Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa and Sarah Lennox, 1750-1832 by Stella Tillyard -- review here

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild -- completed 5/16/09; review here

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris -- review here

Reading this week:

The Catholic Woman: Difficult Choices in a Modern World by Jeanne Pieper

Josephine: A Life of the Empress by Carolly Erickson

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Up next:

Everyday Life in Imperial Japan by Charles J. Dunn

Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter by Steven Johnson

The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

Challenge progress:

1% Well-Read: 5/10
18th and 19th Century Women Writers: 1/5
A to Z Challenge: 16/26
Baker Street Challenge: 0/4
Chunkster: 0/3
Classics Challenge: 2/6
Decades '09: 6/9
Dewey Decimal: 6/10
Elizabeth Gaskell mini-challenge: 0/2 ***NEW
George Eliot mini-challenge: 0/2 ***NEW
Guardian's 1000 Best Novels: 1/10
It's Good to Be Queen: 2/3
Nonfiction 5: 0/5
Orbis Terrarum: 6/10
Spring Reading Thing: 8/9
Summer Vacation Reading: 0/6 ***begins May 22
Support Your Local Library: 16/50 ***NEW
TBR Lite: 4/6
What's in a Name 2: 3/6
World Citizen Challenge: 4/7

999 Challenge (overall): 32/81

999 Subcategories:

• 1001 Books: 4/9
• Booker/National Awards: 2/9
• Through the Decades: 6/9
• Dewey's Books: 5/9
• C.S. Lewis: 1/9
• Biographies: 2/9
• Travel: 3/9
• Catholicism: 3/9
• Dewey Decimal: 6/9
  

It's Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event hosted by J Kaye's Book Blog.

Mini-challenges

These challengee are two of several mini-challenges being hosted by Becky of Becky's Book Reviews.



The challenge is to read or watch two works by Elizabeth Gaskell between January 1, 2009 and June 1, 2010. A full list of the author's works can be found here.

My two choices are:

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell -- completed 6/7/09; review here

North and South




The challenge is to read two works by George Eliot between January 1, 2009 and June 1, 2010. A full list of the author's works can be found here. I've never read any Eliot before, so I'm a little nervous about this one, but what the heck.

My two choices are:

Middlemarch by George Eliot -- review

The Mill on the Floss

2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge

This challenge is hosted by J. Kaye at J. Kaye's Book Blog.

The challenge is to read either 12, 24, or 50 books from your local library in 2009. You can add or subtract to your list anytime, but the number of books should not change once you choose a goal. Format and target age group do not matter.

I get a lot of books from the library, so I'm going for the whole enchilada -- 50 books. I'm not going to make a list ahead of time, but will add each title to this post after I'm done. I've already read several this year, so I'll go ahead and count those.

1. Queenan Country: A Reluctant Anglophile's Pilgrimage to the Mother Country by Joe Queenan -- review

2. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer -- review

3. Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah MacDonald -- review

4. Julie and Julia by Julie Powell -- review

5. Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism by Muhammad Yunus -- review

6. The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah -- review

7. The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupèry -- review

8. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman -- review

9. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith -- review

10. Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein -- review

11. The Cubs and Other Stories by Mario Vargas Llosa -- review

12. The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them by Roxanne Coady and Joy Johannessen -- review

13. On Being Catholic by Thomas Howard -- review

14. The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett -- review

15. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris -- review

16. King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild -- review

17. Josephine: A Life of the Empress by Carolly Erickson -- review

18. The Catholic Woman: Difficult Choices in a Modern World by Jeanne Pieper -- review

19. Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope by Shirin Ebadi -- review

20. Everyday Life in Imperial Japan by Charles J. Dunn -- review

21. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell -- review

22. Honeymoon in Purdah: An Iranian Journey by Alison Wearing -- review

23. Gestures: The Do's and Taboos of Body Language Around the World by Roger E. Axtell -- review

24. The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier -- review

25. Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III by Flora Fraser -- review

