One of my favorite things about Xmas is receiving numerous reading gifts from my bookish relatives and friends. This Xmas was no different.
I started out reading Snow by Orphan Pamuk (gift from Gail). It is a novel by a Turkish author which describes the rise of radical Islam in rural Turkey. The secular cast of the Turkish government (in the book) surprised me as well as the persecution of political Islamists. According to this author, the rise of this movement is quite controversial, at least in Turkey. There is also much discussion of the pros and cons of living in the West. The poet author describes the lure of the West (in this case, Germany) to those who otherwise have very mixed feelings about its beliefs and lifestyle.
The next book I chose from the pile was a gift from Carolyn, our friend in Chapel Hill: Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson. It describes the author's upbringing in Oxford, NC, the son of a minister, during a time of serious racial strife (around 1970). The major event is the murder of a young black man by a notorious local Klansman and two of his relatives. It describes the trial and the amazing acquittal, in spite of overwhelming evidence of guilt, and the subsequent racial rioting. The book hit home, since Gail and I were in Chapel Hill during this turbulent period - full of Vietnam and racial protests.
I next started A Regimental Affair on the train to NYC to visit Matt and Kristy (and their new baby!). Written by Allan Mallinson, it describes the life of a cavalry officer in the post Napoleonic era. After the wars with the French, they undertook domestic peace keeping chores on the home front and then went to Canada to stabilize the border near the Great Lakes. This is a good one for fans of historical fiction (e.g. author Patrick O'Brian).
My goal is to finish my Xmas reading by June. I'm now on to The Beautiful Cigar Girl by Daniel Stashower (gift from Lauren) - more on that later . . .
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
"snow day" reading - Posted by Gail
No snow at 10 PM, no snow at 2 AM, no snow at 6AM but enough ice and potential bad things to make today one of all teachers' and students' favorite wintertime occasions: a snow day! What to read?
I began my celebration with Carl Hiaasen's Basket Case. I had abandoned Hiaason for awhile, feeling a certain repetitiveness to his wackiness. But this one was floating around the house and I was in the mood for some lightness. Basket Case is way down on the wacky scale (only a fight with a frozen lizard so far) and even the main character, an obit writer for a Florida newspaper, is pretty much in the normal range.
My next decision is between two other books in progress: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell or Talk Talk by T.C. Boyle. I bought (a pretty rare event) Cloud Atlas last week because it got rave reviews ("The best book I've ever read!") from my school's music teacher. I had asked him what he had been reading lately, a fairly safe conversation to have at the copy machine/with most teachers, and he lit up. So I begin it on my train trip to visit the Hall's newest reader (to-be) Murphy and got through the first chapter, a journal, which took me to the South Seas with a bizarre cast of characters from Moriori slaves to a blackballed doctor; I read the second chapter, letters from a failed musician to a partner-in-corruption, in the early morning over the weekend. Now I could continue reading a chapter set in the Pacific coast and involving a reporter. Each "chapter" is linked in some surprising way to the previous one.
Or I could pick up Talk Talk by T.C. Boyle, another new-to-me author whose book I found on the New Book shelf at my branch library. I did what I see students selecting books in my high schol library do every day: pick up something that looks like a possibility based on the cover or maybe the title, read the flyleaf and decide to try it out. This flyleaf talks about deaf characters, mistaken identity, and assures me that the book is " both a suspenseful chase across America and a moving story about language, love and identity, from one of America's most versatile and entertaining novelists." A few chapters in I have met the characters, been to jail and am now ready to go on the quest for justice and love.
Or perhaps I could pick up again Fly on the Wall , a new teen book from my school library. I typically read a couple of these a week and some are truly excellent regardless that they are young adult genre. Here is the summary, as found on the back of the title page in young adult and children's books (why not in adult books???) "When Gretchen Yee, a student at the Manhatten School for Art and Music, wishes she were a fly on the wall of the boy's locker room, she never expects her wish to come true in such a dramatic way." How is that for a grabber plot? And interestingly, it has a PINK COVER! If you have been folowing the NYTimes discussion, begun with Maureen Dowd's column about the "re-feminization of the American novel", you will know that chick lit has spread and pink covers have taken over. In a letter to the editor in today's Times, a mom of a 12-year-old explains how her daughter picks books:" Pink books. I have never read a bad pink book." Well here is a bad one that I don't think I can finish.
