Before the specifics of March's books get pushed out of my brain, here are some comments.
I finished two more books in Carol O'Connell's Kathleen Mallory series. Stone Angel is one of my favorites so far. It took Mallory out of her NYC context into the deep South, and filled in some gaps from her past that gave more insight into why she is who she is. Charles came along for the adventure (not with Mallory's permission or encouragement) and it was quite fun to see him adjust. I didn't like Shell Game as much. I've never been a fan of magicians or magic; Houdini and the like hold little interest for me. As the plot revolved around an illusion gone fatally wrong, and included lots of details about the workings of various tricks, I found my attention wandering much more than in any of the other books so far.
Last spring, I was loaned a couple of cool little books that bore the heading Tales of the Otori. These were paperbacks about 4" by 6" with great cover art, and the stories were fabulous - compelling characters caught up in epic sagas of war, politics, and clan loyalty in a time and place similar to feudal Japan, but with some cool fantasy/magical elements mixed in. Last month, as I wandered past the new book shelf in my local library, I was surprised to see the name of the same author attached to a massive 500-page hardback. It turned out that Heaven's Net is Wide is the recently-completed prequel to the entire series, and the two paperbacks I had read comprised only a third of the installments. I grabbed that volume, and thanks to our library's great online book request system, I was able to borrow and finish the remaining books in the series. Engaging, entertaining -- great escape reading.
Dubliners was my book group's book for March. Admission: I had never read Joyce. As a set of character studies, the stories were mixed: some intriguing and lifelike enough to picture, others just seeming flat or vague. I think I needed more to put the book into its historic and literary context to really appreciate it.
Run was a good read: a nice mix of mystery and human drama with enough hopefulness to leave me feeling glad I'd put forth the time and effort. The book starts with an accident, and a selfless act by a person that seemed to be a random passerby, but wasn't at all. Lots of food for thought about the connections between people, especially within families, and the meanings we attach to them.
April 19, 2008
March Book Reviews
March 08, 2008
February Book Review
February was kind of a slow month for reading. I didn't have my usual energy for plowing through books. I've also resumed reading aloud to the kids at bedtime, and that fills the need to spend a few minutes with a book at the end of the day to disengage my mind. I'm reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with Son; even though he got the book when it was released last year, he never managed more than a few chapters on his own. Daughter and I are making our way through From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. This was a book I read many times as a kid. She's liking it a lot, though I made a minor logisitical error. Since she has a loft bed, after she climbs in I read to her from the rocking chair. That makes it hard to show her the illustrations, which are great, and it's taken her a while to recognize when Mrs. Frankweiler is making a side comment to Saxonberg, since she isn't seeing the parentheses (and I'm not that great at changing my voice). I'll have to find another place to sit.
Comments on February's books are below the fold.
I finished two more books in the Kathleen Mallory series by Carol O'Connell. The Man Who Cast Two Shadows mixed in some magic and the occult, and showed a different side of one of the regular characters, Charles. Killing Critics was set in the world of New York art galleries; the "murder-as-performance-art" theme was quite creepy. The ending had a surprise plot twist, so I'm eager to see what Kathleen does next.
Carl Hiaasen is always good for some laugh-out-loud moments, and Stormy Weather was no exception. Skink, the former governor, reappears in this one - what a completely bizarre character. I have to admire the imagination that came up with him.
Two Cups of Tea was my book group's pick for this month. I really liked the book, though I found myself wishing it was more about the remote villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the people there, and less focused on Greg Mortenson. Not that I don't have tremendous admiration for what he has done, but the book made it seem like he was the only person who possibly could have done this. I am curious to learn more about how his work is going given the recent political developments in Pakistan. I do believe, though, that it will take efforts like this, on a much larger scale, if we are ever going to repair the reputation of the United States in the Muslim world that our government's actions has created.
February 22, 2008
Too funny, too true
As seen at Pharyngula: a piece by Carl Hiaasen on science education and the Florida state board of education. Coincidentally, I picked up Stormy Weather at the library the other day - reading that is definitely on my list of things to do this weekend. I'm ready for some down time and a good laugh. And I need to recharge before my Sunday afternoon task: driving a vanload of middle schoolers home from an overnight church camp. At which they are not going to shower. Another reason to be thankful for the state seatbelt law that states children under 13 should not ride in the front passenger seat. It's an hour and a half trip... think I'll survive?
Click here to continue....February 13, 2008
January Book Review
Trying to catch up here... I intended not only to keep track of the books I read this year but to make some notes and comments as I go, and already I'm behind. In January I started Carol O'Connell's Kathleen Mallory mystery series. I liked the first book: not the usual formulaic plot, and the central character has a unique story--an orphaned street kid who was adopted by a cop and his wife; she followed the adoptive father into the police force but doesn't have the usual sense of right and wrong we tend to expect from law enforcement. Intriguing, and a bit disturbing.
I was fascinated with the Charles Schulz biography. Peanuts has been part of my life for as long as I can remember; I collected the books as a kid, watched every TV special, drew endless pictures of Snoopy in crayon and marker. Growing up in the SF Bay Area, Schulz was sort of a presence; not quite a celebrity, but people knew he lived in the area and had built a public skating rink. In college I rented a summer sublet and in the apartment was a signed original of a Peanuts strip; one of the roommates knew the Schulz family. There is so much about Peanuts that resonates with happy memories of my childhood that it was disconcerting to realize just how unhappy he seems to have been for most of his life. The book was well-written and exhaustively researched, and there are comics interspersed throughout--it was fun to recognize old favorites and discover ones that were new to me.
The Book Thief was a remarkable book; not only the story but the presentation and structure of the narrative. Once I got over expecting something horrible to happen with every turn of a page, I really began to get engaged in the story. I can't really say I enjoyed it, but I'm glad I read it and consider it one of the more memorable books I've encountered in a long time.
Red Tails in Love was a fun slice of New York life: Central Park West celebrities meet wildlife in the form of a pair of hawks that nest on Mary Tyler Moore's building and devour pigeons on Woody Allen's balcony. Hawks are downright common around here, so picturing them in an urban setting was a interesting twist. Updates and photos of the hawks continue to be posted.