26. Daughter of China: A True Story of Love and Betrayal by Meihong Xu and Larry Engelmann -- review

27. Gift and Mystery: On the Fiftieth Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination by Pope John Paul II -- review

28. Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford -- review

29. Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer -- review

30. A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul -- review

31. Morality Play by Barry Unsworth -- review

32. No Greater Love by Mother Theresa -- review

33. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

34. Ungrateful Daughters: The Stuart Princesses Who Stole Their Father's Crown by Maureen Waller -- review

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild

Title: King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa

Author: Adam Hochschild

First Published: 1998

No. of Pages: 306

Synopsis (from B&N): "In the 1880's, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium seized for himself the vast and largely unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. Carrying out a genocidal plundering of the Congo, he looted its rubber, brutalized its people, and ultimately slashed the population by ten million--all while shrewdly cultivating his international reputation as a great humanitarian. Heroic efforts to expose this secret crime finally led to the first great international human rights movement of the 20th century in which everyone from Mark Twain to the Archbishop of Canterbury participated.

King Leopold's Ghost is the haunting portrait of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions, a man as cunning as any of the great Shakespearean villains. It is also the deeply involving story of those who fought Leopold and of the explorers, missionaries, and rubber workers who witnessed the horror. With a cast of characters richer than any novelist could invent, this book will permanently inscribe these too long forgotten events on the conscience of the West."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: Despite partially majoring in history in college, I have little knowledge of African history, so I thought this book would be one step in rectifying that gap. The book is well-written and gives enough personal information about the major players to really bring them to life. The story told is nothing less than horrific, although the use of the term "genocide" is not entirely accurate (this is also pointed out by the author), as genocide is normally understood to mean the intentional killing of a national or ethnic group and not killing done for economic reasons. Obviously, the terminology is not nearly as important as what actually happened and the author pulls no punches when presenting the evidence. While the focus of the book is the events that occurred at the turn of the last century, the author also points out how the developed nations, especially the U.S., contributed to the ongoing problems in Africa throughout the 20th century. This is not a book to make you feel warm and fuzzy but it is an important book for anyone wanting to understand the world economy and the beginnings of the human rights movement.

Challenges: World Citizen

When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

Title: When You are Engulfed in Flames

Author: David Sedaris

First Published: 2008

No. of Pages: 323

Synopsis (from B&N): "Once again, David Sedaris brings together a collection of essays so uproariously funny and profoundly moving that his legions of fans will fall for him once more. He tests the limits of love when Hugh lances a boil from his backside, and pushes the boundaries of laziness when, finding the water shut off in his house in Normandy, he looks to the water in a vase of fresh cut flowers to fill the coffee machine. From armoring the windows with LP covers to protect the house from neurotic songbirds to the awkwardness of having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a sleeping fellow passenger on a plane, David Sedaris uses life's most bizarre moments to reach new heights in understanding love and fear, family and strangers. Culminating in a brilliantly funny account of his venture to Tokyo in order to quit smoking, David Sedaris's sixth essay collection will be avidly anticipated."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: This is my second David Sedaris book, and I feel pretty much the same as I did the first time around. The book is light-hearted and amusing overall, but I only had a few laugh-out-loud moments. Of course, humor is very individual and I know several people find him hysterical. He's not my go-to author when I need to seriously lighten my mood, but it was nonetheless an enjoyable read and I'd be willing to give his other books a go.

Challenges: 999 ("Dewey's Books")

Aristocrats by Stella Tillyard

Title: Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, 1750-1832

Author: Stella Tillyard

First Published: 1994

No. of Pages: 426

Synopsis (from B&N): "Based on a century's worth of diaries and letters, Tillyard tells a story of love and elopement, birth and death, revolution and treason, joy and tragedy. The Lennox sisters were great-granddaughters of a king, daughters of a cabinet minister, and wives of politicians. Here are their shared experiences on private matters--food, clothes, books, houses, gardens, and children."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: I found this book quite enjoyable. The lives of the individuals described were somewhat soap opera-ish, which always makes for a lively and entertaining story. The author appears to have done a great deal of research and portions from the subjects' letters and diaries are put to good use. A great deal of information regarding what life was like in general during the time is also presented, which is both educational and very interesting. The author not only focuses on the specific actions of the subjects, but includes detailed explanations of such things as how large houses were run (one of the sisters had a minimum of 100 servants to oversee) and typical educational experiences for the children of the wealthy.

