In their Shoes Reading Challenge

Welcome!

2010-01-01T12:19:00.000-08:00

Welcome! The rules are real simple:

1. The challenge starts January 1, 2009 and ends December 31, 2009.

2. Books have to be either a memoir, autobiography, or biography.

3. You can overlap with other challenges:

4. Re-reads count.

5. You pick how many books you want to read.

6. You do not need to make a list. This challenge is flexible and the goal is to have fun and read.

Instead of leaving a review this year, we'll be using Mr. Linky which is much easier for everyone. Happy readings!

NOTE: I was trying to get Mr. Linky attached, but he hates me. So just leave a link to your specific post in the comments section.

REVIEW AND WRAP UP

2009-07-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

"Kitchen Privileges" by Mary Higgins Clark
(from inside flap)
Even as a young girl, growing up in the Bronx, Mary Higgins Clark knew she wanted to be a writer. Teh gift of storytelling was a part of her Irish ancestry, so it followed that she would later use her sharp eye, keen intelligence, and inquisitive nature to create stories about the people and things she observed.

When Mary Higgins Clark's father died during the Depression, her mother opened their home to roomers, announced by a discreet sign that read
FURNISHED ROOMS.
KITCHEN PRIVILEGES.
Those who responded proved to be a colorful lot.

Studying these diverse people, then later observing passengers on the Pan Am flights on which she worked as a stewardess, Clark began to form ideas for short stories that later appeared in magazines.

When her husband died, leaving her a young widow with five children to support, she found work writing radio scripts and also decided to try her hand at writing novels, the second of which was Where Are the Children? That book launched her career and was the first of 27 (and still counting) best-selling novels of suspense.

As Mary Higgins Clark has said when asked if she might give up writing for a life of leisure, "Never! To be happy for a year, win the lottery. To be happy for life, love what you do."

In Kitchen Privileges, she reflects on the joy that her life as a writer has brought her, and shares with readers the love that she has found.

MY REVIEW
This book follows Ms. Clark's life from the time she is 3. It takes you through the Depression, the World War 2, the 60's and Viet Nam. Through all this Ms. Clark is writing short stories and submitting them to the poplar magazine's of the day. And trying her best to raise her 5 children by herself. It also looks into how a writer gets started and how she got her first book published. Well, the book we probably all have heard of. Her first book ever published is called,
"Aspire to the Heavens", which was based on George and Martha Washington's life. If you click on the name of the book it will take you to Amazon.com where they have the book listed. If you have read any of Ms. Clark's books, you should read this Memoir. It lets you see how she began her writing career.

IN THEIR SHOES CHALLENGE WRAP UP

This book concludes the reading challenge for me. 5 of 5 books read.

1. The Sum of Our Days - Isabel Allende
2. The Mighty Queens of Freeville - Amy Dickerson
3. Jantzen's Gift - Pam Cope
4. Dog Years - Mark Doty
5. Kitchen Privileges - Mary Higgins Clark

DOG YEARS - MARK DOTY

2009-07-06T12:27:00.001-07:00

"Dog Years" by Mark Doty

(from the back cover)
Why do dogs speak so deeply to our inner lives? When Mark Doty decides to adopt a dog as a companion for his dying partner, he brings home Beau, a large golden retriever, malnourished and in need of loving care. Beau joins Arde, the black retriever, to complete Mark's family. As Beau bounds back to like, the two dogs become Mark Doty's intimate companions, his solace, and eventually the very life force that keeps him from abandoning all hope during the darkest days. Their tenacity, loyalty, and love inspire him when everyting else fails.

"As someone who is in love with a dog, I found this book to be an oracle of truth. For those who have yet to love a dog, it will be a revelation." Ann Patchett

The quote on the back of the this book from Ann Patchett summarizes this book to a T. I didn't think I would like this book when I got it. But it is a very good book, happy, sad, hilarious, and just plain fun to read. As you follow Mark, Beau and Arden around the country there are some really funny happenings along the way. It also gives you insight into the ways animals work into our everyday lives. Our family has 2 critters living with us. I can't even imagine when the time comes what we will do when they die. Mark Doty gives you the a way of letting go when that time comes.

Up a Country Lane

2009-06-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

Up a Country Lane by Evelyn Birkby

Up A Country Lane is part memoir and part cookbook. Through stories and photographs Evelyn shares what life was like living on a farm in rural Iowa during the decade following WWII. Neither Evelyn or her husband Robert were farmers but like many young couples from the era they were eager to rent a farm, put down roots and build a meaningful life on the farm. Evelyn shares everything from the sense of community, gardening,the ritual of grocery shopping and the use of meat lockers to raising chickens, milking, haying, harvesting, schools, social clubs and so much more.
Evelyn does not shy away from the reality of life on a farm and shares stories of drought, ruined crops, sickness and accidents. "A family on a small farm could have more than its share of isolation, loneliness, and constant need for hard, physical labor. So the memories of simple, happy events and celebrations must realistically be tempered by the struggles endured."
Many of Evelyn's stories made me smile but some were also heartbreaking.
If there was one thing that could bring a farming community together it was food. Potlucks, club luncheons, harvest feasts and holiday gatherings were all occasions to pull out platters, bowls and pie plates. At the end of each chapter Evelyn shares many simple recipes that were favorites in her family and many neighboring families as well. These are recipes that people really made and ate, recipes that the people were connected with.
One of the recipes I've tried was Curried Beef and Rice and let me tell you that was one hearty, filling meal. Beef, potatoes lots of vegetables and seasonings all served over rice. It was delicious but like I said very hearty and filling and I can see why a hard working farm family would enjoy that meal.
I love that every time I make a recipe from this book I can flip through the pages and read some of Evelyn's stories again. A treasure of a book. I'm glad I stumbled upon it.

JANTSEN'S GIFT

2009-05-23T08:58:00.001-07:00

"Jantsen's Gift" by Pam Cope

(from inside flap)
Ten yers ago, Pam Cope owned a hair salon in the small town of Neosho, Missouri. Her life revolved around her son's baseball games, her daughter's dance lessons, and family trips to places like Disney World. She had never been out of the country, nor had she any desire to travel far from home.
Then, on June 16, 1999, her life changed forever when her fifteen-year-old son Jantsen died from an undiagnosed heart ailment. Drowning in sadness and needing to get as far away from her loss as possible, she accepted a friend's invitation to visit orphanages in Vietnam. From the moment she arrived, everything began to shift. By the time she returned home, she had a new mission: to use her pain to change the world, one small step at a time, one child at a time.
Within one year, Pam had rescued thirty children from the streets of Vietnam. Within five yers, that number had grown to more than two hundred. Then, in 2006, a New York Times article about young children being sold into slavery in Ghanna galvanized her to travel thousands of miles to intervene on their behalf. Today, Pam is the director and founder of Touch A Life, and organization dedicated to helping at-risk children all over the world, and she is working to build a center in Northern Ghanna that offers a safe shelter and a promising future for the children she has rescued from slavery.

This is a very inspiring book!!! I can certainly feel for Pam at the loss of a child. I have lost a child, our daughter Shondella Iris died February 26, 1977. She was 4 1/2 years old. This is a very moving and sometimes hard book to read. All the agony, frustration, and heartbreak is almost overwhelming. But I did keep going if for no other reason than to see if Pam acturally got the children out of slavery in Ghanna. And she didn't get them all, but got lots of them. At the end of the book she gives you the info on the children that she has wrote about in the book. How they are doing and what's going on in their life's at the time the book is written. Pam also gives you the website of her foundation. You can find lots more info at the Touch A Life website. Just click on the name Touch A Life and you will go there!

MY RATING: 5

THE MIGHTY QUEENS OF FREEVILLE

2009-05-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

"The Mighty Queens of Freeville" by Amy Dickinson

(from the inside page)
Like all good monarchs, the Mighty Queens of Freevile rule fairly and from a distance. Amy's memoir is in part a love letter to her hometown of Freevile, NY (population 458), a small town in upstate New York that satys simple and pure while the world changes around it, and in part iit is a tribute to a family of women who support and draw strengh from one another.
This is a memoir about the people and animals who have trampled through Amy's life. It offers a narrative that is both universal and personal.....honest and witty.

I really liked this book lots!! It was very funny at times...it was also a little sad at times. As Amy comes to the conclusion that her marriage is over and she has to raise her daughter alone, Amy gets on with her life raising her daughter, finding a job, getting an apartment, and going home to Freeville. She has a few stops along the way. Washington, D.C. and New York are a couple of stops she makes. Amy also gives you glimpses into her dating and her cats life. Then you also get to see her daughter grow up and go off to college. Wonderful book, I didn't want it to end, but it does and there is a happy ending. But you'll have to read the book to find out what the happy ending is!!

MY RATING: 5

You can see the reviews of all the books I have read for this challenge here. This will take you to my archives of all the books I have read and reviewed for this reading challenge. Sorry I haven't posted here, but totally forgot I could post my review at this blog. This is book 12 for me.

The Other Half

2009-05-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

The Other Half: The Life of Jacob Riis and the World of Immigrant America by Tom Buk-Swienty, translated by Annette Buk-Swienty

When Jacob Riis died in 1914 he was considered a hero and mourned by millions, including his personal friend and fellow reformer Theodore Roosevelt. But how many of us today know who Jacob Riis was or what he did to gain such a reputation?
In his very readable and fascinating biography Tom Buk-Swienty has brought the story of Jacob Riis back to life. "As if plucked from a variant Horotio Alger novel, his is the story of a poor young Dane from the isolated yet picturesque medieval town of Ribe who immigrates to the United States in 1870 because of broken heart, nearly starves during his first months there, and is so despondent that he nearly dies. He then goes on to live what can only be described as the proverbial American dream: He starts at the bottom, struggles mightily, and then makes a living as an iron salesman. Once again, though, he loses all; then by chance he gets a job as a low-paid journalist and, in a few years, becomes a star police reporter and, finally, the author of a resounding best seller and classic, How the Other Half Lives. At the same time he practically invents modern photojournalism, is knighted by the Danish King, and becomes a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt. Together they fight police corruption and work to eradicate the worst slums in New York City, their herculean efforts succeeding beyond anyone's expectations." (xv)
In short, Riis was an early progressive reformer and muckraking reporter before the term muckraker had even been coined. This poor Danish immigrant became one of the biggest social reformers of the day, campaigning successfully against the slums and tenements. Riis' work brought massive reforms including the destruction of some of the worst slums in New York Cty. Mulberry Bend was once an infamous slum and is today known as Columbus Park due to the efforts of Riis. Jacob Riis made it impossible for the wealthy and middle class Americans of the day to keep ignoring the poor and destitute living amongst them. Riis photographs, taken with a revolutionary new flash, literally brought the dark and dank slums to light.
Tom Buk-Swienty's biography does an excellent job of telling Jacob Riis' story, from his early life in Denmark, his heartbreak over the love of his life (and the amazing turn around that actually leads to him getting the girl), his early destitute days in America and his, eventual, dedicated hard work that led to him becoming a famous reporter and reformer. The book also provides an excellent look at life in New York City at the turn of the century and the break with old Victorian standards towards the poor and charity. A very compelling biography.Here are some links to more information about Riis:
-If you've got a few minutes, watch this video clip from a documentary about Riis. It showcases many of his photographs.
-An NPR article about Riis and Buk-Swienty's biography.

Bad Blood by Lorna Sage

2009-04-28T04:48:00.001-07:00

Pages - 281

This book won the Whitbread Prize For Biography in 2001.
I am also a little wary of biographies that have titles like Bad Blood, because there has been such an influx of biographies dealing with children being abused, that I am always concerned it is going to be of the same vein and I just can't read books like that. Luckily this book is not like that at all. It is quite a tragic story but there is nothing in it that would have made me not read it.
This memoir looks at three different marriages within Lorna's family. She looks at how these relationships made her the person she became. By being an integral part of her family, you realise why she strived so hard in her later life, as if she was always trying to clear the family name.
The first part of the book looks at the very destructive marriage of Lorna's adored grandfather, the local vicar who introduced Lorna to her love of books and her grandmother who never really grew up and took charge of her family and responsibilities. Her grandfather became destroyed by this unhappy marriage in the end and moved on to having two affairs, the second affair with his daughters best friend which shocked the small village they lived in and ruined his reputation.
The second part of the book deals with the marriage of Lorna's mum and dad. Lorna's mum never really recovered from her father's affair with her best friend. She spent most of her marriage secluded in her own house, also unable to take responsibility for her home and her family. Her father kept up a front by covering for her mother and obviously loved her completely.
The third part looks at the early relationship and marriage between Lorna and her husband Vic. Lorna ruined the family name and was seen to follow in her grandfathers footsteps by causing scandal to the family. Lorna fell pregnant before she left school and had to deal with the affect it had on all the family. During that time, it was the worst thing a girl could do, to be pregnant out of wedlock and she had to fight very hard in order to keep her child and to carry on her education. She eventually went on to university and Vic and Lorna were featured in the Daily Mail as the first married couple to graduate in the same subject at the same time and both get Firsts.
All through Lorna's life, you read about her love of literature, which she grasped with both hands from a young age. She had never needed much sleep and her doctor prescribed her with a light and a set of books to keep her occupied through the hours she no longer need to sleep through.
I enjoyed this book, it was interesting to be able to compare the three different marriages, but I would have liked the section on Lorna to be a bit longer. From the book, it is very clear how much Lorna adored her grandfather and writes about him in a way to try and win his redemption from everything wrongdoing he committed. She often writes scornfully about his antics, but there is definitely a firm underlying love for him. From the first couple of sentences you are aware that her grandfather wasn't your run of mill vicar. I couldn't help but think of the drunken vicar in Father Ted. See what you think.
' Grandfather's skirts would flap in the wind along the churchyard path and I would hang on. he often found things to do in the vestry, excuses for getting out of the vicarage (kicking the swollen door, cursing ) and so long as he took me he couldn't get up to much. I was a sort of hobble; he was my minder and I was his'
The book is partly set in places that are familiar to me, such as Tonypandy is South Wales. My family come from there and my aunt still lives there. Lorna's grandmother owned the little shop up amongst the houses and I couldn't help but imagine my nan visiting the shop when she lived there as it would have been one of a few shops in the area.
It was an interesting biography and I am really glad I read it. I don't know if I would have picked it myself, so I thank Annie for lending it to me. I would definitely have liked to read more about Lorna, but she obviously felt that the story of her grandfather was more interesting than her own life story. Personally I found her own story gripped me more, as she defied the way teenage pregnancies were treated during that era and went onto pave the way for other young unmarried mothers to achieve an impressive education and further along the line have a really successful career.
Lorna Sage was a professor of English at the University of East Anglia and also wrote a couple of non fiction books. She passed away in January 2001 after witnessing the success of her memoirs.
Has anybody else read this book?

The Lincolns

2009-04-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Title: The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary
Author: Candace Fleming

What I loved most about this book is that it was not just another book about Abraham Lincoln but as the title implies was about both Abraham and Mary. It was very interesting to get a look at Mary along side her husband.
I also loved the scrapbook format of this book. It is absolutely full of interesting photographs, paintings, newspaper clippings and images of documents. Have a gander at Grant's hand written terms of surrender from Appomattox Court House or a copy of a draft from the Gettysburg address in Lincoln's handwriting. Great stuff. And because the book is set up like a scrapbook there are lots of little sections and snippets of information grouped together that just made a unique and interesting reading experience.
Filled with great trivia and bits of personal information about the Lincoln's this book is not to be missed.
I really want to track down a copy of the author's scrapbook look at Eleanor Roosevelt. That should be really interesting.

THE SUM OF OUR DAYS

2009-03-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

In The Sum of Our Days, internationally acclaimed author Isabel Allende reconstructs the painful reality of her own life in the wake of the tragic death of her daughter, Paula. Narrated with warmth, humor, exceptional candor, and wisdom, this remarkable memoir is as exuberant and full of life as its creator. Allende bares her soul as she shares her thoughts on love, marriage, motherhood, spirituality and religion, infidelity, addiction, and memory—and recounts stories of the wildly eccentric, strong-minded, and eclectic tribe she gathers around her and lovingly embraces as a new kind of family.

Product Description(from Amazon.Com)

This is a wonderful, witty, and loving book! I really liked it. Isabel Allende is very frank about her life. The death of her daughter, her son's divorce and remarriage, and all the people she seems to "adopt". Very moving book!

Thank you for the invite to this blog. Here is my list of books:

1. The Sum of Our Days: A Memoir - Isabel Allende
2. Clear Springs: A Memoir - Bobbie Ann Mason
3. Her Last Death: A Memoir - Susanna Sonnenberg
4. Dog Years: A Memoir - Mark Doty
5. Kitchen Privileges: A Memoir - Marry Higgins Clark

Alice Roosevelt Longworth

2009-03-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

Title: Alice Roosevelt Longworth: From White House Princess to Washington Power Broker
Author: Stacy A. Cordery

Before coming across this biography about Alice Roosevelt Longworth, I knew very little about this woman who was once a major American icon and known around the world as Princess Alice. I knew she was Theodore Roosevelt's daughter, that her mother had died shortly after giving birth to her and that she married a congressman from Cincinnati in a fancy White House wedding but that was about as far as my knowledge went. It turns out there was a lot to learn.

So who was Alice Roosevelt Longworth?
Theodore Roosevelt lost both his wife and his mother within hours of each other. Devastated by grief Roosevelt named his daughter Alice after her dead mother and then left her in the care of his sister. It was not until he remarried and his wife insisted Alice live with them that Roosevelt sent for his daughter. His new wife, childhood friend Edith Kermit Carow, at times took on an almost wicked step-mother persona towards her step daughter and her father pretty much kept ignoring her. Roosevelt never talked to Alice about her mother or even spoke her name. Alice was called Sister by the family so that the name Alice did not have to be used. Alice became a sort of outsider in her own family, never feeling that she fit in with her step brothers and sister.

After Theodore Roosevelt became President, Alice became the rebellious first daughter that the nation and world could not get enough of. Before there were movie stars or celebrity sports stars Alice Roosevelt was a media darling. The press followed her everywhere and she made the headlines for recklessly driving her car, betting on horses, and smoking in public. Alice renounced many of the social conventions of her time much to the relief of some and consternation of others. She became known as Princess Alice to all her worldwide, adoring fans. Her father and mother tried rather fruitlessly to convince Alice to behave properly and keep her name out of the papers, she was garnering more attention than her presidential father. It was not until Alice took a very successful goodwill trip across Asia that the president realized the political value of his celebrity daughter.

Alice loved the fame, the notoriety, living in the White House and being privy to the political scene in the nation's capital. In 1906 she married Nicolas Longworth, a congressman from Ohio and secured a future living in Washington and being a major behind the scenes political player. Alice became one of her father's most trusted political advisers and campaigned for his third term as president. Throughout her life this intelligent and ambitious woman wielded major political power but eschewed holding an official office. She cultivated friendships with those in power and helped to develop others for future political power. She voiced her opinions and did not care what others thought. She was very outspoken against her cousin Franklin Roosevelt's presidency and did not much care for cousin Eleanor. Alice worked to make sure her name and personality were always out there and always influential.