Today is the Grand Opening of a new Goodwill store on Route 1 in Orange, one which is advertising a large selection of new (?) books. I have picked up some super books during my prowls of Goodwill stores (did you think all those birthday and Christmas books came from B&N?) but there is some very nasty stuff coming down outside.
Decisions, decisions...
I began my celebration with Carl Hiaasen's Basket Case. I had abandoned Hiaason for awhile, feeling a certain repetitiveness to his wackiness. But this one was floating around the house and I was in the mood for some lightness. Basket Case is way down on the wacky scale (only a fight with a frozen lizard so far) and even the main character, an obit writer for a Florida newspaper, is pretty much in the normal range.
My next decision is between two other books in progress: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell or Talk Talk by T.C. Boyle. I bought (a pretty rare event) Cloud Atlas last week because it got rave reviews ("The best book I've ever read!") from my school's music teacher. I had asked him what he had been reading lately, a fairly safe conversation to have at the copy machine/with most teachers, and he lit up. So I begin it on my train trip to visit the Hall's newest reader (to-be) Murphy and got through the first chapter, a journal, which took me to the South Seas with a bizarre cast of characters from Moriori slaves to a blackballed doctor; I read the second chapter, letters from a failed musician to a partner-in-corruption, in the early morning over the weekend. Now I could continue reading a chapter set in the Pacific coast and involving a reporter. Each "chapter" is linked in some surprising way to the previous one.
Or I could pick up Talk Talk by T.C. Boyle, another new-to-me author whose book I found on the New Book shelf at my branch library. I did what I see students selecting books in my high schol library do every day: pick up something that looks like a possibility based on the cover or maybe the title, read the flyleaf and decide to try it out. This flyleaf talks about deaf characters, mistaken identity, and assures me that the book is " both a suspenseful chase across America and a moving story about language, love and identity, from one of America's most versatile and entertaining novelists." A few chapters in I have met the characters, been to jail and am now ready to go on the quest for justice and love.
Or perhaps I could pick up again Fly on the Wall , a new teen book from my school library. I typically read a couple of these a week and some are truly excellent regardless that they are young adult genre. Here is the summary, as found on the back of the title page in young adult and children's books (why not in adult books???) "When Gretchen Yee, a student at the Manhatten School for Art and Music, wishes she were a fly on the wall of the boy's locker room, she never expects her wish to come true in such a dramatic way." How is that for a grabber plot? And interestingly, it has a PINK COVER! If you have been folowing the NYTimes discussion, begun with Maureen Dowd's column about the "re-feminization of the American novel", you will know that chick lit has spread and pink covers have taken over. In a letter to the editor in today's Times, a mom of a 12-year-old explains how her daughter picks books:" Pink books. I have never read a bad pink book." Well here is a bad one that I don't think I can finish.
Today is the Grand Opening of a new Goodwill store on Route 1 in Orange, one which is advertising a large selection of new (?) books. I have picked up some super books during my prowls of Goodwill stores (did you think all those birthday and Christmas books came from B&N?) but there is some very nasty stuff coming down outside.
Decisions, decisions...
Friday, February 9, 2007
If you liked "I Claudius"... Posted by Matt
My favorite books of all time are "I Claudius" and the sequel "Claudius the God" by Robert Graves. So I am always on the lookout for similar things. Here's a few things I've come across.
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. Tells the story of the battle of Thermopylae, where 300 spartan soldiers held off the tens of thousands of invading Persians. (this may sound familiar because a movie is coming out soon about the same thing: The 300). It also has some great background about life in Greece in those days, told from the perspective of a slave. Thanks to Mom for giving this to me for Christmas this year.
And another recommendation in this vein is Count Belisarius, another Robert Graves historical novel. This one is about a general working for the emperor Justinian, who is ruling from Constantinople.
Speaking of "I Claudius", I've been watching and loving the HBO series Rome. Fun over the top rendition of ancient Rome during the rise of Caesar and Augustus. Lots of blood, sex, and intrigue. Lots of interesting depictions of religious beliefs and ceremonies as well.
And one last word about "I Claudius". The copy which was passed down to me at some point, and which I reread every year or so, has a great family dedication up front:"To Dadius, from Tullius" So, I guess I have Tullius to thank for starting this all!
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