I was also glad to see copies of relevant portraits and drawings of houses, as those always make biographies come more alive for me. A family tree was also included, but was placed in the very back of the book so that I didn't realize it was there until I was 20 pages from the end. It would have been much more useful in the front. My only other complaint is that information was not always presented chronologically, making it somewhat hard to follow; however, this only occurs in the beginning of the book and is a minor point.

Challenges: 999 ("Biography"); A to Z (author "T"); Nonfiction 5

What are you reading on Mondays? - May 11

I've had another good reading week -- I finished 3 books and 1 challenge. I also joined more challenges that I've been thinking about. In addition to keeping up with individual books, I'm also going to start using this feature to more closely track my challenge progress.

Recent completions:

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer -- review here

On Being Catholic by Thomas Howard -- review here

The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett -- review

Reading this week:

Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa and Sarah Lennox, 1750-1832 by Stella Tillyard

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

Up next:

The Catholic Woman: Difficult Choices in a Modern World by Jeanne Pieper

Josephine: A Life of the Empress by Carolly Erickson

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Challenge progress:

1% Well-Read: 5/10
18th and 19th Century Women Writers: 1/5
A to Z Challenge: 16/26
Baker Street Challenge: 0/4
Book Awards II: COMPLETE
Chunkster: 0/3
Classics Challenge: 2/6
Decades '09: 6/9
Dewey's Books: COMPLETE
Dewey Decimal: 6/10
Guardian's 1000 Best Novels: 1/10
It's Good to Be Queen: 2/3
Nonfiction 5: 0/5
Orbis Terrarum: 6/10
Spring Reading Thing: 8/9
Summer Vacation Reading: 0/6 ***begins May 22
TBR Lite: 4/6
What's in a Name 2: 3/6
World Citizen Challenge: 3/7

999 Challenge (overall): 30/81

999 Subcategories:

• 1001 Books: 4/9
• Booker/National Awards: 2/9
• Through the Decades: 6/9
• Dewey's Books: 4/9
• C.S. Lewis: 1/9
• Biographies: 1/9
• Travel: 3/9
• Catholicism: 3/9
• Dewey Decimal: 6/9
  

It's Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event hosted by J Kaye's Book Blog.

Dewey's Books challenge complete

The goal of this challenge was to read either 5 of 6 books reviewed by our greatly missed friend, Dewey. If you chose 6 books, you were to pick one book from each of the 6 years that Dewey has archives of. If you chose 5 books, they could be from any year.

I am apparently what my son would call a moron-athon, because I chose to read 6 but paid no attention to the years -- so I guess I effectively chose the 5-book option with one extra. Anyway, the books I read were:

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer -- completed 5/10/09; review here

The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them by Roxanne Coady and Joy Johannessen -- completed 2/13/09; review here

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman -- completed 4/24/09; review here

The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) by Antoine de St.-Exupéry -- completed 4/18/09; review here

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein -- completed 5/1/09; review here

The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett -- completed 5/8/09; review here

If you follow this blog, you'll notice that I'm also doing the 999 Challenge and that one of my categories for that is Dewey's Books. For that challenge, I need to read 9 books from my Dewey list. Since not all of the books listed here are cross-referenced there, I'll end up with more than 9 Dewey books total between them. So if you're interested in other books that Dewey read, check back and see what books I come up with for the 999.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Title: Artemis Fowl

Author: Eoin Colfer

First Published: 2001

No. of Pages: 279

Synopsis (from B&N): "Artemis Fowl is a one of the greatest criminal minds the world has ever seen. He is heir to the Fowl family empire—a centuries old clan of international underworld figures and con artists. He is arguably the most cunning Fowl of all. He is also twelve years old.