The biography includes details of her relationship with her often drunk and womanizing husband and Alice's affair with Idaho's Senator Borah, who fathered Alice's daughter Paulina.
In fact, details are something this book did not lack at all. While I was fascinated by much of what I was reading the book took on an almost time line effect at times. Lists of dinner guests, who Alice met with, when and where filled page after page. There were so many facts and details but I still felt this book was just skimming the surface when it came to who Alice was. I came away from this very lengthy biography feeling like I still had so much to learn but that I knew every detail about Alice's life. Like many biographies there was a lot of going back in forth in time that often got confusing and left holes in the story that were either filled in much, much later or never at all.
An ambitious and very well researched biography that just seemed to be missing something. Don't read unless you are very interested in the subject or you'll be bored by the many tedious details concerning Alice.

If you are interested in Alice but not sure about reading this long biography you can check out a fun and award winning children's book titled What to do About Alice written by Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham.

Book Review - Bookends: Two Women, One Enduring Friendship by Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern

2009-02-21T13:05:00.000-08:00

Old Books, Rare Friends did so well when published, fans of the book asked for more. Bookends is meant to be a more personal and in-depth look at the friendship between these two extraordinary women. I believe it is a perfect complement for the first book but would not stand well on its own (where as Old Books, Rare Friends does). While it covers a lot of the same ground from the first book, it is not repetitive. Both books alternate between the two different points of view of each women. So if in the first book, a trip to Europe was told from the point of view of Rostenberg, in Bookends Stern would share her impressions of the same event. They both discuss the romantic relationships they experienced in their youth and also expound on why they chose not to marry. There is a chapter dedicated to the dogs who served as their faithful companions throughout their lives and the difficulty they experienced in realizing the time had come to stop having a canine family member. There is a beautiful chapter dedicated to their mothers and the close relationships they both experienced with them. Two chapters address the changing world they live in and the process of aging in such a world. I could relate to their lamenting the onslaught of intimidating new technology. But I felt the deepest sadness as they outlined all the ways in which the rare book world has changed and in many ways left them behind. They were in no way found to be irrelevant or disrespected but the inevitable change of the times left them questioning and unsure about their place in a world they loved so much. I do recommend reading Bookends. I did not find it to be overkill...as a matter of fact, I still wanted to know more about these two ladies and after consulting the internet was saddened to find that they had both passed away recently (Rostenberg in 2005 and Stern in 2007). Their legacy continues to live on in a musical based on the two booksellers as well as a proposed documentary that I will be on the lookout for.

We have a winner!

2009-01-31T08:50:00.000-08:00

Using random.org, the winner of The Shiniest Jewel is Patty!

Congratulations!

I'll be hosting more giveaways throughout the year.

Dear Fatty by Dawn French

2009-01-29T11:48:00.000-08:00

366 pages
Challenges - In Her Shoes and 100+ challenge

This book came out just before Christmas and there was a lot of hype about it being fabulous, so I was desperate to read it. My friend Jo over at Crafting and Allotmenting kindly lent it to me and I devoured it very quickly.

Many of my overseas readers probably won't have a clue who this lady is, but over here she is a much loved British icon. Dawn French is part of one of our most longest serving comedy duo's French and Saunders who have been making people laugh for 30 years now. Jennifer Saunders had a hit programme with Absolutely Fabulous, which I think was aired in America.

Dawn has also had a very successful acting career, her most famous role being Geraldine Granger in the Vicar of Dibley, which is one of those comfort TV programmes that you can watch over and over again, a bit like Friends, Frasier and even Only Fools and Horses.
Dawn is also married to another very famous comedian, Lenny Henry, who figured quite heavily in my childhood viewing in the late, great Tiswas. Find me a 30+ British person who never watched Tiswas on a Saturday morning whilst growing up, and I will throw custard pie at them! Only joking!
Dawn's autobiography was as good as people said it was. It had me laughing so much, that my settee would not stop shaking and my husband refused to sit next me. She comes across as a warm, lovely,kindhearted person, who you would just love to know and have as your best buddy.
She has written the book in the form of a series of letters to different people who are important to her. A lot are addressed to her father who committed suicide when she was nineteen. She also writes a lot to Fatty, who is her comedy partner Jennifer Saunders, who isn't large at all.
I loved this book completely, I loved reading about their obsession with getting Madonna on their show for the last 30 years, always being turned down. I loved reading about their Comedy Strip days which were a big part of my television viewing whilst growing up. I loved that they wanted her in Mama Mia, but her singing was beyond awful!
I hav included some pictures. The top one shows Dawn with her husband Lenny. The next one show Dawn as Geraldine Granger and the third is a picture of her with her comedy partner Jennifer Saunders.
If you are looking for a warm, light hearted read, I would definitely recommend this book.

Our first book giveaway!

2009-01-24T19:25:00.000-08:00

The Shiniest Jewel: A Family Love Story (2008)
Marian Henley
176 pages
Received from Library Thing Early Reviewers.

I can't say enough good things about this touching, beautiful memoir. At 49, Marian Henley realizes that though she may not ever marry her longtime boyfriend, Rick, she wants to be a mother. The Shiniest Jewel details her journey to adopt her son William from Russia. Told in graphic novel format, this thought-provoking memoir made me realize how much some mothers go through to do adopt. I know it will be on my top 10 books of 2009.

As a way of saying thank you for joining this challenge, I decided to host a giveaway for all of you participating this year. To enter your name in the drawing, please leave a comment letting me know you want it. I'll randomly draw a name next Saturday.

A River of Words

2009-01-21T07:43:00.000-08:00

Written by Jen Bryant (July 2008)
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
34 pages
2008 Cybils nominee for best poetry

A River of Words tells of the poet William Carlos Williams' life from childhood until he's an adult. Bryant shows the reader where Williams grew up, how he fell in love with poetry, and where his inspiration from his poems came from.

This is a book for all ages. I read it to my oldest son and he loved hearing about Williams going after what he wanted, becoming a busy doctor, who still found the time to do what he loved: write poetry. The book was so nice we read it over again once we finished it the first time.

Finished 2008 "In Their Shoes" Reading Challenge

2009-01-02T05:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Vasilly from 1330V for hosting "In Their Shoes" reading challenge. In this challenge, we read memoirs, autobiographies and biographies. I read seven books for this challenge in 2008!

My Selections

1) Cross Creek - Marjorie Rawlings (review)
2) Marley and Me - John Grogan (review)
3) Ecology of a Cracker Childhood - Janisse Ray (review)
4) Resistance: A Woman's Struggle and Defiance in Occupied France by Agnes Humbert (review)
5) The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art - Joyce Carol Oates (review)
6) Negotiating With The Dead - Margaret Atwood (review)
7) An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination - Elizabeth McCracken (review)

Favorite: An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken (hands down!)

A great challenge from a great blogger friend - thanks, V!

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Storyby Diane Ackerman

2008-12-28T20:36:00.001-08:00

I have posted my thoughts about this book - which I loved - on my book blog. It was my eighth - and final - book for this challenge in 2008. I look forward to some limited participation in this challenge in 2009. Thanks, Vasilly!

Escape by Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer

2008-12-20T19:05:00.000-08:00

Published in 2007. 413 pages.

Reading Escape, the memoir of a former polygamist wife in the FLDS Church - the cult formerly led by Warren Jeffs - is a bit like driving past a bad car accident on the freeway: one isn't sure that she really wants to see what happened but she can't help staring anyway.

A compelling read - I read nearly the whole thing in one day - Jessop's account illustrates the evil of a religion that teaches that women and children are a man's property and that discourages education and individual thought. The book could have used some better editing, as it sometimes rambles and repeats itself, but it's worth a look. Escape was a Salt Lake County Library's Reader's Choice pick for the second half of 2008.

(Cross-posted from my book blog.)

Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faithby Anne Lamott

2008-12-18T08:01:00.001-08:00

Published in 2007. 257 pages.

I read Anne Lamott's previous compilations of personal essays on faith - Traveling Mercies and Plan B - in 2006. (I posted some thoughts here.) I liked Grace (Eventually) about as well as Plan B but not as well as Traveling Mercies.

What I love most about Lamott's writing is that her spirituality is so "real." She takes her everyday struggles - with things like body image and her teenage son and "forgivishness" - and finds God in them. She shares her vulnerabilities with us, her readers, and we are strengthened as we realize that we, too, can receive God's grace.

Here are a few of my favorite passages:

Sometimes grace works like water wings when you feel you are sinking. [page 50]

When Jesus was asked about beauty, he pointed to nature, to the lilies of the field. Behold them, he said, and behold is a special word: it means to look upon something amazing or unexpected. Behold! It is an exhortation, not a whiny demand, like when you're talking to your child - "Behold me when I'm talking to you, sinner!" Jesus is saying that every moment you are freely given the opportunity to see through a different pair of glasses. "Behold the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, and yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." But that's only the minor chord. The major one follows, in his anti-anxiety discourse - which is the soul of this passage - that all striving after greater beauty and importance, and greater greatness, is foolishness. It is untimately like trying to catch the wind. Lilies do not need to do anything to make themselves more glorious or cherished. Jesus is saying that we have much to learn from them about giving up striving. He's not saying that in "Get over it" way, as your mother or your last, horrible husband did. Instead he's heartbroken, as when you know an anorexic girl who's starving to death, as if in some kind of demonic possession. He's saying that we could be aware of, filled with, and saved by the presence of holy beauty, rather than worship golden calves. [pages 79-80]

The best way to change the world is to change your mind, which often requires feeding yourself. It makes for biochemical peace. It's almost like a prayer: to be needy, to eat, to taste, to be filled, building up instead of tearing down. You find energy to do something you hadn't expected to do, maybe even one of the holiest things: to go outside and stand under the stars, or to go for a walk in the morning, or in such hard times, both. [pages 252-253]

(Cross-posted from my book blog.)

The Story Of A Soul

2008-12-03T07:26:00.000-08:00

... I saw that all the flowers He has created are lovely. The splendour of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. I realised that if every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness and there would be no wild flowers to make the meadows gay. It is just the same in the world of souls - which is the garden of Jesus. He has created the great saints who are like the lilies and the roses, but He has created much lesser saints and they must be content to be the daisies or the violets which rejoice His eyes whenever He glances down. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being that which He wants us to be. (p.20)

I believe that if a little flower could speak, it would tell very simply and fully all that God had done for it. It would not say that it was ungraceful and had no scent, that the sun had spoilt its freshness, or that a storm had snapped its stem - not when it knew the exact opposite was true. The flower who is now going to tell her story rejoices at having to relate all the kindnesses freely done her by Jesus. She is well aware that there was nothing about her to attract His attention, and that it is His mercy alone which has created whatever there is good in her. It was He who ensured that she began to grow in a most pure and holy soil, and it was He who saw to it that eight fair lilies came before her. His love made Him want to keep His little flower safe from the tainted breezes of the world, and so she had scarcely begun to unfold her petals before He transplanted her on to the mountain of Carmel. (p.21)

The Autobiography of Saint Therese of Lisieux: The Story Of A Soul translated by John Beevers is a very inspiration book that tells of the short life of St. Therese of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower. Marie Francoise Therese Martin was born in 1873 in Alencon, France. At the young age of fifteen she became a Carmelite nun. In 1897 she died at the age of twenty four. On May 17, 1925 she was canonised by Pius XI and became known as St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

However, The Story Of A Soul tells more about her devotion and insight to Jesus than it does about her life. The first half of the book describes her childhood and family, the calling to her vocation, and the beginning years of her life at Carmel. Then the book takes a turn and becomes more of a spiritual writing. St. Therese shares her faith and devotion to Jesus through the life lessons that she learned during her short life. I found this part of the book extremely inspirational. She uses scripture, life examples, and her thoughts and feelings when expressing these insights. And her humbleness and honesty are very refreshing.

I was watered by His tears and Precious Blood and His adorable Face was my radiant sun. (p.93)

John Beevers' introduction is informative and helps fill in the gaps of information. St. Therese's easy style of writing is enjoyable and moving. I highly recommend The Autobiography Of Saint Therese of Lisieux: The Story Of A Soul to others who like to read spiritual books or books of faith.

To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novelby Siena Cherson Siegel and Mark Siegel

2008-11-29T20:59:00.000-08:00

Published in 2006.
64 pages (according to amazon.com, as the pages aren't numbered).
Robert F. Sibert Honor Book in 2007.

To Dance, a children's graphic novel recommended to me by my goodreads friend george, is a delightful look at the life of an aspiring ballerina.

(Cross-posted from my book blog.)

Lucky Man: Memoir by Michael J. Fox

2008-11-22T16:54:00.000-08:00

Originally published in 2002.
Unabridged audio book read by Michael J. Fox and Scott Brick.

A big fan of Michael J. Fox back in the Family Ties days, I enjoyed reading an excerpt of his memoir in Reader's Digest a number of years ago. Recently I had to take a short road trip by myself, so I picked up a few audio books from the library to keep me occupied and entertained. One of those was Lucky Man.

The first of the nine CDs was read by Fox himself. As I started the second disc, at first I was disappointed to hear the new reader - but Fox's personality quickly came through. Smart, honest, and funny, this was a great read. Or perhaps I should say "great listen"?

For more about Fox's work to fight Parkinson's disease, visit The Michael J. Fox Foundation Website.

(Cross-posted from my book blog.)

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken (Jill)

2008-11-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination
By Elizabeth McCracken
Completed November 5, 2008

I think there’s an old saying that you should never have to bury your child. Outliving my kids ranks number one in things “I don’t want to happen,” but sadly, there are parents who face this reality every day.

While some parents lose children days, months or years after their births, some parents lose their child before the baby is born, experiencing a stillborn birth. This happened to popular novelist Elizabeth McCracken and was the subject of her memoir, An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination.

I have never read a book like this before. As a mom, I am uncomfortable with the thought of losing a child, so I was not sure if I could read McCracken’s story. But with McCracken’s easy writing style, I finished her memoir in one day. Every page sucked me in. And while it’s filled with sadness, you get equal doses of hope and warm memories. She touched on so many important parts of the grieving process, and her reaction to other people’s reactions taught me a lot about how to support someone experiencing a loss.

There were touching moments too. Her chapters about her husband and best friend’s support made me teary-eyed. What a lovely tribute to them both.

McCracken took an uneasy subject and made it very human, very real and very approachable. While it will strike a familiar note with women who experienced the loss of a baby, I think all parents can learn from McCracken’s story. Having gotten to know her at this level, I hope to read her fictional books some day. ( )

Negotiating With The Dead by Margaret Atwood (Jill)

2008-11-05T10:26:00.000-08:00

Negotiating With The Dead
By Margaret Atwood
Completed November 5, 2008

Negotiating With The Dead: A Writer on Writing was a scholarly study about writers, readers and the stories that connect them, written by Margaret Atwood. A collection of six essays based on a series of lectures given by Atwood at Cambridge University, it’s an intelligent look into what makes writers tick and the challenges faced by the writer, especially female ones.

Each essay examined a different aspect of the writing process, such as dealing with fame, mingling with the dead and the conversation between the writer and his/her reader. Atwood added many stories from her past, which I found the most fascinating. She also included lots of references to other writers and poets, including Dante, Shakespeare, Alice Munro and Adrienne Rich – to help strengthen her many thoughts about writing.

This book reminded me Joyce Carol Oates’ The Faith of a Writer. Both books require concentration and offer provocative questions about the art of writing. Fans of Atwood may be turned off by her academic tone in Negotiating With The Dead, but if you can follow along and love to read about writers, then this collection by Atwood is a must-read. ( )

Teach With Your Heart by Erin Gruwell

2008-10-31T15:43:00.000-07:00

Subtitled Lessons I Learned From the Freedom Writers.
Published in 2007. 265 pages.

Last year I read The Freedom Writer's Diary by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell and also watched the movie based on the book, Freedom Writers. At that point I planned to read Erin Gruwell's memoir of that same experience - and I got to it this month.

I enjoyed this just as much as I did the first book, and it added some information about Gruwell's personal life (including her marriage), a run she made for Congress, and how the film came to be. I think it was good for me to wait for a while after reading The Freedom Writer's Diary before reading this book. That way I got to experience the emotions I felt all over again.

I'd recommend this book to teachers and parents and anyone else who enjoys a powerful story.

Cross-posted from my book blog.

Darkness Visible - 3M's Review

2008-10-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

Darkness Visible
by William Styron

1990, 84 pp.
Rating:

In this short memoir chronicling the author's own bout with depression, Styron gives us a glimpse of the pain and madness of the disease. Styron not only provides us with details of his own illness, but also expounds on the suicides and/or depression of other authors. He also gives guidelines and suggestions for action to those who have a loved one suffering with the disease.

Styron was the author of Sophie's Choice and the Pulitzer Prize winning The Confessions of Nat Turner. He died in 2006 at the age of 81 from pneumonia.

Blankets - 3M's Review

2008-10-28T08:55:00.001-07:00

There is a lot going on in Craig Thompson's autobiographical graphic novel Blankets. With a deeply personal touch, Thompson draws and writes about his childhood and teenage years and their hardships, joys, and discoveries. Writing about his brother, family, church camps, and first love, Thompson lays it all bare. He truly had some difficult things to deal with in his childhood that no child should have to face, and we see him struggle with his faith and family relationships as a result.

While I admire the book's artwork, story, and the author himself, it is difficult for me to write this review as I disagree with (but am mostly sad about) the book's conclusion. As I was reading the book, I was hoping for it to end a certain way when in fact it went the 180 degree opposite direction. Of course, this is the author's life so he has every right to write about and illustrate how he really feels, but... I was still very sad at the end. There's no denying he has a gift for writing and illustration, though, and I would definitely pick up another one of Thompson's graphic novels in the future.

The picture below is one of the illustrations dealing with the first night that he and his brother finally get their own rooms. After waiting so long for them after sharing a room for many years, it's not hard to imagine what happens that first night. I'll save that for you to read on your own, though! (This book has mature themes and I wouldn't recommend it for those under 16 or 17.)

592 pp., 2003
Rating:

The Only Road North - 3M's Review

2008-10-28T08:52:00.000-07:00

The Only Road North by Erik Mirandette is a story of brotherly love — between actual brothers and also between the Mirandettes and their fellow ‘brothers’ in need. Erik Mirandette was attending the Air Force Academy when he decided to take a two year break to focus on humanitarian efforts in Morocco. After being instrumental in bringing food and medicine to refugees in that country, he decided to take one last trek through Africa beginning in South Africa and working his way north to Cairo. His brother Alex, along with two friends, Kris and Mike, were in on the once-in-a-lifetime trip. After getting through numerous dangers and threats along the way, terror strikes them in Cairo when a suicide bomber attacks. Will Erik keep his faith and trust in God, even when the unthinkable happens?

This was a moving and sad story, but it was also full of hope. Thanks, Joy, for introducing it to me!

2007, 300 pp.
Rating: 4.5

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination - Wendy's Review

2008-10-27T11:25:00.001-07:00

A child dies in this book: a baby. A baby is stillborn. You don’t have to tell me how sad that is: it happened to me and my husband, our baby, a son. -From An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, page 6-

Author Elizabeth McCracken lived briefly in France, with her husband, in her early thirties. It is there she conceives her first child - a son named Pudding - and begins to dream of his life and how it will enrich her life. And then the unthinkable happens. In her ninth month of pregnancy, the child she and her husband have been anticipating dies. An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination is the story of loss and how one woman moved through it.

Elizabeth McCracken has written a stunning memoir from the heart - a love letter of sorts to her first son and her husband. Her writing is never maudlin, yet is profoundly moving - and despite the bleak subject matter, it even manages to be funny at times. But it is McCracken’s honesty which makes the memoir powerful. She never pads the emotions or avoids the uncomfortable - instead she takes the reader through one of the most devastating years of her life with candor and grace. Lest the reader shy away from the book because a baby dies, it would be remiss of me not to mention that a child is also born and lives in this book…an event that is at the same time joyous, healing and bittersweet.

I will admit that this book hit me like a sledgehammer. It sent me reeling. I felt blindsided by the intense emotions it stirred up for me…because I lost a child too. No, I have never been pregnant. My loss arrived through infertility. And McCracken’s prose resonated with me. She writes about other women’s pregnancies after her unbearable loss:

Still, I wouldn’t have minded a pause in the whole business. A sudden harmless moratorium on babies being born. Doctors would have to tell the unfortunate pregnant, “I’m sorry. It happens sometimes. Tidal, we think. For everyone else, nine months, but for you, eleven months, maybe a year, maybe more. Don’t go outside. Don’t leave your house. Stroke your stomach, fine, but only in your own living room. Keep your lullabies to yourself. We’ll let you know when it’s time.” -From An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, page 43-

AND

No, I insist: other people’s children did not make me sad. But pregnant women did. -From An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, page 111-

She writes of that horribly destructive behavior called Blame which threatens to stand in the way of moving forward through grief:

Blame is a compulsive behavior, the emotional version of obsessive hand washing, until all you can do is hold your palms out till your hands are full of it, and rub, and rub, and accomplish nothing at all. And so we grieved but looked straight ahead. -From An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, page 143-

I found myself nodding in agreement when McCracken spoke of the pain of answering those innnocent questions about children posed by unsuspecting strangers. She wishes for a stack of cards she can hand out which say ‘My first child was stillborn‘ whenever a person coos over her second son and asks, “is this your first?” How I wish I had a similar stack of cards reading “I am infertile” for every time someone asks if I have children.

McCracken writes:

I want people to know but I don’t want to say it aloud. people don’t like to hear it but I think they might not mind reading it on a card. -From An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, page 73-

Yes. I agree.

McCracken’s great gift is that she reveals to her reader her deepest sadness, and her greatest hope. And in the end, she leaves us with a message which can sustain those who have experienced intolerable loss:

It’s a happy life, but someone is missing. It’s a happy life, and someone is missing. -From An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, page 184-

This memoir is highly recommended, but with a cautionary note. I believed I had accepted my childlessness until I began reading McCracken’s words. I found myself closing the book often to weep, and yet I kept going back to read again. For women who have either lost a child or have never been able to conceive, this is a difficult book to read - but, it is also a hopeful book and one which reminds us we are not alone in our grief.

Wendy's Challenge List

2008-10-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

UPDATED: October 24, 2008 - This challenge is COMPLETE! Yay! Thank you Vasilly for hosting … I read some fantastic books. My favorite of the challenge was Elizabeth McCracken’s memoir: An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination - stunning and emotional with amazing writing. I’ll have to read one of her novels now!

*********************************

I have a number of books that fit the criteria for this challenge. Some of them were on my alternates list for the Non Fiction Five Challenge - but I didn’t get to them, so I’ve moved them to this challenge instead! I am committing to at least FOUR books from this list:

1. Tender at the Bone, by Ruth Rechl

2. The Zookeeper’s Wife, by Diane Ackerman (COMPLETED May 12, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)

3. Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi

4. Laughing Without An Accent, by Firoozeh Dumas (COMPLETED May 18, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)

5. A Thousand Days in Tuscany, by Marlena de Blasi

6. Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt

7. Steinbeck: A Life in Letters, by John Steinbeck (edited by Elaine Steinbeck and Robert Wallsten)

8. Have You Found Her: A Memoir, by Janice Erlbaum (COMPLETED January 14, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review)

9. An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, by Elizabeth McCracken (COMPLETED October 24, 2008; rated 5/5; read my review)

DEATH BE NOT PROUD

2008-10-12T15:09:00.001-07:00

DEATH BE NOT PROUD by John Gunther

From the back of the book:

Johnny Gunther was only seventeen years old when he died of a brain tumor. During the months of his illness, everyone near him was unforgettably impressed by his level-headed courage, his wit and quiet friendliness, and, above all, his unfaltering patience through times of despair. This deeply moving book is a father's memoir of a brave, intelligent, and spirited boy.

I wasn't impressed by this book. Johnny Gunther was 17 but seemed more like 40 (he died in 1947). He was a middle-aged man in a teenager's body. I didn't get any feeling of youth in his father's depiction of him at all. Maybe it was because Johnny was so intelligent and consumed with school and science. I read very little of him having friends his own age.

I also didn't get any feeling on his father's part in this book. I'm sure Mr. Gunter was devastated by his only son's death, and this book was to be a testament to his son's life. But I didn't perceive any warmth in either Mr. Gunter, his wife, or Johnny. I never felt that I learned anything about Johnny or his relationship with his parents.

This book was the last book for the In Their Shoes Challenge. Thanks for hosting this fun challenge. I'd like to do this one again next year.

Myrthe's roundup

2008-10-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a while already since I finished this challenge, but I never got around to writing round-ups. But here we go:

I read all the titles that were on my original list plus on extra. These are the books I read (links go to the reviews on my own blog):
* Simon Sebag Montefiore - Young Stalin
* Peter Balakian - Black Dog of Fate
* Shirin Ebadi - Iran Awakening
* Azar Nafisi - Reading Lolita in Tehran
* Mary S. Lovell - The Mitford Girls

All these authors were new to me. There was no major dud among these five books, I actually enjoyed them all, but the one I liked least was Reading Lolita in Tehran. My favorite was Black Dog of Fate.

HUSTLE

2008-10-03T06:41:00.001-07:00

HUSTLE: THE MYTH, LIFE, AND LIES OF PETE ROSE by Michael Y. Sokolove was read for the In Their Shoes Challenge.

From the back of the book:

For months Pete Rose's name was everywhere. His story was played out on the evening news and in banner headlines across the country. There were details about his sleazy associates, him gambling, and his legal battles. But what was missed, what nobody adequately answered was, Who was Pete Rose? and How could this have happened?

HUSTLE answers these questions by showing us the real Pete Rose. It cuts through the myths surrounding Charlie Hustle and explains how Rose could be both the All-American kid who got the most out of his talent and the bloated ex-athlete who broke baseball's one absolute taboo. Based on interviews with Rose's teammates, team owners, sportswriters, police, investigators, even members of Rose's own family, HUSTLE tells the full story of how a man who made himself an American hero ended up on American tragedy.

Let me preface this by telling you a little about me and baseball. My father once played semi-pro ball and knew all about the game, teaching me and passing his love of the game on to me. Daddy knew the owners of the Philadelphia Phillies and we always had first-base seats waiting for us. Spring and summer meant one thing in our house - baseball.

We lived in Cincinnati at the height of the "Big Red Machine" when the Cincinnati Reds, led by Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, and Pete Rose, were the ultimate baseball team. Pete was known as Charlie Hustle because of his approach to the game - give it all you have all the time.

But Pete Rose had problems. He was a gambler and surrounded himself with unsavory characters. He bet on the horses, football and basketball - and baseball itself.

This book tells all about Pete Rose - the good and the bad. Was he a good - great - baseball player? Absolutely. He played hard and gave his all. Was he a team player? No, he played for himself and the record books. Did he have problems? Most definitely. Did he know the rules about gambling? Of course he did. Did he care? No, he thought he was above the rules and could do whatever he wanted. And baseball officials fed into this by not holding him accountable when they had a good idea of what was happening.

I always felt that Pete Rose was an arrogant S.O.B. This book does nothing to change my opinion of him; in fact it greatly affirms my feelings. He might have been a good player but he wasn't a nice person.

Pete Rose finally admitted that he bet on baseball - on his own team. And he feels he should be reinstated into baseball (he was given a lifetime ban) and admitted to the Hall of Fame.

"I bet on my team every night. I didn't bet on my team 4 nights a week."

"I bet on my team to win every night because I love my team, I believe in my team. I did everything in my power every night to win that game."

Rose thinks he should be reinstated because "I'm the best ambassador baseball has."

(From an interview on the Dan Patrick ESPN radio show March 2007)

I really enjoyed this book. Mr. Sokolove knows baseball and admires Pete Rose for his accomplishments on the baseball field. Yet he pulled no punches, and wrote an honest appraisal of Pete Rose the man.

Aristocrats

2008-09-03T06:22:00.001-07:00

Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, 1740-1832 by Stella Tillyard is the biography of four high born sisters. As with many of the books I read, this languidly lay in the TBR for awhile. This one for almost a year, but I have quite forgotten where I read or learned about the books only observing that it seemed well criticised and popular enough for the BBC to make mini series on it. It is a thick history book around 450 pages hardcover and very in depth as it covers the lives of these four women. While I enjoy history immensely, I actually do read that many historical books, and to be honest, many of them are dry. This one was not only well researched, but Tillyard makes the prose feel, at times, as if one is reading a novel rather than a distant historical account. There are many academics who are readable and comprehensive, and there are many who are far from it. Tillyard is not only readable, but her writing is accessible to the public which is why this book is a bit of an oddity being very historical, biographical, and a best seller. As a result, one learns a lot about the lives of people in the UK and Ireland in the 18th century. It is not necessarily a page turner for everyone though, and I really only picked it up because I am interested in history, but you may not be curious if aristocrats, rich dead people, biographies, and English/Irish history are not your things. An interesting read none the less.

(Crossposted from aquatique.net which also has a short review of the mini series).

The Glass Castle

2008-08-27T04:42:00.000-07:00

"How many places have we lived?" I asked Lori.
"That depends on what you mean by 'lived,'" she said. "If you spend one night in some town, did you live there? What about two nights? Or a whole week?"
I thought. "If you unpack all your things," I said.
We counted eleven places we had lived, then we lost track. We couldn't remember the names of some of the towns or what the houses we had lived in looked like. Mostly, I remembered the inside of cars.
"What do you think would happen if we weren't always moving around?" I asked.
"We'd get caught," Lori said. (p. 29)

I won't soon forget the accounts of Jeannette Walls' childhood that are shared in her book The Glass Castle. She begins at the age of three when she is accidentally burned by water on the stove while cooking hot dogs and continues through adulthood when she is finally on her own but still coming to terms with the lifestyle that her parents have chosen. Jeannette and her three siblings lived in many places and in very dire conditions. Her parents' behavior and ideas were unusual and often extreme. Living in desert towns, in the Appalachia's, and finally in New York City, their homes, schools, friends, and living conditions changed frequently. And their family's survival was a daily struggle throughout their childhoods. But one thing always remained stable throughout their lives: their father's dream of hitting it big one day as an entrepreneur and building a glass castle for his family.

One day Professor Fuchs asked if homelessness was the result of drug abuse and misguided entitlement programs, as the conservatives claimed, or did it occur, as the liberals argued, because of cuts in social-service programs and the failure to create economic opportunity for the poor? Professor Fuchs call on me.
I hesitated. "Sometimes, I think, it's neither."
"Can you explain yourself?"
"I think that maybe sometimes people get the lives they want."
"Are you saying homeless people want to live on the street?" Professor Fuchs asked. "Are you saying they don't want warm beds and roof over their heads?"
"Not exactly," I said. I was fumbling for words. "They do. But if some of them are willing to work hard and make compromises, they might not have ideal lives, but they could make ends meet."
Professor Fuchs walked around from behind her lectern. "What do you know about the lives of the underprivileged?" she asked. She was practically trembling with agitation. "What do you know about the hardships and obstacles that the underclass faces?"
The other students were staring at me.
"You have a point," I said. (pp. 256-257)

As Jeannette Walls openly admits, she did not discuss her childhood and was ashamed of how she grew up as well as how her parents chose to live. But in her memoir The Glass Castle, she finally shares that story with others. I highly recommend this book.

Walking Taylor Home

2008-08-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Book: Walking Taylor Home by Brian Schrauger.
Finished: August 208
Pages: 270
A simply beautiful memoir of a father's fierce love for his cancer ravaged son, as he walks him "Home"
Here is my complete review.

HERSHEY

2008-08-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

HERSHEY: MILTON S. HERSHEY'S EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF WEALTH, EMPIRE, AND UTOPIAN DREAMS by Michael D'Antonio was read for the In Their Shoes Reading Challenge.

From the book jacket:

HERSHEY. The name means chocolate to America and the world, but, as Michael D'Antonio reveals, it also stands for an inspiring man and a uniquely successful experiment in community and capitalism that produced a business empire devoted to a higher purpose.

One of the twentieth century's most eccentric and idealistic titans of industry, Milton S. Hershey brought affordable milk chocolate to America, creating and then satisfying the chocoholic urges of millions. He pioneered techniques of branding, mass production, and marketing and gained widespread fame as the Chocolate King.

But as he developed massive factories, Cuban sugar plantations, and a vacation wonderland called Hersheypark, M.S. never lost sight of a grander goal. Determined that his wealth produce a lasting legacy, he tried to create perfect places where his workers could live, perfect schools for their children, and a perfect charity to salvage the lives of needy children in perpetuity. Along the way, he overcame his personal childhood traumas as well as the death, after a short and intensely romantic marriage, of the one woman he ever loved...

Everyone knows Hershey chocolate bars, Hershey Kisses, Hershey cocoa. But do you know about Milton S. Hershey?

I grew up in Philadelphia and spent many a day at Hersheypark - my absolute favorite amusement park. I love the town of Hershey. The streetlamps on Chocolate Avenue are shaped like Hershey Kisses. There used to be a tour of the actual chocolate factory, where you could actually watch the candy being made. Now they have an attraction called Chocolate World outside the gates of Hersheypark, where you take a ride through the attraction, seeing pictures and hearing the story of the chocolate-making process. If I could live anywhere in the country, I think I'd chose the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania.

I had known some about the Milton Hershey School, but never realized how important this school was to M.S. Hershey. He left his entire fortune to the school, and the profits of the chocolate factory (and other holdings) belong to the school. Enrollment in the school is open to children between the ages of 4-15, and provides housing, clothing, medical care and education from pre-school through Grade 12 - at no cost. The children eligible to attend this school are selected from applicants from low-income families who show social need and a willingness to learn. You can learn more about the school here.

This book chronicles the life of Milton Hershey and his experimentation to find the perfect chocolate. It tells how he planned the town of Hershey (and a similar town in Cuba near his sugar plantations) to provide a place for his employees to live. And it tells how he developed his school.

Milton Hersey did not have a great childhood. His father neglected him; his mother worked hard to provide for her children. He was never a good student.

As an adult, Milton fulfilled his father's dream of success and acclaim by building a great industry. With the creation of his utopian town he heeded his mother's admonitions about serving something higher than the accumulation of personal wealth. Then, when it came time to consider his legacy, he invested his fortune with a poignant flourish. He would save himself symbolically - by rescuing little boys in the straits he knew as a child - over and over again in perpetuity.

Milton Hershey was quite a man. I think I'll go have a handful of Hershey Kisses in his honor.

Maus I & II

2008-08-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

By Kim L
Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman
Rating: 5/5

Also posted at Bold. Blue. Adventure.
Also posted at Graphic Novel Challenge

How does a writer describe horrors that are undescribable? Write a fresh story about a period of history that's been so dissected and analyzed it seems every story that can be told has already been told? And most of all, how to write about the Holocaust without being completely overwhelmed by the telling?

Art Spiegelman chose to write his story in a comic book format. It is unlike any other comics I've read before. The illustrations are all in black and white. Different nationalities are different kinds of animals. The Jews are mice, the Poles, pigs and the Germans, cats. Spiegelman never goes into detail as to why he chose to use animals to represent the characters, but it works visually by letting the reader know immediately what nationality particular character is. On a deeper level, there animals can be taken metaphorically; the Jews have to play a cat and mouse game to survive, or mice are seen as vermin, much as the Jews were.

That Vladek managed to survive the Holocaust at all is nothing short of miraculous. His story is full of brushes with death, incredible luck, and a sixth sense for danger that keeps him alive. While in Auschwitz, he finds ways to be resourceful. When needed, he tutors a guard in English, passes himself off as a tinsmith and then as a shoe mender. He finds a way to pass messages to his wife and keep her close by.

Vladek survives, but along the way he is forced to watch nearly all the members of his family die. Each day, he might talk to someone who the next day will be dead of a guard's bullet, or gassed in the chambers, hanged, or simply disappeared. Finding enough food to live to survive the next day is the only thing on anyone's mind.

(You can click on the image to the left to see an example of one of the pages.)

This book is not just about Vladek's Holocaust experience. Framed around it is the story of how Art set out to record and process his father's story. He finds his father at best difficult and at worst downright impossible to be around. His father's overwhelming stinginess is embarrassing (They sneak into a hotel to play bingo for free because it costs $.25 a card to play at the bingo hall; Art cringes in shame when his father tries to seal up a box of cereal and return it to the grocery store, to name a few examples).

There is a particular scene in Maus II where Spiegelman tries to explain to the reader what it is like to write about the Holocaust, what it cost him to write his father's story.

Vladek started working as a tinman in Auschwitz in the spring of 1944... I started working on this page at the very end of February 1987. In May 1987 Francoise and I are expecting a baby... Between May 16, 1944 and May 24, 1944 over 100,000 Hungarian Jews were gassed in Auschwitz. In September 1986, after 8 years of work, the first part of Maus was published. It was a critical and commercial success. At least fifteen foreign editions are coming out. I've gotten four serious offers to turn my book into a T.V. special or movie. (I don't wanna.) In May 1968 my mother killed herself. (She left no note.) Lately I've been feeling depressed.

Spiegelman always presents the story in an honest manner, never covering up his conflicts with his father, or his father's volatile relationship with his second wife, but this particular passage struck me as particularly honest. His disjointed thoughts, flitting from his own personal life to the cold facts of the Holocaust and back again, could have easily come across as a distraction to the main story, but Spiegelman incorporates them in such a way that they only enhance the story by showing the reader what it means to be the child of a Holocaust survivor.

Since I've just been talking about this author's honesty, I'll be honest with you, the reader. I avoid most Holocaust novels because they just make me so damned depressed. The organized, methodical way that the Nazis invented new ways to torture fellow human beings, how many people bought into the lie that some people are superior to others... it just sickens me to read about it. So even if you are like me and would rather read the entire dictionary than another Holocaust book, let me tell you why this one is worth your time.

The first thing it's got going for it is that it's a quick read. You could breeze through both books in a couple of hours. Secondly, although it describes the familiar horrors of the overcrowded cattle cars, the shower stalls, the death chambers, this retelling brings something new to the table because the format is so different than anything else you've read on the Holocaust.

Resistance: A Woman's Journal of Struggle and Defiance in Occupied France by Agnes Humbert (Jill)

2008-08-08T16:55:00.001-07:00

Resistance: A Woman’s Journal of Struggle and Defiance in Occupied France
By Agnes Humbert
Completed August 8, 2008

In her memoir, Resistance: A Woman’s Journal of Struggle and Defiance in Occupied France, Agnes Humbert spelled out her acts of resistance and eventual imprisonment during German-occupied France in the 1940’s. Humbert was a 43-year-old art historian when the Nazis invaded Paris, and she and her fellow intellectuals refused to be complacent with German occupation. Together, they created the short-lived Resistance newspaper – an underground publication devoted to undermining Nazi propaganda. After five months, the Gestapo detained Humbert and her allies, and for five years, she survived harsh imprisonment for her crimes, including serving time in a German work camp.