Artemis' interest in mythology and an obsession with the Internet leads him to discover proof of the existence of "The People"- otherwise known as fairies, sprites, leprechauns and trolls. He learns every fairy has a magical Book. If he can find the Book, it will lead him to "The People's" vast treasure of gold.

With his brutish sidekick, Butler, he sets his plans in motion. Artemis tricks a drunken old fairy woman into loaning him her Book, a tiny golden volume, for thirty minutes. He scans it with a digital camera and emails it to his Mac G6 computer. Back in his mansion in Ireland, he is the first human to decode the secrets of the fairies.

Artemis needs a leprechaun to help him with this plan. He and Butler hunt down Holly Short, a tough, female LEPrecon, part of a gung-ho Fairy commando unit, who is on a reconnaissance mission. He kidnaps her, and a major battle begins. It's satyr against gnome, man against elf, and for the first time in his life, Artemis must decide what he values most."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction

Comments and Critique: This is one of my son's favorite books and he has been encouraging (nagging) me to read it for months. I'm very glad I took his advice. I found this book delightful. It's imaginative and funny; there isn't a single character that you truly dislike; and it's never boring. I chose to listen to the audiobook version, which added to my enjoyment, as the reader did a wonderful job and even included various appropriate accents for the characters. I can see why this book was such a hit with kids, but I can safely say that this adult enjoyed it as much. I can't wait to read the next one.

Challenges: 999 ("Dewey's Books"); Dewey's Books Challenge; Orbis Terrarum 2 (Ireland)

On Being Catholic by Thomas Howard

Title: On Being Catholic

Author: Thomas Howard

First Published: 1997

No. of Pages: 263

Synopsis (from B&N): "In his first full-length book since converting to Roman Catholicism, Thomas Howard presents the "glad tidings" of the deeper meaning of Catholic piety, dogma, spirituality, vision and practice in the engaging style he has come to be known for."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: I took notes while reading this book (the first time since college that I've done this), so I'm going to attempt to put them in some sort of order and have my review be based solely on them. Let me preface this by saying that I've been in the process of converting to Catholicism for some time (marriage issues is making it take much longer than necessary) and, being me, I've turned to books for knowledge about the Church. I've never been one to simply take others' word for things and wasn't going to start in this very important area.

What I expected from this book was an overview of being Catholic, written for non-Catholics and Catholics not knowledgable about their faith. It was that, but not in a way that I felt would convince anyone who did not already know and agree with the Church's teachings. I did not care at all for the author's style -- it came across as overly apologetic and defensive. One thought I had was that the author was trying too hard to be politically correct, so that he felt it necessary to continually point out why the reader should not be offended or put off. At the same time, the author often makes a point of reassuring the reader that he or she is worthy to receive God's love and forgiveness. These two things lead to the feeling that the author believes people are both hypersensitive and lacking in self-worth. In addition, the frequent use of Latin was confusing and, I felt, unnecessary, as the Church no longer uses Latin exclusively.

I know this sounds exceedingly negative and, to be fair, I must acknowledge that much of my dislike arose based on personal preferences as to style. It's entirely possible that what I dislike may be just the thing for someone else. From what I've gathered from other sources, the author did not state anything that was doctrinally in error and there's no doubt that loves God and would like others to love Him as much. I have a feeling that the author and I agree on most points -- I just couldn't connect with his way of presenting the information.

Challenges: 999 ("Catholicism")

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Title: The Uncommon Reader

Author: Alan Bennett

First Published: 2007

No. of Pages: 120

Synopsis (from B&N): "From one of England's most celebrated writers, the author of the award-winning The History Boys, a funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of reading.

When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction

Comments and Critique: What a lovely, charming little book. I especially connected with the Queen's increasing appetite for reading (always carrying a book with her, reading in the car, reading to the exclusion of other things that one is supposed to be doing), as well as the style of reading. She starts out completely random and just drifts along from one book to the next, and only eventually does she begin to discriminate in her choices. I've noticed that often in my own reading history and I've occasionally missed the random reading -- it has so much more of a purely "for pleasure" feel to it, almost childlike in its enjoyment. But I digress.