Through Humbert’s writing, readers learned about the interrogation and punishment of French nationalists, and how strenuous German work camp life was for its prisoners. Humbert’s style was easy and clipped, only containing the essential elements about her comrades and their activities. Humbert described her involvement in the Resistance as inconsequential, but historical sources (according to the book notes) showed that Humbert was a very important player. This inconsistency left me unsettled: was Humbert really insignificant or just humble?

It’s important to note that Resistance was written primarily after Humbert’s liberation. However, Humbert still wrote it in a diary-style (each entry was marked with a date), as if she had a journal and pen in prison with her. This was not the case. She worked feverishly on her “diary” for nine months after her release, and she had a solid memory because she recalled details such as times, dates, people’s appearances and the weather. Her eye as an art historian probably helped, but I wondered how one could remember such intricate details. For me, Humbert’s account would have been stronger if she had written it as a chapter-to-chapter memoir.

With that said, Resistance is a primary resource for readers interested in World War II history. Undoubtedly, Agnes Humbert was a brave, smart woman who loved her country (she also had a wicked sense of humor). While I disagree with the format of the book, the historical information gleaned from it was worthwhile and illuminating. ( )

Petite Anglaise

2008-08-08T07:19:00.001-07:00

I have a bit of a history of reading expat memoirs, and France is a popular place for expats to write about. One of my favourite expat memoirs is Paris to the Moon. In fact, I think I've read more memoirs of living in Paris than any other. Which is to say probably a handful. I think it's mostly a habit now that if I hear of a decently written memoir about living in France, I'll read it. Though the reason I picked up this book was not only because it was an expat memoir, I knew of Petite Anglaise, as with many people, through her blog. I read it first in 2005 or late 2004 (definitely before she left Mr. Frog). While I was never a regular reader or commentator on her blog, I remember reading several of the posts and comments alluded to in the book. Even in blog format, I admired her openness in writing for her life. It is funny reading the book with things you've read about online or in a blog. It seems to be another perspective, and indeed, Catherine Sanderson seems to differentiate herself and Petite. I enjoyed this memoir because the question is elicits in personal blogging. How much do we or should we reveal? Do a lot of us blog when we are unhappy as a creative and cathartic outlet? Overall, I like how this memoir posed these questions about online dating, personalities or public writing. I think Sanderson writes in a clear style and voice.

CrosspostedAquatique

Laura's Review - Paula

2008-08-08T04:40:00.000-07:00

Paula
Isabel Allende
330 pages

At the age of 28 Isabel Allende's daughter, Paula, was stricken by porphyria and lapsed into a coma. Paula was written at her bedside as a way to work through emotions and unfinished business. Allende re-tells the tragic story of Paula's illness and treatment, while simultaneously recounting her life story.

I cannot begin to imagine the strain of caring for someone with a long-term illness. Allende approached the situation with fierce devotion and drive, doing everything within her power to help Paula. She rallied other family members even during the darkest times, and turned to her writing for emotional release.

Isabel Allende is one of my favorite authors, so I found it quite interesting to learn about her childhood, the family members who inspired her writing, and her escape from Chile's political unrest. In turn, she inspired me as a feminist, a mother, and a deeply spiritual woman. ( )

My original review can be found here.

wednesday night run

2008-07-31T04:12:00.000-07:00

first time on pavement for awhile
sound of rubber hitting asphalt
dogs barking in dark corners
cats jumping out of gutters and slinking across the street
headlights shining in my eyes
skipping over potholes, speed bumps
turn corner onto e. ponce
whizzing past the post office
sweat dripping off arms onto hands onto pavement
cars passing to the left
bass pumping out of windows at the stop light
whizzing past taco mac, ruby tuesday
couples snuggling into each other behind windows
sharing food, conversation, lips
laptops open to powerpoint presentation on tables
sipping coffee, reading paper
whizzing past starbucks
man playing saxaphone on bench
lovely jazzy sound almost want to stop and lie in the grass
couples drinking and talking not 100 yards from jazz music
coming up to church street
man walking toward me with two huge incense sticks burning
saying something i can't understand
sure do like the smell of the musky incense
woman walking, looking all around, .. phone
workers taking out trash from tai me up
tired and ready to crawl into bed after feeding decatur
continue on toward avondale station
dark, dark, dark
people walking on other side of street
men sitting on wall laughing and talking
figuring out how to solve the world's problems
on a wall in downtown decatur with the faint sound of jazz music and the faint smell of incense in the air

Laura's Review - Brother, I'm Dying

2008-07-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

Brother, I'm Dying

Edwidge Danticat
270 pages

In Brother, I'm Dying Edwidge Danticat has written a book that is both a personal memoir and an homage to the two most significant male figures of her childhood: her father and uncle. Danticat was born in Haiti and raised primarily by her aunt and uncle after her parents left to start a new life in New York. At the age of twelve she and her brother were reuinted with their parents, and with two more brothers born in New York. Her memoir highlights the emotional impact of such an unusual childhood, but this is not a negative tell-all story. Rather, Danticat focuses more on Haiti's tumultuous political climate, its effect on her uncle and other relatives, her parents' struggle as immigrants, and the relationship between her father and uncle, which only develops when they are well into adulthood.

In 2004, just as Danticat was anticipating her first child, she also faced the responsibility of caring for aging parents. Her father had a life-threatening condition and was declining rapidly. Her uncle was still in reasonably good health, but was forced to leave Haiti during riots that same year. On arrival in the U.S., he became the victim of distressing acts of bigotry and prejudice, was held in a detention center, and died within days. Danticat matter-of-factly described the series of events that led to his death, in a way that made me feel simultaneously outraged and heart-broken.

Danticat is a talented writer; I enjoyed her novel Breath, Eyes, Memory (read my review), and look forward to reading more of her work. ( )

My original review can be found here.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

2008-07-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

My fear and discomfort crept beyond the borders of the classroom and accompanied me out onto the wide boulevards. Stopping for a coffee, asking directions, depositing money in my bank account: these things were out of the question, as they involved having to speak [French]. Before beginning school, there'd be no shutting me up, but now I was convinced that everything I said was wrong. When the phone rang, I ignored it. If someone asked me a question, I pretended to be deaf. I knew my fear was getting the best of me when I started wondering why they don't sell cuts of meat in vending machines. (pp. 171-172)

My son was teasing me this past weekend while I was enjoying David Sedaris' book Me Talk Pretty One Day. He said, "There goes Mom again... giggling while she reads a book!" But there is no other way to describe this book other than a collection of funny yet simple essays about the life and times of David Sedaris as told by David Sedaris. The first section (one) recounts stories of Sedaris in the United States and the second section (deux) recounts stories of Sedaris in France. He covers many different topics during different times in his life, often times expressing or explaining the difficulties he has had in understanding people, things, and language. My favorite selections include Genetic Engineering, The Learning Curve, Today's Special, Nutcracker.com, The Tapeworm Is In, Make That A Double, and Smart Guy.

As a child I'd always harbored a sneaking suspicion that I might be a genius. The theory was completely my own, corroborated by no one, but so what? Being misunderstood was all part of the package. My father occasionally referred to me as "Smart Guy," but eventually I realized that when saying it, he usually meant just the opposite. (p. 241)

Me Talk Pretty One Day is a smart read, lots of fun, and a good introduction to David Sedaris, which is why it was recommended to me in the first place. I really enjoyed this book and pass along the recommendation to others.

raidergirl3 list of books

2008-07-20T03:27:00.000-07:00

I've been making a list of books that I'd like to read for this challenge. Some of these are from the Cardathon Challenge and some I own; some I just really want to read. I will probably add to this list, but I hope to read 8 memoirs/biographies/autobiographies next year for this challenge.

1. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed - Alan Alda
2. Running With Scissors - Augustus Burrows
3. ~~Teacher Man - Frank McCourt~~
4. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - Bill Bryson
5. A Long Way Gone - Ishmael Beah
6. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azzar Nafisi
7. Maus I and II - Art Spiegelman
8. ~~I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This - Bob Newhart~~
9. Brainiac - Ken Jennings
10. Persepolis 1 and 2 - Marjane Satrapi

ETA: July 20, 2008: And that makes 8 books I've read, so I am finished this challenge. Yay me! A few got added after I started, and there are more I'd still like to read, but it's been great. Thanks for hosting Vasilly.

The Mitford Girls by Mary S. Lovell

2008-07-17T00:40:00.000-07:00

The six sisters collectively known as the Mitford Girls were not only very different and interesting characters of themselves, living in an interesting time in history, but the way their lives turned out, makes them even more fascinating.

So let me briefly introduce them. The oldest, Nancy, was born in 1904 and became a very successful writer, getting much of her inspiration from her own surroundings. Then there was Pam, one of the quieter, lesser known sisters. The two younger sisters Diana and Unity more than made up for that. Diana falls in love with and later marries Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Fascist Party, and becomes an ardent supporter of Fascism and Nazism. Unity gets acquainted with and becomes a personal friend of Adolf Hitler. In fact, Diana may have been one of the very few if not the only person who counted both Hitler and Winston Churchill (he married into the family when he married a cousin of the girls' father) among her personal friends. Decca's political preferences go in an entirely different direction: she becomes a communist, in the late 30s she runs off to the civil war against Franco in Spain and eventually ends up in the US. The youngest sister, Debo, was born in 1920. Like Pam, she is one of the "quieter" of the sisters, though in her own way she makes something remarkable of her life, becoming a business woman and successfully leading and expanding her husband's estate, making it one of the few profitable estates in the country. There is a fairly recent interview with her here.

I found Decca the most interesting of the sisters, because she was the only one who actually broke free of the life and conventions of her class and ended up leading a life different from what was expected of her. She was the most unconventional of the six. The others, no matter how "funky" their political opinions, still stayed within what was expected of them by their social background. Debo and Pam, in The Mitford Girls at least, stayed a bit in the background, probably because they were the most "ordinary" of the six. Relatively speaking that is. I would have loved to find out more about them. Though for that I suppose I'd have to read one of the numerous other books that have been written about one or more of the sisters.

The most interesting part of the book were the chapters dealing with the period from the late twenties until the end of the Second World War. Anyone who reads this book cannot but read that part with hindsight, knowing what Fascism and Nazism would lead to, knowing about the Holocaust.

In fact, the same goes for Decca's becoming a communist in the thirties. At this time Stalin's terror was pretty much at its top. This was one question I had that didn't get answered in this book: to what extent did Decca really believe in Communism as an ideal, a solution for economic and social problems or was Communism for her a way to combat Fascism. Or was she just some sort of fellow-traveler. Even more important, to what extent was she aware of what was happening in the Soviet Union, the Gulags, the executions and persecutions, the famines following the collectivization of the agricultural sector. This book at least doesn't say anything about her knowledge of and attitude towards all this.

Many more pages are dedicated to Unity's infatuation for Hitler an Diana's support for Nazism and Fascism. During her life, Diana actually never apologized for or repented her support for Fascism. I found Diana an interesting woman as well.

Apart from the six women's roaring lives, this book also gives a very interesting picture of upper class life in England and especially of the social mores and conventions that the girls had to cope with and adhere to in the first half of the twentieth century. One thing that struck me was how the different families were on the one hand continually selling their mansions, houses, and parts of their estates because they couldn't afford their upkeeping anymore, moving into smaller living places all the time, but on the other they were also continually traveling abroad, sending their children to finishing school abroad, and they kept buying land and houses as well. All these changes in property were sometimes hard to keep up with. To my 21st century mind it was sometimes hard to understand the logic behind not being able to afford one thing, but at the same time spending so much money on other luxuries.

Another thing that struck me is how seemingly common extramarital affairs were in the society in which the Mitfords lived. Don't get me wrong, I am not a prude and all this adultery going on didn't bother me as such, it was just one of the things I noticed while reading the book. Extramarital affairs seemed to have been acceptable for both men and women, but at the same time once a woman was divorced, her social status was gone. This became very clear when Diana's affair with Oswald Mosley was discussed in the book. When their relationship started, Diana was still married to someone else. She did push through a divorce, despite the objections of many, her own parents among them. Diana's mother even forbade some of the younger sisters to visit Diana after her divorce.

All in all, I enjoyed The Mitford Girls enormously. Mary S. Lovell wrote a fast-paced, seemingly well researched book, that gives an intriguing look into the lives of a family that was notorious and famous at the time and also into upper-class life in England in the first half of the twentieth century in general. I highly recommend this book as an introduction into the Mitford family.

As always, if you have reviewed this book on your blog, leave a comment with the link to your review or send me an email with the link, so I can include it in the post.

I SHOULDN'T EVEN BE DOING THIS!

2008-07-11T05:57:00.001-07:00

I SHOULDN'T EVEN BE DOING THIS! by Bob Newhart was read for the In Their Shoes Challenge.

From the book jacket:

Most comedians are committable. People say I'm the most normal of all comedians - and I'm still certifiable. - from Chapter One

That stammer. Those basset-hound eyes. That bone-dry wit. There has never been another comedian like Bob Newhart. In this, his first book ever, Newhart gives his brilliant and bemused twist on a multitude of topics, including flying, the trials of a family holiday in a Winnebago, and more serious subjects, such as golf. And, of course, there are side-splittingly funny stories from his life and career. Who else has a drinking game named after him? ("Hi, Bob!")

He writes of his few years as an accountant (he routinely grew so frustrated trying to reconcile petty cash that he would round up and down using his own pocket change). He describes his surprise at the groundbreaking success of his albums, starting with The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, which was the first comedy album ever to hit #1 on the charts and won the Grammy for Album of the Year (beating Sinatra). There are stories from the legendary television shows, which spent fifteen years on prime time, and tales of other comedy greats. Ans as counterpoint throughout, he provides excerpts from some of his classic routines, which revolutionized comedy.

This isn't a memoir like most memoirs. It's a book only Bob Newhart could have written, with his unique worldview and irrepressibly wry humor on every page. Oh, and there's a fair bit of plain silliness, too.

I love Bob Newhart. Back when I was a teenager, my friend Tina and I would listen to an album of his, The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back. He did a bit about computers and automation that included the line "Sit down, machine" done in a computer-type voice that cracked me up. (I guess you had to be there!)

Saturday nights, we always watched The Bob Newhart Show with Bob as Dr. Hartley and Suzanne Pleshette as his wife Emily. Then later, Newhart on Monday nights with Bob as Vermont-inn-owner Dick Louden and Mary Frann as his wife. Do you remember Larry and his brothers Darrell and Darrell? And the fantastic ending to that show?

So it's hard for me to say that I didn't really enjoy this book that much. There were parts that were very good, such as the texts of various comedy routines. Reading those, I could picture Bob and hear his voice. But other parts of the book dragged for me.

I guess I was looking for more Bob Newhart as Dr. Hartley and Dick Louden than Bob Newhart as Bob Newhart.

ROOTS

2008-07-09T04:09:00.001-07:00

ROOTS by Alex Haley was read for the In Their Shoes Challenge and the Chunkster Challenge.

From the book flap:

"Early in the spring of 1750, in the village of Juffure, four days upriver from the coast of The Gambia, West Africa, a man-child was born to Omoro and Binta Kente."

So begins ROOTS, one of the most important and influential books of our time. When originally published thirty years ago, it galvanized the nation and created an extraordinary political, racial, social, and cultural dialogue that had not been seen in this country since the pulication of UNCLE TOM'S CABIN.

ROOTS has lost none of its emotional power and drama, and its message for today's and future generations is even more vital and relevant than it was thirty years ago.

When he was a boy in Henning, Tennessee, Alex Haley's grandmother used to tell him stories about their family - stories that went back to her grandparents, and their grandparents, down through the generations all the way to a man she called "the African." She said he had lived across the ocean near what he called the "Kamby Bolongy" and had been out in the forest one day chopping wood to make a drum when he was set upon by four men, beaten, chained and dragged aboard a slave ship bound for Colonial America.

Still vividly remembering the stories after he grew up and became a writer, Haley began to search for documentation that might authenticate the narrative. It took ten years and a half a million miles of travel across continents to find it, but finally, in an astonishing feat of genealogical detective work, he discovered not only the name of "the African" - Kunta Kinte - but the precise location of Juffure, the very village in The Gambia, West Africa, from which he was abducted in 1767 at the age of sixteen and taken on the Lord Ligonier to Maryland and sold to a Virginia planter.

Haley has talked in Juffure with his own African sixth cousins. On September 29, 1967, he stood on the dock in Annapolis where is great-great-great-great-grandfather was taken ashore on September 29, 1767. Now he has written the monumental two-century drama of Kunta Kinte and the six generations who came after him - slaves and freedmen, farmers and blacksmiths, lumber mill workers and Pullman porters, lawyers and architects - and one author.

I had seen the TV mini-series of ROOTS a long time ago. So when looking for a book for the In Their Shoes Challenge, this one jumped out at me. I enjoyed the mini-series and wanted to learn more about this family.

One thing I did learn that was unexpected was the fact that Alex Haley had been sued for plagiarism by Harold Courlander who wrote the book THE AFRICAN. Mr. Haley settled out of court and admitted that some parts of the book were taken from THE AFRICAN. This fact led me to question the book as a whole - was it to be considered fact or fiction? Mr. Haley answered that question:

"To the best of my knowledge and of my effort, every lineage statement within ROOTS is from either my African or American families' carefully preserved oral history, much of which I have been able conventionally to corroborate with documents. Those documents, along with the myriad textural details of what were contemporary indigenous lifestyles, cultural history, and such that give ROOTS flesh have come from years of intensive research in fifty-odd libraries, archives, and other repositories on three continents.

Since I wasn't around when most of the story occurred, by far most of the dialogue and most of the incidents are of necessity a novelized amalgam of what I know took place together with what any researching let me to plausibly feel took place."

So - a mixture of fact and fiction. Still a terrific book. Reading this, I could picture scenes from the mini-series. I could see LaVar Burton as the young Kunta Kinte in chains on the slave ship. John Amos as the older Kunte - now named Toby - and Madge Sinclair as Bell jumping the broom. Leslie Uggams as their daughter Kizzy, and Ben Vereen as the wonderful Chicken George.

My one complaint with this book was the fact that as the story moved from generation to generation, lives were just dropped. The story of Toby and Bell abruptly ended when the focus turned to Kizzy as she was sold to a new owner. Perhaps Mr. Haley couldn't find any documentation of what happened to them after that time, but it was a let-down after following Kunta Kinte for 546 pages. I was hoping to find out what life was like for them without their daughter.

I'm going to either rent or buy this mini-series on DVD along with the sequel "Roots: The Next Generation" which was based on the follow-up book by Mr. Haley.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

2008-07-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

Bill Bryson's memoir of growing up in 1950s Iowa. I have liked Bryson's writing for many years and have devoured most of his travel writing. He is always funny, candid, and incredibly observant and insightful. He seems to do a good deal to research his books as well. While this is a memoir, there is commentary on the 1950s as a whole particularly in the US. Bryson admits that he his childhood was not particularly unique or traumatic and yet, as I usually do, he takes simple subjects and revels in the day to day life of being a child in a relatively prosperous and peaceful time. I enjoyed this quick memoir even if I did not live in the 1950s, but there are many moments that remind me of childhood in general. He captures the idiosyncratic nature of the whole time of our lives with his usual writing of his memories. A nice, light read.

Crossposted from aquatique.net

Pyongyang by Guy Delisle

2008-07-07T06:16:00.000-07:00

Pyongyang: A journey in North Korea is Guy Delisle (a Quebecois, now living in France) graphuc memoir of two months spent working in the North Korean capital for a French animation company outsourcing work to the North Koreans. It is a fascinating look at North Korea and its regime. While he is not in NK for very long, Delisle observes the expat community of NK, and the dictatorial regime's forceful propaganda machine. All foreigners seem to be kept in a very closed bubble constantly watched by their assigned guides. The author takes a copy of Orwell's 1984 and observes the parallel. It is apt because the regime seems to permeate in all aspects. It is the most closed country in the world, and it is rather frightening the extent in which the whole population seems to live in a bubble themselves. Without any outside media and severe limited ability to travel and educate themselves, many seem to genuinely believe the personal cult and god-like presence of the Kims even if one of them is dead. The cult of personality is rather creepy. Though there is little choice, but to pretend to believe because the dictatorship has some of the worse human rights violations globally. A lot of what the memoir describes is not creepy. Nothing can last forever, and the NK regime certainly won't. It will be interesting when that happens since the country is in a time warp. It's like how people go to Cuba and say it looks the 1950s, but North Korea and its population seem to be still in the 50s since they are limited in communications, food security, electricity, industrialisation and manufacturing. Since the culture is protected is by the government, art is monitored. This is especially significant in that all its neighbours are accelerating at a very fast rate in the globalisation. Having read on North Korea a bit from my studies, I would recommend further reading of the subject if you are intrigued after this short, but interesting read.

Challenge Completed!

2008-07-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

I completed my personal goal (no specified number required for the challenge) at the end of June by reading 10 memoirs. Memoirs is one of my favorite genres, so this challenge fit nicely into my desired reading choices. As I was making up my possibilities list, I discovered many others that I have added on my TBR list and look forward to reading them.

Thank you N. Vasillis from In Their Shoes for hosting this challenge!

In Their Shoes Challenge Reads:

The Birthday Party: A Memoir of Survival (Alpert)

The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust (Beer)

If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation (Latus)

A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive (Pelzer)

My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud (Clash)

Blankets (Thompson)

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale (Spiegelman)

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Bryson)

The Lost Boy (Pelzer)

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale (Spiegelman)

Here's my original list of books with links to my thoughts.

Favorites:

The Nazi Officer's Wife (Beer)

A Child Called "It" (Pelzer)

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale (Spiegelman)

Least Favorites:

(these were still okay/good reads)

The Birthday Party (Alpert)

If I Am Missing or Dead (Latus)

My Life as a Furry Red Monster (Clash)

Juli's Review: A Piece of Cake

2008-06-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

Author: Cupcake Brown

Pages: 470

Genre: Non-Fiction/Autobiography

Personal Rating: 5/5

From the back cover:

There are shelves of memoirs about overcoming the death of a parent, childhood abuse, rape, drug addiction, miscarriage, alcoholism, hustling, gangbanging, near-death injuries, drug dealing, prostitution, or homelessness.

Cupcake Brown survived all these things before she’d even turned twenty.

And that’s when things got interesting….

You have in your hands the strange, heart-wrenching, and exhilarating tale of a woman named Cupcake. It begins as the story of a girl orphaned twice over, once by the death of her mother and then again by a child welfare system that separated her from her stepfather and put her into the hands of an epically sadistic foster parent. But there comes a point in her preteen years—maybe it’s the night she first tries to run away and is exposed to drugs, alcohol, and sex all at once—when Cupcake’s story shifts from a tear-jerking tragedy to a dark comic blues opera. As Cupcake’s troubles grow, so do her voice and spirit. Her gut-punch sense of humor and eye for the absurd, along with her outsized will, carry her through a fateful series of events that could easily have left her dead.

Young Cupcake learned to survive by turning tricks, downing hard liquor, partying like a rock star, and ingesting every drug she could find while hitchhiking up and down the California coast. She stumbled into gangbanging, drug dealing, hustling, prostitution, theft, and, eventually, the best scam of all: a series of 9-to-5 jobs. But Cupcake’s unlikely tour through the cubicle world was paralleled by a quickening descent into the nightmare of crack cocaine use, till she eventually found herself living behind a Dumpster.

Astonishingly, she turned it around. With the help of a cobbled together family of eccentric fellow addicts and “angels”—a series of friends and strangers who came to her aid at pivotal moments—she slowly transformed her life from the inside out.

A Piece of Cake is unlike any memoir you’ll ever read. Moving and almost transgressive in its frankness, it is a relentlessly gripping tale of a resilient spirit who took on the worst of contemporary urban life and survived it with a furious wit and unyielding determination. Cupcake Brown is a dynamic and utterly original storyteller who will guide you on the most satisfying, startlingly funny, and genuinely affecting tour through hell you’ll ever take.

I couldn't believe this was a true story by the time it I was finished. It was simply too horrific at times to have actually happened. This girl should be dead, she should be imprisoned...but she isn't...she is a lawyer and a functional member of society!

This is one eye opening look into our failing foster care system and how easy it for children and simply people in general to fall between the cracks. At the same time however, it is also a story about "making it" and picking yourself up and being somebody.

This book gave me perspective and what it really means to have hard times and be down. It also refocused me on what CAN be accomplished with hard work, dedication and determination.

I have never done this before but I am going to contact Cupcake Brown and just let her know what an impact her book had on me.

Sometimes I (we) think we have it bad, and sometimes we do. Usually we don't. This book really allowed me to set my priorities straight and appreciate how good I really do have it, even with the problems I do have.

I believe that this is such a good book that I would like to give it to someone. If you are interested in this book please come over to my blog HERE and leave me a comment. I'll randomly pick someone in one week to mail it to.

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

2008-06-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

The two volume omnibus edition of Marjane Satrapi's graphic memoirs and Bildungsroman of growing up in and away from Iran. I actually did not know about the French edition until too late. As is the case sometimes, I regret not having found the original French version to read especially since I perpetually need to brush up my linguistic abilities. I did see the movie in French. Overall, I found this read immensely enjoyable and wonderful. I love it as much as I love The Complete Maus by Art Spielgman, another identity searching and family history memoirs of conflict. Persepolis was moving, tragic, beautifully drawn, funny, painful, and honest. It is beautiful memoirs of childhood and finding one's own identity with change and upheaval. I liked all the characters; I could feel for them. I liked young Marji's spirituality, faith, and religion, and while it was difficult to watch her go through her teen years, I could relate to her in a way I have not for a character in a long time. While I did not live through the political and violent times of war and revolutionnary torn Iran, we have similar family dynamics and other things such as the scene with Marji as waitress that hit home.

The film is wonderfully done as well, and while it is a condensed version, it still has the same simple yet affective black and white imagery. It has a couple of things the graphic novel does not, and it is nicely voice acted all around. It is harder to find a more truer to the novel adaptation than with Strapi as the co-writer and co-director of the film. Both are recommended.

Abridged from aquatique.net

The Faith of a Writer by Joyce Carol Oates

2008-06-29T04:15:00.000-07:00

The Faith of a Writer
By Joyce Carol Oates
Completed June 29, 2008

Joyce Carol Oates explored the craft of writing in her collection of essays, The Faith of a Writer. I was expecting an autobiographical passage through JCO’s evolution as a writer, but that was not quite what she delivered in this slim book. Instead, she talked about how other writers – namely Emily Dickinson, Ernest Hemingway, Herman Melville and a host of others – became great writers.

Several themes emerged from JCO’s essays. First, writers are their own worst critics but have high opinions of their writing genius. Secondly, many of a writers’ early works were raw, hard to read and commercially unsuccessful, but without these first attempts, the greater works would not have existed. Finally, writers live in an alternate universe: always thinking about their stories, how to revise them and how to advance the story or the characters. This usually resulted in insomnia, social isolation and blank stares.

Probably, these essays are examined in great depth by college students whose professors want to explain the psyche of a writer. If you are looking for a book about the personal writing process, this is not the book for you. I would recommend Stephen King’s On Writing for that type of book. The Faith of a Writer is better suited for readers who love writers – the famous ones – and want a better understanding on how they perfected their craft. ( )

#10 Maus II: A Survivor's Tale (Spiegelman)

2008-06-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

Not a beat was missed between Maus I and Maus II. The heart-wrenching tale continues with Art recording the details of his father's Holocaust experience.

Wow. This was an outstanding account of Vladek during the horror of Hitler. The story was told in cartoon pictures and the sentences were in choppy English, but that only enhanced my experience. Even with the animals representing people, I was able to engage and feel the story. This was without a doubt an extremely powerful and enlightening book. I was completely immersed and learned many new things about the Holocaust and the legacy it has left behind.

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

2008-06-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

Reading this book ended up being a somewhat mixed experience. I read the book twice, once in February or so and once last week. I don't really know why I picked it up again, I guess somehow "I wasn't done with the book" yet. This is probably also why I didn't manage to write a review after the first time. I started writing a review, but never finished it. This review you are reading now, uses parts of the original, half-finished one, but they have all been rewritten and added to.

When I finished the book the first time, I somehow couldn't get to grips with it. I finished it at the time, but I also felt that maybe it just wasn't the right time to read it. You know, how sometimes you are not enjoying a book, but you feel that you would probably like it better if you read it at some other time when your mood is different or you have less other things on your mind? That's how I felt when I first read Reading Lolita. I think it had something to do with not having time to read in larger sittings. For most of the book I only had time for a few pages at a time. I thoroughly enjoyed the few parts I managed to read in one larger sitting.

For me the weakest part of the book was the first part, both times I read the book. The first time I started the book, I read the first part (about 80 pages in my edition) in short stretches, a chapter at a time. This obviously didn't work, because I didn't get into the story. Even the second time around, being already familiar with the story, for me the first chapter was the weakest part of the book, it was too much all over the place. Only when I read a larger part in one sitting, did I like the book. For example, the first time I read the book I read the second part in one sitting and loved it. This second part ended up being my favorite part of the book, both times around.

As you can probably already guess, I am not one of those people who is gushing over Reading Lolita in Tehran. In fact, I have mixed feelings about the book. That is why this review might come across as a bit unstructured. I enjoyed the book, the first time probably more so than the second, but more on a rational level than an emotional level. If that makes sense. Rationally, I can definitely agree with all the praise that this is indeed a good book, one that gives a very good picture of life in contemporary Iran. I very much liked Nafisi's way with words, especially in portraying a person or showing a situation. Also, in the writing I could feel that Nafisi cares about the people she writes about. I actually enjoyed reading the book, more so the first time than the second time around.

Reading Lolita in Tehran is divided into four parts, each part centered around an author and one or a few of his/her works, Vladimir Nabokov, F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby), Henry James, and Jane Austen. I haven't read any of the books and authors that form the core of the book, except for some of Jane Austen's work, but not being familiar with them didn't really hinder me. Though I think it does add to the experience of Reading Lolita in Tehran if you are familiar with the authors and books discussed. And it does make me for one more inclined to pick up works from the authors discussed when I will come across them.

Each part of the book also covers a central theme or period in Azar Nafisi's own life branching out to cover the stories of the seven female students that Nafisi chooses for a special literature class she teaches every Thursday at her house. One of my problems with the book is that I had a problem keeping most of the girls in the reading class and their histories separate. Somehow they blended into each other in a way, even though their stories and backgrounds were very different. The one that stood out most and became the most individual to me, was Yassi.

Something that started to bug me the second time around, was the question: "If this is a memoir, then how much of it is true and how much of it is made up?" The Author's Note at the beginning of the book says:

Aspects of characters and events in this story have been changed mainly to protect individuals, not just from the eye of the censor but also from those who read such narratives to discover who's who and who did what to whom[...]. The facts in this story are true insofar as any memory is ever truthful, but I have made every effort to protect friends and students, baptizing them with new names and disguising them perhaps even from themselves, changing and interchanging facts of their lives so that their secrets are safe.

I am perfectly okay with changing things to keep people's identities safe, no problem with that at all. The phrase that bothers me more, is "The facts in this story are true insofar as any memory is ever truthful", especially because in the story Nafisi mentions several times that her memory is not that great, implying there may be things she doesn't remember correctly. After coming across similar remarks a few times, I started thinking to what extent this is still a memoir and to what extent is it no longer. And if not, what is it then? Fiction? Semi-fiction? (Did I just invent a new word and genre?) How much of the book is based on real events and how do we know that? Don't get me wrong, I do not intend to discredit Nafisi or the book. It just got me thinking.

I think that a review written after the first time I read the book, would have been a lot more enthusiastic about Reading Lolita than the one you are reading now. I think that the first time around, despite my difficulties keeping the characters apart, I felt more strongly about the people in the book. Maybe, I shouldn't have read the book a second time, I don't know.

Still, despite this less than glowing review and the questions the book raised with me, I do recommend Reading Lolita in Tehran. I think the problems I have with it are more connected to me than to the book itself. It is a good book, well written, informative, giving a good picture of life in Iran (or at least of the intelligentsia in Tehran), though it needs time to get going. I have the feeling that it is also one of those books you need to take time for, it is best read in larger sessions I think (Sunday afternoons on the porch maybe or rainy days). For me, it is not one of those books you take with you to read in a few stolen minutes while waiting somewhere.

Crossposted at The Armenian Odar Reads.

At Her Majesty's Request by Walter Dean Myers

2008-06-24T21:51:00.001-07:00

Walter Dean Myers in the introduction explains beautifully why I love old books and ephemera. I don't have the time or budget for the dedication that Myers. Therefore I am grateful that he was able to buy Sarah Forbes Bonetta's letters and bring her to life again in this short but fascinating biography, At Her Majesty's Request: An African Princess in Victorian England.

Sarah Forbes Bonetta was the daughter of the slain Egbabo leader as far as accounts go though there is no mention of Sarah's recollection of the first few years of her life. She was slated for ritual execution by her Dahomian raiders but saved as a "gift" for Queen Victoria by some quick thinking on Frederick Forbes's part. He was there attempting to stop the slave trade driven raids.

Frederick Forbes renamed the girl he had rescued to Sarah Forbes (his last name) Bonetta (his ship). The letters and other ephemera that track Sarah's life from her rescue show that she became friends with Queen Victoria. Her friendship though ended up being a major controlling factor in the events of her life.

Myers interjects his own thoughts and feelings on the events of Sarah's life as he understands them. Given how spotty her timeline is, Myers's text helps to segue between the facts. He also includes many of the photographs in the collection that he bought. The photographs though didn't print all that clearly on the paperback I have. They often times aren't much clearer than a black and white photocopy. I would have liked to see more detail on them.

This review is crossposted from my blog.

Laura's List

2008-06-22T05:55:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to this challenge. Sometimes I need a little help to read non-fiction, and I've chosen 6 books for this challenge:

Dreams from my Father, by Barack Obama (completed 1/11/08 - review)
Stolen Lives, by Malika Oufkir (completed 3/7/08 - review)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver (completed 4/13/2008 - review)
Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (completed 6/21/2008 - review)
Brother, I'm Dying, by Edwidge Danticat (completed 7/23/2008 - review)
Paula, by Isabel Allende (completed 8/7/2008 - review)

Laura's Review - Infidel

2008-06-22T02:53:00.000-07:00

Infidel
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
352 pages

It was Friday, July 24, 1992, when I stepped on the train. Every year I think of it. I see it as my real birthday: the birth of me as a person, making decisions about my life on my own. (p. 188)

This fascinating memoir recounts Ali's life story and her journey from a devout Muslim childhood to an adulthood as a controversial political leader in the Netherlands. Ali is unflinchingly candid about her childhood experiences as a refugee in Kenya, her family relationships, and her intense faith. As she approached adulthood she began to question the society in which she was raised, and the tenets of Muslim living, particularly the associated oppression of women. She risked all she held dear for her own independence.

The strength which enabled Ali to strike out on her own carried her from refugee centers to independent living and, eventually, to membership in the Dutch Parliament. She is an activist for women's rights, particularly in the Muslim community: I decided that if I were to become a member of the Dutch Parliament, it would become my holy mission to have these statistics registered. I wanted someone, somewhere, to take note every time a man in Holland murdered his child simply because she had a boyfriend. I wanted someone to register domestic violence by ethnic background ... and to investigate the number of excisions of little girls that took place every year on Dutch kitchen tables. ... The excuse that nobody knew would be removed. (p. 296)

Her candor has caused considerable controversy and sparked acts of extreme violence. She has remained strong through it all. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is an amazing woman who is sure to have a continued impact on the world. ( )

My original review can be found here.

Ecology of a Cracker Childhood by Janisse Ray

2008-06-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

Ecology of a Cracker Childhood
By Janisse Ray
Completed June 18, 2008

Janisse Ray carefully intertwined two distinct themes in her autobiographical book, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood. First, there was the theme of her family - an interesting tapestry of men (mostly) and women who made up her genetic landscape. Second, there was the ecological theme - chapters about the deforestation of south Georgia. Ray loved, admired and respected her family and her forest, and this tenderness made her memoir charming and memorable.

Wrapped in the sweet cadence of her language, I especially enjoyed reading about Ray's family. That was a colorful bunch. Most of the men suffered from mental illness, which Ray depicted with dignity. But they were also resourceful - living off the land and inventing machines from scraps. I could hear their drawl in every page.

All in all, I enjoyed this short book about this beautiful region of our country, their Southern ways and Ray's determination to protect and preserve the land that she loves. ( )

Song of Survival: women interned

2008-06-17T21:36:00.001-07:00

First Sentence: "Near the east coast of the big island of Borneo in Southeast Asia lies a fleck of an island called Tarakan."

Last Sentence: "Survivors of the South Sumatra camp find the task is made easier by the knowledge that out of our ugly place came beautiful music that now brings joy and solace to other singers and listeners around the world."

This prisoner of war memoir was a beautiful testament to the courage and strength of the women interned in Southeast Asia for nearly 4 years. They find beauty in the small things during this ugly time, in an ugly camp. The vocal orchestra performed classical orchestral music with scores written out by an amazing woman, Margaret Dryburgh, from memory. This book truly shows how strong the will to live can be. I have read many WWII memoirs and I always find myself wondering how I would have reacted in similar circumstances. Would I have had the strength to hang on and survive or would I have given up? I would like to think I would have survived.

Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi

2008-06-11T02:35:00.000-07:00

I have gone off on a little Iran-reading spree recently. It started with Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Iran Awakening was number two and this weekend I started Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi.

Shirin Ebadi is a human rights lawyer and activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. She is a woman I have enormous respect for. Iran Awakening is her memoir. I loved the book. It is well written; journalist and writer Azadeh Moaveni co-wrote the book (the link goes to her blog). The writing is not difficult to read and the book could make for a fast read. Still, I feel it is a book that needs to be read with attention, because every single sentence is packed with information, even if it is only three words long.

About her youth, Ebadi writes:

It was not until I was much older that I realized how gender equality was impressed on me first and foremost at home, by example. It was only when I surveyed my own sense of place in the world from an adult perspective that I saw how my upbringing spared me from the low self-esteem and learned dependence that I observed in women reared in more traditional homes. My father's championing of my independence, from the play yard to my later decision to become a judge, instilled a confidence in me that I never felt consciously, but later came to regard as my most valued inheritance.(p. 12)

I think this was my favorite passage from the entire book. The part about learned dependence and low self-esteem struck me, but also what it says about how children learn by example.

Ebadi studies law and starts out as a judge in 1970, at the age of twenty-three. Initially, she supports the Islamic Revolution in 1979, not really grasping yet what this will mean for her as a woman. This changes however, when first she is forced to wear a veil covering her hair and later when she is demoted to some clerical position, because a female judge on the bench is not exactly the image the new regime wants to display.