There were only a couple of false notes in this book. Once or twice I found myself thinking that the Queen would never say a particular thing. For instance, I just can't see the Queen saying, "One should keep one's eye on the ball." And I wonder if her staff would really be quite as upset about her reading as they are made out to be, although I must admit that I'm not much of a royal watcher so I may be completely off base here. But even with that proviso, I feel confident in saying that the ending is complete fantasy. I won't give it away, but there is simply no way that the Queen would do what she did. These points, however, were only hiccups in an otherwise very enjoyable and light-hearted book.

Challenges: 999 ("Dewey's Books"); Dewey's Books; Guardian 1000 Novels ("Comedy"); It's Good to Be Queen; Martel-Harper; Spring Reading Thing 2009

I Suck at Challenges update #4

I completed 1 challenge since the last update and have added 5 new ones. I'm pleased with my progress so far and feel that I'm on track.

1% Well-Read: 5/10
18th and 19th Century Women Writers: 1/5
999 Challenge (the biggie): 27/81
A to Z Challenge: 16/26
Baker Street Challenge: 0/4 ***NEW
Book Awards II: COMPLETE
Chunkster: 0/3
Classics Challenge: 2/6 ***NEW
Decades '09: 6/9
Dewey's Books: 4/6
Dewey Decimal: 6/10
Guardian's 1000 Best Novels: 1/10 ***NEW
It's Good to Be Queen: 1/3
Nonfiction 5: 0/5 ***NEW
Orbis Terrarum: 5/10
Spring Reading Thing: 7/9
Summer Vacation Reading: 0/6 ***NEW; begins May 22
TBR Lite: 4/6
What's in a Name 2: 3/6
World Citizen Challenge: 3/7

Baker Street Challenge

This Sherlock Holmes-themed challenge is being hosted by Ruth of Bookish Ruth. Participants can choose to read the Sherlock Holmes novels, short story collections, Holmes stories by authors other than Arthur Conan Doyle, nonfiction books about Doyle or Sherlock Holmes, or non-Sherlock Holmes works by Doyle. The challenge runs through December 31, 2009. The reading tiers that participants choose from are:

Three Pipe Problem: 3 books
Sign of the Four: 4 books
Five Orange Pips: 5 books
Seven Percent Solution: 7 books

Books do not have to be chosen in advance and can change at any time. Audiobooks and overlaps with other challenges are allowed.

I'm choosing Sign of the Four. My book choices are:

The Sign of Four -- completed 9/7/09; review

A Study In Scarlet -- completed 7/25/09; review

The Valley of Fear

one nonfiction book TBD

Guardian 1000 Novels challenge

Jennie at Biblio file is hosting this challenge, her first. The object is to read 10 books from the 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read Before They Die list compiled by The Guardian newspaper. The books are arranged in 7 categories and participants must read 1 book from each category and, if possible, 1 should be a book you have never heard of until you saw it on this list. The challenge runs from February 1st of 2009 to February 1st of 2010.

The full list can be found here.

Luckily for me, there are lots of books on the list that overlap with other challenges I'm doing. My list of possibles is:

Comedy:
The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett -- completed 5/9/09; review

Crime:
The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- completed 9/7/09; review
A Study In Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- completed 7/25/09; review
Therese Raquin by Emile Zola

Family & Self:
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Love:
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen -- completed 7/21/09; review
Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- completed 11/8/09; review

Science fiction & Fantasy:
Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley -- completed 9/1/09; review

State of the Nation:
A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul -- completed 9/3/09; review
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell -- completed 6/7/09; review
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

War & Travel:
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer -- completed 8/24/09; review
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Candide by Voltaire

What are you reading on Mondays? - May 4, 2009

I went a little crazy this past week at my library. I checked out 3 books and 2 audiobooks and put in hold requests for 5 more books, 3 of which are already available. Guess it's a good thing that I'm in a reading mood lately, so maybe I'll actually be able to get through most of them.