The following, rather long passage is about the changes in the status and the rights of women in Iran after the Islamic Revolution and about how far-reaching the effect of that is:

I prepared myself for all the possible ways the imposition of Islamic law could affect my life. I thought of all the ways it would make a difference: the courtrooms in which I could no longer preside, the ministry it would fill with clerics, the religious books I would now use as legal references. But in all my anxious speculation, I never imagined that fear of a new legal regime, albeit a catastrophic one, would follow me into my living room, into my marriage. Yet there was no use denying it. Ever since I'd read about the new penal code in the newspaper, I'd been behaving differently with Javad [Ebadi's husband]. It was as though I was wearing my skin inside out. The smallest perceived slight or off-tone remark set me on the war path or, as the Persian expression goes, guarding my front. I couldn't help it.

The day Javad and I married each other, we joined our lives together as two equal individuals. But under these laws, he stayed a person and I became a chattel. They permitted him to divorce me at whim, take custody of our future children, acquire three wives and stick them in the house with me. Although I knew rationally that inside Javad lurked no such potential monster, just waiting to break out and steal our hypothetical children and marry up a storm, I still felt oppressed. A couple of weeks into the new sullen, defensive person I had become, I decided that Javad and I should have a talk.

"Listen, I just can't deal with this anymore," I told him.

"We don't have any problems," he said. And he was right. Before all of this, our biggest disagreement had been over household chores.

"I know," I responded, "but the law has made problems for us. We used to be equals, and now you've been promoted above me, and I just can;t stand it. I really, really can't."

"So what do you want me to do?" he asked, throwing his hands up.

And then inspiration struck. I knew what he could do! He could sign a postnuptial agreement, granting me the right to divorce him, as well as primary custody of our future children, in the event of separation.(p52-53)

Eventually, in the mid-eighties Ebadi resigns from her work at the Ministry of Justice. She resumes her career in 1992 when the Iranian regime allows women to practice law again. This time, though, Ebadi stands on the other side of the bench: She starts working as a lawyer taking on mostly pro bono cases and cases that show how the Islamic Regime's discrimination against women is enshrined in the country's laws. In this way, she starts making a name for herself, both inside the country and abroad, and that name keeps growing and growing.

When I watched that broadcast [an interview Ebadi gave on CNN], aware that it was being beamed around the world, I also realized for the first time that I had become what you might call famous. Prominence is something that accrues gradually. You work and speak, write articles and lecture, meet with clients and defended them, day after day, night after night, and then you wake up one day and notice that there is a long trail behind you that constitutes a reputation. That's how it happened for me, anyway. How unimportant it was to me as a person, but how useful it became to my work. It meant journalists would listen if I approached them with a case and would help publicize it both inside the country and abroad. It meant that human rights observers around the world knew and trusted me, and launched swift appeals for urgent cases I brought to their attention, It meant there was now a face and a name attached to the abstract term "human rights" in Iran, and that finally millions of women who could not articulate their frustrations and desires had someone to speak on their behalf. I would never assume such a role for myself, but in the Islamic Republic, we have a problem with representation. Our diplomats around the world are, naturally, loyal to the regime, and the regime's credibility is not such that it reflects the true opinions of the people. The responsibility falls, then, on unofficial ambassadors to relate Iranians' perceptions and hopes to the world.(p.126-127)

The final chapter relates how Ebadi found out she had won the Nobel Peace Prize while she was in Paris and how she was received by tens of thousands of people, mostly women, at the airport upon her arrival in Iran. This chapter is very moving.

The chapters about Ebadi's human rights work were among the most interesting for me, but also among the most disappointing parts of the book. She mainly covers her human rights work by picking out a few notable cases she was involved in, but other than that, she doesn't write much about her work and her life during that period. The cases she uses are worth recounting. I also understand that there are probably large parts of her work that she probably cannot talk about because it would be too sensitive or possibly endanger people's lives inside Iran one way or another. I can also understand that she might not want to share a lot of her private life. But still, I would be interested in how her human rights work developed over time, how that influenced her position in Iran, how she goes around setting up her cases, getting information, things like that.

Despite this minor flaw (which is more my personal opinion, than really a flaw I would say), I enjoyed Iran Awakening very much and my respect for Shirin Ebadi has only increased. Together with Persepolis and Reading Lolita in Tehran, Iran Awakening is one of the books I recommend to anyone who wants to read and learn about Iran and about the position of women in that country.

A common theme in all three books is that they are all about women trying to cope with the restrictive regime after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The three women all come from families that were well-connected, well-educated and (reasonably) well-off before the Islamic Revolution: Ebadi's father was at one point a deputy minister, Nafisi's father was mayor of Tehran at one point and one of Satrapi's family members (I think her grandfather or great-grandfather) was prime-minister under the Shah or the Shah's father (I couldn't find the passage back to check). Also, they are all ethnic Iranian, none of them belongs to any of the many minorities in Iran and are all from the capital Tehran. So in a way, all three books do present a picture of Iran that to a certain extent is limited, because all three women write from the same background. On the other hand, I am not sure in how much this really distorts the general picture they give of life in contemporary Iran or to what extent their stories are only representative for a certain section of Iranian society. All three books, especially Reading Lolita in Tehran and Iran Awakening, do give glimpses of life in other segments of Iranian society as well.

This post is crossposted at my own blog The Armenian Odar Reads.

The Bone Woman by Clea Koff

2008-05-31T17:07:00.000-07:00

Koff was a forensic anthropology grad student in the mid 1990s, and worked for the UN excavating mass graves in the Balkans and Rwanda. The Bone Woman is her memoir, and I really enjoyed it! Much less gore and science than you might expect, more personal stories. I wrote a longer review on my blog.

Expecting Adam

2008-05-29T20:30:00.001-07:00

I received Expecting Adam by Martha Beck as a gift when I was about 14 weeks pregnant with my daughter. That's the time when one is tested for possible genetic abnormalities like Down Syndrome. Expecting Adam is Beck's memoir of her difficult pregnancy with Adam, her son who has Down Syndrome.

As some one who has suffered through two miscarriages for unknown reasons, I completely understand Beck's decision to continue with her pregnancy even though her son would require extra help at school and would be at risk for heart problems. I would have done the same with either of my children too. Like Beck, I would have used remaining time in my pregnancy to learn as much as I possibly could about my child's condition.

Beck's memoir covers the time just before her second pregnancy, through her pregnancy and shortly after the delivery. She also bounces forward and backward in her life to show what life was like before Adam and what it's like with him. He is bookended by his two sisters.

On top of the stress of a difficult pregnancy (Beck's descriptions of her morning sickness makes mine seem like a cake walk!) she also had the stress of being a graduate student at Harvard and having a husband who was constantly traveling as part of his research. Although I'm not a graduate student, my husband has been through both pregnancies and he had to do a lot of traveling when I was pregnant with our son.

I usually shy away from parenting memoirs but I really enjoyed this one. I felt a connection to Beck and when I was done with the book I immediately called my mother to tell her about it. In fact I'm mailing the book to her next week.

The book does have a few flaws. The writing is rough in places and sometimes in need of clearer segues. Nonetheless, it's one of the best books I've read this year.

Life Is So Good

2008-05-29T18:46:00.000-07:00

Author: George Dawson and Richard Glaubman
Rating: 5/5
Reason for Reading: In Their Shoes Reading Challenge

Cross-posted at Bold. Blue. Adventure.

I won this book because of My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge (Yay!). The cover and title don't make it sound like an exciting read, but in reality, this was a fascinating, sometimes gripping read. George Dawson, the grandson of slaves, lived to be 103. The reason he became well-known (and thus this book was written) is because at the age of 98, he made the decision to learn how to read, a skill that had been denied him as a poor black man in the early 1900's.

In this memoir, George writes about growing up in the segregated south. As a young child, he witnessed a lynching of a man he knew to be innocent. While trying to process the horrifying experience, he has an exchange with his father:

"I will never work for or talk to a white person again," I said with anger.... Papa swallowed hard and pulled up on the reins so that the wagon stopped. He turned towards me. "No. You will work for white folks. You will talk to them... Some of those white folks was mean and nasty. Some were just scared. It doesn't matter. You have no right to judge another human being. Don't you ever forget." My father had spoken. There was nothing to say. I didn't know it then, but his words set the direction my life would take even to this day.

George had a good many adventures during his life, from playing on the Negro Leagues to riding the rails all the way from Mexico to Canada and everywhere in between. He recounts his experiences during The Great Depression, the Civil Rights movement and other turning points of the past century.

I could outline all of the events of the book, and really it wouldn't capture what the book is exactly about. Yes, the book brings the reader through the dirty underside of racism, but that isn't what the book is about either. He experienced many of the things most of us only know from history books, and it included a great deal of hardship. I guess you could say that this book is an attempt to tell his story, and recount how he managed to maintain his dignity and optimism through all of it.

George Dawson is a truly remarkable man. After joining an Adult Education class, he stayed with it until he had earned a GED. He seems a bit incredulous that so many people are fascinated and inspired by him, but glad to talk to people and help them all the same. You'll be glad you read this book.

# 9 The Lost Boy (Pelzer)

2008-05-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

Dave Pelzer continues his life story after being rescued from his parent's home. He shares his experience in the foster care system. While his behavior as a child left a lot to be desired, he continued to persevere and make something of his life.

This book contained just as much heart wrenching turmoil as in A Child Called "It". David's childhood years were continually spoiled by almost every classmate or friend he tried to make. His desire to have a place to call "home" was consequential, but something always seemed to get in the way. All he wanted to do was to fit in this world - just like everybody else. His sad experiences may not be unique, but they were relentless and he didn't give up. My heart went out to him every step of the way.

It's Not About The Bike

2008-05-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

I thought I knew what fear was, until I heard the words You have cancer. Real fear came with an unmistakable sensation: it was as though all my blood started flowing in the wrong direction. My previous fears, fear of not being liked, fear of being laughed at, fear of losing my money, suddenly seemed like small cowardices. Everything now stacked up differently: the anxieties of life --- a flat tire, losing my career, a traffic jam --- were reprioritized into need versus want, real problem as opposed to minor scare. A bumpy plane ride was just a bumpy plane ride, it wasn't cancer.

One definition of "human" is as follows: characteristic of people as opposed to God or animal or machines, especially susceptible to weakness, and therefore showing the qualities of man. Athletes don't tend to think of themselves in these terms; they're too busy cultivating the aura of invincibility to admit to being fearful, weak, defenseless, vulnerable, or fallible, and for that reason neither are they especially kind, considerate, merciful, benign, lenient, or forgiving, to themselves or anyone around them. But as I sat in my house alone that first night, it was humbling to be so scared. More than that, it was humanizing. (pp. 73-74)

It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins is a book not about bike racing but rather about "survivorship". Lance Armstrong begins with his younger days when he first discovered cycling. He was cocky and headstrong about what he wanted to accomplish. He was an up and coming athlete in the world of cycling and he had his sights on winning the Tour. But suddenly his life came to a complete halt when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. After facing the facts about his prognosis, he fought to beat the disease and in the process re-evaluated what he wanted out of life. Armstrong then tells of his recovery physically, mentally, and emotionally as he struggled to once again rejoin the sport of cycling. As the cover states: Winner of the Tour de France, Cancer Survivor, Husband, Father, Son, Human Being. Very well put.

The book covers Lance Armstrong's life as a young boy through his first win at the Tour de France. It also details his marriage to Kristin (Kik) and the conception and birth of his son Luke. He introduces many people who influenced his life in cycling. And, of course, Armstrong speaks highly of the love and support that his mother Linda has given him throughout his entire life. He starts with a very egotistical air about himself and ends in a very humbling tone. He describes many of the details about fighting his cancer and about the survivorship afterwards that most people are not aware of. And he gives hope to others through his accomplishment in returning to cycling and winning the Tour de France as well as establishing the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a charity to help the fight against cancer.

I very much enjoyed this biography and found it very reader friendly in its style and story. I learned a lot about Lance Armstrong that I did not already know. He was never a winner of the Tour de France prior to his cancer; rather, he was just beginning his world career at the time of his diagnosis. His cancer was much more advanced than I was aware, for it had spread to his lungs and brain. Also, his struggles back into cycling, and into life in general, gave me a new perspective on cancer survivors and what they endure after they conquer their disease.

It's Not About the Bike is not only for cycling fans but also for those who have been touched by cancer in some way. It is an easy reading biography that I highly recommend.

# 8 A Walk in the Woods (Bryson)

2008-05-23T05:46:00.001-07:00

Bill Bryson with his college buddy, Stephen Katz, take on the Appalachian Trail (AT) without much experience in the great American outdoors. The desired outcome was to complete the 2,100+ mile trail that traverses Georgia to Maine.

Traveling on the AT with Bryson and Katz was the highlight of the book, while the other half was the preparation and history of the AT, which was dispersed throughout the book. The history was interesting (it really was), but I was so entralled with getting back to walking the trail with the guys that I didn't care to hear the history.

Ultimately, the expedition was filled with witty and comical comments, along with some blunders and eye-opening experiences. Katz, being a one-of-a-kind character, together with Bryson, made quite a team. I could have listened to their conversations forever.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid (raidergirl3)

2008-05-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

I haven't laughed out loud while reading a book in quite a while, but Bryson certainly tickled my funny bone with this book. It says memoir, but it is just as much a look at the good old days, the 1950s in America. Bryson makes the argument that the 1950s in Des Moines, Iowa were the best time ever! I loved how Bryson used the exaggerated memory of youth to describe events - there were 800 kids outside, everyday. Part of it is how we always exaggerate when remembering our youth - the scab he nurtured that was one and three quarters inches thick-, so maybe that's why the old days were the best times.

Bryson alternates between his childhood and family, amusingly exaggerated, with the detailed research I associate with Bryson to explain America during times - the economy, the world, Communism and the threat of atomic bombs, and the role of farming in Iowa. He sneaked facts and information into his narrative and left me with an understanding of how we came from the good old days, with the slower pace and easier life, to the fast paced hectic life now.

I grew up in the 1970s and life certainly had changed, but I can see the same relative amount of change today from my childhood. I felt many parallels to Bryson's life: I too led a very happy childhood, nothing traumatic ever happened, I spent the summer outdoors with 800 other neighbourhood children, and the Saturday afternoon matinee was still going on in the 1970s. This was a great read and lots of fun, but also an informative look at how America has changed since 1951.

Laughing Without An Accent - Wendy's Book Review

2008-05-17T11:24:00.000-07:00

Glimpses of shared humanity make it so hard to kill others. -From Laughing Without An Accent, page 219-

And if it's one thing I hope we Iranians have imparted, it is the closeness of extended family, not because we all get along perfectly, but because we know that we all benefit emotionally from maintaining those ties. -From Laughing Without An Accent, page 160-

Firoozeh Dumas has written a very funny, immensely insightful memoir about growing up as an Iranian living in America. Dumas immigrated to America at the age of seven with her mother, father and brother and so retains memories of both her childhood in the small Iranian town of Abadan as well as her youth in California.

Laughing Without An Accent is Dumas' second novel (she published Funny in Farsi in 2003 to rave reviews). It is a collection of vignettes which give the reader insight into the melding of cultures and the struggles (often humorous) of immigrants living in the United States. Her stories reflect the difference between the generations in how immigrants adapt to life in another culture - and her affectionate and hilarious reflections on her parents were some of my favorite parts of the book, such as when Dumas and her French husband host Christmas at their home in San Francisco:

My parents always buy wrapping paper on sale, paying attention only to the pretty colors. As Francois held his stack of gifts, all emblazoned with "Happy Birthday!" and "Congratulations, Graduate!" he looked a bit puzzled. A steep learning curve lay head of him. -From Laughing Without An Accent, page 97-

Dumas' memoir strikes just the right balance between lightheartedness and reflection on deeper issues. When she shares that "the only time I felt like a complete foreigner was in college," the reader sympathizes. Likewise, her recollections of the Iranian Hostage Crisis and how it impacted her family filled me with dismay at the prejudice towards immigrants which came about as a result of that event.

Witty, warm and compassionate - Laughing Without An Accent is a memoir worth reading.

Recommended;

# 7 Maus I: A Survivor's Tale (Spiegelman)

2008-05-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

Vladek Spiegelman's tale of surviving the Holocaust was written by his son, Art, through unique comic graphics depicting the Jews as mice, the Germans cats, the Poles pigs, the French frogs, and the Americans dogs. The book is told in the form of Art interviewing his father, Vladek.

A Holocaust story is heartbreaking no matter how it is told and comic form does not change that fact. Vladek's story is very familiar, yet it still has its own nuances. Understandably so, the aftermath of such terror is ingrained in his being, thus affecting his relationships.

This was another positive experience in graphic novels for me, however, I was distracted by the characters. I understand the use of such characters and they may have added an aspect to the story that wouldn't be achieved by using something else, but I still would have preferred people. Vladek's relationships are edgy and somewhat awkward to watch. That certainly attests to Art's ability to convey his thoughts through comics and a few words.

The Zookeeper's Wife - Wendy's Review

2008-05-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

One of the most remarkable things about Antonina was her determination to include play, animals, wonder, curiosity, marvel, and a wide blaze of innocence in a household where all dodged the ambient dangers, horrors, and uncertainties. That takes a special stripe of bravery rarely valued in wartime. -From The Zookeeper’s Wife, page 166-

Diane Ackerman is a poet and naturalist who has written a moving, true account of heroism. Set in Warsaw during WWII, The Zookeeper’s Wife is the story of Jan and Antonina Zabinski who managed the Warsaw Zoo and took advantage of the Nazi’s obsession with genetic engineering (to bring extinct animals back to life) to hide Jews within the walls and cages of the zoo during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Their story spans the years from 1939, with the invasion of the Nazis into Warsaw, through 1945 when Poland was liberated. Ackerman describes the terror of the initial invasion through Antonina’s eyes with a poet’s flair:

On the rare occasions she ventured out, she entered a film-like war, with yellow smoke, pyramids of rubble, jagged stone cliffs where buildings once stood, wind-chased letters and medicine vials, wounded people, and dead horses with oddly angled legs. But nothing more unreal than this: hovering overhead, what looked at first like snow but didn’t move like snowflakes, something delicately rising and falling without landing. Eerier than a blizzard, a bizarre soft cloud of down feathers from the city’s pillows and comforters gently swirled above the buildings. -From The Zookeeper’s Wife, page 59-

The Zookeeper’s Wife is large in scope, exposing the ingenuity and daring of the Polish Underground and Resistance movements in which Jan was deeply involved, and extending to the individual acts of bravery which happened daily within the confines of the Warsaw ghetto. One of the more touching stories which Ackerman brings to her readers is that of Janusz Korczak - a pediatrician and writer - who dedicated himself to the orphans living within the Ghetto. When faced with the choice to escape to safety, Zorczak instead boarded a train to Treblinka and certain death in order to provide comfort to the nearly 200 children being deported.

Anticipating their calamity and fright when deportation day came (August 6, 1942), he joined them aboard the train bound for Treblinka, because, he said, he knew his presence would calm them - “You do not leave a sick child in the night, and you do not leave children at a time like this.” -From The Zookeeper’s Wife, page 185-

Ackerman’s gift is in showing the beauty and courage of people faced with unspeakable horror. She weaves the story of the zoo animals into the daily challenges faced by the individuals who hid among them. The healing power of animals is evident, as is the amazing relationship which Antonina had with them.

This book was difficult to read at times - the cruelty of the Nazis, the devastation of the zoo and most of its animals, the personal stories which unfold. It is almost unbearable to contemplate - and yet, written with sensitivity and skill, the book also exposes the goodness which came from one of the most horrible times in our history.

Recommended;

Have You Found Her - Wendy's Review

2008-05-13T11:44:00.001-07:00

And every week there was the unspoken question behind it, the one I did’nt know enough to ask myself - Have you found her yet? The one who reminds you of you? -From Have You Found Her, page 22-

Janice Erlbaum is in her mid-30s and decides to volunteer at a shelter for homeless girls - the same shelter she lived in almost twenty years before. She doesn’t fully understand her motivations, and she immediately breaks the rules for volunteers by choosing favorites, giving gifts and eventually befriending the troubled Samantha. Have You Found Her is Erlbaum’s story of that year and what she discovers…not just about Samantha (who is more ill than anyone can imagine), but about herself.

This memoir is a disturbing read, and ultimately one which is heart breaking. Erlbaum is a talented writer, slowly revealing Samantha’s problems and her (Erlbaum’s) underlying issues about motherhood, co-dependency and escapism through drugs. She builds tension with some subtle foreshadowing and the book unwinds with a sense of doom. Long before the final secret is revealed, the reader knows to expect disaster. Luckily, the sadness is balanced with a sense of fulfillment which Erlbaum finds with her domestic partner, Bill - a man who shines between the pages as a person of hope and stability in an uncertain world.

To say I enjoyed Have You Found Her seems inappropriate - who could enjoy the gradual unraveling of a young girl’s life, the sense of futility and lost hope that invades the prose? But despite this, I couldn’t put this book down. I felt compelled to turn the pages, to understand the despair which drives mental illness, to find out how it all would end.

Janice Erlbaum has written a memoir which will stimulate discussion among parents of teenagers, and those who work with disturbed or drug addicted children. Brutally honest and revealing, this is a book I can recommend.

Notes from a Small Island

2008-05-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

I'm lost! Please hand me a road map! I just could not get into the travelogue memoirs of Bill Bryson in his recommended and notable book Notes from a Small Island. I read the first seven chapters (approximately 80 pages) and felt more lost than Bryson did when he first landed in England. I'm sorry, but I barely remember what I read. What I do remember is that he was revisiting his original travels in England. I also remember a lot of dialogue about roads, hotels, food, and weather. That's about it. I found the book uninteresting and a bit rambling for my tastes.

I am listing Notes from a Small Island as a DNF for this challenge. I will choose an alternate selection later in the month to replace this book.

Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper

2008-05-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

Author: Diablo Cody
Reason for Reading: In Their Shoes Reading Challenge

Also posted at Bold. Blue. Adventure.

The book is about how Diablo Cody (the genius behind Juno) went from working a normal 9-5 job at a copy-ad agency to becoming a stripper. At the time she impulsively switched careers, she was living in Minnesota, my home state. So I knew the book was set in Minnesota, and of course I knew it was about stripping, but I was perhaps a bit naive about the sex industry, since my closest encounter with it is walking past an upscale strip joint on the way to a favorite Irish pub. So that's my excuse as to why I was reading a book about a stripper. Naivete.

I am naive no more. After she is finally burnt out with stripping, Diablo describes the stripping scene as:

"Hundreds of girls on the floor at some clubs, all reduced to begging dogs for an army of smug little emperors. The rules of attraction were reversed at a strip club. Girls that could halt midday traffic at Nicollet Mall were rejected by fat guys wearing Zubaz. Joe Punchcard with $20 could toy with several dancers over the course of an afternoon, finally selecting the one who'd receive the dubious privilege of entertaining him for three and a half minutes.... It's like a girl buffet."

Now granted, throughout most of the book Diablo finds stripping hard work but a definite thrill. She is drawn to an "Amateur Night" sign at a seedy dive and first gets a taste. Soon she finds herself working 2 nights a week at Schiek's (incidently the very same upscale strip joint that I walk past on the way to the pub) while still holding down her regular job. Eventually she quits her day job and gets into stripping full time, eventually working at the peep show in Sex World (another Minneapolis institution that I've driven past frequently).

So what is the book about? (besides stripping of course). It's a fish-out-of-water story. It's about the various people, some funny, some nice, some disgusting, that Diablo encountered while stripping. It's about what actually goes on behind the scenes at the strip clubs. It's about her journey from seeing stripping as her last chance to rebel against convention to finally burning out and leaving the business just as suddenly as she entered it. Diablo is a very funny, sarcastic writer.

"At a strip joint... a new girl might as well don veal underwear and dance the Watusi through a gauntlet of jackals. Most veteran strippers are punch-drunk on Haterade and they'd sooner dredge their Vuitton clutch in a cow pie before mustering a pixel of common courtesy toward their fellow woman."

Throughout the book, Diablo continues to try and explain what made her stick with stripping. The main things are the money and just getting a thrill out of doing something as un-normal as her life up to this point has been normal.

She doesn't romanticize stripping or shy away from showing what it is really like. This was just my take, but her descriptions of how the whole thing worked made me more sad than anything. As Diablo quickly learned, the line between strippers and prostitutes is thin at times. The best money is made by taking customers to private booths and simulating sex. While strippers can make a great deal of money in a night, they pay a large cut to the house. She describes meeting the owner of one of the stripjoints and realizing that the outlandish cuts she's been paying out have been lining his pocket much more than her own. Though she never uses the word exploitation in her book, it was clear from her book that it is the whole premise of a strip club.

Do I recommend this book? Yes and no. Definitely no if anything in my review made you squeamish, because I have not even come close to describing some of the most graphic parts of her book. Yes, if you like Diablo Cody's sense of humor in Juno and if the premise is appealing to you. For the second book review in a row, I can't possibly hope to rate this one accurately. I thought it was excellently written, but the subject matter got to me after a while. Despite that, I will say that I'm glad I read it.

Chasing the Flame by Samantha Power

2008-05-02T12:54:00.001-07:00

I read a great biography of Sergio Vieira de Mello, a UN official, recently. My review is up if you're interested!

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver

2008-04-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

A memoir of Barbara Kingsolver and her family's attempt of eat food produced by themselves or in their own Virgina neighborhood for a year. This is my first book of Kingsolver's, and she is intelligible, funny, and educational in this book. I learned quite a lot about gardening, industrial and rural farming, and turkey sex among other things. Self-sufficiency in food has always interested me, so the idea of raising animals for one's own consumption, making cheese, or having a fertile garden greatly appeals to me. I would highly recommend the book for people interested in changing their lifestyle and food choices to one that is more local and organic. The book has recipes, but it is not a diet book, nor is it preachy. They do provide information about the food industry and the world markets as result which can make you a better consumer in regards to food. This is a food memoir of a family, and there details of family dynamics, travels, and experiences in their new farm life. I particularly enjoyed Kingsolver's attempts at turkey raising and her daughter's Lily's entrepreneurial venture into the egg business. Another enjoyable nonfiction book on food.

Crossposted from Aquatique.

The Sky Isn't Visible From Here by Felicia C. Sullivan

2008-04-27T18:46:00.001-07:00

Stars: *****

Wow! This is a heartbreaking story, especially for a mom to read. It’s a memoir of Felicia’s life, namely in regards to her mother. A quick warning right now, this book talks about several topics that may trigger some people: Drugs, Cocaine Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Racism and Adult Children of Drug and Alcohol Addicts.

Unlike most books and even memoirs, this one isn’t told chronologically. In fact the stories jump all over the place between Felicia as a child and Felicia as an adult. The years range from about 1985 – 2003. Sometimes this type of writing is confusing to me but it’s not here.

Many times throughout this book I was shocked. I was lucky enough to grow up in a family with both parents who loved each other and didn’t abuse drugs or alcohol and although we weren’t that well of financially we weren’t that poor. So the conditions she grew up in was very shocking for me. I can’t imagine being a child in her position. It’s a miracle she made it to adulthood let alone made something of herself.

Here’s a quote from the back of the book that says this better than me:

“That Felicia Sullivan survived her early life would be miracle enough. That she has painstakingly assembled the shards of her past into the glittering architecture of this extraordinary memoir strikes me as a considerable moral, human, and artistic achievement.” – Dani Shapiro, author of Family History

Dog Years by Mark Doty

2008-04-27T18:35:00.001-07:00

Stars: ***1/2

This book wasn’t exactly what I was imagining it to be. With a title of Dog Years and a genre of memoir, it was obvious it would be about someone’s life with dogs. However it’s more than that. It delves into the author’s life more than the average memoir and in fact, it’s labelled with a biography sticker at my library.

The first 4 chapters I found quite dry and hard to follow. The antedotes about the dogs were interesting but he seemed to ramble on about his life and his view of life. From chapter 5 on however it got better. The stories got more interesting and I could tell there was a shift in style so that the story flowed easier.

Speaking of style, Doty’s writing style is quite sophisticated, probably because he’s a poet. Being a poet also influenced his choice of quotes. Emily Dickinson is quote many times throughout the book. This book is also a vocabulary booster with such words as inchoate, concomitant and hegemony.

Here are some quotes that show his unusual style:

“…, and cannot say just how it mattered so,…." - p.2
“…until the tongue tires.” – p.3

Also the first 2 words of each group of paragraphs is bolded. I found this odd but not bothersome.Two things the potential reader should know about:
The book contains some adult language.
Mark Doty is gay and since this is also a biography of sorts, his being gay comes up throughout the book. Personally I would hope this wouldn’t make a difference whatsoever in your reading but unfortunately it is the case with some. I found it refreshing to read a book by a Gay person that wasn’t actually ABOUT being gay.

I read a Large Print edition from Harper Luxe and while I don’t know about other printing’s, this one had quite a few typos like periods in the middle of words. There is also a small part where it seems to me as if the wrong word was used but I’m no English major so if it’s correct as is, please someone let me know!

“…it is hard to apprehend five thousand deaths;” – p.6

Shouldn’t that say comprehend?

Overall the book was a pretty good read. If I had read Doty’s poetry and enjoyed poetry, I probably would have enjoyed it a little more.

Marley & Me by John Grogan (Jill's review)

2008-04-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Marley and Me
By John Grogan
Completed April 26, 2008

I think everyone knows this tale of a man, his family and their dog, Marley. This book chronicles the Grogans and life with their mischievous Marley, who behind the chewed shoes and hyperactivity, was a beloved member of the family until his death at age 13.

John Grogan did a good job showing how animals become a part of your life - and indeed your family. For many families, pets are their only "babies" while others mix children with animals with room in their hearts for all. As a member of the latter, I could not imagine life without my pets. If you feel this way too, then Marley and Me is the book for you.

Personally, I found many parts of this book to be boring. I also found many of the adults' (aka the masters') decisions to be questionable. Marley was depicted as a knucklehead, but I think he was way smarter than his owners, totally wrapping them around his paw. Perhaps that was the point of it all.

Moreover, I think you have to be a dog owner to fully appreciate this story. If you are, then check out this cute book about a cute dog. For cat owners like me, this book may remind you why you chose a life with whiskers, purrs and kitty litter. =) ( )

(cross-posted from my blog)

Maus I and II - 3M's Review

2008-04-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

Brilliant. Powerful. Poignant. Intensely personal. In graphic novel format and the winner of a Pulitzer Prize Special Award in 1992, Maus is Vladek Spiegelman's story of his survival of Auschwitz during World War II. It is also a story of the father-son relationship between Vladek and Art. In this first book, Art interviews his father about his intense past. Each nationality is represented as a different animal. The Jews are mice, the Germans are cats, and the Poles are pigs. We not only see the absolute horrors of Auschwitz from a survivor's viewpoint, we also see one survivor's son deal with the guilt of just being the son of a survivor.

I first heard about this book through Dewey for the graphic novel challenge. Thanks so much, Dewey, for introducing me to this astounding work.

Highly recommended to all.

1986, 161 pp.
Rating:

The continuation of Maus, and subtitled And Here My Troubles Began (From Mauschwitz to the Catskills and Beyond), Maus II is every bit as outstanding as Maus, and the two books really should be read together. In this book we learn more about the end of Vladek's life, and one of the questions that is posed from the book is:

They were survivors, but did they really and truly survive?

Art's struggles with his father's personality -- made so because of the war -- are clearly shown. He is very honest in his portrayal, even to the point of demonstrating his father's own prejudices -- something you would think would be non-existent in someone who had been persecuted himself.

Again, I highly recommend both books to all.

Serialized from 1973 to 1991, 127 pp.
Rating:

The Translator - 3M's Review

2008-04-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

It is almost always easier to learn about history through historical fiction or current world events through memoirs, and this book is no exception. Daoud Hari gives us a harrowing account of his experiences translating for various media outlets in the Darfur region. The violence in Darfur, especially toward women and children, is unspeakable. Though not overly graphic, it is still difficult to read in spots.

Similar to the plight of the Kurds, the people of Darfur have had their lives shattered due to boundaries set by people not of their region. This brief, engaging book will not only enlighten you to the situation in Darfur, but will also make you question the wisdom of meddling in other countries' affairs at all.

2008, 189 pp.
Rating: 4

Black Dog of Fate by Peter Balakian

2008-04-25T23:19:00.000-07:00

Black Dog of Fate by Peter Balakian is a memoir by the descendant of survivors of the Armenian Genocide who ended up in the US. Black Dog of Fate consists of several storylines, which are not always very sharply separated and partly intertwine. The first half or so of the book consists of Balakian's memoirs growing up in suburbia in New jersey in the 1950s and 1960s (Balakian was born in 1951). He grew up knowing he was Armenian, but not knowing anything about the history of his people, let alone why and how they ended up in the US. He was in most ways your average all-American boy, playing ball in the park, playing on the high school American football team, making out with girls in the backseat of the car, rebelling against his parents as a teenager.

No matter how much on the outside his parents and his family seemed integrated into the American lifestyle, inside their house some things were very different. The role of food, for example. Where all Peter's friends were served instant and deep-frozen dinners that were eaten in five minutes, dinner at the Balakian's was a family affair that took time and consisted of several homemade dishes. And then there were the Sunday gatherings of relatives at the Balakian's or Peter's aunts. These gatherings lasted for hours and Armenian food was an important part of them.

Then there was Peter's grandmother who doted on him, her eldest grandson. From time to time, out of the blue, she would tell Peter a snippet of her memories, a story, things that remained unconnected and that Peter didn't understood at all throughout his youth.

This first part of the book goes above and beyond being specifically a memoir of an Armenian youth in the US. It can in many ways be read as the history of an immigrant childhood in the US, maneuvering between being American and keeping one's ethnic heritage.

In his twenties Peter becomes aware of his heritage, of what happened to Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and of how his own relatives escaped the Genocide and ended up in the US. His family's history forms the second storyline in the book. The third is a more general history of the Armenian Genocide mixed with Balakian's raising awareness of it. It also covers Turkish continuous attempts at denying the Genocide.

Read the full post on my blog here.

# 6 Blankets (Thompson)

2008-04-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

Craig Thompson shares the natural progression of his childhood through the combination of pictures and words. The memories of living in his parents' home with his brother, going to school and church, and seeking the desires of his heart are the focus.

Once I got over the shock that this book weighed a ton, I turned the first page and became wrapped up in the story. I soon forgot that it was almost 600 pages long! The emotions that Thompson was able to depict in his drawings were fabulous and even though they were caricatures, he made them come alive. This honest and deep coming-of-age memoir is powerful in its realism. Through the pictures and words, I felt as if I experienced Craig's life right alongside him. The final pages left me a little gloomy or empty, so I am tacking on the fact that he is, now, a successful graphic novelist and hopefully has found himself and happiness.

Oh yes, there are some pertinent graphic pictures that are meant for mature young adults.

# 5 The Birthday Party (Alpert)

2008-04-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Stanley Alpert describes, in detail, his ordeal of being kidnapped near his apartment in Greenwich Village by a group who set out to only steal his ATM card and PIN number.

Stanley's story is one that I never want to experience and he does a great job of explaining the details of all that happened to him. However, maybe I have a distorted view because I read a lot of suspense novels, but I found it to be lacking in oomph. Just the thought of being kidnapped arouses anxiety in me and I didn't feel any major fear from him throughout the whole episode. Yes, thankfully for his sake, he remained calm, which contributed to his survival, but for a written memoir I would have thought he would have chosen words that would instill a sense of fear or make it more suspenseful. He literally just wrote what happened. By no means am I suggesting that he embellish his story, but I think the manner in which it was told could have been more exciting.

My Bridges of Hope

2008-04-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Bitton-Jackson, Livia. 1999. My Bridges of Hope.

My Bridges of Hope is the sequel to I Have Lived A Thousand Years. It is the middle book in a trilogy of the author's memoirs. (Though each book can and does stand alone just fine.) The book opens with Elli Friedmann and her mother and brother returning to their home town of Samorin after they were liberated by the Russian soldiers. Unlike some of the other returning Jews, they did find their home relatively intact. Stripped of furniture, yes, but still standing. The neighbors are shocked, extremely shocked to see them again. Shocked that they're living skeletons. But most of their closest neighbors are helpful. They give what they can, do what they can to make the Friedmann's home habitable again. This doesn't mean that every neighbor is this nice. And it doesn't mean that the family's possessions are returned from the neighbors who took them for safekeeping at the beginning of the war. But a few are ethical enough to return and restore.

"Out of Samorin's more than five hundred Jewis citizens, only thirty-six returned, mostly young men and women. Those who did not--our children, parents, grandparents, siblings, husbands, wives, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and lovers--have been replaced by an abyss." (18)

Imagine that if you will. Really think about it. My Bridges of Hope tells the stories of those in between years. Those years between 1945 and 1951 when Elli was growing up in such a strange and foreign environment. It looked a bit like her old home, her old town. But so many people missing, so many new people in their place, so many strangers--the Russians, the Communists coming to town and taking over. Nothing is ever the same, nothing could ever be the same.

In these years, Elli dreams of going to Israel. At the beginning of the book, it isn't even a state or nation yet. But the dreams, the Zionist dreams, are there both in Elli and in her friends. But it is decided that America will be their destination, if they can get in.

These are years of waiting and years of growing. A turbulent time of changing for Elli as she matures from a fourteen year old girl into a young woman of nineteen or twenty. The book records her hopes, her dreams, her loves, her losses, her disappointments.

Expecting Adam

2008-04-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

Just finished, Expecting Adam, and I am sorry to say that this one was a bit of a disappointment. You can read my complete review, here.

I Have Lived A Thousand Years

2008-04-17T10:51:00.001-07:00

Bitton-Jackson, Livia. 1997. I Have Lived A Thousand Years.

I Have Lived A Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust is the memoir of Elli L. Friedmann. Born in Czechoslovakia, Elli along with her family were taken to Auschwitz when the ghettos were liquidated in 1944. The book covers the years 1944-1945, although it hints at what came before and what comes after. The book concludes with Elli and her remaining family members arriving in America in 1951.

Her prose is concise and powerful. As a child, she loved to write poems. And this is evident in her memoir. The imagery is strong; there is power in her words. The emotions resonate. When our story opens she is around the age of 13. Here is her description of when the Nazis came and her school was closed, "I weep and weep. I weep for my classroom, which is no longer my classroom. For the school that will never be my school again. I weep for my life, which will never be the same." A bit further on we read her description of what it was like to be shown where the family's treasure was buried. The unspoken words being that she may be the only one to survive. "I don't want to know the spot! I don't want to be the one to survive! I don't want to survive alone! Alone, I don't want to live. Oh God, I don't want to live if you don't! I don't want to know about anything! I don't want to know!"