Recent completions:

The Cubs and Other Stories by Mario Vargas Llosa -- review here

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte -- review here

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein -- review here

I listed this one last week, but since I didn't have my review done in time, I'm going to list it again:

The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis -- review here

Reading this week:

Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa and Sarah Lennox, 1750-1832 by Stella Tillyard

On Being Catholic by Thomas Howard

Up next:

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild

The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

It's Monday! What are you reading this week? is a weekly event hosted by J Kaye's Book Blog.

The Cubs and other stories by Mario Vargas Llolsa

Title: The Cubs and other Stories

Author: Mario Vargas Llosa

First Published: 1965-1967 (English translation, 1979)

No. of Pages: 139

Synopsis (from B&N): "The author's only collection of short fiction. Representative of his early writing, the stories taken together are themselves a testament to youth."

Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction

Comments and Critique: This book consists of one novella (The Cubs) and six short stories. The writing style in the novella is unlike anything I’ve come across before. The sentences go on and on, and dialogue is not distinguished by normal punctuation but is included within the sentences. The narrator jumps back and forth, sometimes within the same sentence, between “we” and “they” but the context indicates that both refer to the same people, including the narrator. An example:

They were still wearing short pants that year, we weren't smoking yet, they preferred soccer to all the other sports and we were learning to surf, to dive from the high board at the Terraces Club, and they were devilish, smooth-cheeked, curious, very agile, voracious.

And a couple of paragraphs later:

He appeared one morning at inspection time, holding his father's hand and Brother Leoncio put him at the head of the line because he was even shorter than Rojas, and in class Brother Leoncio sat him in the back with us, at that vacant desk, young man. What's your name? Cuellar, and yours? Choto, and yours? Chingolo, and yours? Manny, and yours? Lalo. From Miraflores? Yes, since last month, before that I was living on San Antonio and now on Mariscal Castilla, near the Colina movie theater.

It's an intriguing style that requires the reader to pay much closer attention than normal. The collection includes a foreword by the author that sheds much light on all the stories and especially adds to the reader's understanding of the novella. As with many books, I recommend the reader wait and read the foreword last, as it contains meaningful information that will give away crucial elements of the stories.

The writing style of other stories is much more conventional. This is less surprising given that the author wrote these six stories almost a decade prior to the novella. Despite the time difference in composition and differences of style, these particular works are well-suited as a collection. With the exception of The Grandfather, each of the stories addresses a young man's relationship with friends or brothers (and even the friends are often referred to as "brother," indicating the importance of the relationships), and the impact of these relationships on the man's life. They also provide an amazing amount of description and information, given their brevity.

Challenges: 999 ("1001 Books"); Fill in the Gaps 100 Books Project; Orbis Terrarum 2 (Peru)

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar... by Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein

Title: Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes

Author: Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

First Published: 2007

No. of Pages: 196

Synopsis (from B&N): "Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors - and born vaudevillians - Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on NPR's Weekend Edition. Lively, original, and powerfully informative, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar . . . is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism (What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?) to Logic (Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything). Philosophy 101 for those who like to take the heavy stuff lightly, this is a joy to read-and finally, it all makes sense!"

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: The synopsis for this book is right on point. This book is awesome. It's light-hearted and irreverent while still providing a good overview of basic philosophical theories and arguments. It would make a great addition to an Intro to Philosophy course and I'm wondering if some professor somewhere has already realized this and included it on the syllabus. Many of the jokes are laugh-out-loud funny and, believe it or not, they also are wonderful at making the point of the various theories. For example, pragmatism is presented as "the truth of a statement lies in its practical consequences." The accompanying joke:

A woman reports her husband's disappearance to the police. They ask her for a description, and she says, "He's six feet, three inches tall, well-built, with thick, curly hair."

Her friend says, "What are you talking about? Your husband is five-feet-four, bald, and has a huge belly."

And she says, "Who wants that one back?"

Some of the jokes are a little bit risque and probably not appropriate for chidren, who probably wouldn't understand the philosophy, either. But it's a great book for adults.

Challenges: 999 ("Dewey Decimal"); A to Z (author "C"); Dewey's Books Challenge; Dewey Decimal Challenge; Spring Reading Thing 2009; TBR Lite