Her descriptions are so powerful, so real. The way they are written, so straight-forward, so concise, instantly put me in her shoes. The people aren't just numbers, aren't just statistics, aren't just nameless, faceless strangers. They're real; they matter; their stories, their lives count.

This was a very powerful book for me. Elli's determination to survive, to ensure her mother's survival is so courageous, so incredible. The fact that hope and strength and courage and dignity can survive in the midst of such horror is amazing to me. Wonderfully amazing to me.

This book is definitely a must read.

The title of the book comes from the liberation scene. Elli and her brother and mother are all together. They are trying to survive until they can be liberated. Freedom is within their grasp, yet there is still danger and fear on the prowl. When they are liberated, Elli is taken for an old woman. They think she is a woman who is in her sixties, they're flabbergasted to learn that she is just fourteen years old. She says, "I am fourteen years old, and I have lived a thousand years." What great imagery.

Laura's Review - Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

2008-04-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
Barbara Kingsolver
352 pages

This was one of the most inspiring books I've read in a long time. In this memoir, Barbara Kingsolver describes the year that she and her family spent living on locally-grown livestock and produce, much of which they raised and grew on their own farm. Acknowledging the fast-paced and urban nature of modern American society, Kingsolver noted, "Most people of my grandparents' generation had an intuitive sense of agricultural basics: when various fruits and vegetables come into season, which ones keep through the winter, how to preserve the others." (p. 9) Yet today, most of our food is shipped over long distances and often from other countries, in order to be available to American consumers year-round. All this transportation requires fuel -- a waste and yes, a danger, given the threat of climate change.

This book is organized chronologically through the family's "year of eating locally," beginning in April with the first asparagus and the arrival of laying hens. In addition to their own food production, Kingsolver describes experiences with local food on a family vacation, as well as on a trip to Italy with her husband. Her husband and older daughter contribute essays, recipes, and sidebar topics that enrich the book and provide resources for the reader to conduct their own research on the subject.

I came to this book already interested in gardening, and in supporting our local farming community. I've now identified some initial steps I can take to increase the amount of local food on my own table. I'm not quite ready to raise (and yes, slaughter) my own livestock, nor am I going to swear off the supermarket altogether. But I'd like to think my actions will result in a healthier, tastier diet and make a small dent in fossil fuel consumption. ( )

My original review can be found here.

In an Instant

2008-04-12T16:57:00.000-07:00

In an Instant is a two part memoir, one about how the Woodruffs met and the other about Bob's recovery from the injuries he received when an IED exploded under the vehicle he was riding in. For the most part, Lee's memoir covers Bob's recovery. Bob's memoir in turn covers their courtship and marriage.

As Lee explains in the "About this Book" section, the process of writing was therapy for her during those tough weeks while Bob was in the medically induced coma. Bob's contribution to the book was also therapy and served as a way for him to recover. He had to relearn how to speak, write, walk and all the other things most adults take for granted.

For the gruesome details of Bob Woodruff's injuries, In an Instant is a fairly easy book to read. Lee's passages are by far the more interesting half of the book. Her descriptions of what happens to the body when it is hit by an IED are frank, raw and unglamorous. Bob's memories of his marriage and early career may be of interest to his fans but for me it interrupted the flow of an otherwise interesting book.

Burnt Bread and Chutney

2008-04-10T23:51:00.000-07:00

I feel rather split-brained about Burnt Bread and Chutney the memoir by Carmit Delman. Her book is both a biography (that of her maternal grandmother's life as a Bene Israel (Indian Jew) and a memoir of growing up poor in the United States and Israel. I enjoyed the bits about the grandmother but was bored by the rest of the book.

Carmit Delman tries to show how exotic her own life was growing up in the United States being not quite Indian-American and not quite Jewish-American but her descriptions of life here are banal and ordinary.

Her choice of subjects are universal: conflict between older and younger generations, blending of cultures between families and between country of birth and adopted country, the embarrassment of being poorer than friends, and so forth. Whenever the memoir seems to be stalling in one of these ever so ordinary passages, Delman would throw in a reminder that her life was fundamentally different because of her Indian ties and that by itself was not enough to make this memoir interesting or all that memorable.

Juli's Review: Kabul Beauty School

2008-04-09T09:55:00.001-07:00

Author: Deborah Rodriguez

Pages: 270

Genre: Non-Fiction

Personal Rating 5/5

From the back cover:

Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a group offering humanitarian aid to this war-torn nation. Surrounded by men and women whose skills–as doctors, nurses, and therapists–seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother of two from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she soon found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons. Thus an idea was born.

With the help of corporate and international sponsors, the Kabul Beauty School welcomed its first class in 2003. Well meaning but sometimes brazen, Rodriguez stumbled through language barriers, overstepped cultural customs, and constantly juggled the challenges of a postwar nation even as she learned how to empower her students to become their families’ breadwinners by learning the fundamentals of coloring techniques, haircutting, and makeup.

Yet within the small haven of the beauty school, the line between teacher and student quickly blurred as these vibrant women shared with Rodriguez their stories and their hearts: the newlywed who faked her virginity on her wedding night, the twelve-year-old bride sold into marriage to pay her family’s debts, the Taliban member’s wife who pursued her training despite her husband’s constant beatings. Through these and other stories, Rodriguez found the strength to leave her own unhealthy marriage and allow herself to love again, Afghan style.

With warmth and humor,Rodriguez details the lushness of a seemingly desolate region and reveals the magnificence behind the burqa. Kabul Beauty School is a remarkable tale of an extraordinary community of women who come together and learn the arts of perms, friendship, and freedom.

Yep, a fiver! You know when a book has you scavenging the Internet for places to volunteer overseas that it has made an impact on you. I loved this book for two main reasons. Or I guess i should say for the two glimpses it gives you. The first is the glimpse it gives you into the life of Afghan women and the second is the glimpse it gives you into the life of the woman Debbie Rodriguez. Her dedication of the book tells you a lot about her "style"but leaves a lot of her "style"to be discovered

"This book is dedicated to my father, Junior Turner, who passed away June 5, 2002, while I was on my first trip to Afghanistan. Dad, I never got a chance to tell you about Afghanistan and the school. You left me too soon. I know you would love Sam, my husband--he is just like you, but Afghan style. I know you would be worried, but also very happy that I am following my dream. I miss you."

Debbie Rodriguez is an spirited, tough, inspirational woman who just doesn't quit. She ends up in Afghanistan as part of a group of humanitarian workers and feels very out of place with the doctors, nurses, teachers, and engineers. She feels like she has no place there. She is just a lowly hair dresser. But when she is introduced with her group for the evening her job title brings down the house and she is instantly surrounded by women (& men) who just want a little pampering! She is needed just as much as the doctors, just in a different way.

Rodriguez comes to learn that her skills are actually very valuable because men cannot enter beauty salons (since women take off their veils and their hair can be seen). If she can teach women how to run their own salons they would ultimately be in control of their own money. Their husbands would never see how much they were actually making since they couldn't enter the salons. The women would for once have some small control over their own lives. They of course would have to turn their money over to their husbands but since he wouldn't know how much they were actually making...

So the book follows Debbie from the beginning of her quest for free donations and her joining of forces with Vogue and Clairol who had already begun to start a Kabul Beauty School, to her marriage to Sam (an Afghan) up until 2006 when her salon and the beauty school are locked up and Kabul is locked down due to political unrest.

I just kept reading and reading this book. I found it very inspirational and moving. I think anyone would enjoy this even if you do not normally enjoy non-fiction. It is just so eye opening to show us how another culture lives.

Wild Swans

2008-04-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

I just finished writing about Wild Swans, a biography-slash-memoir about Communist China. It was such a good book, that my review of it is probably way too long, but you will learn a lot about Communist China if you want to go read it!

The Diary of A Young Girl

2008-04-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

Frank, Anne. 1952. The Diary of A Young Girl.

"You're reading that again?" That's what my mother said as she caught me reading Anne Frank. Like I haven't read anything but this one book in all these years. She's right. I have read Anne Frank's Diary of A Young Girl before. But some things are worth repeating. Diary of A Young Girl is one of them. The first time I read this book, I would have been in high school. Close enough to Anne's age to feel it--the drama of adolescence on top of extreme political and social upheaval. The Diary of A Young Girl captures both. The war. The threat of death. The threat of captivity. The threat of starvation and disease. But it also captures youth. What it means to be young, to be at that ever-awkward stage in life, in development. Always a me-in-the-making, never quite done finding out who you are and what you believe and what you want out of life. Anne could be any girl in any place and time. But because she was born a Jew. Because Hitler came to power. Her life--her perfectly ordinary life--was cut short.

The book begins in June of 1942. The last entry is in August of 1944. In these two years, these two turbulent years, Anne and her family and several other people as well all go into hiding in the Secret Annexe. Mr. and Mrs. Frank. Margot, the older sister. Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan. Their son Peter. And Mr. Dussel. Eight people. Cramped living conditions. This isn't reality tv. This is life and death. Yes, every person gets super-cranky and super-sensitive. But wouldn't you?

The reader gets a glimpse into the lives of real people through the eyes of one very young sometimes-mature, sometimes-immature girl. Anne Frank. Very famous now because of her diary. But just then--at the moment--one very ordinary girl with a natural desire to write a diary. I think most kids (or teens) at one time or another try their hand at keeping journals. Though perhaps now, blogging has replaced all that. Diaries are intimate, personal, private. Each entry is a snapshot into that one day, that one hour, that one moment. When you're young, (and even when you're older and supposedly all grown up) your mood, your outlook changes moment by moment, day by day. Happy one minute, miserable the next. Such is the case with Anne. Personally, I'm surprised that Anne had as many happy moments, contented moments, grateful moment in the Annexe as she did. I think it would only be natural to be unhappy, scared, miserable, depressed. Living in cramped quarters with people you dislike, people you disagree with, not being able to go outside, to go anywhere you want. Not having the freedom to move, to make noise when you want. To always be on alert. To always worry about the threat of discovery, the threat of capture, the threat of bombs blowing you to bits. High stress. Very high stress.

But this isn't just a book about war, about being Jewish, about being a victim. This book is so much more than that. It's a book about growing up. A book about changing from a girl into a young woman with hopes and dreams and fears and desires. It's a book about being that age. That extremely awkward stage of life. My mom thought all people of that age should be shipped off to junior high island until they grew out of it. That moody, I-hate-you, you-don't-understand-me stage. Anne was a work-in-progress. There's no doubt about it. When we first meet her, she's entering that phase of life. She doesn't get along with her mother. At all. She feels completely disconnected from her. Misunderstood. Unloved. Unwanted. Unappreciated. And her relationship with her father is better, but not perfect. Sometimes she feels the disconnect with him too. And her sister. She feels that her parents love her sister more. That her sister gets all the praise, the love, the positive attention. And she feels that she gets attacked, bombarded with negative attention--lectures, lectures, more lectures. Everyone is always out-to-get-her. But though this does seem to be Anne's story, Anne's predicament, by the second half of the book, Anne is growing, changing, maturing. She looks back over past entries and realizes that things are different, things have changed. And she realizes that most of the changes were in her. She is beginning to build, to establish a better relationship with her family. She is beginning to get comfortable in her own skin.

Anne is someone I think we all can relate to in a way. Anne was just a girl. A girl with interests and hobbies. Likes and dislikes. She could be anybody.

The Diary of A Young Girl was originally published in Holland in 1947. It was soon translated into other languages, including English, and printed in the United States. 1952 is the first publication date for the United States. Almost from the very beginning, it was recognized as a good book, a powerful book, a book worthy of time and attention and respect. But it's not without its enemies.

Though I'll never in a million years understand the mindset of those that challenge books, I'll never ever ever understand why Diary of A Young Girl is one of their targets. I just don't understand it. Can't understand it. One challenge brought against the book stated that it was pornographic. How??? Why??? Fortunately, the challenge failed, and the book stayed on the shelves. I suppose pornography is subjective. But a young girl writing about her period is so not pornographic! A young girl writing about her breasts developing? Not pornographic. A young girl writing about her first kiss? Not pornographic. There is no talk, no hint of sex in the book. Though Anne spends the last part of the book making out with Peter, the son of the Van Daans. But it's not pornographic in the slightest. Not unless it's the mention of Anne reading a book where there is mention of a woman selling her body. Or perhaps it is the conversation about the cat's male organs that is so offensive to folks? Whether the cat is a tom cat.

I could go on for hours about all the suffering the war has brought, but then I would only make myself more dejected. There is nothing we can do but wait as calmly as we can till the misery comes to an end. Jews and Christians wait, the whole earth waits, and there are many who wait for death. (64)

I see the eight of us with our "Secret Annexe" as if we were a little piece of blue heaven, surrounded by heavy black rain clouds. The round, clearly defined spot where we stand is still safe, but the clouds gather more closely about us and the circle which separates us from the approaching danger closes more and more tightly. (115)

But seriously, it would seem quite funny ten years after the war if we Jews were to tell how we lived and what we ate and talked about here. Although I tell you [the diary] a lot, still even so, you only know very little of our lives. (192)

And if I haven't any talent for writing books or newspaper articles, well, then I can always write for myself. . . I want to go on living after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me. I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. But, and that is the great question, will I ever be able to write anything great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much. (197)

Tisha

2008-04-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

I just finished Tisha and you can read my review here!

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains

2008-04-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

One hundred thirty-two years before Linda Moore set out for Texas on her bike "Beastie", Isabella Bell set out by ship, train and finally horse for Estes Park in the Rocky Mountains. Like Linda, Isabella wrote about her entire journey in a series of seven letters which were later published in book form, A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains. Linda blogged about the experience and later published her experience as A Little Twist of Texas.

When I read through the first letter I was afraid I wouldn't enjoy the book because it was one long diatribe about how she regretted leaving Hawaii and how awful the train ride was. Rather than set it aside unfinished at the first letter, I read on to the second. By this second letter I was madly in love with the book. Isabella's letters reflect her mood as well as record the places and people she met along the way. When she is tired she grumbles. When she's well rested, she thrills at her adventure. She even includes passages about the history of the areas she visits and all I could think was: "She's snarfing!"

If you like travelogues and you like history, get yourself a copy A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains. Then read A Little Twist of Texas and enjoy a modern version of the adventure.

Take a Stand Rosa Parks

2008-04-01T19:16:00.000-07:00

Take a Stand, Rosa Parks! is one in a series of chapter book biographies Peter and Connie Roop have done for Scholastic. I have also read their book A Letter for Lincoln which I will be reviewing later in the month

Rosa Parks is best known for her refusal to give up her seat on James Blake's bus. Take a Stand explains the circumstances of Rosa's life that lead her to take on James Blake. Although the book is written for elementary school readers it is written well enough to hold an adult's attention too. The book is also illustrated. While 59 pages isn't long enough to fully understand Rosa Parks, it is a good introduction to this remarkable woman and the role she played in the Civil Rights movement.

An Unconventional Memoir of a Life in CanLit

2008-03-31T07:26:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted at Kate's Book Blog)

Dr. Delicious: Memoirs of a Life in CanLit is, as its subtitle indicates, a memoir of Robert Lecker’s life as a professor, critic, and publisher of Canadian literature. But who is this Dr. Delicious character? In the introduction, Lecker explains that after a student told him that his surname means “delicious” in German he began to reconceive himself:

The idea of being Dr. Delicious instead of plain old Professor Lecker made me think about the kind of writing I would have done if I was really the tasty version of myself. Professor Lecker would be reluctant to tell stories about his own life. He would resist the temptation to make his life in Canadian literature personal. He would not gossip. He would write scholarly articles and books that no one would read. But Dr. Delicious would lead a completely different life. He would delight in his classroom experiences. He would take liberties with his life story. He would talk about the ups and downs of being a Canadian publisher. He would bring in music, painting, hypochondria, malt whisky, deranged students, government grants, questionable authors, bank debt, termite infestations, a teaching stint in Brazil, lawsuits, the pleasures of hot sauce. He would write about his passions, his failures, how the whole business of CanLit drove him crazy, lost him sleep, drove him on.

I can appreciate how the idea of Dr. Delicious helped Lecker to abandon academic convention in embarking on this book, but in the early going I found the Dr. Delicious persona off-putting. To me it smacked a bit of an aging professor trying too hard to be cool. (No doubt my sensitivity to this stems from my own fears of venturing into that territory as a professor just past forty and no longer as conversant with my students’ pop culture references as I once was.) It was only when Lecker shucked off the Dr. Delicious veneer to describe the unabashed passion for the study of literature that he developed in graduate school that I was hooked by the narrative. The jaded academic is a familiar figure in the public imagination, and Lecker does go on to catalogue many of the frustrations of academic life with great insight and humour. But the passionate scholar is all too rarely represented, and it was a great pleasure to encounter one here.

Ultimately it is not a sharply drawn Jeckyll & Hyde conflict between what Lecker refers to as his “multiple book personalities” that makes this book so interesting, but rather their mostly peaceful co-existence. That Lecker is deeply suspicious of the CanLit canon in his critical work, yet contributes to its formation in what he chooses to teach in his professorial guise and what he chooses to publish as co-founder and long-time partner of Canadian small press ECW. That he is a champion of Canadian fiction and poetry, yet opts to devote a substantial amount of time and energy to the publication of dubious non-fiction titles (a low-carb cookbook, a glossy biography of Jennifer Lopez, WrestleCrap: The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling) to keep his press afloat. These are, of course, the realities not just of Lecker’s professional life but of academic life and small press publishing more broadly. And thus Dr. Delicious is a very satisfying read for anyone who is interested in the pleasures and frustrations of academic life, of small press publishing, or in the formation of and challenges to the CanLit canon. It was a bulls-eye on all three counts for me. Indeed, I was sufficiently intrigued by the snippets about the CanLit canon to buy a copy of Lecker’s previous book which is wholly devoted to the subject, Making it Real: The Canonization of English-Canadian Literature.

So, although I was not so keen on Dr. Delicious the persona, I highly recommend Dr. Delicious the book.

Nickled and Dimed

2008-03-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

By Kim L. Cross-posted at BoldBlueAdventure

Author: Barbara Ehrenreich
Rating: 5/5
Reason for Reading: Recommendation by Eva, In Their Shoes Reading Challenge

Poverty, especially in relation to Welfare is an uncomfortable topic. Get two people with different viewpoints going on the subject, and your carefully planned dinner party could quickly end in disaster.

Barbara Ehrenreich, who in normal life spends her time as a writer, decided to spend 3 months as a blue-collar worker to see what it was like to live on the wages offered by the likes of Walmart and other low-paying jobs of similar ilk.

The result is a fascinating first-hand account of the struggle to make ends meet on meager wages. Ehrenreich started as a waitress in Key West, then a maid and dishwasher in Maine, and finally as a Walmart employee in Minnesota.

She reports in the introduction that "The first thing I discovered is that no job, no matter how lowly, is truly "unskilled". Every one of the six jobs I entered into in the course of this project required concentration, and most demanded that I master new terms, new tools, and new skills."

Ehrenreich reports on the exhaustion of standing on her feet for 8 or more hours in a row, the humiliation of mandatory drug tests, having her first paycheck held (as is the custom in many low-paying jobs), the managers who spend all their time looking over everyone's shoulder to yell at the smallest mistake, the seedy rent by the week motels she stayed at, and the complete and utter inadequacy of $7 an hour to pay for all of the lodging, food, clothing, and payphone expenses.

Read the rest